Financial woes and worries not surprisingly are the standout astro-signatures for the UK in the first half of 2023. Uranus will square the speculative 5th house Venus (Venus rules money) mid March to early April 2023 before proceeding to oppose the UK 2nd house Neptune late April to mid May which will be nerve-stretched.
There will be one spark of good news through February as tr Uranus is conjunct the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint with an improvement in morale (a sporting success maybe?).
Tr Saturn will conjunct the UK Pluto over the end of March, repeating till late year, which usually suggests blockages and a downbeat mood. And there is a frustratingly trapped and scary tr Pluto square the Mars/Node midpoint all this month into January and repeating till late 2023.
What might offer a hint of cheer is Jupiter moving into Taurus and through the UK financial 8th house from June 2023 for a year which usually coincides with more money coming in or at the very least the start of beneficial changes.
From mid August tr Uranus will square the UK 11th house Saturn in Leo, repeating on and off into early 2025 – which could cause upsets in the legislature with parliament in turmoil. Which may or may not have anything to do with turbulence in the Scotland Act of Union 1707 chart – though it is difficult to see independence as an imminent issue.
Pluto moving into Aquarius from late March does not strike much directly in the UK chart until 2024. Though it does flag up for King Charles’ Coronation on May 6 2023, four days after Pluto goes retrograde.
It also shows up on the Bank of England chart, 27 July 1694 JC 10am, as tr Pluto in Aquarius will be in a highly pressured and trapped trine to the Mars from late March on and off till late 2024, suggesting there will not be much latitude for progress.
Like the UK chart the BoE chart hints that the real economic hardship will be 2024/25.
On the UK chart for 2024/25, tr Pluto will be in a disruptive trine to Uranus and a highly-confused conjunction with the Neptune/Node midpoint. Though it will also oppose the UK Jupiter so there will be a confident push through these two years. But the result appears to be further problems with the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the 8th house financial Mars in early 2025 which will bring a major economic headache.
The Bank of England chart will labour through 2023/24 with tr Pluto trine the Mars with tr Neptune square the Saturn adding a further layer of uncertainty in 2024. Like the US Federal Reserve (see previous post USA 2023), the BoE will be knocked back in 2025 with the entry of tr Neptune and Saturn into Aries opposing its Mars.
Recovery will come eventually since it always does but not until 2026 and beyond.
The UK/EU relationship chart will have its ups and downs through this year with tr Uranus square the composite Venus and Mars throughout; as well as tr Saturn in hard aspect to the Pluto square Uranus – so not all sweetness and harmony.
What is intriguing is the UK/USA relationship chart. It has a fated and stressed composite Yod of Jupiter sextile Saturn inconjunct Pluto – so a power play is always in operation. The focal point Pluto will be elbowed by tr Uranus now till mid January 2023 and February to mid March 2023 – interesting to see what that brings in terms of diplomatic upsets.
Rishi Sunak’s Prime Ministerial chart, 25 October 2022, is a mix of confidence and disappointment through 2023. Tr Pluto will sextile the PM Jupiter late March to June 2023 for an attempt at an upbeat approach; at the same time as undermining tr Neptune squares the Mars – and that latter continues on into 2023, which usually suggests failure.
Sorry to be so downbeat – but better to not skip along in Mary Poppins-style and get disappointed. No one ever promised transformation was easy and the UK has had tr Pluto grinding through its 4th house deconstructing old foundations since post-2008 and tr Uranus through its 8th more recently which is another deep existential revolution phase. Both of which are major and will gradually move on in the second half of this decade leaving the UK a changed nation.
I was listening to the news earlier and they were interviewing people on the high street about their Christmas purchasing and it seems to be a theme to have a *budget* for it this year. They talk about it in revered tones as if a budget is a new revelatory lifehack to solve all problems.
Really sums up the attitude many modern Brits have towards spending. Quick to moan about “rip-off Britain” yet never having taken control of their finances before.
Ha! I know, GD, I know. The long lost world of the ‘Christmas Club’ where people saved for Christmas treats seems like something out of Dickens. Many have forgotten all about budgeting for food too, or mending things. It’s only thanks to YouTube I’ve been able to mend a few things myself, it’s hard to find anyone to do stuff like that. And now everything is so much harder and more expensive, few know what to do for the best.
These are all quite Saturnian virtues probably. I think one negative effect of very low interest rates for years has been that the idea of saving up in general, and making money on it, has more or less been diminished.
I always try and mend stuff. Even a bit of stitching and patching on one or two items. I’ll muddle by with something that’s less than perfect for a year or two longer, unless it’s essential. As you say, it’s difficult to find anyone to do oddjobs now.
Do occasionally read articles about people setting up a community repair centre for phones, laptops and other bits. Think there’s a good chance the Aqua-Sags are willing to do more of that to save the planet and avoid buying new stuff
I hadn’t realised that tr Pluto was going through the UK’s fourth House.
Could that explain the UK’s skerotic housing market for the past decade, Marjorie? The impossibility for younger people to ever buy or own a house could have wider social implications.
And if so, when does tr Pluto move from the fourth to the fifth house? That should help the housing market, but could impact the UK’s creative industry (presumably governed by the fifth House).
UMM – it’s interesting to look at the planets for the Housing Act, 1980. That was when council tenants were given the right to buy their homes, which have never been adequately replaced as social housing. Tr Saturn at 1 Libra was conjunct the UK Uranus, and tr Uranus and Mars at 23 Scorpio were square UK Saturn at 23 Leo. Chiron at 17 Taurus opposed UK Neptune, 18 Scorpio. You can see the shake up this represented.
Curiously, Uranus in Taurus in the 1930’s also saw a UK house building boom, and by the outbreak of the Second WW, one third of the population were home owners – rising from less than a quarter owning their own homes in 1918. Is that Uranus representing a revolution in Taurus ownership of land/housing? Now Uranus and Saturn seem to be challenging the foundations of it all, including the 80’s home ownership increases?
Nice spot Jane. There’s a real glut on those fixed degrees.
Just thinking about the 1 Libra Saturn – that would have been squared by Pluto in 2008-09 at the time of the GFC. We saw then lenders pulled back and became more restrictive about their lending practices. For a while it was harder for people to get a mortgage. At some point around 2026 we have Saturn-Neptune opposing that from Aries.
Despite our hopes for a fairer deal for the younger generation, I wonder if we will see more communal living. Anecdotally I’m not entirely sure the Pluto-in-Sag / Uranus-Neptune Aqua generation are as desperate to set down roots and be homeowners.
You’re spot on GD! And re the communual living, I think that’s at least part of the way things are going. Some kind of shared/collective ownership arrangements maybe, different kinds of rental arrangements, and so on. There’s movement in the car ownership market, with people just hiring a car for a short time when they need it, or sharing a ‘community’ car etc. etc. That could reflect the Pluto in Sag, Uranus/Neptune Aqua generational symbolism you mention? There are vast amounts of equity tied up in property currently. It wasn’t always the case, but will take time to change of course. Pluto in Aquarius may lead the way.
There was a time when people commonly rented a TV, or even a washing machine. That doesn’t make financial sense nowadays, but was once popular. UK 2nd house Neptune in Scorpio might say ‘dreams of wealth’ or the illusion of wealth?
In Europe, highest home ownership is around 95% in Romania, and lowest in Switzerland – 42% and Germany – 49%. Austria and Denmark also have lower home ownership stats. Home ownership averages out at around 70% across the EU. (Statista).
Good old Radio Rentals!! We have a Boris bike and eScooter rental thing in my local area. I suppose it’s like the next step forward from catching public transport – catering to the individualist mindset we’ve developed. Working from home / school from home will likely also reduce the need for commutes. They’re also a generation which is quite happy to lease a copy of books/music electronically. So physical storage is less of a problem to them.
Even so I’m not entirely sure we will ever get away from the “Englishman’s home is his castle”. Some country charts do seem to carry through whatever we see happen to them.
The Englishman’s home is his castle…..yes, indeed. That idea dates back to before 1628 apparently. At that point it was enshrined in law:
“This was established as common law by the lawyer and politician Sir Edward Coke (pronounced Cook), in The Institutes of the Laws of England, 1628:
“For a man’s house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium [and each man’s home is his safest refuge].”
And, another astro ‘coincidence’ that intrigues – in 1628, Pluto was 18-19 Taurus. The 1066 Neptune is 22 Taurus. What an era, with both the Thirty Years War, and the Eighty Years Wars ongoing, and apparent murder and chaos in the Mughal and Ottoman Empires. So, things could be worse…..
When we moved recently rather than buy, we rented our washing machine, tv and aerial. I couldn’t face deciding what to have and didn’t want the hassle of installation, guarantees, repairs and maintenance.
Two moves in four years has diminished my need to own things.
I imagine the idea of communal type housing arrangements will be taken up by oldies too. Already the variety of different living arrangements in our terraced street is fascinating.
In our case eventually we’ll probably let our house to pay the rent on a flat. It’s easier.
Our cashless society divorces us from the physicals when spending money. Most people don’t bother with receipts. Being old school I do, but being old I don’t check apps all the time to see what I’ve spent!
Nice points Zita I averaged a different house every years in the 90s and learned then collecting stuff is a bad idea. Even when you try to stay minimalist it still builds up.
I read a couple of years ago about some examples of young people moving in to live with old people. A reciprocal exchange of having the youth to help out vs having the knowledge and wisdom and companionship for both. I don’t know if it that will happen more. It takes an openness of mindset for both parties.
It took me a long time to realise the problem with the housing market is that it IS our economy. Or at least a large section of it. There is a continuous cycle of DIY for new bathrooms, kitchens, sofas, double-glazing, conservatories going on. There is all the mortgaging, insurance and financial loans that go with these.
A good portion of housing stock in university towns (100+) is accommodating somewhere 10–20,000 students so 1-2 million people. Students are taking out maintenance loans to pay the rents. The people owning the properties are employing property management services and so on; and the banks are reaping the mortgage iinterest.
The education system itself is creating debt among students that will be paid back with interest. Even if those loans are wiped out in 30 years time, the money has already gone into the current economy. At the other end, care homes for the elderly are funded by the sale of houses. Or there can be a nice shot of inheritance tax.
Fundamentally the Government (of whichever party) has a vested interest in keeping the housing market moving. there is an illusion of growth and prosperity within the country as homeowners see their property value increasing. Every month we get the grand, headline catching news of how house prices have grown. This is why government is always coming up with new help-to-buy schemes or floating the idea of 30-40 year mortgages to keep people borrowing.
The bigger question for me is will we move past an economy based on debt? It’s not just houses. It’s buying a new car. Going to the dentist, opticians or taking your pet to the vet. If you can’t afford it, they’re encouraging you to get these things on credit A related note is how many adverts you see for gambling or how many prize-money competiitions you see on radio and TV.
It’s all very 8th house – debt, gambling, preying on people’s subconscious weaknesses.
@gnarlydude I couldn’t have put it better.
Another issue with high increase in house price is that we don’t have enough money to invest into new businesses.. we are obsessed with our houses
If I have my calculations correct, there is a Moon/Jupiter Quintile in the USA/U.K. chart. A very long shot, yet could this mean a creative business financial agreement , with a possible food trade deal? Possibly creating some jobs? As it involves the people/workers and finance.
I think the thing many people are scared of, is the Tories selling what remains of the NHS to American medical companies.