Astrology of Today’s News

Sarah and Todd Palin appear to be splitting up with divorce papers being filed in Alaska. Since resigning as Governor of Alaska and running as John McCain’s running mate in 2008, she’s written a best seller, appeared on a variety of TV shows and continued to voice support for the far-right including Trump.

She was born 11 February 1964 with a questionable birth time of 9.44 pm or 6 pm; Todd was born 6^th September 1964.

Neither of them are especially easy personalities and are very different energies. She’s a stubborn and emotionally detached Aquarius Sun, Mars, Saturn with an Aquarius Moon. He’s a practical, though scattered and contradictory Virgo Sun conjunct Pluto, Uranus with Venus Mars in Cancer and a Virgo Moon. He was an oil field production operative, commercial fisherman and is four time champion of the Iron Dog snow mobile race, in which he was badly injured three years back.

His Jupiter in Taurus does square her Sun, Mars, Saturn so he would bring some encouragement to her gloomier side initially.

Their relationship chart is reasonable with a (maybe) composite Sun Moon making them feel more whole when together in an affectionate opposition to Venus and in a cool, enduring square to Saturn. Plus an adventurous composite Jupiter Mars conjunction.

Their wedding chart of 29 August 1988 was riddled with quincunxes and three Yods onto focal points Pluto, Mars, Jupiter respectively – so their match was destined to be different, successful and riddled with drama and arguments.

The youngest of their five children, Trig, born 18 April 2008 at 6.30 am does have tr Saturn opposing his Sun/Moon midpoint within weeks which often shows up as parental issues; and he has his Aries Sun on the opposite side of his chart to a Libra Moon to start with, indicating parents of completely different, possibly incompatible types.

It’s probably been a long time coming but in a way it’s surprising it’s lasted this long given their respective independent-minded temperaments.

Pic: Gage Skidmore

The Martian jitterbug who infests No 10 presently has got himself tied in so many knots that even Houdini would be trapped. Something has to give sometime. No parliament sitting till mid October, no indication that EU negotiations are going anywhere with the EU leaders understandably irritable and bored to the back teeth with the whole farrago, the opposition refusing an election till NO-deal off the table, cabinet ministers heading for the door.

He is feeling panicked, undermined and quarrelsome now till early November with tr Neptune square his Mars/Node; and his Government chart looks deflated and confidence-dented September 29 to October 25th with tr Saturn square the Mars/Jupiter midpoint.

But it’s November when the sh** really hits the fan for himself, Cummings and his Government.

Boris’s chart: Tr Neptune squares his Sun/Mars midpoint 12 November to mid December – lack of vitality, not pro-active or plans don’t work out, low energy; with disappointments in his love life as it also squares his Venus/Mars which sometimes throws up health issues. What’s worse is the trapped, cornered, frustrating and enfuriated tr Pluto opposes his Mars/Pluto midpoint 11 November till mid December. Caged.

That’s the point at which Dominic Cummings looks fit to blow his circuit board with tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars and his Mars/Neptune – absolutely nothing is working to plan, quite the reverse.

The Government chart has tr Neptune undercutting its delusional optimism as it squares the Jupiter from November 12^th to mid December; and has the catastrophe-strewn minefield of tr Uranus opposition its Mars/Pluto also November 12^th to 11 December.

Boris’s relationship with Cummings is aggravated in the extreme with tr Pluto square the composite Mars/Saturn and Mars/Node till mid November and then is in a totally-blocked square to the composite Mars from then till mid December; is sagging with disappointment in November from 12^th to mid December as tr Neptune opposes the composite Sun.

Ditto Bojo and Michael Gove, much the same effects and timings. With Carrie, his live-in girlfriend again November 12^th for a few weeks looks very tumultuous with tr Uranus opposition the composite Uranus and square Saturn.

He’s left himself absolutely no wiggle room and even given his propensity for flat-out lying it’s difficult to see how he wriggles back out of this with his job intact. His Solar Arc MC (birth time being accurate) is opposing his Saturn now which makes sense and within six months will be on the same degree as his Uranus, which could be the tipping point of his exit.

There does seem to be a major hiccup from mid December onwards till early February 2020 for Boris and his brigade when Uranus reaches 2 degrees; and the Neptune droop also runs through into February. So there’s no magic closure point.

Philip Hammond looks surprisingly confident mid November to mid December with tr Pluto square his Sun/Jupiter midpoint though he’s also in for a few major jolts with tr Uranus opposition his Mars in Scorpio – so he’ll be fit to blow a fuse – and that continues for him into and through January 2020.

Dominic Grieve, former Attorney General, who is pushing to block Boris’s NO-Deal option, is a rock-solid Gemini with Jupiter Pluto in Leo opposition Mars in Aquarius square Saturn in Scorpio. He’s understandably on edge and has Solar Arc Saturn opposition his Uranus this year; and a run of Saturn hard aspects to midpoints between now and December which could just be hard work but also slow progress. Though nothing too catastrophic, without a birth time. He certainly loathes Dominic Cummings with a composite Mars opposition Sun, Saturn, Uranus in their relationship chart and there’s no curing that.

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Pluto in Aquarius picking up in 2023 for twenty years, which recurs roughly every 250 years, has already overseen one seismic split between England and the European continent. It happened in 1533 when Henry V111 defied the Pope by ditching his first wife Catherine of Aragon and marrying Anne Boleyn. He was excommunicated for his trouble and thus started the great religious schism which marked England out as a separate entity.

Henry, despite his six wives and reputation for gluttony, didn’t have that lustful or greedy a chart. Born 23 June 1491 JC 8.45 am he was a Sun Cancer with a hidden Aries Moon, Venus in social butterfly Gemini in a cool trine to Saturn; and admittedly an impulsive Jupiter opposition Neptune square Mars in Virgo.

There are not many recorded birth dates for his various wives and the available two may be iffy. Catherine of Aragon, 16 December 1485 Madrid, was a Sun Capricorn conjunct Uranus with a downtrodden Mars Saturn in Sagittarius. 7 of her planets fell in his 4^th so she’d very much part of his domestic life though an unsettling presence there as she failed to produce him a male heir and was dispensed with.

Anne Boleyn, 5 May 1507 11.30 am, was a confident and stubborn Taurus square Saturn in Leo with Jupiter trine Pluto. She resisted his seductions until he married her and then gave birth to Elizabeth but no boy and turned into a shrew so was eventually beheaded. Her Venus in Aries fell in his 8^th for a deep connection and was in the same sign as his Moon; and her Libra Moon was trine his Jupiter – but it really wasn’t that strong a bond. Except for the Yod in the relationship chart of Neptune sextile Saturn inconjunct the composite Sun. Usually when Yods appear in relationships the individuals are fated to come together to irrevocably change their lives and broader destinies. She ended up minus her head; and he altered the course of English history.

The next spin round of Pluto in Aquarius 1778 -1797 coincided with the Brits in retreat from the American colonies having lost the War of Independence.

Lurid Royal scandals don’t come any more outrageous than those that swirled around the Queen’s uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George V and younger brother to the Duke of Windsor and King George V1.

According to wiki – there were “strong rumours” that he had affairs with musical star Jessie Matthews, writer Cecil Roberts and Noël Coward. The security services “reported that Coward and Kent had been seen parading together through the streets of London, dressed and made up as women, and had once been arrested by the police for suspected prostitution”. Kent is rumoured to have been addicted to drugs, especially morphine and cocaine, a rumour that reputedly originated with his friendship with American socialite and member of the Happy Valley set, Kiki Preston. Reportedly, he shared Kiki in a ménage à trois with Argentinian Jorge Ferrara; and she bore him an illegitimate son. Other alleged sexual liaisons were with the art historian and Soviet spy Anthony Blunt, Indira Raje, Maharani of Cooch Behar, and José Uriburu, son of the Argentinian ambassador to the Court of St James’s.

He was Grand Master in the Freemasons and was killed in a plane crash in 1942 while serving in the RAF, the first time a member of the Royal Family had been killed on active service in 450 years. He had three children – the present Duke of Kent, also a Freemason Grand Master, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael born a few weeks before his death. His father George V preferred a dull middle-class life, opting for a small house before his elevation and stamp collecting; his mother Mary of Teck was described as ‘cold and hard.’ Though both were solid monarchs when the time came.

Prince George, 20 December 1902 7.35 pm Sandringham, had a fairly riotous chart – with a fiery Sagittarius Sun in the party-loving 5^th house along with a maverick Uranus and Mercury Venus in Capricorn. His Uranus (Sun) opposed Pluto and squared a Virgo Moon, making him emotionally unpredictable and highly strung. His Mars squared his Sun, Mercury, Venus so he’d be impetuous, reckless and not overly sensitive about others’ feelings with Mars Venus in square.

There does seem to be a recurring Venus Mars theme – Queen Victoria had Venus and Mars both in Aries though wide-ish for a conjunction. Her son Edward V11 and grandson George V had Venus square Mars as had Prince George, Duke of Kent and the present Duke of Kent – and Prince Andrew has a Venus Mars conjunction in Capricorn – which is a recurring theme through the main players in the Epstein saga. See post August 14 2019 on Ghislaine Maxwell.

Harvey Keitel, another Martin Scorsese favourite, will star in the upcoming mob epic The Irishman along with Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

Keitel born 13 May 1939 New York is still going strong at 80 with an illustrious career behind him including Tarantino hits and is aiming for a starring role in the Maltese film Just Noise due to start shooting in October.

He has some chart with a maverick Sun Uranus in Taurus in an Earth Grand Trine to Neptune in Virgo trine Mars in Capricorn; and a megaton T Square of a do-or-die determined Mars opposition Pluto square Mercury, Saturn, Venus in Aries. He learnt self-reliance growing up in Brighton Beach with Romanian-Polish immigrant parents, joined the marines at 16 and was a court reporter for several years before switching to acting.

He’s well suited to violent movies with his Mars picking up Pluto and Uranus and Sun in his chart; and a focal point Saturn gives him a hard-edge. Though he’s got some tough times coming up with tr Pluto moving round that T Square till 2024.

Pic: Georges Biard

Sixty six years after taking up the crown the Queen might be forgiven for thinking she deserves a peaceful time as she gradually exits her arduous role as monarch. But in recent years she’s lurched from the Scottish Referendum to Brexit, seeing her kingdom at risk of fragmenting. And her favourite child, Prince Andrew, is now mired in the Epstein cesspit from which there seems no sensible escape bar disappearing down a foxhole and staying there. He’s too arrogant to volunteer but as invitations dry up for events he was supposed to attend, he may have no option.

This period is not quite as punishing as her ‘annis horribilis’ of 1992 with family divorces and the Windsor Castle fire – when tr Pluto in Scorpio square tr Saturn in Aquarius battered her midheaven and Fixed T Square of Mars Jupiter Moon Neptune to Saturn.

What is around at the moment is the July Cancer Solar Eclipse conjunct her 6^th house Pluto, creating crises and putting more pressure on her work load (and health) in coming months. Tr Saturn is also moving to cross her Ascendant from this New Year into her lower profile First Quadrant. This can take a year or so to bite and she’ll be buoyed up as tr Jupiter joins Saturn there from March 2020. But what can happen, if workaholic individuals keep pushing ahead as before, is that health issues force them to take it easier. Her Progressed Moon is moving through her 12^th house – from a few months back until October 2020 – which can be depressing, inward looking, a time of endings and clearing out.

She is known not to place too much trust in Prince Charles’s ability to take on her mantle and especially at this fraught time. Their relationship chart is under considerable strain with tr Pluto conjunct the composite Mercury Mars in 2018 to late 2019; and won’t ease up in the next few years with tr Pluto hitting on the composite Mercury Mars and Jupiter Pluto midpoints. 2021 looks like a time of real change between them with tr Uranus square the composite Sun and then conjunct the composite Uranus. At that point tr Uranus will be square her Moon, perhaps for an emotional upset.

Her Coronation chart of 2 June 1953 11 am is discouraged and confused with tr Pluto square the Saturn Neptune till late this year; and sagging badly in 2022 with tr Neptune square the Mars. It’ll be a dragged-out phase of emotional angst until late 2023 as tr Pluto clears the square to the Coronation Venus.

Her relationship with Andrew – a very Neptunian one with the composite Sun opposition Moon Neptune – will hit the skids in 2020 as tr Uranus is square the Mars opposition Pluto from May onwards.  Though she’s used enough to family skeletons and scandals having survived through Princess Margaret and the Mountbattens, Wallis Simpson and the pro-Nazi Duke of Windsor, never mind Uncle George, Duke of Kent who was definitely something else.

Country singer Kylie Rae Harris is being blamed for a three vehicle car crash in New Mexico in which she and a 16 year old in another vehicle were killed. Harris had, according to the Daily Mail, multiple citations for drunk driving and speeding with a court-ordered breathalyzer installed in her; and was charged in 2009 of assault with a deadly weapon which led to her being placed on probation for three years. Clearly not one for learning life’s lessons. She leaves behind a six year old daughter.

Born 15 May 1989 in Texas, she had her Taurus Sun conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol; and more significantly Mars in excitable Cancer opposition Saturn Neptune and Uranus in Capricorn. Mars Saturn is aggravated and accident-prone; Mars Uranus impetuous and dislikes interference. Her Mars was also in an ultra-determined trine to Pluto. Her fun-loving Jupiter in Gemini was in a confident and frivolous conjunction Mercury and Venus; with her Jupiter in hard aspect to three Pluto midpoints so she’d probably err on the side of over confidence and discount any restraints on her behaviour.

The July Cancer Solar Eclipse was conjunct her Mars which can suggest a collision of sorts and opposed her Saturn Neptune – so triggering that chaotic, highly strung, unfocused side of her character. And her Solar Arc Pluto was opposition her Jupiter, exacerbating her tendency to think she could get away with ignoring rules and regulations. Her Solar Arc Jupiter was approaching the opposition to her Neptune – which again wouldn’t make it easy for her to keep her feet on the ground.

The triple conjunction generation which is making itself felt at the moment can in some cases be tinged with genius – Uranus Neptune can bring eureka moments of inspiration. But it can also be turbulent and confused. Add Mars into the mix and it gets very combustible.

The Bahamas is reeling after being hit by Dorian, a category five hurricane with winds reaching 185mph (297km/h) which matched the highest ever recorded at landfall, and stayed over affected areas for two days. Parts of the Bahamas received up to 35in (89cm) of rain, leaving vast areas of it flooded. The official death toll stands at 30, but is expected to rise considerably further. Officials say hundreds, possibly thousands, are still missing. 45% of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos – some 13,000 properties – were severely damaged or destroyed. The only international airport in Grand Bahama was devastated and could not be used for evacuations or aid deliveries. Flooding also rendered Grand Bahama’s main hospital unusable.

The Bahamas became independent on 10 July 1973 which makes it Sun Cancer square a Mars in Aries opposition Uranus – home-loving but also excitable and volatile. There’s a flamboyant Venus in Leo in a frivolous and indulgent opposition to Jupiter in a dreamy sextile/trine to Neptune.

At the moment the Solar Arc Saturn is conjunct the Bahamas Venus for a sense of loss and mourning, as well as dampening its usual social exuberance. Plus the Solar Arc Neptune is exactly in a highly-strung, paralysed square to the emphasised Uranus, tugging on the Sun Mars T Square. Neptune is often involved in natural disasters because of the confusion and devastation around.

If the start time for independence was London time then the Solar Arc Pluto is also probably hovering around a conjunction to the Bahamas Scorpio Moon for a destructive emotional event.

The early July Cancer Solar Eclipse which was in a downbeat opposition to Saturn in Capricorn, located to the Bahamas puts a disruptive Uranus on the Descendant. And tr Saturn then was exactly opposition the Bahamas Sun. The July Lunar Eclipse with the Capricorn Full Moon colliding with the tr Saturn Pluto conjunction, located to the Bahamas had Jupiter on the Ascendant. Jupiter often appears at disastersbecause of the expansive, amplification effect.

It’ll be a long long recovery. And there’ll no doubt be more hurricanes along the way.

Allegations that the late Ian Paisley helped fund a loyalist terror campaign in the 1960s have brought complaints from his family. It will be claimed in an eight-part BBC series on the Troubles to mark the 50^th anniversary.

Ian Paisley was the most prominent face of the unionist camp during the thirty years of violence, turbulent political debate and impasse. He was born 6 April 1926 with a preacher father and co-founded the fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster when he was 25. He promoted a form of Biblical literalism and anti-Catholicism, believed the European Union was a part of a conspiracy to create a Roman Catholic super-state controlled by the Vatican. Known for his fiery sermons he preached against the Pope whom he referred to as the anti-Christ, ecumenism and homosexuality and throughout the Troubles, was seen as a firebrand and the face of hard-line unionism. He opposed all attempts to resolve the conflict through power-sharing and campaigned against the Good Friday Agreement which brought an end to the troubles in the late 1990s.

1926 was a year which threw up several notables including the Queen and David Attenborough as well as Jimmy Savile. Paisley was a Sun Aries in a controlling square to Pluto and a sextile to ornery Mars in Aquarius. He also had the enduring and stubborn Fixed T Square of a head-in-the-clouds Jupiter opposition Neptune square Saturn in obsessive Scorpio. With a secretive Water Grand Trine of Uranus in Pisces trine Saturn trine North Node in Cancer.

A complicated man with undoubted talents but used for the wrong ends. I remember an Irish friend saying if they had put three people in a hot air balloon at the start of the troubles – Paisley being one, Gerry Adams and another I’ve forgotten – and cut the rope, the problem would have been sorted a good deal faster. He was the most repellent sort of Protestant, of an evangelical and pig-headed strand of belief that I always associate with the Dutch Reform Church in South Africa which was integral to Afrikaner nationalism.