Astrology of Today’s News

As Afghanistan’s benighted, backward-looking Taliban ruler, lays down increasingly draconian edicts restricting women’s lives, there are signs of discord from within the ranks. Some senior figures have openly criticised the policies of the leadership towards women. An official inside the Taliban’s morality ministry told The Telegraph most of the rules it was told to enforce were about “controlling women” and “often don’t even make sense”.

Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader since 2021, has vowed to publicly stone women to death for adultery.

The Taliban has said Afghan women are not allowed to:

Drive a car

Speak in public

Speak loudly inside your house

Travel alone

Own a smartphone

Wear bright clothes

Wear high-heels

Go to high school or university

Sing

Read the Quran aloud in public

Look at men they don’t know

Attend a protest

Go to the gym

Go to the park

Work in the civil service

Ride in a taxi

Go abroad

Show their faces in public

Speak to a male doctor

Play sport.

The Afghanistan, 19 August 1919, 12 am Kabul chart has a hidden 12^th house Taurus Moon conjunct Algol and the South Node and square a Leo Sun Mercury which makes sense of a punitive, destructive, primitive attitude to women. There is also a yod of  Mars in Cancer sextile Venus inconjunct Uranus hinting at lawless defiance and a contrary and eccentric outlook.

The Afghanistan Islamic State 25 April 1992 chart is ruthless, brutal and also inclined to fanatical views with Mars trine Pluto, sextile Uranus Neptune in Capricorn. With (maybe) an Aquarius Moon (square a stubborn Taurus Sun) sextile Mercury inconjunct Jupiter.

 There is no birth date for the present Supreme leader Mullah Akhundzada but he took office on 15 August 2021 after the USA withdrew. This chart is dominated by a strained yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct a Leo Sun. The downside of a Sun on the focal point of a yod is a tendency to abuse power and authority though the drive for absolute domination usually backfires. His term chart has an undeserved dollop of good luck built in with a helpful Jupiter but it will be under massive, perhaps terminal pressure come 2026/27.

  The Islamic State 1992 chart is also under significant pressure at the same time with tr Pluto is moving to square the Sun in 2026/27 alongside SA Neptune square the Pluto and SA Uranus square the Pluto.

 The Afghanistan 1919 chart is showing disruptions through 2025 with tr Uranus conjunct the Moon, Algol and South Node and square the yod focal point Uranus.

  Will be instructive to see which chart most accurately reflects events.

The US indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on bribery charges raises questions about the probity of Indian authorities, which draws in PM Narendra Modi, his close friend, and may strain US/India relations when there are already problems over claims that Indian officials were involved in attempts to kill Sikh separatists in the US and Canada. Trump is likely to want it swept under the carpet but Modi’s opponents are already making capital out of it. “It’s now pretty clear and established in America that Mr Adani has broken both American law and Indian law,” opposition leader  Rahul Gandhi told a press conference.

  A possible extradition request, legal appeals and long-running court proceedings could lie ahead. An extradition treaty between India and the US has been in force since 1999, but only occasionally used.

 The Adani Group founded on 20 July 1988 is one of India’s biggest conglomerates, a sprawling industrial powerhouse whose rise has marched in parallel to the political ascent of Narendra Modi for two and a half decades. It will have lucky breaks through 2025 but is likely to meet its downfall or at least a sharp and significant series of setbacks by 2026/27 as its Solar Arc Mars opposes its Pluto. It has a lucky yod of Jupiter sextile Sun inconjunct an innovative but also can-be-autocratic Uranus Saturn in Sagittarius. 2026/27 also see tr Neptune Saturn square the Mars which will have the scent of failure and panic about it.

 Gautam Adani, the chairman, 24 June 1962 5.15 am Ahmedabad, India, has a creative Water Grand Trine of Jupiter in Pisces trine a Cancer Sun trine Neptune, formed into a Kite by a pushily-confident Jupiter opposition Pluto, making Pluto his driving planet. Plus a Fixed T Square of Saturn opposition Venus North Node in Leo square Neptune.

 His relationship with Narendra Modi, 17 September 1950 11 am Mehsana, India, is showing signs of turbulence across this December to next March and more so from mid 2025 onwards with tr Uranus square the composite Venus, then Pluto and tr Uranus opposing the Saturn – so there will be tensions flaring up right through 2026 as well.

 Whether it affects Modi’s political position immediately is questionable. His recent term chart from 9 June 2024 7.30pm is certainly inherently fraught with a Mars square Pluto so will be under constantly pressure but it could be 2027/28 which sees his Term facing a real threat. Which timeline is echoed in his original PM chart from 2014 with tr Uranus conjunct the Gemini Sun in 2027/28 which will have the potential to derail him.

 Modi’s relationship with India will be jangled as tr Uranus moves into Gemini from mid 2025 to square the Mercury, Saturn and finally Sun, becoming more disruptive in 2026/27; with tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Uranus then as well.  Stormy times ahead.

 The Reserve Bank of India is facing a year of crises ahead with the Solar Eclipses, recently in Libra and next year in Aries tugging on its Aries Sun. With again 2026/27 looking highly unsettled.  The India country chart, 15 August 1947 12 am Delhi, has Mars in its financial 2^nd house catching the tr Neptune Saturn square from this coming April onwards which will throw up financial problems into 2026 which won’t help the prime minister.

 Relations between the USA and India will be strained with tr Pluto opposition the Sun and square Pluto through 2025 till 2027; with confusion and uncertainty as tr Saturn Saturn oppose the composite Neptune in 2025/26.

 Relations between India and Canada look even more aggravated with tr Pluto opposing the Mars and then Mercury this year till late 2027; with jolts, jangles and disruptions 2025/2026 with tr Saturn Neptune opposing the composite Saturn and square Uranus. Nothing calming down soon.

ADD ON: The relationship chart between India and China will be edgy in the extreme ahead with the composite Uranus catching the recent Solar Eclipse in opposition and the late March 2025 Solar Eclipse by conjunction. Plus there will be an early 2025 few weeks of uncertainty in February 2025 from tr Neptune square the composite Saturn; and further jangles from tr Uranus square the composite Neptune from mid 2025 into 2026. Nothing that looks too explosive but certainly highly strung.

Add on 2: As astro-coincidence – the Adani Group chart of 1988 echoes that of Conor McGregor, the Irish mixed martial arts fighter, 14 July 1988, born a week earlier, who has the same yod of Cancer Sun sextile Jupiter inconjunct Saturn Uranus in Sagittarius; with a Martian T square onto Mercury and Neptune. He is in the news having lost a civil case for damages for a 2018 rape and has been ordered to pay the victim  more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.

Robert Burns, the Scots poet personifies the humanitarian, egalitarian streak in Aquarius. His poem extolling the virtues of the ordinary man over fools in silks – “a man’s a man for a’ that” – made him popular in early communist Russia.

 He was born 25 January 1759 7am Ayr, Scotland, which (if accurate) made him a Sun, Venus, Mars in Aquarius with Neptune in the 8^th and a rebellious Uranus square Pluto. His other resonant thought was that all humanity was equal in the eyes of God.

Francois Rabelais, the French freethinker, anti-clerical writer who managed to attract criticism from both Calvin and the RC hierarchy, shows more facets of the Aquarian nature. “His literary legacy is such that the word Rabelaisian designates something that is “marked by gross robust humor, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism”.  Communicative, provocative, idiosyncratic, can be contradictory, and can have a surprising interest on matters of the flesh.

 Born 4 February 1490 JC 4.15am Chinon, France (unverified) had a Sun Mars in Aquarius trine Pluto, sextile Neptune – determined, courageous (foolhardy), super-ambitious.

 Charles Darwin, 12 February 1809 3am Shrewsbury, England, the English naturalist whose thoughts on evolutionary biology fundamentally changed scientific knowledge on natural selection –  “Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history.” He had a 2^nd house Aquarius Sun trine an ambitious Mars in his 10^th; with Uranus in a revolutionary trine to Pluto.

Aquarius the experimenter and trail blazer.

 One curiosity of Aquarius is the number of sex-experts or writers on the subject, given the sign is supposedly emotionally-detached, is not earthy and regarded as being androgynous or against the biology.

 Dr Alex Comfort, whose 1972 The Joy of Sex brought bedroom matters out into the open – and was also an anarchist, pacifist, and conscientious objector. Born 10 February 1920, he had a Sun Mercury in Aquarius – and a Scorpio Mars Moon trine Pluto trine Uranus which will have tilted him towards an interests in sex.

 Of writers who are also renowned for their scandalous writings – Lord Byron with an 8^th house Aquarius Sun and Pluto, Venus, Saturn also in Aquarius comes to mind. 22 January 1788 2pm London, He also had an Air Grand Trine giving him the urge to communicate as well as living out a scandalous life.

 William Burroughs, 5 February 1914 7.40 am St Louis, Missouri, is another whose Naked Lunch became a cult classic but was regarded as pornographic with its focus on sadomasochism, body horror and drug abuse. He had a stellium in Aquarius in his 12^th house with Mercury, Sun, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter there. Plus a Moon Saturn in Gemini. No Earth and no fire in his chart.

 Freethinkers, contrary and unconcerned about prevailing cultural pressures sums them up. Their outsider approach made a difference.

Add On: Edouard Manet, a French modernist painter, 23 January 1832 7pm Paris, was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life and a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. His early masterworks caused great controversy but are now considered watershed paintings that mark the start of modern art. He developed his own simple and direct style that would be heralded as innovative and serve as a major influence for future painters.  All hallmarks of provocative, status-quo-upending Aquarius.

 He had his Sun in Aquarius sextile an 8^th house Pluto in Aries with Uranus and Jupiter also in Aquarius plus a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in Sagittarius.

Bjork, the Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress, noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and avant-garde style has a sound installation at the Centre Pompidou in Paris called “Nature Manifesto,” as part of a forum on biodiversity. She has been campaigning against industrial salmon farming, talks about being a guardian of Iceland’s wilderness and how young people will make real change.

“after plagues and pandemics

there will be new modes of existence

of weaving our bodies into relations with our surroundings

of decomposing our old ways of life.”

  She was born 21 November 1965 7.50 am Reykavik, started singing professionally when she was 11 and has always been an activist with a talent for protest not only in music but also in environmental issues.

 Unsurprisingly she has the revolutionary, rebellious, status-quo-upending Uranus Pluto conjunct in Virgo exactly conjunct her Midheaven square Mercury in communicative Sagittarius. Her determined Scorpio Sun in her 1^st house is conjunct an idealistic and musical Neptune. A passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in Capricorn in her 3^rd house and her Jupiter in her 9^th all point to a need to get her message across.

 It’ll be interesting to see what happens when her pushing-back-boundaries Uranus Pluto moves by Solar Arc to conjunct her Neptune in late 2025/26 – since it brings together her need for transformation together with her compassion. It may be confusing and unnerving in other ways but could see her spearhead change.

 Her creative 5^th harmonic is strong; as is her leaving-a-legacy-for-history and her global-influencer 22H.

Usha Vance, wife of the vice-president elect J.D.Vance, has an upscale legal background having served as a law clerk after her graduation for multiple federal judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh. She met her husband at Yale Law School, with a friend calling their relationship “extremely unlikely, almost opposites of personality”. They were hitched in an interfaith marriage ceremony in June 2014. She is a practicing Hindu, and her husband an Evangelical-raised Christian who converted to Catholicism.

  Born 6 January 1986 in San Diego, no birth time, she is a ferociously ambitious and determined though charming Sun Venus in Capricorn sextile Mars Pluto South Node in Scorpio plus a Scorpio Moon. Her Jupiter in Aquarius is sextile her Uranus and square her Mars (Moon) giving her confidence and luck.

Her relationship with her husband is indeed counter-intuitive. Her Mars Pluto in Scorpio is conjunct his Saturn in Scorpio and square his Leo Sun, which is a pile-up of aggravated energy and buried anger issues and resentment. She will be the driving force. Her Moon is probably conjunct his Mars in Scorpio which again will produce irritations.  There is a superficially light hearted opposition between her Jupiter and his Venus in Leo; plus an unrealistically-optimistic conjunction between her Neptune Mercury and his Jupiter.

  Their relationship chart does have a passionate, possessive composite Sun, Pluto, Venus, Mercury conjunction which will weld them together; with an easy-going composite Sun square Jupiter. But there is still a one-sided, not-always-kind composite Mars Saturn South Node conjunction.

  Her three Scorpio planets (Mars, Pluto, Moon) and his two (Saturn Mars) mean they can cope with, possibly appreciate higher levels of intensity and aggravation in their togetherness than most would find comfortable.  

  Her relationship chart with Trump is competitive and argumentative with a composite Sun opposition Mars Mercury which will become evident by 2026 when tr Saturn Neptune will be in hard aspect to all three composite planets. There is also a Uranus opposition Pluto square Jupiter hinting at some luck and more disruptions – with February/March 2025 a time of some discouragement between them – as shows up in other DT relationship charts. There is also great uncertainty and disappointment from tr Neptune opposition the composite Saturn throughout 2025 till early 2026.

 Her own chart will be upbeat and confident till early 2026 with a few setbacks and sinking moments. 2026 into 2027 looks discouraging up to a major turnaround in 2027. Her husband gets a confidence surge also in 2027 – ???

A lady to be reckoned with.

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Jordan Peterson, the controversial Canadian psychology professor who became a love-hate figure for his anti-political correctness views, condemnation of academic “safe spaces” and his refusal to use transgender preferred pronouns, has a new book out with the unlikely title of We Who Wrestle With God.

  According to the Times review it is is “unreadable, rambling, hectoring and mad” – “a bizarre study of the Bible featuring Jiminy Cricket, Harry Potter and Tinkerbell the porn fairy.”

  In contrast to the book which has been fairly universally slammed this review is a chuckle and worth reading, though behind a paywall. “If We Who Wrestle with God offers the reader any relief at all it derives from the inadvertent comedy of Peterson’s attempts to combine humourless Biblical analysis, pop culture fandom and conservative polemic in the space of a single misbegotten sentence.” https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/we-who-wrestle-god-perceptions-divine-jordan-peterson-review-cn3hk3bdz.

 Recently he tried to persuade the scientist Richard Dawkins of the “biological reality” of dragons.

Bron 12 June 1962 2.49am Edmonton, Alberta, three weeks before Tom Cruise, Peterson has the same Saturn in Aquarius opposition North Node square Neptune – though in Peterson’s case it is further emphasized with Neptune opposition Mars in Taurus.  Saturn in Aquarius will give him a leaning towards scientific precision while Neptune pulls in exactly the opposite direction into mystical, idealistic or plain delusional beliefs.

 His Mercury in Gemini (conjunct his Sun) are trine a Libra Moon trine Saturn South Node in his 10^th – so he is a thinker, an ideologue (= firm believer), inclined to hang onto his views even in the face of evidence to the contrary. And having a Fixed Grand Cross he won’t budge easily. His confident/over-confident Pluto opposition Jupiter square Mercury will compel him to trumpet his views at high volume. Plus he has a dominating Mars trine an audience-seeking 5^th house Pluto which added to his publicity-seeking Mars Neptune means he won’t stay out of the public arena for long. He’s an attention junkie.

  He may get even more extreme and eccentric with tr Uranus now crossing his Ascendant and moving through his 1^st house for the next few years. He won’t care how unorthodox his views sound. What will slow him down is his Solar Arc Pluto opposition his Mars and then square his Saturn in 2027/28 at the same time as his Solar Arc Mars squares his Moon. That will test his theories.

Aquarius as the thinker, the activist and the humanitarian. Simone Weil, the French philosopher and political activist, ticked most of the boxes.  She assisted in the trade union movement, sided with the anarchists and worked later as a labourer to better understand the working class. Latterly she became more mystical.

 She was born 3 February 1909 5 am in Paris, and had her 2^nd house Aquarius Sun on the focal point of a yod inconjunct an influential Jupiter in the crusading and communicative 9^th and inconjunct Neptune (Moon) in Cancer. Her Neptune was also on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Mars in opinionated and knowledgeable Sagittarius sextile her Sun. She was destined to walk a singular path in life with two yods – one with her Sun gave her the ability to lead the way though she would be crippled with self-doubt. The other with Neptune made her dream of an ideal. Her Neptune Moon also opposed her Uranus Venus in Capricorn giving her unconventional and vehement beliefs.

   Her aggravated/frustrated 12^th house Mars opposed her 6^th house Pluto, which saw her often debilitated with health problems. She latterly leant more towards mysticism no doubt courtesy of her Neptune and 9^th house Jupiter.

When she died on 24 August 1943 of tuberculosis and some suggested self-induced starvation as a protest against the Nazis, tr Saturn was conjunct her 6^th house Pluto.

  Betty Friedan was an Aquarius activist in another sphere, a feminist and leading figure in the USA women’s movement.  Born 4 February 1921 4am Peoria, Illinois, she also had a 2^nd house Aquarius Sun inconjunct a 9^th house Jupiter in Virgo. In her case her Jupiter was conjunct Saturn also in the 9^th, a hint of her capacity to become a leading light in society. Her Sun was only in a very wide yod inconjunct Pluto as well. More notably it opposed an 8^th house Neptune hinting at the image she projected.  Her Capricorn Moon in her 1^st along with her Mars opposition Saturn would draw her to women’s issues especially involving unfair or cruel treatment.

 Another leading Aquarius feminist is Germaine Greer, 29 January 1939 6am Melbourne, Australia. Her 12^th house Aquarius Sun just above her Ascendant opposes Pluto and squares a Taurus Moon Uranus – so she’s custom built as a disruptor and rebel. She also has an 8^th house Neptune but is a tougher, more aggressive personality than Friedan with Mars in Scorpio in her 10^th trine an emphasized Pluto.  

 Vanessa Redgrave, the distinguished actress, 30 January 1937 6pm Blackheath, England, has had a parallel career as a serious and extremist activist, promoting far left, anti-Vietnam, pro-Palestinian and other causes. She has a 6^th house Aquarius Sun square Uranus Midheaven opposition Mars in Scorpio so will leap into high-risk, controversial situations with enthusiasm. She also has an Earth Grand Trine of Neptune trine Jupiter Mercury in Capricorn trine her Taurus Midheaven, so her inclination will be to get physically involved and not just cerebrally.     

Aquarius – wedded to a cause, can be extremist, not given to nuance or flexibility.

Uranus will be the fourth outer planet to change sign this coming July which will bring new advances and innovations.

Uranus, the lightning god, promoter of freedom, independence, revolutions, scientific inventions, as well as anarchic chaos. Wary of emotional intimacy, at a personal level it can seem cold, unco-operative, belligerent about compromise which Uranus equates with loss of individuality.  Uranus was the sky god married to Gaia the earth mother. He was ultimately castrated by his son Saturn after expressing disgust for his earthy, ugly brood of children. Thus he is deemed to be against the biology – of the mind and not of the body.

  Uranus fosters intellectual creativity, shines a light on hidden places, acts as a torchbearer into the unknown. But left to run amok can be destructive, collapsing old structures and lacking the inclination to reconstruct better on the far side.

  Looking back over the past century plus of Uranus through the signs, which it changes every seven years, year it enters a new sign has coincided with a tranche of firsts in technical and scientific advances which altered the face of our culture – television demonstrations and transmissions, airplane development from the first 40 minute flight to plane bombing, first parachute jumps, and first set-up of commercial airlines, then space travel. In more recent times the internet moved from early computing in the 1955/6 Uranus into Leo, further advances in 1962, Microsoft being founded in 1974 with Uranus just into Scorpio, first computer virus on the next in 1981 when moving into Sagittarius, then 1989 into Capricorn the first commercial internet providers and the WWW.

   Delightfully Albert Einstein published his seminal papers which led to a century’s study of theoretical physics the year Uranus moved into Capricorn in 1902.

  What is also noticeable skipping down events is how many iconic performers, novels, films emerged/exploded onto the scene in the year Uranus changed sign.

1949 into Cancer: Billy Graham.

1955/56 into Leo: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Rogers and Hammerstein at their peak, Doris Day’s most famous hit. First Eurovision Song Contest.

1962 into Virgo: Johnny Carson debut, Rolling Stones debut, Beatles firsts, first ever Bond movie Dr No, Bob Dylan, David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia.

1974 into Scorpio: Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

1981 into Sagittarius: film ET

1989 into Capricorn: Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verse controversy.

1995 into Aquarius: Toy Story – first computer generated animated feature.

  In the century before as Uranus moved into Gemini Darwin published his Origin of the Species; and Big Ben chimed for the first time in London.

  There are also intriguing repeats.  Bill Gates was born on the 1955 with Uranus just into Leo and founded Microsoft two later on Uranus just into Scorpio.

  The Beatles burst onto the scene in 1962 as Uranus moved into Virgo and made their last public appearance next time round in 1968 when Uranus moved into Libra.

  The Vietnam War started in 1955/56 in Leo and finished three Uranus cycles later as it moved into Scorpio in 1975.

  The Guildford Four who were imprisoned in 1975 in the UK in a miscarriage of justice for alleged IRA bombings with Uranus just into Scorpio were freed fourteen years later as Uranus moved into Capricorn in 1989.

   Revolutions are a key outcome of the Uranian push for freedom at all costs. The Eastern European uprisings of 1989 when the Berlin Wall was collapsed came with Uranus just moving into Capricorn. That year also apartheid in South Africa started to be dismantled.  The Arab Spring coincided with Uranus moving into Aries in 2011. The 1968 Uranus into Libra brought the start of the Irish Troubles and the Stonewall riots fighting for gay rights.

  The destructive side of Uranus comes out with brutal suppressions as in Tiananmen Square in 1989 (in Capricorn); the Holocaust in 1942/43 (in Gemini); Nazism on the rise and the Night of the Long Knives purge in Germany in 1934 with Uranus moving into Taurus. And the Titanic sank as Uranus moved into Aquarius in 1912.

 

Uranus, the sky god, is a trailblazer, a catalyst for change and a lightning striker, illuminating what has become stuck and needs a sharp wake up call. Uncompromising and uncooperative, it fights for tolerance and freedom and can be anarchic and lawless as well as an idealist and humanitarian. It moves into Gemini for the first time in 84 years and for some countries this signals a Uranus Return which does appear to coincide with historic markers.

  The USA had its first Uranus Return in 1860 as the Civil War rapidly approached, spilling out into open clashes in 1861 when Uranus was only one degree over the natal position. Next time round in 1943-44, the USA had just joined WW11 after Pearl Harbor in December 1941 which immediately preceded the Uranus Return. Immediately following the Hiroshima bomb was dropped in 1945. Their next Uranus Return will be in 2027/28.

The UK had its first Uranus Return in 1885 – when the Berlin Conference carved up spheres of influence in Africa for European colonization. The first Irish Home Rule Bill saw an outbreak of hostilities between Catholics and Protestants.

  Next time round in 1969 the Irish Troubles started in earnest in Belfast. There were also problems in Southern Rhodesia with Ian Smith splitting away from the UK, declaring independence and a Republic.

In France their first Uranus Return in 1877 oversaw a constitutional crisis which led to the defeat of the Royalists. The second Uranus Return saw an insurrection in the French colony of Algeria with outbreaks of violence; and the following year the Paris police infamously massacred unarmed and peaceful pro-Algeria demonstrators, between 40 and 200. Gabon and Mauritania became independent as the French empire went the way of the British. Algeria followed.

 Germany’s first Uranus Return in 1955 (after 1871) saw the Cold War hotting up as W Germany joined NATO and the USSR signed a treaty with East Germany.

Russia 1917, had their first Uranus Return in 2000 when Vladimir Putin took over and a particularly brutal 2^nd War was being fought in Chechnya.

  What does seem to be common themes in the above are divisions and disagreements with political rivals – or with previously dependent countries, demanding freedom.