Blending western and Chinese astrology into a whole adds layer upon layer of insight into character and compatibilities in a new book by Jill Carr – Astrolations. A monumental achievement which took ten years to compile it describes personality traits of each Sun sign with their Chinese counterpart – a blend of 144 combinations. A Leo born in a Pig year differs from a Leo Rat, with the Eastern sub-division into Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, Earth refining the interpretation further.
An example in point is Princess Catherine and Meghan Markle – both born in a Metal Rooster year. Meghan as a Leo Rooster is a force to be reckoned with, flamboyant, perfectionist, a tad self-righteous and over judgemental, likes to rule the roost with spouse. Whereas Kate is a Capricorn Rooster, so not as flashy, steadfast, a tireless workers, who sees life as a serious business.
King Charles a Scorpio Earth Rat is deep, intense, intuitive, a worrier. Camilla a Cancer Fire Pig is warm, generous, outgoing and emotional.
Prince William is a Cancer Water Dog – sensitive to over sensitive at times, good spouse material.
Prince Harry, a Virgo Wood Rat, likes to be busy, light-hearted, amiable and sociable, can be neurotic and petty.
There is a section on each Chinese sign as children as well.
A truly comprehensive run down on individual characteristics and how they operate as life partners, family members, friends and workmates. You won’t need to look any further.
Superman Christopher Reeve tragically paralysed in a riding accident is the subject of a powerful new documentary premiered at the recent Sundance film festival to tears and applause. He survived nine years after the fall that paralysed him from the neck down, becoming an advocate for the disabled. His three children found he engaged more with them on a personal level after the tragedy. “I needed to break my neck to learn some of this stuff,” he said.
He was born 25 September 1952 3.30 or 3.12 am New York with his parents divorcing when he was four. He had a difficult relationship with his father who was achievement-focused and said of him: “It was difficult to breathe easy when he was around.”
He had a stellium in Libra with a Sun conjunct Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Venus also in Libra. Two key factors marked his chart. Firstly a lucky, successful Jupiter in Taurus conjunct his Midheaven square Pluto opposition his North Node in crusading Aquarius, so he was not short of confidence. The other was a yod onto Mars in Sagittarius (conjunct Moon) inconjunct Uranus sextile Jupiter. That plus his Mars being trine Pluto on his Ascendant is suggestive of an overly assertive and scary father. Mars on the apex of a yod would give him anger issues and a tendency to be either overly assertive or under with difficulties modulating his forward drive. Mars inconjunct Uranus is explosive, disruptive and accident prone.
His accident on 27 May 1995 has a Mars Uranus signature writ large. His Progressed Mars was exactly opposition his Uranus. Tr Uranus was exactly opposition his Solar Arc Mars and tr Mars was conjunct huis SA Uranus. There was also a yod of tr Neptune sextile tr Pluto at 29 Scorpio inconjunct his SA Midheaven as his life changed irrevocably.
Tr Neptune was just on the cusp of his 6th house of health at that point with tr Uranus having moved in a couple of years before.
During his time in hospital, he was “unable to avoid thinking the darkest thoughts” with hallucinations clouding his mental state, unable to move beneath his neck. There was fighting within his family as his mother thought he should be taken off life support.
There was always something ironic or spooky about the superhero being brought low. The Jupiterian who flew too high and was cut down. Not that he seemed filled with hubris before his accident but the Superman movie was one of the first blockbuster successes and he became a cultural icon.
Now that I look he had another yod of Saturn Neptune sextile Mars inconjunct Jupiter. Jupiter Saturn has – for a few – associations with Icarus who flew too near the Sun melting his wings and he crashed to earth. Tr Pluto was conjunct his Solar Arc Saturn at the time of his accident. Which also makes sense.
He evidently disliked the trappings of playing of Superman. “I am not a hero, never have been, never will be” he said at the time.
Later he added “ a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
The astrology was tragically spot on for his life changing accident.
ADD ON: His wife Dana, an actress and singer, died a year after him of lung cancer. Born 17 March 1961 in New Jersey, she had a Pisces Sun and Moon in Aries which fell in Chris’s 8th house – a deep connection. Her Saturn Jupiter conjunction fell in his 6th house of health; and her Uranus was conjunct his Ascendant Pluto as she helped him turn his life around after his paralysis. Their relationship chart was riddled with yods. Pluto at 29 degrees sextile Neptune inconjunct Jupiter. Sun at 29 degrees sextile Neptune inconjunct South Node. Venus sextile South Node inconjunct Sun.
Fated to be together.
ADD ON: Will Reeve, their son. 7 June 1992 12.37pm North Adams, Massachusetts, now a tv anchor with ABC news, has a charming and chatty 10th house Sun, Venus and Mercury in Gemini in his 10th house trine a hard-working, emotionally detached Saturn in Aquarius; with a Virgo Moon on his Ascendant conjunct a 12th house Jupiter.
He has two yods of an 8th house Mars in Aries sextile his Mercury Sun inconjunct Pluto in the communicative 3rd house; and Pluto sextile a highly-strung Uranus Neptune in Capricorn inconjunct his Sun. Clearly he is in the right business, putting news and information across. Though his 8th house Mars inconjunct Pluto would give him an uncomfortable sense of being at the mercy of forces he could not control. When his father died suddenly in 2004 tr Uranus was square his Solar Arc Pluto, pulling on one of his yods.
Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on Israel retaining control over Gaza when the fighting ends to ensure there is no future threat, eroding any possibility of an independent Palestinian state as is being suggested by western and Arab leaders including Joe Biden. Netanyahu said “It clashes with the principle of sovereignty but what can you do.” While his views sound extreme and chilling as well as counter-productive in the long run, they follow in a long line of Israeli leaders saying much the same. Understanding the Israeli mindset won’t solve the impossible problem but it might make their rigid, uncompromising views explainable if not excusable.
The pervasive western view of Israel for decades was of a plucky country which gave protection to a persecuted people. Unquestioning US support over decades obscured the violent history of Jewish militants before and after Israel was created in 1948.
Irgun a Zionist paramilitary organisation, founded in 1931, believed “every Jew had the right to enter Palestine; only active retaliation would deter the Arabs; only Jewish armed force would ensure the Jewish state”. Two of the operations for which the Irgun is best known are the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946 and the Deir Yassin massacre that killed at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers, including women and children, on 9 April 1948. They also kidnapped British soldiers and executed them and ultimately were the cause of the British finishing the mandate in Palestine and retreating in disarray.
Menachem Begin was leader of Irgun who later became prime minister and he formed what became the Likud Party of which Netanyahu is leader at present.
The fourth Israel prime minister Golda Meir, who did at one point consider an independent Palestinian state, though discarded it as posing a threat to Israel’s existence, left behind a series of quotes which epitomize previous and prevailing attitudes.
“We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs – We have no place to go.”
“It’s because Egypt and Syria and the other Arab countries refuse to acquiesce to our existence. Therefore there can be no compromise. They say we must be dead. And we say we want to be alive. Between life and death, I don’t know of a compromise. And that’s why we have no choice.”
“I guess we have no choice. Either we do everything that is possible, and may seem to others as impossible, and just give up. Or we do everything that is really impossible and we remain alive. There’s one more basic thing that I think that people outside of Israel must realize, and if they understand and accept that, maybe other things will fall into place.
“Above all, this country is our own. Nobody has to get up in the morning and worry what his neighbors think of him. Being a Jew is no problem here.”
“We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”
“It was not as if there was a Palestinian people in Palestine and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist.” [Which is plain inaccurate but feeds into the Israeli justifications for violence and occupation.]
Looking through early leaders’ charts David Ben Gurion, Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon what is striking is that in each case there is a strong 12th harmonic as well as a notable 18H. The 12th harmonic suggests a strong sense of victimhood and constantly being made a sacrifice which after 2000 years of persecution is hardly surprising. The 18th harmonic points to a pattern of conflicts and enemies, “war & revolution”, fire and explosions; as well as strength and material success. And can appear frequently in the ranks of serial killers.
An intergenerational experience of unfair treatment in this case goes hand in hand with violence. The sacrificial loser becomes a cornered tiger lashing out at any threats.
David Ben-Gurion, one of the founders of Israel and the first PM, 18 October 1886 12.24pm Plonsk, Poland (unverified time) was a Libra Sun Jupiter square Saturn with a do-or-die determined Mars in Sagittarius opposition Pluto (Moon) in Gemini square North Node. His 18th harmonic highlights an opportunistic Mars Jupiter and a stressed Saturn. On occasion Mars Jupiter goes on holy crusades, putting a veneer of morality over violent tendencies. His 12H also highlights Jupiter and Mars.
Menachem Begin, 15 August 1913 11pm Brest, Belarus, had a Leo Sun with a pushily-confident Jupiter opposition Pluto and a militaristic Mars Saturn in Gemini. His 18th harmonic is ruthless; his 12H hints at hardship promoting activism and a reassuring vision.
Ariel Sharon, ex-Army general and 11th PM, 26 February 1928 7.49am Kafr Malal, Palestine, responsible for the 1982 Sabra Shatila Camp massacres, had a brutal 18th harmonic, and a marked 12H as well.
Benjamin Netanyahu, 21 October 1949 10.15 am Tel Aviv, Israel, has a violent, controlling and disruptive 18th harmonic; as well as an amplified 12th harmonic tied to his midheaven – his victimhood promoting his career.
All of which reflects the Israel country chart with its utterly immoveable 8th house Taurus Sun square Mars as well as Saturn Pluto; and Taurus North Node square Saturn Pluto. There is a potential for extreme hardship from Saturn Pluto; violence and turbulence from North Node in Taurus and Mars; and irretrievably stuck in the past with a beyond-obstinate 8th house Sun.
I can’t think of a suitable parallel example in the human kingdom of extreme abuse leading to instinctive aggression. Kill or be killed – it’s a primitive and understandable reaction, if not morally justifiable as a ruling ethos. None of which gets any closer to a peaceful solution.
The wealthy Arab countries won’t reconstruct Gaza without guarantees of stability ahead. The downtrodden Palestinians, some still in rundown refugees camps after the 1948 displacement, and others trying to exist in the wasteland of Gaza, will inevitably throw up disaffected troublemakers in future. And round it will go again. Israel will become an international pariah which will bring its own problems.
Back to James Cameron, post 10 October 2023. “The introduction of the Jewish State into the Arab heartland exalted many hearts and broke many more. More than anything in this century it was a triumph and a desolation. Full of high hopes it produced the most intractable conflict of our times.”
‘The stage is now ready for the culmination of the story, of a sick and sorrowful conflict, not between right and wrong, but between two forms of right and, maybe two forms of wrong.’
‘And no one lived happily ever after.’
The one small consolation from Golda Meir’s time is that the other Arab countries have now moved towards a possible rapprochement with Israel – or they had before this mayhem, which was no doubt the spoiler motive behind Hamas’s carnage. Small progress but not for the poor Palestinians.
Add ON: I realise this is an impossibly difficult subject for those with first hand experience or knowledge of the persecution the Jewish people have suffered. But responders below misunderstand what the post was arguing (maybe my fault) so I will rephrase.
No one comes through 2000 years of persecution culminating in the Holocaust undamaged. That may sound unfair and uncaring but it doesn’t make it untrue. Such damage can promote incredible resilience, courage and an implacable desire to survive at all costs no matter what it takes. But it also creates blind spots in which a ferocious drive for self-protection tramples over the rights of others. One can sympathise deeply with the reasons/psychological mechanisms behind certain behaviours without turning a blind eye to the effects on others.
I remember one analyst who worked with abuse survivors saying one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome was the client’s extreme defensiveness in admitting to any mistakes they made in adult life. As if having been so unfairly treated and damaged early on meant they could not cope with any criticism at all. Yet it is a crucial part of the healing process.
Trashing the messenger has long been one of the escape routes from reality – wiki has it wrong, James Cameron is biased against Israel etc etc. The latter is certainly not true since like everyone else he was supportive of a young Israel. As indeed was I, having read a good deal about the Holocaust and the early vision for Israel. Only slowly did I begin to understand that all was not quite what it appeared after Sabra Shatila and on and I researched further.
Throwing accusations of anti-Semitism at any criticism of Israel government policies is a manipulative and bullying technique aimed at shutting down any discussion. I lived in London with Jewish neighbours, a Jewish analyst, a Jewish dentist, a Jewish divorce lawyer and in no instance did their Jewishness cross my mind as relevant.
The “Israelism” documentary doing the rounds at the moment made by two young American Jews who had been raised to unconditionally love Israel until they started to explore the way Israel treats Palestinians is raising uncomfortable questions for the diaspora. Israelism argues that some American Jews are taught a narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that “almost entirely erases the existence of Palestinians”. Eilertsen, one of the film’s director says: “In the reform and conservative Jewish movement, Israel is sort of always introduced as almost likea Jewish Disneyland, this place where Jews can be fully Jews.” It was filmed before the Hamas attack.
Hamas are vile, psychopaths and fanatics, careless of human life, their own people as well as their perceived enemies. They need erased no doubt and the Arab leaders are no supporters of theirs. But as so often in this murky conflict the way ahead is completely obscured by the past.
The fact there is no obvious or even faintly feasible solution does not mean the dynamics of the conflict should not be examined and analysed. Some of the greatest psychoanalysts and pioneers in plumbing the intricacies of human behaviour were Jewish. Israeli analysts expanded the frontiers of knowledge about PTSD and inter-generational trauma. One might wish some of their wisdom could be brought to bear on this unholy mess.
The Palestinians made up 90% of the population in 1919. Three quarters of a million were displaced to other Arab countries in 1948 when Israel was founded. Their intergenerational trauma marks this dispute in much the same way as the Israelis.
The UK Royals are feeling the effects of Pluto moving into Aquarius more than most with a double whammy of Mars Pluto conjunct in Aquarius on February 14th and Venus Pluto conjunct on 17th. Plus repeating hits on various charts through this year and the next two.
Pluto stays at zero degrees till late February, then moves onto one degree till mid April and then into two degrees till late May. After which it repeats that sequence backwards to 29 Capricorn in September and from November moves ahead again into early Aquarius.
On the personal charts, King Charles is obvious getting the full Pluto experience as it squares his zero degrees 10th house Moon facing him with career challenges as well as health, the Moon ruling the body. Prince William also with his Jupiter at zero Scorpio conjunct his Midheaven at 2 degrees will be pushing confidently ahead in his new role for the next two years. The Duchess of Edinburgh has a zero degrees Aquarius Sun as she steps up her workload.
Prince Harry has his Pluto at zero Scorpio. Tr Pluto in square to his natal Pluto is part of his midlife crisis, attempting to pull him away from the past (with difficulty) as part of his individuation transformation (which does not always work.)
Meghan Markle has tr Pluto conjunct her 1 degree South Node, which hints at pressure for a profound change, letting go old patterns, habits, and unresolved issues from the past. The south node being seen as the comfort zone of what is familiar but getting stuck there is also the road to nowhere.
On relationship charts: King Charles and Harry have a composite midheaven at zero Aquarius under considerable pressure to change (or a tug of war) last year and throughout 2024. With Meghan, KC is irritated and frustrated with tr Pluto trine the composite Mars Sun this year and next. His other two areas of stress look oddly enough to be Edward and Sophie – confused this year and disruptive in 2025/26. And Andrew’s children and ex-wife with discouraging influences.
Of the others: the composite Suns in the Catherine/Meghan relationship chart and the Andrew/William – both at zero degrees Fixed signs catching the transiting Pluto hard aspect won’t be making for a rapprochement anytime soon.
Camilla shares KC’s sense of strain with Edward/Sophie and Andrew’s family.
Those themes repeat with other top Royals.
The one who intrigues me – along with a few others – is Princess Anne. Her 3 degree Leo Midheaven and 2 degrees Mars in Scorpio are being pounded relentlessly, by Solar Arcs and transits from last year 2023 right though until 2026/27. She has tr Pluto square her Mars and crossing her IC opposition her Midheaven in 2025/26. She also has the even more pressured SA Sun Pluto crossing her Mars as well. Her husband Tim Laurence with his Mars at 2 Aquarius will also be feeling the strain.
Part of the above will be the shifting dynamics of the new order with all the standard family jealousies and tensions multiplied, as hierarchical constraints are imposed. Plus the Andrew and Harry mayhem. Plus the King and Catherine under medical care which could be a real problem since the Princess of Wales is one of the key hopes for the future – and the present. Quite a stormy transition.
Melania Trump paid a glowing tribute to her mother Amalija Knavs who has just died calling her “a ray of light in the darkest days.”
Melania was born 26 April 1970 in Slovenia then part of Yugoslavia, an independent communist country, with her parents joining her at some point after she moved to the USA. Her mother, 9 July 1945, was a pattern maker and instilled in her daughter a love of fashion which led her to become a model. Her father Viktor Knavs, 24 March 1944, was a chauffeur and eventually became a car dealer. In the way of most eastern European families they seemed close-knit with her parents living first in New York beside Melania after her marriage to Donald Trump and then in Florida.
Melania had tr Jupiter conjunct her Sun when her mother died which seems counter intuitive though could have several explanations. I think it was astrologer Michael Harding who mentioned a client who experienced several losses with strong Jupiter transits and from memory the explanation was that the planet which was being ‘blessed’ by expansive Jupiter was conjunct one of their Saturn midpoints which was amplified as well. There is no birth time for Melania so no way of knowing whether a Saturn Moon/MC/Asc is involved. But her Taurus Sun opposition Jupiter in Scorpio is under pressure from tr Pluto square her Jupiter (and destructive Mars/Pluto midpoint) exactly now, and rolling on into 2026 when tr Pluto is square her Sun. It could also be that her mother’s death finally was a relief after what Trump described as a tough illness. Tr Saturn is also squaring Melania’s Mars opposition Neptune – and Mars Saturn often turns up in times of family loss.
Her Mother was a stalwart and serious New Moon conjunct Saturn in Cancer, born on the day of a Solar Eclipse in Saros Series 1 North which has a significance in US history – Hiroshima, Martin Luther King’s “I have Dream speech”, JFK’s assassination, and was around in August 1999 as well as 2017.
Her Eclipsed New Moon Saturn sat on the midpoint of an upbeat, enthusiastic trine of Jupiter in Virgo trine Mars in Taurus. Her Venus in Gemini was trine Neptune, sextile Mercury Pluto in Leo – creative, sociable and utterly determined.
Her Mars was conjunct Melania’s Mercury so it would be argumentative, but her Jupiter was also conjunct Melania’s Pluto, prompting her to upgrade her life. Their relationship chart has a composite Sun Saturn conjunction and a Venus Mars square Pluto – which was disciplined, hard-working and passionate. Amalija’s relationship with Donald Trump was argumentative though also forgiving, veering towards the over hopeful.
Viktor Knavs, 24 March 1944, was also probably born on a New Moon, in his case in Aries opposition Neptune and trine Pluto so there will be no doubting his ambition though I’d imagine his wife was the driving force. He has a lucky, talented Half Grand Sextile from that opposition tying in Uranus as well as Pluto. Plus a short-fused Mars Saturn in Gemini.
His relationship with Melania is affectionate though also chained-together by circumstances, reflected in her chart with her upbeat Sun opposition Jupiter and conjunct an austere Saturn. He gets on well with Donald Trump.
Barron Trump, 20 March 2006 5.30am New York, was evidently close to his grandparents and spoke Slovenian with them. He does have Jupiter in his 8th suggesting reassuring, supportive grandparents and a 9th house Sagittarius Moon which usually means living abroad for extended periods. His Sun MC line runs directly through eastern Europe so he may go there. For success in the USA he should head west towards Las Vegas, Phoenix – and avoid Florida since it puts Mars on his IC for a heated domestic existence. Though whether his possessive mother will let him wander far any time soon is questionable given his 10th house Pluto square his 29 degree Pisces Sun. Both his grandparents and Melania boost his self-esteem and lift his confidence. His father, on the other hand, is a scary prospect with Mars square Pluto plus Saturn and Uranus all tangled up in their relationship chart. Living beside Trump senior must be like trying to survive close to a cyclone.
Jill Biden is standing by her man, rushing onstage when he zoned out at the end of a speech two weeks ago to ensure he left the platform in good order and throwing her wholehearted support behind his determination to stand again for the White House.
More than anyone she will be aware of his cognitive failings as he heads for his 82 birthday. What stalled his brain recently was due to tr Pluto square his Sun/Neptune midpoint, running last year and earlier this month, returning September through to late November 2024. It can hit at any age but is not conducive to clear thinking. This year for him is a mix of supremely confident patches interspersed with extremely muddled patches especially mid April to late May.
Jill Biden, 3 June 1951 8.50pm Hammonton, New Jersey, has a right-handed chart pointing to a cooperative personality requiring a partner to function well. She has a hard-working, communicative Sun, Mars, Moon in Gemini in her 6th suiting her for her career as an educator along with Saturn in her 9th house of the higher mind. She also has Pluto in her 8th house giving her a sense of a life filled with situations she cannot control. Also Neptune in her 10th granting her helpful, healing abilities and a lifetime’s experience of putting others’ needs first (stemming from her mother relationship).
She has Uranus in her 7th house of close relationships hinting at an unconventional match which squares onto Jupiter opposition Neptune – taken together Uranus Neptune Jupiter she will be better than most at ignoring hard evidence and hanging on to cherished hopes.
Her Sun, Mars, Moon fall in Joe’s 7th offering him energetic support though conjunct his Uranus Saturn it will at times be a scratchy mix. Her well-organised Saturn in his 10th will be helpful on the career front. Her 8th house Venus in Cancer conjunct his 8th house Jupiter will provide a deep, reassuring connection and will chime well with his Scorpio planets. But they are complete opposites – she with Gemini Air and he with Scorpio water.
Her Solar Return for June 2024 looks successful with Jupiter conjunct the MC and Sun Venus in the 10th, with tr Jupiter in Gemini hovering over her Gemini Sun, Mars around that time. But there are also hints of concern about a partner with Saturn Neptune in the 7th. Her astrology looks a good deal better than Joe’s at the election which you can read either way. She could be pleased to be out of the limelight and, if not, will keep trucking on regardless of Joe’s muddle. She will have a disastrous mid April to late May this year and again on and off through 2025 with tr Pluto opposition her Mars/Saturn midpoint at a time when Joe’s chart is also showing losses. The October 2024 Libra Solar Eclipse will conjunct her Midheaven exactly which usually accompanies a career crisis or sudden change of direction.
Joe Biden like Trump has lost most of the Jupiterian bounty which made him a White House winner; and he has only one Jupiter midpoint giving him hope this year late February to early April, and again late May to mid July and again all of January 2025 across the Inauguration. That maybe might be enough to keep him afloat though his transits across the election are fairly dire.
All systems-change Uranus pops up both in his transits with tr Uranus opposing his Scorpio Sun in August and his Venus in 2025. It is also headlined in his November 2023 Solar Return at the Midheaven and in his 2024 Solar Return in his 7th opposition his Sun.
On the scenario that he might win, since Trump does not look cheerful over the Inauguration, what next? An 82 year old president with deteriorating mental powers (as comes to us all and some more than others).
He has tr Uranus continuing through his 6th house of health, joined in May 2025 for two years by his Progressed Moon. With tr Pluto moving into his 3rd house and square his Taurus Moon – all of which might point up health/mental issues for someone of his age.
Jill’s relationship chart with Joe has an enthusiastic, lucky composite Sun square Jupiter; an argumentative Mercury opposition Mars; and a chained-together Saturn Pluto conjunction with Saturn sextile Jupiter and sextile Neptune. What is intriguing and may be coincidence their Mars at 26 Leo will be lit up by the tr Uranus Mars Algol square in July which looks to be a significant time in various quarters.
Katherine Birbalsingh, known as Britain’s strictest head teacher with an outstanding educational record in her school, is facing legal action over a ban on prayer rituals. She defended the policy, arguing that it was vital in order to “maintain a successful learning environment where children of all races and religion can thrive”.
Previously, the court heard there had not appeared to be any great appetite for prayers at the school, where about half of the pupils are Muslim. Last year, however, a growing number of children began praying during their lunch break, increasing from a single child to 30 in a matter of days. The prayer sessions led to growing segregation between non-Muslim and Muslim pupils in the playground, and that a number of Muslim children were observed by teachers applying peer pressure to other Muslim children, encouraging them to be more observant. In one alleged incident described to the court, a child who had never previously worn a headscarf was pressured to wear one. A Muslim girl was said to have dropped out of the school choir after she was told by other Muslim children that it was haram (forbidden), while a number of other children were told they were “bad Muslims” for not praying and had begun to pray, according to written arguments before the court.
Birbalsingh defended the “the culture and ethos” of the school where “children of all races and religions buy into something bigger than themselves: our country”.
She was born 16 September 1973 in Auckland, New Zealand, with an academic father, grew up in Toronto, and was a Socialist Worker Party member (far left) at Oxford.
She is Virgo at befits a perfectionist teacher, with a singular and complicated chart. She has a lucky, confident Jupiter in Aquarius square Venus opposition Mars Moon in Taurus. Her Jupiter is in a confident trine to Pluto and Mercury which in turn are in an unyielding, tough-minded square to Saturn. She also has two yods of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars (Moon) and Saturn sextile Mars inconjunct Neptune – a curious mix of idealism from Neptune and hard-driving determination from Mars with a dollop of argumentative zealotry from Mercury conjunct Pluto. She is a divisive and controversial figure though she does get results in a school where most of the pupils have English as their second language.
I would have to admit to a personal bias in this argument since I am allergic to almost all organised religion and especially dislike the bullying, coercive streak amongst certain Muslims to which the UK – and elsewhere – appear not to have found an adequate response.
Politicians’ inability to grapple with voters’ concerns about immigration, ranging from an overloading of the welfare system and housing provision, to fear of terrorism and criminality as well as an insidious or overt shift in the culture has the risk of opening the doors to far-right populist candidates. In 2001 then Tory leader, William Hague spoke of Britain being at risk of becoming at some point unrecognisable, which evoked a horrified response tagging him with the Enoch Powell stamp.
The Home Secretary recently criticised ‘do-gooders’ who stopped the deportation of violent criminals back to their home country. Detention Action is one charitable organisation concerned with the welfare of immigrants, whose activist member on a plane helped block the deportation of a Jamaican criminal, involved in a shoot-out on a Birmingham street, who has convictions for gun and drug-related crimes.
Detention Action, 24 July 1997, is a Sun Leo opposition Neptune and Uranus – so idealistic and defiant – with the can-be-fanatical Uranus Neptune taking centre ground. There’s also a stubborn Mercury square Pluto and and a hard-edged, maybe victim-focused Mars opposition Saturn. Except in this case the victim was the perpetrator.
Not sure the astrology adds much to this argument – continuing on from the previous post 3 December 2023 – Europe: clash of cultures.
But it is rapidly becoming the key election issue. Like the Post Office scandal it has been brewing for years without it breaking through into a MUST FIX issue.
Add On: Follow on media thoughts on the court action Telegraph.
“There’s a vital principle at stake in the case: whether ‘rights’ culture is allowed to trump social cohesion.”
“Birbalsingh is asking everyone to give up something, not to insist on everything, so we can all get on. We all need to compromise.”
“On one hand is what the French call laïcité: an agreement to leave religion out of certain areas (like the classroom) so that people of all religions and none can rub along together.
Against this we have the grievance industry, preaching minority rights. Claiming that “freedom of religion” somehow compels schools to open prayer rooms, or drop whatever may offend a minority – like Macbeth or Sunday study or plates that touch eggs – even if they are within majority national culture.”
Outer planet changeovers are not for the faint hearted. Alongside positive advances there is inevitably a showcasing of the worst side of the planet involved. As if the scales have to be balanced – no good without the bad, no joy without sorrow, no peace without war.
This is a rehash of previous posts.
In the year or two before a Pluto transition into a new sign and several after, there has always been a ferment of unrest often armed conflict.
Pluto in Aquarius: The American Revolutionary War began in 1775 when Pluto was at 26 degrees Capricorn and ran on till 1783 with Pluto at 9 degrees Aquarius, during which years the French and Spanish joined in on the side of the US colonies against Great Britain. GB was also at war with the Dutch and fighting with Spain over Gibraltar.
Around that time In 1774, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by Catherine the Great, making Crimea independent, which was then incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1783.
To balance the scales James Watt invented the steam engine which was fundamental to the Industrial Revolution which followed.
And not just Pluto’s entry into Aquarius. More often than not when Pluto ventures into a different sign, every fifteen to twenty years, the changeover has been marked by the start of violent clashes lasting several years. Pluto into Taurus in 1853, Crimean War. Pluto into Cancer in 1914, World War One. Pluto into Leo in 1938, Spanish Civil War and WW11 approaches. Pluto into Virgo in 1956 Russia invades Hungary. Pluto into Libra in 1982, UK versus Argentina over the Falklands. Pluto into Capricorn in 2008, Russia invades Georgia.
Neptune moving into Aries as it does in 2025 has a track record from the previous time in the 19th Century for humanitarian advances. It produced the Geneva Convention, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Bahai faith, and the emancipation of the serfs in Russia. It also oversaw the US Civil War in 1861 with the abolition of slavery at its heart.
On the downside in 1914 Neptune was in late Cancer preparing to move into into Leo for World War 1. In 1929 it moved into Virgo for the end of the Roaring Twenties and the start of the Great Depression. In 1942/42 Neptune into Libra during World War 11 was when the Holocaust and gas chambers got under way. In 1957 into Scorpio when H2N2 flu killed 1 million globally. In 1984 into Capricorn when the Ethiopian famine killed 1 million, triggering BandAid/Bob Geldof and a global charitable effort. In 1998 into Aquarius for the Kosovo War start, and the 2nd Congo War which killed 5.4 million, the bloodiest conflict since WW11. The Good Friday Agreement brought peace to Northern Ireland. In 2011 into Pisces for the Arab Spring, Bin Laden killed, Kim Jong Il dies.
Uranus moving into Gemini in 2025 for seven years has an equally mixed (good and bad) track record of outcomes to the other outer planets. It coincided with the American Civil War during the 1860s; the American Revolution in 1775/76; and in 1942/43 came on the back of the Pearl Harbour attack which precipitated USA entry into World War 11.
Revolutions are a key outcome of the Uranian push for freedom at all costs. The 1968 Uranus into Libra brought the start of the Irish Troubles and the Stonewall riots for gay rights. The Eastern European uprisings of 1989 when the Berlin Wall was collapsed with Uranus just into Capricorn. That year apartheid in South Africa started to be dismantled. The Arab Spring coincided with Uranus moving into Aries in 2011. The destructive side of Uranus comes out with brutal suppressions as in Tiananmen Square in 1989 (in Capricorn); the Holocaust in 1942/43 (in Gemini); Nazism on the rise and the Night of the Long Knives purge in Germany in 1934 with Uranus moving into Taurus. And the Titanic sank as Uranus moved into Aquarius in 1912.
But it also brought technical and scientific advances which altered the face of global culture – television, airplane development and space travel. The internet moved from early computing in the 1955/6 Uranus into Leo, further advances in 1962, Microsoft being founded in 1974 with Uranus just into Scorpio, first computer virus on the next in 1981 when moving into Sagittarius, then 1989 into Capricorn the first commercial internet providers and the WWW.
To be remembered – no planet works its magic or mischief in isolation from other planets. In 1942 for example Uranus moved into Gemini, Neptune into Libra and Pluto was in early Leo. Each will have thrown its contribution into the cauldron to produce a blended effect. What is marginally reassuring is there is not a Saturn Pluto hard aspect until 2028 or a tumultuous Uranus Pluto until the late 2040s which often cause the most havoc.
Ominous warnings of possible Russian incursions into neighbouring Baltic countries in the aftermath of the Ukrainian invasion have been voiced in Germany and by the Estonian prime minster. The timescale they foresee is not imminent but it would involve NATO anywhere between three to five or eight years hence.
Having had a quick skip through relevant charts it is clear that Uranus moving into Gemini will be the trigger for all manner of significant unrest with aggravations showing up in the Russia relationship charts with Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Not necessarily instantly but around 2027 and onwards.
The NATO chart itself, 24 August 1949 11.42am Washington, DC, has a Virgo New Moon Saturn conjunction so will be rattled by tr Uranus squares from 2026 onwards. It will be facing major challenges by 2026 with a dead-halt SA Sun square Pluto.
The two Russia charts, 1917 and 1991, both have Mars in an early Mutable sign – Virgo and Sagittarius. And the three Baltic States in their relationship with Russia are flagging up 2027 to 2029 as times of high alert.
The Russia 1917 chart is recording a significant setback later this year after an aggravated start to 2024. The 1991 chart is pointing to an explosive 2027 with SA Mars conjunct the Uranus – though there could also be a major natural disaster with a SA Neptune square the Pluto which often brings devastation.
The NATO/Russia 1991 relationship chart shows a definite downturn in 2025/26 with high tension following. The NATO/Russia 1917 hints at a spike in tension from July this year onwards with the October Solar Eclipse marking a crisis point in both relationship charts.
There really does seem no let up from the doom, gloom and catastrophizing. Though mercifully there is not a hard Saturn Pluto aspect until 2028 – which is what usually accompanies a large-scale war. Not always and not definitive but a small consolation.
