Astrology of Today’s News

Camilla has a fling with Charles, because her boyfriend Andrew is sneaking off with Charles’s sister Anne. Sounds like a trashy rom-com instead of being an eye-opener into how the upper classes have traditionally conducted their lives. Penny Junor’s The Duchess; The Untold Story has been shining a no-doubt unwelcome light on Royal shenanigans, as the monarchy edges towards a handover .

In the beginning, Camilla, now Duchess of Cornwall, is determined to marry the super-attractive, cavalry officer Andrew Parker Bowles despite his serially wandering ways, but draws the line at his dalliance with the then unmarried Princess Anne. So she embarks on a liaison of her own with Prince Charles, for whom she would at that time have been an unsuitably unvirginal bride. As a Roman Catholic Andrew was equally out of the question as a spouse for Anne and so he gets hitched to Camilla. In the way of all aristo and Royal circles everyone frequently meets socially and at race meetings and so the merry-go-round continues.

Camilla, 17 July 1947 7.10am London, has a hidden Sun Mercury in Cancer in the 12^th trine a happy-home Jupiter in Scorpio in the 4^th; with Venus Moon in Cancer also in the 12^th; and the formidable Saturn Pluto conjunct her Leo Ascendant. So quite defensive and reclusive.

Andrew Parker Bowles, 27 Dec 1939 6am?? London, is a Sun Capricorn in a confident, devil-may-care square to Jupiter in upfront Aries and opposition a Cancer Moon. His Moon certainly connects with Camilla’s Cancer planets. Though his Full Moon will give him an ambivalence about what he wants. Plus he has a seductive Venus in Aquarius opposition Pluto, which sits across Cam’s Descendant/Ascendant axis. He’d make her feel trapped, but his Venus on her Descendant is a good placing for marriage.

Charles on the other hand connects with her 4^th house Jupiter which is conjunct his Sun, so he’d bring domestic security and comfort; and with Charles’ Mars Jupiter in her 5^th also a good deal of fun.

Anne certainly chimes with Andrew, since his Pluto is conjunct her Venus MC opposition his Venus and her IC. His relationship chart with both ladies has an affectionate composite Sun opposition Venus; though there’s more anger between himself and Camilla with a composite Mars square Pluto.

There’s a good deal of aggravation and competitiveness in Andrew’s relationship with Prince Charles, with a composite Mars trine Uranus trine Neptune, and Mars opposition Pluto as well as Sun Venus opposition Uranus (Moon). Though all water under the bridge now.

What a tangled web they all weave. Marry, produce the heir and spare, then suit yourself.

Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of the Las Vegas shooter, has now returned to the USA. Born 12 December 1954 in the Philippines she has described herself as a “gambling and casinos professional.”

She has a Sun Sagittarius trine Pluto, with a lucky/gamblers Jupiter Uranus in Cancer, maybe conjunct a Cancer/Leo Moon. And a cool, emotionally repressed Venus Saturn in Scorpio. Paddock’s stubbornly pushy Mars in Taurus opposed her Venus Saturn, so it would be a gritty and not altogether kind connection. Their relationship chart has an emotionally blocked composite Venus square Saturn and in a passionate sextile to Mars; with a controlling Sun opposition Pluto. Evidently he put her down all the time when they were out, saying he paid for her, and she seemed submissive. So some sparky affection but more minuses than pluses.

She was born 3 days after Jean-Claude Juncker, so similarities in energy though her Pluto opposition Mars is a wide 9 degrees.

Jellyfish swims into brick-wall appears to be the state of play in the Brexit negotiations with almost zero progress 16 months after the referendum. Which is much as former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis foretold in his Adults in the Room, ‘a searing indictment of the anti-democratic, underhand and downright mendacious tactics used by what he calls the EU’s “deep establishment” to make the Greeks grovel. He predicted Brussels would seek to browbeat the UK in the same way and that we would do better just to walk away. Otherwise we would become entangled in the grip of a monster with more tentacles than the mythological Scylla.’ (Philip Johnston, Telegraph). Varoufakis wrote: “Brussels is a democracy-free zone. It is the nature of the beast to treat the will of electorates as a nuisance that must be, somehow, negated.”

The EU does have a 12^th house Pluto (dirty dealings behind the scenes) in a ruthless square to Mars in Sagittarius. And both Juncker and negotiator Barnier have Mars Pluto oppositions in their natal charts so they fit the ethos. Sakoian & Acker say of this aspect: ‘The temptation is to use collective power for self-aggrandizement. Must learn to use power correctly. Want to rule and remake others causing resentment and conflict.’

The EU Pluto moves by Solar Arc to conjunct the EU 2^nd house Neptune, exact in the spring of 2019, which will create a devastating situation for EU finances; with discouraging tr Saturn moving into the EU 4^th from the end of this year and conjunct the Capricorn Sun in late 2018 bringing an unhappy populace; with a panicky and uncertain 2020 to follow as tr Neptune squares the EU Saturn.

The UK chart has its partnership Sun/Moon midpoint at 14 Aries which had been hammered by tr Uranus square tr Pluto in the two years before the Brexit referendum which might have been a hint. No marriage would survive that intact. Tr Saturn is now aiming to square the Sun/Moon midpoint in late Jan/early Feb 2019, which would normally put the last nail in the coffin of an alliance. Though Saturn does sometimes have a timelag. Even earlier over Christmas December 2018 tr Saturn is conjunct the UK and EU Capricorn Suns.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it ended in a No Deal.  The EU negotiator Michel Barnier, 9 Jan 1951 4.40pm La Tronche, France, is muddling his way through a stressful 2017/18 with tr Pluto conjunct his Sun, and worse square his Neptune; with a directionless tr Neptune conjunct his MC in 2019.

There’s an interesting and timely side story this week about a 2003 sweetheart deal struck between Luxembourg, when Jean-Claude Juncker was PM, and Amazon. The EU’s competition commissioner is now poised to land a bill for hundreds of millions of euros in back taxes on Amazon, alleging that the tax deal granted it almost a decade of illegal state support from Luxembourg, the hub for its European operations. This could prove awkward for Juncker though he’ll no doubt shrug it off. But instructive all the same.

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The father of Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter, was psychopathic with suicidal tendencies according to the FBI, who put him on their Most Wanted list after he escaped from a federal prison. He was an armed bank robber, gambler and fraudster.

Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was born 1 November 1926 in Wisconsin, one day after Jimmy Savile, the notorious UK paedophile entertainer. He was a Sun Venus in Scorpio opposition Mars in Taurus with a gamblers’ Mars square Jupiter; and a paranoid Saturn in Scorpio square Neptune in Leo. It’s not clear when he left the family since he wasn’t imprisoned until Stephen was 8 years old. The brother Eric is insisting they never knew him but he certainly made an impression on Stephen, whether in family myth or the flesh.

The relationship chart between Stephen and father Benjamin has an affectionate and exact composite Sun Venus conjunction in a controlling/possessive opposition to Pluto, and an idealised trine to Neptune. With a confidence-boosting composite Pluto trine Jupiter; and chained-together Pluto square Saturn. Plus an explosive composite Mars Uranus conjunction. He was pretty psychologically tied into dear old dad.

Both have the heavyweight Mars in Taurus, which has endurance and stamina, is slow to blow a fuse, but when it does a volcano erupts. At its most negative it is greedy and violent. And both have their Mars in aspect to Pluto which can be brutal.

Add on: There are a few different years given for his birth date. His gravestone gives 1920.His Social Security application uses “1 November 1925” and his Veterans Affairs record uses “1 November 1926”. The 1930 census lists him as 3 years old on April 19, 1930. If he was born in 1926 he would have been 3 years, 5 months, 18 days old on April 19, 1930.

The Vegas shooting started at 10.08pm on October 1^st when the Fire Grand Trine of Leo Node trine Uranus trine Saturn Descendant in Sagittarius, was formed into two Kites by Uranus in the opposition to Jupiter, and the Node opposition an Aquarius Moon (like the USA). So highly emotional (Moon Aquarius, wanting to shock), and one which sought to justify a shocking act by wrapping it up in a moral justification (Jup Ur). Pluto was in the hidden 8^th, winding up its power, in an exact and ruthless trine to Mars and Venus in the 4^th. With Mars square the Sun/Moon midpoint exactly. Saturn was exactly on the Descendant, bringing separations and a cold attitude to others. Mars Venus opposed a 10^th house Neptune, bringing panic.

Reports say the shooter Stephen Paddock was born 9 April 1953 (though to be treated with caution until verified.) This would make him a Sun Venus in Aries opposition a paranoid Saturn Neptune in Libra squaring onto Uranus in Cancer. This can be lived out in different ways but at its most negative it seeks to destabilise, create anarchy, is autocratic and highly neurotic. Worse he had Pluto in a brutal square to Mars in heavyweight Taurus and in a rules-don’t-apply-to-me square to Jupiter in Taurus; perhaps formed into a T Square by Pluto opposition an Aquarius Moon. Emotionally hyper-charged, angry, cruel.

What repeats through his 5^th, 10^th, 12^th and 18^th harmonics is an explosive contact between Mars and Uranus; with Pluto added in to his can-be-domineering 5H, and his good and bad 10H. He shares a strong 18H with a raft of serial killers (see post Aug 29 2017).

There’s nothing too specific showing up exactly but he’s had his Solar Arc Pluto (tied into that malefic T square) conjunct his Neptune recently and aiming to conjunct his Saturn, indeed sitting on his Saturn/Neptune midpoint, which suggests a nervous breakdown, heavy depression or illness. Significant life-changing crises usually occur when two major configurations in a chart come together by Solar Arc since it concentrates the energy and not in a good way. I would think his last two or three years would have been fairly horrific since his Solar Arc Mars preceded Pluto in bouncing off his Uranus.

A lonely, enraged man looking down on all these people enjoying themselves. Why couldn’t he just have jumped off a bridge?

King Felipe of Spain took over the throne on 19^th June 2014 12am at an exceptionally stressed time, with Mars opposition Uranus square Pluto, hinting at a high-risk, crisis-strewn reign ahead. Although he is largely a ceremonial figure, following the advice of his government, he is also guardian of the constitution and many hope he can help to broker a peaceful resolution to the Catalan breakaway crisis. But he’d clearly be for a unified Spain and the main Catalonian parties are republican.

His Accession chart does have a frustrating tr Pluto opposition the Solar Arc Mars and square Solar Arc Uranus in 2017/18, which looks like rolling upheavals. He’ll face a dip in popularity in Nov/Dec this year with tr Saturn opposition the Sun Mercury. 2019 looks aggravated and discouraging with tr Saturn in hard aspect to Mars, Uranus and Pluto. But where he runs into real trouble is in 2022/23 with tr Uranus opposing the Saturn, then conjunct Venus and opposition the MC, which looks very de-stabilising.

Born 20 January 1968 12.45pm Madrid, he has a 10^th house last degree Sun Capricorn which is picking up the tr Uranus square in 2018, bringing tensions and sudden changes. At the moment he has tr Saturn conjunct his Venus, so downhearted, mourning losses. Tr Pluto is conjunct his MC this year and next which could damage his reputation or force him into a more controlling situation.

He wasn’t altogether happy when his father King Carlos stood down; and will from 2019 be kicking over the traces and insisting on more freedom to speak his mind with tr Uranus moving across his Ascendant and into his Ist house for the years thereafter; with radical changes in his life as tr Pluto trines his Uranus and is conjunct his Sun towards 2023. His grandfather Alfonso X111 abdicated when the Republicans won in the election in 1931 with the Saturn in Capricorn opposition Pluto square Uranus in Aries was in place – and it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that he may go the same way at some point in the 2020s.

The EU are being their usual hypocritical, self-interested selves, and with two minor exceptions have responded with echoing silence to the Spanish policia brutality. Separatist movements run counter to their integrationist ethos.

The relationship charts between the two Spain charts, 1475 and 1975 (see previous post), look jangled and disappointed this year with tr Uranus square Sun Mars on one; and tr Neptune starting a few years of undermining transits on the other. Where it looks to be coming to a head is towards 2020 and onwards till mid decade.

So Brexit may turn out to be way down the list of the EU worries.

More than 50 people have been killed and more than 200 hundred injured in a mass shooting at a Las Vegas open-air concert. The shooter, firing from a nearby hotel, is now dead. Making it more deadly than  the Orlando gay nightclub attack in 2016 which left 49 dead, and the worst ever in US history. More mass shootings occur in the USA, 31% of the global total, despite only having 5% of the world’s population.

There’s no indication yet of the motives behind it, but often they are domestic or caused by mental instability – and made easy by access to guns.

The USA is certainly having a gut-wrenching year and tr Uranus is exactly square the USA Pluto at the moment, which has been inflaming tempers and anxiety all year, exacerbated by the heightened concerns over the August Eclipse, Trump and the devastating hurricanes and flooding. Tr Saturn just off the opposition to the USA Mars is now in a neurotic square to the USA Neptune.

Up in the heavens, Mars is still on the destructive, brutal trine to Pluto, almost exact when the shootings occurred. Late September into mid October was always going to be nerve-stretching and risky.

Las Vegas was founded on 15 May 1905, giving it an indulgent and successful Sun Jupiter in Taurus in an exuberant, gamblers’ opposition to a vengeful Mars in Scorpio; with a highly-strung Neptune opposition Uranus, trine/sextile Saturn. That chart has the Solar Arc Mars conjunct Saturn at the moment; with the Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the LV Pluto – so accident-prone and bleak. Tr Uranus has also been zig zagging across a conjunction to the Venus in upfront Aries, which would heighten emotional tensions, bringing unwelcome surprises.

The NRA which vehemently defends gun-ownership in the US is looking undermined at the moment with the Solar Arc Sun conjunct the NRA Neptune, though that might also double-up on their delusional zealotry. They are under pressure in the next few years; with increasing restrictions on their scope in 2018 with tr Saturn conjunct their Saturn Mars in Capricorn and square Venus all year; but it’ll be 2020 to 2023 which sees the real upheaval for them with tr Uranus conjunct their Pluto and opposition their Sun. Though it is a genie which will be exceptionally difficult if not impossible to get back in the bottle. After mass shootings, gun ownership goes up.

OJ Simpson has been released from a Nevada prison after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence on charges of assault, kidnapping and armed burglary after attempting to steal his own sports memorabilia from a hotel room in Las Vegas. His lawyers previously argued that his sentence was disproportionate to his crime, and was intended to compensate for his 1995 acquittal for the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995. After a civil suit, he was ordered to pay $33.5 million dollars to the Goldman and Brown families. So far he has only paid a tiny portion of the overall debt.

He looks understandably upbeat until December with only a couple of emotional blips from tr Saturn opposition his Uranus and square his Pisces Moon. 2018 looks a rockier ride, though with tr Jupiter moving through his 4^th house from the New Year, he may take a hint and settle down quietly to domestic seclusion for a year. His temper may get the better of him in about three to four years with his Progressed Mars conjunct his Mercury. And with tr Uranus square his 12^th house Saturn Pluto conjunction, he’ll have major ups and downs in 2020/21.

By 2022 he is set for a radical change of direction as tr Uranus crosses his MC into his 10^th, and tr Uranus also opposes his Jupiter, the time when his five-year parole and its restrictions are lifted. And he looks to be successful financially, starting new projects in 2023/2024.

From a previous post: He has a Water Grand Trine of Sun Mercury in Cancer trine Jupiter in Scorpio trine an 8^th house Pisces Moon. Highly emotional, he’ll live in a protected bubble of his own inner world, and, while creative, will at times be detached from reality. His competitive, combative Mars in Gemini in the 10^th is in a showbizzy trine to Neptune, sextile a depressive Saturn (Pluto) in Leo in his 12^th. His Jupiter in Scorpio (often good at attracting money) is square his Pluto Saturn, as well as being trine his Sun Mercury – so he has the confidence and luck to balance out the negative traits. It’s not an ultra-violent chart but none too stable psychologically.

His Harmonics: On his natal chart he has a Mars trine Neptune, sextile Saturn Pluto in Leo – which is fairly heavyweight. That Mars Saturn is the most common repeat factor through several harmonics, in hard aspect. In traditional astrology Mars Saturn was associated with soldiers, killers and assassinations.

The most notable harmonic with a close Mars opposition Saturn square Sun is the 20^th – a major upheaval that leads to an awakening which changes the ambitions, ideals, goals or plans for one’s life. Not a good material number, but is considered good for spiritual development. Delays and obstacles.

Which also connects to the 10^th harmonic which is what I’d have expected to see with his life’s story – “The wheel of Fortune”. Contains the innovation and creativity of the number 1, but even if 10 stands for prosperity and abundance, it also contains the seed of both rise and fall, of the good and the bad.

Also strong is his 5H which can get a life together but also be domineering, irresponsible, self-indulgent, deceitful, “the player”

His 7H has a controlling Sun opposition Pluto, and emotionally-insensitive and can-be-cruel Venus Mars Saturn link – it can be creative and a perfectionist, but also sarcastic, cold, self-centred.

His 11H links the Sun and Mars which is OK for a sportsman but would also make him short-tempered. 11 is a difficult number to live up to, can be idealistic but the negative side is fanatical, greedy, self-indulgent. It warns against hidden trials, disloyalty and betrayal from others.

His 12H links together Sun, Venus, Saturn hinting at emotional problems/coldness – being a victim of circumstances. That may be a result of his rough childhood with a drag-queen father who died of AIDs, and his gang-involvement.

A bizarre life.

Spain is practically on civil-war footing over the Catalonia independence referendum, which the Madrid government has declared illegal and sent in baton-wielding national police firing rubber bullets to enforce their will. Hundreds are reported to be injured in Barcelona. Officials involved in planning the vote have been charged with sedition and hundreds of separatist mayors are threatened with prosecution. Polls suggest a majority of voters are against independence but the heavy-handed tactics of PM Mariano Rajoy have only fuelled separatist fervour. Looming large is the ghost of fascist General Franco, who outlawed the Catalan language, abolished the regional government and executed activists after the 1936 civil war. History never completely dies.

Both Spain charts – 19 January 1479 JC (which works remarkably well) and 22 November 1975 12.45pm – indicate that this is a saga which will run and run.

During the 1936 Spanish Civil War, tr Neptune then in Virgo was opposition the Spain 1479 Mars and moving to conjunct the Saturn, for an undermining and destructive few years of violent military action. Now exactly half a Neptune cycle later, tr Neptune in Pisces is approaching the conjunction to that Mars in 2018 and then opposing the Spain Saturn in 2019. In 1936 tr Uranus then in Taurus was square the Spain 1479 Aquarius Sun – that won’t recur until 2020, but it is coming as Spain faces another Uranus Return.

Mariano Rajoy, 27 March 1955, is a Sun Aries; with a formidably stubborn and ruthless Mars (Moon) in Taurus opposition Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto, which impacts badly with the Catalonia’s equally Fixed chart. He looks especially hyped-up at the moment with his Solar Arc Mars opposition Saturn having moved to elbow his Jupiter Uranus conjunction. His grip of power is shaky and he may not last much longer.

The only date I can find for Catalonia is 11 May 1268 JC, giving it a stalwart Taurus Sun opposition Pluto, with Pluto square Saturn; and an excitable and unforgiving Mars in Scorpio opposition Venus in Taurus. That chart has been under assault as the fight for Catalonia independence started to escalate two years back with the Solar Arc Mars opposition the Sun, and is facing a tumultuous next several years with an explosive tr Uranus opposition Mars in 2018, conjunct Venus in 2019; tr Pluto square Neptune in 2019/2020; and Solar Arc Mars conjunct Pluto in 2021/22 – so a hugely challenging few years ahead.