not categorised

Germany is heading into a radically different political landscape ahead as Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc slumped to its worst ever defeat and the centre-left Social Democrats claimed a narrow victory. This would fit with tr Pluto opposing the German’s 10^th house Uranus this year prompting a significant change of direction.

 But there will still be months of wrangling ahead to form a coalition government with third and fourth parties, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, who do not agree across a range of issues.  In 2017 after a close German election it took six months; the Netherlands is still wrangling over its government after March elections and Belgium saw negotiations dragging on for 541 days in 2010.

Olaf Scholz has been congratulated by Merkel and looks the most likely to be the next Chancellor. I wrote him off initially since his Gemini Sun opposition Saturn had the undermining tr Neptune square earlier this year, which returns mid February to mid March 2022 and again in November/December 2022. What would buoy him up is his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Saturn and opposition his Sun and that could cast a ray of sunshine over coming months. But he’s still heading into calamity country from October 5^th to 30^th with tr Uranus hitting his Sun/Mars and Mars/Saturn midpoints, repeating in early 2022. This December also looks a touch rattled with tr Saturn opposition his Uranus; with 2022 being a year of slog and plans not working out.  Though that could be his first year in power discovering that he’s taken on a load of problems.

  His chart does have some positive crossovers with Germany since his Gemini Sun is conjunct the Germany Jupiter – and his Venus in Taurus and Moon are conjunct the Germany 8^th house Pluto. Those latter planets are being rattled up by the tr Uranus conjunction in 2022/23 – so he may be the man for the moment – as something profound and deep-rooted stirs in the German psyche. The tectonic plates will shift.

  But the relationship chart is a good deal less successful than Merkel’s with Germany. In his case there’s a hostile, power-struggling Mars Pluto conjunction with Mars opposition Saturn square Sun which looks anything but progressive and popular.

 Merkel will stay on as chancellor until a new government is formed and she looks under pressure with tr Pluto opposition her Sun till late November.

John Hinckley Jnr who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981 and injured three security guards in order to attract Jodie Foster’s attention on whom he was fixated has been granted unconditional release from psychiatric care, starting next June. He pled guilty by reason of insanity at the time and has spent 35 years in care, in recent years being partially released to stay with his mother who has now died.

  He was born into a wealthy family on 29 May 1955 at 11.42pm Ardmore, OK, USA. He was a drop out from university and hoped to become a songwriter.

  He has a 4^th house unaspected Gemini Sun and a deeply buried 8^th house Virgo Moon square Mercury and a Sagittarius North Node. An unaspected Sun tends to produce an overly independent, closed-in and self-centred personality. He has an attention-seeking 5^th house Mars in Cancer square his Moon, so he would have/will have issues with women; and an intense and possessive 7^th house Pluto sextile Mercury and sextile Neptune. His Venus in Taurus is in a chilly, unloved opposition to Saturn in obsessive Scorpio; and he has a lucky Uranus Jupiter in a can-be-fanatical square to Neptune. It’s not an especially brutal chart but it would give him a driven personality with strong emotional reactions.

  Jodie Foster’s Scorpio Sun sits on his Midheaven which would provide a link and he was evidently drawn to her having seen Scorsese’s violent 1976 movie Taxi Driver in which she controversially played a trafficked 12 year old child prostitute. His can-be-perverse and obsessive Venus opposition Saturn in Scorpio would be stirred by her Venus Neptune in Scorpio square Mars.

  When the shooting occurred on 30 March 1981 at 2.27pm in Washington, tr Uranus in Scorpio was retrograding towards the conjunction to his Midheaven (and Jodie Foster’s Sun) and tr Pluto was moving to conjunct his Neptune and square his Uranus for a devastating set of life changes.

  His relationship chart with Jodie Foster has a deeply buried, super-intense, possessive/controlling 8^th house composite Sun Pluto conjunction. When the shooting happened tr Neptune was poised to conjunct the composite Ascendant, tr Pluto was aiming to square the composite Mars and tr Uranus was approaching a square to the composite Sun Pluto for a major disruption.

 The Lunar Eclipse this November and next late May will sit on his Midheaven, the latter just before the absolute release date of June 2022 – and will also impact Jodie Foster’s Sun so she will be on edge – maybe for other reasons, but she probably will be nervous.  

The price of fame – —-

The shooting of a white stag running loose in a suburb of Liverpool by police against the advice of the RSPCA has brought a chorus of criticism. There are portents of doom as well from the old myths about ill luck following such a killing.  The Celts considered white stags to be messengers from the “other world” and their appearance was said to herald some profound change in the lives of those who encountered them. Their unnatural white colour has led to them being considered supernatural in various cultures.

 I’m not overly superstitious (most of the time) but sometimes symbolic events do precede periods of significant change and/or crisis. I remember thinking years back that a flock of the Queen’s swans flying into a low stone bridge and killing themselves wasn’t a good omen – and the annis horribilis with divorces and Windsor Castle fire happened not that long afterwards. Not immediately but certainly within a year or two.

 There are two Liverpool charts – the Royal charter founding on 28 August 1207 JC and the City status 11 May 1880.

  The one oddity which pops up is that both these charts have their Solar Arc North Node at 23 degrees Taurus now which given that their Nodes start from different positions is marginally coincidental.

   The 1880 chart is certainly gearing up for a period of significant turmoil and change around 2023/24 with tr Uranus conjunct the Sun and Pluto.  Though it’s building up a head of steam or a downward slide from now with tr Uranus conjunct the Neptune in Taurus.

  The 1207 chart also points to disruptions in 2024 with tr Uranus square Uranus – and more significantly is heading for a Neptune Return by 2026.

  This is a wait-and-see one.

 The much-delayed James Bond movie ”No Time to Die” has premiered to rave five star reviews (mainly) with a sparkling Royal send off in London. It is Daniel Craig’s fifth and last as 007 and the 25^th in the series since the original Dr No with Sean Connery.

“It’s better than good. It’s magnificent. A huge thundering epic. Extravagant, satisfying and moving. An epic barnstormer. Startling, exotically self-aware, funny and confident, and perhaps most of all it is big: big action, big laughs, big stunts.”

Though rousing cheers may not be enough to bring in the box office with audiences still wary and lockdowns/and or social distancing still in place.

  Reception for Dr No when it first launched in 1962 was muted, though it made a profit and grew in popularity over the years. The London premiere on 5 October 1962 had a Libra Sun trine Saturn in Aquarius and sextile a ‘leadership’ Leo North Node; with a confident Jupiter opposition Pluto Uranus in Virgo.  

 It suited Sean Connery, 25 Aug 1930, with his Sun Neptune in Virgo and his quirky Venus in Libra opposition Uranus sitting on the ‘Do No’ Sun. And his successor Roger Moore, 14 October 1927, with his Libra Sun Mars and Venus in Virgo. Pierce Brosnan, 16 May 1952, brought a softer emphasis with his Taurus Sun and Venus opposition the ‘Dr No’ Venus Neptune.

  Daniel Craig, 2 March 1968, was born at the end of the Uranus Pluto conjunction in Virgo which spawned the series and his Mars Saturn conjunction in Aries opposes the original movie Libra Sun so he might seem an edgier fit. But he resonates with Ian Fleming, the novelist, 28 May 1908, who had Saturn in Aries square Mars in Cancer. The all brought their own take on the iconic character.

  Both the original producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had their Jupiter in Virgo to boost its chances of success. Barbara Broccoli, 18 June 1960, who picked up the mantle and is now the organizational face of the franchise has her Pluto and North Node in Virgo. She’s not looking too ecstatic over the next two or three years with a frustrating tr Pluto square her Mars in 2022/23 followed by an undermining tr Neptune square her Gemini Sun Venus opposition Jupiter.

  Daniel Craig was reluctant initially to take on the role in 2005 because of the fame baggage that went with it and kicked against the physical toll the stunts imposed on him when the tr Uranus square tr Pluto was grinding down his Mars Saturn through the previous decade. Now he’s free to pick and choose his performances ahead though he may have a fallow several years before hitting his stride around 2025 when tr Uranus squares his Jupiter.

The Labour Party conference instead of aiming brickbats at Boris Johnson’s manifest failings appear to be more concerned with internal left-right ructions over methods of choosing a leader and now the minimum wage, never mind getting themselves in a tangle in the trans swamp.

  Keir Starmer’s Leadership chart does have a blip of confidence giving him the motivation to push hard till late this November with tr Pluto square the Jupiter. But the real clincher will be the Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Mars, exact in 10 months which occurs alongside Solar Arc Mars square Uranus – so that will be explosive, make or break time with a fairly catastrophic setback.

  He does have a talented and influential birth chart with a Water Grand Trine of Mars trine Jupiter trine Neptune formed into a Kite by Jupiter opposition Sun Pluto in Virgo but he’s not showing much spark – there’s no birth time which doesn’t help but it may just be the Ed Milliband/William Hague syndrome – wrong job, wrong time.

 Starmer will be embroiled in bitter no-win discussions through this year and all of next;; and is certainly running into the buffers come 2024/25, so it is unlikely he’ll continue.

  Angela Raynor, 28 March 1980, the Labour deputy, has been catching the headlines for her ‘scum’ description of Boris Johnson, and tales of her difficult childhood with a bipolar suicidal mother, a teen pregnancy and her subsequent rise up through trade union ranks.

  Not surprisingly she has an upfront Aries Sun with an emphasised Mars in flamboyant Leo conjunct the North Node squaring Uranus opposition Venus in Taurus – she is loud, attention-seeking, dislikes being hemmed in, tends to go over the top and gets overly emotional. She’s looking deflated, anxious and prone to calamities this year and next with tr Neptune opposition her Saturn and her Mars/Pluto midpoint; with some blips of confidence in 2022 but shocks as well and major jolts in 2023. Her plans won’t bring results.

  Andy Burnham, 7 January 1970, now Manchester mayor, is talked of with prospects of becoming Labour leader in future. He has a practical and charming Sun, Venus, Moon in Capricorn sextile Mars in Pisces; with a persuasive and intense Mercury in Capricorn trine Pluto; and a wobbly up-and-down Saturn in Taurus opposition Jupiter.

  He will make a confident and perhaps successful push in 2023 when his Solar Arc Jupiter is square his Pluto but will run into a few blockages by 2024. 

  I’m not wild about any of the Labour Party charts but the 12 February 1906 did flag up enthusiasm in 1964 when Harold Wilson got in. That was when tr Jupiter was in the last decan of Taurus – which doesn’t come round again till 2024. Though Saturn was also in late Aquarius in 1964, which it will be again in early 2023. The ‘Leadership’ North Node in Leo in this chart seems sensitive to wins and tr Uranus will be square that in spring 2023 which could be a pointer – but these are all straws in the wind.

Linda Evangelista, the Canadian supermodel, who was one of the most famous women in the world in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, has been understandably devastated by a cosmetic procedure five years ago going disastrously wrong. Instead of decreasing fat cells, it increased them leaving her in her own description “permanently deformed”, engulfed in self-loathing and depression. She is suing the CoolSculpting company for damages of $50 million.

  It is a lunchtime procedure which doesn’t involve surgery, cuts or anesthesia so is less invasive than liposuction though also less effective. Risks are put at 1 in 2,000 treatment cycles in one study and 1 in 20,000 patients in another. A cosmetic surgeon says the adverse reaction is “totally benign from a health standpoint. It is purely cosmetically and psychologically disturbing.”

  She was born 10 May 1965 in St Catharines, Ontario, and is a Sun Taurus opposition Neptune trine a formidable collection of Pluto (Moon) Mars, Uranus in Virgo. That hyper-charged, volcanic Virgo stellium is also in Johnny Depp’s chart though he was born two years earlier. Evangelista also has Venus in late Taurus as Depp has (and Amber Heard) all conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol.

 Evangelista’s romantic life has been fraught, with an early marriage to Gerald Marie of the Parisian Elite Model Management, who has been the subject of allegations of sexual harassment over many years. She later hooked up with actor Kyle McLachlan, then a footballer through a miscarriage and two break ups and finally was involved in a rancorous child custody suit with a fashion billionaire who married Salma Hayek. So the chaos of Mars, Uranus, Pluto, maybe Moon, opposition Saturn took its toll.

  When her cosmetic surgery went wrong in 2016, the neurotic tr Saturn in Sagittarius square tr Neptune in Pisces was impacting those Virgo planets. Tr Uranus was in a ‘shock’ conjunction to her Mercury in Aries; and – maybe pointedly – tr Saturn was conjunct her South Node pulling her backwards.

  Her Venus in late Taurus is conjunct Jupiter in early Gemini – and those two planets of frivolity and indulgence often show up in fashion and design charts.

  There is a terrible karmic lesson in here somewhere of having to face a life without the beauty which brought her fame and gave her an identity.  

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the founder, was released in Canada after a three year tug of war over financial fraud charges.  She agreed she had made untrue statements that put HSBC at risk in violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, but was allowed to formally plead “not guilty”. In return China released two Canadians  – a former diplomat turned analyst and an entrepreneur who had been held in what was described as hostage diplomacy.

  Meng Wanzhou, 13 February 1972, a determined Sun Mercury in Aquarius square Saturn in Taurus, has her Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct her Mercury at the moment for a morale-boost and moving to conjunct her Sun by 2023 for another high. When she was arrested in late 2018 tr Uranus just into Taurus was conjunct her Mars in Taurus, bringing a shock and high insecurity.

 Huawei, founded 15 September 1987, is moving through a confusing, indecisive phase till late 2022 with tr Neptune opposition the Virgo Sun and square the Uranus. But there will be a confident push nonetheless from March 2022 onwards till late 2023 as it underscores its presence as a major player, if not the major player, in the smartphone and domestic electronics market.  

The golf Ryder Cup has been a disaster for Europe with the US team winning by a record margin. Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy unusually broke down in tears afterwards saying he felt he had let his team-mates down. He was out of form over the first two days and suffered heavy defeats in his three matches, but ended on a high note with a victory in the top singles match on Sunday.

  McIlroy, 4 May 1989 Belfast, is a stalwart Sun Taurus opposition Pluto trine/sextile Saturn Neptune Uranus in Capricorn. Although he can be unpredictable with the triple conjunction, he’s normally rock steady.  But his Solar Arc Neptune is now exactly square his Sun and Pluto making for confusion and disappointment. As if that wasn’t enough he also has the tr Uranus square tr Saturn also colliding with his Sun and Pluto – a life-changing phase. Plus he has a couple of undermining Neptune transits in hard aspect to two Jupiter midpoints.

  The Europe captain Padraig Harrington, 31 August 1971 Dublin, a charming Sun Venus in Virgo square Neptune; with a cool Air Grand Trine of Mars in Aquarius trine Uranus trine Saturn in Gemini is not having his best year with his Mars catching the tr Uranus square and tr Saturn conjunction through this year into early 2022. But he’ll pick up from March 2022 in confidence with a potentially successful two years thereafter.

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Michel Barnier, the dull technocrat who was the EU negotiator for Brexit has pitched his name into the ring as a right-wing hopeful for the French Presidential election next year. He has also just published ‘My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion’ in which he makes clear his view of Brexit as irrational and self-damaging –  “I still don’t understand what the point of it is, even from the perspective of the British national interest,” he writes.

“— every passing day shows that they have not realised the consequences of what is truly at stake here.” There was a failure, according to him, to grasp everything from the economic damage to the implications for Ireland and the Good Friday agreement.

 Even if conclusions are to a degree self-serving it is fascinating if appalling to read his views on how a succession of British ministers and two prime ministers managed to misread the EU and according to one review “ended up with a flawed withdrawal agreement and a deeply disadvantageous future relationship, both of which will cause us major problems for decades to come.”

 He remarks that Boris Johnson never took Northern Ireland seriously, proposing fictional technological solutions for the border; and says Johnson knew absolutely what he was agreeing to when he signed up to a border in the Irish Sea.

 Reviews:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/25/my-secret-brexit-diary-by-michel-barnier-review-a-british-roasting

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/my-secret-brexit-diary-by-michel-barnier-review-2gqzdcvcw

Barnier was born 9 January 1951 4.40pm La Tronche, France and has a 7^th house Capricorn Sun making him competent as a negotiator and it squares a 4^th house Neptune. But what makes his chart unique is a Yod of Sun sextile Midheaven North Node inconjunct Pluto with Pluto opposition an 8^th house Mars.  He’s pretty unbudgeable and will have had to learn how to wield power effectively and fairly. He also has Mercury in Capricorn opposition Uranus squaring onto Saturn in Libra – dutiful, hard-working with executive ability.

  The Brexit endgame wasn’t a resounding victory for either side which is reflected in tr Neptune conjunct Barnier’s Pisces Midheaven. But from next March his star will begin to rise with tr Jupiter moving through his career 10th house till mid 2023 which usually accompanies success. He also has a confidence-boosting tr Pluto trine his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint in February/ early March 2022, repeating later in the year and through 2023.  So even if he doesn’t replace Macron or even clinch his nomination, he’ll still be doing well.