not categorised

Madonna has lost a brother to alcoholism which has drawn media criticism about the contrast between her extraordinary wealth and his long spells of homelessness, living on the streets. Though he does appear to have rejected offers of rehab from her and other help from his family along the way, refusing to admit he had a problem. In the past he said there was intense sibling rivalry between himself and Madonna as children. Another brother, Christopher, in a scathing memoir, described Madonna as machiavellian, dominating, a tyrant, selfish, bossy and mean.

  Run-of-the-mill fraught family relations multiplied ten fold with lopsided success rates amongst siblings. Though additionally the Ciccone family have been blessed or the opposite with extraordinarily Fixed charts so cooperation would not come easily.

  Madonna has her Sun and Uranus in Leo squaring onto a stubborn Mars in Taurus. Her brother Anthony had his Taurus Sun conjunct her Mars and his Jupiter Pluto in Leo conjunct her Sun – so a competitive, power-struggling chemistry from square one. Her birth time is questionable but on this one adjusted slightly it would put Neptune in her 3^rd house which rules siblings which might make sense.

 Father Silvio ‘Tony’ Ciccone, 2 June 1931, is a Sun Gemini with his flamboyant and attention demanding Mars in Leo conjunct Madonna’s Sun and his Venus in Taurus conjunct her Mars.  Like his son he has a pushily-confident Jupiter Pluto conjunction though he appeared to have used it more constructively.

  Another brother Martin is like Madonna a Sun Uranus in Leo with Pluto also in Leo. And brother Christopher has his Uranus in Leo.

  Mother, also called Madonna, who died young of cancer, had her Venus Mercury in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius. She would be fairly battened down with her Cancer Sun also conjunct Pluto. Her relationship with her daughter was close and affectionate with a composite Sun, Venus, Pluto conjunction in their relationship chart – and Madonna has always said it was her mother’s early death which spurred her on to become a success.

  What a volatile family.   Flexibility not a strong feature amongst them.

Born to be king was always said not to be in Charles’ stars. It is certainly true that George V1 and V and Victoria had Jupiter in their 10^th or close to their Midheaven. Queen Elizabeth did not but she did have a strong 1^st house Jupiter. One the other hand Edward V11 had his Jupiter in the 12^th – so it is hardly a hard and fast rule for a transcendent Jupiter to be a prerequisite for a Royal birth.

  Charles’ chart with a 10^th house Moon suits him for a public career even a political one and his enthusiastic Mars Jupiter in the 5^th inclines him to enjoy the spotlight. He’s also private with a 4^th house Sun and a defensive 1^st house Pluto, and keen on house design with his creative Venus in the 4^th.

  What sits over his Coronation on May 6^th, picking up from late March, is tr Pluto square his Moon which will be emotionally intense and challenging both for family relationships as well, in his case, as for career progress. It can bring up power struggles and crises as well as cathartic moments where the past is let go. At his age it could also bring physical stress.

  He will obviously be in a phase of considerable upheaval as he moves into his new role and tr Uranus making the final square to his Pluto from mid March to early April will bring either some disruption or an inner urge to throw out the old ways.

  His Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct his Jupiter and opposition his Uranus for a few months ahead which will bring a mix of euphoria and worry. Where his chart indicates a slow down is in two years’ time when his Solar Arc Saturn is conjunct his Sun, which timeline is also indicated on Camilla’s chart.

  One point which repeats in several of the charts (and it is beginning to haunt me) is 18 degrees fixed which tr Uranus gets to from late April across the Coronation. Tr Uranus will square Charles’ Progressed Mars then, as well as Camilla’s Uranus/MC midpoint and one of William’s midpoints. Which may in their cases just be heightened anxiety around a momentous event. But it also repeats around other global charts.

   Prince William has tr Pluto square his Jupiter across the Midheaven, moving to square his MC in 2024/25 – so a time of high confidence but also major challenges.

 It is thought that Prince George will be visible for the event, being now heir to the heir. He has quite a reclusive chart with an 8^th house Mars Jupiter in Cancer trine a 12^th house Saturn in Scorpio trine Neptune – and his Mars Jupiter is also opposition Pluto and square an inventive and rebellious 5^th house Uranus. Despite his defensive personality he’ll go his own way certainly on the romantic scene.

  His final degree and final minute 9^th house Cancer Sun hints at an inclination to travel and be well-educated but it also opposes a Capricorn Moon.  Usually Full Moon types have very different kinds of parents, almost incompatible, and often divorced. Though there is no sign of that in his case – but what it leaves behind is an ambivalence about making decisions since the Sun (head/duty) pulls one way and the Moon (heart/want) the other. So he will be conflicted about his Royal responsibilities as well as everything else, particularly relationships.  Prince William has a New Moon in Cancer and Kate, another Full Moon, has a Capricorn Sun opposition a Cancer Moon – and her parents are still hitched. Princess Charlotte has her Moon inconjunct her Sun and Louis has a Moon square Sun.

  Prince George is undergoing massive changes at the moment with tr Pluto conjunct his Moon and opposition his Sun – as he moves house, school and steps into a higher profile life, not all to his choosing by the look of it.

Down on the range there is high tension over Paramount Network’s Yellowstone and whether the massively successful show with an 8 million viewership will make it to a sixth season. Kevin Costner, the star, having just won a Golden Globe for season five, is reportedly keen to exit which as one reviewer said would be ‘as bad as if James Gandolfini prematurely exited The Sopranos.’ The rumour is that Costner demanded over $1 million per episode for the fifth season with an increase for the sixth. Though on those ratings he’ll be worth it.

  He was born 18 January 1955 9.40 pm Lynwood, CA, and came to fame with Dances with Wolves and The Bodyguard in the early 1990s but then hit a downer with the massively expensive flop Waterworld in 1995. He has worked constantly since then though not quite at superstar level until this.

  He has a powerful, stubborn, ego-centric and talented chart with an ambitious Capricorn Sun in his performing 5^th house which is on the focal point of a Yod inconjunct Pluto and the Midheaven, as well as opposing a lucky Jupiter Uranus in Cancer square Neptune. He’s custom-built to be in the movie spotlight. His Saturn in obsessively conscientious Scorpio is in an unyielding square to Pluto on one side and a 5^th house Mercury on the other. With Mars in Aries in his 7^th he is well-designed for assertive, macho-roles. His Mars is also trine an adventurous Sagittarius Moon and Venus.

  A larger than life personality and not always easy to get on with he will certainly make his presence felt.

  This year as last he has tr Pluto conjunct his Sun and square his Neptune with his Solar Arc Saturn sitting on his Sun and square his Neptune as well – so he is in a high-stress phase of his life in the path of sweeping changes whether he opts for them or not. 

  Tr Neptune is also square his Midheaven through this year which can be career-undermining and indecisive.  He will continue to be jolted onto a new track when tr Uranus squares his Pluto in 2024, pulling on the third end of his Yod. When yods are triggered life usually moves force majeure onto a new track, which in retrospect will seem meant.

  He has a good deal ahead of him with tr Saturn heading upwards in his chart rising above his Descendant after 2024 for a decade and a half; and tr Pluto staying in his creative, attention-demanding 5^th for many years to come as well.

Scott Adams, the American cartoonist, creator of Dilbert, has wrecked his career by saying that white people should stay away from black people whom he regards as a hate group. All of his media outlets promptly dropped him though Elon Musk in his  campaign against the cancel culture appears to be in support. Despite claiming no political affiliations Adams has in the past spoken up in favour of Trump and against Biden.

  Adams has now claimed his statement was similar to Mike Pence’s advice for men to stay away from women during #metoo fervour.

  Born 8 June 1957 2.30am Windham, New York, Adams is a Sun Gemini opposition an 8^th house Saturn in Sagittarius – scattered and rigid; with his Sun in a confident square to Jupiter. His Mercury is prominent being in stubborn Taurus, in a dogmatic and can-be-fanatical square to Pluto, and sextile an excitable Mars in Cancer as well as trine Jupiter. No surprises that he lets fly with both barrels when voicing his opinions. Mars can be volatile in Cancer and it also squares his Libra Moon which is another hint of a short-fused personality, easily prodded into over reaction.

  His Mercury is conjunct his South Node which is intriguing since his Scorpio North Node carries a message that letting go of everything is the road to transformation. He’s certainly burnt his bridges behind him though whether enlightenment will follow looks doubtful.

  What is around is a devastating, confused and marginally tormented introduction to Pluto moving into Aquarius which will conjunct his Neptune from late this March as his Solar Arc Pluto sits on top of it as well. A double whammy of obsessive, brain-meltdown.

  Musk, 28 June 1971, being a Cancer Sun and Venus in Gemini chimes with Adams’ Gemini Sun and Venus in Cancer.

Adams birth time is from memory – and the Midheaven/SA Midheaven does not reflect anything ongoing career wise at the moment so may be wrong.

Legendary BBC commentator John Motson who was the ‘voice of football’ for 50 years has died. He covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup finals for BBC Sport and was known for his trademark sheepskin coats and encyclopaedic knowledge of the game.

   He was once asked what made a great commentator. “You’ve got to have a decent voice, you’ve got to have a sense of timing, know when to talk and not to talk. You are the eyes and ears of the viewer,” he said.

 Born 10 July 1945, he had a chart well-designed for a successful career in the sporting arena, requiring hard work and attention to detail; and a powerful way of communicating.  His Mars in earthy Taurus was in a high-energy trine Jupiter in Virgo which sextiled onto a meticulous Sun Saturn in Cancer. And his charming Venus in light-hearted Gemini was trine Neptune with both sextile an influential and penetrating Mercury Pluto in entertaining Leo.  A wonderful mix of adventurous and down-to-earth, visionary and persuasive.

Will Rishi Sunak’s nerve hold over an agreement with Brussels to fix the Northern Ireland protocol or will he cave into “the malcontents, the reckless, the wreckers” of the DUP and right-wing, Eurosceptic ERG in his own party. That is Keir Starmer’s description. Columnist Matthew Parris, once in the Tory inner circle and now a dissenter, talks of the ‘Tory crazies’ – ‘a mad mental virus within the party, long embedded —. There is no cure, but there remains the possibility of control.’

 The details of the protocol dispute are obscure – checks on British sausages, VAT rules or the role of Luxembourg judges in Northern Ireland but it touches on issues of sovereignty and identity, stoking up the bile that the Brexit debate unleashes.  If this deal is signed it would improve the UK’s relationship with the USA and the EU, staving off the prospect of a trade war with Brussels, which in the present economic climate would be a blessing.

  What is worrisome is tr Neptune square the Mars on Sunak’s PM term chart, 25 October 2022 11.15am, which suggests failure picking up from mid March onwards, on and off into early 2024. With a major hiccup late April/early May when tr Uranus squares the Saturn at 18 Aquarius. These could refer to other banana skins on his path ahead, but overall he is not in a successful year.

  The Northern Ireland chart, 7 December 1922 3.28pm Belfast, is on tenterhooks with tr Saturn just over the conjunction to the Mars, will be jolted and jangled from mid March and facing upsets and disruption from late April into early May with its Neptune at 18 Leo. And will limp on through a less than upbeat year with other unhelpful transits to midpoints. The Solar Arc Sun conjunct the South Node in Pisces hints at lack of confidence, unrealistic expectations and a fear of losing the support of the UK.

  The DUP, 30 September 1971, will not be looking forward with enthusiasm to March with tr Saturn moving into Pisces on the 7^th immediately squaring their Neptune and then Jupiter denting their confidence and bringing disappointments and losses. Those influences continue on and off all year. Plus tr Pluto into Aquarius will trine their Mercury for heated and stubborn discussions from late March till June and again in 2024.

 The three prominent Brexiteers are not too chirpy about Saturn in  Pisces either – with it crashing into Boris Johnson’s Mars in Gemini square Uranus Pluto Saturn from mid March onwards and Rees Moog’s Gemini Sun catching the tr Saturn square in early April. David Frost, the former EU negotiator for BJ, is equally looking at a failure-strewn 2023.

  No one is looking happy or successful.  What a botch up.

The FT today having argued for the deal writes: ‘Weighing heavily on the other side of the ledger is the very real risk that a compromise with Brussels winds up Tory Eurosceptics, fails to end the political impasse in Northern Ireland and leaves Sunak on the ropes with perilous local elections in early May only weeks away.’

   ‘The route is littered with political skeletons; Theresa May, another former Tory leader, lost her job trying to resolve the issue of Northern Ireland’s relationship with the EU post-Brexit.’

See previous post November 23 2022.    

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‘Incredibly damning’ documents indicating the top Fox News brass and staff knew Trump et al’s claims of a stolen election were false but still floated the conspiracies on air, increase the chances of Dominion Voting winning its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.

 Whether Fox and Murdoch were terrified of Trump or of losing their fixated audience hardly matters – or whether Dominion wins or loses since such cases are notoriously difficult to stand up in court – though Alex Jones did fall into a similar sinkhole.  

   What is of crucial importance is a) the stranglehold which Murdoch has had in perverting the American mindset in recent years: and b) whether the evidence in this court case will finally blow a scud missile through the ascendancy of the ‘fake news’ clap trap and paranoia of the past seven years.

  What I never noticed before is that Murdoch’s ruthlessly ambitious Mars in Cancer is exactly opposition the USA Pluto and conjunct the USA Mercury. And it is that fanatical US Pluto opposition Mercury which has been triggered and causing problems through the years of Trump’s demagogic rants, lies and smears. Without Murdoch would he have had the same damaging effect on the culture? Now in its final year with the USA Pluto Return – there may be significant changes ahead.

  Murdoch’s Jupiter Pluto are also conjunct the USA Cancer Sun and square the USA fair-minded Saturn in Libra with Murdoch’s Uranus North Node in opposition – Murdoch’s bulldozer, confident, I’m-more-important-than-rules approach is certainly on a collision course with a good many American values.

  Maybe just maybe with tr Uranus conjunct the composite Sun of Murdoch/USA chart from mid March, the power-hungry, disruptive bond might be split asunder.

  Fox News, 7 October 1996, is due for an almighty upheaval with tr Pluto moving into Aquarius late next month as it is conjunct the Fox Uranus, plus it’ll get a shock in April this year from tr Uranus square the composite Mars. And that is followed by another massive jolt from Solar Arc Saturn square the Uranus over coming months.  I’m not sure what a $1.6 billion hole would do to its finances. But the Murdoch empire has form for closing down troublesome outlets – the flagship UK News of the World Sunday newspaper was closed down after the phone hacking scandal some years back.  Though Fox is admittedly an entity of a different order for Murdoch.

  The Fox News chart also has its Neptune conjunct the USA Pluto and opposition the US’s Mercury – fitting for a channel that has tended to skirt round and cast smokescreens over the actualite.

  Murdoch is not having a good year with tr Pluto in a frustrating opposition to his Mars and moving into his 2^nd house of finances which can often start with a breakdown phase where money is concerned.

Maybe Pluto heading for a sign change is having an impact.

See previous Post on Dominion court case:  11 December 2022  

In mythology Mars was the god of war, known for his direct action and lack of sentimentality. In astrology, the hallmarks of a prominent Mars are high vitality, impulsiveness, courage and foolhardiness, argumentativeness and lack of tact.

  Two recent obituaries caught my eye which highlight the dramatic effect of a ramped up Mars.

 Simone Segouin, French Resistance fighter born 3 October 1925 1am Chartres, France, became a symbol of female defiance when photographs for Life magazine showed her in shorts, brandishing her machine gun at the end of World War 11. She was born into a farming family, a tomboyish only daughter with three brothers, and was largely brought up by her father, a decorated veteran of the First World War. In 1943, aged 18 she joined the partisan FTP, an alliance of militant communists and nationalists, took part in combat missions, helping to derail a train and blow up bridges. After the war she became a paediatric nurse and had six children out of wedlock with another resistance fighter, all of whom bore her name.  

 She was a Sun Libra conjunct Mars, Mercury with her Sun in an ultra-confident square to Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Pluto in Cancer – a double dose of high-octane confidence and assertiveness.  Plus an excitable Aries Moon and a Water Grand Trine of Pluto trine Uranus trine Venus Saturn in Scorpio – she’d be a curious mix of a dreamer and a doer.

  The other Mars warrior, recently deceased, who challenged the fates and careered through a reckless life is Paddy Macklin, 18 February 1957. He set out in 2009 from Cornwall, determined to sail single-handedly, nonstop around the world in a wooden, engineless yacht. He had a school atlas, food for 600 days, a supply of whisky and other essentials, but no high-tech gadgets. “I wanted to recapture the spirit of true amateurism in sailing,” he declared. He ran into several hair-raising, near terminal disasters, lost several teeth, broke a handful of ribs and suffered from severe loneliness. And consumed a sizeable quantity of recreational drugs. Being stoned he explained was one of the pleasures of life.

  His father, Lance, was a racing driver, who caused the initial reaction setting off the worst disaster in racing history in 1955 when 83 spectators and another driver were killed.

  After Paddy’s odyssey on the high seas, he resumed plastering and decorating while living on the boat and succumbed to cirrhosis of the liver a few weeks back in his mid sixties. A rumbunctious life which broke all the rules and was hardly sensible, but in an odd way he evoked respect for his foolhardy bravado.

  He had his Virgo Sun conjunct Mars, neither of which were well-integrated into his chart – so he’d be a high-wire, over-reactive,  island-unto-himself type. He had an adventurous and lucky Uranus trine Saturn sextile Jupiter which would give him a helpful guardian angel. His Venus, like SimoneS above, was in persuasive and determined Scorpio, in his case conjunct Neptune.

  In both cases their Mars was handed down from Martian fathers. LanceM had his Mars in flamboyant Leo conjunct Jupiter Neptune. Though he was also a Sun Saturn in Virgo so would have some practical sense. He died aged 83.

  Paddy Maclin’s 7^th harmonic was strong which is associated with a ‘seeking soul’ and an inclination to a drug habit.

Add On: Another Mars type gone. Bernard Ingham, Maggie Thatcher’s Press Secretary and known as her ‘personal rottweiler’ was born 21 June 1923. His Mars in Cancer was conjunct Pluto square Saturn and trine Uranus and Jupiter – an explosive mix.

The Banshees of Inisherin won four Baftas on Sunday, including best supporting actor for Barry Keoghan, but the star Colin Farrell lost out on the leading actor award to Austin Butler’s Elvis. There is still hope for Farrell with his nomination for the Oscars on March 23^rd though losing the home-grown gong is a blow.

  Inisherin is a dark tragicomedy set at the end of the Irish civil war in 1923 on a remote Irish island and despite being accused by one Irish critic of ‘maudlin sentimentality mixed with self-obsession, self-harm, child abuse, wanton violence, dead pets and suicidal ideation,’ appears to be engaging audiences and critics.  Horse and Hound readers were enchanted by the miniature donkey. Rotten Tomatoes give it 96%.

  Barry Keoghan, 18 October 1992, Dublin, renowned in recent times for blockbusters as well as Dunkirk and the Green Knight amongst others, had a hair-raising childhood growing up in 13 different foster homes from age 5 onwards and his mother later dying of heroin addiction. He and his brother were eventually taken in by his grandmother.

  He is a Sun Libra with the highly-strung Uranus Neptune in Capricorn of that generation opposition Mars (Moon) in Cancer – for a turbulent relationship with his mother and reflecting also his own volatile attitude to school rules and regulations. His Mars is also in an argumentative and ultra-determined trine to Mercury and Pluto in Scorpio; with his Pluto also conjunct Venus. A troubled chart though also talented – Uranus Neptune can be creative. His actor’s 15h Harmonic is his strongest. He has edgy, accident-prone and nerve-stretched transits to midpoints though by the Oscars has tr Pluto square his Venus/Jupiter midpoint – so win or lose, he’ll revel in the glitter.

Colin Farrell, 31 May 1976, maybe 11.45pm Dublin, has had a prolific career for the past two decades with a Golden Globe for his performance in In Bruges, another for this movie and a critics award.

  He is a Sun Venus in Gemini opposition Neptune and trine Pluto, sextile Mars in Leo – a talented and ambitious Half Grand Sextile. His Jupiter in Taurus opposes Uranus North Node in Scorpio square his Mars – he has endurance, luck and a risk-taking flair. His stars are mixed with a discouraging slog from tr Pluto opposition his Saturn until just after the Oscars. But also tr Uranus conjunct his Jupiter for a lucky break and new opportunities coming his way.