Astrology of Today’s News

The collision of the USS destroyer Fitzgerald with a 730 foot-long container ship on 17 June 2017 at 1.30am off the coast of Japan, with the loss of seven lives, has sparked incomprehension in the naval world. The freighter stacked with 1000 containers seems to have been on automatic pilot. But the Fitzgerald should have had lookouts on watch on the port, starboard and stern, scanning the horizon with binoculars and reporting by headsets to the destroyer’s bridge. Radar officers on the bridge and in the combat information centre below should have spotted the freighter’s image on their screens. And under standard protocol, the captain should have been wakened and summoned to the bridge long before the ships could come near each other. Destroyers can manoeuvre quickly so there would have been no problem in avoiding what was effectively a zombie ship. None of that appears to have happened.

The collision chart has Pluto conjunct the MC with Uranus close to the Ascendant; and a crash-prone Mars in the 3^rd in an over-confidence-leads-to-destruction square to Jupiter, and a trine to a narcoleptic Moon Neptune in Pisces. Neptune is also quincunx Jupiter in the 6^th which latter can be lazy at work and overly indulgent. The Fire Grand Trine was in place with Saturn opposition Sun, which would have the Saturnine tendency to make the cost of corner-cutting high. And last but not least Mars in Cancer was moving towards the brutal opposition to Pluto, which even out of orb can trigger events early.

The Fitzgerald was laid down on 9 February 1993 and launched on 29 Jan 1994. Normally the laying down chart is the better indicator, and it has a bleak Sun Saturn in Aquarius square Pluto; with Mars in Cancer and Jupiter in Libra, both returning at the moment to their natal position almost exactly. Tr Pluto was within a degree conjunct the Fitzgerald Neptune Uranus in Capricorn which Ebertin describes as ‘loss of waking consciousness’, confusion and losses. Tr Neptune was also conjunct the Solar Arc Sun Sun Saturn.  Were they all asleep?  Defies belief.

Pushing Obamacare through the shredder is aimed at a Senate vote as early as next Thursday, just as the bitter and enraging Mars opposition Pluto is at its most toxic. Though it isn’t clear if there are enough votes to get it passed. A few Senators are resisting since they think it does not go far enough.

Background for non-Americans: There are two driving forces: 1. Republican majorities in both chambers want to erase the central concept that health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege depending on one’s income. Medicaid at the moment serves almost 70 million people, providing health care for the indigent, disabled and working poor. Additionally, about 20 percent of spending goes to provide nursing home care, including for middle-class seniors whose savings have been exhausted. 2. Slashing Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade ‘creates fiscal headroom for what is euphemistically being called “tax reform” — a soon-to-come package of huge tax cuts favouring the wealthy.’

It is what the Guardian describes as ‘a blood-sucking endeavour’ to bleed Medicaid and transfuse the cash into the pockets of the rich.

The Obamacare chart, 23 March 2010 11.56 am Washington, DC, always indicated a troubled future with a crisis-ridden Cardinal Grand Cross of Sun opposition Saturn square Pluto opposition Moon and Ascendant in Cancer. At the moment tr Saturn is square the reforming Uranus, pitting the cold reactionary energy of Saturn against innovative, humanitarian Uranus. There’s an undermining tr Neptune conjunct MC sending Obamacare into a swamp; and the emotional shock of tr Uranus conjunct the Solar Arc Venus. Tr Saturn will prune back forcefully in 2018 as it hard aspects the Cardinal Grand Cross; with a fairly cataclysmic upheaval in late 2018 from Solar Arc Uranus square the Moon and Pluto. What might be the only glimmer of hope lies four years ahead when the Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct the 10^th house Uranus, which could – maybe – produce a turnaround.

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Democrats licking their wounds after the failure of Jon Ossoff to win the congressional seat in Georgia in a strongly Republican area have turned their ire on House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The New York Times describes her as “one of the most successful congressional leaders in the modern era. She is the Democrat most crucial to determining whether her party can take back the House and torpedo President Trump’s agenda.” But some want her gone.

Born 26 March 1940 in Baltimore, MD, she’s a Sun Aries trine Pluto, with Jupiter also in Aries; and Saturn, Uranus, Venus, Mars spread out through Taurus; and her Saturn square Pluto – so quite a steamroller of energy and relentless determination.

Although she’ll stay bullishly confident at points through this year and next, she’s also got a fair amount of discouragement pulling her down in 2017/18; with some hints of career losses later in the year; and certainly major upheavals in 2018 with tr Uranus conjunct her Saturn and square her Pluto – though given her age that could be other non-political factors at play.

Jon Ossoff, 16 Feb 1987, the documentary filmmaker who ran in Georgia, is a Sun Aquarius on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Saturn Uranus in Sagittarius trine Mars in Aries; and a risk-taking Jupiter square Saturn Uranus – so not short of high-energy, initiative or guts. He’s young enough to have a long career ahead of him, once he recovers from the car-crash Solar Arc Mars square his Sun this year alongside the high of Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Mars.

2019 has tr Uranus opposing his Pluto, for a radical change of lifestyle; 2021 will see him in confident campaigning mode with tr Pluto sextile his Jupiter, but it then moves a year later into a blocked square to his Mars.

Impossible to say what his future holds politically but my sense is he’ll fare better once Pluto moves out of Capricorn and tr Neptune gets over his Jupiter, which would look like 2024.

Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary with the Trump hair,  has joined Diane Abbott in the car-crash interviews stakes after a punishing doing-over by Eddie Mair about the Queen’s Speech, when he sighed, hummed and hawed, shuffled his papers and didn’t appear to have a clue what he was supposed to say.

Boris isn’t in a good place at all at the moment with tr Pluto in a catastrophe-ridden square to his Mars/Saturn midpoint; and his scatter-gun Mutable T Square of Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto square Mars in Gemini, having moved by Solar Arc to collide with tr Uranus hard aspects. His horror influences will run through 2018, if anything getting worse, as he picks up a totally-trapped tr Pluto opposition his Mars/Pluto; and a panicky-failure tr Neptune square his Sun/Mars. If his birth time is accurate then he’s shuddering into more setbacks and jolting changes in terms of career direction in 2019/2020 as his Solar Arc MC is opposition his Saturn and then conjunct his Uranus.

Eddie Mair, 12 November 1965, a BBC radio and TV presenter, is a Sun Neptune in Scorpio; with an outspoken Mars in Sagittarius which opposes Boris’s Sun Venus in Gemini, so they are always good for an argument. Their relationship chart lays bare a major clash of personalities with a composite Mars Saturn opposition Sun Uranus Pluto Mercury – so dislike, defensiveness, differing agendas, explosive tensions.

The worst political crisis among Middle Eastern Gulf countries in decades is escalating despite US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s plea for reason and caution. Having effectively blockaded Qatar, four Arab states have now sent a list of 13 demands to be met if sanctions are to be lifted. Amongst them that broadcaster Al Jazeera is shut down; ties with Iran to be reduced and a Turkish military base closed – all within 10 days. The Saudi-led allies order it to cut ties with extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, end the funding of terrorism, and hand over terrorists. None of which leaves much wiggle room for negotiations. Qatar, which has sought to raise its profile in recent years, denies funding terrorism and fostering instability.

Al-Jazeera, the most widely watched broadcaster in the Arab world, is seen as a propaganda tool for Islamists that undermines support for other governments in the region. It launched on 1 November 1996, with a Scorpio Sun Mercury square Uranus, with Uranus conjunct Neptune – keen on upsetting the status quo, determined. Reforming/revolutionary Uranus is also on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine from a resilient, tough-minded Saturn trine Pluto. It does have a fairly afflicted Mars in Virgo square Pluto and quincunx Saturn, so was always going to arouse anger and hostility. The road ahead looks exceptionally bumpy as tr Uranus this year squares the AlJ Neptune, moving to square Uranus in 2018, along with an uphill-struggle tr Pluto conjunct Sun/Saturn. Where it looks more likely to come to a halt will be around 2019/2020 with Solar Arc Sun conjunct Pluto, then square Mars, and Solar Arc Saturn square Neptune.

The AlJ Pluto square Mars sits squarely on the Qatar Neptune opposition Saturn square Sun, so it was always going to prove a headache of migraine proportions. But the relationship chart between Qatar and AlJ has a chained-together composite Saturn opposition Pluto, so won’t be easily let go. Though the ties that bind will get a severe shaking through 2018/19 as tr Uranus is opposition the Pluto and then conjunct Saturn.

The Cancer Ingress chart for the summer solstice, located to London, puts an indecisive, directionless Neptune in the 10^th, which sounds about right. Slippery, confused Neptune is further emphasised being on the point of a mini-Grand Trine of Pluto trine Venus Moon in Taurus.

The Fire Grand Trine of Saturn Uranus Node is still formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition Mercury in Gemini – Fire Air – lots of hot air. The Node is in the 3^rd so communication problems, especially where detail is concerned. Lots of anger as well and intense/toxic relationships with Mars on the Ascendant and Pluto in the 7^th. Uranus in the 11^th, heading in a new direction but plans changing constantly.  Jupiter is heavily aspected/afflicted, being quincunx Neptune and on the point of a T Square to Mars and Pluto – so high hopes and disappointment, financial losses, overly pushy, risky.

The Cancer Ingress, set for Washington, DC, has Neptune in the Ascendant so the country giving the appearance of being highly confused; very much focused on domestic affairs with a 4^th house Sun. The afflicted 7^th house Jupiter – ‘a tendency to take too much for granted, susceptible to charlatans and people who have grandiose ideas without sufficient backing.’ (Sakoian & Acker).

Saturn in the 10^th can be well-organised but most often when it occurs in Return or Ingress charts, there’s frustration with mistakes surfacing, and tediously slow progress. Overly intense team relationships; extravagant and indulgent.

I don’t work much with Ingress charts and there’s doubt about which Ingress makes most sense for the year – Capricorn, Libra or Aries.

The actor and triple Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis has said he is retiring from acting – again – having disappeared for several years in the 1990s. Liam Neeson said he was retiring in disgust in 1999 from the Hollywood scene, but that didn’t last for too long. So who knows?

Lewis, 29 April 1957, doesn’t have a birth time so there’s a chunk of information missing. He’s a Sun Venus Mercury, maybe Moon, in Taurus with his Sun opposition Neptune square Uranus. So he’ll be fairly highly-strung, and while quite fixed, will also be prone to instant changes. He’s in an uncertain year with tr Neptune square his Saturn; with a downbeat tr Saturn opposition his Mars and square his Jupiter. At the moment he’s got a marginally catastrophic tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto, though also a great-relief tr Uranus trine his Jupiter/Uranus – so there may be something going on in his life which provoked this announcement.

Tr Uranus is moving towards the opposition to his Neptune in 2018, starting a four year trail in hard aspect round his Fixed T Square, which will shake his life up considerably. 2019/2020 look confident with tr Pluto trine his Jupiter; but 2020 has his Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Pluto, which is hugely problematic and stuck.

He’s always seemed quite a tortured and troubled soul, so it’s a pity there’s no birth time.

As Saudi Arabia moves through the most testing and transformational time in its history with Pluto pulverising its way across a conjunction to its Saturn Sun Jupiter over the next five years, a new king-in-waiting has been announced. The ailing Saudi monarch, who holds near absolute powers, moved his son, the 31-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, up to Crown Prince, to the surprise of many within the royal family and outside. The more experienced Bin Nayef, a traditional US ally, has been marginalised. Trump’s recent adulatory visit is seen as a key component in the shift of power.

Bin Salman, popular with the young, has been behind an ambitious economic and cultural overhaul, putting in place sweeping changes aimed, as he put it, at ending the kingdom’s “addiction” to oil and tackling systemic challenges that the kingdom has previously failed to address. He has been heavily criticised, as Defence Minister, for launching the destructive and ongoing war in Yemen, seen by many as a proxy war with Iran.

Born 31 August 1985, he’s not short of confidence, stamina or ruthlessness. His Jupiter in Aquarius opposes Venus and squares onto Pluto in Scorpio opposition a Taurus Node – so a Fixed Grand Cross giving him ultimate endurance, and making him power-hungry to boot. Plus a flamboyant Mars in Leo square Saturn in obsessive Scorpio, which no doubt contributes to his military ambitions. His Virgo Sun is sextile Pluto and trine Neptune putting Pluto as a focal point of not only a Grand Cross but also a mini Grand Trine. His Sun is also in a reforming square to Uranus. Complex, a steamroller and built for the long haul.

Not everything will go his way over the next five or six years with Solar Arc Neptune squaring his Pluto (and starting to undermine his Grand Cross) in 2018; moving on to oppose his Venus in 2019; with a dead-halt Solar Arc Pluto square his Sun in 2021 and panicky-failure Solar Arc Mars square his Neptune in 2023; and financial-bubble-bursting Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Jupiter in 2024. Tr Uranus will also start to hard aspect his Grand Cross from 2018 through till 2020 with some ups from tr Uranus square Jupiter in 2019, but it won’t be a smooth passage.

His Pluto is conjunct the Saudi Arabia 1902 chart (time being accurate) so definitely wants to be in control and change the country’s direction; with his expansive Jupiter in Saudi Arabia’s 1^st conjunct Mercury Mars, so good at motivating and encouraging. He shares a Pisces Moon with his kingdom.

His relationship chart with Saudi Arabia is starkly dictatorial with a composite Sun Mars opposition Venus square Pluto; with the composite Pluto trine Uranus Saturn, which gives reforming tendencies and sticking power.

Donald Trump evidently approves of Bin Salman’s flamboyant and decisive/impulsive style. Though it may prove to be too much of a good thing for Trump, since Bin Salman’s Jupiter opposes DT’s Pluto which will lead to power struggles, and both have Mars in Leo – so egos will clash. Trump’s teeth must drip at the levels of wealth and absolute power the Saudi Crown Prince possesses. Their relationship chart has a friendly composite Sun Venus; but also a Mars square Neptune which won’t keep two Alpha males happy with the other’s successes. The glow of admiration will fade through 2017/18 with tr Neptune square the composite Jupiter; with separations likely in 2018 as tr Uranus opposes the composite Venus Sun.

Rex Tillerson looks uncomfortable with Bin Salman’s tendency to stand everything on its head; and there’s disappointment in 2018/19. James Mattis also looks unsure about him.

The USA/Saudi relationship chart is undergoing a highly pressured change in 2017/18 with tr Pluto square the composite Sun; with a degree of anxiety which will mount in 2019. And 2019 also flags up on the Saudi/Iran 1979 relatio0nship chart as a trigger point of high insecurity and risk.

There are doubts within Saudi Arabia about the wisdom of handing too much power to one person, especially one as reckless and keen on sweeping change. He could, almost certainly will, face major resistance from the all-powerful clerics never mind disgruntled and critical family members.

For some light relief for sun sign afficiandos. A medical study from Spain has added to information from a 2015 US University similar exercise to come up with health correlations to month of birth. Sadly not divided into early and late month, since signs change for the final week/ten days.

Men who were born in September (Virgo/Libra), for example, were almost three times more likely to suffer thyroid problems than those born in January (Capricorn/Aquarius). August male babies (Leo/Virgo) had almost double the risk of asthma compared to those born at the beginning of the year.

Similarly, women born in July (Cancer/Leo) were 27 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and were at a 40 per cent increased risk of incontinence. Men born in June (Gemini/Cancer) were 34 per cent less likely to suffer depression and 22 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with lower back pain.

Women born in June (Gemini/Cancer) had a 33 per cent lower risk of migraines and a 35 per cent less chance of experiencing menopause problems.

On the whole, September babies (Virgo/Libra) appeared to have the least chance of being diagnosed with any chronic disease.