Astrology of Today’s News

Spook-fascination has produced another TV mini-series from Netflix about Israel’s top Mossad spy in Syria in the 1960s Eli Cohen. He is played bizarrely enough by Sacha Baron Cohen taking on a serious role.

Born 16 December 1924 12 noon Alexandria, Egypt (from memory), he stayed behind, when his family moved to Israel in 1949, to organise Zionist activities. He was then trained in undercover work by Mossad, lived briefly in South America to establish a persona as a rich businessman, went to Syria and moved in high society, became the confidante of generals and ultimately Deputy Defence Minister. The information he radioed back in secret transmissions was key to Israel winning the Six Day War. He was pressured by his Mossad overlords against his better judgement to return to Syria one last time, was captured, tortured and executed.

He was a confident and enthusiastic Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius square Mars Uranus in Pisces and trine Neptune Moon in Leo – certainly devil-may-care, idealistic, brave and foolhardy. That all makes sense of a high-roller who lived like James Bond. His darker, more secretive side came from Saturn in Scorpio in his 8^th trine a 4^th house Pluto which in turn opposed Mercury. His Venus in Scorpio also in the 8^th was trine Uranus Mars and square Neptune Moon.

I cannot fathom the kind of temperament which can live that kind of a double life where the penalty for exposure is guaranteed to be exceedingly nasty. Living with that kind of constant fear takes a special kind of character.

Cohen’s family have complained that his womanising streak has been sensationalised in the TV drama and that wasn’t the man they knew. His widow also aimed a few brickbats at Mossad, blaming them for sending him back.

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Given his hate-figure status as the man who kickstarted the unholy Brexit mess, David Cameron’s 752-page memoir, published today, is unlikely to be selling like Michelle Obama’s. And the car-crash timing won’t help with Brexit-fatigue levels at screeching point. Recent Amazon pre-orders had it ranked as low as 335 and some bookshops are refusing to stock it. HarperCollins who purchased the rights for a reported £800,000 must be wincing; though that was a snip compared to Tony Blair’s £4.6 million advance.

Cameron, 9 October 1966 5.30am (from memory) London looks as if he’d much rather hide away in a quiet corner with tr Jupiter moving through his 4^th house until next year. His Libra Sun is catching the downbeat tr Saturn square late this October/early November; with a frustrated, blocked tr Pluto square his Solar Arc Mars at the same time running from late this August to mid this November. He doesn’t look any happier thereafter with two nerve-jangled Pluto transits to Neptune midpoints through into 2020; and Neptune continues to dog his steps, or rather undermine his confidence in 2021/22 with debilitating Solar Arcs as well. The only mite of cheer will come from tr Pluto trine his Solar Arc Jupiter, moving closer to his Ascendant, in 2020/21.

His trenchant criticism of former friend and ally Michael Gove whom he saw as betraying him – “behaved appallingly”; “left the truth at home” – won’t have improved relations though he appears to regret the rift.

Gove, 26 August 1967, has his Virgo Sun conjunct Cameron’s Mars in late Leo – so it would always have been an argumentative connection; and Gove’s Saturn in Aries opposes Cameron’s socially charming Sun Venus in Libra. I’d suspect there was a good deal of jealousy on Gove’s part, especially of Cameron’s privileged upbringing.

Their relationship chart has a ratchety, bad-tempered composite Mars Mercury opposition Saturn which suggests a one-sided relationship of all give and not much take. Plus a friendly composite Sun Venus but tied into a disruptive Uranus Pluto which was probably also square the composite Moon – so undercurrents of resentment would constantly be bubbling.

Cameron was equally scathing about Boris but he probably didn’t ever expect much of him, knowing his flaky temperament of old. That relationship chart has a gritty, rough-edged Mars trine Saturn trine a slippery Neptune, formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto Moon – it is remarkably tied together as well as difficult – and tied into the Node. Quite a fated connection.

Add on: Cameron has received an unprecedented “astonishingly blunt” rebuke from Buckingham Palace making clear the Queen’s “displeasure and annoyance” at him revealing that he asked her to intervene in the Scottish referendum – as well as tittle tattling other titbits from their meetings during his time as PM. Not protocol at all.

Their relationship chart is horrendous with a composite Sun in a cold opposition to Saturn and an argumentative trine to Mars; with a strained Yod of irritable-dislike Mars sextile Saturn inconjunct a rebellious Uranus and Uranus in a not-in-the-same-space opposition to Venus.

Young arrogant thruster that he was, he probably regarded Royal courtesies as a relic of a bygone era. Much as Boris does.

None of the leading Democratic candidates look exactly on sparkling form astrologically speaking for the 2020 election  Below is a pull together of previous posts.

Stacey Abrams, former Congresswoman in Georgia and first African-American to deliver a response to the State of the Union address earlier this year is being talked of as a possible VP for Joe Biden. Born 9 December 1973, she’s a Sun Sagittarius with a confident and charming Jupiter Venus in Aquarius trine Pluto; and a volatile Mars in Aries opposition Uranus. She’s quite some lady.

In 2020 she has the lacklustre tr Neptune square her Sun in February for the final time; then she picks up the upbeat and lucky-break tr Uranus square her Jupiter from June onwards, running through October 2020 and into 2021 though not exact over the election or Inauguration. What she also has, less helpfully, is tr Neptune square her Jupiter/Uranus and Mars/Jupiter midpoints over both – losses, disappointments, plans not working out.

From late February 2021 on for two years she has tr Pluto square her Mars and Uranus which looks like a huge upheaval, risky, aggravating and stressful.

JOE BIDEN APRIL25 2019: Joe Biden stepped up to the mark for his joust at the Democratic nomination 2020 with a twitter video announcement at 6am Washington, DC time. This put the heavy-duty Saturn Pluto in the 10^th conjunct a Capricorn Moon which doesn’t look too enticing for female voters and also suggests he’s got a mountain to climb requiring considerable effort. Venus which is often a sign of popularity is hidden away in the 12^th; and there’s a divisive Uranus Sun on the Ascendant. Plus an afflicted Neptune in the 12^th square Jupiter opposition Mars – suggesting a flier that’s more hope than common sense. And tr Neptune will be square the Mars until late this year which is usually panicky-failure.

His own chart has tr Pluto square the Mars/Neptune midpoint, on and off till late 2020, which is dashed hopes for elections; with another sinker from tr Neptune opposition Mars/Jupiter again off and on till January 2021. Plus a downbeat Solar Arc Saturn square his Sun at the moment and square his Venus in spring 2020, which will make him feel unloved (unpopular).

He could be more energised with tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter in 2021/22 from late January 2021; as well as tr Uranus square his Pluto suggesting a radical lifestyle change picking up in 2020 running into 2021. That latter at his age could suggests some serious thinking about how he stretches his energy.

BERNIE SANDERS FEB19 2019: Bernie Sanders has announced he’s taking another crack at the Presidency though there’s nothing remotely hopeful about his chart. His Virgo Sun in an expansive (overly-confident) square to Jupiter in Gemini is catching tr Neptune hard aspects through this year and next. Plus he has a deeply frustrating tr Pluto square his Mars in Aries picking up this April and running on and off till late 2020; made a million times worse by Solar Arc Pluto opposition his Mars which will be on the exact degree from mid 2020 for several months.

ELIZABETH WARREN DEC30 2018: Elizabeth Warren has become the first high profile Democrat to toss her hat into the ring for 2020, announcing she is forming an exploratory committee. A former law professor, she gained prominence for her critique of Wall Street after the 2008 financial crash, has been a senator since 2012 and gained fans for standing up to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor. But she is seen as a divisive figure and may be too polarizing to fit the times. Born 22 June 1949, Oak Hill, OK, maybe 1.51 pm (unverified astrotheme), she’s a rebellious and innovative Sun Uranus in Cancer in a sensible sextile to Saturn in Virgo. Her Saturn is widely square Mars Mercury in Gemini, giving her grit and an argumentative streak.

She’s got an uphill battle at the moment with tr Pluto opposition her Mars/Saturn midpoint and that runs throughout 2019; but where she really starts to dip is between March 2020 and late September 2020 with tr Neptune in hard aspect to four of her key midpoints. She may decide to call it quits before 2019 is out and if she doesn’t I doubt with all that Neptune around that she’ll get the nomination.   She’d have more luck in 2024 when tr Pluto will conjunct her Jupiter.

KAMALA HARRIS JAN17 2019: California Senator and former state attorney Kamala Harris, born 20 October 1964 9.28pm Oakland, California, is picking up media attention but there’s a troubling piece in the NY Times questioning her legend as a progressive, pointing out she did little to act for criminal justice reform and fought to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct including evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors. (URL below)

She has an entertainer’s, attention-seeking 5^th house Libra Sun opposition an Aries Moon; with a Fixed Grand Cross of Saturn in Aquarius opposition Mars in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus opposition Neptune – hard-edged, slippery, indulgent, opportunistic. She looks frustrated and trapped in November 2020 with tr Pluto opposition her Mars/North Node; but does have tr Pluto trine her Jupiter throughout 2020 and over the inauguration which will give her a confidence and success boost.

Ric Ocasek, the gangly, extremely tall and ultra-thin lead singer of The Cars has died.  They became cemented in public consciousness during Live Aid when their hit Drive – “Who’s gonna tell you when it’s too late” – was used for the famine relief campaign.

Born 23 March 1944 (though he lied to make himself seem younger with a 1949 birthdate) he seemingly had a troubled childhood, was kept on the straight and narrow by a grandmother and was taught by nuns.

According to the Guardian The Cars which he founded: “were the first American band to successfully take a punk/new wave aesthetic into the US charts – their use of irony, downbeat imagery, synthesisers, impassive vocals and European cultural references standing in contrast to the shrill hard rock then dominant – and Ocasek’s exceptional talent as a songwriter ensured they enjoyed a decade of hit singles and albums.” He also painted and wrote poetry. His three marriages produced two sons apiece – the age gap between the youngest and oldest being 35 years.

He was a Sun Aries with a talented Half Grand Sextile from Sun opposition Neptune, sextile Uranus, sextile Pluto North Node in Leo – creative, musical, influential, innovative. His Uranus in addition squared his Venus making him emotionally unpredictable. And he had a tricky, not-too-lucky Mars Saturn in Gemini, possibly square a Pisces Moon, and softened somewhat by Saturn sextile Jupiter in flashy Leo.

An interesting if not always happy man.

Israeli elections rarely throw up an outright winner with weeks if not months of protracted coalition negotiations usually following; and this one looks like even more of a deadlock – between the two main contenders Netanyahu and Gantz. This is the second election in five months and leaves Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, in office for 10 years, in an even weaker position before. Beforehand he pledged to annex Jewish settlements and other territory in the occupied West Bank if returned to power. But with a higher Arab turnout this time, his intimidation campaign, according to a crony, ‘blew up in our face’.

Israel has a last decan Libra Ascendant due to catch the tr Saturn Pluto square in January and beyond; with the Ascendant also being straddled by the Solar Arc Saturn Pluto – and the effects of that latter will continue for several years ahead. All of which will have a dampening effect on Israel’s image though could also initially bring out a ruthless, control-freaky streak. Tr Saturn followed by tr Pluto is also heading across the Israel IC in 2020 and 2022 for an extended period of internal domestic unrest. And both tr Saturn and tr Pluto are trine the Israel Sun in 2020 which is heavy pressure for real transformation in a country that is less capable than most of showing any flexibility or capability of letting go old defences.  Tr Uranus is also square the 10th house Leo Moon for an agitated populace demanding change 2019/early 2020 – and the next few years up to 2026 as tr Uranus moves through Taurus will be high-tension, high-risk and disruptive as tr Uranus squares the Israel Pluto, Saturn and finally Mars, bouncing over all the midpoints in between; and is conjunct the Israel 8th house Taurus Sun in 2024 for a series of jolts.

Netanyahu, 21 October 1949 10.15 am Tel Aviv, is certainly not at his most successful with tr Saturn heading downwards through the nadir of his First Quadrant for several years, not only facing electoral punishment but corruption charges as well. He is sagging under uncertainty and paranoia mid this November to mid December with tr Neptune opposition his Saturn; plus at the same time devastation and confusion from tr Pluto square his Sun/Neptune midpoint. 2020 is a ferocious mix of super-confidence from tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter from late February, though that could see him overstepping the mark; and a fairly cataclysmic setback from Solar Arc Saturn square his Mars exact in 8 months, but maybe triggering before then. 2021 looks downhill with tr Neptune undermining his ambitions.

Benny Gantz, 9 June 1959, no time, is all over the place – overly excitable mid October to mid November with tr Uranus square his Mars; confident, lucky and confused over the New Year; and continuing upbeat though with maximum stress into the spring; with a major dip in February when tr Neptune squares his Gemini Sun.

Avigdor Lieberman, Russian-born former Defence Minister, could be a kingmaker or breaker, 5 June 1958, and is certainly in a phase in his life where he is prepared to throw everything in the air with tr Uranus hitting on his Fixed T Square of Venus, Neptune and Uranus which picked up earlier this year and runs on till early 2021. Like the two above he’s got high spots of success and low troughs of plans dissolving under his feet over the next year – and he’s in real trouble in 2021 and worse by 2023 with tr Neptune square his Saturn and then meeting two exceptionally unpleasant Solar Arcs.

The bombing of Saudi oil installations has sent oil prices soaring, threatening to destabilise the global economy never mind an already volatile Middle East. The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel Houthis say they did it; the USA say it was Iran; and the Iranians deny any involvement. Given the distance and sophistication of the weaponry it is more likely to have been Iran, with some suggesting Iranian hardliners were attempting to block a proposed Trump/Rouhani summit.

The Saudi/Iran feud for regional and religious dominance which has been fought in a proxy war in the Yemen may be about to spill across the borders or more to the point come home to roost with an all-out confrontation. The Saudis are backed by the Americans and western defence contractors. Putin and Turkey’s Erdogan lean more to the Iranian side.

Saudi Arabia, 15 January 1902 2.45am Riyadh, looks most on edge in the final days of this December with tr Uranus in an explosive square to its Sun/Mars midpoint and a gung-ho square to Mars/Jupiter; though won’t be winning initially with tr Pluto conjunct the Jupiter/Saturn midpoint for a series of losses till late January 2020. With an uncertain February – and then moves into a resoundingly upbeat spree from late February with tr Pluto conjunct the Sun Jupiter which could produce over confidence.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) similarly looks exercised over these last few days this December with tr Uranus opposing his Pluto and tugging on his pushy, reckless Jupiter, Pluto, Venus T Square. His term chart as Crown Prince, 21 June 2017 6.19 am Riyadh, does look enormously stressed and combative at the moment with the July Cancer Solar Eclipse stoking up the Mars in Cancer over coming months; with a surge of recklessness showing with Solar Arc Mars square Jupiter approaching over the next six months.

Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, also looks in crisis-mode with his Second Term chart, 3 August 2017, 11 am Teheran, having the July Cancer Eclipse conjunct the Midheaven, and the ‘collision’ Solar Arc Mars conjunct Sun coming exact within weeks; as well as an over confident Solar Arc Jupiter square Pluto also now and over coming weeks.

The Iran 1 February 1979 9am chart is agitated this year and next with tr Uranus square the Jupiter opposition Mars; and square the Sun in 2021 – all of which looks insecure and disruptive. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran 1979 have Mars in uncompromising Aquarius at 10 degrees which picks up the tr Uranus square from July 2020 on and off into 2021 – which may also be a flash point.

The UAE, 2 December 1971, has just had a tanker seized and it is looking more than crushed come late January, on and off till late 2020 with tr Pluto square Mars/Saturn and conjunct Mars/Neptune.

Saudi Arabia always was going to be in the eye of the tr Saturn Pluto storm with its Capricorn Sun Jupiter catching the conjunction head on.

US drug-maker Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of Oxycontin, has filed for bankruptcy. The money to be raised – estimated $10bn-$12bn (£8bn-£9.7bn), including a minimum cash contribution of $3bn from the Sackler family – will go towards settling the thousands of lawsuits that accuse the firm of fuelling the US opioid crisis. On average, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day and more than 200,000 Americans have died from opioid-related overdoses in the last two decades. The lawsuits claim that Purdue and its owners, the billionaire Sackler family, aggressively marketed the prescription painkiller OxyContin and mislead doctors and patients over addiction and overdose risks.

Purdue Pharma was bought by the three late Sackler brothers in the 1950s and incorporated on 14 June 1991. That chart has an uber-enthusiastic Mars Jupiter in flashy Leo in a hard opposition to Saturn and an ultra-determined and ruthless square to Pluto. Plus the can-be-fanatical Uranus Neptune in Capricorn which has moved by Solar Arc to oppose the Mars Jupiter bringing about this bubble-bursting downfall.

The late Arthur Sackler, 22 August 1913, senior of the three, trained in psychiatry and medical advertising and has been blamed for helping “pioneer some of the most controversial and troubling practices in medicine: the showering of favors on doctors, the lavish spending on consultants and experts ready to back a drugmaker’s claims, the funding of supposedly independent commercial interest groups, the creation of publications to serve as industry mouthpieces, and the outright exploitation of scientific research for marketing purposes.” He became a well-known philanthropist and art collector and when he died his estate was estimated at $140 million.

He was a Sun Leo, with a pushily-confident Jupiter in money-magnet Capricorn opposition Pluto; with an unsentimental and hard-edged Saturn Mars in Gemini. His 9^th Harmonic which can be humanitarian though also a symbol of greed was exceptionally strong as was his moulding-the-world-to-my-command 5H. He had died by the time his brothers Raymond and Mortimer put the stronger oxycontin on the manufacturing list but his methods of promotion prevailed. They were even more ruthlessly ambitious with a Mars trine Pluto trine Uranus, with Uranus opposition Saturn in Virgo for Raymond; and a Mars opposition Pluto for Mortimer.

Maybe Pluto in Capricorn is doing some good pulling down financial monoliths and exposing destructive greed.

A new regal blockbuster and probably bonkbuster series will hit the screens late October with Helen Mirren starring as Catherine The Great, Empress of Russia in a period drama full of “politics, passion and power”. The Sky blurb says the four-part drama “delves into the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of the most powerful female monarch in history. Catherine wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century – strong-minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated, she was the definition of the modern woman.”

She came to power following a coup d’état that she organised—resulting in her husband, Peter III, being overthrown and then assassinated. Under her reign, Russia was revitalised, modernised along Western European lines and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. As a patron of the arts she presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment, and promoted the education of women, as well as the highly modern notion of vaccinations for smallpox. She is often regarded as an enlightened despot. Lurid tales of her rampant sex life may or may not be embellished though she was undoubtedly fairly active in that department.

She was born 2 May 1729 (NS) 2.30am Stettin, Germany and was an earthy, indulgent, ruthless and ultra-determined Sun Mars in Taurus. Mars in Taurus can be implacable as well as highly sensual and acquisitive. And her Mars Sun were heavily emphasised being on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Jupiter trine Saturn in Pisces; and most significantly on one leg of a Yod, sextile Saturn inconjunct Pluto. She also had a restless and social-butterfly Moon Venus in Gemini inconjunct Uranus – a lady marked out for a highly individual life of great influence.

A Yod apex Pluto tends to be an extremist, a loner who operates without being distracted by others. Tierney remarks: “This yod can propel one into a high-level authority position, sometimes giving him organizational control over super-structures in society”  – adept at “ushering in a new order of things to come.” Sun, Mars, Pluto, Saturn is also fairly brutal.

Tr Saturn Uranus in Aries were opposing her natal Pluto when her mother-in-law died in 1762 with tr Pluto about to move into Capricorn to square it – and her Solar Arc Saturn was also in opposition to her Pluto – at which point she seized her destiny, despatched her husband, and took over the reins herself. Yods usually wait until they are activated by influences producing fated events, after which the individual pursues their unique destiny.

She’s been played by Helen Mirren 26 July 1945 2am London, an entertaining, controlled and influential Sun Pluto in Leo. The only slight similarity between their charts is they share the light-hearted sociable Venus in Gemini. Though they wouldn’t have got on remotely well in reality since Mirren’s Sun Pluto squares Catherine Mars Sun in Taurus. However Catherine’s Moon Venus falls on Mirren’s Ascendant which would help to create a bond and their relationship chart does have a friendly, affectionate Sun Venus. So she’d understand enough about what made her tick to give a sympathetic portrayal.

PS: I’m not sure where all of Pluto in Capricorn’s enlightened and culturally advanced energy has gone this time round.

The starting pistol has been fired for Canada’s election on 21^st October with all the indications that the country is mired in the same swamp as others – with lacklustre enthusiasm for the candidates on offer and a polarized electorate divided on climate change, immigration, attitudes towards public institutions, worries about trade wars as well as concerns about public health with a raging opioid epidemic.

Justin Trudeau is asking for another four year term and is opposed by conservative Andrew Scheer.

Trudeau, 25 December 1971 9.27pm Ottawa, has an outrageously emphasised Capricorn Sun on the cusp of his attention-grabbing 5^th which squares onto an do-or-die-determined Pluto opposition Mars. His butter-wouldn’t-melt good looks belie a backbone of pure titanium. He does have a talented chart with an Air Grand Trine of Pluto trine Saturn trine Venus, formed into two Kites with Pluto leading on one edge and Neptune on the other.

He is exactly on his Jupiter Return on election day which is positive though that can be a mild influence; with an emotional tr Uranus square his Venus from mid November. And (birth time being absolutely accurate) a worrisome tr Neptune square his Mars/Ascendant which is usually not good news for elections till mid November

Andrew Scheer, 20 May 1979 8.25 am Ottawa is a late Sun Taurus, with a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars conjunct as well as Mercury all in Taurus. If his birth time is accurate to the minute then he has tr Neptune conjunct his MC over the election which is not supportive of career ambitions; and tr Saturn will be in a stuck square to his Pluto from early November. Tr Uranus will conjunct his Mars and square his Jupiter from mid November which looks like an upset and a lucky break all at once.

Canada, 1 July 1867, like the USA and UK, Germany and the EU is being pummelled by this year’s Eclipses, especially the July Cancer Solar one, bringing crises and a sense that changes must be pushed through.

The Bank of Canada chart, 11 March 1935, does indicate heavy pressures through this year and next with tr Pluto square the Mars and opposition the Pluto and tugging on the Uranus; with an especially stressed phase in 2021/22/23 as the Solar Arc Uranus will conjunct the Pluto and square the Mars, with tr Pluto aiming for a disruptive square to the Uranus by 2023/24.

That will coincide with the time period of two or three years when tr Uranus will conjunct the Canada Pluto and then oppose the Saturn for a significant upheaval.