not categorised

In the unending horror of Gaza, there are two significant developments. One is Arab countries – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – calling for Hamas to disband and play no further part in the governing of Palestine, the first time they have done so.

 The other, inside Israel is the rising number of serving and retired senior army officers who are turning against Benjamin Netanyahu’s war. One said “I think the main reason for a prolonged war in Gaza is political expediency.” Eran Etzion, a former deputy head of Israel’s national security council, was even blunter. “By now it has long been clear to most Israelis that the main reason the Gaza campaign lingers on is because of Netanyahu’s political, personal and judicial interests, and he needs the war to go on in order to sustain and even enhance his grip on power.”

Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, is said to have argued that there is little more to be gained by continuing the campaign.

 Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister (2006 -2009), has described Netanyahu’s plan for a ‘humanitarian city’ in Rafah as a concentration camp for Palestinians and that mass forced displacement of people into the camp would be ethnic cleansing. He added that anger at Israel over Gaza war is not all down to antisemitism. Israeli human rights lawyers and scholars have described the plan as a blueprint for crimes against humanity and some have warned that if implemented, “under certain conditions it could amount to the crime of genocide”.

 Hamas, if the start date of 14 December 1987 is sound, then its demise (at least in its present form) could be two years off in 2027 when the Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct the natal Sun and SA Mars is conjunct the natal Saturn. That suggests they won’t go quietly or easily into submission or withdrawal. But when they do go it will be a total annihilation.

  Across the IDF chart, and the Netanyahu relationship with their commander and with the IDF, there are increasing ruptures from this August onwards, worsening through November and April 2026. The IDF chart, 26 May 1948, and BN’s relationship with senior brass look increasingly agitated after mid 2026 into 2027.

 The Israel/Netanyahu relationship chart will jolt, jangle and suffer shocks from now onwards through this winter. There is nothing outstanding either his own chart or his recent term chart to indicate major changes any time soon.

 One outcome of the past two years in Gaza is a new wave of radicalization.  Fundamentalist groups are on a recruitment drive. Inside Israel/Gaza, terrorist networks are replacing dead Hamas fighters at a rate of five to one. A British security source told Reuters that the Gaza war is “likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since 2003”. The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism warned that such conditions are “active incubators for the next generation of extremist operatives”.

ADD ON: The Palestine Declaration of Independence, 15 November 1988 12.40am Algiers, Algeria, points to a raft of difficulties, failures and panic ahead with tr Neptune Saturn conjunct the Mars now into 2026 and square the Uranus Saturn also over the winter. The one chink of relief might come from tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter from June 2026 till early 2027. But it looks like getting a whole lot worse before it gets there.

  Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah administration for the West Bank supposedly a replacement in Gaza when Hamas is removed is described as discredited and corrupt.   He took over on 15 January 2005 and has avoided elections ever since. That chart looks paralysed at the moment with Solar Arc Saturn opposition the Neptune and is facing a rocky 2026 with tr Uranus square the Uranus after mid year.  Abbas, himself, 26 March 1935, will be similarly jolted, jangled and undercut from mid 2026 onwards with tr Neptune (and before that tr Saturn) conjunct his Aries Sun, tr Pluto square Venus and tr Uranus square his Saturn.

 Nothing looks likely to settle immediately. One of the many tragedies of the Palestinians is they have always been badly led.

Out of the bin into a resurrected-possible, leftwing Jeremy Corbyn has attracted half a million signatories for his new, as yet, unnamed party.

 His partner in the venture Zarah Sultana says their policies will include “democratic public ownership of key industries, universal free childcare, rent controls, free public transport and much more”. Corbyn, added there is “huge appetite for the policies that are needed to fix society”, including “wealth redistribution, housing justice, and a foreign policy based on peace and human rights”.

  They are an odd couple. JC, 26 May 1949, is a Sun, Venus, Mercury and Uranus in Gemini with Neptune in Libra and Jupiter in Aquarius – very airy and ideological. With a tough-minded Mars (Moon) in Taurus square Pluto  and Saturn in Leo.

ZS, 31 October 1993, on the other hand has a ferocious collection of Mercury, Mars, Pluto square Saturn in Aquarius with her Sun in Scorpio as well plus a Taurus Moon.

  JC is having a high-tension, argumentative winter with tr Uranus square his Saturn in November/December and April 20026 – and tr Uranus conjunct his Sun from  July 2026 onwards into 2027. Uranus being a trickster changes in his life could go either way. His midpoints don’t look cheerful until 2028 and even then there are major pitfalls. 2026/27 look depressed/unpopular with his Solar Arc Venus conjunct his Saturn.

 ZS also looks in turmoil and insecure across this winter with a hard push thereafter.

 Corbyn’s relationship with the UK does not leap out as being overly positive with a hostile Mars Pluto square Uranus Saturn and a pie-in-the-sky composite Jupiter opposition Neptune.  The UK and ZS is also fraught with composite Uranus opposition Saturn square Mars – plus a marginally more upbeat Jupiter trine Pluto.

 The launch, such as it was, on 24 July 2025 12.22pm London is very much aligned to the new era with Pluto trine Uranus sextile Saturn Neptune. Pluto in the 4^th opposition the Sun Moon hints internal problems within the party of control and domination with divisions over finances (Uranus in the 8^th) and problematic policies over employment and health.

 Procyon, Fixed planet of rise and fall sits close to the Midheaven and 10^th house Moon. Tr Jupiter moving through the 10^th from late this September to October 2026 (and a hint into June 2027) could suggest an early surge of  popularity which then dissipates.

  What it will do is split the Labour vote and Reform is splitting the right wing sector. So who knows? All into the melting pot.

 My prejudices are probably showing but having lived through the Cold War and seen the disaster of left wing economics I am no fan of Corbyn and his ilk. Starmer may be awful but further left would be worse. And yes, I know the right are horrific in a different way on economics but there are gradations of calamities.

A maths prodigy with a satirical sense of humour, ‘who revelled in writing tongue-twisting songs of discerning bad taste’, Tom Lehrer has died aged 97.

  An acclaimed musical satirist of the cold war era he became one of America’s favorite prophets of doom building up a cult following before retreating to academia. His dazzling prowess at the piano reflecting his love for up-tempo Broadway show tunes came to a glorious climax in his 1959 recitation of the chemical elements in the periodic table (102 at the time) to the tune of A Modern Major General from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance.

‘Well ahead of his time on issues including pollution and nuclear proliferation, Lehrer made his mark with biting humor and zany rhymes. He was also wickedly funny on random subjects including murder, conjugal discord, chemistry and his distaste for pigeons.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, one of his signature tunes, conjures up a couple enjoying a spring pastime of slaughtering pigeons with strychnine – “It just takes a smidgen!”

Born on 9 April 1928 in New York to a secular Jewish family, he inherited his love of music from his mother as well as his mischievous sense of humour. He entered Harvard at 15, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics three years later though he kept up his musical interests throughout. He retired from the entertainment scene after the 1960s into teaching maths at MIT, Harvard and elsewhere.

 In 2022, uniquely for a recording artist, he announced on his website that he was relinquishing all copyright claims on his work, putting all his songs into the public domain.

 He had an upfront Sun Jupiter in Aries square Pluto and in a Fire Grand Trine to Neptune in Leo trine Saturn (and Moon) in Sagittarius. Fiery, inspirational, rarely doubting his abilities. A prominent Neptune is not only musical but oddly enough mathematical; and in his case was in a showbizzy opposition to Mars. His Saturn was square Venus Mercury and possibly conjunct his Moon – he never married and described himself as a loner.

A taste of his lyrics:

 “I ache for the touch of your lips, dear. But much more for the touch of your whips, dear./ You can raise welts/ Like nobody else/ As we dance to the Masochism Tango.”

A romantic song becomes a lament from a lover who has murdered his girlfriend and cut off her hand as a keepsake: “The night you died I cut it off/ I really don’t know why./ For now each time I kiss it/ I get bloodstains on my tie.”

[“You know,” he said later, off all the songs I have ever sung, that is the one I’ve had the most requests not to”. ]

After he retreated from the musical scene, when people asked him to write a new song about current issues, he likened it to “asking a resident of Pompeii for some humorous comments about lava”.

Rapture greeted the England Women’s Football team – the Lionesses – win over Spain in the Euro 25. A nail-biting finish saw them seize the trophy.

For Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch manager of the England women’s national team since 2021 it is another triumph. She is the first-ever men’s or women’s manager to reach five consecutive major international tournament finals.

 Born 26 October 1969 she has a stalwart Scorpio Sun opposition Saturn in Taurus with a formidably determined Mars in Capricorn trine Pluto; and serendipitously was born less than a week before the first Women’s Football Association meeting in London on 1 November 1969.

Lucy Bronze, 28 October 1991 was singled out for special mention since she played on a fractured tibia throughout. She has a Sun conjunct Mars in Scorpio trine Uranus (North Node Neptune in Capricorn; with Mercury Pluto conjunct in Scorpio as well – all of which gives her steely, not so say super-human, resolve. Her Sun Mars sit midway of an adventurous Jupiter in Virgo trine Uranus.

Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, 16 November 2000, yet another Sun Scorpio opposition Saturn in Taurus, has her Mars in Libra sextile Pluto, square Venus in Capricorn and trine Neptune Uranus in Aquarius. A mix of rock solid and hyper-active.

Chloe Kelly, 15 January 1998, who scored the final penalty for England has her Capricorn Sun conjunct Venus and Neptune with her Mars in Aquarius.

 The youngest player Michelle Agyeman, 3 February 2006, has an Aquarius Sun conjunct Neptune Mercury on the focal point of a Fixed T square to a Jupiter in Scorpio opposition Mars in Taurus.

  Not sure Lioness is the accurate title for them. Scorpions with a hint of goats (from Capricorn).

  Stories of Royal illegitimate children can usually be discounted as a fantasist or opportunist claims for fame. But the recurring rumours of Queen Victoria’s romantic relationship with servant John Brown after Prince Albert died persist. With a further twist as suggestions are being made that there was a child, spirited away to New Zealand by Brown’s brother.

  Victoria, 24 May 1819 4.15.am London, reigned for 63 years over the UK at the height of its powers commercially and globally. She produced 9 children, 42 grandchildren whose marriages she arranged tying the Royal Houses of Europe together.

   She had an extraordinarily difficult chart. A 12^th house Gemini New Moon conjunct Ascendant is sextile a tough-minded Saturn Pluto conjunction in late Pisces, which is turn is square a Uranus Neptune conjunction in Sagittarius. She would be restless, nervy, highly strung, stubborn, autocratic, rebellious, neurotic and communicative with a sharp, bright mind. What softened the rougher edges of her chart and her life was a successful Jupiter in Aquarius in the 10^th on the point of a mini grand trine to Mars in Aries trine Uranus in Sag – so she would be adventurous. Her Venus was in upfront Aries so behind the austerity was a sparky emotional nature.

  Her childhood was scholastic but restricted by her oppressive mother who feared assassination attempts on her life and wanted to control her every move to promote her own interests in money and power. Victoria said later her tough childhood prepared her for what came next and on succeeding to the throne she banished her mother to separate accommodation.

  She proposed to and married her cousin Prince Albert, 26 August 1819 6am Rosenfeld, Germany, which was portrayed as a great love affair producing nine children. He had a Virgo Sun with a Scorpio Moon; and Mars in Gemini opposition Uranus Neptune square Saturn Pluto so would be a curious combination of highly strung and utterly determined, probably given to depression. His Venus in Leo was trine Victoria’s Venus in Aries which hints at good feelings between them and his Sun falls in her 4^th house which would bring her home comfort as well as a solid base for his life. Her Gemini New Moon is conjunct his midheaven so she undoubtedly helped him to prominence and shaped his career. 

  In their relationship chart the composite Venus is opposition Uranus Neptune and square Saturn Pluto which looks very difficult – though a Royal lifestyle probably needs a tough approach. Venus was in the 1^st so there would be an appearance of love though many separations (Ur Nep in 7^th) and far too much duty (Sat Pl). There is admittedly an 8^th house Jupiter (good for money and sex) squaring onto Mars, opposition Moon which would provide a few indulgences.

  When he died Victoria’s Solar Arc Neptune was conjunct her natal Saturn Pluto conjunction she would be devastated. And her Solar Arc Pluto just into her natal 12^th was conjunct her Mercury making for the deep depression which sent her into seclusion for years thereafter.

  At which point John Brown, the Scottish servant, 8 December 1826, Perth, Scotland, seven years younger than Victoria, arrived to become an intimate confidante and supporter. He was a Sagittarius with an Aries Moon so picked up her passionate Mars and Venus in Aries. His Mars in Aquarius was also conjunct her Jupiter which would boost her morale and perhaps lead both into taking risks; and his Jupiter falling in her 5th house of fun would undoubtedly help.  His Venus Neptune fell in her 8^th for a passionate connection. Most significantly his Sun fell in her 7^th house of close relationships which is ideal for a marriage.

The relationship chart had an affectionate Venus Sun conjunction with the Sun also conjunct Mars and an adventurous Jupiter square to Mars and Sun. In many ways it was a more affectionate and vital relationship than the one she had with her husband. But also one which was able to survive in secret without the constraints of a burdensome Royal existence.

[Two things surprise me about Victoria – one was her reputation for enjoying the pleasures of the bedchamber which is not entirely obvious from her chart – producing children being an unwanted distraction. Secondly how ‘Victorian’ came to be emblematic of an uptight, moralistic culture when she clearly lived a more indulgent lifestyle behind the scenes.]

A fleeting astrological titbit, based on marginally dubious birth times but with intriguing coincidences – comes from two UK celebrities, who rose from poor beginnings to success and money and have gone bankrupt twice.

 Martine McCutcheon, 14 May 1976 7.40am London, had a tough childhood with little money and a violent, abusive father, became a sit-com actress, then on screen with Hugh Grant in Love Actually, then on stage in My Fair Lady. Despite the headline successes, her career has been patchy and she has gained a reputation for being tricky to work. Now she has been declared bankrupt for the second time.

The other is glamour model Katie Price, 22 May 1978 8.30am (rectified) Brighton, England, who is addicted to cosmetic surgery and has had a chaotic emotional and financial life – also with two bankruptcies.

 MM is an acquisitive Sun, Venus, Jupiter South Node in Taurus and KP is Gemini – but there are similarities in that both have a Saturn Mars conjunction in their 2^nd house of finances, both have Pluto in the 4^th house of childhood, both have Chiron in the 10^th, both have Jupiter Venus conjunctions and both have Scorpio Moons opposition their Sun.

Jupiter Venus is frivolous, keen on outer appearance – especially true in Taurus and Cancer for Katie Price. Pluto in the 4^th hints at a scary childhood.

   Chiron in the 10^th hints at childhood issues affecting later ambitions, often leading to an unsettled career. What intrigues me is the Mars Saturn conjunction, signifier of a childhood in which unfairness played a significant role. There was little room for fun or for fulfilling personal needs and wants.

  While intuitively I might have assumed Mars Saturn in the 2^nd to be disciplined about money, hoarding it to ensure a security that was not there at the start, here it obviously works in a different way. Anger about childhood deprivation is acted out by compensating for lacks by refusing to put limits on spending and temptations.  Martine was evidently once quoted as saying: ‘I love nice things – I consider Ralph Lauren sheets to be a necessity, not a luxury – but I’ve known what it’s like to be poor.’ There may also be an eerie sense, courtesy of Freud’s repetition compulsion, of an unconscious pull to getting back to where it all started in an attempt to regain control of a childhood out-of-control situation. Start broke, end broke

 An oddity but might have a nugget of truth about it.

Cleo Laine, Britain’s most successful jazz singer, who straddled jazz, classical, pop and musical theatre with a four-octave range, performed with the greats like Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra and collaborated for decades with husband, jazz musician John Dankworth has died aged 97. The Sunday Times once described her as “quite simply the best singer in the world.”

 She was born 28 October 1927 4.05 am (rectified) Hayes, England, with a Jamaican WW1 veteran father, who sometimes sang on the streets for money, and set her sights on the stage very young singing in community centres at 3 and acting in her first film at 12. Though it took to her mid twenties to have her talents recognized when she joined the Johnny Dankworth Seven, an established jazz group.  She later acted on stage and screen as well as singing through a long career which found her still giving occasional concerts into her 90s.

 She had a determined Sun Mars in Scorpio on one leg of a yod sextile Neptune exactly conjunct Regulus inconjunct Uranus – destined to carve out her own path and become a trailblazer. Her influential Pluto in her 10^th was in a creative Water Grand Trine to an intense Mercury in Scorpio and a lucky/confident trine to Jupiter in Pisces. Her Jupiter was in a charming opposition to Venus.  Her Sagittarius Moon was conjunct Saturn, a testament to her non-stop working career.

  She had a second marriage to Johnny Dankworth which lasted over fifty years till his death with two children who are both jazz performers.

 Johnny Dankworth, born 27 September 1927 London, a month before her but was a strikingly different temperament. He had a Sun Mars conjunct as well as Moon Mercury all in Libra – as opposed to her Scorpio stellium.

 That apart the other placings are similar and both had Venus in Virgo.

 Her yod focal point Uranus opposed his Sun which would suit two busy careers with some separations and may also point to him being pivotal to the start of her professional singing career and being a constant companions thereafter as she built a standout reputation. There was no one quite like her.   

Ukraine has seen the first public demonstrations against President Zelensky since the Russian invasion as he attempted to remove the independence of anti-corruption agencies, bringing them under the control of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. It would have given him the de facto power to halt corruption investigations that target senior officials.

   After public unrest and strong words of warning from the US and EU, he has reversed the decision but it could still have damaging international ramifications, perhaps jeopardizing relief efforts and tarnishing his reputation as a courageous wartime leader. He had claimed the reforms were necessary because Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure had been infiltrated by “Russian influences”.

  Zelensky’s administration chart, 20 May 2019 10am Kiev, is under increasing pressure at the moment with an undermining tr Neptune square the Mars exactly now, repeating into 2026 and running into even more setbacks/failure as tr Saturn joins in.  Tr Pluto will also square the Uranus from February 2026 and on into 2027 which is a destabilizing influence and can accompany a loss of position. Tr Uranus is also conjunct the Term Sun  this December and mid March to early April 2026, which also suggests significant upsets and change of direction, perhaps forced.

 His personal chart, 25 January 1978 2pm Krivoj Rog, Ukraine, has understandably been under considerable strain as tr Pluto opposed his Mars through 2023/24 and then picked up the transiting Pluto squares to the Sun and Venus/Mars midpoint, before moving on to conjunct Sun and Venus from late March 2026 till late 2027. Plus this winter he has a high-tension, jolting tr Uranus square his Saturn this December and mid March to early April 2026.

  Also exactly now he has a discouraging, deadlocked Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his Pluto and a fading popularity Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Sun Venus.

  He has carried an almost impossible burden for several years it seems a tragedy that he has tripped himself up at this stage but he might oddly be relieved to be free of his role eventually and with tr Pluto moving into his 9^th to become an international spokesman in another role.

Hulk Hogan, the US wrestling icon, known for his flamboyance and massive physique, his trademark blond moustache and his performance in Rocky 111 and television shows has died of cardiac arrest.

 Born 11 August 1953 6.13am (unverified) Augusta, Georgia, he had fittingly Pluto in Leo on his Ascendant conjunct a Leo Sun sitting midway between Jupiter in Gemini in his 10^th/11^th trine Neptune Saturn in Libra – a powerful personality, lucky and confident. His Mars is also in Leo further boosting his desire to attract attention.

  His Neptune Saturn was in the generational square to Uranus and Mercury in Cancer so he would never be backward about voicing his opinions. His only had one Earth planet, his Moon in Virgo – like other body builder types he was not as earthy astrologically as one might imagine.

 If his birth time is accurate then tr Pluto moved recently into his 6^th house and over the years he has had multiple surgeries for back and other joint problems. Plus a brush with steroids early on.

 He famously sued Gawker magazine over a sex tape and won, bankrupting them. His last marriage was only contracted two years ago.

Nicola Sturgeon, former Scotland First Minister, is gearing up for the publication of her memoir boldly named “Frankly” in which she says she has poured her heart with candid reflections on her heartbreaks as well as triumphs.

   Scottish novelist Andrew Hagan is not sparing with his praise. ‘A triumph. Frankly is the most insightful and stylishly open memoir by a politician since Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father’. Unsurprisingly it has attracted sharp comments from political opponents. The Scottish Conservative deputy leader, said: “Bookshops might have to stock this in their fantasy section given the brass-neck title chosen by Nicola Sturgeon. Unlike the former first minister, Scots won’t forget how her memory suddenly failed her when she was grilled at the Covid and Salmond inquiries or over her role in the ferry scandal.”

 J.K. Rowling, a fervent critic of Sturgeon’s gender identity stance has also been volunteering to pitch in with a review.

 Sturgeon negotiated a £300,000 advance from publisher Pan MacMillan and has announced she is quitting frontline politics and will not seek re-election next May. Her former husband Peter Murrell, was charged last year in connection with embezzlement of SNP funds. Sturgeon was arrested and released without charge but remains under investigation.

 Born 19 July 1970 3.16 pm Irvine, Scotland, she has a late Cancer Sun conjunct Procyon (= rise and fall) conjunct Mars in Leo and Mercury in her communicative and opinionated 9^th house in a confident/overly confident square to Jupiter, an intense sextile to Pluto and trine Neptune – making her uber-ambitious as well as lucky. She also has her Neptune opposition Saturn in Taurus in her 7^th, described by  Ebertin as having a dual character, and a struggle between lower and higher nature. Plus an Aquarius Moon in a short-fused opposition to Mars, trine Uranus and inconjunct a good-at-PR Venus in her 10^th.

  Publication date has been announced as August 14^th which gives an explosive, maybe aggressive/hostile Air Grand Trine of Mars in Libra trine Uranus trine Pluto; with Mars opposition Neptune Saturn and a seriously argumentative Mercury opposition Pluto. It won’t launch quietly, for sure.

 Her own chart has lost the frustrating, trapped tr Pluto opposition her Mars and before that her Cancer Sun which have marred the past four years which will be a relief for her. And she does have tr Jupiter moving through her 9^th house of publishing and communication this year. But she’ll also be nerve stretched now with her Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Neptune through this year. Tr Uranus is also opposition her Neptune as well as opposing her calamitous Mars/Pluto midpoint in this December and mid March to mid  April 2026. Followed in late 2026/early 2027 by an even more stressful, dead-halt Solar Arc Mars conjunct her Pluto.   Her glory days won’t be back anytime soon.