Astrology of Today’s News

Boris Johnson, never far from centre of attention was recently alarmingly touted as maybe returning to frontline politics with the Tories, then for a touch of alternative slapstick a possible double-act with Farage was suggested. In response the Guardian has delivered a tranche of stories about him using his tax-payer funded private office to profit from contacts he gained in office. A major data leak from his private office points to him lobbying senior Saudi officials for a firm he co-chairs and meeting with Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, after which he received more than £200,000 from a hedge fund.

  He’s certainly got problems up and coming with tr Pluto trine his 8^th house Mars for the final time later this month to early December; as tr Uranus is conjunct his Mars for the first time and that jolts and jangles into 2026. Plus a discouraging tr Saturn square his Venus Sun in the second half of this September, repeating late January 2026. Over the winter as well tr Uranus will square his Sun/Moon midpoint which can either indicate upheavals in his marriage or in his public reputation. If his birth time is exactly accurate then his Solar Arc Midheaven is conjunct his Pluto for a major obstacle to progress exactly now.

 Uranus starting to move round his Mutable T square of Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto square Mars was always going to throw his life into chaos and this is just the beginning now and rolls on for several years.

  Jupiter is moving across his 10^th at the moment into 2026 which ‘might’ be successful though it may also just be bringing him to prominence.

  Carrie, his wife, 17 March 1988, looks less than enamoured by everything going on with tr Saturn Neptune square her Uranus Saturn now and across 2026; plus tr Saturn conjunct her late Pisces Sun over the winter.  Her relationship chart with Boris will be under considerable strain with tr Pluto conjunct the Saturn and square the Uranus throughout 2026.

Lulu, the Scottish singer, with a six decade career behind her has a new memoir out called If Only You Knew. In it she owns up to a secret drinking habit which sent her into rehab in her sixties.

 Born 3 November 1948 1.30am Lennoxstown, Scotland, she shot to fame as a 15 year old from a rough tenement family home with an alcoholic and violent father, onto the international music and film scene, mixing with the Beatles, Elton John and the like. She has been married twice, first to Maurice Gibb and then hairdresser John Frieda.

 She explains how she wanted to be Miss Perfect and kept anything out of sight that might blemish her career. She took to heart her mother’s instruction not to ‘air her dirty linen in public’. She does have a secretive and determined 3^rd house Scorpio Sun and a keep-a-tidy-image Saturn in Virgo close to her Ascendant. In addition she has a 4^th house Sagittarius Moon which has a tendency to be sunny-side-up as far as outsiders (and indeed some insiders) are concerned.

 Hints of a violent father come from a 4^th house Mars trine a 12^th house Pluto – both in hidden houses. Her Moon is sextile a charming Venus in Libra and square Saturn hinting at affection for a disciplinarian mother.

 When she finally realised she needed help around the age of 60 tr Pluto was heading for Capricorn and conjunct her 4^th house Jupiter before opposing her 10^th house Uranus as she turned her life around.

 Her North Node in Taurus also suggests that – with insight and self-awareness – peace eventually comes after a fairly tumultuous life.

  At the moment her Solar Arc Pluto, dragged out of the hidden 12^th house, is conjunct her South Node as she opens up about her problems, rooted in past trauma.

On the merry-go-round of UK politics Zack Polanski is the new face of the Green Party. He already sits on the London Assembly, scrutinising the activities of the London mayor. But he has ambitions to join the four Green MPs in Westminster And to be a threat to both Labour and Reform UK. He wants to offer a different approach with policies that include a wealth tax on billionaires and renationalising water companies.  He has  defended his party’s manifesto proposals, rejecting claims they would blow a £170 billion hole in the public finances, requiring tax rises on scale each year.

He said “We can’t come at this conversation just about the economy – it has to be about our mental health, our wellbeing and physical health of the nation.”

He has labelled his political views as eco-populist, combining environmental politics and populism and says people are unable to consider the climate crisis if they are struggling with day-to-day material concerns such as high rent burden, and high costs of food or heating. He dismisses the argument that wealth tax would drive the rich abroad, pointing out the Duke of Westminster can hardly upsticks and leave. And says “If you’re a farmer – 80% of subsidies go to the wealthiest 20% of landowners.

   He believes that the Gaza war is a genocide and should be treated as such by the UK Government. He advocates the UK’s withdrawal from NATO eventually and instead to establish  organisations that prioritise European defence, democracy, diplomacy and international peace.

  He is gay, vegan and currently lives in London with his partner who works in palliative care.

 Born 2 November 1982 Salford, England, he is a determined and persuasive Sun Venus and Jupiter in Scorpio; with a tough-minded Saturn, Pluto, Mercury in Libra and a publicity attracting Neptune Mars conjunction.

 He is not looking too upbeat ahead with tr Saturn and tr Neptune square his Mars now and through 2026 which will be undermining and discouraging; with confusion and lacklustre influences in 2027.

 There are a variety off start dates for the Green Party. But 13 June 1985 equally hints at a droopy 2026 into 2027.

  Nigel Farage, 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnborough, England, who has been riding high recently with Jupiter moving across his 10^th house will have a few emotional upsets, missteps and jolts across the winter with tr Uranus conjunct his Venus. Followed by a definite sense of panic as tr Neptune starts to conjunct his Mars from June 2026 through 2027. There are indication of a changes of career direction after mid 2026 as tr Uranus starts to move across his Midheaven which is not always a negative. But that coincides with a creeping sense of failure and discouragement with his confidence taking a dent into 2027.

 The Reform Party, 23 November 2018, will be on a roller coaster ahead as tr Uranus opposes the Sun Jupiter and then squares the Mars through 2026 – maybe some luck but more likely over confidence causing problems. 2027 looks like a flop.

Graham Linehan, the Irish comedian, arrested by five armed police over an offensive tweet as he returned to the UK to face court charges over an altercation with a teenage transgender activist, has admitted that being embroiled in the debate over transgender issues had “consumed his life”. It has lost him work, made him financially destitute, ended his marriage and has now landed him in the centre of US accusations that the UK is banning free speech.

  What strikes me as curious about the whole scenario is how he has allowed himself to get dragged into the centre of the toxic boiling lava of arguments that have characterised this issue. He claims that transgender activists have been serially abusive to him on social media – and in the case of the teenager involved in the altercation irritatingly in his face with their phone. But getting into confrontations with ranters and ravers only feeds their twisted psychology. He seems to have persuaded himself that he is on ‘holy’ mission which was sparked by objections to a 2013 Father Ted episode featuring a transphobic character. That was when tr Neptune was just into Pisces squaring his Gemini Sun.

 There are two key factors in his chart – one is a deeply buried, stubborn and can-be obsessive 8^th house Mercury in Gemini square Pluto. Mercury square Pluto can become dogmatic and opinionated. Sakoian & Acker remark: Does not mince words. Tells it like it is regardless of how others react. ‘For this reason they must often remain silent to avoid creating controversy. There can also be a desire to shape the ideas of others to conform to their point of view.’ A characteristically strong willpower may be misapplied or used for disruptive purposes – can be destructive.’

  The other is his Saturn in Aries conjunct Aries North Node on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto Uranus sextile Neptune which requires maturity and self-discipline to get the best out of it otherwise it can be self-defeating.

 His Chiron in Aries hints at problems with identity as if deep down he fears he might not exist and so perhaps develops a pseudo-identity and an identification with the ‘Wounded Healer’.

  In 2013 when it all started for him his Solar Arc North Node was conjunct his Sun with SA Saturn having hit his Sun slightly earlier – so his yod hit his Sun and that indicates a significant life crossroads which dragged him into the centre of the culture wars that followed.

 It is not that I don’t think he is on the right side of this argument but he is so over-the-top about it with no tactical sense about how to handle the argument/opposition that there are question marks.

 His Jupiter in Leo is conjunct Alphard = strong passions, favorable for gain, liable to disgrace, legal trouble and judicial sentence. Negatively, this conjunction brings to its natives the possibility of wrong advice, wrong attachments and there is the possibility of disgraceful actions. Legal involvement. The legal involvement might be of such a nature as to bring a judicial sentence to the native. There will be a general lack of self control, not readily apparent. (Astrology King)

   He does have a Jupiterian high up and coming with tr Uranus square his Jupiter January to mid March next year though there is a dollop of muddled, panicky Neptune at the same time.

The Duchess of Kent, a radiantly beautiful, gentle and unassuming member of the Royal Family has died aged 92.

Married to the Duke of Kent she came from a wealthy landowning family which raised a few eyebrows about her lack of Royal blood and went on to have three children. She had a fourth pregnancy aborted after a bad bout of measles and a fifth miscarried sending her into a deep depression. She was a welcome fixture for many years at Wimbledon and had strong associations with the world of music. In her later years, after she stepped down from Royal duties she became a music teacher at a primary school and founded the charity Future Talent to nurture young musical talent in low-income families. She also converted to Roman Catholicism.

 Born 22 February 1933 in York, England, she was a Sun Pisces conjunct North Node opposition Neptune in Virgo; with Mercury also in Pisces opposition Neptune, Mars Jupiter in Virgo. 1933 was a year which produced several notable creative types.  She also had a cool, emotionally-damped down Saturn in Aquarius conjunct Venus and possibly her Aquarius Moon; with her Pluto in a confident sextile to Jupiter and a freedom-loving square to Uranus.

  The Duke of Kent, 9 October 1935 2.05 am London, was cousin to Queen Elizabeth 11. His father, a brother of King George VI, was bisexual and had an affair with Noel Coward. He contracted a marriage to Princess Marina of Greece, and died in a plane crash over Scotland enroute to Iceland on 25 August 1942 during his active WWII service.

  Katherine, Duchess of Kent, was the first commoner to marry into the Royal Family for more than a century which became a matter of contention for her ‘impossibly imperious, improbably grand’ mother-in-law, who subjected her daughter-in-law to ‘remorseless scrutiny’ over her abilities, according to a biographer.  

  Princess Marina, 13 December 1906 Athens, like her son had Saturn in Pisces which would damp the young Duchess’s confidence. Worse she had a ruthless Pluto trine Mars – and a Scorpio Moon, The young Duchess’s chart had Saturn inconjunct Neptune which was pulled into a yod by the Jupiter Neptune in Cancer of Marina’s chart – fated to be tied together for good or ill. And with their relationship chart having a toxic, hostile, dominating composite Pluto opposition Venus square Mars it would be an exceptionally loaded relationship. The mother-in-law from hell.

  The marriage itself by all accounts itself was not always easy though his Venus Neptune in Virgo and Libra Sun all in her 4^th would help – and it mellowed in their latter years. Their relationship chart had a tough composite yod of Sun sextile Saturn inconjunct Sun, fated to be together but hardly warm and spontaneous, all duty and less fun; with a passionate Pluto trine Venus; but also an explosive Mars Jupiter opposition Uranus square Pluto; and composite Venus square Saturn and inconjunct Uranus – all of which adds up to a relationship weighted down by too much control, creating an undercurrent of significant turmoil and unhappiness.

Lovely lady, difficult life.

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Rayner resigns. David Lammy in as deputy prime minister and  justice secretary. Yvette Cooper is the new foreign secretary and Shabana Mahmood becomes home secretary, while Rachel Reeves stays as chancellor.

 This is a speed read.

Lammy, 19 July 1972, London, is a late Sun Cancer with a Scorpio Moon and a flashy and outspoken Mercury Mars in Leo.

 His Pluto in final degree Virgo is catching this month’s Solar Eclipse hinting perhaps at a more powerful position but given that tr Neptune Saturn will oppose his Pluto over the winter it hints at discouraging times ahead. His Jupiter at zero degrees Capricorn is also being undermined by tr Neptune Saturn in square now and into 2026. The next few months do look mired in confusion with greater frustrations in 2026/27.

    His relationship with Starmer equally looks stressed and discontented into and worsening throughout 2026 as they run into considerable setbacks.

 Shabana Mahmood, 17 September 1980,  is a Sun Jupiter Saturn in Virgo square Neptune; and a determined Mars in Scorpio and Uranus in Scorpio square North Node in Leo and Venus.

  The Home Office is a thankless job and no surprises she is running into sinkholes and setbacks in 2026 and worse in 2027. Her Saturn in final degree Virgo is also seriously rattled this month by the eclipse and across the winter by tr Neptune Saturn in opposition.

 Her relationship with Starmer is nerve stretched and high-tension now and through 2026 with tr Uranus opposition the composite Neptune Saturn. And tr Saturn Neptune opposition the composite Pluto.

  Musical chairs at the top won’t make much difference to a government that increasingly looks unable to cope.

Giorgio Armani, the maestro of fashion for both men and women, whose look was classical in its simplicity has died aged 91.  He first made a splash in 1975 with his “unreconstructed” jacket, which dispensed with lining and shoulder pads and was adopted by suave businessmen from Manhattan to Melbourne.

 His collections had a practicality that appealed to a hard-working, prosperous middle class in contrast to the glitter and flamboyance of his competitor Gianni Versace. Armani almost single-handedly established Milan as a serious rival to Paris as the world’s fashion capital. By 2024 he was thought to be worth £10 billion. 

  He was born 11 July 1934 7.20am Piacenza, Italy, with his mother making all her children’s clothes to such a high standard that “we were the envy of all our classmates”. The cinema was their entertainment and many of his designs were influenced by the classic looks of Hollywood stars such as Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Marlene Dietrich. He worked as a window dresser, became a fashion coordinator, and joined  Nino Cerruti’s menswear operation. His US reputation benefitted from the exposure of the film American Gigolo (1980), in which Richard Gere’s modish lothario was clad exclusively in Armani.

‘An intensely private self-confessed loner, who enjoy​ed travelling and art galleries but was “distracted” by music and could only read books pertaining to his trade, Armani lived a life that was uncluttered to the point of minimalism.’ ‘For all his success, Armani retained a sense of melancholy, a shyness that restrained him from wallowing in his critical and financial success and led him to prefer the company of family and close friends to the fashion beau monde.

 He had a New Moon in Cancer (a favourite fashion designer sign) square Jupiter in Libra; with his Sun, Mercury conjunct a 12^th house Pluto in Cancer. His Venus in light-hearted Gemini was in a creative square to Neptune. What gave him the inner grit to push forward such a huge enterprise was Mars in Gemini trine Saturn in Aquarius sextile an innovative Uranus in early Taurus. He was certainly disciplined and could be hard-edged when necessary.

  His Cancer Moon fittingly was conjunct Sirius hinting at success in business, influential friends, good health. His mother’s influence on his creative talents was obviously critical.

Portugal has declared a day of mourning after at least 17 people were killed when a funicular cable railway derailed and hit a building in Lisbon. More than 20 others were injured, many tourists. Local media reports suggest a cable came loose along the railway’s route, causing it to lose control.

  It happened just after 6pm last night with Pluto exactly on the Ascendant ; and a 12^th house Moon opposition Jupiter square Mars in Libra in the international 9th – perhaps a hint of the foreigners involved.

 The Portugal country chart, 25 April 1974 5.15pm Lisbon has an accident-prone Mars Saturn conjunction in Cancer square Pluto which is catching the uncertain, undermining tr Neptune Saturn hard aspects now and right through the next three years. So it may be symbolic of more challenges to come.

  The Portugal chart also has the upcoming 21 September Solar Eclipse conjunct the Ascendant and across the winter tr Neptune Saturn opposition the Ascendant –  which suggests (start time being accurate) that Portugal will be seen in a new and perhaps not altogether flattering light as its image takes significant denting. Plus the Portugal Sun at 5 degrees Taurus is catching the tr Pluto square through 2026 and 2027 which suggests a great deal of pressure for change.

 The previous Lunar Eclipse of March 2025 set for Lisbon has the Virgo Eclipsed Full Moon opposition Neptune hovering across the Descendant/Ascendant axis so pointing to a significant event ahead.

  The crash although minor in the grand scheme of things globally may be a forerunner to existential changes ongoing for Portugal over the next three years.

Peter Sellers credited as the greatest comedian of all time was born 100 years ago. A favourite on the early BBC radio program “The Goon Show“, he had his first film break in I’m All Right Jack (1959). The film’s success led to starring roles in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962) and thence into Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Pink Panther followed with his iconic Inspector Clouseau performance.

 Born 8 September 1925 6am Southsea, England, into an acting family where his grandmother ran an acting company he was spoiled as a child since his elder sibling had died at birth. During his WW11 service in the RAF he met Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine, who would become his future workmates.

  In 1964, he suffered a nearly fatal heart attack after inhaling several amyl nitrites (‘poppers’; an aphrodisiac-halogen combination) when in bed with his second wife Britt Ekland. He made a full recovery but his insecurity and unpredictability made him difficult to work with and by 1970 he had fallen out of favour. Inspector Clouseau came to his rescue with three successful Pink Panther feature films before his quintessential role as Chauncey Gardiner in “Being There“.

  He struggled with depression and mental insecurities throughout his life and often claimed to have no identity outside the roles that he played. His behaviour on and off the set became more compulsive, and he frequently clashed with his directors and co-stars. His physical and mental health, impacted by his alcohol and drug problems put additional strain on his heart. Even after he had a pacemaker implanted he refused to slow his work schedule and he died in 1980 aged 54.

 He married four times and had three children.

  He had 1^st house Sun Mars in Virgo which was part of a talented and confident Half Grand Sextile of Pluto opposition Jupiter in Capricorn in his performing 5^th house sextile/trine Sun Mars and sextile/trine Saturn in intense Scorpio. He also had two yods. One with creative, escapist Neptune in his 12^th sextile a charming Venus in Libra inconjunct a 7^th house Uranus – one reason for his revolving marriages. Uranus on a yod tends to be nervy, rebellious, contrary, a trailblazer in a creative fashion and a disruptor. It was the best and worst of him.

 He had another yod of a Taurus Moon conjunct Algol sextile Uranus inconjunct Venus which again could be seen to have a creative side but would also give him problems in his relationships.

  A fascinating man and like many comedians immensely troubled.