not categorised

Hopes that the invasion of Ukraine could be at a turning point as a Ukrainian counteroffensive sent Russian forces into a hasty retreat with as much 6,000 sq km of territory “de-occupied” are being treated cautiously. “Certainly it’s a military setback. I don’t know if I could call it a major strategic loss at this point,” a U.S. official said. Almost a fifth of Ukraine is still occupied.   

   Rather than accept defeat, Putin may try to escalate. Even if he is deposed he may be replaced by a hardline nationalist, pushing for a full scale military conscription which hasn’t happened yet.  It is estimated Russia has sent a quarter of a million troops to Ukraine, with an estimated 75,000 killed or wounded. By contrast, Ukraine now claims total armed forces of 1mn with more modern equipment.

 Best estimates from military analysts are that the heavy fighting is likely to continue and most likely the two sides will still be facing off come the European spring.

  The invasion declaration was made on 23 February 2022 at 9pm in Moscow which puts an unrealistic and impractical Neptune in the 6th and a ruthless though deeply frustrating Mars Pluto in the 4^th; plus an over-hopeful Sagittarius Moon. Pluto is opposition Procyon, which can bring reputations crashing down; and the North Node is conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol.

  There’s nothing much indicating an end to the violence – tr Uranus is square the Saturn exactly now at 18 degrees Aquarius and the transiting North Node will conjunct the 8^th house Uranus over this New Year. But whether either of those will see a capitulation and total retreat is questionable.

  Both the Ukraine 1918 and 1991 charts appear to be pointing to 2024 as their year of more cheer. The 22 January 1918 9.54am Kharkov chart is surging ahead in 2024 with tr Pluto trine the Jupiter, conjunct the Sun and trine Mars – so boosting the Air Grand Trine and heading (hopefully) for reconstruction. 2023 looks jarring.

 The 24 August 1991 2.31pm Kyiv chart is having to cope with an undermining tr Neptune opposition the Mars now until early 2024; with a turn-around tr Uranus opposition the Pluto from mid this October, on and off into 2023. What looks hopeful and lucky is tr Uranus square the Jupiter in 2024.

 Putin’s 4^th Term chart, 7 May 2018 11.05 am Moscow, which has the same brutal Mars Pluto in Capricorn are the Invasion chart, is grinding towards a dead halt from Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Mars in 2023; and a destabilising tr Pluto square the Uranus from February 2023 on and off till late 2024 which may see him pushed off his perch. He’ll still have some undeserved luck coming his way with tr Uranus opposing his Jupiter over coming months. But longer term he’s a goner whether through ill-health or a coup.

See previous post July 12 2022

Camilla has stepped up stoically to the role of Queen Consort she never sought but Charles regarded as non-negotiable. In the years since their marriage she has calmed him down and been an indispensable and unflustered support as well as carving out a respected public role for herself.

 She was born 17 July 1947 7.10am (biography) in London into an upper class army/business family and grew up horse mad. She had a brief fling with Charles in the early 1970s but he wouldn’t commit. She married Andrew Parker Bowles, an army officer who had professional connections to the Royal Family and romanced Princess Anne. He was an attractive womaniser, which eventually led to a fairly separated domestic life with Camilla. She took up with Charles again when his marriage to Diana flagged, following in the footsteps of her maternal great grandmother Alice Keppel who was King Edward V11’s mistress for many years.

 She has a 12^th house Cancer Sun Mercury, Venus, Moon in Cancer also in the 12^th with Saturn Pluto in Leo in her 1^st so is essentially private – and adept at putting on impassive face. Her Sun is trine a 4^th house Jupiter in Scorpio, a hint of her own happy childhood family; and she has Mars and Uranus in her friendly 11^th house. If her birth time is accurate she is primarily an independent-minded individual, happy to be left to her own devices and a lover of solitary pleasures – reading, dog walking, gardening. After her marriage to Charles she found living at Highgrove suffocating and set up her own separate space at her previous family home where her children could visit.

  What comes across from her chart is strength and maternal compassion. Her concern for domestic violence victims will come from her Cancer-heavy 12^th house and her Mars sextile Saturn Pluto making her aware of the dark side of life.

  The pressure is undoubtedly on as her Solar Arc Saturn Pluto are squaring her Sun, picking up last year and running on into early 2024 – as the full impact of her new role has landed on her. Her Solar Arc Midheaven is also conjunct her Uranus around now and her Solar Arc Venus Moon are also square her Uranus. So immense and sudden changes emotionally and in her direction in life. What will keep her buoyed up is tr Uranus opposition her Jupiter which comes back through this October for a few weeks and again in early 2023 which will bring relief from tension. And both tr Jupiter and her Progressed Moon will be crossing her Midheaven from next spring onwards – which might point to the coronation. With success and appreciation through the two years after that.  Though her Solar Arc Sun conjunct her Neptune in 2024 will bring a few sagging moments.

      Her Jupiter midpoints will keep her confidence and enthusiasm afloat in 2023/24/25 with new initiatives and lucky opportunities.

  What helps cement her relationship with Charles is her Jupiter in Scorpio conjunct his Sun bringing him confidence and boosting his self-esteem from her own experience of a happy childhood which was comparatively normal in contrast to his.  

  It’s not all perfect bliss by any manner of means and their relationship chart has a sparky, argumentative composite Sun opposition Mars square Uranus – so they need a set up where both operate independently and have elbow room. There’s also a good deal of enthusiasm and positive feelings from a composite Moon opposition Jupiter square Mercury.

  Her 12^th house planets will make her good at taking a step backwards and not allowing her ego to get embroiled in arguments.

  Their relationship is under confusing Neptunian hard aspects at the moment and through the next two years with tr Neptune opposition the composite Sun and square Uranus; with jolts and jangles from tr Uranus upending the Pluto across this New Year and squaring the Saturn Venus over the next two years as they make the difficult transition with changes of residence and roles and a heavy schedule ahead. Plus tr Saturn in 2023/2024 impacting on the composite Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury etc.

  [Mind you neither are exactly young and he, in particular, has embarked or been designated by his late mother to undertake a gruelling set of duties on her death – on parade in Balmoral, Edinburgh, giving speeches in London, off to Northern Ireland, at a time most people would take a week off work and collapse into a bottle of whisky. Just mind blowing watching the senior Royals putting themselves on parade.]

  What might be a worry ahead is the ever truculent Harry, the bee in his bonnet about his mother needling him into more side swipes at Camilla. Hs relationship chart with her is explosive at the best of times; and will be undermined in 2023 and rattled in 2024. Mind you none of the other Royals look too pleased with him either. So the funeral truce may not hold.

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Uranus, the sky god and trickster planet, constantly seeking excitement, adventure and perpetual change sits at cross purposes to the Moon which yearns for stability, security, sameness and protection. Babies appreciate routine, not a roller coaster ride. Uranus is against the biology, of the mind not the body.

  Moon Uranus types tend to have had an unusual, unstable or broken domestic and family life growing up, sometimes with frequent changes of residence. For some their mother neglected them out of boredom with child-raising; or were odd, absent, or emotionally detached. As a result the child learns to shut off their emotions and as a consequence develops a rebellious and contrarian approach.

 The positive outcome is a strong intuition, original imagination and resourcefulness but it tends to go alongside erratic emotional impulses, sudden changes of mood and a tendency towards odd or eccentric, strongly independent behaviour. Settling to long-term emotional commitments isn’t easy. Boredom can be a problem, since there’s a need for constant excitement and also a difficulty with compromise.   Uranus demands freedom of emotional expression and kicks against any attempts by others to restrict or manipulate feelings.

 The classic Moon Uranus is Princess Diana whose mother Frances Shand Kyd was a bolter and left her children and Diana when she was six. Diana had an Aquarius Moon opposition Uranus and found difficulty settling to a long term relationship.

Olivia Newton-John, a Moon Uranus conjunction, was uprooted at five years old to move to  Australia and had a string of adult relationships.

 Actress Jodie Foster never knew her father since the parental marriage split before she was born and she was brought up by her mother and her female partner. She has a Moon Uranus Pluto conjunction.

Amanda Knox, tried and found innocent ultimately of the murder of Meredith Kercher, was the product of a broken home and brought up for a while by a resourceful single mother. She has a Moon conjunct Uranus and Saturn. Her mother said she had ‘always been a unique girl. A lot of kids want to conform, but she was always just who she is, and never worried about it.” Her odd, unempathic reaction at Meredith’s death was what first aroused police suspicion.

Actor Stephen Fry, born 1957, with a Moon Uranus conjunction, came from an émigré Jewish family who lost many close relatives in the Holocaust with the trauma filtering down to him.  

 Gordon Ramsay, the Scottish chef, a Moon Uranus Pluto conjunction in the 4^th opposition Saturn,  described his early life as “hopelessly itinerant” with his family moving constantly owing to the failures of his father, an occasionally violent alcoholic. The Moon rules childhood as well as mother.

David Icke, the conspiracy theorist, a Moon Uranus conjunction, moved aged three to a council estate. “To say we were skint,” he wrote, “is like saying it is a little chilly at the North Pole.” He recalls having to hide under a window or chair when the councilman came for the rent.

Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was born in a Home for Unwed Mothers and brought up by his grandparents as theirs. Admittedly in addition to being a Moon opposition Uranus, his Moon was conjunct Mars and trine Saturn and Pluto so his sadism can’t be blamed on Uranus.

  Likewise Harvey Weinstein had a Moon opposition Uranus but his Moon was also square Saturn Neptune and he had a control-freak mother Pluto Midheaven – so a complicated, overbearing mother who did little to nurture his sense of empathy for other human beings, including women. He bullied men and predated on women.  

  I hesitate to be autobiographical but I have a Moon Uranus conjunction – in the 9^th which helps the astrological and rebellious bent. No one tells me what to believe or think. It also sent me to live abroad. My mother died when I was five, then there was a housekeeper to whom I was close who lasted two years, then another one, then a career-focused stepmother who was not a good fit with me. I lived in two childhood homes – and have lived in 12 different houses by my reckoning since then. In contrast to my sister who lives in the house she was married in over fifty year ago – and she doesn’t have strong Moon Uranus contacts.

  Like most planets there are pluses and minuses – Uranus gave me an inquiring and defiant mindset, a gypsy restlessness, an openness to change and an ability to cope in tricky circumstances. Mellowing age has made it easier to come to terms with the downside and accept the reality of not being able to have it all. Years ago in California doing a workshop exercise about getting rooted I was gloomy about never quite belonging.  Later one of the others in the group said they envied me so much because I was a free spirit – which made me laugh. Everything comes with a price tag attached. A Uranian mother whether through temperament or circumstance imbues independence in the child – which can be a rare gift.

Mark Rowley has taken over as the new London Metropolitan police commissioner with a remit to root out “unacceptable behaviour at all levels, including misogyny, racism and homophobia” and corrupt officers. Repeated crises recently led to it being judged to be so poor it was placed into special measures. Public confidence crashed in the last five years under Cressida Dick with demands from Sadiq Khan, the Mayor, to radically reform and drop its defensiveness.

Scandals that rocked the Met include a serving officer Wayne Couzens kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard in March 2021 and scandals over hate messages exchanged between officers on social media platforms, some bragging about violence against women, some overtly.

 Born 4 November 1964, Birmingham, (Companies House), Rowley was grammar school and Cambridge educated, and former Counter Terrorism chief.

  He is a Sun, Moon, Neptune and Mercury in Scorpio with a tough Mars in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius square Mercury opposition Jupiter in Taurus. He’s not one for bending in the breeze which in the right circumstances will give him endurance and staying power but will mean he lacks flexibility at times. His prominent Neptune is a concern since it also turns up in his Term chart from today with a Sun opposition Neptune which doesn’t altogether suggest a decisive, surgical approach to cutting out the rot.

  The Metropolitan Police was founded 29 September 1829 with a Sun Libra opposition Pluto and Venus in Scorpio – his Sun is conjunct the Met Venus and his Venus conjunct the Met Sun – so a friendly connection which may not do the needful. Soft love won’t solve the problem.

  The Met is running into a total gridlock by late 2023/early 2024 as its Solar Arc Mars is conjunct Pluto. Indeed its woes are in place now with Solar Arc Mars opposing the Sun. Though, looking on the bright side, that could be because of the reputational damage caused by corruption being exposed. Gets worse before it gets better is the hopeful interpretation.

 His relationship chart with the Met will be, not surprisingly, rattled through 2023 and undermined. The pressure will also be on with Sadiq Khan with whom he has a reasonable but changeable relationship. Liz Truss looks less than enthusiastic with tr Neptune opposing and undermining their composite Venus, Sun, Pluto conjunction.

  Poor old UK – everything is in flux with no certainties in the foreseeable future.  

Accession or Coronation chart? Which is the key marker? Birth versus baptism might be a reasonable analogy and looking back it does seem the Accession chart is the relevant one. Accession happens the moment the old monarch dies and there is usually a proclamation on the same or next day with a coronation some months later.

Queen Elizabeth 1 was handed the Royal baton when her half-sister Mary died on 17 November 1558 JC at 6am and her Coronation came on 15 January 1559 JC circa 7.30am.

  Her death on 24 March 1603 JC at 2.30am most clearly affected the Accession chart with the tr Neptune in Virgo opposition Venus square Saturn in Sagittarius in hard aspect to the Sun square Pluto opposition Midheaven. On the Coronation chart there is not much showing at that point.

  Queen Victoria acceded on the death of William IV in the early hours of 20 June 1837 with a Coronation on 28 June 1938 around 12noon. When she died on 22 January 1901 at 6.30pm in Ryde, England, on the Accession chart tr Neptune was approaching a conjunction to the Sun and tr Saturn (Venus )in Capricorn were trine the Mars and sextile the Uranus with again less showing on the Coronation chart.

 In Elizabeth 11’s case she acceded sometime over night into the 6 February 1952 and was proclaimed Queen at 5 pm that day. Her Coronation was on 2 June 1953 at circa 11.20 am.

  When she died the transits to the Accession chart were starkly obvious with the rock-solid Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto being hard-aspected by tr Saturn (Moon) square Uranus North Node causing a massive upheaval and a dead-halt.  The Coronation chart had some hints but was nothing like as clear.

The time of the Queen’s death is recorded as 3.10pm  which will be the chart of Charles 111’s Accession. It is less problematic than the Proclamation chart. Though it could be divisive/argumentative with Mars close to the Descendant and preachy with such an opinionated 9th and communicative 3^rd house. Intense Pluto and Saturn in Aquarius in the 3rd along with a muddled Neptune will make for stubborn insistence on beliefs. Plus the marginally autocratic Saturn square Uranus – it could be high-handed. A much-travelled Sun Venus in the 9th and along with Mercury suggest a good deal of foreign travel.

  What is noteworthy if perhaps a touch previous is that the Fixed Moon Saturn square Uranus on his Accession chart will be upended by tr Pluto in Aquarius across the mid 2030s  which is the point at which Princes William will be at a crossroads. The Eclipse Saros cycle on the day he was born ends in 2036, leading some astrologers to suggest he could be the last monarch.  Charles will be 88 then and labouring under tr Pluto square his Scorpio Sun.

Add On: The present Royals are part of the Hanoverian Monarchy which moved onto the throne on 1 August 1714 with the coronation of King George 1. That chart s equally coming to a grinding halt in the mid 2030s with the Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Mars for the first time  and tr Pluto opposing the Leo Sun. Even before then the late 2020s sees the Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the Pluto which will put up warning flags. 

Giorgia Meloni, a right-wing adherent of pro-Mussolini politics, is riding high in the polls for the September 25^th election. Pundits say if she fulfils the predictions she should have enough to form a coalition to  become Italy’s first female prime minister. Her next hope would be to transform Italy from a parliamentary republic, ruled since the war by a series of short-lived, unstable coalitions, into a directly elected presidency, similar to France.

 In Italy Mussolini is not regarded as repellent as Hitler, and Meloni insists her policies are not pro-fascist but centre-right. Her party’s policies include a tougher line on immigration, opposition to gay adoption and abolition of the “citizenship wage” — a guaranteed basic income.

  Born 15 January 1977 6pm Rome (from  memory), she is a hard-working, ambitious 6^th house Capricorn Sun trine a lucky, successful Jupiter in Taurus in her 10^th. She has a Yod of Saturn sextile Pluto inconjunct an 8^th house Venus in Pisces; and another sort-of Yod from Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct the Black Moon. With the Black Moon also tied into a T square opposition Uranus square Saturn in Leo.  And her Chiron is conjunct her South Node in Aries – a complicated lady with fated path in life. Ultimately successful but with twists and turns and setbacks along the way.

 She’s looking marginally deflated across the election until late October and indeed beyond with tr Neptune conjunct her Sun/Jupiter midpoint and then opposition her Saturn/North Node midpoint. She will hit a patch of good fortune from 8^th November till December 3^rd – so coalition wrangles may prove successful. Though she’ll have to have it done and dusted before early December since thereafter she’s into a run of catastrophes and calamities.

 Jupiter crosses her Midheaven from May 2023 onwards till late 2024 which should see her forging ahead triumphantly. 2024/25 will be years of surging confidence. And Saturn is heading for her peak from 2027 lasting for several years thereafter.

  She’s certainly ambitious though there’s no saying she would win a presidential election even if she did manage to get the two thirds majority to push it through.    

Charles 111 was proclaimed King at 10.04 am this morning in London on the exact Full Moon conjunct Neptune. This sounds indecisive, unstable, overly dewy-eyed. Except that the Full Moon is the fulcrum of a determinedly practical and business-like Earth Grand Trine of Virgo Sun trine Uranus (North Node) in Taurus trine Pluto. It won’t be easy to integrate two such divergent energies and Moon Neptune in Pisces as the driving planets are not instantly obvious as helpful or constructive.

  There will be arguments with Mars in Gemini in the 8^th over money amongst other things with Mars square Venus and trine Mercury.

 Uranus Node in the 7^th doesn’t leap out as cooperative or supportive of relationships, quite the opposite. Uranus Saturn can be autocratic and with Saturn in the 4^th it may point to family tensions.

  The other point of interest is the Black Moon conjunct the Midheaven in the 10^th which could give him the ‘ desire to accomplish great things in order to prove to a parent that he is worthy of love.’ It can lead to an obsession with living up to expectations by making a difference, so driven and ambitious, not wanting to settle for mediocrity. Making an impact will be important to him, stemming from a fear of failure in the public eye, scared of what others might think. Wanting to be an influential person and in control.

  It is a very different chart to the Queen’s Accession at 5 pm on 6 February 1952 which had an unbudgeable – and unfathomable – Pluto on the Ascendant opposition an Aquarius Sun. Plus a lucky and highly active Jupiter tied into a resourceful Cardinal Grand Square. Her Coronation chart of the following year has relatively similar traits with a prominent Jupiter and plenty of Cardinal signs for initiative.

  It’ll be quite a baptism of upheavals for him over the next two years which he won’t find easy with a Scorpio Sun square a 1^st house Pluto and a Taurus Moon.  He’s Fixed in a different way to his mother and lacks her ramrod straight devotion to duty and responsibility. His Saturn falls in his 2^nd house of personal finances which I have never quite understood since traditionally it means caution around money and he seems to be profligate at a personal level and less than rigorous when it comes to eliciting charitable donations. [Mind you Sarah Ferguson also has Saturn in her 2^nd and is a complete klutz when it comes to money, reckless and irresponsible.]

  Tr Uranus is tugging at his Pluto, turning his life upside down this year and early in 2023; with a sense of cutting away from the past as tr Saturn squares his Sun this year as well. Tr Uranus follows behind to oppose his Sun from July 2023 on into 2024 which will involve another set of disruptions. Plus a run of calamities from January 2023 onwards, on and off till late 2024, as tr Pluto squares his Mars/Saturn midpoint and last but not least tr Pluto will square his 10^th house Moon from late March 2023, on and off till late 2024, which will bring immense professional and personal pressures and challenges, prompting/forcing him to change.

  But for all that Jupiter will move across his Midheaven from March 2023 onwards for a year which may coincide with his coronation and will bring success in the months following. And tr Saturn is aiming for his peak from late 2026 onwards for several years – so if he overcomes the hurdles he should move steadily ahead after that.

  His relationship chart with the UK is a good deal trickier than his mother’s. There’s Pluto on the Midheaven opposition Mercury square Saturn which does suggest arguments over control and direction and a good deal of stubbornness – plus an affectionate Sun Venus conjunction. His determined Scorpio Sun squares the UK’s 11^th house Saturn which suggests he and parliament may be at cross purposes – which was always the fear expressed in Michael Dobbs’ House of Cards sequel To Play the King.  

A trooper to the end, the Queen lived up to her Saturnine Midheaven by swearing in a new Prime Minister two days before she died. An unrelenting sense of old-fashioned duty saw her through seven decades on the throne. She was described as the ‘keystone’ for the UK which gives a pointer to the void she leaves between for a country already in a turmoil of uncertainty.

The time of death was given as 2.37pm by Lady Colin Campbell but is yet to be confirmed.

  At the moment her obsessively conscientious Saturn in Scorpio on her Midheaven which gave her cast-iron resolve was being softened and undermined by Solar Arc Neptune conjunct to within minutes of a degree with Solar Arc Jupiter in opposition. Her Progressed Moon was exactly conjunct her Mars, perhaps a hint of the suddenness of her passing.

  Her Coronation chart, 2 June 1953 11.20 am London, was also being undermined this year by tr Neptune square the Mars Mercury. And the Solar Arc Pluto was opposition the Venus for an emotional ending. The Midheaven around 18 Taurus was also in the line of fire of the history-changing tr Uranus Node Node in Taurus which picked up in early August.   

  Prince Charles, 14 November 1948 9.14 pm London, was always due for a challenging crisis in a crossroads year with the approaching October Scorpio Solar Eclipse opposing his 10^th house Moon North Node in Taurus. The 10^th house Moon fits him for a public career. An eclipse opposing the Moon will bring emotional shocks and relationship tensions. The astrologer Robert Jansky writes: ‘Under this transit mama’s boys suddenly find their manhood’. He also has his Solar Arc Mars opposition Saturn, which can often accompany a death.

  Tr Saturn is also squaring his Sun this year and tr Uranus opposing it in 2023 and squaring his Pluto this year and next – so his life is in an upheaval. With a fair amount of panic ongoing as his Solar Arc Neptune opposition his Solar Arc Midheaven is sitting on top of his Jupiter opposition Uranus – a hint of not only his anxiety about whether he is man enough for the job, given his 4^th house Neptunian father; but also the effect his new role will have in squelching his adventurous streak. Tr Saturn is heading for his 8^th house from February 2023 for two years which will throw him back on his own emotional resources and could be a testing time.   Even more significantly tr Pluto will square his 10th house Moon from late March 2023, on and off till late 2024, which will be emotionally anguished and very pressured career-wise and in his personal life.

 The UK chart has a Solar Arc Pluto square the Capricorn Sun at the moment, a hint of the paralysis that comes as old structures are dismantled and before the new structures can be put in place. The last time there was a hard Solar Arc Pluto to the Sun was in 1929 during the Stock Market Crash; and the time before was over the Coronation of Queen Victoria, still in her late teens.

  When Queen Elizabeth 1 died in 1603, having reigned for 45 years, tr Uranus was in Taurus as now and the North Node was in late Scorpio. When Victoria died in 1901 after 63 years on the throne the North Node was also in late Scorpio. Now as Elizabeth 11 goes the North Node is in mid Taurus.   

All a bit astro-heavy but covers the basics and no doubt there will be much more anon as the ripples spread out.