Brenda Lee named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time and singles chart-topping phenomenon along with Elvis, The Beatles and Ray Charles is still making waves with her “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, recorded in 1958, and now back topping the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2023. It makes her the oldest artist ever to top the chart and 67 years since her first hit aged 12.
Performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she was given the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite”. Her hits include “Sweet Nothin’s”, “I’m Sorry”, “I Want to Be Wanted”, “Speak to Me Pretty”, “All Alone Am I” and “Losing You”.
She was born December 11, 1944 3.24 pm in Atlanta, Georgia with an 8th house Sun in Sagittarius conjunct Mars on the cusp of the 8th in an excitable opposition to Uranus. Her Sun is square a hard-working, warm-hearted Jupiter in Virgo in her entertaining 5th house; her creative/musical Neptune is also in her 5th on the point of a T square to Mercury opposition Saturn. She has a friendly, charming Venus in Aquarius conjunct her Midheaven square an intense Scorpio Moon. Her Moon is square a 4th house Pluto and trine Saturn. Not the easiest of Moon aspects though her Moon is conjunct her Venus/ Pluto midpoint giving her intense emotional attachments. She has been married for 59 years and not much is known about her husband or her marriage which fits with secretive, self-protective Moon Pluto aspects.
Her Solar Arc Jupiter is sitting around the midpoint of her Sun and Mars around now giving her a boost. Tr Jupiter is also hovering over her Ascendant, not quite exact but that will also do her brand image no harm at all into 2024. With tr Pluto conjunct her 10th house Venus in 2023/24. Her Solar Return from December 2023 has Jupiter in the 10th bringing her luck and attracting success.
The extraordinary life of Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, writer, musician and activist was an inspiration to many as his influence as “the people’s laureate” made him beloved across a wide audience. “Noisy, charismatic, provocative but ultimately thoughtful, Benjamin Zephaniah was not just a poet but a cultural force. As a black British writer, and as a performer at home on stage or TV, he cut a path for others to follow.”
He was born 15 April 1958 in Birmingham, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write. A present of a typewriter encouraged him to become a writer. The poetry he wrote was influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he called “street politics”. His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth’s Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities. As a young man, he spent time in borstal and received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary.
Zephaniah has said that his mission was to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, and to “take [it] everywhere” to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances. In addition to poetry and novels he was also an actor, most notably playing “Jimmy” Jesus in Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022. Latterly he spent time in Beijing and studied Mandarin Chinese for over a decade.
In an interview recently he admitted having been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her and coming to regret it in later life.
He had an inspirational though bleak Fire Grand Trine of pro-active Aries Sun Mercury trine Pluto trine a thoughtful, knowledge-hungry Saturn in Sagittarius. That was formed into two talented Kites by Sun Mercury in an expansive, enthusiastic opposition to Jupiter in Libra and Neptune North Node in Scorpio giving him his irrepressibly upbeat streak. In complete contrast the other Kite was from Pluto opposition Mars and Chiron, stemming from his experiences growing up with prejudice frustrating and infuriating him. He also had a sensitive Pisces Moon and Venus as well as a determined and inventive Uranus square Neptune.
His creative, get-it-together 5th harmonic was strong, as well as his creative 7H. His victim/healer 12H was strained and notable, allowing him to channel his anger in productive ways. His leaving-a-legacy for posterity 17th harmonic was his strongest.
John Lennon was gunned down forty three years ago on 8 December 1980 in New York by mentally disturbed Mark Chapman who also had a hit list including David Bowie, Johnny Carson, Paul McCartney, Ronald Reagan, and Elizabeth Taylor. Having shot Lennon he sat quietly and waited to be arrested. No one has managed to tie down his motive though it appeared to be connected in his psychotic fantasy with Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. He is still in prison serving a life sentence with parole being routinely denied every two years since 2000.
A new Apple TV+ docuseries, John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial narrated by Kiefer Sutherland looks over the events of that night.
What was always significant astrologically was that Lennon, born 9 October 1940 6.30pm Liverpool was born on a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Taurus, made his debut with the Beatles twenty years later on the next Jupiter Saturn and was killed when the next Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Libra was in place.
When he died tr Neptune was hovering around the opposition to his Solar Arc Jupiter Saturn and the transiting Saturn Jupiter was moving to conjunct his North Node and square his SA Uranus and IC.
For most people Jupiter Saturn produces unexceptional effects apart from a need to fulfil ideals in a practical way. But for a few who are raised too high by Jupiter’s expansive drive to attract public adulation they are subsequently cut down by Saturn’s scythe. US Presidents elected under it can often come to a sticky end.
Lennon’s Chiron was conjunct his Pluto in his performing 5th house giving him enormous influence but relocated to New York it put his Pluto Chiron in the 8th house of death and rebirth.
Mark Chapman, 10 May 1955 7.30pm Fort Worth Texas, had no prior criminal convictions and had just before resigned from a job as a security guard in Hawaii. He was bullied as a child by his father compounding his sense of worthlessness which with a Taurus Sun opposition Saturn square Pluto makes sense. He also had an 8th house Mars trine Neptune which would give him an underlying reservoir of deep anger and a need to attract publicity and attention. Plus an adventurous Venus opposition Neptune square Jupiter Uranus in his 9th house of books and ideals. There’s a terrible split in his chart between his totally battened down Sun, Saturn Pluto and his yearning for a pzazzy life of glamour and excitement – all channeled through Pluto trine Venus, sextile Mars into that underground tank of explosive rage. When he shot Lennon his SA Jupiter Uranus, desperate for excitement was squaring his drab, downbeat Sun opposition Saturn – bringing his life into a destiny changing crisis. His SA Pluto was moving to square his Mars as well with tr Neptune just over the opposition to his Mars, triggering his rage.
Chapman’s Chiron was conjunct Lennon’s Aquarius Moon and opposition Lennon’s Pluto Chiron. Two unhealable wounds interlocking. Their relationship chart was brutal with a composite Mars Pluto conjunction opposition Saturn square North Node in Scorpio.
The other astro of note is Yoko Ono, 18 February 1933 8.30 pm Tokyo, Japan. On her astrocartography Liverpool sits exactly on her Venus Midheaven line which is charmingly apt. Her Chiron at 23 Taurus is conjunct Lennon’s Uranus and also square Chapman’s Pluto for another entanglement.
Jupiter Saturn – hubris brought low by the gods who brook no rivalry from mere humans.
Life in the Royal goldfish bowl comes with wealth and privilege at the cost of lack of privacy with rumours constantly swirling, some true some not, about the state of Royal marriages.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia are latest in line with lurid tales of her alleged affair continuing after her marriage with a man who subsequently married Felipe’s sister. All hotly denied. Letizia was a well-known television news journalist before she married, a divorce and shock-horror a commoner, but deemed by many as boosting the monarchy after Juan Carlos’s many missteps. But she was not well received by snobs, some of whom referred to her as “the maid”.
The wedding on 22 May 2004 11.49am Madrid, had an upbeat, adventurous Jupiter opposition Uranus square Sun and a passionate Venus opposition Pluto. But there was also a teeth-gritting, aggravated Moon, Mars, Saturn trine Uranus hinting at the criticism and the strain ahead in the marriage.
She is quite a scratchy personality, 16 September 1972 6.24pm Oviedo, Spain, with a difficult T quare of Sagittarius Moon opposition Saturn square Sun Mars in Virgo with her Uranus in the 8th and her Pluto on the cusp.
Felipe, 30 January 1968 12.45 pm Madrid, has Neptune in his 7th house of relationships square his Aquarius Moon and an erratic Uranus Pluto in his romantic 5th along with Jupiter. Letizia’s Sun Mars is conjunct his Uranus Pluto so it always was a highly volatile mix.
Their relationship chart has a composite Sun Neptune bringing high hopes and unrealism to the match with a power-struggling composite Pluto square Mars, which often occurs with Royal relationships because of the power imbalance. Tr Saturn is putting a damper on their togetherness as it squares the composite Sun this year. There may be more upsets when tr Uranus opposes the composite Neptune Sun in 2025 but neither of their Sun/Moon midpoints looks wrenched apart until later in the decade.
Married the same year were Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark, on 14 May 2004, so the wedding chart had the same grin-and-bear-it but irritable Mars Saturn trine Uranus; with a passionate Venus opposition Pluto and Pluto inconjunct Sun. Recently there were rumours of his alleged affair with a Mexican socialite. Princess Mary retaliated by sharing a clip of her, Prince Frederik and their four children decorating the Christmas tree.
Frederik, 26 May 1968 11.40pm Copenhagen, is a New Moon in Gemini with an erratic, troubled Pluto Uranus conjunction in his 8th. Mary, 5 February 1972 Hobart, Australia, no birth time, has her Aquarius Sun in his 1st which is positive though her Mars in Aries is conjunct his Saturn which will produce rough edges, her Saturn is conjunct his Venus and IC and her Pluto, Uranus and Moon are in his 8th – quite a pressure cooker set of aspects.
Their relationship chart has an aggravated, one-sided composite Mars Saturn conjunction maybe square Moon; with a yod of Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Venus. He’s feeling a chill at home with tr Saturn conjunct his New Moon in Gemini in the 4th this year and next. With upheavals and disruptions on their relationship chart as tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Mars 10th of this month to mid March. More shocks to come.
Crown Princess Victoria married her trainer Daniel Westling on 19 June 2010 at 3.30pm in Stockholm. When there was a powerful, exuberant and tricky Grand Cross of Sun opposition Pluto square a lively Jupiter Uranus opposition Saturn. Equal quantities of fun, adventure, duty and over-control. They have been shutting down recent speculation that their marriage is on the rocks.
Their relationship chart has an affectionate Sun Venus conjunction in a fiery square to Mars; with a power-couple Jupiter opposition Pluto; and a high-tension Saturn square Uranus. It is going through an upheaval this year and next with tr Pluto conjunct the composite Uranus.
The flagrantly unfaithful Juan Carlos of Spain married Princess Sophia on 14 May 1962 10 am Athens, Greece with a super-confident Jupiter opposition Pluto square Mercury Venus in place; with a dynamic Mars in Aries on the midheaven and a cool Saturn in the 7th. But it is not nearly as fraught as some of the above charts. She had a Scorpio Sun opposition Uranus in her chart so would be used to independent-minded men. Juan Carlos’s Sun Venus fell in her 7th and his Jupiter in her 8th, with his Moon conjunct her Jupiter. And the relationship chart, though strained was not too horrific. Maybe in some odd way it suited her.
Wedding charts can be surprisingly informative about the course and nature of the marriage that follows.
Charles and Diana’s wedding, 29 July 1981, bizarrely six days before Meghan Markle was born, had the same flamboyant Leo Sun conjunct the North Node but also the emotionally volatile Mars in Cancer conjunct Moon square Saturn Jupiter in Libra. Storms and tempests were likely to follow. Mercury square Pluto and trine Uranus amplified the argumentative, stubborn streak as well. The divorce, 28 August 1996, came as tr Saturn in Aries hard aspected the Mars and Jupiter Saturn – though the split had been widening in the years before.
Queen Elizbeth 11’s wedding to Prince Philip, 20 November 1947 11am-ish was an eye-opener with a Scorpio Sun opposition Taurus North Node square Mars Saturn (and Pluto) in Leo opposition an Aquarius Moon. Certainly designed for the long haul with incredible endurance but not exactly sweetness and light. Grimly determined and one sided with Philip having to swallow his pride and take on a less masculine role causing resentment.
Charles’ second wedding to Camilla with a Sun, Venus, Moon in Aries trine Pluto and opposition Jupiter was a happier affair though a Saturn square to the Sun Venus put duty squarely centre-frame.
Prince William’s wedding, 29 April 2011 11.30am had a Sun trine Pluto sextile Neptune, hinting at the ambitions that lay behind the match. There was an exuberant Mars Jupiter in Aries; as well as a downbeat, dutiful Saturn opposition Venus square Pluto in the entertaining 5th house. Duty and performance in the public eye went hand in hand. A hidden 8th house Pisces Moon would keep emotions well out of sight.
Prince Harry’s wedding, 19 May 2018 12.39 pm, like William’s had a 10th house Taurus Sun trine a 5th house Pluto, sextile a 7th house Neptune – ambition reigned supreme. But two things mark it out. One is an explosive, volatile Mars square Uranus which is being triggered this year and through 2024/25 by tr Pluto. The other is the super-amplified Pluto which is the driving planet of a Kite in opposition to a Cancer Moon trine Neptune trine Jupiter – power, betrayal, an over whelming desire to grab attention. A negative 5th house Pluto can suggest domination by one or other partner and over control of children.
But the Razzie for the worst ever Royal wedding has to go to Prince Albert and the oh-so-sad Charlene, 1 July 2011 which took place with the Sun and Moon opposition Pluto square Saturn opposition Uranus so it was always going to be a roller coaster of repeating crises.
Not that his father’s marriage to Grace Kelly was exactly seamless harmony. The wedding on 18 April 1956 had an ethereal Sun opposition Neptune trine/sextile a flashy power-couple Jupiter Pluto in Leo. But the unrealistic Sun opposition Neptune squared Mars and opposed Uranus for a bumpy path ahead.
The bizarre and tragic tale of Dave Hollis, who quit his job as a high-flying Disney executive to join a self-help empire with his influencer wife Rachel, ended when he spiralled into depression as she collected more fans. He struggled with her over-sharing about their inadequate sex life and her role as breadwinner. His social media obsession took over his life leading to a divorce and a drink and drug binge which killed him.
He had half a million followers and Rachel 1.5 million Instagrammers. Their output portrayed a seemingly happy marriage though out of sight of their fans they were struggling to make it work.
According to the DM before they married he was already downing a bottle of vodka a day and she came from a religious background.
Two things stand out from the astrology. One is that Dave, 14 February 1975, was from the beginning a troubled man. He had a truly difficult Mars in Capricorn opposition Saturn square Pluto (maybe opposition an Aries Moon). He came from a highly pressured family/father background which would give him an obsessive drive to succeed but would leave scars of underlying deep fears and black depression.
His wife Rachel, 9 January 1983, hooked into this T square with her Capricorn Sun conjunct his Mars, so she would trigger his worst nightmares. Her Mars in Aquarius was in addition conjunct his Sun for a competitive and argumentative rivalry. And her unyielding Pluto Saturn conjunction was conjunct his Uranus. The Chiron of each were square the others’ Sun – opening up each other’s deepest wounds.
The warning flags must have been waving in a hurricane when they got married.
The relationship chart has a competitive argumentative composite Sun, Mercury, Mars (Moon) in an unkind/cruel inconjunct to Saturn. Pluto was trine the composite Venus for a whiff of attraction but was also in a power-struggling square to Jupiter.
I don’t know what to say – just astonished that they even got together.
Hall & Oates, the most successful musical duo of all time, has ended up in a heap on a Nashville court room floor as Daryl Hall sued John Oates for breaching their half century partnership by trying to sell half of their joint operation. The aim was to make long term gains from streaming royalties, advertising syncs and other sources.
The “ultimate partnership betrayal” and a “global divorce” is what Daryl Hall has accused erstwhile musical partner John Oates of as he aimed to dissolve the Whole Oats company which handles their trademarks, likenesses and recorded music royalties. What could be a multimillion dollar sale is now dangling in limbo.
Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays the electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, either separately or in collaboration and achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues.
John Oates’ chart is an eye-opener. Born 7 April 1948 1am New York (biography) it gives (birth time being accurate) a megaton Pluto, Saturn, Mars conjunct in the 8th and that is heavy. His quick witted 3rd house Aries Sun in trine those 8th house Leo planets and widely trine Jupiter in Sagittarius giving him inspiration, faith in his own judgement and a tendency to demand attention. His Jupiter opposing Uranus square Mercury Moon in Pisces point to an adventurous streak and impulsive decisions.
Daryl Hall, 11 October 1946, Pottstown, PA, no birth time sadly, is a Sun Neptune in Libra trine Uranus, sextile Pluto (conjunct Saturn in Leo). He also has an ultra-determined Mars in Scorpio square his Saturn Pluto conjunction as well as Venus in Scorpio. Both of them are inordinately stubborn – though also enduring. Hall’s Sun Neptune falls across Oates’ Sun opposition Neptune – so they will be well-suited musically. Hall’s Jupiter in Scorpio also sits exactly conjunct Oates’ Midheaven for a successful combo. Though Hall’s Mars conjunct Oates’ South Node hints at problems since when push comes to shove he won’t bring out the best in Oates.
Their relationship chart is Neptune heavy with a composite Sun Mercury square Neptune – performing in harmony but unrealistic when it comes to nuts and bolts which bring disappointment.
Oates’ will have issues with money having Mars, Saturn, Pluto in the 8th and a Taurus North Node – it’s a miracle it has only caused a rift now.
War weariness has hit Ukraine with the counter-offensive not producing the expected results and international backers being distracted by their own internal problems. EU leaders are facing deadlock over a promised €50bn lifeline for Kyiv with Hungary digging in its toes and Germany being forced to curb borrowing. At a time when the flow of US financial and military support has stalled in a politically divided Congress.
Even within Ukraine, cracks are beginning to appear. Kyiv’s mayor, the former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, has said Volodymyr Zelensky’s popularity is failing with the war stuck in stalemate as he becomes increasingly isolated and autocratic and he will pay for his mistakes by eventually losing power. He blamed him for ignoring warnings about the Russian invasion in February 2022. Opinion polls in Ukraine have shown that support for fighting against Russia and for President Zelensky have fallen, although they are still above 60 per cent. Zelensky’s opponents have recently accused him of mishandling the counteroffensive, failing to stamp out corruption, dodging a presidential election scheduled for March and losing international political goodwill.
On the Ukraine country chart, 24 August 1991 2.34 pm Kiev, tr Neptune opposition the Ukraine Mars this year and running through until mid February 2024 was always going to bring a sense of panicky failure. From early 2024 through till late 2025 tr Pluto conjunct the Saturn predicts a discouraging slog, deprivation and hardship though there may be glimmerings of light from June 2024 onwards into early 2025 with tr Uranus square the Ukraine Jupiter. That last usually brings lucky breaks.
The Lunar Eclipse of September 2024 at 26 Pisces is opposition the Ukraine Mars which looks violent/argumentative. 2025/2026 sees a combination of lucky breaks and disasters with upheavals and pressure for radical changes from tr Uranus square the Sun.
The relationship charts between Ukraine and Russia 1917 – turmoil through till late 2024 with stalemate causing aggravation. And Ukraine/Russia 8 December 1991 – grinding aggravation through 2024/25/26.
Zelensky’s Swearing In chart, 20 May 2019 10am Kyiv, shows 2025 as the year of greatest upheaval for his Term – since even Klitschko thinks he can’t be ousted midway through the war. High hopes being dented is 2023’s epitaph with the over optimistic Jupiter Neptune square closing to exact by Solar Arc. The recent Lunar Eclipse hit the Administration Uranus for a nasty jolt. 2025 has tr Uranus conjunct the Taurus Sun for an abrupt change, running alongside tr Pluto square the Uranus which is classic for a collapsed administration as well as tr Neptune Saturn square the Mars – so nothing good coming out of that for him.
His personal chart, 25 January 1978 2pm Krivoj Rog, has had the frustratingly trapped tr Pluto opposition his Mars all this year and continuing till late 2024. With a discouraging, destructive SA Saturn conjunct his Pluto in 2025 alongside an undermining SA Neptune conjunct his Sun; and a jolting tr Uranus square his Saturn.
Sigh, not sure why unwinnable conflicts are the mark of the moment. It is difficult to see where this one is going.
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman Supreme Court Justice and regarded generally as a shining example of a past that has gone, has died. She was a trailblazer not only in rising to the top but in giving the casting vote to the Roe v Wade ruling, and she was also believed to be pivotal to the vote which put George W Bush into the White House instead of Al Gore after a deadlocked election. She was collaborative and keen to ensure rulings would sit well with ordinary Americans.
Born 26 March 1930 1.10am El Paso, Texas, she was the daughter of Arizona cattle ranchers, tending the herd on her way to her class at Stanford Law School in 1952.
She had the signature Saturn opposition Pluto square Uranus of her generation – used to hardship, unyielding and innovative. She had a pro-active, sharp-witted 3rd house Aries Sun close to unconventional Uranus and Venus – so a mix of charm with a hint of rebellion. She had an 8th house Neptune opposition Mars square Jupiter in her 5th – good at attracting publicity, an enthusiastic worker and a good team mate with an ability to project an aura of helpfulness from Neptune.
What runs through her notable harmonics – 5H, 13H, 17H and 22H – are marked Jupiter Pluto aspects, not visible on her natal chart – super-confident, lucky and successful.
