not categorised

The media are scathing across the board about Trump’s descent into ‘power addiction’.

“Nato’s future lies in the hands of a modern Caligula.”

” Can we not all finally see the evidence of a seriously diseased mind?”

“There is no point in dancing around this. The most powerful man in the world is as mad as a box of frogs. Deranged, demented, doolally.”  

The photo is a Danish joke on the Greenland threat which is evidently selling like hot cakes.

  What follows is initially me trying to get my head round the chaos before embarking on astrology.

For all the disjointed ramble it is not to say there is not method in Trump’s madness.  According to one report, the deployment of a US naval armada to steal Venezuela’s oil on the high seas was followed up by a sale on the open market, which transferred the first $500m (£370m) to a slush fund in Qatar beyond Congressional oversight. [I’d be grateful if anyone has confirmation of this.]

  Trump has entered into a cynical joint venture with the Chavista police-state regime in Venezuela, newly headed by a woman deemed a “priority target” by the US Drug Enforcement Agency but now whitewashed as a “terrific person” after she agreed to hand over Venezuela’s oil industry and minerals.

  The next black magic trick is his much vaunted Board of Peace, started initially as a Gaza ceasefire initiative. Two months on, there is no mention of Gaza in the charter sent out to national capitals. That document instead portrays the board as a permanent fixture to promote peace and good governance around the world. The Guardian remarks: “Like many punters who have tried to do business with Donald Trump in the past, the UN has found itself a victim of a classic bait-and-switch, thinking it was buying one thing, but getting quite another ….. it now appears they were hoodwinked into backing a Trump-dominated pay-to-play club: a global version of his Mar-a-Lago court aimed at supplanting the UN itself.” A European diplomat  reacted with astonishment and ridicule. “It reads like membership of an upscale golf club.”

‘Congress could put a stop to unfolding events – take back control of trade policy and cancel the Trump tariffs. It could bring impeachment proceedings on the impeccable grounds that the president is plainly no longer compos mentis.’

  ‘The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they gave Congress these powers. They were obsessed with the story of how the Roman Republic had ended. They were determined to prevent the rise of what they called ‘Caesarists’, meaning men who believed that they were bigger than the Constitution. They knew how difficult it was to remove such men once they were in office, surrounded by sycophants. They would be shocked, not by Trump, but by the failure of the system to check him.’

‘Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has become Trump’s personal paramilitary force and secret police in all but name – not so different from the Nazi Sturmabteilung in the first year of Hitler’s reign – with a budget second only to the Pentagon. It is now invading American cities with the clear purpose of provoking civil unrest and justifying recourse to the Insurrection Act, a precursor to suspending future elections if need be.

How does one become a fascist? Slowly, then suddenly, to borrow from Hemingway.’

Other thoughts:

 There are criticisms being voiced from within the Republican party over Greenland which is one of the first major signs that a growing number are willing to push back on what they see as presidential over-reach.

Mark Carney is emerging as a realistic if not cheering voice. “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.” “The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” “Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Great powers can afford to go it alone.” “We should not allow the rise of hard power to blind us to the fact that the power of legitimacy, integrity, and rules will remain strong – if we choose to wield it together.”

The economic commentators are saying that ‘the only constraint on Trump Unleashed is the global bond market. If you have a structural fiscal deficit of 6-7pc of GDP, a savings rate near zero and a reliance on the goodwill of foreigners to fund an explosive increase in debt issuance ($2.5tn a month), you might wish to treat global creditors with a little care.’

Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, is disguising the fragility of the bond market by raising money through short-term bills – now 40-50pc of the monthly issuance, against the advice of the treasury watchdog that it should not exceed 20pc. Michael Gray, from Gray Capital Management, says this is a perilous game. The longer it goes on, the greater the accumulating rollover risk. He has accused Bessent of running the treasury like a hedge fund.

“The only language Trump understands is money, so let us cut off his global credit card.”

ASTROLOGY:

The Board of Peace was agreed on 17 November 2025 in its original manifestation with a Scorpio Sun in a Water Grand Trine to swampy Saturn Neptune Scheat in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer; formed into two Kites by (a defiant, wilful, unpredictable) Sun opposition Uranus in final degree Taurus and Jupiter in a pushily confident (tramping over niceties) opposition to Pluto. It will get a considerable jolt when tr Uranus returns to its natal place in April.

  At that point Trump’s relationship with Steve Witkoff (Board of Peace) look super-stressed. And Witkoff’s natal chart with Pluto at 28 Leo square Mars at 28 Taurus will anyway be at defcon levels of jitter from mid March to early this April with tr Uranus in hard aspect. And sagging further with failed plans from late May onwards. He also has tr Pluto leaning on his Uranus all year for an unsettled, nerve-jangled year. Not a happy man. My speed read hints it depends on enough other countries signing up which may not happen.

The USA Constitution, 17 September 1787 4pm Philadelphia, has a yod of a Virgo Sun sextile Uranus inconjunct Saturn in Aquarius (conjunct Pluto in Aquarius) which was being severely jolted at the 2025 Inauguration with tr Uranus square the apex Saturn; with a discouraging tr Saturn opposition the Venus. Tr Saturn Neptune will square the Mars at 3 degrees Cancer mid March briefly and more pointedly from late April through May, until early 2027 suggesting a panicky mood of being undermined. Significantly the Constitution Mars came under increasing pressure from the 2016 Inauguration with the SA Pluto square the Mars so this situation has been building – or eroding – since then.

 The USA Congress chart, 4 March 1789 will get an almighty jolt when tr Uranus squares the Mars in final degree Aquarius in April this year; with uncertainty hanging around as the SA Neptune squares the Saturn later this year and the Sun in 2027. High insecurity followed by indecisiveness.

 Trump’s relationship with Congress is under strain at the moment with tr Pluto square the composite Sun till mid February and repeating till December 2026; with raised insecurity and anxiety from this month till mid March this year.  So maybe just maybe the pushback will grow.

Odds and ends:   

Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secy, is in panicky, failure mode now with tr Neptune square his Mars until later this month; and with his Sun at 28 degrees Leo he is due for a short sharp shock mid March to early April. With an unsettling tr Uranus square his Uranus thereafter. His relationship with Trump, never great at the best of times with a composite Sun Mars square Saturn etc etc will be unnerved and upset towards July this year and on.

Two thoughts. One is Trump’s megalomania may peak and then fade as the Progressed Moon on his Inauguration chart closes the square to Pluto Sun (opposition Mars) after mid March this year.

Secondly, for all the blowhard bombast, what has he achieved apart from spreading chaos and fear? No peace in Ukraine or Gaza (Netanyahu won’t allow it). This is a man who ran one/two or however many casinos into bankruptcy and that takes some doing.

 His relationship chart with the USA is uneasy at the moment with tr Neptune Saturn opposition the composite Neptune over coming weeks as well as a pressured tr Pluto square the composite Pluto. More cracks will show from late April with tr Neptune square the composite Sun on and off into 2027; with rising tensions and eruptions from the country from July this year onwards as tr Uranus squares the composite Saturn. America may yet fall out of love with him.

 Caligula born 31 August 12 CE JC, in his brief four year reign, worked to increase the unconstrained personal power of the Roman emperor. At one point he famously planned to make his favourite horse a consul.  He directed much of his attention to ambitious construction projects and notoriously luxurious dwellings for himself. He was assassinated on his First Saturn Return aged 29.  He had a Mars in Leo like Trump and Venus in Cancer but not much else similar. His Sun in Virgo was square Neptune.

Add On: January 22 2026

Others pointed to wobbles on the financial markets, after Trump’s more hawkish comments on Greenland on Tuesday led to a sharp selloff on the US share markets. Global markets rebounded on Wednesday after Trump’s announced the framework deal and reneged his threat of tariffs.

“The market bounced when he said we wouldn’t use force,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide in Boston, while financial analyst Matthew Smart said “uncertainty just got priced out.”

Others noted that Trump has a history of making escalating threats, only to pull back when financial markets start falling. After he reined in his global trade war in April last year, following a rout in the markers, the Financial Times came up with the acronym “Taco” – “Trump Always Chickens Out” – to describe the phenomenon.

US publication Semafor reported that Trump appeared frustrated by the turn in the markets this week, and noted that his antagonism towards European allies came with huge risks.

“Countries like the UK, Belgium, and France hold trillions of dollars in US assets like treasuries. If they decide to sell those, it could send interest rates skyrocketing,” Semafor reported.

ADD ON: Kent State killings.

50 years ago on 4 May 1970 what were regarded as state sanctioned killings of four students at Kent State University rattled the USA right up to the White House. The students were protesting Nixon’s surreptitious expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos. The Republican governor described the protestors as ‘brownshirts’ or communists and called in the National Guard, who for reasons that were never explained opened fire on unarmed students who had no idea the guns were loaded.

 In 1970 the USA North/South Node axis was activated by Solar Arc Mercury conjunct the South Node – SA Pluto in opposition having been conjunct the North Node three years earlier. That is interesting since 1967 saw the Vietnam War escalating with intensified “search and destroy” operations with U.S. troop levels surpassed 485,000. Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the North Node was still in effect in 1968 which was a ‘a pivotal, bloody year in the Vietnam War. The Tet offensive while a tactical failure for the communists, became a major psychological blow to the U.S., shattering public confidence and marking a turning point that began shifting U.S. policy towards de-escalation and peace talks.’

  A leadership Leo North Node and Pluto are not a happy combination.

  In 1970 as well at the Kent State killings, the USA Mars in Gemini square Neptune was being pressured by Solar Arc Uranus opposition the Mars and tr Pluto in the previous two years being conjunct the Neptune as Vietnam War imploded. It is not exactly similar at the moment but that Mars square Neptune is being pressured by the Solar Arc Sun square Saturn from 2025 to 2027. 

See previous post: Kent State killings – trigger happy National Guard. 5th May 2020

ADD On: USA Leo North Node

Where the USA is concerned what resonated for me at 9/11 was the USA’s North Node at 6 degrees Leo, an indication of leadership abilities, which then had tr Neptune in Aquarius exactly conjunct the South Node denting US pride severely. In the two disastrous years following with the Afghan war and then the Iraq attack the Solar Arc Neptune was square the North/South Node with the SA North Node square the US Mars. By 2003 the SA Mars was conjunct the South Node. So a huge amount of heavy activity around the nodal axis, pummelling USA exceptionalism.

Why this is important is that tr Pluto will oppose the USA North Node from late February 2027 on and of till late 2028 and across the November 2028 election. It will be significant for the soul of America.

It could indicate a tendency to double up on familiar and controlling behaviours with an equal and opposite pressure to let go of old, destructive, or outworn habits. One astrologer suggests it can be connected to a phase of purging old power structures.

For an individual, a Leo North Node is about standing alone and learning not to indulge in feeling sorrow for oneself. Difficulties include a lack of control. The Aquarius South Node perhaps indicates a fear of sliding back into team and group efforts like the UN, NATO and will provoke a dislike of the EU – since it pulls away from the Great-I-Am Leo North Node. Needs admiration, though can spend latter year alone.

Add On: Stephen Miller’s astrology is remarkably similar to Caligula, see synastry above. Both Virgo Suns, both Mars in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio, both Venus in Cancer. And extraordinarily both have North Node at the same degree Taurus. Not that Miller is likely to inherit the throne.

 ‘Don’t complain, don’t explain’ does not apparently appeal to the Beckham family as a rule to live by. Yet more toe-curling brickbats have emerged with an Instagram (where else??) post by son Brooklyn slinging mud in various directions mainly at mother Victoria.

 It would be tasteful to throw a veil over the gripes and swipes except that family dramas are always a draw and there will be resonances for many who have trodden the path of tricky mother/daughter-in-law spats.

 There are details and charts in past posts (see in search) but on reviewing them afresh one intriguing common thread throughout several is the occurrence of yods with an apex Pluto.

  Much of the blame has been aimed at the Victoria-Nicola mismatch and it is true that both are forces to be reckoned with. Victoria, 17 April 1974, has a cool Air Grand Trine of a hard-edged Mars Saturn in Gemini trine an Aquarius Moon trine Uranus, with Uranus opposition her Aries Sun – emotionally detached, unpredictable, uncompromising and fairly ego-centric with a driving planet Sun.

 While Nicola, 9 January 1995, has a highly-strung, can-be-fanatical Sun, Uranus, Neptune in Capricorn with a power-house and extraordinarily difficult, tough-minded and controlling T square of Mars opposition Saturn square Pluto, Venus, Jupiter.

 Victoria’s Sun sextile Mars Saturn are inconjunct Nicola’s coercive Pluto forming a yod. So a relationship that will alter both of them for good and ill. Bulldozer meets brick wall.

  The relationship charts between Brooklyn, 4 March 1999 7.48pm London, and both parents also have a Pluto apex yod – power and control are built into their bond. Though in truth Brooklyn’s relationship to his father looks in many ways more stressed than with his mother. His father’s Taurus Sun sits in Brooklyn’s 8^th and opposes Brooklyn’s Mars in Scorpio, with David’s Mars conjunct Brooklyn’s Pisces Sun so a scratchy, fractious chemistry on both sides – competitive and impatient. David’s evasive Neptune is conjunct Brooklyn’s 3^rd house overly-forceful-in-communication Pluto so that would not help to clear up muddles.

 Both parents’ Pluto sits on Brooklyn’s Ascendant so he would feel they were controlling his image.

  An over loaded Pluto trekking through all these relationships will make for a trapped atmosphere on all fronts with too much control and too little respect for individuality.

 Not that the Brooklyn/Nicola relationship chart looks like a bundle of laughs either – with a suppressive composite Mars opposition Saturn in a Half Grand Sextile to Pluto and to a Uranus Jupiter Venus conjunction. Since it is all earlyish degrees it will be under pressure from mid 2026 through for the next two or three years.

 Their wedding chart, 9 April 2022 6pm Palm Beach, repeats the same pattern as their relationship – which oddly is usually the case as if happy couple unknowingly pick a date that matches their chemistry. In this case with a bad-tempered Mars Saturn conjunction and Pluto opposition a Cancer Moon square Sun, hinting at family tensions.

 I would worry marginally about Brooklyn since he seems caught between a rock and a hard place. He does have tr Saturn moving to oppose his Sun/Moon midpoint at 28 degrees Virgo within a few days. This has several possible meanings. One is coolness or separation in a close relationship. Or a shift in the way parents’ are seen with critical Saturn shining a light on flaws. In politician’s chart it can also indicate a dampening of popularity or lowered public respect.

   Though he does have his Progressed Moon just into his 1^st house starting a new cycle in his life which will pull him away from the past.

ADD ON: Tr Pluto is also conjunct his 4^th house Neptune which will be significant. Sakoian & Acker are spot on for Neptune here: – confused family relations and chaotic domestic environment. Family secrets and mysteries regarding the home life are common. Neurotic problems arising  out of difficulties with parents. Added to which Brooklyn has his Neptune square Saturn in Taurus in his 7^th magnifying an overly sensitive, can-be-paranoid tendency.  

  The family and personal identity are deemed inseparable so separating out as an individual means abandoning the family.   

  Spare thought – what on earth was Victoria Beckham thinking selecting that silver nightie as an appropriate wedding outfit? Not a good look for mother of the groom.

Please add below. Older posts under News on top bar or in Search

  Midpoints add a layer of understanding to the complexities of the birth chart and come in handy when birth times are suspect and houses difficult to establish with accuracy. Transits to midpoints fill in gaps when standard transits lack vital information.

 In Donald Trump’s case where the natal chart is backed by his birth certificate, the midpoints still shine a spotlight, magnifying certain elements of his temperament and character.

 His 12^th house Pluto is an indicator of an inner raging storm which threatens his self-control at times. It can be perceptive as well, resourceful and able to bounce back from crisis. But in unreconstructed form, it has all the worst sides of Pluto – contemptuous, vindictive, vengeful.

  His angry, destructive and self-destructive Mars/Saturn midpoint is conjunct his Pluto ramping up his fury and ruthless self-will. His Pluto is also conjunct his Venus/Mars midpoint for sensuality, ‘a brutal and coarse expression of feeling’, physical passions in overdrive.

Other planets in his chart which are highlighted by midpoints are:

His Saturn and Venus in Cancer which are conjunct his Sun/Mars midpoint, his Mars/Uranus midpoint and his Mars/North Node midpoint. These make him impulsive, impatient, short-fused, with an inclination towards military activities. Tending towards violent destruction and separation. Disadvantages in team work or in association with others.

  The picture here is of a man who is not only the clown and conman his CV suggests. But is aggressive and capable of scorched earth policies for no reason other than to vent his spleen and express the chaos inside himself he cannot contain. Which is all too visible at the moment but the midpoints do give a deeper dimension to what may not be so obvious on the surface in his chart.

The Venus connection to the above Mars midpoints give him an interest in producing children and having passionate liaisons which are more exciting than heart-felt.

 He does of course have positive midpoints allowing him to turn on the charm (Mercury conjunct Sun/Venus), exude confidence (Ascendant conjunct Mercury/Jupiter and Sun square Mars/Jupiter).

 His Leo Ascendant conjunct Regulus will have given him cover, projecting a glowing successful image. But the midpoints do point to a meaner, unhinged inner drive.

 Trump is only a handy example but worth looking at a few charts to track where midpoints throw light and shade on the chart, outlining a spider’s web of connections.

ADD ON:

  Midpoints are also handy for event or Inauguration charts in the early years when nothing much shifts by Solar Arc with only the Progressed Moon making occasional aspects.

  The 2025 Inauguration does have tr Saturn conjunct the Neptune exactly now till January 26 which is confused, neurotic and putting a damper on friendly relationships. Tr Saturn is also conjunct the Uranus/Pluto midpoint at the same time which Ebertin describes as – self-will, stubborn, egotism, hatred, separation, exposed to great pressure from others. Tr Saturn is also conjunct the Sun/Uranus midpoint -rebelling against limitations on freedom, separation, sudden losses.  So it expands understanding of what is going on.

  Looking slightly ahead there will be a tricky patch mid March to early April on the USA midpoints with tr Uranus square the Sun/Saturn midpoint for rising tensions, a crisis, nervy, feeling trapped – not explosive or accident prone but nerve stretched and snappy. That is followed through April by tr Uranus square the Neptune/North Node midpoint = self-willed, undermining of relationships.

  Immediately after on the Inauguration midpoints tr Uranus is square the Sun/Neptune midpoint from early to late April = nervy, emotional upsets, illness, crisis.  Those are only passing moments but they will add a dimension of understanding to ongoing events.

 Life is constantly churning and with so many midpoints there will always be ups and downs running concurrently. But they can be on occasion be more than helpful.

India and Pakistan share the same start date after the bloody partition in the late 1940s though with different times for their state’s foundation.

 But both have Mars at zero degrees Cancer which will be rattled by tr Saturn and Neptune late this month to the end of February, which suggests a setback, flare up and high anxiety. In India’s case with a 2^nd house Mars there may be financial implications  with confusion about which is the best direction to take and what friends are trustworthy with Saturn Neptune moving through their 11^th house.

 For Pakistan it may be even more significant with their Mars falling close to their late Gemini Midheaven and tr Saturn already closing in on the square to their MC and opposition their Ascendant; followed by tr Neptune in their 7^th square the Mars till late February. Relations with neighbours may be confused and tense; with certain of their ambitions being thwarted. The massive Karachi shopping centre fire today with many dead may be a forerunner to what follows.

   Late 2025 was nerve stretched for both with the Solar Arc Neptune opposition the Uranus – again likely to be financial for India and pointing to internal or domestic confusion in Pakistan.

 India has tr Uranus moving across the zero degrees Gemini Ascendant from late April onwards suggesting they will take an independent line thereafter and will suit themselves no matter anyone else’s reaction.  
  Both countries will get a surge of confidence through mid 2026 from SA Jupiter opposition their Mercury.

 Narenda Modi, India PM started his 3^rd term on 9 June 2024 7.30pm which has the same ruthless streak with a Mars square Pluto echoing his natal chart and his first term. There will be lucky breaks through this year from late June onwards. Though, start time being accurate, he will run into disappointments in 2027 with tr Neptune opposition the Midheaven.

 Relations with Russia look most stressed ahead.

A group of Buddhist monks are over halfway along a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington DC, seeking to raise awareness of “peace, loving kindness and compassion”.  There are 18 monks, two of whom are following a Buddhist practice of never lying down during the three-month journey. One was injured in a car accident, had a leg amputated and is continuing by wheelchair. They stop at the capitol of each state they pass through, frequently drawing crowds of thousands of people, while their social media has attracted more than a million followers.

 They set off on 26 October 2025 at 9.30am in Fort Worth, Texas and aim to finish towards the end of February. With an ultra-determined Mars, Mercury in Scorpio on the Ascendant there will be no doubting their persistence in the face of difficulties. The Scorpio planets are in a creative, empathetic, self-contained Water Grand Trine to Jupiter in Cancer in the international and campaigning 9^th house trine a hoping-for-a-better-society Saturn Neptune conjunction in late Pisces and Scheat. Jupiter is in a confident opposition to Pluto giving a hint of facing up to authorities.

 The Scorpio Sun is in a stubbornly resolute square to Pluto; and the eternally optimistic Sagittarius Moon was square the swampy, end-of-an-era Saturn Neptune in Pisces and Scheat as the walk began. There is also a yod of Sun sextile a late Sagittarius Moon inconjunct Uranus marking the desire to upset the status quo. Such an apex Uranus can act as a catalyst for change. The yod is shifting as the Progressed Moon is tightening the aspects as the late February finish approaches with the transiting Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries also coming together.

 What is intriguing is an assembly in late February of ‘nurturing’ Ceres, ‘wounded healer’ Chiron and Eris, planet of chaos and discord at 23/24 degrees Aries. It would be too much to hope that Ceres and Chiron manage to quell Eris but one can always hope.  See previous post: Eris – conflict and catalyst, 12th November 2025.

And https://www.neptunecafe.com/newsscope

Hugh Laurie is on top career form with two hit series on TV this week. He makes a surprise return as the ‘worst man in the world’ arms’ dealer Roper in the Night Manager 2 and as the nuclear inspector in Tehran on Apple TV. By any reckoning he has had the most extraordinary and varied career starting with the hapless Bertie Wooster alongside Stephen Fry,  the idiot Prince in Blackadder, onto a straight role as the grumpy genius Dr House which made him the highest earning television actor for several years with multiple awards to boot and an endless stream of films since.

 Born 11 June 1959 in London, tentative time 4.30pm, he’s a multi-tasking Sun Gemini with an entertaining stellium in Leo starting with a passionately enthusiastic Mars Venus conjunction then Uranus Moon. He also has a tough-minded and ambitious Pluto in Virgo trine Saturn sextile Neptune. His Neptune is square Venus Mars which will be helpful in the entertainment business. His Jupiter in money-magnet Scorpio is in a pushily confident square to his Pluto. His actor’s 15th Harmonic is very strong.

  He’s heading for more success as Jupiter heads for his 10th house after mid 2026 (birth time being accurate). Though he’ll be making significant changes in his life with tr Uranus square his Pluto and tr Neptune square his Saturn from May/June this hear onwards. And tr Pluto opposition his Venus this year and Mars in 2027/28 which will ramp up his emotional intensity.

 As anxieties soar about the state of the globe, the entertainment world amuses and distracts with the latest hit Heated Rivalry about two gay Canadian hockey players. Based on a best-selling trilogy of novels by Canadian Rachel Reid, a lifelong hockey fan who worried about homophobia in the sport, it has created a storm in its television adaptation.

 Described as “balls-to-the-wall erotic programming. While not hardcore porn, the show does go well beyond suggestion, with plenty of full nudity, extended sex scenes, depictions of oral and penetrative intercourse as well as mutual masturbation — all presented with top-rate production values, idealized perfect male bodies and storylines that leave plenty of room for romance and even affectionate dialogue.”

  One viewer comments “Is it just me or does “Heated Rivalry” feel like it’s really just gay porn for straight women?”

  The fan audience is evidently mainly women. A withering review in The Guardian says the show “is content to exploit gay culture without understanding it in a meaningful way. There is a weird kind of fetish in these works that de-sexes gay men just enough to make them palatable, like pets for young women.”

  I am trying very hard not to sound like Mary Whitehouse, who campaigned against social liberalism and the permissive society on media in the 1960/70s. But there is a ???? something about the no-lines-that-can’t-be crossed approach nowadays which is unnerving especially for television coming in to family homes.

 The western societal/cultural swing away from a repressive approach to sexuality, at least on the surface, was in part a result of Freud’s writings in the early 20^th century which laid the groundwork for Kinsey’s reports on sexuality circa 1950; and was then blasted into fast-forward by the 1960s revolutionary Uranus Pluto in Virgo with homosexuality being legalised in the UK; and women’s liberation and the pill taking the brakes off the old ways.

 As ever the pendulum has swung too far the other way nowadays with concerns about children being exposed to online pornography from as young as nine which has been linked to low self-esteem and harmful views of sex and relationships.

 Looking across recent raunchy rom-coms there are some similarities.

 Rachel Reid, 2 September 1980, author of Heated Rivalry is a Sun Jupiter in Virgo with Venus in Cancer square Pluto and Mars in Scorpio.

E.L.James’ author of Fifty Shades of Grey, an erotic BDSM novel plus movies, 7 March 1963, is a Sun Jupiter in Pisces with Venus in Aquarius opposition Mars in Leo.

 Mars in hard aspect to Venus is one common trait which is shared in the publication date of the Heated Rivalry novel published 25 March 2019, with Venus in Aquarius square Mars in Taurus.

  Mars Venus does have a negative side hinting at sexual gratification split off from emotional feelings which can lead to sensitive individuals getting hurt, and even lead to abusive behaviour. 

  In these examples Mars is also in a Fixed sign – as it is in Jilly Cooper’s chart, 21 February 1937, whose novel Rivals was recently aired in a TV adaptation with its rampant sexuality at full throttle.  She had Mars in Scorpio sextile Neptune inconjunct Venus.  

  Mars rules testosterone and in Fixed signs is at its most covetous/greedy.

  It is the splitting of emotional connection from the sex which is the issue – in chakra terms the heart from the primitive base.

 No great conclusions though interesting to see if the Fire Air emphasis ahead makes a difference – Pluto in Aquarius trine Uranus in Gemini sextile Neptune in Aries.

  Although Aquarius is a sign connected to sex experts and sex obsessives – William Burroughs, Lord Byron, Rabelais, Havelock Ellis, Dr Alex Comfort. Sex up in the head. And with Aquarius’s leaning towards technology the problem of social media porn is unlikely to go away.

New Zealand has been on a long haul post-Covid with a punishing Pluto trail through its domestic 4^th house across its Sun Mars in late Capricorn and square its Pluto which has now finished. Tr Pluto is moving to square the 6^th house Uranus from mid February 2026 to late 2027 which suggests a definite shift out of a rut. It may be turbulent, bringing upheavals and forced change but it will pull away from an extraordinarily difficult past few years.

17 January 1853 12 am Wellington NZ is the chart that works best.  For a country that gives the impression of being a sedate backwater it does have a powerful chart spilling over with initiative and progressive ideas – with a Sun Mars in Capricorn square Pluto in Aries conjunct Uranus. Though it will have had a history of going through periods of constant churn. Its Saturn Uranus conjunction also has the capability of merging old and new and making it stick.

  The present prime minister Christopher Luxon, former CEO of Air New Zealand, who succeeded Jacinda Ardern, is an evangelical Christian, recognised as a social conservative. He has shrunk the civil service, introduced cuts to healthcare expenditure, the three-strikes sentencing law and a pilot military-style boot camp for youth offenders, and enacted billions in tax cuts. In foreign policy, he has increased military spending and Five Eyes cooperation in a general pro-US shift. His coalition partner Winston Peters and David Seymour have openly challenged his authority.

He is a Sun Cancer probably opposition a Capricorn Moon square Jupiter so upbeat and confident; with his Sun in an ambitious trine Neptune sextile Pluto; and a hope-for-a-better-society, though at times indecisive Neptune opposition Saturn.

 He’s in a nerve stretched year with tr Saturn Neptune opposition his Uranus and lacklustre midpoints, running into the buffers by 2027 with Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Pluto.

 His Term chart, 27 November 2023 11.18 am Wellington, NZ, is certainly getting rattled up through this year with tr Uranus opposition the Mars in May and July, returning till early 2027 which suggests high insecurity and arguments.

 Relationship charts with their main trading partners – China, Japan, South Korea, Australia seem OK moving ahead. With Russia not so much – aggravated and disappointed in 2026/27. With the EU also stressed and more so with the UK. So so with the US.

 It has been a truly difficult decade for New Zealand even before covid with tr Uranus in Aries rattling up their Sun Mars and Pluto in 2017/18. Gradually they are aiming for a resurgence which will come after new systems are put in place in 2026/27.

Super-star singer of yesteryear Julio Iglesias is being investigated by Spanish judiciary over sexual assault allegations by two former workers.

  He has been a household name in Spain since the 1960s and was established as a star in the English-speaking entertainment industry with his million selling 1984 album, which included the single “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before“. He also covered “The Air That I Breathe.”

   Born 23 September 1943 11.30 am Madrid, Spain, he was heading for a professional football career but a serious car crash when he was 20 left him unable to walk for two years. In hospital a nurse gave him a guitar which nurtured a love of music. After finishing a law degree he embarked on a singing career.

 He has a showy Jupiter in Leo conjunct the North Node on his Midheaven for confidence and good fortune in his career, along with Venus in Virgo in his 10^th for a charming image. An 11^th house Virgo Sun conjunct Neptune and Mercury is square an 8^th house Saturn in Gemini for a hard-working and defensive streak in his personality. He also has Mars Uranus in his 8^th which suggests subterranean depths of volatile energy. His Venus squares Uranus making him emotionally changeable. A 9^th house Cancer Moon as well as Pluto would give him international influence, strong opinions and point to an early interest in a law career.

 He has been married twice with three children from the first and five from the second. When he had his accident in 1963, his Progressed Moon had just started to move through his 6^th house of health. Tr Pluto squared his 8^th house Uranus for a tremendous upheaval. Tr Uranus through his 10^th changed his life’s direction. Tr Neptune into his 1^st would leave him confused for a while about his identity and image.

  There is no saying whether the allegations are true or not. What is clear is he is in a slump at the moment with tr Neptune opposing his final degree Virgo Sun exactly now till March 2026 and tr Neptune opposition his Neptune Mercury (with tr Saturn adding its blight as well) in coming weeks and month. Thereafter it looks tricky for several years ahead with late 2027/28 flagged up as stressful and worrisome.