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.

Caitlyn Jenner has announced she’ll stand in California for governor if a recall election to replace Gavin Newsom happens. There are various steps to be undertaken and if it does take place which is by no means certain it’ll be in October at the latest this year.  The term would last till January 2023 with a standard election the previous November.

 Caitlyn Jenner, 28 October 1949 6.16am Mount Kisco, NY, has two things going for her. One is a super-confident and successful tr Pluto conjunct her Jupiter running from mid- August to late November. The other is tr Saturn moving across her IC now to push her into a higher-profile and more ambitious phase ahead. The latter isn’t necessarily spectacular, but it does indicate her move into harder-working phase for many years ahead.

Tr Uranus is also square her Midheaven this year pointing to a change of career direction. She also has less helpful Neptune transits to a couple of midpoints and her Venus in Sagittarius. But whether she does or doesn’t run she’s likely to be more visible in future.

For Gavin Newsom see previous post: February 7 2021.

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The Queen will understandably be having a sad and upsetting year with tr Saturn opposition her 7th house Moon over Prince Philip’s death and funeral, repeating until January 2022 and tr Uranus in square to her Moon from late May till March 2022. In addition with tr Saturn now heading downwards into her First Quadrant for several years ahead she is moving through a lower energy and less ambitious time. Whether she ever abdicates is questionable since her sense of duty is unbudgeable but she will step back more and more – with further considerable upheavals in 2023/24 when tr Uranus tugs on her Fixed T Square and opposes her Midheaven.

  Her Coronation chart is also showing signs of a dip with tr Neptune square the Mars from the middle of this month on and off into 2022.

  Prince Charles with his Solar Arc Moon square his 4^th house Neptune exactly now is also sad and uncertain with his father’s passing. His Solar Arc Pluto is also opposition his 10^th house Moon so he will be feeling the weight of expectations on him as well. He’ll be stepping into a more visible and hard-working phase ahead with tr Saturn now rising above his Descendant and aiming for his peak from 2026 onwards for eight years. Before then 2023/24 will be a time of radical changes, with tr Uranus opposition his Scorpio Sun; slightly panicked and nervy with his Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Jupiter and opposition his Uranus; but successful as well with tr Jupiter moving across his 10^th house.

  His relationship with his mother, never easy at the best of times, is going through a considerable adjustment exactly now and into early 2022 with the composite needs-space/different-agendas Sun square Uranus catching the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hard aspects. And there may be some – no doubt discreet – tussles for the upper hand going on over the next three years as well with tr Pluto conjunct the composite Jupiter and opposition Pluto.

  The two major headaches at the moment are Prince Andrew who should have been despatched to far-distant exile long time since to firewall the Royal Family against contamination. And the Harry/Meghan fandango.

  Andrew clearly thought his father’s death gave him an opening back onto the Royal stage and he has an unnervingly upbeat Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun in early 2022 as well as a confident and charm-offence Solar Return from February 2021. But that’s followed late year by a discouraging Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his 8^th house Mercury – which may be a financial setback or more deep and dark secrets weighing him down. More significantly he does have tr Pluto conjunct his 6^th house Mars and Venus in Capricorn from early 2022 to late 2023 which will be exceptionally frustrating and emotionally highly-charged. With luck that will put the blockers on any hopes he has of getting back into the spotlight.

  His relationship with his mother, on whom he is reliant for private funds since being stripped of his Civil List position, will be fraught through this year with tr Saturn conjunct the composite Mars and opposition Pluto. But that’s minor and she clearly still keeps him close. Charles and he are more obviously at odds through 2021/22.

  Prince Harry is suffering under a confidence-denting tr Neptune opposition his Virgo Sun from exactly now as he returns from the family funeral, on and off till January 2023; with a stuck Solar Arc Sun conjunct his Pluto in 18 months time; plus a debilitating and less successful tr Saturn through his lower-profile First Quadrant for some years ahead. This year is good for cash, the following two definitely not.

  His relationship with brother William is going from bad to worse this year with the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting on their relationship chart Sun square Mars, exactly now, worsening from mid June across their mother Diana’s memorial unveiling. And won’t heal anytime soon; ditto with Kate. There is a chill with Charles and more unrest into early 2022. Muddles and confusion with the Queen.

  Meghan has her Leo Sun in the line of fire of tr Saturn in opposition exactly now and tr Uranus square from mid May onwards, into early 2022. So a high-tension, one foot forward one foot backwards, year. Though her ambitions will push her upwards and onwards. Again financially this year looks good for her, next two less so.

  Her relationship with Harry is showing the strain of family fall-outs with the composite Moon square Pluto Saturn under huge pressure and discouragement this year through till late 2023, indeed 22/23 may be worse with tr Pluto opposition their composite Moon. Her relations with Charles and the Queen aren’t improving and will be even more aggravated in 2023/24, as will her interface with William and Kate at that point.

The Princess Royal will continue stalwartly to pack in more engagements than the others. Though her 2022/23 looks emotionally challenging with tr Pluto opposition her Venus; and her Solar Arc is in a ‘shocking’ conjunction to her Mars in late 2022 for a setback, followed by a very blocked Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Mars through mid decade so she’s at a game changing phase of her life which won’t be easy to negotiate.

  Prince Edward and Sophie will step up to fill in the gaps with Philip gone and Andrew/Harry off the Royal duty roster. Edward is moving out of a less prominent few years with tr Saturn crossing his IC into his Second Quadrant at the end of last year. His relationship with the Queen is affectionate and fairly tight but will understandably be going through a period of adjustment this year. His interface with his older brother Charles is less easy with undercurrents of pushing and pulling and some irritation – and that won’t improve. If anything the years 2023 to 2025 will be stressful between them. The same goes for his relationships with William and Kate which will go through a dip over the next few years.

  Sophie Wessex, evidently a favourite with the Queen, will be upbeat in 2022 and assuming her birth time of 12.46pm holds good then on an upward career spiral for many years ahead. Though her relations with Charles and William and Kate aren’t that settled at the best of times and like Prince Edward will go through an uncertain transition in the next few years.

  There is no doubt that the family dynamic will change considerably when the Queen goes.  

Calling the fraud convictions of innocent post office subpostmasters a miscarriage of justice hardly covers the years of criminal malfeasance on the part of the overpaid bosses who seemingly knew the fault lay in the accounting computer system installed in 1999. The latest ruling has set aside 39 convictions as unsafe, which had led to prison for some, others lost their homes, were shunned by their communities, and a number died before their names were cleared – lives ruined for fifteen years. The Post Office prosecuted a total of 736 people, many more of whom are now expected to go to the courts to have their own convictions quashed.

The judges said: “Post Office Limited’s failures of investigation and disclosure were so egregious as to make the prosecution of any of the ‘Horizon cases’ an affront to the conscience of the court.” £58 million has already been paid to 550 subpostmasters who won group litigation in 2019 and many more are to come so the total could exceed £300 million in payouts. The Post Office spent £32million to deny any fault before capitulating and since the Government owns 100 per cent of the shares taxpayers will fund the compensation payments.

  There are calls for the bosses to be penalised, notably Paula Vennells, the former chief executive from 2012 to 2019, who was awarded a CBE in 2019 for services to the Post Office (in 2019??) and received bonuses of more than £2.2 million she received as part of her £4.5 million earnings during her seven-year tenure.

 Born 21 February 1959, she’s a Boris-on-steroids-whirlwind with a Pisces Sun Mercury opposition Pluto square Jupiter opposition Mars in Gemini. And an impulsive Yod of Saturn sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars. She does – happily – look cratered this year and on for the next three though she undoubtedly won’t end up in prison. Her Mutable Grand Cross has moved by Solar Arc to collide with her Neptune and will continue to rain uncertainty, disappointment and devastation down on her head.

  Alice Perkins, 24 May 1949, wife of Jack Straw, was chairman between 2011 and 2015 and in a position to demand the situation be properly investigated but didn’t. She has four planets spreads out through Gemini – Sun, Venus, Mercury and Uranus; with an ultra-determined Mars in Taurus square Pluto. She looks stressed in 2021/22/23 with tr Pluto opposition her Solar Arc Mars; and under high-tension pressure from this July onwards into 2022 with tr Uranus square her Pluto and then conjunct her Mars; with tr Saturn adding its dollop of gloom in 2022.

 Moya Greene, 10 June 1954, was CEO from 2010 when 150 postmasters were prosecuted. She was the highest paid UK Civil Servant in 2010, with a basic salary of £498,000 and her total compensation for 2012/13 was reported by the Royal Mail as £3.7 million. She is another Gemini with her Sun in a super-ambitious trine to Neptune and sextile Pluto; with an opportunistic Mars opposition Jupiter tied into Saturn in Scorpio. She’s recently been through a very rocky patch which isn’t improving anytime soon with a stuck Solar Arc Sun conjunct her Pluto at the moment and much slipping and slithering over the next two to three years.

  Why do the mills of justice grind quite so slowly?  Last week there was an announcement that charges would be laid for perverting the course of justice against two retired police officers and a force solicitor for their statements following the Hillsborough disaster – and that happened in 1989 for heaven’s sake.

See previous post on Post Office: October 6 2020.

For a man who infamously uttered the scornful dismissal of business concerns about Brexit – ‘f*** business’ when Foreign Secretary – Boris Johnson has done a sharp U-turn since entering No 10 to cosy up to Tory donors and others in a government that is sinking in accusations about sleaze and favouritism. The latest kerfuffle concerns leaked text messages with billionaire James Dyson over lifting tax liabilities for his overseas workers, exchanges with Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) over a blocked Saudi bid for Newcastle FC and leaked emails about donations solicited to cover the renovations of the prime minister’s flat.

  A former civil servant said that Johnson’s mobile phone use demonstrated that “he just doesn’t understand that there needs to be a level of transparency and accountability” in regards to his actions.

 Dominic Cummings, the bitter ex-adviser who was kicked out late last year is being fingered for these leaks though denies them hotly.

  Dyson, 2 May 1947 Cromer, England, has his business headquartered in Singapore but is returning from tax exile to live in the UK. He has a Sun Taurus square Pluto, which is being severely shaken up this year into early 2022 by the tr Uranus square tr Saturn. His acquisitive Taurus Sun falls in Boris’s financial 8^th close to BJ’s Jupiter and opposition BJ’s financial 2^nd house Neptune with Dyson’s Jupiter also in BJ’s 2^nd – so a potentially financially lucrative tie-up.

  MBS is a less obvious connection with an aggravated Saturn opposition Mars Venus square Pluto in their relationship chart. Though MBS’s inflated and power-hungry Pluto is conjunct Boris’s Sun so he will exert fear if not influence.

  What was always intriguing was Boris’s choice of Dom Cummings as his Svengali since their charts are seriously at odds. Dom Cumming’s Sun Neptune in Sagittarius opposition Saturn square Mars (Moon) in Pisces grates badly with BJ’s Uranus Pluto opposition Saturn in Pisces square Mars in Gemini. And worse their relationship chart has a ‘fated’ and bad-tempered Yod, suggesting a connection that would irrevocably change the lives of both. Which it has done with Brexit but there may be more to come.  The Yod involves Neptune sextile Sun, Pluto, Uranus, Venus inconjunct Mars Saturn North Node – and that is not only truly difficult, it’s also highly unstable and prone to blow a fuse. Which is what Matthew Parris, the Times columnist, said right at the start of their association.

  The angry, resentful composite Mars Saturn squares the hidden 12^th house Saturn Venus Pluto in Capricorn in BJ’s 2^nd Term chart – which is a touch obscure but makes me wonder whether Cummings is now intent on chipping away at the foundations since he knows where the bodies are buried and has plenty of ammunition for exposures.

  None of which is likely to have an instant impact since, for all the media squalls, Boris sails on impervious to attacks that would have ousted politicians on the instant years ago. Especially since Labour appear incapable of mounting an effective opposition and getting their criticism to stick.

Add ON: Whoever thought it a bright idea to lob a grenade at Cummings – some say Boris against advice in a fit of pique, others say Carrie – it resulted in a scud missile kickback in return which could reverberate down the ages.

  What’s clear is that Cummings’ dislike of Carrie is one component of his beef against his erstwhile bro-romancer. It’s not surprising since his Uranus squares her ambitious Mars in Capricorn, his Pluto opposes her Sun and worse her Mercury in Pisces collides with his Saturn, Neptune, Sun and Mars so she will arouse all his paranoia and it will have made calm communication impossible. Power struggles are also obvious in their relationship chart with Pluto trine the composite Mars and square Mercury, Sun – a tug of war for the ear of the flaxen-haired dolly trapped between them.

  Boris is attempting to brush it all off in his usual piffle waffle way though Carrie seems less sanguine.  She has her composite Neptune square her Pluto and Venus now which is emotionally confused, even devastated; and she will be tossed around from late May with tensions breaking into the open, with worse to follow from July onwards.

  Her relationship chart with Boris shows a serious dose of panic and failure and disruptions from late May till late July, repeating on and off till early 2023 – that may be part personal but given she is a political force in her own right may also be a series of professional banana skins.

Useful indicator of where more landmines may explode in the near future from The Telegraph:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/04/23/sorting-shrapnel-dominic-cummings-grenade-ridden-riposte-means/

Robert De Niro, one of the all-time Hollywood greats with a string of awards for his nine Martin Scorsese movies including The Godfather, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Cape Fear, The Unotuchables as well as Wag the Dog, Silver Linings Playbook etc has gone noticeably off track over the past two decades with a string of clunkers – Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents, Dirty Grandpa  – and worse recent lame TV adverts for a breadmaker and a car company. His lawyer now claims he is “working at an unsustainable pace” in order to support his about-to-be-ex-wife Grace Hightower and pay off all his back taxes.  Her lawyer retaliated that he had been “unfairly decreasing” the agreed-upon payments including cutting her credit-card expenses from $461,000 a month to “just” $127,000 from January.

  He hooked up with Hightower in the late 1990s with a two year marriage which split and got together again in 2004 which more or less coincides with his downturn and bad career choices.

  He was born 17 August 1943 3am New York and has a 2^nd house Leo Sun square Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol; with Jupiter Pluto and his North Node in Leo in his 2^nd. Money will always have been a driving force in his life with a strong tendency to profligacy and gross indulgence when it comes to spending with no limits and on the evidence less inclination to save for tax.

  What is astro-intriguing is his ex-Grace, born 7 April 1955, also has Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol in an extraordinarily difficult, stubborn-to the-nth-degree, and hard edged opposition to Saturn square Pluto. Her Pluto is conjunct his 2^nd house Sun so she will be drawn to controlling him financially and exacerbating his worst habits. But if ever two people should never have got hitched they are it. Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun opposition Venus with a passionate Venus trine Pluto so there would have been an attraction which ended in disappointing with a composite Sun trine Neptune. But it’s that stand-out Mars Algol which has obviously wreaked destruction on their relationship and his judgement.

  When the couple finally split four years ago tr Neptune was conjunct his Pisces Moon and starting to move round his T Square of Mercury Venus in Virgo squaring onto an impractical 12th house Saturn and that won’t clear till early 2024 after an uncertain tr Neptune square his Saturn is finished. In 2018 as well tr Uranus just into Taurus was aiming to square his Pluto and Jupiter which he’s now in the midst of. Tr Saturn is just into his 8^th till April 2023 which will be tight financially (comparatively speaking) – and tr Saturn square tr Uranus is also tugging on his extravagant Jupiter Pluto in Leo this year.

  It’s an unedifying divorce spat which has left the judge unimpressed. He said: “I want to get these parties divorced – to go their separate ways. They will still come out of this richer than almost any human being who walks this earth. There is nothing ordinary about these expenses. For 99.9999 per cent of the world, these are extraordinary to an almost unimaginable degree.”

  It’s not clear that De Niro can untarnish his legacy any time soon with tr Neptune heading to conjunct his Midheaven between now and 2024.

  Hollywood at its worst.

The humiliating collapse of the European Super League has been hailed by fans as a victory after the main clubs pulled out after a barrage of criticism. But Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid chairman, insists the plan is not dead, merely on standby. The 12 clubs’ involved are still disenchanted with how Uefa runs the Champions League and do not think it delivers enough high-quality games in a digital media age.

The Super League clubs are adamant they could make more money from broadcast revenue than Uefa, so it would give substance to Perez’s assessment that the competition would “save football”.

[I would have to admit I know zero about football apart from a passing astonishment at the level of monies involved to employ footballers, so this background is all gleaned from media reports.]

  The breakaway teams had hoped the Super League could attract billions in revenues to replenish their finances, facing a 2 billion euro revenue hit from the pandemic. Pérez’s ambition was to use the Super League to multiply revenues for the clubs involved, locking in cash flow for a decade.   An insider said “I’m sure he [Pérez] will come back with something. “You don’t work four years on something like this and just drop it.”

  Another Spanish football boss arguing against the idea said that breakaway clubs should rethink their business models, and control their expenses which would mark a major shift for clubs that have for years increased their transfer and salary budgets for signing and retaining star players.

 Florentino Perez, 8 March 1947 11.30am Madrid, has a 10^th house ambitious Mars in Pisces as well as Sun Mercury in Pisces square an innovative, rebellious Uranus. His Libra Moon Neptune is in his performing/sporting 5^th house. He has a money-magnet Jupiter in Scorpio as well as a doggedly determined Saturn Pluto in Leo opposition Venus.

  At the moment he has the disruptive tr Uranus square his Pluto and tr Saturn in opposition which continues on through this year till early 2022. But he then looks in the mood for an over-confident push come later in 2022 when his Solar Arc Jupiter opposes his Pluto. Which will run into major setbacks in 2023/24 with a raft of unhelpful Solar Arcs and his Progressed Mars and Venus squaring his Saturn.

  Though that may not all be football since he’s also embarking on a plan to transform his road construction group ACS into the world’s biggest toll road operator. But one way or another all of his plans are facing major obstacles ahead.

  UEFA, 15 June 1954, despite this ‘win’ isn’t looking too cheerful with tr Neptune square the Gemini Sun from late May, on and off till early 2023. And 2022/23 also has undermining, panicky midpoint transits.  

  Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer, has been found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter of George Floyd and will be sentenced in eight weeks. The Attorney General Merrick Garland has also announced an inquiry into the Minneapolis Police Department which is part of a broader strategy by the Biden White House to hold police forces accountable in cases where they are found to have violated federal laws.

   Chauvin’s chart has tr Pluto in a discouraging opposition to his Saturn in 2021/22 and an insecure and disruptive set of influences from this July onwards so although there is talk of an appeal he isn’t looking confident.

 What is clear is that this is regarded as a game-changing moment for the USA so Chauvin is a pivotal figure for the country. What is of interest is that his Saturn is conjunct the USA Mercury and exactly opposition the USA Pluto; and his Pluto is conjunct the USA Saturn. The USA Mercury Pluto opposition fuels the strand of almost pathological obstinacy in the national psyche which causes toxic debates, mainly involving right-wing and divisive issues. And it will be highlighted over the next three years as tr Pluto finishes the opposition to the USA Mercury in the second half of this year before moving on to the Pluto Return in 2022/23.

  Saturn and Pluto (Chauvin and the USA) combines two tough, masculine energies – rigidly disciplined, melancholy and authoritarian, with a power–hungry need for control. Both are associated with death – Saturn the Grim Reaper and Pluto, ruler of the underworld. Neither are good or even capable of giving way gracefully. Their world view tends to see only the victorious or the oppressed.

 So it is a potent synastry.

  What has dented the mood around the conviction somewhat is Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ ill-judged remarks encouraging demonstrations on the streets if a guilty verdict wasn’t reached – giving rise to an opening for an appeal. She has a long track record of stormy interventions, some of which were understandable, but often unhelpful.

  Born 15 August 1938 St Louis, Missouri, she has an expansive, over-confident Leo Sun opposition Jupiter and a volatile, disruptive Mars in Sun in Leo square Uranus. With her Sun and Mars in a hard-edged trine to Saturn and Moon in Aries. Too much Fire, not enough common sense. She enjoys a fight and will stir up the heat even when it isn’t constructive.