Astrology of Today’s News

 

The ‘spirit and the soul, the conscious and the unconscious, husband and wife’ is how Ebertin describes the Sun/Moon midpoint in a chart – the degree halfway between Sun and Moon. It’s the meeting point of the yin and the yang, the masculine and feminine sides of the individual personality, and to some degree involves the early role models in the father/mother relationship in childhood.

It’s a useful point to keep in mind if the birth time is known – for predictions about relationship strains/splits or periods of emotional challenge when the outer planets are in hard aspect to the Sun/Moon. For example, tr Pluto opposition the Sun/Moon midpoint can lead not only to an extended two year phase of considerable pressure on close relationships, but also an internal ‘dark night of the soul’.

Close relationships undergo major changes during outer planet transits to the Sun/Moon midpoint, and because it shifts the internal balance in the individual affected, the kind of relationship they want on the far side isn’t the same as before. Such transits can also sometimes point to upheavals in the parental marriage.

It’s worth looking at the individual natal chart to see how the Sun/Moon midpoint aspects other planetary positions. For example: Sun/Moon = Uranus will have the same effect as Uranus in the 7^th, so the kind of partner needed will be unconventional and probably constantly changing with multiple partners. Jupiter or Venus in aspect to the Sun/Moon suggests the ability or luck to attract an affectionate and supportive partner. Saturn = Sun/Moon, relationships will be hard work, probably delayed till later in life and cool. Neptune = Sun/Moon, as Kirk Douglas has (see earlier post), indicates a lack of commitment to marital vows. Pluto = Sun/Moon, intense close relationships with jealousy causing problems.

Sometimes, though not always, it can be involved in cross-overs with a partner’s chart especially one person’s Sun/Moon conjunct the other’s Moon, or in their 7th. Queen Elizabeth’s Sun/Moon is conjunct Prince Philip’s Gemini Sun Mars; and his Sun/Moon is conjunct her Descendant. Catherine Zeta Jones’ Sun/Moon is conjunct Michael Douglas’s Moon. Joanne Woodward’s Sun/Moon was conjunct Paul Newman’s Moon. Princess Diana’s Sun/Moon was conjunct Prince Charles’ Moon; and Camilla’s Sun/Moon falls in Charles’ 7^th. Jackie Kennedy’s Sun/Moon was conjunct JFK’s Venus. Zara Tindall’s Sun/Moon is conjunct her husband Mike’s Jupiter.   Jennifer Aniston’s Sun/Moon is conjunct Brad Pitt’s Moon Venus; while his Sun/Moon collides with Angelina Jolie’s Mars opposition Pluto.

But never fear, just because your Sun/Moon midpoint doesn’t aspect any of your planets or partner’s planets it doesn’t mean you won’t be happily settled in a long term commitment. It’s only one point in a chart; there will be other indicators.

What is undoubtedly true is that transits from Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto to the Sun/Moon midpoint will bring chills, disruptions, disappointments and challenges respectively. It doesn’t mean the relationship will inevitably split, though it can do.

  

 

A rushed through vote in Congress to repeal/replace Obamacare was done without waiting for the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to submit its official estimate, which could take several more weeks to complete. That is likely to say how many millions will be left without insurance and medical support. It then has to make its way through the closely divided Senate, who are talking about tearing it up and writing another bill. If left as it is, which seems unlikely, it’ll hit Republicans in the midterms in 2018 as ordinary Americans won’t remotely appreciate being left high and dry – against all Trump campaign promises.

Obamacare was signed in on 23 March 2010 at 11.56am, Washington. Tr Neptune is trailing across the MC till January 2018 which is lacklustre and directionless, dissolving its forward trajectory. Into 2018/19 tr Neptune is conjunct the 10^th house Jupiter which is again not supportive. With a tremendous upheaval and disruption in 16 to 18 months from now as the Solar Arc Uranus squares the Pluto and then Moon. But it will get a lucky break come 2020 as Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct Uranus.

Trumpcare Mark 1 was gavelled at 2.18pm 4 May 2017 in Washington. This puts a Virgo Moon (North Node) conjunct the Ascendant opposition a 7^th house Neptune square Mars; with Uranus Mercury opposition Jupiter square a grandstanding Pluto in the 5^th; with a sombre Saturn in the 4^th in an innovative trine to Mercury Uranus; and a Yod Of Sun sextile Neptune inconjunct Jupiter.

Taking the last first. A Jupiterian yod can be disorganized and impractical; and although it has the potential to have a strong impact out in society, it can also have fateful consequences because Jupiter’s tendency to narrow-minded self-righteousness and grandiosity.

In terms of the impact on the American public represented by the Moon tied into Mars and Neptune, there’s anger, disappointment, with a sense that commitments are not being lived up to. The Moon is also opposition the Sun/Saturn midpoint which brings emotional depression; and women especially will feel it is hard and uncaring. The Sun also aspects the Mars/Pluto midpoint, a hint of the ruthless pressure exerted to get it pushed through. Neptune is conjunct the Saturn/MC which is lacking in clarity and causing suffering.

It’s not a devastatingly bad chart, just lacking empathy. In any event the Act as it stands won’t make it through the Senate so will be considerably altered.

 

 

Brad Pitt has gone in for a full mea culpa, soul-baring interview plus fashion shots presumably in the hope of resurrecting …. ? his public image? relationships with his family? He described a heavy drinking, spliff-smoking adult life and said the shake-up of his impending divorce had sent him into therapy which was doing him the world of good.

He does have tr Saturn now moving through his first quadrant below his Sagittarius Ascendant which is often a less ambitious time and one where unresolved psychological issues tend to surface.

He does have Neptune in his 12^th which is addiction-prone; plus a tough Mars trine Pluto Uranus, so quite heavy anger issues, which are often an underlying factor in alcohol consumption. He says: ‘I grew up with a Father-knows-best/war mentality—the father is all-powerful, super strong—instead of really knowing the man and his own self-doubt and struggles.’ His Sun/Moon midpoint which rules marriage and also how the body and soul are connected is conjunct Mars and square Jupiter – so he’d always go in for argumentative, high-octane relationships, which wouldn’t help. Indeed his Sun/Moon at 9 Capricorn is square Angelina Jolie’s Mars opposition Pluto, which certainly wouldn’t make for marital calm.

His creative 7^th Harmonic (septiles) is very strong which as well as being artistic can also be prone to escapism through drink and drugs; and his pleasure-seeking 9^th Harmonic is even more replete with aspects – 9H can also be humanitarian but it also has a tendency to indulge.

His career is still pretty much on a high with The Big Short being a critical and commercial success in 2015 and his production company winning a 3^rd Oscar for Moonlight. But there’s no doubt that he’ll want to duck out for a while to get his act together.

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Another enduring Fixed Mutable match has been the 63 year marriage of Taurus Anne to Sagittarius Kirk Douglas. She’s written a new book, Kirk and Anne: Letter of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood.  In it, she’s open about his extra-marital affairs with Rita Hayworth, Patricia Neal, Faye Dunaway and Christina Crawford, daughter of Joan, amongst others. “Kirk never tried to hide his dalliances from me,” the 98-year-old wrote. “As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage”.

He was born 9 December 1916 10.15am Amsterdam, NY and has an 11^th house Sagittarius Sun opposition a 5^th house Gemini Moon; with Neptune Saturn straddling his Descendant and a Venus in Scorpio square Uranus. So a Full Moon type, always ambivalent about what he wanted; uncommitted when it came to marriage partnerships and keen on freedom. Ongoing relationships really weren’t his forte. And he had a ruthlessly, power-hungry Mars opposition Pluto.

Just as well she was a Sun Taurus and able to stand firm, no matter what storms were blowing around her. Born 23 April 1919 in Hanover, Germany, her Sun is conjunct Mars and both square her Neptune in Leo and possibly her Aquarius Moon as well. So she’ll be a curious mix of fey, head-in-the-clouds, emotionally detached and quite egocentric, as well as implacably determined to plough the furrow she was in.

Her Sun Mars fell in his 3^rd, so they would have a good mental rapport; her Moon may be conjunct his Ascendant which is a good cross over and her Venus in Gemini falls in his 4^th house of home and family and is the same sign as his Moon.

Their relationship chart has a composite Sun Uranus Mercury which definitely needs space; but it was also opposition Venus so plenty of affection; possibly a possessive composite Moon square Pluto; an adventurous Jupiter square Mars; and a simmering-rage, power-struggling Mars trine Pluto. The composite Saturn (for longevity) is conjunct Neptune, sextile Jupiter, perhaps trine Moon.

There’s no such thing as a perfect relationship and sometimes the ones that last aren’t that obvious; so maybe a simple Sun sign complementarity is what it takes.

     

 

Prince Philp, soon to be 96, is to stand down from his public duties in September.

Born 10 June 1921 9.46pm Corfu (or 10am) (DD astro com) is a feisty, argumentative Sun Mars in Gemini square Saturn in Virgo; with Saturn conjunct Jupiter which is in turn opposition Uranus; a Leo Moon and Neptune; and Venus in Taurus.

He had a difficult, wandered childhood, his father, Prince Andrew, having been exiled from Greece and he was schooled in Paris, Germany pre-war and then Gordonstoun in Scotland. His mother, a great grand-daughter of Queen Victoria was hospitalised with schizophrenia. He was in the British navy during World War 11 and married the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

There is certainly an affectionate and intellectual rapport between them with his Venus conjunct her 3^rd house Taurus Sun; and his Sun Mars falling in the Queen’s 5^th house of fun and children. Though not all easy with her Uranus square his Mars Sun; and his Uranus conjunct her Venus – so there would be outbursts, and long separations would undoubtedly help. Her chart is mainly Fixed while his is more adaptable and Mutable which would help, since he has had to fit in as and where he could.

Her Sun/Moon midpoint (the marriage significator) at 21 Gemini is conjunct his Sun Mars, so there would be an instant click. On a 9.46pm birth time his Sun/Moon midpoint sits exactly on her Descendant.

Their relationship chart does have an ‘unkind’, overly dutiful composite Saturn opposition Mars, which usually means one has to sacrifice their own needs for the other, which would grate at times. Their wedding chart of 20 Nov 1947 circa 11am echoes this time with a challenging Saturn Mars opposition Moon square Sun. So the seventy years ahead wouldn’t all be a picnic.

My recollection from Gunter Sachs study was that a Taurus/Gemini match was the most enduring.

  

 

The Empire State Building rose out of the gloomy depths of the Great Depression and was opened on 1 May 1931 11.30 am Manhattan, NY. At the time of construction with 102 storeys, it was the world’s tallest and was built largely by immigrant labour from Europe plus hundreds of Canadian Mohawk iron workers.

The opening chart reflects the bleakness of the time as well as its resourceful inventiveness with a super-confident Jupiter Pluto in Cancer opposition Saturn in Capricorn square Uranus conjunct MC in Aries; with a stalwart, enduring Taurus Sun Mercury opposition a Scorpio Moon square Mars and Ascendant in flamboyant Leo. The Empire State Jupiter is conjunct the USA Cancer Sun; with the Mars Asc conjunct the USA leadership North Node in Leo – so a prized national symbol.

There have been two major incidents involving the Empire State Building (ESB). One a plane crash in thick fog on 28 July 1945 which hit the 80^th floor and killed 14; the other a shooting on 23 Feb 1997 on the 86^th floor observation deck when a Palestinian killed one, injured six others and then suicided.

In 1945 at the plane crash, tr Saturn in Cancer was minutes (of a degree) past the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and past the ESB Uranus; with Solar Arc Pluto exactly on the Ascendant; and tr Pluto in Leo approaching within a degree of being conjunct the ES Mars and square Sun – so quite a dampening dent for its image though it was reopened the following week and quickly renovated.

At the 1997 shooting, tr Saturn in Aries was trine tr Pluto and both were hitting on the ESB Venus in Aries; with the Solar Arc Sun square Mars impacting on the ESB Jupiter, and thus shaking the ESB’s Cardinal T Square.

 

 

The artist David Hockney has just celebrated his 80^th birthday with a major exhibition at Tate Britain. His work has always met with ambivalence from critics, given his tendency to use garish colours and almost graphic-art techniques, especially in recent years.

He says: “People want meaning in life. That’s a desperate need, and images can help. Unfortunately there is within modern art a contempt for people . . . I do want to make a picture that has meaning for a lot of people. I think the idea of making pictures for 25 people in the art world is crazy and ridiculous.” He was the first to use television to popularise art and has always worked as it suited him, no matter what the reception. One review described his work as ‘touching, tender, ribald, raunchy, innovative, annoying.’ Another said ‘Whether or not Hockney is a great artist, he is a great cultural figure.’

Born 9 July 1937, Bradford, England, he is a Sun Mercury in Cancer with Pluto also in Cancer, with all three planets trine a determined Mars in Scorpio;  a rebellious Mars opposition Uranus; and Pluto in a confident opposition to Jupiter in Capricorn. His Sun trine Mars, sextiles onto Neptune which is turn is in a creative trine to Uranus. And he has a self-reliant Saturn in Aries.

Cancer Suns usually have a nose for what the public want and can home into the zeitgeist.

Not surprisingly he as several quintiles and septiles in his chart. His 5^th harmonic has a light, bright, passionately enthusiastic Air Grand Trine of Venus Mars linked to the North Node; and an ambitious, influential Pluto Neptune Sun tie up. His 7^th Harmonic also veers to the superficial and frivolous with Jupiter and Venus linked together with the North Node. His making-a-mark-on-history 17H is also well aspected with an Air Grand Trine of Saturn Pluto to Venus Mars.

Who to believe? Juncker breaching diplomatic protocol and leaking a private dinner conversation to trash Theresa May; or May doing her usual schoolmarmy barking orders at the EU as if they were her civil servants. Does Juncker’s snarl indicate supreme confidence or underlying panic and fear? Is May’s steely disdain a cover for a devilishly clever plan or is she relying on luck to pull a rabbit out of the hat? The poor voters are left none the wiser – and at the end of it all could be raining a plague of curses on all their heads. As in the US and French elections – the mainstream don’t much like either choice.

Maybe it is part of Pluto in Capricorn’s slow and inexorable grinding down of the old politics and forms of government.

None of the main players look happy moving ahead and it’s not a zero-sum game where one side wins and the other loses. Both could/will suffer considerable losses.

Michel Barnier, 9 Jan 1951, 4.40pm La Tronche, France, EU Chief Negotiator, looks mighty confused in 2017/18 with tr Pluto square his Neptune, conjunct his Capricorn Sun and trine his Mars/Pluto; with a catastrophe opening up under his feet this October to Jan 2018; and highly agitated and insecure through 2018.

Martin Selmayr, 5 Dec 1970, Juncker’s Head of Cabinet, has his up moments this year, but is fending off brush-fires in 2018/19, feeling devastated – with tr Uranus opposition his Mars, tr Pluto square his Mars/Uranus and his Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Neptune.

Oliver Robbins, 20 Apr 1975, the UK civil servant known as Mr Brexit, will be a key player. He’s bullish through 2017 and 2018; but into 2018 has his Solar Arc Sun opposition his Neptune which will produce a nasty sinking feeling; and an edgy tr Uranus conjunct his Sun.

David Davis, the UK Cabinet Minister who is Brexit Secretary, is walking into tr Pluto conjunct his Mars in 2018/19 which is cornered, enfuriated and impotent.

[From a March 24 Post]. Davis’s relationship chart with Barnier, is showing signs of strain, discouragement, devastation and some mighty outbursts in 2017/18; with worse in 2019. Davis’s relationship with Theresa May isn’t easy at best with a composite Mars opposition Pluto square Sun Mercury, and is ploughing through heavy, depressed and disruptive waves in 2017/18.

Although Theresa May will have no direct negotiations with Barnier, she’s clearly setting the agenda, and her relationship with him will be highly-strung, and stressed this year; and in a complete upheaval in 2018/19 with tr Pluto opposition the composite Uranus and tr Uranus opposition the composite Saturn.

Her relationship with Juncker is most at odds in 2018.

Neither Juncker or Barnier are exactly fans of UK Inc. The relationship between Juncker/UK has an impatient, hostile composite Saturn opposition Mars square Venus; with a fight-for-control composite Sun quincunx Pluto; and Pluto being on the focal point of a T square to Uranus opposition Node, which doubles up on the intransigence between the two sides. Late 2017 will be especially frosty as tr Saturn is conjunct the Sun; with irritability and dislike growing in 2018/19 with tr Saturn conjunct Venus, square Saturn and Mars.

Barnier is also instinctively drawn to seeing the UK as a pushy entity that needs put down, with a composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction in a disruptive square to Uranus. There’ll be a good deal of jockeying for position in 2017/18 with tr Pluto trine the composite Jupiter; suspicion and paranoia from tr Neptune opposition Saturn in 2017; bad temper over the New Year as tr Saturn squares the composite Mars; and separated initially in 2018 by tr Uranus conjunct the composite Moon, and more so in 2019 when tr Uranus opposes Neptune.

 

 

Tony Blair, having divested himself of his questionable commercial wheelings and dealings with some of the world’s most dubious political leaders is staging what was described as ‘a sort-of comeback tour of newspaper pages and broadcaster’s studios.’ He says he has no current plans to return to frontline politics or become an MP, but hopes to throw his weight behind the anti-Brexit lobby and turn it into a political movement.

He does have tr Saturn on an upward trajectory in his chart aiming for his midheaven and the second peak of his career/ambitions from 2020 onwards until 2024. And he does have tr Uranus square his MC within days for the first time, which does suggest a change of direction, running into 2018. However however, he has a fair minefield ahead as well. His Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his Saturn, exact in 3 months, which is slow to no progress. Tr Saturn squares his Sun/Moon midpoint late in 2017 which is unpopularity for a politician as well as a marital chill. 2018 looks sagging and inhibited. He’ll buck up marginally in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto trine his Sun/Jupiter so he might make a push then.

In 2020 he’s got the tr Saturn Pluto conjunction on his MC. That’s tricky to interpret since tr Saturn into the 10^th can be consolidation of career but is also a time chickens come home to roost and did for Richard Nixon. Similarly tr Pluto across the MC can destroy a reputation totally, or can begin a mighty push for control. And tr Jupiter then trails along behind into his 10^th which is usually successful. So mixter maxter. What is clear is in the aftermath nothing much is going right. Tr Pluto trines his frustrating Sun/Mars in 2020/21; and worse his Solar Arc Sun squares his Neptune in 2022 and then Saturn in 2023, which looks like bad news.

By 2020 his Solar Arc Sun is conjunct the UK 10^th house Cancer Moon, which might suggest a more prominent position; with his Solar Arc Moon conjunct the UK North Node. So there are hints at least of a try.

His relationship chart with the UK is under disappointing Neptunian influences till late 2019; thoroughly jangled in 2018/19 by tr Uranus; and highly aggravated and discouraging in 2019/2020. It’s difficult to see how he could recover any good feelings on either side of the political divide, given what a series of catastrophes his reign wreaked upon the kingdom and not just Iraq.