Astrology of Today’s News

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.

Adnan Khashoggi, the Middle Eastern arms dealer and fixer, vastly wealthy with a high-rolling international lifestyle, and mired in various scandals throughout his life, has died. In the 1970s and 1980s, he made hundreds of millions brokering vast arms deals for his friends in the Saudi royal family, his wealth once estimated at £2.4 billion. His assets included 12 homes, fully staffed at all times, including a 10,000 acre ranch in Kenya, an estate in Marbella and houses in London, Paris, Cannes, Madrid, Monte Carlo and Manhattan. He had a stable of Arabian horses and 200 exotic animals, 100 limousines, a personal airline of three jets and a fleet of three yachts, one of which he sold to Donald Trump.

Scandal was never far away. He negotiated a defence contract with Maggie Thatcher’s government and the Saudis, with Mark Thatcher allegedly involved (which he denies) which raised eyebrows; and was a facilitator with various US administrations from Nixon onwards, which appeared to help him survive his involvement in the Lockheed bribery scandal of 1975-76 and the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s as well as other legal tangles. A sister, Samira, would marry the Harrods owner Mohammed Fayed and was the mother of Dodi Fayed.

He was a lavish host, clearly charming for those on his right side, generous to his multiple mistreses and the women he procured to grease his business deals with the Saudis. And he did organise and fund the top secret Operation Moses in 1984, which airlifted 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel during the famine caused by the Ethiopian civil war.

Born in Mecca on 25 July 1935, he had a fearsomely determined and quite ruthless chart, with a flamboyant Leo Sun close to controlling Pluto opposition a Capricorn North Node square Mars in Libra opposition Uranus. Overflowing with initiative, not short of courage, attracted to a high-adrenaline lifestyle. His more charitable side would come from an emotional Water Grand Trine of Mercury in Cancer trine Jupiter in Scorpio trine Saturn in Pisces, with Saturn opposition elusive Neptune and Venus in Virgo.

Certainly one of a kind, though his business methods left a great deal to be desired.

Right on the button of tr Uranus squaring his Capricorn Moon, George Clooney welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander, into his new family with Amal this morning.

Fittingly enough for twins they are Sun Gemini with an expansive, lucky, sociable trine to Jupiter in Libra and a creative though vague square to Neptune; and a Scorpio Moon probably trine Neptune and, if an early morning birth, trine Mars in Cancer. They have the inspirational, entrepreneurial Fire Grand Trine of Uranus in Aries (Venus in Taurus) trine Saturn in Sagittarius trine a leadership North Node in Leo; still formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition Mars. So they’ll be talented, go-getters, confident, attention-seeking and utterly determined as well as disciplined.

Their Neptune falls on Pa’s Ascendant so they’ll soften his image; while their Saturn is in his 10^th, making him better organised and possibly harder-working. Their Scorpio Moon is probably conjunct his Neptune and Amal’s Uranus, so they’ll also experience him as elusive and Amal fairly unpredictable.

With a composite Sun opposition Jupiter in their relationship chart with their father, they’ll find him laid-back and enthusiastic, though also fairly disrupted by their presence with an odd composite Mars opposition Saturn Neptune – he’ll worry about them and be reasonably strict at times, perhaps also edgy if they hog the limelight.

Their relationship with Amal, who is a Sun Venus in Aquarius with Moon Neptune in Sagittarius, will also be expansive with a composite Sun trine Jupiter and argumentative with Sun square Mars.

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The tiny oil-rich country of Qatar has been left isolated as several countries have broken off diplomatic and commercial ties with accusations that it supported terrorism in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have closed their airspace to Qatari planes. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given Qatari nationals two weeks to leave, and banned their own citizens from travelling to Qatar. For a country 40% of whose food is imported largely from Saudi Arabia it’ll be a crippling blow. Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East supporting Saudi Arabia and condemning Iran appears to be one factor. The FT also reports that Gulf allies were angry that Qatar paid a one billion dollar ransom to jihadists and Iranian security officials after Qatari nationals on  a hunting party were kidnapped in Iraq and Syria.

Qatar declared independence on 1 September 1971. They certainly look in troubled times with their Solar Arc Mars opposing Pluto in late 2018 and in effect beforehand, grinding them to a halt in a scarily trapped scenario, and stuck later this year with tr Saturn square Pluto. They may bounce up in 2019 with Solar Arc Uranus conjunct their Jupiter.

Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, home to 11,000 troops; and the command and control of US air power throughout Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and 17 other nations. And Qatari investors own more property in London than the Mayor’s office and three times more than the Queen. So the repercussions won’t just be confined to the Middle East.

Trump now has his Progressed Moon moving into his 12^th for two years and a confidant described him as a lost man: “He now lives within himself, which is a dangerous place for Donald Trump to be. I see him emotionally withdrawing. He’s gained weight. He doesn’t have anybody whom he trusts.” Which is fairly much a perfect description of that influence.

His ‘grown-up’ ministers spend their time patching up his wild statements, often contradicting what he’s said, for example on NATO, and wincing when he makes legal woes over his travel ban worse by giving hostages to fortune in inflammatory tweets about the recent London attack. And he’s now lashing out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not getting him what he wants.

His relationship with HR McMaster, who dented his previously stellar reputation by defending Trump’s over intelligence sharing with Russia, looks completely frustrated and aggravated at the moment with his boss, with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mars from early June through till mid July, and returning on an off till late 2018.

Jeff Sessions, Steve Mnuchin (Treasury Secy), Don McGahn (WH counsel) and Kellyanne Conway all have separating Saturn transits to their Trump relationship charts through till late 2017. As do the military chiefs – Mattis, Dunford, Kelly.

Even die-hard supporters like Stephen Miller and Gary Cohn look unnerved and jolted by strong tr Uranus hard aspects to their composite Suns.

Where problems may escalate is mid July to early September this year with tr Pluto square Trump’s Jupiter, which is likely to send him into an over forceful, might-makes-right push. And that returns in November. VP Mike Pence, Gary Cohn and Chief of Staff Dunford, look especially alarmed and confused in their interactions with him then.

Conflict and interpersonal difficulties are to be expected in the hothouse of the White House. But this one seems to beat all previous records.

Add on: Trump’s extraordinary twitter attack on Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, is turning into a toxic ping pong match with Khan now saying he shouldn’t be invited to the UK.

Khan, born 8 October 1970, is a Sun Uranus in Libra; with a fearsomely determined Saturn in Taurus trine Mars Pluto in Virgo, and opposition Venus Neptune in Scorpio. Khan’s Saturn is conjunct Trump’s MC, so he could teach him to be more sensible and better organised but here Saturn’s critical, put-down side appears to be taking precedence. Plus Khan’s Mars Pluto squares Trump’s Sun and Moon; and Khan’s Neptune squares Trump’s Mars Ascendant – the first is bitterly hostile and the second not mutually supportive. Their relationship chart has similar patterns with a composite outright-dislike on both sides Pluto Mars conjunction bringing a determined and destructive power struggle ; with a differing-agendas composite Sun Uranus. And a chilly composite Venus square Saturn which is getting the deep freeze treatment this year from tr Saturn hard aspects.

The State visit won’t be Khan’s decision but with feelings running high I can’t imagine even the lure of HMQ and a gilded carriage ride down the Mall would be too attractive to Trump, given the reception he’s likely to get. Rex Tillerson got the bird pretty constantly on a recent visit to NZ and he’s not the kingpin.