Astrology of Today’s News

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Pluto is the god of the underworld, wealth and criminality, a cleaner-outer of sewers and harbinger of slow, grinding transformation, symbolised by the phoenix who only arises after all is reduced to ashes. Slowly nearing the end of fifteen years in Capricorn, it will dip a toe into Aquarius in late March 2023 and hovers around the cusp through the year, retrograding back into Capricorn, before moving forward in January 2024 for a twenty-year stay.

Pluto’s modus operandi is to pull down old structures, not explosively like Uranus, but by exerting great pressure and stress-testing to show up flaws. What is no longer functional, is broken down and dilapidated needs to go. Pluto doesn’t do pitch and patch, baling twine fixes.  It insists on getting right down to the foundations to conduct a major overhaul, complete clear out and then a rebuild that can stand the test of time ahead.  Aquarius is a sign that fosters ideas and learning. It can be humanitarian but also can on occasion have an ideologue’s  failing of stubborn adherence to dogma and ‘ideals’ without considering feelings. The French Revolution was a Pluto in Aquarius movement, which swept away the old corrupt aristocracy and lauded liberty, equality and fraternity. But it was a bloody, vengeful affair which ended up, during the 25 years of Pluto in Aquarius, with the dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte.

What is curious, looking back at the sign changeover years back to the 1770s, is that Neptune has a much clearer pattern of significant events when it shifted sign. See previous post 29 April 2020 below. Which isn’t to say Pluto doesn’t have a massive impact but it doesn’t leap out in quite the same way, with the exception of 2008 when it moved into Capricorn and the financial world crashed and one or two others.

The rise and fall of empires or power figures is one Plutonic theme with Catherine the Great taking over the reins of control as Pluto moved into Capricorn in 1762 and dying two cycles later as Pluto was about to exit Aquarius; and Napoleon Bonaparte fighting his way towards becoming Emperor as it moved into Pisces. The Manchu Qing Dynasty in China which started on a Pluto in Gemini finished 268 years later on the dying days of the next Pluto in Gemini as the Republic of China was established in 1912.

There were rebellions aplenty and revolutionary independence wars through two centuries on Pluto changeovers – in America, various South American countries, France China, Spain, Hungary. Irish history, not surprisingly, has shown periods of turbulence when Pluto shifts sign.

Computers also flag up as early Pluto events, from Charles Babbage’s early Difference Engine as Pluto moved into Aries in 1822; up to modern day first Mac computer in 1984 as Pluto moved into Scorpio, and TED was also founded then.

As with Neptune, many iconic books and films were launched as Pluto sashayed into a new milieu.

1851 into Taurus the New York Times and Reuters were founded. Moby Dick and Uncle Tom’s Cabin were published.

1892 into Gemini Sherlock Holmes collection was published.

1912 into Cancer Tarzan of the Apes hit the public via a pulp magazine

1937 into Leo Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not. The Dandy comics and Detective comics launched. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

1957 into Virgo had a bumper crop perhaps Neptune also shifted sign that year into Scorpio. Wizard of Oz. Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Dr Seuss The Cat in the Hat. Perry Mason. West Side Story.

1971 into Libra The Godfather and Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex. Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida.

1983 into Scorpio A Christmas Story. Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

See also post August 24 2019 for previous Pluto in Aquarius events.

The Justice Department has abandoned its prosecution of Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, one of the most prominent cases brought by Robert Mueller. Flynn confessed and pleaded guilty until William Barr was appointed as Attorney General at which point he changed lawyers and plea.

The FT remarks “Dropping the Flynn case turns Bill Barr into Donald Trump’s political sword. Pardoning cronies is offensive but precedented. Using DoJ to go after enemies is Nixonian.” Edward Luce added that Barr’s role appears to be more akin to Thomas Hagen, the family lawyer to the Corleones in The Godfather movies.

A Protect democracy spokesman said: “It is a small step from using the law as a shield to protect the president to using it as a sword to go after his political opponents. Everyone at the DoJ should resist these efforts, blow the whistle where appropriate, and resign, if necessary, to uphold their oath to our constitution.” Trump has already referred to the FBI investigators as having committed “treason” and as “human scum”.

Barr’s relationship with Robert Mueller, supposedly close in bygone years but damaged by Barr’s deliberate misinterpretation of the Mueller Report when it was still under wraps, is now into freefall. Their relationship chart has a volatile Mars square Uranus Venus which tr Neptune is now pulling apart in opposition to Mars, starting exactly now, and that downhill slide will extend on through 2021. The Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse this June and in particular the December Sagittarius Solar Eclipse will threaten to blow up their connection altogether. There’s also a jolting tr Uranus square the composite Saturn through this June, and this October, which might give one hope that Mueller could find himself a backbone and speak out. Good men not speaking out are becoming a national shame in the USA.

Barr’s swearing in chart (no verified time) does have tr Neptune square the Jupiter exactly now which often indicates ‘false happiness’ or over confidence, which down the road turns into disappointment; with major glitches mid June to mid July and again in December.

His personal chart will be badly afflicted from late August to late November with tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Saturn and more so from early October to late January 2021 with the catastrophic tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Saturn midpoint.

See previous post January 17 2020 on Barr.

‘William Barr, Trump’s Attorney General, written off by Nancy Pelosi as “rogue”, a proven liar and obfuscator over the Mueller Report and the FBI and now implicated in the Ukraine dirty dealings leading to impeachment, appears to be a fundamentalist Christian as well.’

Vietnam with a population of 96 million has, so far, managed to crush the coronavirus with no deaths recorded, having taken early measures to stop flights, lockdown the population, set up military-style quarantine camps and it has the highest test-per-confirmed-case ratio of any country in the world.

There are concerns about a second virus wave but the greatest worry ahead is economic for a trade and tourism-reliant country.

Modern Vietnam came into being on 2 July 1976 8.30 am Ha-noi, when north and south were merged after the end of the war. This year there is, exactly now, a dead-halt Solar Arc Mars opposition Pluto, as many have been thrown out of work and poverty increased. There’s also a confused tr Pluto conjunct the Solar Arc Neptune and a few jolts from tr Uranus hitting on the Vietnam Saturn square Uranus during the lockdown. But on the upside there’s an upbeat tr Pluto trine the Jupiter in Taurus till late year so confidence will stay high. Ahead the Solar Arc Pluto will oppose the Jupiter along with a Solar Arc Mars square Sun in 18 months’ time so there’ll be a major push for success which could overshoot the mark and backfire. Perhaps overly aggressive state control.

The Bank of Vietnam chart, 6 May 1951, will feel the impact of the economically unstable tr Uranus in Taurus square tr Saturn in Aquarius in 2021 and on as tr Uranus is conjunct first the Bank’s Taurus Sun in 2021 and then moves on to conjunct the Mars and square Pluto up to 2023. That will be a very rocky ride. At the same time there is a disappointing Solar Arc Neptune square the financial Venus in 2021 and then square the Saturn in 2022; plus a highly uncertain and panicky tr Neptune opposition the Saturn in 2022/23.

So much like elsewhere the economic pain will start to bite from 2021 and on for several years. But having survived through the devastating war years the Vietnamese are tougher than most.

Australia is gradually lifting restrictions with virus cases dwindling and to date only 97 deaths recorded. Economic measures taken so far are, like everywhere else, historically large in scope to support the workforce; and there are worries ahead about the essential trading relationship with China as well as the negative impact for an export-heavy economy from a global recession.

The Australia 1 January 1901 1.35pm chart indicates a bumpy two years in 2020/21 with tr Uranus trine their Saturn, Sun and Mars, though the real headaches are likely to come from 2022 onwards as tr Neptune will move onto a financial bubble-bursting square to the AU Jupiter; and tr Uranus will form a voter-upsetting conjunction to the Taurus Moon in 2023. Tr Pluto will also move to cross the Midheaven in 2023 or 24 depending on the start time of the chart, which will involve either a loss of reputation or the start of a long search for a different strategy ahead.

The Bank of Australia chart, 14 January 1960, is stressed and nerve-jangled this year with tr Pluto conjunct the Capricorn Sun and tr Uranus opposition Neptune and trine Pluto and Saturn. The Bank’s enthusiasm and confidence will be dented in 2021 with tr Neptune square their Jupiter and a jolting Solar Arc Uranus square the Sun at the same time. 2022 to 2026 look extremely challenging, not to say devastating years with a run of difficult aspects – major confusion and meltdown from Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Neptune in 2022, panicky failure from tr Neptune square Mars in 2024/5; dead-halt with Solar Arc Mars opposition Pluto in 2025 and shocks from Solar Arc Sun square Mars in 2026.

The changeover of the signs through the middle years of this decade – Pluto into Aquarius, Neptune into Aries and Uranus into Gemini – will have a major impact and shift the country’s trajectory.

Australia survived the 2008 crash better than most though the global recession after did bite, but they are a resilient country with better reserves going into this crisis than most.

Karl Marx, described as one of the most influential figures in human history, both lauded and criticised, was born on 5 May 1818 2am in Trier, Germany into a middle class, non-religious, liberally inclined Jewish family. Marx’s political writings forced him into exile in London as a stateless person, where, in collaboration with Friederich Engels, he wrote The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. Their writings had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history.

He married and had seven children, only three of whom survived to adulthood. He himself was plagued by health problems – a liver ailment aggravated by overwork, bad diet and lack of sleep, inflammation of the eyes induced by too much work at night; and eruption of carbuncles or boils exacerbated by alcohol, tobacco, poor diet and failure to sleep.

He had a New Moon Taurus in his financial 2^nd house, ironic given his perpetual shortage of money. His New Moon was in a confident and lucky trine to Jupiter in capitalist Capricorn, sextiling onto Saturn in Pisces. His Mars in excitable Cancer was in a frustrated and angry trine to Pluto, sextiling onto Venus in Taurus; and his Pluto was square a 10^th house reforming, revolutionary Uranus and an idealistic Neptune. His Saturn was also in a can-be autocratic square to Uranus. His Saturn Pluto conjunction would give him a depressive streak and his Uranus Neptune is tinged with genius but also highly-strung.

It’s a powerful, talented chart but he didn’t have a happy or an easy temperament.

His leaving-a-legacy-for history 17^th Harmonic is, not surprisingly, immensely strong with a Cardinal Grand Cross of Sun opposition Neptune square Saturn opposition Pluto, North Node; and Mars opposition Venus square Midheaven. His 22H is also marked which is usual for someone who made a global impact – with a ruthless Pluto Mars opposition Neptune square Venus Moon.

He wrote The Communist Manifesto with Engels in 1848, the year of ‘European Revolutions’ when Uranus and Pluto were together in Aries with Saturn catching up fast in late Pisces.

Friederich Engels was born 28 November 1820 9pm Barmen (Wuppertal) Germany, heir to a prosperous textile business, whose revolutionary tendencies disappointed his family. He was an unlikely communist sympathiser being ‘a great lover of the good life, passionate advocate of individuality, and enthusiastic believer in literature, culture, art and music.’

He had an extraordinarily Mutable chart with his Sun, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune spread out through Sagittarius with Jupiter North Node and Pluto in Pisces and a Virgo Moon. Four of his Sagittarius planets sitting in his fun-loving, sociable 5^th house would make him a bon viveur. Jupiter in the 8^th, blessed with money from previous generations.

Pluto in his 8^th gave him the capacity for great influence – in square to Neptune with megalomaniac ambitions, square Uranus of a revolutionary nature; and in square to Mars a ruthless streak; square to Mercury dogmatic in arguments. Saturn in Aries in the 9^th – self-righteous, strongly held opinions and beliefs.

There were good cross overs for joint ambitious projects with Marx’s New Moon in Taurus falling in his career 10^th; and his Sagittarius planets falling in Marx’s 10^th with the exception of his Sagittarius Sun which was conjunct Marx’s Midheaven from the philosophical 9^th. It wouldn’t always be the easiest of relationships since his Mars was in a sparky conjunction to Marx’s Uranus but they would spark off each other.

The tr Uranus Pluto conjunction in Aries of the European Year of Revolutions in 1848 when he and Marx started to publish fell in his 10^th house.

His creative and can-be-dominating 5^th Harmonic was strongly marked with a hard-edged (and cruel) Mars Saturn – 5th harmonic types want to remake the world according to their writ. His leaving-a-legacy 17H was also heavily aspected, innovative and ruthless.

Although some scholars have attempted to exonerate them from blame for the state crimes of the communist regimes which followed, others have said the destructive consequences were implicit in their centralising theories.

A German court has set a bomb under the EU legal order by questioning the European Central Bank’s 2015 programme to buy sovereign bonds. The judges gave German institutions three months’ notice after which if the ECB has not complied with their doctrine, the Bundesbank and other German entities are banned from participating in the quantitative easing programme. It appeared to have taken it upon itself to the role of interpreting this area of EU law; which would pave the way for other national constitutional courts to challenge the European legal order and the European Court of Justice in other areas. There are already disputes with Hungary and Poland about the implementation of European law.

All very arcane and legalistic and the economics are beyond me but Germany has always, along with the Netherlands, been the sticking point for any bale out for Italy, Spain, Greece etc – which argument will come to a head sooner rather than later.

The Germany/EU relationship chart does have tr Uranus conjunct the financial 8^th house Taurus Moon exactly now, and repeating into early 2021. So the Karlsruhe ruling has hit home. And the upcoming December Solar Eclipse will be conjunct the composite Saturn for a battle of wills over differing definitions of the rules and responsibilities involved in the joint project. Into 2021 through till late 2022 tr Pluto will conjunct the composite Neptune for continuing confusion, disappointment, even devastation. So the relationship is not likely to improve over the immediate future.

Germany itself will be undergoing massive changes over the next several years with tr Pluto opposition their 10^th house Uranus in 2021/22; and the erratic and unpredictable tr Uranus moving through their financial 8^th house starting two months back and extending on for several years. Tr Uranus conjunct their 8^th house controlling Pluto in 2022/23 will be particularly disruptive. And even before then, this June’s Cancer Solar Eclipse will oppose the Germany Saturn and square Mars which is likely to reap an unhappy whirlwind in the months following.

And the EU won’t have its economic troubles to seek either with tr Uranus also now into their 8^th house and aiming to conjunct the 8^th house Moon and square Uranus from this July onwards – so the financial heat will be rising.

50 years ago what were regarded as state sanctioned killings of four students at Kent State University rattled the USA right up to the White House. The students were protesting Nixon’s surreptitious expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos and there had been damage to property by fringe activists in the days before. The Republican governor described the protestors as ‘brownshirts’ or communists and called in the National Guard, who for reasons that were never explained opened fire on unarmed students who had no idea the guns were loaded.

Nixon did reverse out of Cambodia six weeks later, Congress later curbed a president’s right to make war without oversight, and the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. So there were a few positives born out of a national shock and shame. It brought to an end a decade that started in hope with JFK, aspired to improve civil rights and ban unjust wars, and ended in a conservative backlash. The Republican governor was re-elected for another two terms.

It happened on 4 May 1970 at 12.24pm, Kent, Ohio when there was a Sun Saturn conjunction in Taurus and a passionate and excitable Venus Mars in Gemini trine Uranus. The chart itself isn’t too interesting though the previous Solar Eclipse located to Kent is. It had the Psices New Moon exactly on the Midheaven, making it a critical location; with an emotionally intense Venus opposition Pluto; and an equally excitable and unstable Jupiter opposition Saturn Mars in Taurus – Saturn Mars being associated traditionally with the military and assassinations. The previous Lunar Eclipse had Mars in Aries conjunct the IC (and square the USA 1776 Pluto opposition Mercury). Planets on the axis in eclipse charts indicates these are crisis regions.

The USA 1776 chart at the time significantly had its Solar Arc Sun opposition the USA Mercury tugging on that fanatical, power-hungry Mercury opposition Pluto which is being sparked up at the moment and for the next three years by tr Pluto in square. The Solar Arc Uranus was exactly opposition the USA Mars for an inflammatory, tinderbox mood.

All countries have their horror moments but the USA does appear to have more than most for what is supposedly a democracy.

Additional thought – the Inauguration chart for January 2021 assuming it isn’t delayed – has a hair-raising Uranus Mars in Taurus square Saturn Jupiter – which might well point to violent protests met with retaliating violence.

New Zealand will keep a closed border policy for a considerable period ahead according to PM Jacinda Ardern. This will hit the tourism industry as well as trade with China – both of which are essential to the economy. The NZ finance minister warned last month that the country is facing an economic shock “a quantum greater” than that of the 2008 crisis, with high unemployment. With a population of around 5 million they have had 20 coronavirus deaths to date and are easing internal restrictions.

New Zealand always was facing an exceptionally tough decade starting on its Uranus Return, followed by a series of heavy, challenging transits right through the 2020s. Tr Pluto moving into the 4^th house this year and staying for many years ahead bringing internal disquiet and strains, will conjunct the NZ Capricorn Sun Mars and square the NZ Pluto from early 2021 to 2024; with the economically destabilising tr Uranus in Taurus square tr Saturn in Aquarius in 2021 hitting on the NZ (Uranus) Saturn. The Solar Arc Saturn will square the Sun in 2021, then Mars in 2023, then oppose Pluto in 2026 bringing a series of setbacks. By which time tr Pluto has moved into Taurus and will form a disruptive (revolutionary) conjunction to the Uranus and move onto a tough-slog conjunction with Saturn up to the end of the decade.

The Bank of New Zealand, 1 August 1934, is stressed this year with tr Uranus square the Sun, tr Pluto square Pluto and a ‘shocking’ Solar Arc Sun opposition Uranus. But isn’t as stressed in the following years as after 2008 or indeed the UK joining the EEC in 1973 when there was economic pain.

The country is earthquake prone so there may be an element of natural disasters ahead. Though the major 2011 and 1931 quakes both occurred when Uranus was in Aries and that has moved on.

The China ‘situation’ will have a serious impact on the country with considerable strain showing on the relationship charts with China 1912 and 1949 right through till after mid-decade.

Jacinda Ardern’s First Term chart, 26 October 2017 11.20am was blessed with a lucky and successful Sun Jupiter Venus in the 10^th. She’s up for re-election on September 19 this year. There’s no birth time for her, 26 July 1980, but she does have a lucky tr Uranus trine her Jupiter in Virgo over the election; as well as (probably) a successful Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct her Pluto; with one less-than-helpful tr Pluto square her Saturn/Uranus midpoint which could be a stumbling block. Her 2021/22 look less than exuberant with tr Neptune undermining her popularity in square to her Venus and in an uncertain opposition to her Saturn; and her Solar Arc Saturn is in a blocking square to her Sun. If she is back in, she’ll have a less progressive second term.

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