not categorised

Sylvia Plath, the poet, has become embedded in the culture as a mythic figure of tragedy and talent, using her words as a confessional to speak directly to the reader.

 A new mammoth edition of 542 of her poems has the editors waxing eloquent about her ability to “combine raw emotional depth with humour and an uncompromising, unapologetic sense of vulnerability and strength.” In contrast Philip Larkin said her themes were “neurosis, insanity, disease, death, horror, terror”. Her focus on annihilation obviously strikes a chord through the generations.

  She did suffer a lifelong battle with severe depression, a bipolar-type illness, with multiple traumatic treatments with early electroconvulsive therapy. She attempted suicide at 20 and succeeded at 30 when her marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, whom she alleged to her therapist had been abusive, had disintegrated.  

Born 27 October 1932 2.10pm Boston, Massachusetts, with an Austrian-immigrant, academic father who died when she was 8. She had a doubly-intense 8^th house Scorpio Sun in a depressive square to Saturn in Capricorn in her 12^th which would weigh her down with a sense of the absent father who was nonetheless critical and guilt-inducing in her imagination. Her Saturn was in an opposition to Pluto which can be inclined to melancholy as well; and that was square an innovative but disruptive Uranus.

  A creative Water Grand Trine of Pluto trine Mercury in Scorpio in her much-travelled and published 9^th house was trine her North Node in Pisces in her 1^st. Her tendency to disappear into a bubble of her own reality would help her avoid facing up to need to build her sense of identity and her faith (North Node Pisces in 1^st).

 Her Mercury trine Pluto, square Mars in Leo and inconjunct Uranus would give her a sharp tongue and a highly strung nervous system.

  An unaspected Libra Moon in her 7^th would bring a constant sense of disconnection even as she craved the reassurance of a close relationship. Such an unintegrated Moon is thought to be the most personally traumatic of any planet. A solitary Moon lacks stability and would be exceedingly vulnerable.

 Her marriage significator, her Sun/Moon midpoint was opposition her Uranus and square her Pluto, which would do nothing to bring her the security she craved. She both wanted closeness and pushed it away.

 Her Chiron in Taurus close to Algol points to a constant sense of never being safe or secure; and in the 3^rd house as if her mind was constantly at risk of disintegrating, with recurring  self-defeating and destructive thought patterns.

 It is a talented, creative but desolate chart.

 Ted Hughes was born 17 August 1930, Mytholmroyd (with maybe ?? a 1.20am birth time). He was a Sun Leo with a Taurus Moon with a lively, adventurous Uranus square a confident Jupiter Pluto in Cancer.  There is nothing too dramatic sparking off his chart as it stands apart from chilly Saturn in Capricorn in his 7^th (birth time being accurate) hinting at troublesome relationships.

  But down in the midpoints both his Saturn and his Venus in Libra are in hard aspect to his destructive, ruthless Mars/Pluto midpoint. Mars Pluto looms large in his relationship chart with Plath, with the composite MP squaring Uranus opposition Mercury, which does suggest a bond that could turn abusive and was certainly one of domination.

  His next relationship was with Assia Wevill, 15 May 1927 who was a Taurus with a Scorpio Moon and she had a natal Mars Pluto in Cancer. She also committed suicide taking their four year old daughter with her.

  He latterly had a long marriage to a nurse. Feminists blamed him for both the early tragedies but both Plath and Wevill would have been attracted to impossible relationships no matter what. Which does not let him off the hook but the responsibilities cut both ways.

Francisco Goya, the Spanish artist, started life painting  religious scenes, court portraits and rural idylls before descending into darker subjects as his pessimism about human behaviour and a repressive political situation clouded his optimism.

  His etchings, the Caprichos, depicted what he described as “the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual”.

 A serious illness that left him deaf in his forties sent him into even darker realms of fantasy nightmare. Yard with Lunatics is a vision of loneliness, fear and social alienation. The condemnation of brutality towards prisoners focused on the degradation of the human figure. From an earlier search for ideal beauty, he descended through a nervous breakdown  into paintings that reflected his self-doubt, anxiety and fear.

  He had several children, only one of who survived to adulthood, which many scholars believe influenced his later, melancholic themes.  By the time of his wife’s death in 1812, he was preparing the etchings known as The Disasters of War, regarded as a visual protest against the violence of the period and the move against liberalism in the aftermath of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1814. The scenes are singularly disturbing, sometimes macabre in their depiction of battlefield horror, and represent an outraged conscience in the face of death and destruction. His scenes of atrocities, starvation, degradation and humiliation have been described as the “prodigious flowering of rage”.

  Saturn eating his Children was one of the late Black Paintings from the last years of his life, with his embittered attitude toward the move away from liberalism and his own mental panic, terror, fear and hysteria expressed in shocking detail.

 He was born 30 March 1748 in Spain (at 11.30am according to Andre Barbault though I am not so sure.)

  He had an Aries Sun conjunct Venus and Mercury opposition Saturn square a sensitive Moon Neptune in Cancer. His Sun opposition Saturn formed a talented Half Grand Sextile to Jupiter in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aquarius. He also had a difficult yod of Pluto in Scorpio sextile South Node inconjunct Mars in Aries.

 His emphasised Saturn in Libra square Neptune would be idealistic, hoping for improvements in social conditions and behaviour as well as progress politically away from hierarchical, repressive regimes. But he would also be drawn to the darker, ruthless energies represented by his Mars inconjunct Pluto and the lack of development towards fair and just times by his South Node in Virgo. His personal tragedies and illness, never mind the social/political situation would also undermine his faith (Pisces North Node).

 When his illness descended tr Uranus was tugging at one leg of his yod, conjunct Pluto which would send his life onto a different track. His Solar Arc Neptune was moving to conjunct his South Node and his Solar Arc Saturn to conjunct his Jupiter.

His acute disappointment on various fronts sent him into the depths of his tortured unconscious.

 Raphael, 27 March 1483 JC 9.30 pm, Urbino, Italy, one of the great masters of an earlier period, also had a Sun Venus in Aries which was in a lively trine to Uranus; and he also had a confident Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Libra trine Mars in Gemini. He had a more upbeat and outgoing chart than Goya, though he did die on his 37^th birthday when is Solar Arc Neptune was square his Sun.  

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My favourite cartoon character from The Secret Life of Dogs. Gangsta Snowball, the psychotic rabbit, who lives down the sewers and leads a band of renegades.

Meryl Streep is back in a sequel to the 2006 fashion magazine hit The Devil Wears Prada described by a reviewer as “sprightly and amiable”. With an all star cast including Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci it looks a tempting distraction from woes elsewhere.

 Meryl Streep, born June 22, 1949 8.05 am Summit, New Jersey, has had a prolific, award-winning and versatile career. From Kramer vs Kramer, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Sophie’s Choice,  Out of Africa, A Cry in the Dark through to the musical Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady, she has moved seamlessly through a wide variety of roles.  She is noted for her technical precision and command of dialects. Off screen she is an advocate for gender parity and labour protections.

 In an interview she confessed she was ready to retire when she was offered the first Devil Wears Prada in 2006 but flippantly asked for double the money and they said yes.

  She was married to an actor who subsequently died of cancer; and more recently to a sculptor with whom she has four children but now separated.

Her Cancer Sun sits in the 11^th house of friends and social causes conjunct Uranus so she will have her own individual view on what changes she thinks are necessary. Her steady Taurus Moon North Node in Aries both in the 10^th suit her for a public career and a life dedicated to working. Her Moon squares a 1^st house Pluto so she will be invested in her family but her ambitions and creative talents will always have pulled her away from cosy domesticity.

  Mars conjunct Mercury in Gemini in her 11^th will make her outspoken and argumentative, particularly if she sees unfairness, given that her Saturn sits in square.   What is striking is a yod which dominates her chart with her rebellious Sun Uranus sextile her meticulous, workaholic Saturn in Virgo inconjunct Jupiter in Aquarius and her Descendant.  What a mix – wild and wayout, conventional and self-doubting as well as super confident.

 Her caring Venus in Cancer hidden in her 12^th is in a creative square to a 3^rd house Neptune and sextile her Moon which softens the harder edges of her Mars square Saturn and controlling Moon square Pluto.

 A complicated lady.

  Her creative 5^th and 7^th harmonics are strongly aspected, as is her humanitarian 9H and thespian 15H.

 Francisco Goya’s horrific paintings of Saturn (Kronos), the Greek god, eating his children get to the heart of his astrological meaning, highlighting his obsession with time and mortality. Scared of dying he knew his children represented a future he can never possess, since his was limited by his mortal span. He tries and fails to abolish the boundaries of his life.

 Saturn is essentially about facing reality, which presents in many forms involving practicalities, structure in earthly terms, duties and responsibilities. At its starkest it involves acceptance of death.

  It plans, prepares, thinks long term to a feasible goal, gets foundations laid, builds slowly and securely so its achievements stand the test of time. The end result of its endeavours is not necessarily aesthetic but it is enduring.

Saturn restricts, so oversees limits and boundaries which may not feel like fun but are essential, psychologically as well as practically, in life. It stands firm for order, delineation, marked borders. In action, it is like a gardener who prunes plants back, lopping off overgrown branches, to stimulate fresh growth.

In Roman mythology, he was a god of generation, dissolution, plenty, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn’s mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace. He showed his positive face at the autumn festivals of the harvest, when the bounty of the year was brought in and drunken celebrations ensued after the hard work was done. Earthly delights are his preserve and his reign was seen as one of peace and plenty.

  Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, has this duality marked as the two-headed god who looks back to the past year and forward to the new.  He both mourns and celebrates. The old Capricorn symbol was half goat half fish. He operates in two realms, arising out of the watery realm of ideas and creative visions to make solid achievements a reality.

 Not that Saturn is a delight at close quarters in intimate relationships. It can be cold, putting up a defensive wall against any encroachment, tending to put things above feelings, and is better at ‘doing’ than ‘being’.

  Having Saturnine parents means facing two things – their envy and their ability to induce misplaced guilt on their child. The Saturnine father pushes and pushes his children to be a success, being excessively critical of any failures, making them feel they never achieve enough to satisfy him, so damaging the child’s self-esteem though it can helpfully induce a driving need to be a success. But deep down the father’s fear is that they might outdo him, become more successful and outlive him. It’s difficult to cope with since if the child-grown-to-adult became successful, the father would shrivel, feel worthless himself and be consumed with envy.  So it’s a no win situation, until the child/adult separates enough to understand it’s the father’s issue, not theirs.

The Saturnine mother on the other hand insinuates into the child a sense that they are responsible for her depression; and their role in life is to look after her and make her happy. She makes an under-nurturing mother but expects her offspring to give her the caring she never gave them.

  Successful people tend to operate in a Saturnine way. Maggie Thatcher with Saturn on her Ascendant pursued a career which moved to the transits of Saturn – into the Cabinet when tr Saturn moved up across her Descendant into her third quadrant, became PM when tr Saturn moved across her midheaven. She ignored its hints in the latter years of her tenure as it moved into her lower-profile first quadrant, when she should have been winding down. Her ego got in the way and she was ejected when her Solar Arc Saturn was exactly square her Sun. Saturn can raise to great heights through excessively hard work, but it is a hard taskmaster when lessons are not learned.

   Richard Nixon on the other hand was forced to resign facing impeachment charges when tr Saturn was moving through his 10^th (supposedly the peak). That was when Saturn’s iron rule ‘you reap what you sow’ came into play, and Nixon’s chickens came home to roost. The god of the harvest knows that only careful preparation at the right time, clearing the ground, sowing seeds, tending to the growing crops, sticking to the rules, will provide the cornucopia. If you don’t put in the sweat and planning and try to bend the rules, it brings retribution.

 On my own chart tr Saturn was conjunct my Sun when my mother died and years later when my stepmother died. An inbetween tr Saturn conjunct my Sun came when I left (by choice) a long-running job which was quite a wrench though the right move.  

Uranus moving to rattle up the UK yod of Jupiter sextile Uranus inconjunct Pluto from mid May this year as it is sextile the Jupiter trine the Uranus and then square the Pluto, on past experience has coincided with transformative experiences. It makes sense astrologically though it is not obvious yet what magician will appear to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

 In 1858/59 Uranus moving into Gemini saw the “Great Stink” of London (untreated sewage in the River Thames) which spurred the creation of modern sewage systems. The British Raj in India was established after the East India Company’s rule was transferred to the Crown. The first reading of Darwin’s evolution theory too place. There was increased trade access to China. The 1859 election led to a coalition government under Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, marking the rise of the Liberal Party. The Royal Opera House in London opened and the Big Ben clock tower in London started ticking. Overall it was a pivotal time for political change and industrial progress.

 Next time round in 1941/42 during World War 11 in the aftermath of the devastating blitz on London, Belfast, and Clydebank in 1941, American troops arrived in 1942 for a major military shift. There were increasing British successes in the war culminating in the victory at El Alamein in North Africa, in what was a year of critical change for the better.

Looking back it followed on from bleak events under Uranus in Taurus which spurred on a change for the better. Here’s hoping. Maybe King Charles’ resounding success in the US is an omen for future good news.

 And tr Uranus is also poised to move out of the UK 8^th house of joint finances etc from July this year onwards which should help to stabilise the economy moving forward. Again not sure how but there it is.

   The Iran impasse continues as the world waits and watches with gloomy predictions about rising prices and rising inflation as well as food shortages the longer it lasts.

 Trump initially said the war would last four to six weeks. The conflict has lasted two months and Democrats are threatening to sue if the war continues beyond Friday, the 60-day deadline by which point the Trump Administration is obliged to seek congressional approval under the War Powers Act. The cost so far is mooted at $25 billion, though that is likely to be way below actualite. The Pentagon is reportedly seeking an additional $200 billion to refill its depleted stocks of missiles and bombs.

The Trump administration has announced a mammoth $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon in 2027 — about a 40 per cent increase on American defence spending in 2026 adjusted for inflation. So much for campaign promises.

  Though talk of an Iraq quagmire is almost certainly off the mark. It launched on 20 March 2003 with the last degree Pisces Sun exactly conjunct Scheat square a war-mongering Saturn opposition Pluto. There is nothing similar even for this calamitous misjudgment. The Iraq foray came to an end in 2011 when tr Uranus was conjunct the 2003 Attack Sun.

 On the Iran attack chart, 28 February 2026, tr Uranus will trine the Pluto through this July which might give cause for hope. With tr Jupiter moving across the IC into the peaceful 4^th in July as well.  Late May however does not look equable with a heavyweight Mars in Taurus square Pluto, which is ruthless and destructive and rattles the Attack Pluto in the 10^th (= struggle for the upper hand).

  The Iran (22 December 1501)/Israel relationship chart also hints at a shift in July with tr Uranus trine the composite Pluto.  With the USA there may be glimmerings of daylight breaking through from now onwards (not visible at present) and again July looks hopeful.

 The Iran country chart is formidably difficult with Mars in Taurus opposition Pluto in Scorpio square Uranus at zero Pisces. And has been rattled badly in recent months with Uranus exiting Taurus.  It will not be any easier to negotiate with in future but there may be a shift with tr Uranus clearing the hard aspect to its T square after mid May. 2028/9 looks a critical, potential history-changing moment with the SA Pluto conjunct the troublesome Taurus North Node.

 Given that eclipses give longer term hints (six months at least) it may be the recent February Solar Eclipse is still carrying the imprint of the final days of Uranus in Taurus. Uranus may have moved into Gemini but the old bulldozer is not quite gone.

 The August 12 Leo Solar Eclipse is the first to carry the new era Air Fire outer planet combination moving forward. In a cheering Saros series that points to stuck situations finding a solution, this August eclipse will have an effect for a month or so before the date itself. Set for Teheran it has a confident New Moon Jupiter Mercury in the upbeat 5^th house and for Washington it has a happy-news-from-abroad New Moon Jupiter in the 9^th. Whatever solution turns up it will have to be a facesaver for both sides. For DC it has a ‘seething’ 8^th house Mars inconjunct a 3^rd house Pluto – so there will be gritted teeth.

  Trump’s relationship with the USA will be sagging badly now to late May with tr Neptune square the composite Sun; high tension in July with tr Uranus square the composite Saturn with eruptions of bad temper (on both sides) – and those run on into 2027. He might finally have managed to shoot himself in the foot – at great cost to everyone else.

 His undermining Solar Arc Neptune is now exactly opposition his Sun and staying there for several months. And his Solar Arc Midheaven is still sitting on his 12^th house Pluto (= Mars/Saturn) which may have been an impetus for this ‘Epic Fury’ fandango.

  One oddity is his Progressed Moon now three months into is 4^th which is usually an inward looking, family-focused, quieter time. ‘It is a time for deep emotional processing rather than seeking public recognition.’ Tr Jupiter is also moving into his 12^th from early this July for a year which is also a time for quiet reflection. Seems unlikely.

Best I can do on a timeline but crossing fingers it comes before July.

Garden cheer from the Scottish Highlands

Simple pleasures.

“Daisies are like sunshine to the ground.” Drew Barrymore

“There is a flower, a little flower With silver crest and golden eye, That welcomes every changing hour, And weathers every sky.” James Montgomery

A celebrity wedding approaches (maybe) to distract from political murk as singer Harry Styles gets engaged to actress, singer, and filmmaker Zoe Kravitz.

  The gossip rags are alive with chatter with sources saying that Styles is head over heels: “He is completely smitten. He would jump off a cliff for her.”

 Born 1 February 1994 at 12.05 am (unverified) Redditch, England, he is a Sun conjunct Venus on one side and conjunct Mars on the other, all in Aquarius, so a live spark. His Libra Moon in the hidden 12^th is trine his Sun Venus for charm and he has his Jupiter in money-magnet Scorpio with Pluto in late Scorpio square Saturn in Pisces – a quirky mix of softness and hard-edged determination.  His flamboyant fashion has had a significant impact on popular culture. At the moment his Solar Arc Moon is conjunct his Jupiter which will bring a warm upsurge of feelings.

 Zoe Kravitz, 1 December 1988 2am Venice, California, has an upbeat, upfront and assertive Sun Mercury in Sagittarius trine Mars in Aries. Her 12^th house Virgo Moon is trine Neptune, Saturn in Capricorn which hints at a less than straightforward childhood. She also has Venus Pluto in Scorpio for an intensely emotional (can-be-manipulative) approach which may over time not sit comfortably with Styles’ more detached Aquarius Sun Venus.

  Kravitz was with actor Karl Glusman from 2016, engaged in 2018, married in 2019 and filed for divorce in 2020. Thereafter she dated actor Channing Tatum, announcing their engagement in 2023. In October 2024, it was reported that they had split up.

 The Styles/Kravitz relationship chart has a highly-strung, needs-space composite Sun, Uranus Neptune conjunction; a superficially amiable Jupiter trine Venus; and a power-couple Jupiter square Pluto which can eventually turn into a tussle for the upper hand.

 Not on the face of it designed for a 24/7 bond but presumably two busy careers will give them spaces in their togetherness. Their relationship will be rattled in July when tr Uranus squares the composite Mars. 2027 sees her marriage significator Sun/Moon midpoint under strain from tr Saturn in opposition and late decade finds tr Neptune undermining their composite Sun by square.

It won’t be without its glitches ahead.

Assassination attempts on the president of the United States have been numerous, ranging from the early 19th century to the present day

Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Ronald Reagan was wounded and survived. Theodore Roosevelt was wounded as a former president. Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in between his two terms and escaped another attempt unscathed three days ago, but there have been several other security scares involving him as well.

  What is curious is how often Uranus or another planet was in a final degree. This latest it was at 29 Taurus. For Reagan it was at 29 Scorpio. J.F.K Sun at 29 Scorpio. Abraham Lincoln Jupiter 29 Sagittarius. Theodor Roosevelt Uranus 29 Capricorn. Gerald Ford, 1^st assassination attempt, Uranus 29 Libra. William McKinley, Chiron at 29 Sagittarius. James Garfield, Pluto at 28 Taurus. Trump’s first assassination attempt Neptune at 29 Pisces.

The anaretic degree (29°) tends to bring a sense of urgency, a now or never leap which may be misjudged. A dither-and-dash approach in an individual chart. Some link it to fame or recognition. In transits I tend to regard the final degree as the swansong of an old era, often having an impulsive push to have an effect before fading into the past, and on occasion marginally vengeful as well.

 Planets in first decan Cardinal signs also proliferate. This recent Trump attempt has Mars, Saturn, Neptune in Aries, while Reagan’s had Venus, Sun, Mars in Aries opposition Saturn Jupiter in Libra. Abraham Lincoln’s had Neptune in early Aries square Mars in early Cancer. William McKinley’s had Saturn Jupiter conjunct in early Capricorn opposition Neptune in Cancer. J.F.K’s had Jupiter in Aries conjunct Eris.  James Garfield had a Cancer Sun. Theodor Roosevelt’s had North Node, Sedna, Chariklo in first decan Aries and Pluto at zero Cancer. Gerald Ford’s 2 attempts had Pluto in early Libra.

 The similarities are striking.

  The early Cardinal placings of the above will have been in hard aspect to the USA chart’s Venus, Jupiter, Sun in Cancer.  At the moment tr Neptune Saturn in Aries is squaring those planets – tr Saturn till early 2027 and tr Neptune into the early 2030s. The USA Eris, planet of discord, at 8 Capricorn will also have been rattled up at the assassination attempts.

The fates spin in mysterious ways.

Add On: Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who was crucial to the Bill Clinton fostered peace negotiations with Arafat and the PLO was assassinated on 4 November 1995 by a right-wing extremist who opposed the signing of the Oslo Accords. (Various Palestinian militants also opposed the process.) His death occurred with Pluto at 29 Scorpio and Netanyahu won his first premiership the following year and peace has been a fading hope since then.

 Certain assassinations are pivotal and that is certainly one. History might have been different up to today if Rabin had lived.