not categorised

Polls are indicating a lessening in support for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives days before a raft of council and mayoral elections, a key parliamentary byelection in Hartlepool and elections to the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish parliament. The sleaze and dishonesty allegations are beginning to bite though Johnson is still seen as a more effective leader than Keir Starmer because of the vaccine roll out.

   Caveat – polls almost invariably get it wrong. But Starmer’s dull persona and no visible-policy strategy is doing Labour no favours even in the face of gross impropriety in No 10.

  Born 2 September 1962 Starmer has a self-protective Water Grand Trine of Mars trine Neptune trine Jupiter in Pisces, formed into a Kite by Jupiter opposition an influential and innovative Sun Pluto Uranus in Virgo – so he doesn’t lack talent. But his Neptune is on the focal point of a Fixed T Square to a Saturn opposition North Node. He will have a vision for a better society but too much Neptune can blunt the edge of decisiveness needed to push ambitions ahead.

  His Neptune is catching the highly-strung opposition from tr Uranus over this election and will be jittered and jangled all year with tr Saturn in square as well. Over this week he has tr Neptune opposition his Mercury/Pluto midpoint as well which will be undermining, leaving him lost for effective arguments.

  Where his leadership chart bucks up will be from mid this August to late November with tr Pluto conjunct the Jupiter but he was elected at a rotten time with a restrictive Mars Saturn conjunction in the 8^th which comes to exact across mid 2022 which doesn’t sound encouraging. 2022 looks an exceptionally tough year for his leadership with one upbeat Jupiter probably not making enough headway against a raft of negative influences.

  I’m never that convinced by political party charts but for what its worth the Labour Party 27 February 1900 chart looks upbeat at the same time as Starmer’s leadership chart – mid August to late November, though that’s only one ray of sunshine amidst a run of pressured and swampy transits for the next two years.

  The Labour Party 12 February 1906 chart does have an upbeat tr Pluto trine the Jupiter from February 2022 on and off to late 2023 which will bring a modicum of success in the midst of considerable setbacks.

  Boris Johnson’s relationship chart with the Conservative Party, 10 May 1912 chart, is running out of enthusiasm from 2022 onwards so he may not deliver what they expect.

  2023/24 look highly disruptive years for both the LP and the Tory Party charts with hard tr Uranus aspects to the Sun Venus and Sun Saturn respectively. So both parties may be sent back to the drawing board for a redesign as the next election approaches in May 2024 if it sticks to schedule.  

  Now that I think about it, that’s when tr Uranus will square the UK’s 11^th house Saturn which rules the legislature for even more upheavals, tensions and forced change.  

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Josh Duggar, eldest son of the TV reality-show procreation-heavy Duggar family of “19 kids and counting” has been charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. He has plead not guilty. A conviction could land him with 20 years in prison and gargantuan fines. His trial is due for July. The show was cancelled in 2015 after he was accused of molesting multiple young girls, including several of his own sisters, though a TV sequel continued.

   Josh’s wife, Anna, is expecting their seventh child in the autumn.

  Josh Duggar, 3 March 1988, Arkansas, is a Sun Pisces trine Pluto with the highly-strung, can-be-chaotic Uranus, Saturn, Neptune conjunction in Capricorn with Mars in the middle of it. He’ll be a loose cannon and reckless. His Mercury squares Pluto for a tendency to be stubborn, clinging onto ideas which don’t stand up to evidence. And he has a frivolous, indulgent Jupiter Venus in Aries which is trine Uranus, Saturn and Mars – emotionally changeable. His Virgo Moon sits across from his Pisces Sun hinting at an ambivalence between his parents.

  What always struck me about this ultra-religious, highly conservative, only-in-America Duggar phenomenon was the chemistry between the parents Jim Bob and Michelle. Their relationship chart has a volcanic and volatile composite Pluto, Uranus, Mars, Mercury possibly square Moon with Pluto Uranus opposition Saturn – and that is not all sweetness and light.

Pop, 18 July 1965, is a lost-in-his-own-world Sun Cancer in a Water Grand Trine to Neptune and Saturn (Moon) in Pisces with Saturn (Moon) opposition Uranus Pluto square Jupiter – not always in tune with reality and overly confident. Mom, 13 September 1966, has possibly six planets spread out through highly-strung Virgo, ranging from (Moon), Venus, Pluto, Uranus, Sun to Mercury. Admittedly her Jupiter is conjunct Jim Bob’s Sun but that apart they are both scattergun, insecure, agitated personalities.

  The five children who came after Josh also have either the triple conjunction in Capricorn or the high-tension Uranus Neptune which must have made for a tinderbox atmosphere domestically.       

The first of this year’s Eclipses is the Total Lunar Eclipse on 26 May at 5 degrees Sagittarius/Gemini. The Full Moon is in an expansive square to Jupiter in Pisces with the Sun trine Saturn which combines high hopes and over-confidence with stability. However the stressed and contradictory Saturn square Uranus is still in place as is an evasive, dithery Neptune square Mercury; and there’s a ruthless, destructive, trapped and enraged Mars opposition Pluto – so it won’t all be singing and dancing.

  The Solar Eclipse following on 10 June at 19 degrees Gemini is conjunct Mercury and square Neptune so confusion and indecision will still be creating problems. But it is in the positive 5 North Saros Series, which can bring sudden flashes of insight – hunches, visions, prophetic dreams with a strongly creative flavour (Bernadette Brady: the Eagle and the Lark.) Saturn square Uranus is still a constant and the frustratingly deadlocked Mars opposition Pluto has moved closer so there will still be considerable obstacles to overcome and risky situations.

While there are still ifs and buts, this is the first reasonably positive Eclipse for eighteen months and the upcoming December one is even more joyous and upbeat.

  Both Eclipses will rattle up the USA chart since the Lunar Eclipse is opposition the USA Uranus and the June Solar Eclipse is conjunct the US Mars in Gemini which could bring heated arguments and rash actions – either internally or in foreign relations.  The second one will also impact Donald Trump’s chart in a major way so crises are to be expected there. 

  Boris Johnson will also be in the line of fire with the Lunar Eclipse opposing his focal point Mars and rattling that volcanic T square of his; and the June Solar hitting on his Mercury in Gemini forcing him to rethink his ideas and probably making him even more scattered than usual.   The June Solar Eclipse is also opposition his Term Sagittarius Sun which is another challenging and high-stress marker. And opposition the UK Mercury – so the jitterbug mood will roll on.

Rudy Giuliani’s home and office have been searched as part of an FBI probe into his dealings with Ukraine and alleged failure to register as a foreign agent. During the Trump term he led an effort to find incriminating information about Hunter Biden in Ukraine. His lawyer called the searches, which were signed off at a senior DoJ level, “legal thuggery” and Giuliani has referred to the investigation as “political persecution”. Hunter Biden is facing an unrelated criminal tax probe from the US Justice Department.

  This latest move does not imply criminality or impending charges for Giuliani, but it signals a ramping up of the case into him; and is part a continuing push to investigate possible wrongdoing involving former members of the Trump inner circle before and during his time in office.

  Giuliani will be blustering and bull** itting his way through this year and next, irritably from late this May through June and again in 2022 when he’ll ramp up his attack-defence with smears and innuendos.  This late May’s Lunar Eclipse and December’s Solar Eclipse will both rattle his Sun Uranus in Gemini for a series of rolling crises and his relationship chart with Trump is explosive at the moment, again late year and more so after mid 2022. But his chart doesn’t show anything too unnerving until 2023 when tr Neptune squares his Saturn.

  Trump’s greater concern will almost certainly be Allen Weisselberg, the long-time Trump Organization CFO, whom prosecutors are reportedly trying to flip. He knows more about Trump family’s finances than anyone else and has been around since Fred Trump’s time. In 2018 he was granted limited immunity for testifying against Michael Cohen.

Born 15 August 1947, he has six planets in Leo including the Sun, Venus, Saturn, Pluto, Moon and Mercury with a square to Jupiter in Scorpio and the Sun square a North Node in Taurus. Fixed in the extreme and enduring. His Saturn Pluto is in for a pummelling from tr Saturn in opposition and tr Uranus in square in May and June, again late year into 2022, which will test his ability to stand firm, indeed will upend his life. The upcoming June Solar Eclipse in Gemini will conjunct his Uranus for a further dose of shaking and 2022 sees his Nodal Return triggering his acquisitive Taurus North Node. This year and next he will have moments of frustration and fear with failed-plans in 2022/23.  His relationship with Trump is panicked now and on and off into 2022 with upheavals, disruptions, a shift in the balance of power between them; and serious aggravations and anger in 2022/23. 

See previous posts on Weisselberg: 24 August 2018 and 1 March 2019.

  Trump himself is now at the start of a two year flounder with tr Neptune square his Moon and his Sun which runs until January 2023. Plus this June’s Gemini Eclipse is rattling up both his Sun and Moon for ongoing crises. His hidden 12^th house Pluto is being hauled this way and that by a stuck tr Saturn in opposition and a disruptive tr Uranus in square till early 2022. His Solar Arc Saturn is conjunct his financial 2^nd house Neptune, exact in four months though possibly triggering earlier, which suggests a money meltdown giving him considerable concern.  His midpoint transits point to catastrophes, alarm, emotional hurt and from mid August to late November bitter rage leading to wild accusations and smears. Tr Pluto is also opposition his Venus and Venus/Saturn midpoint this year for deep gloom. Then in 18 months he has Solar Arc Mars square his Pluto which will block his progress totally as he faces an insurmountable calamity.

Trump junior also looks seriously rattled August through this November and his relationship chart with his father is in an agitated, dread-filled year with more insecurity in 2022.

  Eric Trump will run into his nadir 2022 to 2024 as tr Pluto squares his Mars and then his Pluto – a stripping away of power and influence, leaving him feeling trapped and without options.  

PS: Is it too much to hope that we might be seeing the disintegration of the fortunes of the wild-child Gemini political disasters we’ve seen over the past few years? Even Boris who seemed to be weathering the storm is on a perilous banana skin.

The French flair for the melodramatic is accelerating with ex-army generals doom-mongering about an approaching civil war with Islamists and half threatening a coup; and levels of national debt overtaking Italy to make France the EU’s biggest borrower.

   On the cash flow side, the total is not the key figure since France is a resilient economy and has a large economy so the ratios aren’t too alarming – yet. But given that half the debt is held by the rest of the world, if there was a global hiccup it would be exceptionally vulnerable. Plus reforms to the sclerotic state and business bureaucracy are going backwards and vaccine scepticism is another risk factor.

  The Banque of France, central bank, 18 January 1800, is in a bubble-bursting year financially with not only a Solar Arc Neptune conjunct the Jupiter but tr Neptune moving to square the Jupiter from exactly now till January 2023. The Capricorn Sun will be under unrelenting pressure to change or collapse in a conjunction from tr Pluto from early 2022 through till late 2022.  The France country chart, 21 September 1792 3.30 pm Paris, also has warning flags over money from Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Venus through 2022.

  The ex-forces intervention in a right-wing newspaper might sound like something out of Gilbert & Sullivan – “France is in danger – “disintegrating with the Islamists of the hordes of the banlieue [suburbs] who are detaching swathes of the nation and turning them into territory subject to dogmas contrary to our constitution. Failure to act now could see “an explosion and then intervention by our comrades on active service in the dangerous mission of protecting our civilised values and the safety of our compatriots. There is no time to waffle, or tomorrow civil war will put an end to this growing chaos and the dead, for whom you will bear responsibility, will be counted in the thousands.” 

  But there has been a coup in living memory. In the late 1950s political instability over the brutal Algerian war opened the way for Charles de Gaulle to be recalled from retirement and given special presidential powers to govern France in 1959 beginning the Fifth Republic. He granted Algeria independence which led to the 1961 army putsch which failed to topple him, but former soldiers came close to assassinating him the following year in an attack on his car that was the basis for Frederick Forsyth’s novel The Day of the Jackal.

  What is significant is that in 1961 tr Uranus was then in last decan Leo approaching the Uranus Return for the France 1792 chart and rattling the revolutionary T Square of Uranus opposition Pluto square Mars (Midheaven) which is not dissimilar to what’s coming up over the next two or three years. This was always going to be a time when the French fervour for disruption was going to be sparking off. In 1961/2 as well tr Saturn was moving through Aquarius, in hand with Jupiter for the first year. Though there’s not much in the 1958 Fifth Republic chart to suggest an ending. Uncertainty certainly in 2021/22 with tr Neptune square the Saturn and a fair amount of disruption in 2022 as well from tr Uranus square and tr Saturn opposition the Uranus.

  Le Pen has, au naturellement, leapt on the bandwagon though it is thought her support will put many of the middle silent majority, who might well agree with some of the general’s gripes, off.

See previous post: France – not escaping the turbulence February 8 2021

The painter David Hockney is enjoying his lockdown, painting the arrival of spring in Normandy, France. He said on The Andrew Marr Show he was surrounded by “hawthorn blossom … apple blossom, pear blossom, plum blossom, cherry blossom (and) apricot blossom.” And offered advice to those feeling trapped or bored in the lockdown. “If you look at the world and really look at it, it’s very beautiful. Nature is always beautiful, it’s always harmonious. But you’ve really got to look at it. You’ve got to look at it to see colour. You’ve really got to look at it intensely.”

 He is planning to show “one big, long picture like the Bayeux Tapestry which is going to be 88 metres long” depicting the whole year in Normandy, in a show in Paris.

  Born 9 July 1937, he is regarded as one of the most influential of British artists, a significant contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s. Three years ago one of his swimming pool paintings broke the world record for a living artist selling for $90 million in New York.

 He is a Sun Mercury in Cancer trine a determined Mars in Scorpio and sextile an innovative Uranus in Taurus as well as sextile Neptune  His Mars is also in an even more tenacious trine to Pluto. He has a wide Earth Grand Trine of Uranus in an inspirational trine to Neptune trine Jupiter in ambitious Capricorn. His Jupiter is in a pushily-confident opposition to Pluto. His Earth Grand Trine will give him a love of nature and the earth as well as business and practical skills.

  He’s always stuck to his guns about what he’ll do and not do, disregarding his Royal Art College diploma requirements, which later caused them to change their regulations. He’s an inveterate smoker still at 83 which is why France is a better choice than California where he has lived on and off for many years.

  He has – not surprisingly – strong creative 5^th and 7^th harmonics, as well as an enduring11H and a breakthrough-genius, exploring the unorthodox 13H.

Whatever your views of his paintings he’s a delightful free spirit.

Pic: By Connaissance des Arts, CC BY 3.0,

The Oscars produced three awards for Nomadland with Chloe Zhao making history as the first woman of colour and second woman to win best director and Frances McDormand winning her third best actress for her starring role.  Sir Anthony Hopkins became the oldest winner of best actor for The Father and Daniel Kaluuya the first black British actor to win an Oscar – in the supporting category for Judas and the Black Messiah.

   Chloe Zhao, born 31 March 1982 in Beijing, with a successful businessman father and a comedy actress mother, was educated in England from 14, moved to Massachusetts, then New York studying under Spike Lee, and thence to Los Angeles. She has a strong, determined, stubborn and pro-active chart with an Aries Sun opposition Mars square North Node and her Sun in an innovative trine to Uranus.

   She also probably has an Air Grand Trine of a tough-minded Saturn Pluto in Libra trine Venus trine a Gemini Moon, with the Moon opposition Neptune, making filmic Neptune the driving planet. And Mercury in Pisces may well square onto that opposition.  A very knit-together chart, not easy, but built for the long haul and talented.

  2021 is her year for a major turnaround with her Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Uranus and a generous dollop of Jupiter with both tr Pluto and tr Uranus aspecting four of her Jupiter midpoints later in the year – so the spin off from this win will set her on an upward trajectory.

   Anthony Hopkins is on a roll he didn’t expect with a previous BAFTA win recently as well for his dementing role in The Father. Born 31 December 1937 9.15 am (from memory) Port Talbot, Wales, he’s also on the receiving end of Jupiter benefits with his tr Jupiter square his Midheaven, tr Pluto square his Solar Arc Jupiter and sextile his Midheaven.

  Daniel Kaluuya, 24 February 1989, a Pisces with the excitable, chaotic and tinged-with-genius triple conjunction of Neptune, Saturn, Uranus in Capricorn has a do-or-die-determined Pluto opposition Mars in Taurus with his Mars in a dynamically confident and adventurous conjunction to his Jupiter. Like Noel Clarke he was brought up by a single mother on a London council estate. He wrote his first play at nine and started acting as a teenager in improvisational theatre.

He’s piled up awards for both stage and screen, recently appearing in Marvel’s Black Panther as well as playing Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman of the Black Panthers in ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ for this award. Hampton died in 1969 in what many believe was an FBI counter-intelligence assassination. Kaluuya’s Mars Jupiter is being boosted by tr Pluto in trine now on the midpoint and over the next two years even more so so he’s on a roll.  

Les McKeown, lead singer with the stratospherically successful Bay City Rollers (in their day,) has died at 65 after a troubled life. Described by one obituary as a ‘rock star trapped in a boyband’ he initially resisted manager Tam Paton’s invitation to join as an 18 year old. Once he agreed, their popularity soared.

  Paton was a nasty bit of work, had a predatory interest in his young charges, was later sentenced to three years in prison for molesting boys, and introduced McKeown to Mandrax and amphetamines to help him cope with touring. Less than two years after joining the band at the height of their fame McKeown killed an elderly woman when driving which appeared to have been a pivotal point in his life after which he headed sharply downhill. He left the group three years later and continued in a so-so solo career with stints in rehab for alcoholism.  

  He had an intense Sun Saturn in Scorpio with Saturn square Jupiter Pluto in Leo – a contradictory mix of depressive and confident. He had an ambitious Mars on his Midheaven with Moon and creative/addictive Neptune in Libra in his career 10^th. He had an 8^th house Uranus and admitted he was bi-sexual even through his later marriage.

  When he had had fatal road accident tr Saturn was squaring his Mars Midheaven, tr Uranus was conjunct his 10^th house Neptune, and tr Neptune was crossing over his Solar Arc Sun Saturn for a time of great confusion and uncertainty.

  Tam Paton, 5 August 1938, had a ruthless Pluto Mars in Leo which was conjunct McKeown’s 8^th house Uranus and square McK’s Mercury so he had the ability to turn McKeown’s life upside down but it was a fractious relationship. Paton’s Saturn opposed McK’s Mars for another set of aggravations; and Paton’s Uranus opposed McK’s Sun and Saturn. A destructive combination.

   McKeown did have a confident and get-it-together 5^th harmonic but his ‘wheel of fortune’ ups-and-downs 10H and his can-be-self-destructive 16H were also heavily aspected.

Noel Clarke, the powerhouse actor, writer, producer, director, who won this year’s outstanding BAFTA for his contribution to British cinema, is a wonderful example of where talent and driving determination can break down barriers and overcome obstacles.

  Born 6 December 1975 4.40pm London, in a council house in Nottinghill, brought up by a nurse single mother, he wanted to be an actor but didn’t know how. A stint at an acting school landed him a Royal Court role for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’. Then because of the lack of opportunities for black actors he started writing and broke into the big screen with his successful Hood trilogy, in which he starred, directed and was the writer, picking up a BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2009 along the way. Since then, he has founded a production company, Unstoppable Entertainment, alongside Jason Maza which produced the Sky hit series Bulletproof, in which he stars, now aiming for its fourth series and 10 other feature films.

  His speech at BAFTA this year dedicated his award to ‘the under-represented’, making clear his intention to continue diversifying the industry. In an interview recently he said racial prejudice doesn’t make him angry any more. “Anger gets in the way of getting things done. Now someone puts up a wall in front of me and I think, where do I hire a bulldozer?”

“Going through this industry as a person of colour, there is a lack of respect and opportunities. You have to achieve 10 times more than other people to be considered near their level. I have won awards that would open a shitload of doors if I fitted the cookie-cutter mould.”  

  He has a hard-working 6^th house Sun Neptune and Mercury in Sagittarius trine Jupiter in pro-active Aries and widely trine Saturn in Leo. A Fire Grand Trine is entrepreneurial and inspirational, has strong self-belief and faith in luck being there which it usually is, and leadership ability. The Grand Trine is even more potent being a Kite from Jupiter opposition Pluto, giving him courage and a double-dose of pushiness. As if that isn’t enough, he’s got an assertive Mars in Gemini on his Ascendant.

  He has charming, imaginative Venus and innovative Uranus in his performing 5^th house squaring onto Saturn in ambitious Leo in an emotionally-reserved opposition to an 8^th house Capricorn Moon.

  His writer’s 21^st Harmonic and his actor’s 15^th harmonic are both notable, as is his creative 7H, enduring 11H and breakthrough 13H. An all-round prodigious dynamo.

Add On: Sigh, another talent bites the dust. Testosterone plus arrogance and a more supine culture were never a good mix.

He has been suspended by Bafta “in light of the allegations of serious misconduct” in the Guardian from 20 women, all of whom knew Clarke in a professional capacity. He “vehemently” denies “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.

  Clarke does have that pushily confident Pluto opposition Jupiter which often appears in the charts of the successful since they are able to bulldoze ahead and assume rules and regulations don’t apply to them. He also has a can-be-autocratic Saturn square Uranus tied into his Moon and Venus. His birth time is from memory and I’d wonder about its accuracy. There is not much affecting the Midheaven/Ascendant or Solar Arc MC on this birth time at the moment. All that is showing is his Solar Arc Sun Neptune conjunct his Moon and then Solar Arc Sun opposition his Saturn in 2023.  The Moon connection could be now if his birth time was considerably earlier in the day – indeed an early morning birth could bring tr Pluto conjunct his Moon.  

  When Kevin Spacey’s career went into freefall tr Pluto was conjunct his Solar Arc Midheaven and tr Uranus was conjunct his Moon with tr Saturn trine his Moon.  That was also on a ‘from memory’ birth time but seems more feasible.  Weinstein’s downfall came with tr Saturn conjunct his Solar Arc Neptune and tr Pluto square his Saturn/Neptune midpoint and square his Saturn/Jupiter midpoint.

   It’s difficult to see any road back for Clarke, though he has some Jupiterian cheer after mid this year. Ahead is exceptionally troubled as his Solar Arc Sun Neptune continues to hard aspect his Moon Saturn Venus Uranus T Square – which was always going to bring a crisis or rolling series thereof for several years ahead. And 2023 has the panicky-failure tr Neptune square his Mars.