Astrology of Today’s News

The Russia Report, much delayed by No 10, highlighted a complacent establishment turning a blind eye to any potential Kremlin interference in recent elections. It pointed out the US intelligence agencies produced a report into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election within two months of the vote. Other European countries, including France and Sweden, had also acted swiftly in 2017 to protect their political systems in response to clear evidence of Russian interference.

In many ways worse, it described a situation where oligarchs had been welcomed to buy into the London property and financial scene, legitimising formerly ‘unexplained’ wealth, following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s. The London laundromat is now too entangled to unpick with an extensive patronage having been built up across the establishment and employing an “industry of enablers” – lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR professionals. Many members of the House of Lords have business links to Russia; and many of the Conservative Party’s top donors are Russians with Kremlin links. Lovely.

The report will be a three-day wonder with not much follow through.  What is astro-intriguing are the charts of recent UK prime ministers, both right and left wing, relocated to Moscow.

Boris has his sociable Sun Venus in Gemini closely conjunct his Descendant there with Jupiter in his 4^th and his slippery Neptune in the 10^th. He’d be lauded and feted there and find the ambience comfortable.

For David Cameron, Moscow puts a successful Jupiter Moon on his Midheaven – definitely a success zone for him. And the same applied to Labour PM of yesteryear Harold Wilson, always deemed by the security services as a risk, because of his Russia connection – he had Jupiter Venus in his career 10^th in Moscow.

Gordon Brown, Labour PM through the years when the ‘golden visa’ programme came in, effectively selling residency to the wealthy, also has Sun, Jupiter, Mars through the 10^th for the Russia capital.   Tony Blair oddly doesn’t have anything similar, despite being around through the late 1990s and 2000s in No 10.

Alex Salmond, formerly SNP leader, who is presently being criticised for his television show on RT, formerly Russia Today, has his Capricorn Sun in the showboating and performing 5^th located to Moscow. The intelligence and security committee report on Russia found “serious distortions in the coverage provided by Russian state-owned international broadcasters such as RT and Sputnik”.

And last but not least Donald Trump transported to Red Square has his super-successful, money-oriented Jupiter/Pluto midpoint on the Midheaven; with a secretive 8^th house Sun, Uranus and a financial 2^nd house Moon – there’s a surprise.

None of which progresses the cause of justice, transparency and decency but in a bizarre way quite fun to see how the astrology plays out.

Mark Rutte, the Netherlands PM, has replaced the UK as head of the EU awkward squad, digging his heels in over the proposed Covid-19 rescue package. He along with the other ‘frugal four’ (Sweden, Denmark, Austria – and Finland) thinks the suggested €750bn ($857bn; £680bn) is too large, should be repayable loans not grants, evoking howls of blackmail from the Italian PM. And he thinks it should be withheld from nations who do not meet certain democratic principles, which has incensed Viktor Orban of Hungary and Poland.

This month was always when the EU was going to face its stiffest test with tr Uranus picking up the conjunction to its 8^th house financial Moon and squaring the 11^th house Uranus for the first time, and repeating into early 2021. All of which adds up to a series of massive jolts – an effective bomb – under EU finances and future plans.

Mark Rutte, 14 February 1967, The Hague, 6.53pm, is a Sun Aquarius square Neptune; with his Sun on the focal point of a Yod to Jupiter sextile Uranus – so can be domineering but also a catalyst for change. What is significant is his Saturn in Pisces opposition Uranus (Pluto) in Virgo. His Saturn squares the EU Gemini Midheaven and is conjunct the EU’s Descendant – making him a block on warm relations and forward movement, unless Saturn’s dictates of austerity, decency and obedience to rules are adhered to.

Tempers are flaring and the summit is dragging on without great hopes of an agreement – though the EU usually manages to cobble together something even as it hangs off the cliff edge.   See previous post on EU finances – May 21 2020.

I’ve added a chart of when the deal was announced for anyone who cares to comment.

Add On: Two thoughts from commentators.

Firstly: They ducked the issue of creating a link between the rule of law, allowing Hungary’s autocratic Orban (and others) to think he had won.

Secondly: The EU has set itself on a path to fiscal transfers and mutual debt issuance — something that had, until very recently, been a federalist pipe dream.   “If you had told me a year ago that the EU would be agreeing – a budget like this I would have said you’re daydreaming,” said Maria Demertzis, a think-tanker. “Tuesday’s package may officially be a temporary crisis measure, but it could well end up becoming permanent by default — notwithstanding the scepticism of the frugal states.”

Macron said, “- we’re creating a budget in the eurozone. So this is indeed a moment of great change for Europe and for the eurozone.”

It remains to be seen whether the frugal five will allow it to become standard practice moving ahead. And whether the EU as a standard bearer of values and rule of law has allowed itself to become devalued.

Also see: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/07/21/europes-750bn-recovery-fund-economic-pop-gun-political-howitzer/

Portland has become the flashpoint for the toxic divisiveness that has always simmered below the surface in the USA. Trump has summarily sent in federal troops against the wishes of the Mayor and Oregon State Governor to forcibly break up the fifty-day long protests after the death of George Floyd and detain demonstrators. The mayor said, “They are sharply escalating the situation. Their presence is leading to more violence and more vandalism.” The Governor described the presence of federal troops in the city as “purely political theatre”.

Portland was incorporated on 8 February 1851 which gives an Aquarius Sun in a confident trine to Jupiter. But what marks Portland out as a USA hotspot is its Mercury at 24 degrees Capricorn on the focal point of a T Square to a disruptive, reforming Uranus Pluto in Aries opposition Jupiter. That rebellious T Square clashes with the USA’s can-be-fanatical Pluto in Capricorn opposition Mercury in Cancer, which has always been a trigger point for incendiary arguments. The USA chart’s bitterly argumentative Mercury Pluto is under stress this year and on until late 2023 with first the transiting Saturn Pluto this year in hard aspect and then tr Pluto thereafter through the Pluto Return.

Mercury opposition Pluto exacerbates suspicion, paranoia, is associated with demagogues and those guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation, promotes over-intense debates with a drive for domination and little latitude for compromise, can teeter on the brink of nervous collapse through strain.

In 1934 Portland longshoreman shut down all shipping as part of a west coast strike for higher pay. That was when tr Pluto was conjunct the Mercury and moving to oppose the USA Pluto –exactly a half Pluto cycle before now.

So Portland does have a role in the USA dramatic mise en scene as a catalyst for explosive arguments. The Portland chart has a leadership North Node in Leo which their Solar Arc Sun will conjunct in 2021 – more can be expected into the next presidency with the city leading the way.

Trump hooks into the middle of the USA Mercury opposition Pluto with his Venus Saturn in Cancer. And his relationship chart with the USA has a composite Mars (opposition Moon) at the same degrees. Right down in the heart of the rancid darkness. He lights the fuse.

Princess Anne heads for 70 next month with her popularity higher than ever and her street cred as a steady pair of hands undented. With a few well-laced barbs recently she’s put the younger ‘woke’ Royals who thought they were the face of the brave new world back in their box, since she’d done it all decades before. A relentless workaholic she has a tricky temperament but has evidently never stood on ceremony on her global trips into dangerous and out-of-the-way camps for Save the Children.

Although reputedly her father’s favourite, she takes her cue from her mother who is the driving force in her life.

Born 15 August 1950 11.50 am London, she has a controlling and influential 10^th house Sun Pluto in Leo so is designed for a public, career-oriented life. Her understated and hard-working Virgo Moon is made even more dutiful by a conjunction with Saturn and Mercury.

She has a ‘healing’ and private Water Grand Trine of a super-determined and snippy Mars in Scorpio in her 1^st trine Jupiter in the 5^th trine Uranus in Cancer. The 5^th house rules children and she once said she wasn’t sentimental or too hands on with her own children growing up but she was wholeheartedly behind her charity work ensuring children in general got a fairer deal.

Her relationship with brother Charles was never too close with her Mars opposition his 10^th house Taurus Moon and her Saturn Mercury Moon square his Mars – so it would get noisy in the nursery.

Her relationship chart with her father does have a possessive composite Sun Pluto conjunction. But it’s the relationship chart with her mother the Queen which is the eye-opener. There is a composite Grand Trine of Jupiter trine Saturn trine Sun Mercury, formed into two Kites by Sun Mercury opposition Mars and Jupiter opposition Moon square Venus.  A wonderful synergy bringing together two talents to make a difference.

Anne is in a pressured phase with the Saturn Pluto and Jupiter conjunction moving through her 3^rd house. That should ease marginally from the New Year on. Tr Neptune will continue to oppose her Saturn Mercury till January 2021 for concerns and it does look bumpy for several years ahead with her Solar Arc Sun Pluto due to cross her Mars from 2022 to mid decade. With a directionless Solar Arc MC conjunct her Neptune in four years’ time. Her parents are both in their nineties and sadly can’t live for ever so that may be part of the jolts and jangles.

Her harmonic charts especially 17H and 22H mark her out as special.

Add On: She’s been married twice. First time to equestrian Mark Phillips, 22 September 1948, a late Virgo with a Taurus Moon and a charming Venus Pluto in Leo. There would be a sizzle of romance at the start with his Venus conjunct her Pluto and his Jupiter trine her Sun Pluto, and his Moon in her 7^th. But there was an affection-dampening composite Sun Saturn in their relationship chart (= too much work and duty) and an uncompromising Mars trine Uranus tied into Saturn which would produce too many rough edges.

Her second marriage to naval officer Tim Laurence is reportedly not close though they do go sailing and attend Royal functions together in a friendly enough fashion.  Born 1 March 1955, he’s a Sun Pisces with an adventurous Uranus Jupiter in Cancer opposition a socially ambitious Venus in Capricorn square Neptune. His Sun falls in her sociable and sporty 5^th house and his Uranus Jupiter is conjunct her Venus in late Cancer – so it would seem like fun when they met. Though there’s precious little on the relationship chart (without his birth time) to tie them together.

Like many aristo marriages, keeping up appearances in public will be the key factor.

Both her husbands have done well in their individual careers under their own steam and capabilities.

One of her talents has been to avoid intrusive media coverage of her private life, which from odd murmurs, has been fairly lively.

Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida, who describes himself as a mini-Trump is losing the fight to control the coronavirus outbreak in his state with deaths and cases rising to the level of one of the world’s biggest hotspots. The Orlando Sentinel editorial board wrote: “If coronavirus were a hurricane, it seemed to reach category 5 status over the weekend. Florida needs decisive, resolute guidance to get through this storm.”

DeSantis has pushed to reopen schools quickly despite safety concerns, was slower than other governors to issue an initial stay-at-home order, and has championed the reopening of the economy at every turn, even supporting the reopening of Disney World in Orlando last week. His approval ratings are still above water, unlike Trump, with the governor’s favourables above 50%. But they are slipping.

Born 14 September 1978 in Florida, he’s a Sun Virgo in a slippery square to Neptune with a superficially charming Jupiter in flashy Leo square Venus in Scorpio; and a hard-working Saturn Mercury in Virgo – you’d think with all that Virgo he’d be on top of a pandemic. At the moment he has his Solar Arc Neptune square his Mars, possibly for the rest of this year which should be inducing panic even if he doesn’t show it, with failure writ large.

Over the election in early November he has an irritated setback from tr Saturn square his Mars – but to remember the result may not declare within days given the aggravation showing at the Inauguration. Whatever happens, he will not be a happy camper as he moves ahead. In March 2021 he picks up the trapped, scary, totally blocked tr Pluto square his Mars for two years and later in March 2021 a debilitating tr Neptune opposition his Sun starts a year long trek which won’t make 2021/22 progressive or successful for him.

The Florida state chart, 3 March 1845, has Solar Arc Neptune opposition the Saturn in Aquarius, which is classic for an epidemic. But it won’t last much beyond this year. Though 2021/22 will see failed plans with tr Pluto conjunct the Fl Mars/Neptune midpoint; and more of similar in 2023/24 with tr Neptune square the Florida Mars.

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Princess Beatrice was married yesterday in the quietest Royal wedding for four centuries to her beau, father-of-one Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi – much to the relief of a public out of love with taxpayer-funded largesse and soured by her disgraced father Prince Andrew.

This is just a fleeting post for the archives. They were married at 11am in Windsor on July 17^th which puts the triple conjunction of Jupiter Saturn Pluto in the 4^th opposition the Cancer Sun (conjunct Procyon, the Fixed star of rises and falls from fame.) There’s an argumentative Mars in Aries square Mercury in Cancer which matches the Mars in Aries on her chart. Despite the presence of Jupiter, a Saturn Pluto opposition Sun wedding does suggest a tough road ahead.

There’s a new birth date for Edoardo of 19 November 1983, which makes him a Sun Scorpio with his Saturn and Pluto widely conjunct in Scorpio as well. Intense, determined, stubborn and secretive but the rest of his chart is livelier and more colourful with a sociable Venus Mars in Libra and Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury in Sagittarius.  It’s a marginally odd match for her Leo Sun; and her Moon Venus in Cancer trine his Saturn Pluto which could be problematic.

Their relationship chart does have a helpful, power-couple Grand Trine of composite Jupiter trine Mars trine Pluto with a publicity-grabbing Mars opposition Neptune. It will be argumentative and competitive with Sun square Mars and Mars opposition Neptune but it will generate headlines.

John Lewis, Civil Rights activist and Congressman, who marched alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, has died. He was a towering figure in the fight for equality starting in his early 20s leading the student non-violent movement which brought beatings and dozens of arrests. He once said: “What we found, as we pushed our protests deeper into the heart of segregated society, was that our nonviolent actions were met with increasingly more violent responses.” He was the last surviving speaker of the march in which Martin Luther King delivered his “Dream” speech.

Nancy Pelosi described him as ‘one of the greatest heroes of American history: the Conscience of the Congress.“

He was born in Troy, Alabama, February 21, 1940, one of 10 children of sharecropper parents and originally intended to be a preacher.

He had a Pisces Sun inconjunct Pluto and sextile Saturn in late Aries conjunct Mars in Taurus with his Saturn Mars square Pluto, suggestive of a life in which hardship, frustration and brutality featured largely. He had the inspired Uranus in Taurus trine Neptune in Virgo of his generation and a charming Venus Jupiter in Aries.

In the 1960s, the transiting Uranus Pluto in Virgo were stirring up his Pisces Sun; with Saturn in Aquarius square Neptune in place over the “I Had a Dream” speech, rattling his Uranus and with it a hope for liberation.

His ‘obsessive dream’ 11^th Harmonic was well aspected which gives endurance – though it is more than discouraging to see the battle against racism still being fought six decades later.

Also prominent was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H. His super-star 22^nd Harmonic was strong and enlivening.  A man who made a difference.

The bizarre and labyrinthine tale of how 38 year old, stratospherically successful pop icon, mother of two Britney Spears came to be regarded as not a legal adult is due for another twist this month.  In 2008 she was put under the conservatorship of her father, normally reserved for the old and infirm, after her erratic behaviour caused her to lose custody of her children at the time and sent her into psychiatric care. At the time she said she felt like a prisoner in her life. “Even when you go to jail,” she said, “you know there’s a time when you’re gonna get out. But in this situation, it’s never ending. It’s just like Groundhog Day every day.”

A judge has now decided an evaluation is needed after her father withdrew from oversight for medical reasons. She appears to have been unwell again last year.

Born 2 December 1981 1.30am Kentwood, Louisiana, she does have an exceptionally heavy and trapped chart with Saturn Pluto in Libra on the focal point of a T Square to Venus in Capricorn opposition North Node. That sits at odds with her free-spirited Sun, Mercury, Uranus in Sagittarius and a maverick Aquarius Moon in her performing and entertaining 5^th.

Her relationship with her father, Jamie Spears, 6 July 1952, was never easy. His Sun, Uranus, Venus in Cancer sit in her 10^th so he’d be invested in her career, especially with his Mars in her 2^nd and his Jupiter in her 8^th.  Their relationship chart has a controlling but also chaotic composite Sun Pluto Uranus conjunction. And on top of that an unkind, one-sided Mars Saturn in a none-to-sensitive opposition to Venus so she would feel trapped and unfairly treated.  At present there’s a restraining order against him denying him access to his two  grandchildren after an altercation.

The same composite Sun Pluto control factor is present in her relationship chart with her former manager Sam Lufti, 16 August 1974, a Sun Leo with an unyielding Saturn square Pluto. His organising Saturn sits in her 10^th with his dominant Pluto on her Ascendant. He’s now under a second restraining order.

She has been stressed evidently recently because of her father’s ill health, which with Saturn Pluto Jupiter conjunction moving through her 4^th makes sense. And the triple conjunction transit may also be acting as a destabilising influence shifting the foundations of her life. She disappeared from view and social media for chunks of last year which triggered a #freebritney campaign by fans. At the moment she has the effects of the June Solar Eclipse conjunct her Midheaven perhaps deciding her path for the next phase.

Also at the moment her Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct her 3^rd house Mercury, exact in a few weeks, which will put her under mental strain. And it’ll be a bumpy road ahead sadly with her Solar Arc Saturn in a tension-erupting conjunction to her Uranus in 2021, with more emotional pressure from tr Pluto conjunct her Venus and square Pluto for a couple of years thereafter.

Beautiful, talented in her field, successful and not happy. What a life.

Shamima Begum, the London-born daughter of Bangladeshi immigrant parents who went to Syria in 2015 as an ISIS bride, produced and lost three babies in ISIS and refugee camps and was stripped of her UK citizenship, has been has now been given leave to return to the UK and appeal. The Justices said: “Fairness and justice must, on the facts of this case, outweigh the national security concerns.” The Home Office has said it is a disappointing decision and will appeal the judgment, and stay its effects pending any onward appeal.

Born 25 August 1999, she is a Sun Virgo inconjunct Neptune in Aquarius, with a very Fixed, obstinate and enduring temperament. Her Saturn in Taurus is in a can-be-autocratic square to Uranus Moon in Aquarius, opposition an obsessive, can-be-vengeful Mars in Scorpio, with Mercury, Venus and North Node in Leo. Her Neptune is in a head-in-the-louds, guru-chasing square to Jupiter.

Not an easy personality – self-willed, uber-determined – and her Fixed planets collide with the UK chart with its array of Saturn in Leo, Mars in Taurus, Venus in Aquarius and Neptune in Scorpio. Her remarks when she was first interviewed after the defeat of ISIS did not help, giving the impression she wasn’t contrite for her actions or associations.

She doesn’t look too confident ahead with Neptunian Solar Arcs and transits for the next two years plus a raft of tr Uranus disruptive hard aspects to her Fixed planets on till mid decade. She’s evidently sanguine about the appeal not working.  If it fails she has the option of going to Bangladesh though she has never lived there or staying in a refugee camp.