Astrology of Today’s News

     Hamas has rejected the prospect of more hostages being released until Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza. Israel says no end to hostilities until Hamas is defeated, and has  drawn up plans to invade southern Lebanon, to drive Hezbollah forces, which pose a greater risk than Hamas, further from the border risking a further escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said the group would not launch a major offensive unless provoked or unless Hamas was on the verge of an overwhelming defeat.

 The Hamas attack in October left 1300 dead with 240 hostages taken and is one of the worst terrorist attacks in history. The subsequent conflict has left at least 20,000 Palestinians dead, 70% of those women and children and 52,000 injured. Israel has dropped more than 29,000 bombs on Gaza since this war began with 40-45% of these unguided. Gaza has a high population density, similar to London. Gaza is now the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child”, according to the United Nation’s child agency, Unicef.

“To find a similar density of high explosives used in a small populated area, we might have to go back to the Vietnam war for a comparable example,” a former Pentagon intelligence analyst said. During the Hanoi bombing an estimated 1,600 Vietnamese civilians were killed.   By contrast, the US-led coalition killed fewer than 20 civilians per day, during the four-month offensive to drive IS out of the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2017. And an Associated Press investigation suggested that between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians were killed in the nine-month battle between US-backed Iraqi forces and IS for the Iraqi city of Mosul which ended in 2017 which amounts to an estimated fewer-than-40 civilian deaths per day. During the almost two years of the Ukraine war, the UN estimates at least 10,000 civilians have been killed.

  A previous Gaza flare up in 2008 which kicked off on a Mars, Pluto, New Moon in Capricorn lasted for three weeks. The 2014 Gaza hostilities starting on an explosive Sun opposition Capricorn square Uranus opposition Mars lasted for six and a half weeks. This one which started on a Martian yod of Neptune sextile Uranus inconjunct Mars in Libra looks like outlasting both. The only faintly hopeful straw in the wind might be Jupiter going direct on January 1^st.  But even if by some miracle there was a pause there is no indication that the broader situation will have changed of a complete deadlock with neither side willing to agree to a two-state solution.

 The Oslo Accord, 13 September 1993, was the closest a peace process ever came to be agreed and it fell to bits with the Palestinians opposing it and the Israeli PM Rabin being shot by a far-right settler two years later.  In 1993 tr Pluto was in Scorpio exactly opposing the Israel 8^th house Sun square tr Saturn – it took immense pressure from international leaders and still did not hold.

  At the moment and into early 2024 tr Uranus is conjunct the Israel Sun for another jolt and challenge to change. But all that has happened is events have pushed Israel deeper into their obduracy. The tendency of Fixed signs is to dig in through times of upheaval, expecting at some point the world will adapt around them. They have extraordinary endurance but little flexibility. And 8^th house merely doubles up on the unbudge-ability. And Hamas with Mars Pluto conjunct in Scorpio are much the same. Immoveable object meets unstoppable force.

   The indications are that Hamas will be destroyed but not perhaps for another two years and as Ben Wallace, former UK Defence Chief pointed out: “history shows us that radicalisation follows oppression”. “Northern Ireland internment taught us that a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant.” Treat people badly and another Hamas will pop up.

  Gaza’s chart is in a state of upheaval until mid March and in considerable anguish for several years thereafter. And there is nothing settled in the Israel chart for years ahead which I will return to with the year end round up. Hezbollah looks edgy in the extreme after mid 2024 at that period when many world leaders’ charts look on red alert.

‘Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.’ Robert Burns.

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As an example of transformational government, the abject failure of the SNP in power in Scotland since 2007 makes one wonder what Pluto in Capricorn has really been doing. Educational standards have plummeted; on health, waiting lists are estimated in the worst cases to be 25 times higher than in England. The ferries service to Scotland’s islands is falling apart. There are too many ‘freebies’ – prescription charges, University tuition etc – and not enough economic growth to sustain the handouts

And now taxation is to rise sharply even for relatively low income earners which is likely to send the wealthy running for the border and make the economy less not more dynamic.

   Alex Salmond, a highly articulate and charismatic SNP politician, was sworn in as First Minister in May 2007 just as tr Pluto was poised to move in Capricorn and was succeeded in 2014 by Nicola Sturgeon who made her controversial exit in early 2023 as tr Pluto was about to move into Aquarius. So the SNP tenure has been firmly stamped by Pluto in Capricorn. The patriotic theme of Capricorn makes sense as does a degree of arrogance, and can go along with dictatorial regimes, but not the practical incompetence.  Nor the tiresome and toxic ranting cybernats who are still screaming blue murder if anyone voices  criticism = points out the truth.

 Scotland’s current GDP deficit is 15.1 per cent compared to the UK’s 5.2 per cent;  the annual public sector expenditure is currently almost £107 billion, while total revenue from taxation is only around £88 billion.

   Both the Scotland Devolution Act of 17 November 1998 and the Scottish Parliament opening 1 July 1999 are afflicted with quincunxes. The 1998 chart has Mars sextile Sun Venus inconjunct Saturn in Aries which requires maturity and self-discipline to make it work; otherwise it can be self-defeating. The 1999 chart has the Sun and Pluto on the focal point of two separate yods, the downside of which can be ego-centric and control-freaky if not handled skilfully.

The SNP chart, 7 April 1934 with its Aries Sun, Mars and Uranus opposition Jupiter square Pluto in Cancer opposition Moon was always going to be ramped up and in fighting form through the past decade. But that momentum has now faded. The Libra eclipse recently and the Aries eclipse in April 2024 will give the SNP chart a major jolt.

   An oddity en passant – Salmond was sworn in with a Taurus Sun conjunct Algol (square Neptune opposition Saturn). Sturgeon was sworn in with the Sun Saturn in Scorpio opposition Algol – so hugely potent energies were bubbling.

  I am still intrigued to know what is going on with the Scotland Act of Union (with England) chart 1 May 1707. It has a Taurus Sun square Jupiter Pluto in Leo so was always strongly tied together and was never going to be an easy split – which looks even less likely now. But there are hints of a shift with tr Uranus conjunct the Sun and square Pluto Jupiter in early 2024; with uncertainty mounting over the coming months as well from SA Neptune square the Saturn, followed in 2025 by SA Mars conjunct the Neptune which will be panicky and undermining.

 Not sure what any of this adds up to but interesting to see the SNP peak and retreat, as well as pressure mounting to revisit the terms of devolution perhaps. Politically the way ahead will not be clear since Scotland’s recent addiction to free entitlement is likely to lean them towards Labour but that won’t do the economy any good.

A homeopath has not been appointed as head of the Royal Medical Household, despite all yowls from the tabloid press. A GP with an interest in complementary therapies alongside conventional medicine and a pioneer of ‘social prescribing’, Dr Michael Dixon has been chosen. The latter aims to help patients improve their mental and physical health by connecting them to activities and groups in their local community, taken up by the NHS in 2019 thanks largely to Dixon, who argued it could help with over-medicalisation and soaring health costs.

 Though the Royals have famously always been advocates of homeopathy with Queen Elizabeth, her father King George V1 and the Queen Mother all known to be users.

  Homeopathy has always been controversial and attracted hostile resistance since it was first mooted in 1796. Working on the basis that ‘likes cures like’, it dilutes down substances that cause ailments to a degree where the additive is chemically indistinguishable, which is what riles the purist medics.

 The original inspiration came from Samuel Hannemann, a German physician, 10 April 1755 11.59 pm, Meissen, Germany,  who regarded medical practices in his day as being ineffective and sometimes harmful. He was a pro-active Sun, Moon and Mercury in Aries, keen to take initiatives. He also had an inspirational Fire Grand Trine of Pluto in Sagittarius on his Ascendant trine Moon trine an 8^th house Neptune. And a Mutable T Square of Jupiter in Virgo opposition an experimental Mars Uranus in Pisces square good-for-research Pluto. A focal point Pluto can uncover deeply buried truths but tends to attract hostile resistance since often the ideas proffered are before their time.

  His healer 12^th harmonic is exceptionally strongly aspected.

  Dr Michael Dixon, 12 May 1952, is a good match with King Charles since MD’s Chiron falls in Chas’ 6^th house; MD’s Jupiter is conjunct Chas’ 10^th house Moon and MD’s Sagittarius Moon is probably conjunct Chas’ Jupiter. MD’s Neptune is conjunct Chas’ Venus and MD’s Taurus Sun falls in Chas’ 10^th opposition his Sun.

  I have never found homeopathic remedies worked for me but I like a good many of the alternative therapies and approaches, especially acupuncture and some herbal remedies. The French who tend to be hypochondriacs have a multi-faceted approach. In recent years having major dental work done I would be given a prescription before each surgery for antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and homeopathic remedies as well. On one occasion I was even give a prescription for opioid painkillers and homeopathic pills all on the same piece of paper. Weird.

  French pharmacies will also hand out Red Yeast Rice for bringing cholesterol down as an alternative to statins which friends who switched to it said worked well. Not all alternatives are sensible as Tina Turner found out having relied on them to bring her blood pressure down and they didn’t. So common sense helps as well.

Dying with Dignity is creeping back up the agenda in the UK with the late Diana Rigg making an impassioned case to legalise assisted dying in a message recorded shortly before her “truly awful” and “dehumanising” death from cancer three years ago. TV presenter Esther Rantzen has now added her backing saying she has joined the Swiss assisted-dying facility Dignitas as an option as her terminal cancer proceeds.

  There are now several other European countries and ten states in the US, as well as Canada where assisted suicide is allowed under certain circumstances.

  There are two astrological themes tying many of these charts together. One is Algol  which appears prominently in the Dignitas chart, 17 May 1998 Zurich, with a Mars Sun in Taurus conjunct Algol. Despite the Algol’s malevolent reputation as the Blinking Eye of the Demon, linked with evil, suffering, pain, death, intoxication, and tragedy it does have another  purpose. Which is to force us to face suffering and horror and not brush it aside. Death is the ultimate fear, which Dignitas tackles head on.

 Ludwig Minelli, 5 December 1932, the human rights lawyer who founded Dignitas has his Chiron conjunct Algol.

 Esther Rantzen, 22 June 1940 1.50 pm Berkhamstead, England, has her 8^th house Uranus conjunct Algol which makes sense of wishing a clean exit. The 8^th house being the chart area of death and transformation.  She also has a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Taurus in her 8^th house with Jupiter wishing for an easy transition as opposed to Saturn which fears the opposite.

  The other theme is Aquarius. Esther Rantzen has a heavily aspected Moon in Aquarius (opposition Pluto square Jupiter). Ludwig Minelli has Saturn in Aquarius. Dignitas has Neptune (Moon) and Uranus in Aquarius.

  Much of the early and later legislation from 1997 in Oregon onwards was under the shadow of Uranus in Aquarius and later in the European countries – Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium – with Neptune in Aquarius as well.

  Maybe it is a hint of more to come with Pluto adding its heft to the Aquarius momentum. Aquarius being scientific and anti-the biology is keen to take control of natural processes and intervene where necessary. Its emotional detachment may allow for a reasoned debate about the ultimate taboo and lay down better ground rules. In addition Uranus in Taurus is now in orb of a conjunction with Algol over the next three years adding to the groundswell of opinion.

Add On:  Canada’s MAID (medical assistance in dying) legislation was first passed on 17 June 2016 with Sun Venus in late Gemini conjunct Betelgeuse; and a last decan Moon Mars in Scorpio. At that point on the Canada chart the Sec. Progressed Mercury, Saturn, Sun and Mars were all passing through the Canada 8^th as was tr Saturn and tr Mars Moon.

EXIT one of the oldest and largest organisations for living wills and physician-assisted suicide was founded on 3 April 1982 in Zurich. “Its work is dedicated to the cause of human self-determination. Options offered by EXIT include living wills, legal counsel, and – if need be – safe and dignified end-of-life care. The number of members of EXIT Deutsche Schweiz is currently over 160,000 and rising. The affiliated francophone organisation, EXIT (Romandie) in Geneva counts around 35,000 members.”

  That chart has no connection to Algol but it does have a Sun opposition both Mars and Saturn which last two planets are associated with death. There is also a wide yod onto Chiron.

Sharon Stone, best known as the femme fatale in Basic Instinct  is having a moment, bring presented with a Global Citizen of The Year award from the UN for her activism work and her latest exhibition of abstract paintings being well received.

  She took up painting after a serious stroke in 2001 which effectively ground her life to a halt. Her marriage broke down and she said: ‘I lost everything. I lost all my money. I lost custody of my child. I lost my career. I lost all those things that you feel are your real identity and your life. I never really got most of it back, but I’ve reached a point where I’m OK with it, where I really do recognize that I’m enough.’

  She was given a one per cent chance of making it through alive after she suffered a nine-day bleed on her brain and still ‘needs’ eight hours of sleep a night so she doesn’t have seizures. Because of that her on-screen career has been limited since.

 She was born 10 March 1958 5.55pm Meadville Junction, Pennsylvania, into what she has described as ‘a broken family.’ She has a 7^th house Pisces Sun and Mercury square a 4^th house Saturn in Sagittarius giving her low self-esteem. She said in an interview ‘I grew up believing that taking care of everybody else was what I was supposed to do. ‘It took me a long time to understand that I had a life of my own and that I didn’t have to fix it for everybody else, and that it was OK for me to receive care, for me to be enough as a disabled person. I feel proud of myself and proud of my accomplishments — from surviving to helping others survive.’

  Her 5^th house Venus in Aquarius opposes Uranus and squares onto a Jupiter, North Node Neptune in Scorpio in her 2^nd house – which will have led to a roller coaster emotional life held together by an optimistic streak.  Her Jupiter Neptune may be what attracted her to Tibetan Buddhism as she searched for a guru to give her answers and to her activist work for AIDs and African health charities.

  Although her 7^th house Sun is designed for a close relationship, her Sun/Moon midpoint sits exactly on her Mars in Capricorn, leading her to attract argumentative partners so her liaisons tended to be short-lived.

  When she was felled by the stroke in 2001 tr Saturn was conjunct her Midheaven and opposition tr Pluto on her IC – so what should have been the start of a successful phase with tr Saturn at her peak turned into the exact opposite. Her Solar Arc Sun was also conjunct her 8^th house South Node in Taurus. What is interesting about that is the effect on her Scorpio North Node which hints that a complete transformation in life is needed – burning bridges and not looking back – before fulfilment comes. It won’t be as dramatic for most individuals with a Scorpio North node but she is certainly a stark example of it as its most extreme.

  Her humanitarian 9^th harmonic is strongly aspected, as is her rise-and-fall 10H, her seeking-and-searching 7H, and her victim/healer 12H.

Keith Richards, “the world’s most elegantly wasted human being”, guitarist, vocalist and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones for six decades with Mick Jagger, is unbelievably 80 years old tomorrow.  No one thought he would survive this long with his track record for drug and alcohol intake. But he says he gave up cigarettes four years ago; cocaine went in 2006 and heroin he hasn’t touched in four decades. He said in an interview “I still like a drink occasionally – because I’m not going to heaven any time soon – but apart from that, I’m trying to enjoy being straight. It’s a unique experience for me.” 

   He was born 18 December 1943 at 6am (from memory) in Dartford, England and met Jagger at primary school, getting together later as music-mad teenagers. Their partnership has stayed firm despite odd rifts. “The thing with Mick and me is that people only hear about the squabbles, and they forget there’s like 15 years between one squabble and another,” says Richards. “We’re sewn together at the hip. And now and again, you know, we try to break the stitches. But we love each other.”  His varied and prolific love life attracted as much attention as his raucous lifestyle but he has been married now for 39 years to Patti Hansen, a former model, and has several children and grandchildren.

   He has a 2^nd house Sagittarius Sun opposition an 8^th house Saturn – grandparents were an important part of his childhood which fits the 8^th house, one of them teaching him the guitar and the other side being civic leaders. His Sun is also in a lucky trine to a far-travelled Jupiter in Leo in his 9^th. His Virgo Moon sits on his Midheaven, suiting him for a public career and it squares a Mars Uranus conjunction in his 7^th giving him unpredictable mood swings, a legacy from his mother. His 12^th house seductive Venus in Scorpio squares Pluto North Node in Leo.

  Mick Jagger’s Moon is in Richard’s 7^th house for a good partnership as is Patti Hansen’s Moon. And Richard’s Sun falls in Jagger’s 7^th. They were made for each other despite odd blips where they joust and upstage the other. Jagger’s ego-centric, flamboyant Sun, Jupiter, Pluto, Mercury in Leo will grate from time to time. Their relationship chart has a good deal of friendly affection from a composite Sun Venus conjunction but also a power-couple Jupiter Pluto conjunction which last can occasionally turn into a tussle for the upper hand at a personality level. But Jagger’s Venus in Virgo sits in Richard’s 10^th close to his Midheaven and Moon – so many more pluses than minuses in their togetherness.

  Richards creative 5^th harmonic is most notable, with his making-a-mark 17H and global-presence 22h also well aspected.

Prince Harry’s win against the Mirror Group newspapers over phone hacking has sent shock waves round the tabloid press. He is regarded as a man on a mission with other cases aimed at different media groups still to come. The damages were small compared to what was asked and he was only proved correct in half of the 33 instances his lawyers produced. Lame claims dismissed include some when he was 12 before he even had a mobile phone, and others where the information came from Palace briefings. See

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prince-harry-claims-phone-hacking-case-mirror-newspapers-0fk20lpvm

  But the legal costs could be huge for the media groups and it could lead to more restrictions. The red tops undoubtedly acted badly and hacking Milly Dowler, a murder victim’s phone was the final straw in 2011 which closed down Murdoch’s News of the World and led to the Leveson Inquiry.  

  It is a contentious area with concern about SLAPP litigations (strategic legal actions against public participation) which aim to prevent investigations and discussions about matters of public interest. The government defines them as “an abuse of the legal process, where the primary objective is to harass, intimidate and financially and psychologically exhaust one’s opponent via improper means”.

  Hacked Off, a campaign group founded on the back of the furore on 5 July 2011, which numbers Hugh Grant amongst their front line members has been accused of being a “secretive pressure group … of wealthy and powerful individuals and celebrities … which has successfully campaigned for state control of the media”.

  Finding a balance in the middle of this minefield is not easy.

 Hacked Off does look cheered by this win with its Jupiter in Taurus exactly on its Jupiter return. It has a Sun Venus in self-protective Cancer opposition Pluto square Saturn opposition Uranus – so is both revolutionary and controlling. Keen to upset the status quo, break the old mould and be in charge.

  IPSO, the press standards body, 8 September 2014, is making plaintive noises about the risks of landing more restrictions on the media. They have a Virgo Sun and Venus opposition Neptune Moon which isn’t too robust; with a maybe downtrodden Saturn Mars in Scorpio which is being rattled up through next year.

 The Mirror Group is only one outfit in Harry’s crosshairs and is suffering all the woes anyway of a falling market for newspapers.  It is sagging badly in 2025/26.

 Piers Morgan who went off on a typical whing-ding at the court result is insisting only one of Harry’s claims were during his tenure as editor and were not the result of hacking and he was not called as a witness despite which the judge deemed him to be in the know and Leveson had previously made a few scathing comments about his ‘unpersuasive’ testimony.

  Although his past beef has been with Meghan Markle for treating him as a useful media leg up until she met Harry and then ghosted him, he looks more aggrieved with Harry ahead.  Morgan, 30 March 1965, is a pro-active, resilient Sun Venus in Aries with a volcanic Mars, Uranus, Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn (Moon) in Pisces. His stormy Mars Uranus Pluto falls in Harry’s 8^th close to Harry’s Mercury and square Harry’s Uranus Mars in Sagittarius so it is a combustible mix. Their relationship chart is pretty locked together and worsening through 2024, more so in 2025/26.  

Prince Harry looks mildly cheered by this result with tr Jupiter trine his Mercury and his Solar Arc square his 9^th house (legal maters) Saturn this year. But in general he’s not looking great ahead with several mountains to climb of setbacks etc over the next two years which may not be all media court cases.

  The tabloids did this to themselves but there are principles above and beyond amoral gutter journalists and spoilt celebrities who only want PR puffs printed about them. Or in Harry’s case want the freedom to trash others himself but not keen to be on the receiving end.   

Cher in a black leather corset and sparkly trousers was showing no sign of her 77 years as she strutted her stuff and sang with gusto at the Royal Variety Show (to be shown on TV this weekend) alongside the inimitable Hannah Waddingham.

  Given her fractured start in life it is astonishing Cher is still raving it up on and off stage, with a forty years younger boyfriend in tow.

  Born 20 May 1946 7.25am El Centro, California, her mother married several times, leaving her in an orphanage at one point and living in poverty on many occasions. She rose to fame at nineteen as one half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher before launching a successful six-decade-long solo career. Best known for her top-ten singles “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down” as well as “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves“, and “Half-Breed“, she became the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in US history at the time after her divorce.

  She has an 11^th house Taurus Sun widely trine a 7^th house Capricorn Moon which in turn opposes Saturn in Cancer  in her first – the latter a legacy from her less-than-nurturing mother. Though since her Moon Saturn opposition square onto Jupiter in the 4^th she would be ambivalent about her childhood, regretful one moment and accentuating the positive at other times. But with Chiron in her 4^th the wound would never completely heal. A do-or-die- determined Mars Pluto conjunction in Leo in her financial 2^nd gave her a driving determination never to be poor again.

  Her latest beau, music producer Alexander Edwards, 21 September 1986, is at a simple level not a bad fit since she is a Taurus Sun with a Capricorn Moon and he is a Virgo Sun with a Taurus Moon. But his ambitious Mars in Capricorn is conjunct her Sun and opposition her Saturn which will create a definite imbalance and rough edges of irritation. And his charming though manipulative Venus Pluto in Scorpio square her Mars Pluto which will also give rise to aggravation.

 Their relationship chart does have an exuberant composite Venus trine Jupiter sextile Mars so superficially all good fun. But maybe not forever.

  She’s in a phase where with Neptune moving across her Midheaven she is less driven by ambitions for personal glory; though with Saturn following along behind it is unlikely she will retire from view altogether.

Pic Raph_ph

Venezuela’s Putin-ally president Nicolas Maduro has been threatening to upset the South American applecart by grabbing the oil-rich Essequibo, encompassing two thirds of the landmass of Guyana. It has been disputed territory since the old Spanish-British colonial days but only became heated recently since Guyana unearthed crude oil deposits in 2019. ‘Should current trends persist, Guyana is poised to emerge as one of the foremost per capita oil producers worldwide by 2030. This discovery constitutes the most substantial addition to global oil reserves since the 1970s, bringing a shift in dynamics of the international energy landscape.’

  Not only is Maduro hungry for money, he is also in danger of losing the next election for the first time in years and may reckon an external enemy will mobilise domestic public opinion around him.

  As of yesterday there appears to have been an agreement between Venezuela and Guyana that neither will use force in the dispute, though Maduro has form for reneging on his word. Joe Biden appears eager for a confrontation with Venezuela but in doing so he is potentially setting the stage for another proxy war with Russia.

Nicolas Maduro first took over as president on 19 April 2013 and this last term started 9 January 2019. Both charts look highly unsettled and trapped this year and his initial presidency chart may well grind to a halt in 2024 when the next election is due.

  His own personal chart 23 November 1962 9.03pm Caracas, looks extremely insecure exactly now till mid March 2024 which may well tempt him into taking desperate measures to prop up his position.

 Guyana took independence on 20 May 1966 and looks rattled through this year and the next two with tr Saturn square the Gemini Sun early in 2024 and then opposing the Uranus Pluto. By mid 2024 tr Uranus will collide with the Mars/Neptune midpoint and by 2025 will conjunct the Mars – it could be an explosive and unsettling phase.

 The Venezuela/Guyana relationship chart hints at long drawn out aggravation stretching through into 2026.