Astrology of Today’s News

Donald Trump is approaching his 71^st birthday this Wednesday pursuing his usual scorched-earth policy against critics and Comey in particular. Anyone accuses him of lying, he’ll double up and wham back in response, to the delight of his die-hard supporters, who soak up his every wild claim as gospel. [See March 17 201 post on Roy Cohn, his early McCarthyite mentor, who taught him his wrecking-ball tactics.]

His Solar Return for the year from June 13^th onwards, set for Washington, DC, where he spends most time, has an expansive Jupiter on the Ascendant square Pluto in the 4^th opposition MC – so he’ll be magnifying his might-makes-right, law-unto-himself tactics with dogmatic determination. His Jupiter is also in an Air Grand Trine to Moon trine Mercury – so ultra-communicative and not much hope the twitter tsunami will retreat any time soon.

He does have the SR Sun opposition Saturn, but since that is the driving rod of a Fire Grand Trine of Uranus in the 7^th trine North Node trine Saturn, making the Sun the key planet, it may not work quite as discouragingly as some of his detractors hope. But he does look isolated in his everyday routines with Saturn in the 3^rd, resentful and mutinous in relations at home with the family; and prone to splitting with close work and personal companions with Uranus in the 7^th. The Sun, Mercury, Mars in the 9^th does hint at legal issues as well as foreign relations. Neptune in the 6^th – lacklustre energy and health.

Solar Returns aren’t always (irritatingly) as useful as they might be, but where he runs into catastrophic trouble is from birthday June 2019, with Saturn Pluto in the 10^th opposition Mars Mercury in the 4^th.

His Lunar Returns, again only giving a background which needs fleshed out from transits and progressions:

13 May to 9 June – very stuck, cornered, directionless.

9 Jun to 6 July – confident, combative, energy sags

6 July to 3 Aug – nasty month with Sun Mars in the 7^th opposition Pluto. Muddles and mayhem, with the Fire Grand Trine in his hidden houses, so boxed in and stressed.

3 Aug to 30 – directionless, hostile relationships, energy strain.

30 Aug to 26 Sept – gritty, explosive, disruptive, but still going for the jugular in his approach.

November 20 for a month looks v logjammed with a Mars square Pluto; 17 Dec – trapped and lacking support; 13 Jan 2018 – attention-seeking but under-supportive helpers; 9 March -indecisive, drifting and blocked-in; 5 April – bad tempered, depressed, low energy; 3 May – complete road-block career-wise.

Former Top Gear and The Grand Tour tv presenter Richard Hammond has escaped death for the second time in a crash that Jeremy Clarkson described as the “most frightening” crash he had ever seen. He was on a practice run in Switzerland with an electric car which flipped and then burst into flames. He suffered a fractured knee but was not seriously injured.

In 2006 he suffered severe brain injuries from a Top Gear crash, but made a full recovery after several years treatment.

Born 19 December 1969, Solihull, England, he’s a sporty Sagittarius in a determined square to Pluto; with his Sun on the point of a wedge trine/sextile to an up-and-down and hates-failure Saturn in Taurus opposition Jupiter, and also on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to an adventurous Jupiter in Scorpio trine Mars in Pisces. So a go-getter, risk-taker and hugely energised.

At the moment he has tr Uranus trine his Sun and quincunx his Pluto; but remarkably little Mars activity, until you look at his Progressions, where his Sec Prog Mars is opposing his Uranus for the next year. And he seemingly had another scrunch-up earlier this year on a motorcycle. A time to be wary.

His previous major accident in 2006, also has little direct Mars activity apart from his progressed Mars quincunx his Jupiter, shaking up that wedge involving Sun and Saturn. Though tr Pluto in Sagittarius conjunct his Sun and square his Pluto oversaw a long and difficult recovery in the months/years thereafter.

“Come on, Robin, to the Bat Cave! There’s not a moment to lose!” An epic two years on television in the 1960s as the Caped Crusader imprinted actor Adam West on a generation as the only Batman and he never lost his cult fans. He struggled in later years to throw off the one-trick pony label but always said he was blessed to have been given a signature role. Recently he came back to prominence in Family Guy.

He died this week from leukaemia. Born 19 September 1928, Walla Walla, Washington, he was a Sun Virgo square Mars in Gemini; with a charming and persuasive Pluto square Venus Mercury in Libra; and a (maybe) T Square of North Node opposition Sagittarius Moon square Neptune.

Usually individuals tied into the zeitgeist have marked North Node aspects. His was square a film-and-fantasy Neptune in showy Leo and conjunct his lucky/successful Mars/Jupiter midpoint and = his Sun/Jupiter. His Jupiter and Mars were also in aspect to his Neptune/Pluto midpoint which has a feel of the supernatural about it, certainly good for weaving a fantastical tale.

Please add below. Older posts under News on top bar.

Boris Johnson is leading the betting to take over from Theresa May if (when) she steps down. Though he’s not in a great year with a car-crash tr Pluto square his Mars/Saturn now till mid July, returning on and off till late 2018; and tr Saturn opposition his Sun Venus in Dec this year as well. 2018 is worse with tr Pluto opposition his Mars/Uranus on and off all year; and worse a frustratingly stuck tr Pluto opposition his Mars/Pluto in 2018/19; as well as an undermining tr Neptune square Mars/Node in 18/19; and a grind-to-a-halt Solar Arc MC opposition his Saturn (birth time being accurate) in early 2019, followed by major hiccups in 2020. Though by that time he does have one upbeat Jupiter midpoint.

The others I’ll leave till she resigns and they throw their names into the ring.

A government of ‘certainty’ was how Theresa May described her future hoped-for support from the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party. And good luck with that.

The DUP are anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage, have previously appointed a climate denier as environment minister in Northern Ireland, and have several ‘creationists’ among its senior members. Lord preserve us. They are pro-Brexit and pro-open border with the Republic of Ireland; and anti-cutting winter fuel allowance and losing the triple-lock pension.

Their leader Arlene Foster, 3 July 1970, is a tough, combative Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars in Cancer; with a Half Grand Sextile of Saturn in Taurus opposition Neptune, sextile Mars, sextile Pluto. So not a push over.

Her relationship chart with Theresa May is dire with a composite Sun Venus opposition Saturn square Mars, with Mars opposition Neptune – outright dislike and undermining. Strange bedfellows.

Tentative conclusions from the mayhem of the UK election.

The younger voters are beginning to stir, expressing their dislike of traditional politics. Corbyn is very old-school but seen by the young as a rebel and anti-establishment which they appreciate. Had they exerted themselves last year, the Brexit vote (= bring back the good old days of the British Empire) would have gone the other way.

They also agreed with his ‘terrorism has its roots in western interference in the Middle East’ comments; which were shouted down by conservatives as scandalous. The Manchester and London attacks should have swung the vote towards the law-and-order Tory Party, but since they’d been in charge, especially May as Home Secretary for years, and glaring mistakes were made by under-resourced and legally hamstrung police and security services, it did the opposite.

Maybe by the end of Pluto’s slow grind through Capricorn in the mid 2020s there will be different styles of government and politics. Macron’s neither-right nor-left approach worked in France. Even the improbable Trump belongs to neither traditional party, and gave a voice (albeit false) to the dispossessed underclasses, which got him elected. The old rules no longer apply.

What it means for Brexit, heaven alone knows. A coalition government will be weak and take time to negotiate. A Tory leadership battle will delay matters and be a toxic fight between hard and soft Brexiters and Remainers; and almost certainly lead to yet another election soon (can we bear it?)

The UK/EU relationship chart looks on an uncertain and confused downhill slide over the next three years with tr Neptune square the Moon (exactly now) and moving as well in 2018/19 to oppose the composite Jupiter. Tr Pluto will oppose the composite Saturn for deadlock through 2018/19; and while there is a separating tr Saturn conjunct the composite Sun in late 2018, that’s a once-in-seven-years occurrence in hard aspect terms.

The separatist Scot Nats took a drubbing, which may be to do with local discontent about badly run services, but could also be an indication that the drive to disrupt old alliances is waning along with the fading tr Uranus square tr Pluto.

The UK chart has tr Pluto opposition the Cancer Moon giving rise to impassioned and at times violent expressions of feelings in 2017/18; and that’s amplified by tr Pluto also opposition the Solar Arc Mercury for the next three years. So vehement debates will continue to tear the country apart – and maybe that’s no bad thing, part of the deconstruction and reconstruction process where politics is concerned. At least the voters aren’t apathetic any longer. By 2019 the Solar Arc Moon opposes the UK 11^th house Saturn (= the legislature) which suggests the populace will be thoroughly disenchanted, even more so, with politicians.

Tr Neptune is also conjunct the UK Solar Arc Mars exact now and running on till 2020, which will give rise to confusion and panic; plus tr Pluto sextile the 2^nd house Neptune, exact now and until late 2018 which is financial uncertainty.

And last but not least the Solar Arc Midheaven squaring the 8^th house Mars, exact in 2 months’ time, which has produced another shock – stirring up anger, provoking questions about where the country is going, as well as accompanying violent deaths and financial crises.

To be continued ……

Well, there’s a turn up for the books. The polls weren’t wrong. And Theresa May’s ‘lucky’ tr Pluto sextile her Solar Arc Jupiter was drowned under a tsunami of delusional Neptune. Tr Pluto is square her Sun/Neptune midpoint at the moment [see post June 2] and on and off till late 2018. Across 2017/18/19 as well tr Neptune is conjunct her Mars, then square her Mars/Jupiter, then opposition her Jupiter.

Mars Jupiter describes an opportunist, or as Sakoian & Acker have it ‘a soldier of fortune’; prone to being opinionated and aggressive when promoting their beliefs. ‘Their self-assertiveness often pushes them to attempt great things without the necessary resources to succeed.’ ‘Prone to exaggerate their own importance. Unreliable.’

She pushed her ‘strong and stable’ (and bone-headedly stubborn) Venus Pluto in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio to the foreground, but that Mars Jupiter was always going to be her undoing.

I don’t see how she can hang on. The Tory Party is always brutal with leaders who fail. Her relationship chart with the Conservative Party picks up a tr Uranus opposition the composite Sun from later this month, on and off for a year thereafter. (Or maybe 2018 depending on birth times). But tr Uranus also retrogrades to square the composite Uranus again later in the year which shakes up that whole composite T Square of Mars Neptune opposition Uranus square Sun. So she’s in a very precarious situation vis a vis her own party.

When David Cameron went after Brexit, tr Pluto was square his composite Mars and conjunct Pluto with the Tory Party. And when Maggie Thatcher was toppled tr Pluto was conjunct the composite Mercury Saturn and opposition the composite Uranus in her Tory relationship chart.

Add on: Theresa May is evidently going to Buck House at 12.30pm to seek permission to form a UK government, despite losing her Commons majority. She is trying to stay in office on the understanding that the Democratic Unionist Party will support her minority administration, giving her 329, just three over the 326 needed to give her a majority.

That gives a very unstable, unhappy-voters chart with a 10^th house Sun opposition Moon Saturn, and square Neptune – so exactly on the Full Moon. A belligerent Mars also in the 10^th sits across from Pluto, coming exact as an opposition by transit by July 2^nd. Can’t see that holding together for long.

Tom Cruise’s latest movie The Mummy has been earning some scathing reviews: -“basically a mess. The plot sags like an aeon-old decaying limb – derivative and empty headed.” And the Rolling Stone crit described it as a “monster fail. A lumbering loser.”

Principal Photography started in the UK on 3 April 26 with a Neptune square Mars Saturn in Sagittarius, so no surprises it has run into trouble. But there’s also a Jupiter trine Pluto so it might earn a buck or two, bad reviews being no guide to what the public like.

Cruise himself is not in his best year with tr Neptune conjunct his 6^th house Jupiter running till January 2018 which tends to bring high hopes followed by disappointment. Plus he has some frustratingly stuck Pluto transits to his Mars/Pluto midpoint and his Solar Arc Mars. But he’ll stay bullish nonetheless with tr Pluto square his Mars/Jupiter through till late 2018.

His next movie, out this September, ‘American Made’, sees him outdoing even his usual risky stunt performances, by climbing out of the back of a solo plane while in flight low to the ground to toss out bundles of cocaine. Unusually for a top star he does most of his own stunts.

He does have a Mars in Taurus square Uranus, so will be attracted to risk and an adrenaline rush. And he is tough with a Yod of a Cancer Sun sextile Pluto inconjunct Saturn in his 5^th, which gives him a good deal of inner strength as well as some self-defeating attitudes as well. Plus his Jupiter opposes Pluto giving him an overdose of confidence. And his Neptune is emphasised being on the point of a T Square to a North Node in Leo opposition Saturn, which will suit him to the movie business, but also give him that Neptunian delusional sense that he’ll slide through unscathed.

The newly nominated FBI chief to replace James Comey is Christopher A Wray who served as Deputy Attorney General under GWB, and more recently was Chris Christie’s defence lawyer over Bridgegate. He will face a tough confirmation hearing over his independence from the White House. But on the whole there’s relief that it could have been a worse nominee.

Born 17 December 1966, he’s a late Sun Sagittarius like Comey, and in Wray’s case his Sun squares onto a determined Saturn in Pisces opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo. He’s evidently understated so his Sun, fairly ego-centric on the point of a T Square,  must be in one of the hidden houses. His Jupiter in Leo is trine Mercury in Sagittarius, sextile Mars in Libra, which makes sense for a lawyer, as does the Sag Sun.

He’s not a comfortable mix with Trump since his Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto squares onto Trump’s Sun Uranus opposition Moon; and his Mars is conjunct Trump’s Neptune – so very jangled interface and under-supportive.

Their relationship chart (assuming he is confirmed) has a tense tr Pluto trine the composite Mars in Sept/Oct this year; with tr Saturn in a separating square to the composite Sun opposition Mercury this month and again in October; and worse through 2018 to 2020.

It’s not as combustible as Comey’s relationship with Trump since Comey’s Uranus is conjunct Trump’s Mars, and his Uranus Pluto straddle Trump’s Ascendant so in a position to change the public image of the president. That relationships looks set to rumble on disruptively for another two if not three years.