Astrology of Today’s News

Domestic support for a second Scottish independence referendum is rising with the likelihood of Nicola Sturgeon announcing it at the same time as Brexit pushes off in March. Though it’s unlikely (?) to be held until 2019. Scotland voted substantially for remaining and the SNP wants to move into the EU if they win. Though the economic arguments are, if anything, worse than they were in 2014 for the previous referendum which voted 55-45 against. And the SNP’s record of running the NHS, schools, police and budget since they took over responsibility in 2007 is the subject of ongoing criticism. One argument is that Scotland could end up like Greece, and that’s if they could make the financial criteria for entry, which would require more fiscal discipline than has been obvious in the past.

The Act of Union between Scotland and England got under way on 1 May 1707 JC. In 2014 for the first referendum tr Saturn was opposition the Taurus Sun. There is certainly huge pressure on this chart in 2018/19/20 with tr Pluto opposition Mars, trine Sun and then square Neptune – so it will be a bitter fight. Tr Pluto square Neptune in 2019/20 could point to a devastating end to the Act of Union, but on the other hand it’s an enormously fixed, enduring chart with a Taurus Sun square Pluto Jupiter – and won’t break apart easily.

Nicola Sturgeon’s term chart, 12 May 2016 9.35am Edinburgh, does have a powerfully confident Earth Grand Trine of Pluto trine Jupiter trine Venus, Mercury (and Sun) in Taurus; but that forms into a Kite with Jupiter opposition Neptune, making idealistic, visionary, delusionary Neptune the driving planet. Plus there’s a very wobbly and impatient T square of Jupiter opposition Neptune square Saturn Mars in Sagittarius. Tr Neptune is undermining that T square from this April to the end of 2018, so the Holyrood government will be in less than ideal shape.

Her personal chart is under very muddled influences. She has tr Saturn moving through her 2^nd house till 2018 which is usually not successful; with tr Neptune opposition her Sun/Jupiter, Uranus/MC and Mars/Jupiter midpoints and Solar Arc Sun through to January 2018 – and then opposition Solar Arc Mars through till 2020. Her Progressed Moon is going through her 12^th till autumn 2018 which is often a time of being held back. And tr Pluto will trine her Saturn for a discouraging and tough slog through 2018/19.

On the upside she has tr Uranus trine her MC in April and tr Saturn also trine through the year – so a change of direction which could be positive. She’s also got tr Uranus square her Cancer Sun from May onwards and tr Uranus opposes her Jupiter through 2018 which will be upbeat and lucky. She’ll also get a lift from tr Jupiter moving across her Ascendant from November this year for a year thereafter. Her Solar Arc Mercury is conjunct her Pluto now and her Solar Arc Pluto squares her Mercury in 2018 – so she’ll be arguing fiercely.

There’s nothing that looks like ‘a whoopee we’ve done it’ moment. If a recession strikes with the Saturn Pluto in Capricorn picking up through 2018 into 2019 it will make the economic arguments for separation even less palatable.

Actor Bill Paxton, best known for his role in the sci-fi classic Aliens, The Terminator, Apollo 13, True Lies, Titanic and the TV mini-series Hatfields and McCoys, has died aged 61 of a post-surgical stroke after a heart operation.

Born 17 May 1955 in Fort Worth Texas, he was a Sun Taurus square Pluto in Leo with Pluto square Saturn in Scorpio, so quite a heavy-duty, bleak chart. To balance up the difficulties, he had Venus in upfront Aries opposition Neptune square a lucky Jupiter Uranus in Cancer. His Moon possibly in Pisces may have been on the focal point of a Mutable T Square to Mars in Gemini opposition his North Node – an accentuated Moon often appears in the charts of those who appreciate a wide audience.

Tr Saturn had been opposition his Mars just before his operation, with three undermining Neptune transits to midpoints; and tr Saturn was exactly conjunct his North Node when he died; and may at some point been square his Moon – so discouraging and energy-lowering. Plus more significantly he had his Solar Arc Mars within a degree of a conjunction to his Pluto, which suggests a major blockage. Oddly enough his Solar Arc Sun was conjunct his Jupiter which should have given him a confidence boost. But clearly not enough.

The Netherlands election on March 15^th has the EU on edge since there is a possibility of populist, anti-immigration, far-right Geert Wilders winning. He’s riding high in the polls and his party will certainly make substantial gains. Though the likelihood is that it will end in a coalition government. There is also unease about the Dutch parliament discussing in a few weeks’ time the feasibility  of pulling out of the euro because it is hurting domestic savers. Since Dutch politics are seen as a bellwether for Europe, leading the way with developments which tend to be followed by other countries later, there is a palpable sense of an existential crisis looming for the EU. With the French elections following in April/May and Germany in September. Angela Merkel is moving into a series of tr Uranus squares from March 20^th onwards, so she’s feeling a blast of change coming.

The Netherlands chart, 26 July 1581 JC The Hague, looks panicked at the election with tr Neptune opposing Mars which runs on in the aftermath till early April. That could arguably be a ‘what have we done?’ – a la Trump in the US. Overall it’s an uncertain and confused year for the Netherlands with tr Pluto returning to oppose Neptune in September; and tr Neptune continuing to oppose Mars till early 2018; and tr Uranus opposing the Solar Arc Venus and conjunct the Solar Arc Uranus as well – so all jangled and jolted.

The Netherlands/EU relationship chart is certainly at a splitting-asunder moment this year; with tr Uranus square the composite Saturn over the election and then moving on to oppose the composite Mars in April and the composite Sun in May – and those influences repeat into 2018. So the electoral result will be a serious knock to the EU.

Geert Wilders, 6 September 1963, has the usual mixter maxter influences over the election. One day a candidate will have all good influences and it’ll be easy to predict (sigh). He does have tr Uranus square his Mars/Jupiter which is elation and success; and his Solar Arc Jupiter is within a degree of being square his Pluto, which is high confidence; and his Solar Arc Node is conjunct his Pluto for a moment in destiny – so a fair amount of positives. But he also has tr Neptune opposition his Sun/Pluto and into April opposition his Sun, so he’s not entirely ecstatic. Though he’s got tr Pluto square his Jupiter this month and later on and off till late 2018, so he’ll be on a roll of confidence. He could well do it and then find he can’t cobble together a coalition since no one wants to ally themselves to him.

The Neptune Pluto in Gemini conjunction of the late 19^th Century spawned the brutal megalomaniacs who wreaked destruction in the 20^th century – most notably Hitler and Mao Tse Tung, with Stalin being born earlier with Neptune and Pluto in Taurus. But Neptune Pluto also has a supernatural streak, a yearning for and a connection to a parallel universe of unseen forces and information. Control-freak dictators and practitioners of magic are more interconnected than you might imagine, since both are concerned with manipulating extra-human power. White magic for good; and black magic and ruthless leaders for personal ambition and revenge.

Hitler had Neptune Pluto conjunct in his 8^th house which gave him the ability to tune into the masses and wield power from behind the scenes, drawing on his training from occultists, black magicians and others. Iconic film stars often have Pluto or Neptune in the 8^th and for certain individuals it does appear to allow them to project a powerful image out to society, most often unconsciously. Hitler appears to have tripped by accident into the occult just before WW1 when his Solar Arc Sun was just moving into his 8^th house, pushing him deeper into beyond-reality realms, crossing the conjunction to his Neptune Pluto during the war. He was apparently treated with psychotropic drugs in 1918 after an episode of blindness which was deemed psychosomatic after the Battle of the Somme. And he did dabble in hallucinogenics which resulted in visions of power, which sent him into politics in the 1920s.

Dion Fortune, the ‘white witch’ who organised rituals in WW11 to protect the UK, was born 6 Dec 1890 with a rectified birth time of 2.11am Llandudno, Wales, which puts her Neptune Pluto conjunction in the 9^th but it could as easily be late 8^th. It opposed her Sun Venus in Sagittarius and squared onto Saturn in Virgo so was very strong in her chart. She studied psychoanalysis, then moved towards theosophy and mediumship in which she connected to ‘Advanced Masters’ on the other side. She died in January 1946 aged 56 just as the war ended of leukaemia.

Churchill also had Neptune (in Aries) and Pluto (in Taurus) in his 8^th though not conjunct. Aleister Crowley, whom Dion Fortune met several times, had Neptune and Pluto in Taurus in his 10^th. He was a bit of a thug with his Pluto square Saturn in Aquarius opposition Uranus and trine Mars in Capricorn. Dennis Wheatley, the novelist, also tied into esoteric circles, had Neptune Pluto Mars in Gemini in his 10^th. He had an 8^th house Moon, as did Mao and Stalin. So the 8^th house of transformation, death and rebirth, which is the most potent of the occult houses, is a recurring theme. The founder of Theosophical Society, Helena Blavatsky, born in 1831 had Jupiter Uranus in the 8^th and a 10^th house Pluto.

There was an upsurge of interest in esoteric matters throughout the Neptune Pluto conjunction in the late 19^th Century and those born under it were drawn to spiritualism in the dreadful aftermath of World War 1 to connect with lost loved ones.

Sarah Palin’s absence from CPAC, the US conservative conference, has raised eyebrows with questions being asked about whether her meteor has crashed and burned. In recent times she’s been focussing attention on her celebrity brand rather than politics.

But she’s by no means down and out. Her Solar Arc Mars will conjunct her Jupiter in Aries, exact in two months; with her Solar Arc Sun conjunct Jupiter in 15 months from now, both of which will refuel her exuberance; and tr Pluto will make a morale boosting square to her Jupiter in September/October this year – all of which should return her to her brashly, over-confident self. Admittedly tr Pluto is also square her Solar Arc Mars Saturn in 2017/18 which will put brakes on certain plans. And she looks emotionally out of sorts with her Solar Arc Venus square her natal Mars Saturn – which could also be financial headaches. So not all wonderful.

Trump has already stolen her thunder as the outrageous outsider but she may make a push back within coming months.

The two UK bye-elections that were supposed to be the test to prove whether Jeremy Corbyn should stay or go as leader have ended in one catastrophic loss and a half-hearted win. But he says he’s not going, so that’s that presumably. For the time being.

The Labour Party 26 Feb 1900 chart does seem to be fairly accurate given that this week’s Pisces Solar Eclipse is conjunct the Pisces Sun; and tr Neptune is heading to square the Uranus opposition Pluto from early March, on and off till late 2018; with tr Saturn also opposition Neptune this year. 2019 looks devastatingly bad with Solar Arc Mars conjunct Neptune, so the implosion of the party looks likely to continue.

2018 always did look more likely to be his crisis point. And on his relationship chart with the Labour Party tr Pluto will present a huge challenge to the ties-that-bind as it squares the Sun from March 2018 till late 2019; with tr Uranus in a jolting opposition to the composite Saturn as well in 2018. But this chart also has a Pluto square Mars, mirroring his own natal chart with a Fixed sign Mars Pluto square, so he won’t dislodge easily or harmoniously.

A ‘binding’ curse was laid on Donald Trump by witchcraft followers in the USA, to rein him in and prevent him from harming any living soul. It will be practiced monthly, with the first at midnight on Feb 24^th. There is a tradition of such white magic rituals; and Gerald Gardner writes of a Cone of Power ceremony at the outbreak of the Battle of Britain (Hitler’s attempt to invade England) towards midnight on Lammas Eve 31 July 1940 to hex him into failing, which he duly did. Gardner also mentions similar ceremonies to cause the Spanish Armada (setting out to invade England) to fail in 1588, which was indeed devastated and largely destroyed by a major storm. How much of this is urban legend and retrospective pleading is moot, but intriguing all the same.

The Trump curse has an afflicted/focal point Pluto in the 3^rd which is definitely a heavy word being uttered; and Mercury is sextile Saturn and widely sextile Mars Uranus so even more excitable utterances; and two days before the Neptunian Pisces Eclipse with the North Node conjunct the MC located to Washington, DC.

It is – coincidentally or otherwise – just two days before tr Uranus moves to 22 degrees, starting a series of disruptive transits to Trump’s midpoints and Saturn Venus lasting several months.

The 1940 binding curse on Hitler also had a heavily aspected Mercury on the midpoint of Uranus trine Neptune; plus an approaching Sun Pluto conjunction. These were challenging times with the Jupiter Saturn conjunct in Taurus and Uranus also in Taurus. Tr Pluto was just past the conjunction to the UK’s 10^th house Jupiter in Leo by less than a degree, so Hitler’s hopes of dashing UK morale were never going to work. And tr Pluto was also moving to conjunct Hitler’s Leo Midheaven starting to chip away at his dominance; with the tr Jupiter Saturn about to conjunct his Venus Mars in Taurus.

There’s no date for any curse on the Spanish Armada but it set out on 8 August 1588 JC when there was again a heavily aspected Mercury trine Saturn, sextiling onto Mars. Neptune oddly enough was at 2 Leo, the same degree as tr Pluto for the Battle of Britain.

Often the ‘power’ of curses lies as much in the susceptibility of the recipient to believe in supernatural powers. So kind of depends on how superstitious Trump is. With Pluto in his 12^th he may well be.

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French actress Isabelle Huppert is up for an Oscar for her starring role in Elle, a well-reviewed rape revenge movie. Born 16 March 1953 2.40am Paris, she’s hugely prolific, having appeared in 100 movies, French and international, including The Piano Teacher, with multiple awards to her credit.

She has a 3^rd house Sun Mercury in Pisces and an Aries Moon; with a 4^th house Mars in Aries conjunct Venus in Taurus opposition Neptune Saturn on her midheaven – so she’s feisty, intelligent, well designed for a varied filmic career. Her Jupiter in Taurus in the performing 5^th is in a confident square to an iconic and influential 8^th house Pluto.

Tr Pluto is trine her Jupiter at the moment boosting her morale and suggesting success, though Emma Stone and La La Land are the front runners. Though anything could happen. Certainly she’ll stay on a roll for the next two years.

In the age of parody nothing surprises. Although Pamela Anderson, the busty darling of Baywatch and Playboy Playmate of the Month, hitching her wagon to freedom fighter Julian Assange, still trapped in the Ecuador Embassy in London, is quite a mind-boggling sight.

‘He’s wonderful,’ she gushed in an interview. ‘I always thought I’d make a good First Lady. If I had to pick a world leader to stand beside it’d be Julian Assange.’ ‘He’s a hero and no crime has been committed.’

Born 1 July 1967 4am Ladysmith, Canada, she’s an activist herself for animal rights, against fur, supports AIDS victims and campaigns for the legalisation of cannabis.

She is a Sun Cancer square Saturn in Aries. Her Aries Moon opposes Mars in Libra is the performing 5^th house square Mercury in Cancer, so she’s good at fighting her corner verbally.

Assange is also a Sun and Mercury in Cancer; with his Venus conjunct her Gemini Ascendant; and his Scorpio Moon falls in her romantic 5^th – so there are good cross overs. Though her Uranus opposes her Saturn which isn’t so great. His Mars in Aquarius is conjunct her MC which can throw energy into joint projects or turn competitive at some point with ego-clashes.

Her Sun falls in his 8^th making for a deep connection with her Venus in Leo is conjunct his Midheaven, adding a touch of flamboyance to his career; and perhaps helping him with his PR image.

Their relationship chart has the composite Venus trine Neptune, sextile Pluto – so a hint of passion, ethereal, living in fantasy land with overtones of delusions of grandeur. It’ll be unsettled by tr Uranus square Venus from April onwards. The composite Sun is square Uranus Jupiter which is adventurous and opportunistic, but on a definite damper from tr Saturn in hard aspect in 2018/19. Plus a ferocious and could-turn-hostile composite Pluto square Mars which will get triggered July to October this year.

The Ecuador election which could see Assange ejected from the London embassy has gone to such a tight result, that an April run-off is now planned. At that point tr Saturn will square Assange’s Pluto all month which looks blocked and discouraged, retrograding to oppose his Venus in June; and repeating both aspects later in the year. So not too happy for him.