Astrology of Today’s News

Alexei Navalny’s suicidally courageous return to Russia after recovering from an attempted assassination by poisoning brought tens of thousands of his supporters out onto the streets in unsanctioned demonstrations. They were adding their voices and feet to his protests against high level political corruption, spotlighted in a YouTube film, released a few days ago and viewed 50 million times, about Putin palace on the Black Sea. This allegedly cost $1.4 billion paid for by oligarchs for the Kremlin leader. It includes an indoor ice-hockey rink, casino, vineyard and pole-dancing stage. These were probably the largest demos against Putin since 2011 when anger about a rigged election spilled out onto the streets.

  For Navalny, see post 19 January below.

  Putin’s latest 4^th Term residency chart, 7 May 2018 11.05 am Moscow hinted at a super indulgent run ahead with a Taurus Sun opposition Jupiter, but also a catastrophic, disruptive, violent, crises-ridden one with rebellious, unpredictable Uranus on the Midheaven trine a ruthless and brutal Mars Pluto. Tr Pluto is moving to conjunct the Mars from late next month one and off till late 2022, which will be frustrating, trapped and scary for his rule with the potential for violent over-reactions. The greatest instability will come in 2023/24 when tr Pluto squares the Uranus which often accompanies the collapse of an administration or the overthrow.

  Putin’s birth date is uncertain and there is a plethora of charts for Russia around the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The 8 November 1917 2.12am chart (Nick Campion) is a workable chart for tracking events. Putin came to presidential prominence on the Uranus Return and it has moved a full quarter to the square over the next two years. This February also has a highly-strung, confused tr Uranus square Neptune and the high-tension, jolting square to the Russia Saturn in Leo picking up mid this year and running into 2022, before the tr Uranus square Uranus comes exact in 2023. The Solar Arc Saturn squares the Moon (the populace) at the moment for an unhappy electorate; with indications from Solar Arcs to the Mars of anger and violence in 2023/24.  

  Upheavals are also flagged up on the Russia 28 March 1462, with the Pluto in line for a transiting Uranus hard aspect in 2023/24, as it was at the time of the 1917 Revolution.

   I can’t say that either of the later 1991 charts ever say much to me and on rootling around discover Zip Dobyns thought that Gorbachev’s resignation chart of 24 August 1991 9.32pm made more sense for modern Russia since it worked against events.  Which at the end of the day is the only thing that matters.  It indicates major aggravation over the next two years with again 2023/24 being flagged up as combustible times when resentment was likely to spill over.  

Super-talented engineer, scientist and former astronaut, Julia Payette clearly has gaps in her team building skills, having been forced to resign as Canada’s Governor General after a workplace review investigated accusations of harassment of civil servants. It’s the first time a GG has had to leave over a scandal.

   Born 26 October 1963 in Montreal, she’s a Sun Libra with a scientific Saturn in Aquarius; and an intense trio of Scorpio planets – Venus Neptune and uber-determined Mars – and maybe Moon. More significantly she has two Yods, which suit her for a distinctive path in life.  One is Pluto sextile Neptune Venus inconjunct Jupiter, which well handled does give ability as a social spokesman but can have problems with self-aggrandisement and self-righteousness. The other is Jupiter sextile Saturn inconjunct Pluto which again can be influential, though also has problems with wielding power in a modulated way.  

  She’s in a sticky year with a frustrating and trapped tr Pluto conjunct her Solar Arc Mars exactly now and a challenging tr Pluto square her Libra Sun from next month on and off for two years ahead.

  Her Term chart, 2 October 2017, did hint of aggravation and trouble ahead with a highly enthusiastic Mars Venus opposition Neptune, square Saturn and trine Pluto; and an adventurous and opportunistic Uranus opposition Jupiter. That has a potential for muddles, evasions, setbacks and ruthlessness. Her stint was never going to be seamless and serene.

  Her emphasised Jupiter falls in PM Justin Trudeau’s 10th house so he no doubt assumed she was going to burnish his image when he selected her.  

Poet Amanda Gorman was the breakout star of Joe Biden’s Inauguration with her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’, written and delivered by her to much acclaim.  

  Born 7 March 1998 in Los Angeles, she had a speech impediment as a child and has an auditory processing disorder which makes her hypersensitive to sound. She was chosen as the youth poet laureate of Los Angeles in 2014, published a poetry book in 2015, won a scholarship to Harvard to study sociology and was named the first national youth poet laureate in 2017. She founded the non-profit One Pen One Page, which runs a youth writing and leadership program.

  She has a Pisces Sun, Mercury and Jupiter spread out through Pisces with a Cancer Moon – creative and emotionally sensitive. Plus another tougher side to her personality with a super-determined Mars in upfront Aries trine Pluto, sextile Neptune, Venus, Uranus in Aquarius, and a forced-to-be-self-reliant Saturn in Aries which is widely trine Pluto and maybe square her Moon.

  She was recommended by Jill Biden and amended her poem after the Capitol assault on January 6^th. A bundle of talent who has achieved an amazing amount at a young age.

 Her three emphasised Aquarius planets suit her as a symbol of this Administration and her youth a nod to bridging the generation gap as she saluted an incoming president 56 years older than her.   

 Joe Biden took the oath as president at 11.48am in Washington this morning. That puts Pluto only one degree away from the Midheaven, which is usually the sign of a controlling administration. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Though heaven knows, he’ll need to take a firm grip to push back on the damage.

   There’s also, as per usual an Aquarius Sun in the 10^th, but this year with Saturn Jupiter conjunct and Mercury in Aquarius. At best Jupiter Saturn aims for cautious improvement, a balance between ideals and fiscal common sense. Though in this case the Jupiter Saturn is square an explosive, uncompromising Mars Uranus conjunction in the 12^th. Since the disruptions sit mainly in the 12^th it might suggest subterranean or underground resistance which could turn violent.

  There’s also an emphasised Neptune in the 11^th square the North/South Node axis, which could hint at an indecisiveness about long term plans and lack of commitment in friendly relations; or, since the 11^th is the house of parliamentary legislature, confusion (and evasion) amongst the lawmakers.

  Much to ponder and to return to – when I have time – which isn’t at the moment.

  What is a definite plus factor is that the Term Sun is conjunct the super-confident and usually successful Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and conjunct the equally upbeat Jupiter/Midheaven midpoint.

  And bless all who sail in her. What a relief to see the psychotic frenzy flouncing off to Florida.

Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, recently recovered from a suspected novichok assassination attempt by Russia’s FSB spy agency, has been detained on his return to Moscow from hospital treatment in Germany. A judge ordered him into custody for 30 days until a parole review that could imprison him for years. His arrest prompted him to call for a mass protest this Saturday.

“There’s nothing these thieves in their bunkers fear more than people on the streets,” Navalny said. He could be sent to a penal colony by the end of the month if a parole board revokes his probation. While the authorities say they will ban the Saturday, analysts believe that the number of protesters on the street could influence whether Navalny is given a stiff prison sentence or set free.

  It’s a high-wire act for Navalny, who seems intent on a martyr’s crown. 

  Born 4 June 1976 at 1.30pm Moscow, he has Sun Venus in Gemini opposition Neptune and trine Pluto which hints at another dimension of Neptune in super-ambitious mode, single-mindedly following a dream. Neptune Pluto in aspect to the Sun appears in the charts of those who are motivated beyond the norm to make a name for themselves and succeed. His Mars is sextile Pluto and square Uranus so he does have courage and a liking for high excitement.

  The Eclipses of the moment and through 2021 will be setting up crises and forks in the road for him; with a fair few undermining moments but he’ll also get lucky breaks from late April onwards interspersed with the downers.  By early 2022, he’ll be firing on all cylinders and pushing ahead with bullish confidence. If he survives unscathed, he’ll not give up.

  His leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17^th harmonic is strong though with indications of ruthless determination/brutal suppression; as is his ‘obsessive dream’ 11H.

  His Jupiter, Mercury and Gemini Sun Venus fall in the 10^th house of the Russia 8 December 1991 7.45 pm chart so he is crucial to the modern Russia’s direction.

Pic: Evgeniy Isaev 

Please add below. Older posts under news on top bar.

Vincenzo Muccioli was the charismatic leader of a drug rehab community in Italy, curing heroin addiction by offering community support and craft training in a model farm. His followers regarded him as a saviour though he did practice ‘tough love’ on the addict inmates. How tough only became evident after a brutally beaten dead body turned up in 1989, followed by horror stories emerging of the use of electric cattle prods, of inmates forced into freezers, possible suicides and tales of other bodies.

  He was charged over the body as an accessory though he said he had not known of the murder and was given a suspended sentence. A later court action in 1995 threatened him with a 20 year prison sentence. 4 days later he was dead.

  When he started the centre in 1978, he proclaimed himself a medium, identified with Christ and preached a humble life of poverty. By his death, he lived in a luxury villa, in a garden with peacocks and pink flamingos, drove a Mercedes and had a personal staff that included a liveried butler. His son now runs the centre, charging $50k a year and it’s a $50 million business.

A Netflix documentary 5 part series “SanPa: lights and darkness of San Patrignano” relates the tale.

  Muccioli, born 6 January 1934, was a Sun Capricorn opposition Pluto square Jupiter opposition Uranus –  ambitious, controlling, super-confident, an innovator. Not above dispensing with social niceties to get what he wanted with Jupiter Pluto. A Cardinal Grand Cross is bubbling over with initiative, assertive to the nth degree, determined to succeed. But tending to live a life full of revolving crises.

  His nasty streak came from a Mars Saturn in Aquarius, which wouldn’t be above tolerating cruel treatment. His North Node in Aquarius would devote him to a cause.

  His Sun was trine Neptune with his Virgo Moon possibly conjunct Neptune – lending him his ‘spiritual’ aura and slippery tendencies. He also had a couple of quincunxes – Pluto to Venus in Aquarius; and Neptune to Saturn – a curious mix of ascetic and sensual.

  The early years of the commune had tr Pluto moving in hard aspect round his Grand Cross boosting his Jupiterian streak. But it was the triple conjunction in Capricorn which was his undoing from 1990 to 1995.

  His creative, not always well-balanced, 7^th harmonic of the spiritual seeker was notable though with overtones of ruthlessness and brutality; as was his breakthrough genius 13H.

Power corrupts, spiritual power more than most. The end justifies the means can be a Capricornian flaw.

Fuller details below:

The Bloody Scandal of Italy’s Rehab Cult

Add On: The son Andrea Muccioli, 25 September 1964, still runs the centre. In a recent interview about the documentary series he said: “It is fiction pure and simple.”

“Of course there was violence in San Patrignano, we are talking about a war. A war that, however, was won with the power of love”.

For Andrea, his father’s biggest mistake was “wanting to save everyone”.

About the tape secretly recorded by his driver in which Vincenzo says uncomfortable people should be eliminated, Andrea dismisses it with the thought that it was “Bar chatter, that’s what my father was like, he often exceeded his language.”

About the trial: My father was convinced that he could manage everything in his favour thanks to the media power he had. Eventually he fell ill, and depression strangled him. “I have to die for San Patrignano to continue living” he confessed to me”.

  Pa seen through rose-coloured glasses clearly.

  Andrea is a different personality type with only one Cardinal sign, his Libra Sun. He’s mainly Fixed with his Moon Jupiter in indulgent Taurus in a head-in-the-clouds opposition to Neptune square Venus in Leo widely opposition Saturn in Aquarius. Enduring, stubborn, can turn on the charm when need be, acquisitive. Jupiter Neptune can accompany delusional spiritual leanings or an overly optimistic view of life – and in his case involving family with his Moon tied in. He’s lacking his father’s drive and initiative.

   Down in his midpoints there is a starker story with his father’s cruel Mars Saturn conjunction mirrored in Andrea’s Saturn/Mars midpoint being square his Venus and in aspect to his Sun; with his Mars conjunct his Pluto/Node and his Jupiter square his Mars/Pluto. So he’s not unfamiliar with darker impulses himself.

  His relationship chart with his father is very chained together and, under a veneer of affection, is cold with resentment bubbling way below the surface. There’s a composite Sun opposition Venus square Saturn opposition Pluto; with an ‘adventurous’ Mars square Jupiter.

  Andrea’s personal chart isn’t looking too cheerful with a ‘shocking’ Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Sun now and Solar Arc Sun square his Saturn in 2022 throwing up setbacks and discouragement.

Phil Spector, record producer extraordinaire, a driving force behind the Wall of Sound – the Ronettes, the Crystals, Ike & Tina Turner and worked with the Beatles, Leonard Cohen and the Ramones – has died in a prison care home where he was incarcerated for murder. Another creative talent with significant mental challenges, he had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and struggled with his psychological state for many years, before shooting a cocktail waitress dead.

   One of his wives related horror stories of her marriage to him as did his children of their treatment(wiki). If true they paint a picture of not just a disturbed man but one who was drowning in his own darkness.

  Born 26 December 1939 at 2.55pm in New York to a first generation immigrant family with his father suiciding at 8, he took up music in his teens, formed a band and had a hit with the Teddy Bears ‘To Know him is to love him.’

  He had an 8^th house Capricorn Sun opposition a Cancer Moon square Jupiter in Aries – intense, money-minded, in tune with public taste (Cancer Moon) and super-confident (focal point Jupiter). He also had a showbizzy and head-in-the-clouds Mars in Pisces conjunct Jupiter opposition Neptune which was sextile/trine Venus opposition Pluto.  His Venus opposition Pluto also squared onto a forced-to-be-self-reliant Saturn in Aries opposition a Libra North Node.

  It’s not an exceptionally brutal chart but is certainly conflicted more than most.

  His creative 5^th and 7^th Harmonics are well aspected. Most notable are his rise-and-fall, self-defeating 10H; and his victim 12H.

‘Suffer little children to come unto me’ – for a religious organisation that flag-waves compassion as a guiding light, the Catholic Church in Ireland spectacularly failed to walk its talk. The brutal and inhumane treatment of unmarried mothers over decades has been exposed in a heart-rending report. Overall 60,000 women over 80 years were put into the ‘care’ of the Catholic Church, described by a local journalist as a ‘shadow state’. The infant mortality rate was staggeringly high at 15%; and in one home 75% of the children born there died one year.

  In those days the church controlled schools, owned hospitals; ran orphanages and homes for unmarried mothers. A compliant state paid the church for these services and didn’t interfere. According to the minister for children, Roderic O’Gorman, the report “makes clear that for decades, Ireland had a stifling, oppressive and brutally misogynistic culture, where a pervasive stigmatisation of unmarried mothers and their children robbed those individuals of their agency and sometimes their future”.

   The religious orders who ran some of the homes have apologised but claim that their archives are private, which given that they operated on state money has raised ire.

  The church’s grip has slipped dramatically over the past four decades with a church attendance of 87% in 1981, now down to around 20%.  

  Of the two orders I could find who ran homes:

Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, 5 March 1903 – a controlling Sun Pisces square Pluto organisation, with an afflicted Mars trine Pluto on one side and trine Saturn on the other. Pluto is opposition Uranus and both are being rattled up by the present Solar Eclipses.

Bon Secours Sisters, 24 January 1824, Paris, is a Sun Aquarius trine Mars and sextile Pluto; with a focal point Mars square a Jupiter opposition Neptune; plus a can-be-fanatical Uranus Neptune in Capricorn. And an unyielding Saturn in Taurus.

  Neither were exactly cosy, comforting organisations.

  The Vatican, 7 June 1929, is being stirred up by the Eclipses this year and next rattling up its Gemini Moon, Sun, Mercury and Saturn in Sagittarius. With yet more shocks and jolts as tr Uranus squares its hidden Mars in Leo from mid2021 onwards, joined by the setback-bringer tr Saturn in opposition in 2022. In 2022 as well the Solar Arc Midheaven will conjunct the 12th house Neptune for confusion and indecision and perhaps yet more secrets to emerge from hiding. Their litany of sins mounts daily – with financial corruption, child abusing priests and now this.

  The Ireland 6 December 1922 5pm chart does have a harshly aspected Moon – in Cancer with an exact conjunction to controlling Pluto and in a cold, bleak square to Saturn.  The feminine was ground under foot, for sure.

From what I’ve read over the years the nuns were the worst even more sadistic and cold-hearted than the priests. Audrey Hepburn didn’t do us any favours portraying them as serene and beautiful.

“A mean, cruel, hard, unlovable, unloving human being … relentlessly ugly. … But her books? Brilliant.” So said Patricia Highsmith’s publisher. And PD James remarked that without the catharsis of fiction she wondered whether Highsmith might have become one of the murderers she wrote so lovingly about.  A new biography relating the chaos and degradation of her life and a collection of her short stories to mark her centenary don’t paint a pretty picture.

  She was born on 19 January 1921 at 3.45 am Forth Worth, Texas, into a marriage which split before she arrived, with a hostile mother, who had tried to abort her and told her. Not surprisingly she suffered depression throughout her life and became alcoholic. Her novel ‘Strangers on a Train’ about two men who ‘exchange’ murders to be rid of inconvenient wives, published when she was 30, became a success, more so with the subsequent Hitchcock film; and she followed it with the best-selling Mr Ripley series about a charming and amoral criminal who murders a rich man and steals his identity.

   She was a frenetic lesbian, having sex ten times a day at times often with women she picked up in bars, or with married women and then deliberately creating havoc in their relationships, leaving a trail of destruction behind. She hated black people, Jews, Latinos, Koreans, Indians, Catholics, evangelicals and Mexicans and women.

  A former lover said she was “an extremely unbalanced person, extremely hostile and misanthropic”, and that “if she hadn’t had her work, she would have been sent to an insane asylum”. Her short stories according to a review “over and over —— we find people driven to murder, suicide or insanity, or all three.“  All commentators on her life remark how hard going it is to stay with the material since it is so bleak and soused in dark cynicism.

  She was a Sun Capricorn in the financial 2^nd in an Earth Grand Trine to a Taurus Moon trine Saturn Jupiter in Virgo. And she also had a Water Grand Trine of an 8^th house Pluto trine Uranus Mars Venus in Pisces trine a Scorpio North Node.

  Earth Grand Trines can be drawn to the physical side of life, at times to the extent of becoming gross, weighed down by carnality or acquisitiveness – especially with a Taurus Moon. The Water Grand Trine can be creative though also detached from reality.  Her passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars conjunction is echoed in Jeffrey Epstein’s chart and many of his associates. In her case it was ramped up even more by a deviant Uranus and a deeply buried controlling Pluto. Pluto trine Venus is compulsively seductive; Pluto trine Mars can be ruthless.  

 And yet despite the horrors of her personality and the wreckage of her life she was clearly talented. Her creative 5^th Harmonic is confident and successful; her creative though not always well-balanced 7^th harmonic is notably aspected with a brutal collection of Pluto, Saturn, Mars. Her breakthrough-genius 13H and self-destructive 16H are marked; as is her ‘serial killer’ 18H.  PD James was right. Without her typewriter she could well have been out there destroying the objects of her dislike.