Astrology of Today’s News

The Royal foot has come down hard saying to Harry and Meghan, there is no halfway house. If you want out to earn from commercial activities, then you need to go – minus royal titles, no Royal duties, splitting Harry away from his military connections.

He looks panicked, uncertain and undermined as well as confused with tr Neptune square his Mars till late this month, then square his Solar Arc Saturn in February – with a conflicted tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Moon midpoint, on and off all year, putting a strain on his marriage and his mental state bringing inner turmoil. Tr Saturn will also make a blocked square to his Pluto in March, June and December. His Progressed Moon stays in his 8^th till mid 2021 which is also a discouraging time of searching for new values and swinging from extreme to extreme. Tr Neptune then returns to oppose his Virgo Sun in 2021/22 which will be debilitating. Plus he has tr Saturn moving downwards through his 1^st quadrant for a decade to come which is usually a less visible time but one in which unresolved psychological issues surface to be resolved – that especially in 2021/22.

Even Meghan looks shaken by the turn of events, not quite what she’d planned going by the statement of intent she and Harry had issued. Tr Neptune has been chipping away at her confidence and power since mid-December in opposition to her Sun/Pluto midpoint; and she looks grumpy and bad-tempered from exactly now ahead till late February and repeating on and off all year from tr Pluto opposition her Mercury/Mars midpoint. Late February and March, as well as October to January 2021 sees tr Neptune opposing her Mars/Uranus midpoint which Ebertin describes as: “cunning and deceitfulness, overtaxing strength.’ Her Progressed Moon is exactly now moving through her 8^th house to stay till late 2021 which will be stressful financially as well as emotionally. She will have some luck where business finances are concerned in 2021 but thereafter for two years tr Saturn through her 8^th will bring shortages and less generous support.

But she’s in a much more ambitious phase than Harry and aiming upwards for the next decade plus.

Their relationship chart has that awkward family-problem composite Moon square Saturn Pluto which is getting the tr Saturn separation-with-difficulty transits this year and tr Pluto bringing considerable pressure on their domestic and emotional life from late this March through till 2024.

It does rather beg the question of why the odious Prince Andrew has been left for so many years raking in personal money from his exotic connections while glad-handing round the world at taxpayer expense. Which may have given Meghan the idea she could do the same. Though with luck this kerfuffle will speed along his complete forced retirement from any such opportunities ahead.

++ Though not quite yet as he appears at the Queen’s side at church this morning. She really has a total blind spot about him. The first week of February might take the shine off her good feelings about him; with late March onwards into April bringing a worsening sense of uncertainty. The  major blow up between them comes late May onwards.  Prince William isn’t a fan and he’s putting more clear water between himself and his renegade uncle from late March onwards. Prince Charles is equally not a supporter and his relationship with his brother moves into uncharted territory after a huge upheaval from late March onwards. That is when tr Pluto starts to square Andrew’s Midheaven, on and off till late 2021, which is often a fall from grace – further!

“The worst form of injustice is pretended justice.” Plato.

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. Words fail me.

Prominent liberal Catholics warned he poses a threat to the separation of church and state and democracy, after he delivered a fire and brimstone speech recently to a Catholic University on religious freedom in which he insisted that “the traditional Judeo-Christian moral system” of the USA was under siege by “militant secularists” who were responsible for every sort of “social pathology”, including drug abuse, rising suicide rates and illegitimacy. He did not address the fact that many of the policies of the Trump administration are strongly opposed by the Vatican. One commentator said: “At least it helps me understand why Barr has been so willing to put his own reputation on the line to defend Trump so fiercely in every battle. Trump is Barr’s imperfect vessel in serving a much higher cause: the gospel.”

Barr has denied being a member of the ultra-conservative Opus Dei, though he has served on the board of its affiliate the Catholic Information Service, along with Leonard Leo, the man most responsible for putting Gorsuch and Kavanaugh on the supreme court.

Salon remarked in outrage: “Bill Barr may be the most unvetted attorney general in history, which is strange since he had served as AG under George H.W. Bush and was well known in DC circles. How could he have been confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement official when nobody knew that he was a far-right religious extremist on a mission to use the law and the executive power to enforce a moral code?”

Born 23 May 1950 in New York. He is a Sun Gemini in an expansive square to Jupiter in Pisces with Jupiter in a see-saw opposition to Saturn; with a stubborn Mercury in Taurus trine Saturn and Mars in Virgo and square Pluto (Moon) in Leo – not a man who easily changes his mind. His Venus in Aries opposes Neptune in trine/sextile to Pluto. It’s a chart that needs a birth time to anchor it since otherwise it’s all over the place.

His ‘seeking soul’ though can-be-unstable 7^th Harmonic is strong and ruthless. His self-defeating 10H is also strong. Worryingly so is his leaving-a-legacy 17H which points to his influence extending long beyond his term, presumably through judges he has appointed.

He looks paralyzed and nervy 30 January to late February with tr Neptune square his Sun/Uranus midpoint; and worse from late February to late March with tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Saturn midpoint, which repeats October 2020 to late January 2021. Ebertin describes it as “waning powers, self-torment, a grievous loss.”  Tr Pluto is also opposing his Uranus/Pluto midpoint from late February on and off till late 2021 which will be unstable and erratic; plus a dashed-hopes tr Neptune conjunct his Jupiter/Node picking up from late April. He also has a car-crash Solar Arc Mars opposition his Sun sometimes over coming months.

His Attorney General Term chart also has similar with tr Neptune square the Jupiter at 19 degrees Sagittarius from late March, on and off into early 2021 which tends to deflate ‘false happiness’ and puncture over confidence.

His synastry with Trump is good and bad with his Sun in Trump’s 10^th furthering his ambitions and his Jupiter in Trump’s 7^th for morale-boosting support. But Barr’s Mars in Virgo clashes with Trump’s Sun and Moon, so not all sweetness and light.

Their relationship chart is very locked together, for good or ill, with a composite Saturn Pluto tying together Sun, Mercury Venus to Neptune – certainly as a pair they have stratospheric ambitions with Neptune Pluto and won’t budge easy. Though again the composite Sun squares Mars which can be competitive/argumentative. The downhill slide between them starts late this February, running off and on into 2021 with tr Neptune dissolving confidence between them.

George Bernard Shaw (maybe) once remarked the UK and USA are divided by a common language. But there is also a grand canyon of a gulf between the attitudes on religion and politics. The UK may be a shambolic mess but Mad Hatterly weird scenarios such as above would be blown straight out of the water. Trump as ‘an imperfect vessel’ would have to be the understatement of the last two thousand years. How can people twist their brains round to this extent?

Justice John Roberts was sworn in at 2.11 pm today to preside over Trump’s impeachment by the Republican-majority Senate. There isn’t a high expectation that he will be impeached but the process could be damaging.

John Roberts has always been keen to uphold his justice position as being non-partisan and will not be relishing the prospect of having to dive into the political swamp. Born 27 January 1955 his Aquarius Sun opposes Trump’s Pluto; his Pluto is conjunct Trump’s Mars with his obsessively conscientious Saturn in square and his Mars opposes Trump’s Neptune; with his Neptune square Trump’s Saturn Venus – so very far from being a comfortable twosome. Trump’s stubbornness will meet its match in John Roberts.

Their relationship chart has an evasive, undermining composite Sun opposition Neptune tied into a Half Grand Sextile to a power-struggling Mars and Pluto; with a gritty, irritable composite Mars square Saturn. The composite Mars is being undermined by tr Neptune in square from January 30^th to late February – so it won’t be a happy joint venture.

The swearing-in time  is the start of the Senate trial  and it provides a slightly directionless and very blocked (and underhand) chart – with Neptune in the 10^th and the Sun, Saturn, Pluto in the 8^th. Pluto etc in the 8^th suggests a great deal of dirty power-playing out of sight. And Neptune was what bedevilled the Mueller Investigation, turning it into a damp squib.

Trump is flaring up and flying off the handle at the moment with a bad-tempered tr Uranus square his Mercury/Mars midpoint and tr Pluto opposition his explosive Mars/Uranus midpoint. The trial proper will start next week right on cue for him to pick up tr Pluto moving to opposes his Saturn and Mars/Node midpoint – which will be massively discouraging and frustrating – and that repeats July to mid August and late November to mid December. It only gets worse from late February as tr Pluto opposes his Sun/Mars midpoint and Mercury/Pluto until early July, which will put him under considerable mental strain – and that repeats late December 2020 till late January 2021, and again on and off till late 2021.  That may not all be political since his physical and mental functioning appears to be worsening.

The present British Monarchy are in the line of Hanoverians which started when George 1 became King on 1 August 1714 JC. The name was changed to the House of Windsor to de-Germanise it during World War 1 on 17 July 1917.

If anything, the earlier chart works better though both have similarities.

The Hanoverian chart has a Leo Sun widely square Neptune in Taurus, Mars in late Cancer square Jupiter in Aries; and a stellium of Pluto, Saturn, Moon, Uranus, Mercury, Venus in Virgo. When the Abdication of 1936 occurred (and run up) tr Pluto in Cancer was zigzagging over the conjunction to the Mars; with tr Uranus in Taurus also criss-crossing the conjunction to the Neptune. The tr Saturn in Pisces opposition Neptune in Virgo was also twanging off the Uranus in Virgo. So clearly visible as a crisis and nervous meltdown.

Charles’ divorce from Diana in 1996 occurred with a panicky-failure tr Neptune opposition the Hanoverian Mars with tr Mars Venus conjunct the Mars; and at Diana’s death a year later tr Saturn was exactly in a depressing conjunction to the Jupiter.

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953 saw tr Pluto just over the conjunction to the Leo Sun; with tr Jupiter square the Pluto. At Victoria’s Coronation in 1838 tr Pluto was conjunct the Jupiter.

The House of Windsor chart has the Sun at 24 degrees Cancer with Saturn Neptune Venus in Leo; Pluto (Moon) and Mercury also in Cancer; and Mars Jupiter in Gemini. At the 1953 Coronation Mars and Jupiter were in exactly the same degree of Gemini; at the 1996 divorce of Charles and Diana tr Neptune was on the debilitating opposition to the Sun with other near or near enough hard aspects. A downbeat time.

Both charts have hard tr Saturn Pluto aspects at the moment. Tr Saturn will be backwards and forwards opposition the Mars in Cancer in the Hanoverian chart and the Sun in the Windsor chart at the moment till the end of this month; and tr Pluto opposes those two planets on and off till late 2021. So there will be considerable challenges and pressure for change.

The last time tr Pluto in Capricorn opposed the Hanoverian chart Mars in 1773/1774 when George 111 was on the throne and the American Revolutionary War started which led to the breakaway of the US colonies. Nothing similar nowadays but still a time of great strain.

Both charts are nerve-stretched this year with tr Uranus hitting on their respective Neptunes; and both indicate 2021 as an undermining year with tr Neptune hard aspects to Venus on one chart and Mars on the other. The House of Windsor chart looks especially poleaxed in 2022 with Solar Arc Mars square Pluto in 2022; and Solar Arc Neptune Saturn square Venus in 2023/24. The Hanoverian chart has 2025 as the stumbling-block year with Solar Arc Saturn square Jupiter and Solar Arc Uranus mercury conjunct Mars.

One way and another it won’t be a comfortable ride ahead – though the Hanoverians have been around for three hundred years so there have been peaks and troughs before.

Diana had Saturn in late Capricorn in aspect to those sensitive Cancer planets on both charts; Andrew has his questionable Venus Mars in Capricorn also in aspect. Prince William, Kate and Meghan with their last decan Pluto also connect in a marginally uncomfortable way.

The Iran Nuclear Deal is coming under increasing pressure. European powers have triggered a formal dispute mechanism over Iran’s breaches of the 2015 nuclear deal which could spell its end. Trump unilaterally abandoned the deal in 2018 as part of his petty vendetta against Obama’s achievements despite evidence that it was working well. Since then Iran has gradually lifted limits on its production of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons. The other parties to the deal – the three European powers plus China and Russia – have tried to keep it alive. But the sanctions have caused Iran’s oil exports to collapse and the value of its currency to plummet, and sent its inflation rate soaring. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The treaty was signed 14 July 2015 at 8.30am in Vienna, Austria on a Sun Mars in Cancer opposition Pluto square Uranus – fraught with risk, innovative but also potentially unstable.

Trump withdrew on 8 May 2018 when tr Pluto was exactly opposition the Sun. That central T square is picking up this months’ Lunar Eclipse and also the mid year one – so it is a critical time; with a potential for major disruption as tr Pluto squares the Solar Arc Uranus from late February onwards. If by some faint chance it holds in whatever form, 2023 looks fairly catastrophic with Solar Arc Mars square Uranus and Solar Arc Pluto opposition the Sun.

All families have tensions running below the surface which it often takes a shift in the dynamics, like a new marriage partner, to open up fissures that were always there but not challenged by circumstances before.

Most notably Harry’s Pluto in Scorpio is conjunct William’s Midheaven and Jupiter and trine William’s New Moon in Cancer. Used well, it can lead to fruitful co-operation over educational or charitable activities. But the tendency will be for the Pluto individual to struggle against the other for power and position. Evidently Diana brought the boys up as equals which, while laudatory in one way, was always going to cause problems with one heading for the throne and the other down the pecking order. In addition to standard sibling rivalry, there’s the whole ‘Succession’/Murdoch family who gets to be head of the firm rivalry – and oddly it’s less William being a bully and more Harry who resents not having his power.

Their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun Venus but that squares onto a competitive and argumentative Mars which is being set alight by tr Uranus in hard aspect from 2019 for three years ahead. Plus they have a composite Mercury square Saturn Pluto which suggests inherent communication problems – and those are being exacerbated at the moment by tr Pluto opposition the Mercury and moving to square Pluto Saturn in 2022/23/24.

Kate has a milder version of slightly similar crossovers with Harry and an oddly defensive synastry with his Venus in Libra conjunct her Saturn and his Saturn in Scorpio square her Venus.

Meghan steps into the picture already loaded with emotional baggage from her own family. Her Pluto in the 4^th, relic of a controlling father and a scary childhood will have left her super-sensitive to any sense of being crowded or not being in control of her domestic set up. Marrying into the Royals in those circumstances was a definite no no. She also has her Libra Moon conjunct Saturn Jupiter and square Mars in Cancer – so she’ll be emotionally volatile and on a short-fuse when it comes to familial relations. She also has a 1^st house Leo Sun which gives her a bouncy, outgoing and attention-seeking personality – with Leo being unduly sensitive not just to criticism but also to any perceived lack of applause and adoration. She will be high-maintenance emotionally and again the stiff-upper-lipped Royals are not an ideal environment for her kind of temperament.

She isn’t a good fit with William since her Mars in Cancer is conjunct his 7^th house North Node and square his Mars Saturn which is a gritty interface. Her wayward 5^th house Uranus opposes his steady Venus in Taurus so he will find her disruptive. Her Sun Mercury fall in his 8^th so she will penetrate deeply under his skin and while that can lead to a strong connection, could also make him highly uncomfortable. And vice versa since his New Moon falls in her 12^th so they will press each other’s buttons at an unconscious level. His Saturn Pluto falls in her 4^th – so he won’t be felt as domestically supportive or offering a warm family welcome.

Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction squaring Pluto Jupiter, which gave me pause for thought, when I first saw it. In different circumstances there could have been a good deal of attraction between them. And at an underlying level that could well be an issue. But the relationship chart also has a highly flammable composite Moon Mars square Uranus, so it’s not remotely a stable connection. Mars Uranus suggests two individuals who are uncompromising in their insistence of doing their thing, not in co-operating.

Again there’s that very strong Jupiter Pluto theme, which is found in power-couple charts, and gives a strong drive to succeed. It can work well as long as both are focused on a common goal. It’s a compulsive energy in a relationship and when/if it turns sour as one or other feel they are not getting what they want, they start a ruthless blame game. Plutonic relationships usually come together for a purpose – of changing both sides – and when that is accomplished the splitting up is usually long drawn out, messy and acrimonious.

Kate’s chart is surprisingly similar to William’s so her crossovers with Meghan are almost the same. In the relationship chart the composite argumentative Moon Mars is sextile the power-struggling Jupiter Pluto and square a needs-space Venus Uranus. Kate’s Cancer Moon falls in Meghan’s 12^th widely conjunct her Mars – and Kate’s Full Moon squares onto Saturn Pluto which again, like William, falls in Meghan’s 4^th hitting on her Pluto – so Meghan’s acute sensitivity about being controlled or crowded would be triggered.

The wedding chart with its Mars square Uranus Mercury always did hint at explosions and disruptions along the way. Plus a Water Grand Trine of Neptune Moon Jupiter which hints at the risk of unrealistic illusions.

A diluted version of this brouhaha must have played out in a good many families with as much angst for the members but less exposure. For all their emphasis on doing good works for mental health they are probably not good at conducting their own internal therapy to iron out wrinkles and triggers.

The iconic John Malkovitch steps up as the Vatican replacement for Jude Law in Paolo Sorrentino’s The New Pope now about to launch onto tv screens. His brooding intensity, inscrutable face and gravelly voice make a sharp contrast to Jude Law’s maverick Young Pope, who remains in season two and slowly emerges from a coma.

Malkovitch, 9 December 1953 11.39pm Christopher, Illinois, has had a long and illustrious career, though he gives the impression of not caring about success or failure. He has a fourth house Sagittarius Sun opposition a lucky, talented 10^th house Jupiter which forms into an even more talented Half Grand Sextile to Pluto in the 12^th and Mars Neptune in his 2^nd house. He lived in France for many years until tax problems drove him back to the USA. There’s a good deal ahead for him with tr Saturn only in his Second Quadrant with another nearly twenty years to go of hard work and increasing respectability. Tr Jupiter through his 5^th this year will make him more visible though there’s a fair amount of turmoil in his chart from tr Pluto opposition his Uranus and tr Saturn square his 2^nd house Mars Neptune and tr Uranus opposition his 2^nd house Saturn this year; plus a droopy tr Neptune square his Sun – maybe a financial hiccup or two.

Malkovitch’s Jupiter in Gemini, Pluto and Mars Neptune in Libra connect well with Sorrentino’s Jupiter in Libra; with M’s Mercury in penetrating Scorpio conjunct S’s Neptune for a telepathic connection. See previous post below for Sorrentino and Law.

December 17 2016 post:

Jude Law who was the unexpected lead for Paolo Sorrentino’s sumptuous 10-part television drama The Young Pope rose to the challenge and inhabited the part to the manner born. He played a young American laid-back, smoking, cherry-coke drinking primate who turned out to have hard-line views on key issues for the Vatican. As to be expected from Sorrentino who directed Oscar-winning The Great Beauty, it was gloriously shot, awash with red and gold, sliding in and out of dream sequences, with a wittily quirky plot as well as some telling jabs at the Vatican.

Law, 29 Dec 1972 6am Lewisham, England, made his name with The Talented Mr Ripley and more recently The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. But he’s been in need of a splash and this will certainly be in line for awards, with a second series planned. He’s had a complicated love life, which at times overshadowed his acting career, with five children by three different relationships.

He’s a Sun Capricorn square Pluto on his Libra MC with Jupiter also in Capricorn in his 2^nd. He has a handsome and charming Neptune, Venus, Mercury and Ascendant in Sagittarius opposition a 7^th house Saturn; and a restless Moon Uranus in Libra. Not an easy chart for emotional relationships, with Moon Uranus, Venus Saturn; and such a strong Pluto.

His creative 5^th and 7^th Harmonics are strong, as is his actor’s 15H.

In 2016/17 he’s got tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter which usually accompanies a great success and confidence and financial boost.

Paolo Sorrentino, 31 May 1970 11.50pm Naples, Italy, has filmic Neptune in his 10^th house of career on the focal point of a Yod to Mars in Gemini sextile Moon in Taurus. A Yod focal point Neptune yearns for calm and beauty and times of seclusion – Leonardo Da Vinci had one such as did Marlon Brando. His Gemini Sun is trine an 8^th house Uranus, with Pluto also in the 8^th; and Mars in Gemini in the entertainment 5^th is square both Pluto and Uranus – so driven, risk-taking and volatile. It’s an Air Earth chart with no Fire, so he’d be drawn to a subject like The Young Pope which focussed on the struggles around faith – his missing element.

He also has strong creative harmonics – 5^th and 7^th – and leaving-a-legacy 17H.

Sorrentino’s Sun falls in Jude Law’s 7^th so a good partnership; with PS’s Uranus conjunct JL’s Pluto MC – a catalytic relationship that moved him in a new direction.

Sultan Qaboos, the Arab world’s longest serving leader has died. Educated in England and Sandhurst he returned to house arrest under his father’s mediaeval rule in 1966 and subsequently overthrew him in a bloodless coup. He then brought in a policy of modernization, oversaw a rise in living standards and development in the country, unified a previously divided nation and ended Oman’s international isolation. He also turned Oman into a diplomatic bridge that navigated a neutral course through the region’s troubles. He was a steadfast western ally who also maintained close relations with Iran and attracted investment from China.

Although progressive in some respects, he remained prime minister and defence minister as well as head of state; and wasn’t above silencing dissent when discontent arose amongst the population after the Arab Spring.

Born 18 November 1940 he was an enduring Sun Scorpio opposition an innovative Uranus in Taurus which was sextile/trine an artistic and sensitive Neptune in Virgo. He also has a Fixed Jupiter Saturn in Taurus in an immoveable square to Pluto, with Pluto in a ruthless square to Mars. His Jupiter Saturn which mixes idealism with materialism fell in Oman’s 10^th house with his Pluto in a controlling conjunction to Oman’s Sun Mars. His Sun was conjunct Oman’s Neptune in the 5^th house of entertainment and children. He was a fervent promoter of classical music and had a thriving orchestra of young Omani players. He was married briefly and had no children.

His cousin Haitham ben Tarek was named as his successor and was sworn in on the morning of 11 January. Born 13 October 1954, he’s a very different temperament with a Sun Neptune in Libra on the focal point of a T Square to Mars in Capricorn opposition Uranus Jupiter in Cancer – overflowing with initiative, restless in the extreme, good at starting new projects but not always so good at the long haul. It won’t be a smooth transition for him with tr Pluto conjunct his Mars from late February 2020 till late 2021 which is frustrating, blocked and risky; with muddles and confusion in 2021/22 from tr Pluto square his Neptune. Though he’ll have more success and luck in 2023.

Oman itself will be under pressure to change with its last degree Cancer Sun square Jupiter catching the tr Pluto hard aspects in 2023/24 which will bring a confident push in new directions though it won’t be without its dangers with road blocks until well over mid decade . The Oman chart is very together with a great deal of potential – a Water Grand Trine of Sun trine Neptune trine Pisces Moon, turned into two Kites by Moon opposition Pluto and Neptune opposition Saturn. But there’ll be more forced change in the next few years before it moves onto a new trajectory as tr Uranus is conjunct the Saturn and then opposition Neptune from 2023 to 2025.

(Cartoon: The Times Peter Brookes)

Moving ahead it’s tricky to see how the young-ish couple will move back from the debacle since there’s been such a deluge of criticism heaped on them. But there again Sophie Wessex and others recovered from mishaps in the past and went on to be accepted.

Harry is a hot-head with not great judgement with his Virgo Sun square Mars and Neptune in Sagittarius and his Mercury in Virgo square Uranus – so an overly-impulsive and high-wire temperament with a tendency to dreams and illusions as well as addictive-prone. Plus he has a dose of stubbornness from a Taurus Moon and Saturn Pluto in Scorpio. And last but not least he has a head-in-the-clouds Neptune Jupiter in the 12^th.

His Saturn in Scorpio will give him a leaning towards obsessiveness as will his 8^th house Sun. And his Taurus Sun will make it tricky for him to let go hurts.

At the moment his Progressed Mars is sitting on his Ascendant stoking up his assertive streak; and his Progressed Moon is moving through his 8^th house for another almost two years which is a conflicted often anguished time of searching for new values. 2021 will be a difficult year with tr Neptune in a debilitating opposition to his Sun and tr Saturn moving into his 2^nd house of finances bringing cash shortages and cutbacks until 2025. Tr Uranus will move across his IC in 2022 which suggests a major upheaval and relocation with a trapped, blocked Solar Arc Sun conjunct Pluto in 2023, and considerable setbacks and discouragement in 2025 from Solar Arc Saturn square his Sun. So not an easy furrow ahead to plough as tr Saturn rolls on through his low profile first quadrant for the rest of the decade; and will push him deeper into unresolved psychological issues between 2021 to 2025.

Meghan has been over-reactive recently with her Progressed Mars conjunct her Mercury and her Progressed Mercury square her excitable Mars in Cancer about a year back. Her Mars coincidentally is conjunct the Queen’s relentlessly dutiful 6^th house Pluto for a clash of agendas. Meghan has her Progressed Moon moving exactly now into her 8^th house for the next two years which, as it is for Harry, is an emotionally charged time, with power struggles bringing draining experiences and money being one area of contention.

Tr Saturn is about to move across her Descendant from later this month for a three year stretch of chillier close relationships when flaws begin to show and there’s more negativity around. It can also indicate social or public popularity for celebrity types. What will make it more intense is tr Pluto from late February also moving into her 7^th to stay for many years ahead which will make for power struggles and tensions in close relationships. Her morale will sag with tr Neptune opposition her Solar Arc Sun from late March 2020 for a year thereafter. She’ll be prone to outbursts with tr Uranus square her Mercury this coming April and will experience a major upheaval with tr Uranus squares her Sun in 2021.

Any joint or commercial set up will move through sticky times from early 2022 till late 2024 with tr Saturn moving through her 8^th. It will throw her back on her own resources financially and emotionally and is generally a tight time on the cash front.

Odd other non-astrological thoughts. If you’re in the public eye don’t read the media. Liz Taylor who started as a child star read no magazines or newspapers about herself. Sensible.

The media can be scabrous – they can also be helpful for publicising good causes like Invictus. Diana made a pact with the devil when she got into bed with them to fight her own private vendetta. But making an enemy of them is equally as stupid and equally as likely to blowback. Kate Middleton had fairly horrendous media coverage for years and almost never reacted except over sunbathing pics. Ditto Camilla. They kept their heads down and weathered the storms. The Princess Royal is a class act for coping with (ducking) the media. Her romantic life has been colourful over the years but little has emerged. Charles and sons went to Gstaad to ski and complained about photographers. Anne, I think, went to Norway to ski and I never saw a pic of her.

Not everything you read in the media as hard fact is true but if the comments that Meghan and Harry reacted badly to being ‘ousted’ by the four generation pics of Queen, Charles, William and little George, then I despair. For years we had the whining Princess Margaret kvetching about having to walk behind the Queen and never being first. She had all the money, residences and wealthy friends she could ask for and could have done anything with her life. 99.99% plus of the population never get to be first.

Carlos Ghosn who rose to super-hero status as ‘Mr Fix-It’ for Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, then dramatically tumbled off his perch, accused of under-reporting his earnings, misuse of company assets and misappropriations of Nissan funds, made a bold bid for freedom as he escaped from Japan to the Lebanon. He said “I didn’t escape because I was guilty. I escaped because I had zero chance of a fair trial.” Lebanon does not extradite its nationals but are uncomfortable about the diplomatic position they have been put in.

Born 9 March 1954 in Brazil, Ghosn is a Lebanese-Brazilian-French, multi-lingual and from an entrepreneurial family. He has a Pisces Sun on the focal point of a Mutable T Square to a risk-taking, adventurous (and opportunistic) Mars in Sagittarius opposition Jupiter. Such a Sun can have a good deal to offer but is often arrogant, know-it-all and headstrong, and is very driven. Tr Neptune has been in a panicky-failure square to his Mars through his arrest in 2019 and is moving to square his Jupiter from late January 2020 and conjunct his Sun from late February and those influences repeat on and off until late January 2021. So a two year plus run of undermining Neptunian hard aspects moving round his central T square.

Tr Pluto was also opposing his Uranus in Cancer through 2018/2019 for a major upheaval; and his Uranus catches the Lunar Eclipse this week as does the mid 2020 Lunar Eclipse – so hiding out in the Lebanon won’t be without its problems.

He should bounce back by 2021 as his Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct his Pluto; though he’ll be muddled at the same time with tr Pluto square his Neptune.