Astrology of Today’s News

Away from global politics, the fluffier media segments are all a twitter about Pippa Middleton’s wedding to James Matthews on May 20, with advice to would-be brides being handed out liberally. Favours for guests floored me – all invitees appear to need a goodie bag of sorts from the happy couple or more likely their soon-to-be-bankrupt parents. There’s also much excitement at seeing Princess Charlotte as a flower girl and perhaps even Prince George as a page, though that should be an interesting exercise in keeping him in line.

The chart for the day indicates the mood of the moment itself but also sets a tone for the marriage to follow.

Assuming early afternoon nuptials, there’s an ethereal, although evasive Moon Neptune in Pisces. It’s in a showbizzy and argumentative square to Mars; with a gritty, irritable Mars opposition Saturn and Mars inconjunct Pluto; plus a superficial charm-offensive Venus opposition Jupiter which squares onto Pluto hinting at a degree of control and also perhaps a signature for a power social couple. So looks to be bubbling with all manner of tensions beneath a glitzy surface.

Presumably mother Carole will be in charge of the day’s events. Both daughters, Pippa and Kate, look slightly blocked where she’s concerned over the happy event. And there’ll be more than a few panics and miscommunications between Carole and Pippa from now onwards for a few weeks. Carole looks marginally under the weather on the day itself or just after (depending on birth time.)

Indeed Pippa and James look less than lyrical on the day itself with tr Neptune opposition their composite Saturn which is panicky and uncertain. Though it’s generally a good relationship.

His Leo Sun is conjunct her Moon Venus Ascendant in Leo which is a lovely cross over; and his Venus in Virgo is conjunct her Sun. He was born at the time of the Full Moon which is perhaps why he’s taken so long to take the matrimonial plunge and his Moon is (probably) conjunct her Descendant which is also a good placing.

On the relationship chart there is an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction with Sun widely conjunct Saturn and sextile Mars – so hard-working, and fairly driven. Both do sports at a high level which may soak up some of the rougher edges of that. Though there is a composite Mars square Pluto which may cause some ripples along the way. His Uranus is conjunct her Pluto so there will be some adjustments needed as to who has the last word on lifestyle choices.

James doesn’t seem to click particularly well with either Middleton parent, Carole even less so than Michael. His cross over with Prince William is complicated – at one level laid-back and jovial, but not destined to be ultra-close. And it’s certainly getting a major jolt next year as tr Uranus squares their composite Sun.

In fact James Matthews’ chart shows 2018 as seriously jangled with tr Uranus square his Saturn and opposition his Uranus. His finance company Eden Rock Management was incorporated on 2 Nov 2004 and that chart is stalled in 2018 with Solar Arc Saturn square the Sun; with upsets really from now till late 2018 with tr Uranus opposition Mars and then square Saturn. The hedge fund/wealth management  world sounds great – until it isn’t.

Luckily Pippa has a strongly affectionate and supportive relationship with sister Kate with a composite Sun Venus Jupiter which will be a blessing.

There’s been rioting in Paraguay with police shooting one protester dead as moves to enable President Cartes to stand for election again in 2018 are causing popular disquiet. Because of a fear of returning to past time-unlimited dictatorships, the constitution limits presidents to a single five year term.

During his term the Paraguayan economy has stood out from other economies in the region because of its relatively high rate of growth. It improved in the poverty ratings from 11^th to 5^th out of 18 Latin American countries. It is the world’s fourth-biggest exporter of soyabeans and number seven in beef. Prospects for this year are deemed good as long as political instability doesn’t get in the way.

Horacio Cartes, a tobacco magnate, has often faced accusations that his wealth was fed by money laundering, cigarette smuggling and drug trafficking and he had allegedly been under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies.

The Paraguay country chart, 15 May 1811, does have tr Pluto sextile Pluto and sextile Uranus this year, so unrest and pressure for change were inevitable. These run till late 2017.

His Presidency chart, 15 Aug 2013, certainly looks bubbling over with initiative, pushily confident and innovative, though also divisive. It’s in serious trouble around the April 2018 election with tr Pluto (conjunct Mars) exactly opposite the presidency Mars.

His own personal chart, 5 July 1956, has mixed fortunes over the 2018 election with a failure-ridden tr Neptune conjunct Mars; and a high-risk, accident-prone tr Pluto (Mars) conjunct his Mars/Saturn midpoint. And also tr Uranus trine his lucky Jupiter/Pluto midpoint.

Mars trine Pluto, this week’s signature influence, has certainly made its mark with the Russia underground bombing on Tuesday, a nerve agent gas assault against Syrian civilians and now the Trump strike against the Assad military airport believed to have made the attack. Heavy Pluto influences tend to hang around over several days in the run up as well as the exact aspect. And there’s a challenging Sun Pluto square this Sunday as well. Add on: And the Stockholm, Sweden four  deaths (to date)  from a vehicle assault with an Uzbek driver.

Trump has swung dramatically away from the anti-interventionist foreign policy stance he campaigned on. A tweet from two years back: “Obama must now start focusing on OUR COUNTRY, jobs, healthcare and all of our many problems. Forget Syria and make America great again!”

He seemed genuinely touched by the graphic images of dead children but justified outrage isn’t always a productive tactic – viz. David Cameron and the decapitation of Gaddafi which has left Libya a failed state. Never mind the faux outrage over Iraq.

However Trump is a great diversionary tactician and with a load of problems on his plate, failed policies, ominous questionmarks over his Russia connection and on the exact day of the Chinese premier’s visit, maybe he thought a shock and awe extravaganza might gain him the spotlight and some plaudits.

The strike was aimed at the Shayrat airfield in Syria at 4.40am local time. That gives a very complex chart with an emphasised/afflicted Mars – in a destructive and ruthless trine to Pluto and on the focal point of a Yod to Jupiter sextile Midheaven. Bil Tierney says of a Yod focal point Mars – :‘prone to plunge into activities without any sense of purposeful direction.’ ‘Aggressive, strong passions, self-defeating.’ ‘A mismanaged (Mars) Yod could result in fateful consequences due to rash or disruptive actions.’

There’s also an emphasised Jupiter opposition Sun Uranus square Pluto. Jupiter was opposition Mars square Sun when GWB launched the Afghanistan War in 2001; and at the Iraq War in 2003 Jupiter was inconjunct Mars and opposition Neptune. So Jupiter gives confidence, good intentions or self-righteousness but not always practicality. Admittedly in 2001 and 2003 there was the heavy war-like Saturn opposition Pluto, which is missing here thankfully.

Today for the US Tomahawk attack on there was also a Fire Grand Trine of Moon in Leo trine Saturn in Sagittarius trine Uranus. Fire Grand Trines are spontaneous, impulsive, most often don’t think through consequences, give a strong unshakeable sense of self-belief, demanding of attention.

There’s a positive Saturn trine Uranus, so there is some potential for a constructive shift. Plus a foggy, wreathed in mystery Neptune on the Pisces Ascendant.

Putin’s spokesman condemned the attack, disputing that Assad’s forces were responsible for the sarin atrocity – not surprising since the Russian’s were theoretically in charge of destroying Assad’s CW supplies.

Syria just keeps getting worse. Now there are reports of almost certainly sarin (nerve agent) gas being used on civilians, with more than 80 dead including 30 children and 20 women in the north of the country. One father buried twins in a mass grave where 22 members of his family were also being interred.

Donald Trump was prompted to voice outrage and hint at military action; and even the Russians seem embarrassed. Although Russian support for Assad has overlooked the 161 chemical attacks already documented by the UN, including mustard gas, VX and chlorine, launched during the 6 year war. Assad is as per usual denying everything and blaming everyone in sight for the atrocity.

Bashar Assad’s Presidency chart, 17 July 2000, was always moving into a rocky and increasingly dangerous/trapped phase from this year with tr Uranus square the Sun from later this month into early May, repeating on and off till early 2018; and coming under increasing pressure with absolute stalemate in 2018/19 with tr Pluto opposition Mars.

His own personal chart, 11 Sept 1965 (maybe 4.43pm) looks shell-shocked and uncertain at the moment with tr Neptune conjunct Saturn, returning later in the year and into 2018; with tr Neptune opposing his Uranus Pluto and Sun from 2018 for three years for a further downhill slide.

The Syria, 1 Jan 1944 12 am chart, still has the exact but waning Solar Arc Saturn square Mars Uranus, which is devastating and destructive. The one faint blip of cheer might (!?!) come in May with tr Uranus trine Jupiter, returning Oct and early 2018. That’s significant since it is when Donald Trump’s relationship chart with Putin gets a sharp elbow in the ribs from tr Uranus opposition the composite Mars; and Trump’s relationship chart with Assad also highlights concern. That aspect repeats this October and March 2018.

The three ‘grown ups’ in Trump’s Admin – Mattis, McMaster and Tillerson – are also looking v edgy vis a vis Putin around June and late in the year, into 2018.

Putin could pull away from Assad, but possibly not until the year end as tr Saturn is then square the composite Sun and conjunct the composite Saturn.

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Stephen Bannon, Trump’s senior strategist, is off the National Security Council which appointment had caused a furore with fears that US intelligence was being politicised. A specious excuse about baby-sitting Flynn, the former head,  was offered, though the New York Times suggested that Trump was getting unsettled by too much limelight on Bannon, seen as the arch-manipulator; and that Jared Kushner’s steady rise indicated a power shift behind the scenes. [See post March 30.] It is also seen as a win for HR McMaster, the National Security Advisor.

Bannon, 27 Nov 1953, a Sun Sagittarius with a pugnacious, fanatical and attention-grabbing Mars Neptune in Libra on the point of a T square to Uranus opposition North Node in Capricorn, always looked to be having an unsettled, enthusiasm-denting and blocked year. Tr Uranus is just over the square to his Uranus; and hits the opposition to his Neptune and trine to Pluto from later this month into early May, as well as opposing his Mars/Saturn midpoint at the same point which will be a major crisis point. Mid May to late July there’s a dream-bubble-bursting tr Neptune opposition Sun/Jupiter, when his relationship with Trump is at a low ebb; and then tr Pluto returns to square his Mars in Sept/Oct this year when he’ll be corralled, stockaded and volcanically enraged.

Bannon’s relationship with McMaster is certainly volatile with a composite Mars Uranus; and there’ll be high tension between them come Sept/Oct. Though Bannon’s relationship with Mattis, the Defence Secy, may blow a fuse earlier with tr Uranus opposition the composite Mercury at the moment and Sun come late April into May. And the same goes for the Sec State Tillerson/Bannon relationship chart which is just as unstable this month; and certainly worsening in Sept/Oct – if Bannon lasts that long. He’s threatened to walk out according to reports. Though by all accounts he’s slippery and lucky, so too soon to write him off entirely. Though the prospect of him outside the White House and letting off steam at Trump could be an intriguing prospect.

Dramatic allegations are made in Mel B’s claim for divorce from film producer Stephen Belafonte about domestic abuse, forced threesomes and more.

They were born less than two weeks apart, she 29 May 1975 and he 18 May, so they share the same outer planets but she is a Sun Gemini, Moon in Capricorn/Aquarius, Venus in Cancer, Mars in Aries; while he is a Sun Taurus with a Leo/Virgo Moon, Venus in Cancer and Mars in Pisces.

He came out of a chaotic, impoverished, violent childhood and has a history of assaults. His Sun is conjunct Algol and square a bleak, unyielding Saturn/Pluto midpoint and = an explosive Mars/Uranus and = an over pushy Jupiter/Pluto; with his Pluto opposition his buccaneering Mars/Jupiter and = the can-be cruel Mars/Saturn . Plus a wired-up Yod of Sun sextile Mars inconjunct Uranus which can be contrary, wilful, rebellious, overly independent, though can also be a trail blazer. So he won’t be meek and mild

Their relationship chart has a cold composite Venus Saturn but that fits both their patterns; with a power-struggling and can-be ruthless Mars opposition Pluto, and Pluto also opposition Jupiter which says much the same. Again I’ve seen worse, so either the claims are amplified for the courts or the house positions make the difference. Or the dates are wrong.

A grim story with a grim chart to go with it. Five quintuplets born in 1934 were removed a few months after their birth from their family by the Canadian government and placed in a heavily guarded compound, where they were raised by nurses and exhibited to the general public like zoological specimens in a tourist attraction named Quintland. Six thousand people came each day to gawp at them through one-way glass as they played indoors or round the paddling pool. The proceeds were supposed to go into a trust fund to provide for them when they were adults, but the money was mismanaged and little of it remained. One died of a seizure at 20, another in her early thirties. A third sister died in 2001. Two are still alive.

The Canadian author Pierre Berton, who wrote about the quintuplets in the 1970s, thought their birth may have saved a nearly bankrupt province, bringing in some C$500 million — roughly C$9 billion (£5.4 billion) in today’s money. It certainly brought wealth to North Bay; a new highway was built, electricity and phone lines were laid, and some three million visitors made the pilgrimage to Quintland.

They weren’t given back to their parents until they were nine, who by that time were strangers. The three sisters surviving were compensated by the government in 1998.

They were born 28 May 1934 3.56am Callander, Ontario, with Mars conjunct the destructive Algol on their Taurus Ascendant opposition a Scorpio Moon square Saturn in Aquarius; with Pluto square Venus Uranus in Aries; and a wide Yod of Uranus Venus sextile Pluto inconjunct Moon – and an Air Grand Trine of Sun trine North Node trine Jupiter. That latter might just have been their saving grace with an optimistic Jupiter highlighted and a propensity for standing back and now drowning in their feelings.

But that is one tough chart especially where nurturing is concerned with the Moon tied into the cruel Mars Saturn and Pluto.

They left home at 18 and had little contact with their parents afterwards. They wrote an open letter to the parents of septuplets in 1997 warning against too much exposure, saying: ‘Our lives have been ruined by the exploitation we suffered.’ Unbelievable.

Fox News, part of the Murdoch media empire, already reeling from the ousting of their chairman Roger Ailes over sexual harassment charges, is now embroiled in more allegations that they paid off multi-million dollar harassment and inappropriate behaviour suits against their top presenter Bill O’Reilly. Two major advertisers have now pulled their ads from O’Reilly’s prime time show. His show attracts almost four million viewers a night, and from 2014 through 2016 it generated more than $446 million in advertising revenue.

Fox across the board is drawing record ratings with programming supportive of President Trump. The NY Times: ‘Despite Mr. O’Reilly’s history of settlements and the series of allegations against him, the company has extended his contract, which was set to expire this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. O’Reilly makes about $18 million per year. When the company extended the contract, it knew of multiple settlements that had been reached with women who had complained about his behavior.’ O’Reilly denies all charges.

Born 10 September 1949 (no time sadly) O’Reilly is a workaholic, rigid Sun Saturn in Virgo with his Sun trine Jupiter; with both Mars and Pluto in Leo ( not conjunct), and Pluto sextile Mercury in Libra; his Venus in Libra probably opposes an Aries Moon and squares Jupiter in Capricorn, so superficially charming and likes money. Without a time there’s not much pass remarkable about his chart. Although a focal point Cardinal Jupiter can lead to self-aggrandizement, lack of common sense and a tendency to crusade in a self-righteous way.

At the moment his Solar Arc Saturn is square his Pluto, so stuck; with tr Neptune opposing his Sun/Saturn midpoint this year for a time of uncertainty and paranoia. Tr Uranus will also oppose his Venus late April into May and on and off till 2018, which is an emotional shock, and possibly tr Uranus will also conjunct his Moon. It’s a very different chart to Roger Ailes who has Sun and three other planets in Taurus and a pushy Pluto square Jupiter.

There’s not even much in his midpoints to explain his alleged behaviour. It’s the house positions of O’Reilly’s chart that will tell the story, which we don’t know.

Though looking at his 9^th Harmonic (= what brings him pleasure) there’s a controlling and megalomaniac 9H Sun square Pluto, trine Neptune; and a Fixed T Square focal point Venus in Taurus. Bil Tierney says of such a Venus: ‘Determined to have his way in unions, and sometimes forces issues that only stir up conflict and resentment from others due to his lack of compromise of a focal Fixed sign Venus. The individual can enforce too tight a grip upon those he concentrates his steady attention upon in a manner that makes them feel trapped.‘ O’Reilly had an extraordinarily messy divorce in 2011 with legal battles and counter-suits still ongoing. He certainly doesn’t like to let go. His 9H has also got Mars in upfront Aries square Jupiter in Cancer, which Sakoian & Acker describes as ‘one of the most destructive aspects because the natives are likely to use collective power and even social sanction for self-aggrandizement and gratification of the passions.’ At the moment tr Pluto is square his 9H Mars which will make him feel trapped and enraged.

His relationship with Fox, 7 Oct 1996, has a Cardinal Grand Cross with a successful Jupiter opposition North Node square Pluto opposition Uranus; plus a showbizzy and ruthless Mars trine Neptune, sextile Sun Mercury Pluto. It was always going to be a relationship that involved rolling crises and indeed being news is well-suited to a high-adrenaline, none-to-sensitive approach. But for all that the inherent instability in it from Uranus Pluto is being unsettled by tr Pluto square Uranus throughout this year; with an escalation in Sept/Oct and a definite rift, if the relationship survives that long, across New Year into 2018 as tr Saturn squares the composite Sun.

O’Reilly’s relationship with Rupert Murdoch while friendly, isn’t without potential disappoint with a composite Sun opposition Venus square Neptune, which tr Saturn is throwing cold water on from late this June to Oct; with a tussle in Sept/Oct; and a significant upset in 2018 with tr Uranus square the composite Mars Pluto.

Trump does love his dictators and military hard men, especially ones with atrocious human rights records. Today he welcomes President al-Sisi of Egypt, whom Obama barred from the White House because of the brutal repression that followed the coup that brought him to power in 2013. His regime is holding between 40,000 and 60,000 political prisoners, including thousands of secular liberal democrats. His security forces have been responsible for extrajudicial killings and 912 disappearances. Eighty-five civil society activists have been banned from leaving the country and dozens of journalists are being held without trial.

Trump’s theory is that al-Sisi is a major ally in the fight against terrorism yet his regime has made Egypt a mass-production facility for violent extremism. Terrorist incidents have increased dramatically, since he took power. He supports al-Assad in Syria, and has offered unqualified endorsement of Russia’s increasing military presence throughout the Middle East. He gets $1 billion a year from the USA and yet his state-controlled media is filled with anti-Western diatribes; and Americans working in Egypt, and Egyptians who work with Western organizations, have faced trumped-up charges under harsh laws criminalizing contacts between Egyptians and foreigners.

Trump has two Egyptian registered property companies, perhaps why it was left off the selective travel ban despite having high levels of violence. Ditto Turkey.

Al-Sisi, born 19 Nov 1954, has a fearsome chart with Pluto in Leo opposition Mars in Aquarius square a Scorpio Sun Venus; with Saturn Mercury also in Scorpio, so his chart certainly matches his words and deeds. His Pluto is conjunct Trump’s Mars and Ascendant which doers suggest the possibility of a major clash at some point. Admittedly their relationship chart has an enthusiastic, supportive composite Sun Jupiter Mercury conjunction; but there’s also a composite Mars square Pluto.

It’ll cool in the July to October period this year with tr Saturn square the composite Venus; with a deal of confusion from tr Pluto square the composite Neptune at the same time.

The USA/Egypt relationship chart is on a winding path this year, with more warmth from tr Pluto trine the composite Venus Sun; but also aggravation in Sept/Oct from tr Pluto trine Mars; and relations are very disrupted from 2018 to 2021.

Al-Sisi’s Presidency chart, 8 June 2014 11.18am is less than stable at the moment with the Solar Arc Pluto square Uranus. Though like Zuma’s Presidency chart in South Africa, it does have Jupiter tied into a wide Cardinal Grand Cross, so will survive close scrapes better than it deserves. Where it starts to sag badly is in 2019/2020 with tr Neptune square the Gemini Sun.