Astrology of Today’s News

 

Greece is looking forward to kickstarting its tourism season by July 1^st. The government acted swiftly at the start of the pandemic and to date they have had only 146 deaths. Tourism accounts for around 25% of Greek GDP and one in five jobs. They are hoping initially to attract visitors from neighbouring countries not reliant solely on aeroplanes. Their economy had only just started to recover from an eight-year financial crisis when the lockdown was imposed.

Much as with Iceland, the country and central bank charts are challenged through till mid-decade but not under anything like the pressure of 2008 to 2015.

The Greece 25 March 1821 5pm chart has undermining dips from tr Neptune square the Midheaven and Moon and conjunct Venus Mars in Pisces this year and next. With a tough patch in 2024 from a deprived Solar Arc Pluto opposition Saturn.

The 24 July 1974 4pm chart is in a state of upheaval this year with tr Pluto square the Uranus; with setbacks from tr Saturn square the Leo Sun. There will be a significant hiccup and block in 2022 from Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the Mars; and a lacklustre, directionless tr Neptune conjunct the midheaven as well.

The central bank chart, 7 December 1927, will be facing some crises over the next eighteen months as the Sagittarius/Gemini Eclipses rattle its Sun Saturn in Sagittarius from mid this year and through 2021. And financial pressures from tr Pluto square the Venus and a bubble-bursting /confidence-denting tr Neptune conjunct Jupiter in 2022/23.

But again nothing like the dead-halt, meltdown, grindingly painful influences they had post 2008 for several years.

 

Iceland is doing better than most with the virus outbreak after decisive action by the authorities imposing a rigorous policy of testing and tracking to find and isolate infected people, even when they had no symptoms. They moved fast at the start and got a grip before other countries. Their tiny population of 360,000 also helped, with just 10 deaths so far.

They will be affected nonetheless because of air travel restrictions, as well as a dip in tourism everywhere. But they are nowhere near as stressed as post the 2008 crash which caused a banking collapse and severe economic depression for several years.

The Iceland 17 June 1944 2pm chart does hint at some disruption and upheavals for the next few years from tr Uranus square the Iceland Pluto into 2021 and then square Mars in 2022. 2021 also has the jolting Solar Arc Sun square Uranus and a run of Neptune squares to the financial Venus, Sun and Saturn between 2021 and mid decade, which latter don’t suggest vigorous growth.

The 1 December 1918 Iceland chart hints that 2022 onwards till 2026 will have their stress points with Uranus squaring the Iceland Uranus opposition Saturn; and a debilitating Solar Arc Neptune square the Uranus and then Saturn. Both charts will be affected by the run of Eclipses, Lunar and Solar picking up from the middle of this year in Gemini/Sagittarius which continue through 2021.

The Bank of Iceland chart, 7 April 1961, is nerve-stretched this year with tr Uranus opposition the Neptune from July on and off for a year thereafter; plus a financially stressed tr Pluto square the Venus.

So much of a pattern with other countries indicating economic pain until mid decade. But none of the Iceland charts are anywhere near as challenged as they were in the devastating years after the collapse of 2008. So not great but not calamitous.

Trump’s never-ending supply of ‘Comical Ali’ press spokespersons has thrown up another doozy in “I will never lie to you” Kayleigh McEnany. She does appear marginally more experienced with a background in CNN and Fox than previous incumbents of the post – Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders – but her support of the anti-Obama birther nonsense and her flat denial that CV19 would ever come to the USA don’t give much hope that she’ll deviate from the true believer MAGA line.

Born 18 April 1988 in Tampa, Florida, she has media experience as well as a Harvard law degree. She’s a late Sun Mercury in Aries with a Taurus/Gemini Moon. But what dominates her chart are two other planetary aspects. One is the generational Uranus, Saturn, Neptune in Capricorn which can be tinged with genius or plain chaotic.  Her Sun Mercury are trine Uranus Saturn so she will be innovative and also autocratic. The other is a super-determined, pushily confident Jupiter in Taurus opposition Pluto square an ornery Mars in Aquarius. A Fixed sign focal point Mars is headstrong, with single-minded persistence, a bulldozer who lets little stand in her way. It does give her guts and ability but she will be inordinately stubborn.

If her birth time is morning, then it’ll put her Taurus Moon on Trump’s midheaven which would make sense, though there will be raggedy edges since her monumentally obstinate T square impacts on his Pluto.

The relationship chart has a slippery composite Sun opposition Neptune and trine Pluto – which could suggest joint megalomaniac ambitions, as well as the potential for scandal. The composite Neptune is conjunct Mars which allows for only one ego, so will require her to grit her teeth and play nice for the sake of advancement. It’s a power-hungry combination if they manage not to fall out. But with a composite Uranus opposition Pluto they will, as a pair, move through constantly changing times which could upset the applecart.

Her year ahead will have great highs and several major dips with tr Uranus shaking up first her Mars and then Jupiter in May/June and on into more major disruptions in 2021 as tr Uranus opposes her Pluto. She doesn’t budge easy not even with Uranus lighting storms under her feet.

The sexual abuse allegations against Joe Biden have put the Democrats, in particular senior political women and commentators, in a double bind. Biden although regarded as handsy and not always god at respecting personal space was/is deemed one of the better guys and the only credible candidate against Trump. In the midst of the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court controversy Biden said of Christine Blasey Ford: “For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real.”

There is some corroboration for Alexandra Tara Reade’s abuse allegations of 27 years back when working in Biden’s office from family members, as well as considerable doubt being thrown on her credibility from elsewhere – which latter is always typical of these kinds of situations. She appears to have been wildly pro-Biden in tweets until two years back and against Putin; she then reversed her position and started to praise the Russian president.

Biden, 20 November 1942 8.32am Scranton, PA (from memory), has a tactile Taurus Moon, which in my experience tend to be hands-on, not necessarily in a sexual sense, they just like physical contact. He’s also got a can-be highly sexual and seductive Sun Venus Mercury in Scorpio hidden in his 12^th house; and a super-determined, can-be-dominating Mars in Scorpio square Pluto, which is arguably not sensitive to the nuances of others’ wishes. His Moon is in an intense square to Pluto and inconjunct a 10^th house Neptune so he is emotionally highly charged and not always aware of boundaries from Neptune.

He looks demoralised at the moment with tr Saturn square his Moon now till mid-June and tr Saturn at the same time square his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint which brings inhibitions, confidence dents and blocks to progress. Though the virus lockdown will also play its part in these influences. His Solar Arc Midheaven (birth time being accurate) is moving to oppose his Saturn through this year which will either bring career setbacks or heavier responsibilities. From mid August to late November he has tr Pluto square his Mars/Neptune midpoint which is low energy, not successful; with the equally lacklustre tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Jupiter midpoint early October to late January 2021.

He’ll bounce up from late January 2021 with tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter- so if events push the election back which doesn’t seem too likely then it would suit his chances.

His wife Jill, 3 June 1951, a Sun Mars in Gemini sextile a pro-active Jupiter in Aries on one side and sextile Pluto on the other; and trine Neptune is a not inconsiderable personality in her own right. She’s looking upbeat and raring to go from late May onwards, into spring 2021.

A birth date has appeared for Alexandra Tara Reade of 26 February 1964 from the below website which has additional info, though how accurate it is I wouldn’t know, so handle at arm’s length until corroborated by more reliable sources.

If true it makes her a Sun Mars in Pisces opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo so volatile, erratic, inclined to react strongly. That opposition squares onto Biden’s Saturn Uranus Descendant in Gemini and Sagittarius Ascendant, so not a harmonious mix and one which could impact on his image. She has a can-be-neurotic Neptune square Saturn Mercury in Aquarius which does not mesh well with his Scorpio planets.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1255827163196071936.html

 

Uranus, the  god of lightning, 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 castrated by his son Saturn after expressing disgust about 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: Every year it entered a new sign 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 in 1859 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 cycles later in 1974 as Uranus moved 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 moving through Gemini as will happen from 2025 to 2032 is likely to have a noticeable impact on the USA since previous occasions coincided with the American Civil War during the 1860s; and the American Revolution in 1775/76; and the previous one to this in 1942/43 came on the back of Pearl Harbour and the USA moving into World War 11.

To look on the bright side there will be technology advances of a dramatic variety as well as iconic books/films/music performers to keep us entertained.

For detail on URANUS IN TAURUS where we are now till 2025 see previous post MAY 13 2018.

 

Boris and Carrie’s baby has been named Wilfred in honour of Boris’s half Turkish paternal grandfather (who changed his name after settling in England). He was born at 9am according to an Instagram post which is later than the initial ‘early morning’ that was first indicated. Assuming it is there or thereabouts it gives him a Cancer Ascendant to match Boris’s Cancer Midheaven. An outer identity forever linked to his father’s career.

His home-loving Cancer Moon in the 1^st opposes Pluto Jupiter in the 7^th and trines a 10^th house Neptune. This suggests a healing/helpful career where he wants to be of service as well as a power-packed presence on the social scene. His rebellious, reforming Sun, Uranus, Mercury in Taurus are in the 11^th house of friends and the wider society, suggesting an inclination towards maverick best buddies but also a focus on bringing in innovations for his community. He’ll be every bit as vocal as Boris with his Mars in airy and contrary Aquarius in the 9^th and will want his opinions to be heard.

An 8^th house Saturn will make him defensive about intimacy, though will also bring a talent for handling other people’s money.

He’ll find career and pet causes easier to handle than his emotional life with a hidden 12^th house Venus in an idealistic but uncommitted square to Neptune, which also trines his Moon and in turn his Moon is inconjunct Mars and as well as tying in to Pluto Jupiter, which latter will attract him to  high-octane partners and relationships.

Liz Greene remarked about Neptune in the 10^th that it represents a child who has to mirror back to the mother who she is, rather than the other way round, so can lack of a strong sense of self. Or at least the identity is tied up with giving, first to mother and then to others in a supportive career. There can also be difficulties in setting boundaries with a Neptunian mother.

Carrie Symonds is quite elusive with a Sun Moon in Pisces and a chaotic, unpredictable collection of Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus in Capricorn. The Neptune cross overs between her and mini Wilfred are marked.

Boris’s workaholic Saturn in Pisces is conjunct the baby’s Midheaven; and his focal point Mars in Gemini is trine the baby’s 8^th house Saturn with his Scorpio Moon square the baby’s Saturn so there will be gritty moments and some emotional disjunction. Boris’s erratic and changeable Uranus Pluto is conjunct the baby’s IC so he won’t be experienced as a stable element in life. But Boris’s Jupiter in Taurus will jolly the relationship along and the baby’s Venus in Gemini will match his Sun Venus.

 

“The USA will be into the thick of rancorous and aggravated debates in 2020 as Pluto starts to oppose the USA Mercury opposition Pluto from late February onwards, on and off till late 2021.” See previous post December 26 2019.

This being America, guns were guaranteed to appear to back up toxic arguments and hate rhetoric. Armed protesters railing against Michigan’s coronavirus lockdown have been rallying in the Lansing capitol building. The state has been hard hit with 3,788 deaths and Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a favourite Trump target, has extended a stay-at-home mandate until 15 May.

The fanatical Mercury opposition Pluto in the USA 1776 chart is malignant when triggered. When tr Uranus was in hard aspect, it spawned Mcarthyism and Watergate. The Saturn Pluto conjunction this year and over the election will collide with it. Previous times of tr Pluto in hard aspect to the USA Pluto Mercury saw bitter anti-slavery fights under a Democratic President, 1845 to 1851; the Great Depression, 1933 to 1938, Roosevelt’s New Deal and J. Edgar Hoover in the FBI; Reagan was elected on tr Pluto square the USA Mercury in 1981 and during his term, there were swingeing tax cuts leading to a soaring budget deficit and high unemployment, a recession and his attempted assassination.

For all the rancour and talk of an impending USA Second Civil War, the astro-indicators are not there. The 1861 Civil War showed up most clearly on the USA First President chart, 30 April 1789 12.45pm New York. Tr Pluto was then conjunct the Taurus Sun which is a classic signature for a nation at war with itself; with Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct Uranus and Solar Arc Saturn opposition the Scorpio North Node. This time round tr Uranus will conjunct the Taurus Sun from this July onwards, on and off, into early 2022 so it will be a turbulent patch similar to May 1937 to March 1938, which oversaw a recession, but unlikely to lead to a complete internal rupture.

That apart, this year the First President chart is uncertain and confused with tr Neptune conjunct the Saturn, picking up exactly now and extending through 2021; and is discouraged and aggravated with tr Pluto Saturn in hard aspect to the Mercury and Jupiter through till late 2021 as well.

The USA 1776 chart was on its Uranus Return for the 1861 American Civil War and that aspect isn’t due again till 2028.   When coincidentally tr Pluto then in Aquarius is in hard aspect to the First President chart’s Taurus Sun with tr Saturn in Taurus conjunct the Sun. So that may be a riskier phase though events rarely repeat exactly the same. And the previous tr Pluto hard aspect to the First President Sun when in Scorpio in 1988 didn’t produce armed rebellion, though the Iran-Contra affair did diminish Reagan’s standing.

The USA 1776 chart in 1861 also had, on an 11 am start time, tr Neptune conjunct the Descendant and square the Midheaven when civil war broke out.

At the moment, assuming an 11am start time for this 1776 chart, there are indications of a shocked and angry populace from Solar Arc Mars is conjunct the Aquarius Moon which makes sense of the present mood with tempers and neurosis running high and likely to continue through next year.

See also previous post October 29 2018 – Steve Bannon predicts civil war.

 

Model Gigi Hadid is expecting a baby with her on-off boyfriend singer Zayn Malik. They’ve had several splits over four years but have now come together to welcome a happy event later in the year.

Her chart is looking super-emotional and delighted with a Progressed Venus conjunct her Taurus Sun exactly now to within a minute of a degree. She was born 23 April 1995 at 6.28am Los Angeles and has her Taurus Sun, North Node and Mercury straddling her Ascendant giving her an upfront, exuberant personality. She has the inspired and unpredictable Neptune Uranus conjunction in her 10^th conjunct her Midheaven. Her mischievous Aquarius Moon is opposition a flamboyant Mars in Leo, which will make her short-fused at home.

Zayn Malik, 12 January 1993, Bradford, England, is a tumultuous, highly-strung Sun, Neptune, Uranus, Mercury in Capricorn in a volatile opposition to Mars in excitable Cancer. His Virgo Moon opposes Venus, is sextile Mars and trines Mercury, Uranus, Neptune and Sun so he’s emotionally changeable.

It’s an odd combination with her Saturn in Pisces opposition his Virgo Moon; and his Saturn conjunct her Aquarius Moon and opposition her Mars.

Their relationship chart does have a wide-ish affectionate conjunction of Sun and Venus which is trine Jupiter – all of which will bring mutual support and smooth rough edges. But the Moon squares Saturn and is trine Mars suggesting too much work or defensive and impatience blocks will get in the way of nurturing. The Moon is what is going to prove problematic for them.

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Neptune, god of the oceans and tempests, a channel for spiritual enlightenment, creativity and compassion or entrenched delusion and dishonesty. A shape-shifter, it feigns weakness and timidity when in reality it has a ferocious streak which oversees wars, epidemics, disasters and lies of significant magnitude.

One example is the recent upsurge in anti-vaxxers which was triggered in 1998 exactly at the time when Neptune moved into Aquarius. Aquarius the sign of science plus Neptune the sign of duplicity is not a good combination. It started from the now-disgraced medic UK Andrew Wakefield’s Lancet article in 1998 suggesting a link between the measles vaccine and autism. That was later characterised as “the most damaging medical hoax of the 20th Century.” And also called ‘a disinformation bomb.’ It has led to a sharp drop in vaccination rates and the resurgence of measles in several countries. Wakefield, himself (no birth date sadly) was born in 1957 when Neptune was again on a cuspal year moving into Scorpio.

The majority of prominent anti-vaxxer’s charts have strong/afflicted Neptunes. Robert F Kennedy Jnr has Sun Mercury opposition Uranus square Neptune; Jamel Holley has Saturn Sun Mercury square Neptune; William Tebb, an early anti-vaxxer had Sun Mercury square Neptune. Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey have strong Mercury Neptune hard aspects.

Religious groups (Neptunian) as well as populist rabble rousers have been prominent in many anti-vaccination campaigns leading to a surge in polio cases in Pakistan, Nigeria, Italy and the Philippines with HPV-vaccine resistance in Japan.

Another example of a Neptune Ingress would be the phenomenon of yellow journalism = exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism = popularised by William Randolph Hearst in the 1890s who made his first foray into the newspaper business a few years earlier as Neptune moved into Gemini, which is an apt description for a truth-twisting business, especially as it was then amplified by corrupt Pluto.

Not quite in the same category but interesting, the birth of the psychoanalytic movement came as Neptune moved into Cancer in 1902 and Sigmund Freud started to hold weekly professional meeting with other interested doctors. It burgeoned into one of the most influential movements of the 20^th Century, extending out into the arts as well as healing. The first barbiturate was also produced. Neptune spreads ideas for good or ill; and in this case arguably undermined the family (Cancer) by focussing on individualism.

It got me pondering about the years of Neptune’s shiftover into a new sign, as will happen in 2025 into Aries. Every time Neptune has moved into a new sign over the past 150 years there were events of considerable magnitude,  in the early stages. in addition to the above.

1861 Neptune into Aries coincided with the American Civil War.

1914 into Leo for World War 1. Plus Charlie Chaplin’s first film; and another narcotic analgesic developed.

1929 into Virgo for the end of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. First colour television demos and first BBC TV transmission.

1942/42 into Libra during World War 11 when the Holocaust got under way.

1957 into Scorpio when Sputnik 1 became the first satellite to orbit the earth. H2N2 flu killed 1 million globally (Saturn was square Pluto then as well).

1970 into Sagittarius when the first Earth Day was celebrated for environmental protection.

1984 into Capricorn when the Ethiopian famine killed 1 million, triggering BandAid/Bob Geldof and a global charitable effort.

1998 into Aquarius for the Kosovo War start, and the 2^nd Congo War which killed 5.4 million, the bloodiest conflict since WW11. The Good Friday Agreement brought peace to Northern Ireland. European Central Bank switch over to euro currency.

2011 into Pisces for the Arab Spring, Bin Laden killed, Kim Jong Il dies. Stock Exchange slide with European Sovereign Debt and USA financial crisis. Occupy Wall Street protests.

Not quite what you might expect from Neptune but there are common themes in the changeover years.

When Neptune was first discovered on 23 September 1846 there was an exact and extraordinarily powerful and brutal Yod of Pluto in Aries sextile Neptune Saturn in Aquarius inconjunct Mars, giving a hint of its attributes.

See previous post August 27 2019 for Neptune in Aries.

Do pitch in with any additional thoughts and I’ll add to the text as it goes.