A major reversal of an unpopular 2013 shake-up of the UK National Health Service carried out by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is aimed to “cut bureaucracy” and bring management of the health service “back into democratic control”. Keir Starmer said “abolishing the biggest quango in the world” by getting rid of NHS England would free up cash for doctors, nurses and frontline services, and speed up improvements in the NHS. The merger is expected to take two years.
The NHS, 5 July 1948 12 am, has a caring Cancer Sun square a healing (though not always practical) Neptune in Libra. The Solar Eclipse this year will rattle up the Neptune which doesn’t sound overly dynamic but (being wildly optimistic) may waken up the helping/healing raison d’etre of the organization.
The NHS Mutable T Square onto a focal point Mars in hard-working Virgo will have a tendency to go off in several directions at once so finding focus and managing anxiety will always be a priority. That T square is being activated by the Solar Arc Sun square Solar Arc Neptune – since 2021 and on through a major jolt in 2026 and more into 2028. So very much a game-changing phase in the NHS’s destiny.
Whether so much Neptune will lead to a new vision being effected or a period of confusion isn’t clear.
Health Minister Wes Streeting, 21 January 1983, is certainly tough enough to push ahead with major changes with his dogged Saturn in Scorpio conjunct Pluto Sun square his Aquarius Sun and trine His Mars in Pisces which in turn is in a risk-taking and lucky square to Jupiter Uranus. He will be under maximum pressure in 2026 with tr Pluto square his Saturn and tr Uranus square his Mars.
His relationship chart with the NHS has a friendly undertone but is also extremely fluid and fast-changing.
The Starmer Government chart 5 July 2024, 12.19pm London does have Saturn in the 6th house of health trine a 10th house Cancer Sun so health was always going to be a key issue.
Throughout all of the charts there is a great deal of Neptune plus an excess of scattergun Mutable which does not necessarily suggest a straightforward road ahead. The NHS is an unwieldy beast, loaded with impossible expectations.
Nigel Farage in a classic shoot-in-the-foot manoeuvre has managed to stir up a fight that could wreck his Reform Party’s chances of making inroads into the Tory vote and providing a viable alternative. Rupert Lowe MP is the latest of his cronies to fall foul of his anger with a spectacular hissy fit being thrown, police called over hurtful words by Lowe, who appears to have been cancelled without due process. All of Lowe’s staff apparently deny the allegations of bullying made against him and say he is a decent man.
Farage is an oddity, with an ability to trigger momentous changes such as Brexit yet seemingly incapable of holding to a steady course to maximise his triumphs.
Born 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnborough, England, he has an 8th house Aries Sun conjunct Mars in Aries in his late 7th house; plus Jupiter in Aries conjunct Mercury in Taurus also in his 8th. Certainly intense though also with a hint of the Aries’ hash and crash approach which tends to lack endurance and the capacity to stay the course.
What makes him both an instigator of significant change and an agent for constant change rather than stability is Uranus Pluto in Virgo conjunct on his Ascendant.
Political columnist Daniel Finkelstein has a delightfully savage description of Farage: “One of Farage’s deepest beliefs is that he is surrounded by idiots –. He notes that one particularly dangerous form this idiocy takes is for some party rando to start believing that they, rather than he, should be leader. — And he invariably acts against such people, however messy it gets.”
Rupert Lowe, 31 October 1957, Oxford, a Sun, Neptune, Mercury in Scorpio is hardly a good fit with an Aries even an 8th house one. Their relationship chart has an afflicted composite Mars conjunct Saturn and trine Pluto so was never going to make for a cooperative duo.
Farage anyway has Chiron in his 7th hinting at an unhealable woundedness in close relationships and his Sun/Moon midpoint is conjunct his evasive Neptune so harmonious togetherness is not exactly his forte.
His relationship with Elon Musk is a bubbling cauldron of dislike with a composite Mars opposition Pluto plus an argumentative composite Mars square Mercury and a distrustful composite Sun opposition Neptune. Their interface will be more than usually upset from now until early April.
His relationship with Trump will hiccup late April into May.
His personal chart will be rattled this year by the Solar Eclipses catching his Aries Sun and his volatile Sun/Mars midpoint. Disappointments, failed plans and panic in 2026 about dashed hopes won’t improve his spirits. He’ll have a few lucky breaks but more of the other variety.
The Reform Party chart, 23 November 2018 looks badly undermined in 2027.
Portugal is facing its third snap election in three years after the prime minister lost a confidence vote after being accused of corruption. Concerns about immigration and a steep rise in the cost of living have helped boost the chances of the far-Right Chega party. This despite the fact that new arrivals have helped to deliver the hoped-for economic bounce.
Portugal is the poorest country among Western European nations on a GDP per head basis despite recent increases. Along with Spain it is seeing improvements that are notably lacking in Germany and France.
The Portugal 25 April 1974 5.15pm Lisbon, chart is facing a sticky few years ahead with tr Neptune and Saturn square the Portugal Saturn Mars in Cancer square Pluto between now and 2027. There will also be significant pressure for a radical change with tr Pluto square the Portugal Taurus Sun on the focal point of a yod in 2026/27. That won’t be easy but it could set the country on a different track for the future. Especially since by that time tr Pluto in Aquarius and tr Uranus in Gemini will also be in aspect to the Portugal Pluto on one leg of that yod. So opportunities for a game-changing phase.
The Portugal/EU relationship chart, always fractious at the best of times, will be even more unsettled by 2026 and beyond, with signs of a serious rift come 2027/28.
The Bank of Portugal chart, 15 November 1975 Lisbon, will be stressed, uncertain and panicky over 2025/26 with 2027 not looking too upbeat either. 2028 will see a confidence surge.
What always strikes me as worth contemplating in terms of global history is that Portugal was the maritime global superpower in the 15th and 16th Centuries and maintained its dominance until overtaken by other European powers.
It does not quite fit with Pluto Returns coinciding with a rise and fall in power, sometimes two cycles later. But the early 12th century Portugal charts have Pluto in mid to late Taurus which roughly coincides with a rise in the late 14th Century to continuing influence through the next Pluto Return in the early 17th century and a decline from the late 19th Century Pluto Return onwards.
Empires rise and empires crumble, no one country stays top dog for ever.
A collision between a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship carrying toxic chemicals and a US oil tanker carrying jet fuel for the US military in the North Sea off the coast of northern England could “devastate” wildlife. Leaking oil and fuel from the ships could endanger species including threatened seabird colonies, grey seals, harbour porpoises, fish, and minke whales. The area houses significant colonies of wintering waders and migrating birds. It is not yet clear how the collision occurred.
What is significant on the UK chart is the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the UK 8th house Mars in Taurus, within 10 minutes (one sixth) of a degree exact. The 8th house can cover financial/economic events but is also in action when it comes to major disasters, man-made and otherwise.
The ramifications of the 8th house Mars were most obvious during tr Pluto in Scorpio in opposition to the UK Mars in late 1987 and 1988. In the run up through 1987 there are several disasters the sinking of the ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise, the Hungerford massacre, the “Great Storm”, the Remembrance Day bombing and on the exact aspect the King’s Cross fire, as well as the Wall Street Crash and Black Monday on the London stock exchange and a bombing in Enniskillen.
In 1988 there was the Piper Alpha oil rig explosion and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed in Lockerbie with 270 dead.
Solar Arc Uranus conjunct Mars will have a marginally different effect but will still be explosive. Looking back the last time the Solar Arc Uranus was in hard aspect to the UK Mars in 1931 there was a run on the pound leading to a political and economic crisis, part of the European banking crisis of 1931; with the pound sterling comes off the gold standard. The Dogger Bank earthquake was the strongest earthquake recorded in the UK with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale. There were various mining underground explosions accidents with loss of life. A British airship R101 crashes in France en route to India on its maiden overseas voyage, killing 48 of the 54 on board.
In addition at the moment the UK chart there are other indicators of a time-at-the-crossroads with tr Uranus opposition the Solar Arc North Node finishing this week – and the Solar Arc North Node square the 11th house Saturn which rules future hopes and parliament. The UK’s North Node in Aries in the 7th house of relationships hints at an inherent disinclination to cooperate with an equal and opposing need to learn to live in partnership with others. So alliances and enmities will be in the forefront.
The Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the UK South Node in 18 months may suggest force of circumstances leads to a degree of backsliding into what feels familiar rather than what is constructive.
Last and probably least the Progressed Moon will conjunct the UK Uranus in April/May this year for an emotional jolt.
Despite the glooms and dooms the UK is dragging itself out of what has been a high stress phase recently of forced and jangled changes since 2021 with tr Uranus moving in hard aspect to the Fixed Grand Cross on the UK chart – which now comes to an end this week. The Progressed Moon moves out of the 12th house of endings in six months. Plus the unsettled tr Uranus through the economic 8th since 2020 will ease up as Uranus moves into the UK 9th from 2026 onwards. And tr Pluto through the UK 4th since the 2009 crash will be gradually easing towards the latter stages of this decade for an image-rebuild after 2029.
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is publishing her memoir Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer which documents her life before and after her transition via journal entries, reflects on her rise to fame and delves into some of her controversies. Her partnership with Bud Light beer in 2023 resulted in a drop in sales, customers and shareholder value.
She was born into a devout Catholic family on 29 December 1996 10.10 am San Diego, California, and started her career as a stage actor. She has 10 million followers on TikTok and her video series, Days of Girlhood, has received over one billion views.
She has a stellium on Capricorn of Sun, Mercury, Jupiter Neptune in her friendly 11th house with a go-ahead, assertive Mars in Virgo in her 7th; plus a charming, creative Venus on her Midheaven. What is significant is her Virgo Moon which is on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Saturn sextile Uranus. Her Moon is also square Pluto with Pluto trine Saturn so there would have been strain and bleakness about her early nurturing and emotional life.
The Moon on a yod suggests an emotional life in need of sensitive adjustment with early development feeling strained and a defensiveness against closeness. In time with correct handling, the focal point Moon can become a helper and carer for others in need.
Caitlyn Jenner, 28 October 1949 6.16am Mount Kisco, New York, also has her Moon on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Uranus square Mars. With Pluto in the 10th (representing mother).
Chaz Bono, 4 March 1969 12.55am Los Angeles, who transitioned to male also has a wide yod of a Virgo Moon inconjunct Mercury sextile Saturn Venus in Aries. Moon conjunct Pluto.
Laverne Cox, 29 May 1972 11.15am Mobile, Alabama, who transitioned to female has a Moon inconjunct Algol sextile Procyon and South Node – which is marginally obscure; and Moon square Pluto.
Actress Karla Sofia Gascon, 31 March 1972, may have a similar Moon inconjunct Mars Saturn sextile Sun Mercury.
An inconjunct or quincunx is an awkward aspect joining together elements which are not in sync with each other and such a Moon will make managing internal emotional contradictions a challenge in childhood and early adult life. Not that it necessarily leads to a gender change but it will have been part of the psychological dynamic.
Canada has responded to Trump’s deranged demands for obeisance by pulling together in a show of national unity with the political landscape turning turtle. Trudeau’s Liberals, sagging in popularity until recently, have seen a sharp rise in popularity, partly because of Trudeau’s impending exit and also because his possible successors are seen as better defenders against their rabid neighbour.
There is a suggestion that the Royal Proclamation of 11 October 1763 would be a better chart for Canada than 1 July 1867. Both will have a validity and both exhibit strength of determination. The 1763 chart has a Libra Sun and Saturn in Taurus trine Mars in Virgo trine Pluto in Capricorn. While the 1867 chart has an ultra-determined Saturn in Scorpio opposition Pluto in Taurus with a Cancer Sun conjunct Uranus with Mars in Virgo. Neither will give way easily if at all.
The two wars fought against the USA with the USA losing in 1775 and 1812 had Neptune at 22 Virgo and Pluto at 19 Pisces respectively. The only similarity at the moment is tr Saturn in last decan Pisces this month.
Both the Canada dates in relation to the USA indicate an ongoing disagreement with heavy pressure through this year and into 2026. With two points marked up this year – one with Uranus at 26 Taurus in late April and the other when Uranus moves into Gemini in July.
Trumps’ relationship with Canada 1867 point to April/May as high tension, freezer points and really on and off into 2026; with a bad tempered spat in August/September this year.
Doug Ford, the current Ontario premier has stepped forward as a key fighter in the battle to defend Canada, threatening to cut off the electricity supply to the US. Ford, 20 November 1964, is a rock solid Sun Scorpio opposition Jupiter square Saturn in Aquarius – he looks rattled come June this year and on and off late in the year into 2026 with tr Uranus opposition his Sun and square his Saturn. His relationship chart with Trump which is hostile at the best of times will break out into an explosive reaction in June and July this year and worse in 2026.
Of the other political players – Pierre Polievre and Trump, if anything more rattled in 2026 than this year.
Mark Carney and Trump are in turmoil come the second half of this May and again January to March 2026.
Chrystia Freeland with Trump – a sparring match come July onwards.
Nothing too conclusive but it could drag on.
Pic: Recent fight between predator eagle and a Canadian goose ended up with the eagle in retreat.
ADD ON: Mark Carney has been elected as Justin Trudeau’s replacement and therefore steps into the prime ministerial chair at least until the general election later this year. He is a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor with strong economic credentials and an international outlook; with a career before that in Goldman Sachs. But he is untested politically. He was publicly anti-Brexit saying it would cause a recession and is more confrontational than his pin stripe suited appearance might suggest.
He was born 16 March 1965 Ottawa, Ontario, no birth time, with a charming Sun Venus conjunct in Pisces with Saturn also in Pisces opposition a formidable and explosive stellium in Virgo of Uranus, Pluto, Moon and Mars. Plus a super-optimistic Jupiter in acquisitive Taurus opposition Neptune.
What is astro-fascinating is that his Jupiter falls conjunct Trump’s Midheaven – which seen one way could be understand as a successful career duo. Though Carney has been explicit in his dislike of Trump and his policies. How it apparently has worked is that Trump has undoubtedly helped Carney’s career unwittingly and Carney’s Jupiterian mission in life will be to teach Trump ‘a sense of cultural responsibility and ethics in public life.’
Where the mighty clash comes from is Carney’s Mars, Uranus, Pluto in Virgo falling in Trump’s First House and square DT’s 10th house Uranus so Carney certainly has the ability to throw Trump off course.
Their relationship will be mightily upset in the latter stages of this June and explosively much worse early August to mid October this year – and again in 2026. Bitter differences are likely to widen the rift between them.
Carney’s personal chart will blocked and frustrated late August to early December this year; though upbeat just before then through July and early August – so he’d do well to call and election earlier than the autumn.
Add On: Mark Carney was sworn in at 11.28am this morning in Ottawa, March 14th. This puts an assertive Mars in the 1st in a determined trine to Saturn Sun conjunct North Node and Neptune in the 10th sextile a progressive Uranus. It’s not a bad Term chart apart from a blocked Pluto in the 8th hinting at financial pressures; and a 4th house Moon conjunct South Node suggesting an emotionally confused and security-conscious electorate. Nit picking over details may be one flaw when what is needed is an imaginative approach backed by confidence and faith that doing the right thing will produce results.
Maurice Ravel, the French composer, best known for Ravel’s Bolero and Daphnis and Chloe, who wrote opera, ballet and orchestral works, was born 150 years ago.
He was born 7 March 1875 10pm Ciboure, France, with an engineer and inventor father and an illiterate/illegitimate, free-thinker of a mother to whom he was close. His interest in music started when he was young and after music college, his experimental approach incorporating modern elements did not meet with approval by the conservative establishment. But he appeared unbothered by criticism and by the 1920s was regarded as France’s leading composer.
The First World War and his mother’s death in 1917 appeared to diminish his energy and motivation and a minor car accident in the early 1930s led to an early Alzheimer-like condition and he died in 1937 after a brain operation.
He had a 5th house New Moon in Pisces which was delightfully apt for a musical creator and performer with a trailblazing, rebellious Uranus conjunct his midheaven. Around 1900 he joined with other innovative young artists, poets, critics and musicians in an informal group, known as Les Apaches (“The Hooligans”), to represent their status as “artistic outcasts”. Which seems singularly descriptive for Uranus Midheaven.
His Jupiter in Scorpio was conjunct his Ascendant from the 12th giving him an enthusiastic image.
He never married and appeared not to have had any close relationships in his adult life. A New Moon would make him self-sufficient; and Saturn in his 4th square Pluto in his 7th may also have injected a sense of bleakness where home comforts and close relationships were concerned. Plus he had an independent-minded Aries North Node.
When his mother died in 1917 which hit him badly tr Uranus was moving through his 4th conjunct his Saturn. The taxi accident which caused his decline latterly in 1932, though he appeared to have been suffering from aphasia even before that, occurred when tr Uranus was moving through his 6th house approaching his 6th house Neptune; and his Solar Arc Saturn was conjunct his 6th house North Node then as well.
Angelica Huston, happy to be cast as a character actress is still going strong in her late seventies, appearing in the recent TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Toward Zero. She has had a long and impressive career with an Oscar for Prizzi’s Honor, and has worked with all the top directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Wes Anderson.
She was born 8 July 1951 6.29 pm Beverley Hills, California, with a larger-than-life director father in John Huston and a model and ballerina mother who died in a car accident when she was 17. Part of her childhood was spent in Ireland after her family fled the McCarthy witch-hunts. She always wanted to be an actress but a damaging clash with her father on her first film set shook her confidence and she retreated into modelling for a few years.
She was in a long relationship with Jack Nicholson, whose infidelities were legendary over their on-off 17-year liaison and she finally settled into a happy marriage to the sculptor Robert Graham, until his death in 2008. Though she is still in touch with Nicholson who phoned as she was escaping the LA fire. She said “when the chips are down, he’s there.”
She has a 7th house Cancer Sun so is happiest when in a relationship but she also has Mars Uranus in Cancer in her 7th so will tend to be attracted to volatile partners. Her creative Neptune is in her 10th conjunct her Midheaven opposition Jupiter in her 4th square her Cancer planets. Jupiter in the 4th indicates she came from a well-known and well-to-do family and appreciates home comforts, despite the rebellious streak in her temperament (and love life). Her Pluto in the 8th gives her temperament weight and the ability to project an influential aura.
Her Chiron sits in her 1st so she would struggle to develop a strong sense of identity and self-worth in early adult life.
Her father John Huston was a Hollywood legend, a talented director and writer, but not an easy temperament. Born 5 August 1906 Nevada, MO, he had a Leo Sun conjunct North Node and Mars so not a shrinking violet. He was married five times and in his autobiography, described his last wife as a “crocodile”.
[Having met him once, which was not an altogether happy experience, I reckon he almost certain deserved her. I would have described him as being what used to be called ‘a man’s man’ in the sense of rough round the edges and not woman-friendly in terms of manners.]
His Sun and Mars fell in Angelica’s 8th house so a complicated, intense and fractious chemistry. His Pluto was conjunct her Descendant exactly so he would be controlling. Their relationship chart had a scarily dominating Mars Pluto conjunction inconjunct Saturn.
No surprise she went on to have a couple of abusive relationships and the wandering Jack Nicholson as adult choices. Jack Nicholson, 22 April 1937 11 am Neptune, New Jersey, a freedom-loving Sun Uranus in Taurus does have a Virgo Moon like Angelica and his Jupiter Neptune fell in her 7th so she’d be eternally optimistic about their relationship. Plus his Pluto fell in her 8th for a deep (and controlling) connection.
Her husband, the sculptor, Robert Graham, 19 August 1938, was a Sun Mars in Leo like her father but that was softened by being opposition to an easy-going Jupiter in Aquarius.
Friederich Merz, a Sun Scorpio with an exceptionally Fixed chart, almost certain to step up as German Chancellor heading a coalition, has a tougher temperament than the departing Olaf Scholz, a Gemini Sun trine Jupiter.
He has announced a political deal to raise hundreds of billions of euros in extra spending on defence to counter Trump’s withdrawal from Ukraine; and to plough money into Germany’s failing infrastructure.
Born 11 November 1955 Briton, Germany, no birth time, he has an ultra-determined and stubborn Scorpio Sun conjunct Saturn with Saturn square a pushily-confident Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Leo. He also has Uranus square Mercury in Scorpio and Neptune in late Libra so will be outspoken as well as evasive and confused at times. His Mars in Libra may be conjunct a Libra Moon but is otherwise unaspected. Such a Mars can be uncompromising and constantly on the go. He has a stronger temperament than his rather weedy ‘bank manager’ appearance might suggest.
His Sun opposes the Germany 8th house Pluto so he will throw his weight against entrenched attitudes especially financial ones. And with his Mars in Germany’s 1st he will waken up the national image. Though he’s likely to arouse some hostility with his bulldozer approach especially towards the end of his term.
His relations with attention-seeking Emmanuel Macron are likely to be volatile with Merz’s Sun conjunct EM’s opinionated 9th house Uranus square EM’s Mars; and Merz’s Uranus falling in EM’s 7th for a divisive interface. Plus plus other friction points. The Aries and Libra Solar Eclipses will collide with their composite Saturn right through this year so it will take self-control to keep cooperation on track.
His relationship with Keir Starmer who appears to be rising to the occasion better than expected is less fractious than with Macron though there will be jolts and jangles in May and the early months of 2026 with tr Uranus square their composite Mars; plus reams of confusion and uncertainty all year into early 2026. Though that may be a result of having to cope with a fast-changing global situation.
With Trump, Merz’s confident, stubborn Jupiter Pluto square Saturn collides with Trump’s Mars in Leo – with tensions erupting later this month; and more in 2026.
Merz’s relationship chart with Putin (1952) is hostile and power struggling with tensions erupting soon and depressed into 2026/27.
Merz’s relations with the EU and Ursula van der Leyen are under mounting pressure into 2026 and beyond.
It is difficult to see quite what the road ahead is. This week’s headlines are all about a rousing hope of a strong Germany/France/UK response to the ultimatums from across the Atlantic. But Germany’s relations with the EU are under serious strain over the coming years and the Bundesbank central bank is facing storm-force headwinds for a few years ahead as well.
