A soul-searching look at the Nelson and Winnie Mandela marriage comes in a new biography by Johnny Steinberg which seeks to humanise the couple who were leaders and symbols of the barbaric tragedy of an apartheid South Africa and its eventual fall. The author said: ‘I want both to demythologise Winnie and Nelson and to preserve their myths, if that makes sense. To show that they were real, flawed human beings but that the myths they lived and embodied were necessary. They both strived, quite self-consciously, for greatness, but one cannot be both great and happy.’
Mandela spent 27 years in prison and was described by a close aide as the saddest human being she’d ever met. He was delighted to be the most famous living person in the world because it was politically useful. But he never believed that fame would bring him happiness or compensate for what had been lost. Winnie after years of torture and abuse from the South African police became brutalised and corrupt, with Nelson racked with guilt over his shortcomings as a father and a husband.
When they married in 1958, Nelson was a celebrity freedom-fighter. After he was jailed and disappeared from view, Winnie became a star in her own right, dubbed “mother of the nation” for her defiance, before she became embroiled in gangsterism in the final years of the “struggle”. They divorced after he was released because of her infidelity and he remarried but at the end it was Winnie he wanted at his side on his deathbed.
Nelson Mandela was born 18 July 1918 2.54 pm Umtata, South Africa and had an 8th house Cancer Sun trine a Scorpio Moon and inconjunct Uranus in Aquarius. His Sun was on the focal point of a Yod to Uranus sextile a Sagittarius Ascendant marking him out for a singular path, dramatic, transformational and challenging. His knowledgeable and communicative Saturn Mercury in Leo in his 9th with idealistic Neptune nearby in the late 8th squared his Moon – good at spreading the word and less good at finding emotional nurturing. He had a lucky and powerfully influential Jupiter Pluto in Cancer in his 7th house giving him the gift of connecting one-to-one with the public at large. His Pluto was square Mars in his 10th which would make for a lifetime of major frustrations – and that Astro-signature is writ large in his victim/healer 12th harmonic.
His breakthrough 13H is strong as is his global influencer 22H.
Winnie, 26 September 1934, no birth time, was a Sun Libra inconjunct the rebel planet Uranus; with a super-confident Jupiter Mercury in Libra square Pluto ; and a cruel-treatment Mars in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius. She had a Yod of Pluto sextile Venus inconjunct Saturn, which would give her a heavy burden to bear especially with her Saturn opposition her Mars.
Her Pluto was conjunct Nelson’s 8th house Sun for a deep and enduring connection. Her Mars was conjunct his Saturn, perhaps a hint of the ill-treatment she bore in his absence and the anger it aroused in her.
Their relationship chart had a composite Sun, Neptune, Jupiter inconjunct Uranus – descriptive of the visionary idealism which tied them together, not always realistic or in step but a powerful dream to follow and ultimately make real. With a tough composite Saturn trine Mars sextile Pluto.
Oliver Hoare, a blast from the past, one of Princess Diana’s revolving affairs, is being dragged into Prince Harry’s court action, which alleges that pager texts between the lovers were found in a media executive’s office. It hardly seems wise to turn the spotlight back on to Hoare which only serves to dredge up the unedifying tale of his saintly mother bombarding Hoare’s marital home with nuisance phone calls after he broke off their four year liaison. Scotland Yard traced more than 300 calls to the private line of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace and her mobile phone.
Hoare was an art dealer, married into money and was romantically involved with Diana, 1992 to 1996, following the four year liaison with James Hewitt and before heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and Dodi Fayed.
Hoare, 18 July 1945, was a Sun Saturn in Cancer with his Sun opposition her Saturn in Capricorn and his Saturn conjunct her Sun – Saturn often crops up in relationships that face barriers to life-long commitment which can’t be overcome. In milder form it does give endurance to a bond.
His Mars in Taurus was conjunct her Venus which would bring a passionate connection as did her Venus square her Pluto, but his Mars was also square her Moon and Uranus – a roller coaster of tempestuous togetherness and then separation – a turbulent relationship.
The relationship chart is even more eye-curling with a volatile, combustible composite Sun Mars Uranus square a Saturn opposition Neptune – a volcano waiting to erupt. Plus a power-couple but also power-struggling Pluto square Jupiter – which meant when the split came she couldn’t bear to let him have the last word.
It was always said that Hasnat Khan, the heart surgeon, 1 April 1958, was the love of her life but that bond was no easier. He is an Aries Sun with his Venus in Aquarius conjunct her Moon and opposition her Uranus; his Mars square her Neptune; and his Pluto (Moon) conjunct her Mars Pluto. Fraught, not mutually supportive, some good moments and more not. The relationship chart is sparky, adventurous but also argumentative and blocked.
Prince Harry understandably enough would not be overly comfortable with either of his mother’s main lovers. In both cases their respective Pluto fell in Harry’s 8th making him feel he had no choice.
Hoare’s Mars in Harry’s 4th close to his Harry’s Moon made him an irritant to the teenager. Hoare’s Uranus opposition Harry’s combustible Mars in Sagittarius would be another flare up point. With Hoare’s Scorpio Moon probably around Harry’s Pluto and Saturn in Scorpio which would see young Harry put up blockers. And in turn Hoare’s Saturn blocked out Harry’s Venus. The relationship chart is heavily aggravated with a composite Mars opposition Uranus Saturn.
Khan was not much better with his Saturn conjunct Harry’s 12th house Neptune and square his Virgo Sun; and Khan’s Mars in Aquarius square Harry’s Saturn.
How much Harry knew at the time given he’d be away at school is not clear but he must have heard the stories. It would be difficult for a young boy from a tricky family with split parents. But it is mystifying how he ended up seeing Charles and Camilla as the only transgressors when his mother was hardly perfect. Indeed Diana had a vengeful streak, veering towards a serious mental imbalance, that was ultimately her undoing.
The Holly and Philip fall-out is exercising the minds of morning UK TV-watchers, though like all on-screen partnerships there usually comes a day when it turns out now to have been as easy-going as it appeared.
Philip Scofield, 1 April 1962 2am Oldham, England, has had a turbulent time in recent years, coming out as gay after a 27 year marriage in 2020 and his brother last month was convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy.
He has a chatty, quick-witted 3rd house Aries Sun with a troubled 8th house with Uranus in Leo there opposition his Aquarius Sun and Pluto opposition both Mars and Jupiter – good at communication, upbeat from Jupiter Mars with an undertone of desperation from Mars Pluto and fairly chaotic. He’s moving into a less successful phase of his career with tr Saturn moving through his First Quadrant and at the lowest ebb at the moment.
Holly Willoughby, 10 February 1981, no birth time, Brighton, England, is a Sun Aquarius which fits his Aquarius Moon but clashes with his 8th house Uranus. Her Mars Mercury in Pisces likewise chime with his Jupiter but don’t sit comfortably with his 8th house Pluto. Her Venus is conjunct his Saturn for a good working connection. Her Pluto conjunct his Midheaven will put her in the driving seat and she’ll want to be in charge on the work front – but if that turns sour it could damage his career. His Midheaven is catching both Solar Eclipses this year so he is at a crossroads anyway.
Their relationship chart – without her birth time – is not too illuminating for this year. Recently tr Saturn squared the composite Neptune for uncertainty and confusion which will be around all year. But the main rift looks to be next year. Though without a chart axis there may be markers for this year which are missing.
King Charles was always notoriously sensitive about Diana stealing the limelight and twas said when William came back into the fold he tread cautiously to ensure he and Kate never upstaged his father. That reticence has been thrown out of the window as the new Wales go on an exuberant publicity spree. Which got me wondering how it was all going down inside the Royal domain.
Despite the touching moment when William pled allegiance to his father, their relationship has never been easy or settled. Chas’s Uranus is conjunct Will’s New Moon in Cancer; and Chas’ Pluto falls in Will’s 8th – so mixed messages of you’re under my control but I need space from you. Will’s angry Mars Saturn in Libra is also conjunct Chas’ 4th house Neptune Venus in Libra for a scratchy, argumentative family interaction.
On their relationship chart there is an easy going Moon opposition Jupiter which will smooth round a few rough edges. There’s also a complicated composite Sun, Uranus, Pluto with Pluto conjunct Saturn – constantly changing, with a repeating pattern of rejection and possessiveness, and chained together by circumstance. Most significantly there is a composite Mars Neptune conjunction which points to an underlying ego clash – when one succeeds the other feels diminished, so not mutually supportive of each other’s triumphs.
Tr Uranus is exactly opposition the composite Neptune now and repeating on and off till March 2024 – so who gets the attention may be an issue. Plus tr Saturn in Pisces putting a damper on the composite Moon Jupiter this year.
Will does have tr Pluto square his Jupiter exactly now and throughout 2024 which will boost his confidence – and may push him into going over the score. Their publicity grab may also reflect a reaction to the Montecito pair in trying to upstage them as well.
Worth watching.
PS. Someone should have told Charles to ditch the ermine or at least not clip it together under his chin – not a good look.
Tension is mounting over a possible US debt default by June 1st which would shut down essential services unless Congress raises the limit. Though whether it is a piece of to-be-expected political theatre or a genuine threat time will tell.
The US has raised its debt ceiling at least 90 times over the past century and even when a shutdown is threatened, it rarely occurs. If it did come to pass, the salaries of federal and military employees and their pensions would not be paid. National parks and other agencies would shut down. In 2011, the last time the US was seen at serious risk of a default, talks went down to the wire, before a compromise deal was announced hours before the deadline. But that stand-off prompted a downgrade in the US credit rating and sent the stock market plunging, costing the public an estimated $1.3bn in higher borrowing costs that year.
The Republicans view government spending with suspicion as evidence of an out-of-control government. Though debt levels have been declining in the past two years. Moody’s Analytics predicts that in a prolonged stand-off, stock prices would fall by almost a fifth and the economy would contract more than 4%, leading to the loss of more than seven million jobs.
The first thing to note is that Kevin McCarthy, GOP Speaker in Congress since 7th January this year, has a run of failed-plans and disappointments on his Term chart running through from now till late August and repeating again throughout 2024. So he won’t cut it as the mastermind of a grand showdown.
The USA Federal Reserve, 16 November 1914 9am Washington, DC, is certainly confused and panicked with tr Pluto opposition the Neptune now till mid June, and again through 2024. It will face upheavals with a need to change direction from this August as tr Uranus opposes the Sun – and is not coping well with pressures in 2025/26 with tr Neptune square the Saturn Pluto in Cancer.
Joe Biden’s Term chart is heading into troubled waters with the Solar Arc Saturn due to close to the square to the Mars and Uranus over the next few months – which looks like setbacks and agitated disruptions. But that could be caused by all manner of crises.
The USA chart has its final Pluto Return late this September to end of October with the two Aries/Libra Solar Eclipses this year in square to Pluto – the pressure to change is on. But it looks to be facing greater problems in 2024 than this year – as the Solar Arc Saturn moves to conjunct the Mars in mid 2024 and then square the Neptune in 2025.
The glacial pace of righting historical wrongs in UK institutions should evoke outrage except there are so many – the blood contamination scandal (hepatitis/AIDs) of the 1970s/80s is still dragging on, along with Windrush compensation, the Grenfell fire, the Post Office debacle. The 1989 Hillsborough football tragedy took three decades to haul a new perspective out of the woodwork, but in the event no one was really held to be responsible. The lack of accountability was described in Westminster as “the greatest scandal of British policing of our lifetimes”.
Inquiry after inquiry costing gzillions, lessons learned, changes will be made, blah blah – and not much changes.
Yet another Metropolitan Police screw-up emerges as documents surface in Scotland Yard that should have been handed over to the Inquiry (2013-2021) into Daniel Morgan’s 1987 murder, while he was investigating police corruption (details below). At the time former Commissioner Cressida Dick said there had been full disclosure.
Inertia, unwillingness to admit mistakes, arrogance, incompetence, cover up. The UK has a notably enduring but also obstinate chart with planets in all four Fixed signs. Fixed as a quality tends to stiffen against pressure and not give way, finding change difficult, which can be a strength until circumstances demand a different response. Tr Uranus is kicking aside the old ways, or trying to at the moment, as it clatters its way round those Fixed planets of Mars in Taurus, Venus in Aquarius, Neptune in Scorpio and Saturn in Leo – finishing early 2025.
But there is a feel of Plutonic stagnation and disintegration about the present inertia and it’ll take more than a few Uranian cage-rattling sessions to institute real change. The UK’s Solar Arc Pluto is square the Capricorn Sun this year which is blocked. Sweeping change sometimes only comes after a good going period of crisis. Tr Pluto into Aquarius will trine the UK Uranus in 2024/25 for a jolt away from the past, or at least will bring hint that it would be advisable. That is followed by SA Uranus conjunct the UK’s 8th house Mars which will throw a depth charge down into the country’s collective unconscious; at the same time as tr Uranus just into Gemini will be square the UK Pluto in 2025. The critical mass of all these varying influences will certainly induce a different mindset.
A good many of the criticisms of feet-dragging, the Met included, have been aimed at the Home Office, 27 March 1782. What it shares with the Met and the UK are early Cardinal planets. The Home Office has an Aries Sun opposition Neptune square Saturn, sextile/trine Pluto in early Aquarius. The Met has a Libra Sun opposition Pluto in Aries at almost the same degrees. In both cases they sit across the UK’s Ascendant/Descendant axis, so are intimately entangled with the UK’s image.
The latter part of this decade will see tr Saturn Neptune in Aries in 2025 opposing the UK Uranus and in the following years tr Neptune will conjunct the Descendant and oppose the Ascendant in 2028/29 – which, being wildly optimistic, could be a time of healing. It will also have the same effect on the Met and the Home Office which could be undermining as well, dissolving old structures and bring disappointment but might with tr Pluto in Aquarius’s help start to build up better.
On Daniel Morgan: His brother Alistair said on Twitter: “My grief for my brother, I can see, has been encased for decades within an armour-plated shell of pure rage. This rage I needed, time and time and time again to stand up, again and again and again to the psychological torture inflicted upon us by the British police, the decades of indifference and inertia from the home office and the sheer ugliness of the Murdoch press and its filthy actions. But we have prevailed. We are all, except for dear Dan, still standing to bear witness to this history. And of course, our dear mother, may she rest in peace. Who died in 2017, after 30 years of campaigning, still tortured by all this, and never having seen the final report. There is much, much to be forgiven.”
Previous post on Daniel Morgan’s murder. May 20 2021
Another pillar of the British establishment is about to take a pounding with the long awaited and now inexplicably delayed inquiry into police corruption and incompetence in the handling of the Daniel Morgan murder case. Despite five inquiries costing the taxpayer £50 million, no one has been brought to justice for his death in 1987. The latest inquiry which has taken an unbelievable eight years with the delay blamed on the failure of the Met to disclose relevant files promptly has now been held up further by Home Secretary Priti Patel. The chairwoman of this inquiry panel said the latest Home Office review was “unnecessary and not consistent with the panel’s independence”. The Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick is expected to be personally criticised over Scotland Yard’s alleged obstruction as well as other senior officers.
Daniel Morgan was a private investigator on the verge, according to his family, of exposing police corruption when he was found with an axe in his head in a south London pub car park. He was also involved in allegations concerning the suspect conduct of journalists with the News of the World.
Born 3 November 1949 in Singapore, he was a determined Sun Scorpio square Pluto with his Neptune conjunct his South Node. Tr Pluto was almost exactly conjunct his Sun when he was killed with tr Uranus conjunct his Venus in Sagittarius and his Solar Arc Saturn was moving to a downbeat square to his Jupiter.
The Metropolitan Police, 29 September 1929, is not having a good year with worse to come in 2022/23. At the moment there’s a sinking-failure tr Neptune opposition the Mars and that runs into early 2023. This year also the Met Venus in Scorpio (exactly conjunct Morgan’s Sun) is being battered by tr Uranus in opposition and tr Saturn in square with tr Uranus moving to jangle the Saturn in wannabe-important Leo from this July into 2022. And following that there are two car-crash, shell-shocked Solar Arcs of Mars opposition Sun and then conjunct Pluto in 2022/23. It may not all be the fall-out from the Morgan Inquiry but their reputation will take a real trashing.
What dominates the Met chart is a controlling, power-hungry Sun opposition Pluto. And at the time of Morgan’s death on 10 March 1987 tr Neptune was exactly square the Met Pluto and retrograding back over the square to the Met Sun in the aftermath. Smokescreens and obfuscation as far as the ye could see.
What with a sleazy government, a shameless state broadcaster and a sweep-dirt-under-the-carpet police – the British bulldog isn’t doing well.
The Brexit bonfire of EU laws has been drastically scaled back to the fury of the fervent Euro-hating lobby. Only 550 laws will be sent into the sunset by December, allowing about 3,000 to remain indefinitely. The Whitehall civil service ‘blob’ has been blamed for their inertia. The British Chambers of Commerce, the business lobby group, welcomed the decision which it said had carried the “real risk of unintended but negative consequences”. The legislation has been heavily criticised by conservation groups, who warned that it handed ministers extensive powers to erode environmental protections, many of which are based on EU-era regulations.
And this week the EU capitals have signalled their desire to reset relations with the UK, with representatives from all 27 member states saying they wanted to “develop further ties between the EU and the UK” after the Windsor framework deal settled Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Looking at the Brexit chart seven years on, 24 June 2016, it is clear there are tectonic shifts ongoing. The disruptive Uranus square Pluto has tr Pluto square the Solar Arc Uranus exactly now and the Solar Arc Pluto will close to the square to Uranus by next spring. Both of which would suggest either a reversal or the decision being tossed up into the air. Not that anyone is suggesting re-joining – but a less aggravated relationship would lessen damaging effects.
There will be continuing pressure on the Brexit chart – with angry eruptions from this August, on and off into early 2024, no doubt as Rees Mogg/Farage and friends complain of treachery. 2024 will dampen enthusiasm for Brexit as tr Saturn hits the unrealistic Neptune opposition Jupiter; and there will be further Brexit disappointment in 2025/6 with tr Saturn Neptune square the Sun Venus.
The astrological markers for Brexit were a convergence of three influences. One the revolutionary, status-quo upsetting Uranus square Pluto was in place. More significantly in the run up tr Pluto has been squaring the UK go-it-alone Aries North Node in the 7th house of relationships with tr Uranus square – and both impacting on the 10th house (= ruling classes) Cancer Moon.
The Solar Arc Sun was squaring the 8th house Mars, stirring a deep-rooted anger and resentment at not being a free agent financially and in other ways. Plus an overly-confident Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct the UK Pluto.
Of the three, the tr Uranus square tr Pluto triggering the UK Aries North Node was probably the key.
What has helped with a softening of relations recently has been Ukraine, as well as the Northern Ireland deal.
Although some financial indicators look better now for the UK there’s a fair few hitches and glitches ahead. There is a stuck Solar Arc Pluto square Sun exactly now. And two ratchety, economically-challenging Uranus Saturn aspects later this year. Tr Uranus square the UK Saturn from August onwards and a Solar Arc Saturn opposition Uranus exact late 2023 alongside an undermining Solar Arc Sun square the 2nd house Neptune. The Saturn Uranus hard aspects also point to a tug of war between the old guard and the progressives.
2024/25 could see a revival of confidence with tr Pluto opposition the UK Jupiter but there will be jolts and jangles of considerable magnitude when the Solar Arc Uranus is conjunct the UK financial Mars in 2025.
The Bank of England also looks frustrated this year and next with an additionally troubled 2024 with tr Neptune in an uncertain square to the Saturn; and a road-blocked 2026. Once tr Uranus clears the UK 8th house in 2027 life should calm down marginally.
The UK/EU relationship chart showed an uptick in warmth and cooperation as Boris exited and Rishi Sunak arrived with tr Jupiter moving into the 7th. It’ll bump and grind a touch over the next two years but will be into calmer waters also from 2027 onwards.
The astrology hit the nail on the head with Trump’s humiliation in the E Jean Carroll’ sexual assault civil trial. The jury found that he did subject her to sexual contact without consent by use of force, and that it was for the purpose of sexual gratification. He was also fined for defaming her, calling her a liar. A $5 million indictment has left him squalling.
From March 31 post below: “What is worth watching however is that late April/early May patch when Trump has tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘calamities of great consequence’.
The verdict, reached after only three hours deliberation, for the first time legally brands a former US president as a sexual predator. But as a civil not criminal case, the only legal sanction he will face is financial.
His fan base concur with him in seeing it as a political witchhunt but it will damage his chances with floating voters. And his legal woes don’t end here – last month, he pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records over a hush-money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. He’s also likely to face criminal charges over attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia; and is also the target of a federal investigation into his actions around the election, including his incitement of the US Capitol attack. And a federal special counsel is also investigating the stashing of secret documents at his Florida estate. In New York, he faces another civil suit over his business and tax affairs.
In addition to tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto midpoint exactly now, he has his Solar Arc Pluto square his Saturn, exact in two months but covering several months before and after in effect – which will be discouraging, stuck, can be self-destructive. He will have a lucky break for a few days from the end of this week – but that could be him persuading himself all is well, as is his wont.
E Jean Carroll, 12 December 1943, is a Sun Sagittarius opposition Saturn in Gemini which sits on top of Trump’s Gemini Sun and North Node and opposition his Sagittarius Moon. A Saturnine lesson and reality check. Her influential Pluto conjunct her North Node is the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine, boosted on one side in sextile to an uncompromising Mars Uranus and on the other sextile Neptune. It falls in Trump’s 12th conjunct his Pluto dragging his unsavoury secrets out into the open. Aided and abetted by her Jupiter in Leo conjunct his Mars Ascendant – her Jupiter could have the effect of helping him see the benefit of avoiding impulsive acts and show him how to channel his energy in more constructive directions. As if!!
Brave lady. Car-crash of a trial from his lawyer’s viewpoint.
The GOP are keeping their heads down but at some point even they will realize that Trump cannot win on the support of his base alone.
The Republican Convention when nominations are settled is July 15 2024 – at that point he has tr Uranus square his bombastic and attention-demanding Mars in Leo – that often coincides with a considerable dent to self-esteem leading to unwise macho posturing in retaliation. Tr Pluto is back on the dreary-slog opposition to his Saturn/Pluto midpoint and tr Neptune is undermining one of his Mercury midpoints for brain mush and confusion.
That Algol, the destructive Fixed star, looms large in the foundation chart of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted suicide centre and its founder is hardly a surprise. But it is eerily accurate all the same.
Dignitas opened 25 years ago on 17 May 1998 when there was a Sun Mars conjunction in late Taurus conjunct Algol.
The driving force behind it, former journalist turned human rights lawyer Ludwig Minelli, 5 December 1932, has his healing planet Chiron conjunct the Dignitas Mars Sun in Taurus and Algol. All too apt.
Despite Algol’s malevolent reputation for nihilistic destruction it has another purpose which is to force us to face suffering and horror and not brush it aside. Death is the ultimate fear, which Dignitas tackles head on.
In the mythological backdrop of Algol’s story – it is represented by the snake-entwined head of Medusa, a sight so ugly that it turns onlookers to stone. The hero Perseus finds a strategy to allow the ugliness/horror to be faced without being destroyed by it and releases the creative power of Pegasus, the flying horse. He uses a mirrored shield to show him the reflection of the demon head rather than the actuality.
Although Algol is inevitably associated with earthy Taurus there is a curiously dual, pairing-of-opposites feel to the legend. The starting point is the battle between Neptune and Athena, which is what turned Medusa ugly initially – the god of the oceans and the watery unconscious battling it out with the goddess of the conscious mind, the bringer of laws and social order – Water versus Air. The mirror reflection is an image, ruled by Neptune, but also with the quality of Air, used to divert the repulsive physicality of Medusa – Neptune/Air versus Earth in its grossest form. The outcome of the successful battle over the ultimate dread is a flying horse – Air and Earth. With the image of Medusa now adorning Athena’s shield, acting as a protector.
Stretching a point – maybe death is when the elements come together with the exception of Fire which thinks its rightful place is on Olympus, the mount of immortality.
Ludwig Minelli has a crusading Sun Sagittarius on the focal point of a T Square to a Pisces North Node opposition Mars, Neptune South Node (Jupiter) in Virgo with a status-quo upsetting and reforming Uranus square Pluto. Ego-centric, scattergun in his approach.
He has spread his belief in the goodness of assisted dying, with 10 countries now deeming it legal and France about to catch up. Scotland and Jersey have pledged change. Switzerland is the only country in the world that allows non-residents to seek help with suicide and Dignitas has facilitated the death of more than 3,700 people. On average, one Briton makes their final journey there every fortnight. In the Netherlands, which has liberal laws, assisted dying runs at about 4 per cent; and in a recent Swiss vote there was support for the notion of assisted suicide in hospitals and care homes.
But Minelli is controversial in pushing further than most would find acceptable supporting euthanasia, where a doctor administers the poison; and for the very young.
A life of restless wandering was the punishment handed down to Cain for killing his brother Abel. Prince Harry in a minor parallel has sent himself into exile as his uncontainable envy of brother William erupted in a scenario worthy of an ancient tragedy. In the final act of Greek plays there is usually a dirge or a lament but it is difficult to believe there will not be a truce at some point in years to come as Harry’s compulsion to act-out winds down.
Harry’s 17th harmonic chart is his strongest, suggesting he will leave behind a contribution of value – a legacy for history – which won’t just be a salutary tale of wrecking his own life in an attempt to damage his family. In numerology 17 is linked to hope and faith. It promises victory, inner enlightenment and “immortality” in the sense of creating a special mark on history.
He’s at a low ebb in his life at the moment with tr Saturn moving through his low profile First Quadrant since 2019 which is a time when unresolved psychological and emotional issues tend to emerge. He’ll be through the most gruelling part of that by 2025 but it will be 2029 before he steps out to start the upward trek to make his mark for the following two decades – in his mid forties onwards.
For an individual with a 4th house Taurus Moon uprooting from home territory must have come hard. Tr Uranus is moving into his 4th house exactly now to stay for the following five years which will be domestically restless; with sudden, disruptive changes as tr Uranus is conjunct his Moon from mid this June on and off into early 2024. That will affect his relationship with his childhood family as well as adult one. Uranus can bring insight as well as upheavals and can free the individual up from old negative emotional patterns.
California may be healing for him but it is not a location where he will live out his potential since it puts his Sun in the hidden 12th house Sun and his Moon in the even more hidden 8th house. Africa is where he will probably have the greatest effect with his ambitious, successful and reforming lines through the eastern half.
Puzzling over why this epic family black comedy came about – the tangle between Harry’s 9th house Pluto and Will’s Jupiter Midheaven explain a good deal of it. Will’s elevated status and maybe older brother superiority (Jupiter on his Midheaven) ground deep on Harry’s obsessive 9th house Pluto and in return gave him a compulsion to control or bring down his brother.
Diana to some extent held the brotherly tensions under control. When she died the transiting Virgo North Node was conjunct Harry’s 8th house Virgo Sun with his Solar Arc Uranus in square. The Solar Eclipse two days later was square his Uranus, his Solar Arc Venus was conjunct his Pluto and his Solar Arc Midheaven was exactly conjunct his Scorpio South Node – a monumental shock to his system with a life-changing crisis.
What is Astro-intriguing is the prominence of his Capricorn Ascendant in the staging posts that followed. When Diana died in 1997 his Solar Arc Neptune was conjunct his Ascendant for much confusion. When he met Meghan in 2016 his Solar Arc Uranus, yearning for freedom, was conjunct his Ascendant.
Over his wedding two years later tr Saturn was criss crossing his Ascendant, starting his pull away from an old cycle into an introspective phase with focus on his personal life. His Progressed Venus was conjunct his South Node. There was also rising anger and irritation with tr Saturn conjunct his Progressed Mars as well, with tr Pluto conjunct his Solar Arc Mars. His wedding also occurred with tr Uranus on zero Taurus opposing his Pluto hinting at the disruption to follow with his Solar Arc Saturn heading to conjunct his Mars for another bout of aggravation.
Intriguingly William’s Nodal axis of Cancer/Capricorn falls across Harry’s Ascendant so for both, finding a way of resolving the conflict will benefit both.
Harry’s Nodal axis is another key since it falls in Taurus in his 4th which is suspicious and distrustful of others’ motives, had a tendency to lash out at the slightest threat. Martin Schulman remarks: ‘He will make much growth when he is able to see the actions of others as reflections of his own subconscious.’ A Taurus NN is a plotter and planner while smiling sweetly all the while; and brings an intensity and often bitterness from the Scorpio South Node into family relationships and money matters. Contentment can come ultimately once he calms the demon want-want-want and realises he has all he needs. A dedication to nurturing the earth and nature can be one route to eventual fulfilment. The 4th house placing suggests adopting new emotional attitudes is key and that requires foregoing a former desire to be top dog or put on a show.
Diana’s death dragged him into his South Node and his marriage to Meghan likewise pulled him back into his less evolved self. Which maybe had to happen to clear out the volcano of red hot lava simmering below his cheeky chappy persona.
His mid-life crisis – 38 to 42 years – will be crucial. Carl Jung believed that negotiating this phase of life frees up and revitalises the second half of life. If not handled with insight then life goes into stagnation. It starts with the tr Pluto square Pluto which for him is exactly now – then tr Neptune square Neptune and finally his tr Uranus opposition Uranus in 2027/28. That is the point if his marriage is going to split it will happen/have happened. If he gets through the obstacle course with growing awareness then everything moves into better times from 2029 onwards.
So there is hope ahead. Though relations with the Royals may worsen in the short term – perhaps because of his relentless battle with Murdoch media which could end up in court in 2024 – his relationship charts all round with Murdoch senior, King Charles, Camilla, Princess Anne and Prince William looks discouraging and separating for a year or two or even several in the case of William.
But I am more hopeful – having taken the longer view – that what seems like a self-destructive dead end at the moment has the possibility of evolving into a fulfilled life.
