Astrology of Today’s News

The Poland elections on October 15 are being seen as pivotal to the future of the EU and the outcome of the war in Ukraine as well as the most important election in Poland since 1989. “Depending on the outcome, the country will either reorientate itself as a euro-enthusiastic rising democracy or will commit further to an illiberal turn at loggerheads with Europe over the rule of law and enlargement.”

  The right-wing populist Law and Justice Party in power since 2015 has polarized political debate, ramping up the kind of identity politics which have dominated the US, UK and elsewhere. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader, and Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, face opposition leader Donald Tusk.  Commentators reckon the result will be so narrow that fresh elections will be required within a minimum of two years.

 The Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, 20 June 1968 2.15pm Wroclaw, Poland, a Sun, Mercury, Venus Mars in Gemini square Uranus Pluto in Virgo, looks deflated over the election with tr Saturn opposition his Jupiter and in for a sudden change with his SA Midheaven conjunct his Uranus. And has a mixture ahead of undermining Neptune through into 2025; and some upbeat influences late this year into 2024.

Jarosław Kaczyński, 18 June 1949, another Sun, Mercury, Mars in Gemini, looks seriously aggravated at the moment, with tensions rising later in the year. He would not give in easy since Pluto is conjunct his Jupiter through till late 2024 but he is not in a progressive phase.

  Donald Tusk, 22 April 1957, whose main policy is to oppose the government, is a Sun, Venus, Mercury in Taurus so should in theory be heled by Jupiter moving through Taurus But he is looking jangled and jolted now, downbeat and devastated in 2024. With maybe just maybe a glimmer of uplift in later 2024.

   What may be an indicator is that tr Uranus is now trine tr Pluto suggesting the beginnings of a shift into a new scenario – which may not come immediately for Poland but will make its influence felt over time.

  I keep trying to work out why we have been cursed with all these yowling, damage-wreaking, rabble-rousing Geminis since the middle of last decade – Trump, Boris etc etc etc.  It must be something in the celestial waters.

Mo Farah, the British-Somali long-distance runner, considered one of the greatest of all time with four Olympic and six World titles to his credit, has officially retired after his last race.

  What makes his story even more extraordinary was that his father was killed in Somalia in a genocide when he was four, after which he became separated from his mother and was illegally trafficked to the UK aged 9 and forced to work as a domestic servant. When he was 11 he started attending school and confided in a teacher who arranged to have him fostered by another family. That was when he started competing in athletics. He told Sky News: “In what I went through as a child, sport has saved me, to become the man I have become.” In adult life he reconnected with his mother and two brothers.

  Born 23 March 1983, he has a top athlete’s chart with a prominent Neptune opposition North Node square an Aries Sun and Mercury in Pisces. Neptune is surprisingly common in competitive performers’ charts. His pro-active Aries on the focal point of a T square would give him with the confidence despite his rocky start in life to push ahead. Plus he has a do-or-die determined Mars in Aries opposition Pluto stemming from his high-risk childhood which faced him with rolling crises and danger. His Chiron in Taurus is conjunct Algol which is tricky to interpret but it puts his woundedness close to the heart of darkness is the best I can do.

  His Sun Mercury are quincunx a Pluto Saturn conjunction which suggests immense strain trying to balance the hardship of his beginnings with his inspirational Fire Sun.  What lightens his burden is a lucky, adventurous Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius trine his Sun which would give him a crazy optimism that his luck would hold good – which it did.

  He won’t find the transition to retirement too easy with tr Pluto squaring his Pluto and Saturn and tr Neptune Saturn squaring his Mercury Sun over the next two or three years. But he’s nothing if not resilient. Once he gets over the upheaval of his SA Pluto conjunct his Uranus next year he has a super-confident SA Pluto conjunct his Jupiter which will help him over the next hurdle.

 His leaving-a-legacy 17^th harmonic is well aspected and confident as is his 5H.   

From hero to zero, Elon Musk’s troubled trajectory is a dizzying pinball run from highs to self-defeating failures. Though the latest outcry about him cutting off Ukraine’s Starlink service in Crimea to aid the Russians does not appear to be true. It was already deactivated there, and he refused the Ukrainians’ emergency request to activate it so they could carry out the attack, for fear of it leading to a nuclear war.

  A new biography attempts to pin down what has forged his oddball character and extraordinary talent. Born 28 June 1971 Pretoria, South Africa with no birth time but a rectified one by Starkman of 8.42 pm, he was a headstrong child brought up in an ‘abusive, friendless childhood’ who read science fiction novels and superhero comics and bossed his younger siblings and cousins around. His parents split when he was nine and he elected to live with his wealthy father, an electromechanical engineer, which he later regretted. His interest in computers started when he was 10 and aged 12 he sold his first video game.

  Recently Musk has lurched rightwards, embracing conspiracy theories, railing against restrictions, fouled up Twitter, been accused of sexual misdeeds and had his array of multiple children exposed. His biographer thinks he may be going the way of his father who has apparently moved into paranoia, conspiracism and overt racism.

Elon Musk, like Julian Assange born a few days later, is a Sun Cancer square an innovative and rebellious Uranus. He has a creative though can-be-neurotic Saturn opposition Neptune (Jupiter) and a contrary, inordinately stubborn Mars in Aquarius conjunct his North Node. Sakoian & Acker presciently remark in their handbook published in the 1970s that 1971 when there was a long station of Mars in Aquarius was a year when “many souls came into the world who will spearhead a new way of life.”  Such a Mars is reformist, deaf to advice, has to learn through their own mistakes and can throw out the old order before having a suitable replacement organized. So it can be destructive as well as constructive.

  If Starkman’s rectified time is sound then Elon Musk‘s ornery Mars North Node is conjunct his Ascendant for a full-on assertive/aggressive approach. His Cancer Sun is in the flamboyant, attention-seeking and children-focused 5^th; his Jupiter Neptune of visionary dreams and success is in his career 10^th; and his Pluto and Uranus are in his 8^th giving him access to his deeper unconscious with potentially positive and potentially negative outcomes – inspired but mentally balanced on a fine edge.

 Neither of his parents were easy temperaments. Father Errol, 25 May 1946 (net sources) was a Sun Gemini with an dominating Mars Pluto in Leo.  His mother Maye, 19 April 1948, was a Sun Aries/Taurus with Saturn, Pluto and Mars in Leo. Both parents sparked off his Mars which would fuel his anger and defiance.

  On his Harmonics – his get-it-together 5^th is creative. His leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H is confident, lucky and notable. But so is his self-defeating, highs and lows 10^th harmonic which suggests that wild overconfidence and lawlessness could be the undoing of him.  

Add On: There is also a birthtime from his biography  of 7.30am which puts his contrary, angry Mars in Aquarius in his 8^th house of business finances and unconscious drives with Jupiter Neptune in his 5^th house of children and romance – which could also fit. Whichever birth time is accurate or neither – he is in trouble come 2026/27 with SA Pluto square his Mars and tr Saturn Neptune in Aries square his Sun.  That is around the time Twitter is in real trouble. See post 26 April 2022.

A powerful 6.8 earthquake in central Morocco has killed more than 2,000 people. It caused major disruption in Marrakesh and many of the deaths were said to be in hard-to-reach mountain areas. The quake struck just after 23:00 local time 8 September 2023.

  The recent Lunar Eclipse of May 2023 has Mars in Cancer conjunct the Midheaven set for Marrakech square Jupiter on the Descendant. Planets on the angles mark a location out as a potential crisis region.  The April 2023 Solar Eclipse has Neptune close to the Ascendant.

 The two upcoming Eclipses in this coming October both look critical as well with Saturn conjunct Midheaven on the Lunar and the Eclipsed New Moon exactly conjunct the Descendant on the other.

 The Morocco country chart, 28 May 1956 11am Rabat, Morocco, moved into a period of considerable turmoil and disruption this year and on for two years ahead. Exactly now tr Pluto is square the Solar Arc Neptune which is the classic earthquake/natural disaster indicator for devastation, confusion and chaotic conditions. That influences comes back again later in the year which doesn’t mean a repeat, just that the mayhem will run on.

  Tr Uranus is also exactly square the Morocco Jupiter which is itself could be a lucky influence but since the Jupiter is conjunct Pluto opposition Mars and square Saturn it has the effect of tr Uranus in an upending square to Pluto, and a ‘shocking’ accident prone square to Mars and a high-tension opposition to Saturn – and that Uranian roller coaster runs on into 2025. Plus tr Saturn square the Gemini Sun this year and a destabilizing tr Pluto opposition the Uranus last year and this year – not so much a perfect storm as challenging phase of turbulence and tumult.     

Add On: The  Royal Palace has remained mostly silent in the early days of the crisis with little sign of government-promised rescue teams initially and offers of international help being only selectively accepted. The worst-hit provinces are among the poorest in Morocco, with some lacking electricity or running water, even in better times. An American academic commentator said: “The reality is that the moment you step out of Marrakesh, the people are essentially living as if they are back in the Middle Ages because of the absence of the state.”

 King Mohammed, 21 August 1963 who acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, is the richest king in Africa and the fifth wealthiest monarch in the world with an estimated fortune of many billions. In 2020, he purchased an €80 million mansion in Paris from the Saudi royal family.

   His Accession chart has tr Pluto opposition the zero degree Leo Sun this year and next, so this starts the most challenging phase of his rulership though he doesn’t seem to be rising to the test. His rulership chart is exceedingly Fixed with Sun Mercury in Leo opposition Neptune square Jupiter in Taurus opposition Mars in Scorpio – acquisitive, indulgent, unrealistic, scandal-prone, unbudgeable. Plus Uranus in Aquarius square Saturn in Taurus and a Leo North Node = autocratic. Mohammed did shift marginally after the Arab Spring in 2011 to reform the constitution but he still retains complete control over the armed forces and the judiciary,  retains the authority to appoint and dismiss prime ministers. Criticizing or directly opposing the king is still punishable with prison.

  His way ahead looks troubled with a devastating 2025, indeed now and 2024 as well, given that the Sun opposes Neptune so they will both be triggered by this quake and what comes next.

 His own chart with a flashy Sun Venus in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius with Neptune in Scorpio is equally stubborn and is also on a bumpy ride with tr Uranus hard aspects over the next two years; as well as tr Saturn opposition his Uranus Pluto. His Solar Arc Saturn is tugging on his opportunistic Mars opposition Uranus since 2021 through till 2025 – for a discouraging, accident-prone and enthusiasm-denting run.

   His ‘caring’ North Node in Cancer needs a serious prod.

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Songwriter Bernie Taupin is the other half of Elton John’s super-stardom and between them they have sold more than 300 million records worldwide and collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. They met in their late teens and have not been apart musically for long since. “We were joined at the hip. It was me and him against the world,” Taupin says. “We were both incredibly shy introverts: two separate pieces that, joined together, made a whole.” Elton said of him “He was the glue that held me together.”

  What is fascinating astrologically is that Bernie, 22 May 1950, has his Gemini Sun conjunct Elton’s North Node and Elton, 25 March 1947 3.28pm, has his Aries Sun conjunct Bernie’s North Node. So two Sun North Node crossovers that brought them together by chance and they have not looked back since.

 Bernie lives with his wife and two children in California and describes Elton as “his spiritual boyfriend.”

  Their relationship chart has an entrepreneurial, inspirational Fire Grand Trine and Jupiter on the focal point of a composite T Square. A recipe for togetherness in creativity, spirit and success.

  Bernie Taupin’s memoir is out this coming week.

I just love astrology when it works so well.

Singer Joe Jonas and Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner are to divorce after four years of marriage and two children. There are reports she felt trapped having been tied down so young and he was left to look after the children when on tour. Marriage breakdowns are always a tragedy especially with children involved but it is instructive to survey the astrological compatibility and ask why the inevitable wasn’t obvious from the start.

  Joe Jonas born 15 August 1989 9.58 am Casa Grande, Arizona, has a friendly 11^th house Leo Sun conjunct his South Node with his Aquarius North Node in his 5^th house of children and entertainment. He has a pronounced Pluto in Scorpio conjunct his Sun/Moon midpoint which is the marriage significator as well as square his 4^th house Moon and on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Mars in Virgo trine Saturn Neptune in Capricorn. Possessiveness and control will be issues for him to overcome especially in close and family relationships.

  Sophie Turner, 21 February 1996 8.10 am (time may be iffy) Northampton, England, has a 12^th house Sun Mars in Pisces square an 8^th house Pluto which will make her feel trapped no matter where she is until she comes to terms with her psychological makeup (whether birth time is right or not). She also has her North Node in Libra in her 7^th so forging cooperative one-to-one relationships will be one of her challenges through life.  Her Aries Moon is trine Pluto and sextile Uranus – she’ll veer between wanting closeness and wanting freedom.

  Their relationship chart has a dominant composite Sun opposition Pluto Mercury with Pluto square Saturn – it would be a chained-together relationship, which possibly felt ‘meant’ at the start but Pluto always brings control and possessiveness issues to the fore. And makes splits usually a long, difficult process.

  Their first wedding in Las Vegas, 1 May 2019, had a needs-space, disruptive Sun Uranus; a bleak Saturn Pluto; and an adventurous but unrealistic Mars opposition Jupiter square Neptune.

  Lessons to learn for both of them and maybe his 4^th house Moon might make him a supportive father.

Kanye West behaving badly again, what a surprise. But this time he seems to have outdone himself on a canal boat in Venice photographed with his trousers down and ‘in a state of intimacy’ with his partner Bianca Censori. A Venice police source said: ‘The offence being investigated is acts contrary to public decency – any breaches are severely punished.’

  West, 8 June 1977 maybe 8.45am Atlanta, Georgia is a super-ambitious and overly confident Sun Jupiter in Gemini opposition Neptune square a Pisces Moon, and trine Pluto. He has an earthy, ramped-up Venus Mars in Taurus. His Pisces Moon is also under enormous pressure from the Sun Jupiter opposition Neptune and even more so being on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Saturn sextile Pluto. This will make him emotionally disorganized and – in Pisces – super-sensitive to a degree he almost certainly can’t handle.

  His current beaux has a questionable birthdate – maybe 5 January 1995 Melbourne, Australia,  and, if accurate, is a highly-strung Sun, Neptune, Uranus, Mercury spread out through Capricorn. She has Saturn (maybe Moon) in Pisces opposition Mars square Jupiter which has a suggestion if the birth date is accurate of using Jupiter to cover over feelings of being treated unfairly/unkindly. Plus she has a seductive Venus Pluto in Scorpio conjunct Jupiter which will make her push through social niceties to get what she wants. 

  His North Node is in Libra so developing healthy relationships is his challenge. She has her North Node in Scorpio.

  There’s nothing much to suggest an affinity between them – except in their relationship chart there is a publicity-attracting Mars, Neptune, Sun T Square. And even more significantly the composite Pluto conjunct the North Node –  from previous post = “Pluto conjunct North Node can be opportunistic and get onto  bandwagons though it can backfire – getting a tiger by the tail – with the result that affairs of life can get out of hand.”  Just so.

Add On: His mother, a Professor of English at Chicago University, Donda Williams, 12 July 1949, was a Sun Cancer opposition Jupiter which fell across his Ascendant and 7^th house (his birth time being accurate) so would be a supportive relationship. She died on 10 November 2007 when tr Uranus was exactly square his Neptune opposition Jupiter and rattling his Mutable Moon T Square with tr Saturn in early Virgo approaching the same aspect from the other side. So that whole high-tension, disruptive tr Uranus opposition tr Saturn on 2007/2008 would seriously jangle the core of his personality and his area of greatest sensitivity. Her Aries  North Node was conjunct his South Node almost exactly which hints at a powerful though conflicted connection.

  Relocating his chart to Hollywood will depend on his birth timing being sound. If so, then it puts his over-confident Jupiter Sun exactly on the Ascendant so it will boost his already over-pumped ego.  Plus Moon in the 10^th for a public, attention-generating career; and Pluto in the performing and attention-demanding 5^th for making his mark. It will hype up his self-regard to clearly unsafe levels.

  Hollywood, 1 February 1887, has its Aquarius Sun exactly opposition his Saturn in wannabe-important Leo which may also send him over the top in an attempt to prove himself. The Hollywood Jupiter also opposes his Venus Mars Chiron in Taurus which will wind up his excitability and sensuality.

 Most intriguingly his Sun is closely conjunct the Hollywood Chiron – perhaps with the result that he becomes the poster boy if you like for Hollywood’s wound. A salutary warning of where uncontained narcissism and the acquisition of staggering levels of wealth leads.

Pope Francis creeping towards 90 has been raising alarm with his adulation for ‘great Mother Russia’ and its imperial past which Ukrainians pointed out was at the heart of the Kremlin’s invasion of their country. On a visit to Mongolia he has now added Genghis Kahn to his much-to-be-admired list of empire builders because of his tolerance for different religions. The Pope skipped over the estimated 40 million deaths caused by Genghis Khan on his 13^th Century territory-grabbing rampage across China and Iran.  He also evidently avoids meets with Dalai Lama for fear of upsetting China. His leaning towards autocratic regimes sits awkwardly with his progressive reputation.   

  He’s now embroiled in a bitter argument in Spain as part of his campaign to lessen the autonomy of Opus Dei within the Church. Taken in isolation from his embrace-a-tyrant leanings it might be thought no bad thing to squash the secretive Catholic Opus Dei (which appears to have an outsize influence on US politics.) But it may also tap back into his Jesuit training since the Jesuits historically have fought a turf war with Opus Dei.

  Pondering on how to put this jigsaw together astrologically – what my eye caught on the Pope’s birth chart, 17 December 1936 9pm Buenos Aires, Argentina, was his Sagittarius Sun conjunct North Node quincunx Pluto in his 1^st house. Sagittarius is open-minded, philosophical, a thinker.  Conjunct NN gives him leadership abilities.  Neither of which sit easily with his controlling Pluto – it is one or the other, as he swings from Sagittarian enthusiasm and optimism to a Plutonic reverence for absolute power and control.  For previous post on quincunxes see August 22 2023.

 Ignatius Loyola, one of the founders of the Jesuit Order, 23 October 1491 OS was no slouch in the dominate and keep-a-grip department either with a Scorpio Sun Pluto conjunct in Scorpio square Saturn in Aquarius.

  When Francis became a Jesuit in 1958 tr Saturn was exactly conjunct his Sagittarius Sun.

  It’s a stretch but I wonder if his advancing years and declining mental grip might be reverting him to his old Jesuit roots. For previous Pope Francis post on influences – see 30 March 2023.

  Opus Dei founded 2 October 1928, Madrid, has a defiant Libra Sun opposition Uranus; with an indulgent, acquisitive Jupiter in Taurus which is quincunx Sun and opposition Venus Mercury in Scorpio. It is heading into a rough few years with a panicky-failure tr Neptune square Mars in 2024/25; a jangled and jolted tr Uranus square Neptune in 2025 and a car-crash collision of sorts in 2026 with SA Mars conjunct the Sun.

Qantas, Australia’s national airline carrier, is stumbling through a series of reputation-damaging scandals including selling tickets for cancelled flight which could incur fines running to hundreds of millions of dollars. The CEO since 2008, Allan Joyce has brought his retirement forward and bowed out.

 Qantas was founded 16 November 1920 with a robust Scorpio Sun Mercury on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Mars in Capricorn trine Saturn (Jupiter) in Virgo; with an innovative Pluto trine Uranus trine Scorpio North Node.

  Tr Uranus is now exactly opposition the Qantas Sun Mercury running off and on into 2024 for forced change; with tr Neptune in an undermining square to the popularity/financial Venus now and into next year. The Solar Arc Mars is moving to conjunct the South Node in 2024 which will produce vehement, probably unproductive arguments. Along with SA Saturn opposition Pluto which suggests hard times. Tr Uranus moving to square the Uranus by 2025 will continue the roller coaster run of radical alterations in direction and running.

Allan Joyce, one of Australia’s most prominent business executives, had been praised by investors for overhauling the airline’s balance sheet, reducing costs and saving the airline from collapse during the pandemic. But has recently attracted criticism for damaging the airline’s reputation for excellent customer service. ‘The term “Joyced” entered the Australian lexicon last year to describe being left stranded at an airport.’

  What is interesting about him, 20 June 1966, is he is a Sun Jupiter in Cancer which is conjunct the Qantas Pluto – a ‘Miracle Grow’ connection on steroids. Their relationship chart has that super-whammy Jupiter Pluto conjunction tine Mars and trine Uranus. In his time he was the perfect choice and had hoped to bow out on a high after the “Flying Kangaroo” reported a record annual profit last month. But he does have Neptune conjunct his South Node in Scorpio which sits close to the Qantas Sun so maybe it was never going to end well.

In itself not an earth-shattering event – but the astrology fits.