A quickie. Tristan Garel Jones isn’t a name to spark much recognition but he was the inspiration for Francis Urquhart in House of Cards, the Machiavellian Tory whip and consummate backroom fixer in the original book and Brit TV series who morphed into Kevin Spacey in the US version.

The Times obituary says: ‘A whip’s job is to keep backbenchers in line, by fair means or foul, and Garel-Jones was certainly good at it. He was an astute judge of character and political moods, ran a formidable intelligence network, hoovered up gossip and dispensed patronage. He could be foul mouthed or charming, as required. “There was no staircase so twisting, no trapdoor so concealed, and no footfall so silent that Tristan didn’t know of it,” his ministerial colleague, Kenneth Baker, once wrote of him.’

Born 28 February 1941 in Wales, he was a Sun and Mercury in Pisces with a disciplined and hard-edged Mars in Capricorn trine Saturn Jupiter in Taurus. What is more to the point he had Pluto on the focal point of a Yod inconjunct Mars sextile Mercury (Sun). This is a classic signature for manipulation and coercion, and often sends the individual to a prominent position – J Edgar Hoover also had a Yod focal point Pluto inconjunct Saturn and Sun.

Pluto revelling in grubbing down the sewers.

Garel-Jones never sought high office but his leaving-a-legacy 17^th Harmonic is exceptionally strong, as his doppelganger lives on.

The UK PM Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have both got coronavirus.

Boris has tr Saturn exactly square his Scorpio Moon which only picked up a few days back and sticks around till April 6^th, returning mid June to early July. The Moon can represent the body and Saturn is a depressing influence. He’s also got his Progressed Moon  on top of his Neptune, in effect for two or three weeks, which is also energy-lowering and muddle headed. Plus tr Pluto opposition his Solar Arc Mars which is frustratingly blocked, on and off for another two years ahead.

Late March into mid April also sees tr Uranus square his Sun/Pluto midpoint, which Ebertin describes as ‘sudden adjustment to new circumstances (arrest).’

He’ll be cheered up come late May to mid June with tr Uranus square his Moon/Jupiter midpoint so he may get his energy back for a brief patch. Though he’ll sag again mid June into early July with tr Saturn back on his Moon.

His Moon is under a fair amount of stress later in the year with his Solar Arc Uranus conjunct, exact in nine months’ time. That may produce an emotional shock or surprise of sorts. Birth time being accurate he’s also got his Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct his Uranus at the moment. Tr Neptune has been ambling through his 6^th house of health, since 2016 and on for all of this decade which does suggest he needs to look after his health better,

His pregnant lady Carrie Symonds,17 March 1988, is living separately for the time being. She does have tr Saturn square her Jupiter in Taurus from April 6^th to mid June which will damp her enthusiasm but that may just be late pregnancy blues. She looks in bouncing good form from July onwards; and will be firing on all cylinders in 2021/22.

Matt Hancock, 2 October 1978, Chester, is a Sun, Mercury, Moon, Pluto in Libra with a determined Mars, Uranus, Venus in Scorpio. He’s up and down ahead with a couple of splashes of Jupiterian cheer but also a dead-halt, accident-prone Progressed Mars square his Saturn in Virgo, which will get in the way of duty; and tr Neptune square his Solar Arc Mars all year which is droopy and undermining. Mind you that may not all be personal health since he’d be under huge stress anyway given the pressures on the health service.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, proclaims herself ‘free’ since she moved from the UK in which she felt trapped and claustrophobic, according to a friend. She and Prince Harry are now, plus baby Archie, in Los Angeles, having skipped their multi-million dollar Canadian hideout before the border closed.

I wonder about – various things, which in this time of CV19 obsession is a welcome distraction. First the negative vibes about the UK. Relocating her chart to London puts her Leo Sun and Mercury on the midheaven which would allow her to shine in a public role. Admittedly it also puts her Pluto and Jupiter, Saturn Moon in the 12^th. But that is a mite less-trapped than her birth chart with Pluto in the 4^th and Mars in the 12^th. She’d have more of a chance to glitter in the spotlight in the UK than elsewhere.

Methinks she over-reacted because of her own (clearly little understood) psychology from a trapped, scary childhood with Pluto in her 4^th. Marriages often bring up old unresolved issues. And it would be exacerbated in this instance since her relationship chemistry with Harry is reflected in their composite Moon square Saturn Pluto. What happens with Saturn Pluto in relationship charts is that external circumstances are blamed for what is an inner dynamic in the bond itself.

Harry’s Pluto and Saturn in Scorpio (not conjunct) both fall in her natal 4^th house and square her Sun, Mercury, North Node – so it’s not an easy interface.

Taurean Baby Archie, 6 May 2019 5.26 am London, has Saturn Pluto conjunct his Midheaven in his 10^th house which represents career but also mother – and a Saturn Pluto mother is tough, disciplinarian, controlling, not warm. His hidden 12^th house Venus and Mercury also square his Saturn Pluto, suggesting a lack of nurturing. His Gemini Moon is very sparsely aspected only in an out-of-sign trine to Pluto, so he’ll not be well connected from his feelings and perhaps hyper-sensitive as a result.

Meghan in Los Angeles has an exuberant First House Sun Mercury in Leo so it will bring out her enthusiastic streak. In contrast Prince Harry relocated to Los Angeles has a behind-the-scenes Sun and a deeply buried 8^th house Moon, so he won’t be as outgoing.  It does put his charming Venus on his Ascendant so he will smile prettily but be more private.

Harry and Archie will resonate well with Meghan’s mother Doria since she’s a Sun and Jupiter in Virgo; though she’s also got the tough-minded Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto in her chart. Her relationship with Meghan isn’t entirely seamless Since Doria’s Uranus is conjunct Meghan’s Sun; while Doria’s obsessively conscientious Pluto square Saturn collides with Meghan’s emotionally wayward 5^th house Uranus.

Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun Venus Mercury conjunction in a steady sextile to Saturn which will help. But there’s an elusive, evasive composite Venus square Neptune; and can-be-troublesome-in-the-long-run composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction.

I wish them well and I was very much in favour of Meghan at the start but there’s a smell of something very self-willed, I-know-better-than-anyone-else about the whole set up which won’t end well. She/they haven’t left themselves much wiggle room for if and when the grand plan all goes wrong. Hollywood and the LA celeb culture can be brutal once the initial gloss wears off.

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In a highly unusual move, Venezuela’s Head of State Nicolas Maduro has been indicted in the USA in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy in which, prosecutors said, he led a violent drug cartel even as he moved up the political ladder. The State Department announced a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He has pushed Venezuela’s economy into meltdown which has forced millions of people to leave.

Maduro, born 23 November 1962 9.03 pm Caracas (birth certificate), has an ego-centric and grandstanding 5^th house Sagittarius Sun and Mercury on the point of a scattered T Square to an 8^th house Jupiter opposition Uranus (Pluto). He’s a risk-taker, lucky and a narcissist. His Neptune Venus in Scorpio is square a flamboyant Mars in Leo on one side and widely square a paranoid Saturn in Aquarius on the other. His Mars, Uranus and Pluto are all in his 2^nd so money will be a driving force.

His most recent term of office (after a heavily disputed election) kicked off on 9 January 2019 at 11.10 am Caracas, which puts Saturn, Sun and Pluto in Capricorn in the 10^th with Sun Pluto square Uranus – tough-going and prone to rolling crises. There’s also an ‘unlucky’ Mars in aggressive Aries square Saturn; plus an over hopeful Jupiter square Neptune. This year the Sun has moved by Solar Arc to close the conjunction to Pluto to exact which will create blocks and high tension. Then by 2022/23 tr Pluto squares the Term Uranus for peak instability.

Venezuela, 5 July 1811 3pm Caracas is in a car-crash year with Solar Arc Mars opposition Saturn, exact late 2020; with an undermining and devastating tr Neptune conjunct Pluto and a financial bubble-bursting square to Jupiter also throughout this year into 2021.

Trump’s relationship chart with Maduro is particularly hair-raising with a power-struggling and hostile composite Mars Pluto in a one-upmanship trine to Jupiter. Tr Pluto is in a confusing, calamitous and disruptive square to the composite Neptune now and then square Uranus running on till late 2022.

Prince Charles has mid symptoms of coronavirus and is in good spirits, it has been announced.

He does look on edge at the moment with his Progressed Moon exactly conjunct his energetic 5^th house Mars, so as a workaholic he may not be taking to his enforced isolation and idleness with any enthusiasm. The triple conjunction of Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter in Capricorn has been moving through his 6^th house of health and work; and with tr Saturn now in Aquarius, still in his 6^th till early next year, squaring his Moon until April 6^th and again mid June to early July, he will be running into blocks to his career perhaps because of low energy. He was already keeping out of sight up in Balmoral and will presumably stay there for the foreseeable future.

He should bounce back with more exuberance come early July when tr Pluto squares his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint. Though worryingly he has his Progressed Mars opposing his 1^st house Pluto in effect all this year, which will be frustrating and trapped; and his Solar Arc Pluto will oppose his 10^th house Moon, exact in the autumn of 2021, which will put considerable pressure on him.

Given his temperament, he may not be overly pleased at Prince William stepping more into the spotlight. Their relationship which has improved in recent times may be sagging touch from late April as tr Neptune opposes the composite Pluto.

The July Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn will affect Camilla’s chart more obviously with her Moon, Venus, Mercury in Cancer in aspect; and tr Pluto opposing her Sun throughout this year posing her major challenges.

The Queen looks rattled and insecure from this Sunday to mid April with tr Uranus conjunct her Mars/Node midpoint; and more so from 6^th April to mid June with tr Saturn square her Mars/Pluto midpoint. The July Lunar Eclipse is in opposition to her Pluto in Cancer in her 6^th. Aspects to 6^th house planets don’t necessarily mean personal health issues, though it can, but they can also indicate concerns about others – and in her case her subjects.

May they all sail through in good spirits.

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, is emerging as a key figure in the fight against coronavirus who can’t and won’t be silenced by Trump. New York State had 25,665 cases, with at least 157 deaths, which accounts for nearly 7 percent of global cases. He said the situation was escalating faster than expected, with new cases doubling every three days and projects they may need 140,000 hospital beds with at present only 53,000 available. Up to 40,000 intensive-care beds could be needed and he scoffed at the 400 ventilators sent in by federal authorities when they need 30,000. He said that New York was a harbinger for the rest of the country. “Look at us today,” he warned. “Where we are today, you will be in four weeks or five weeks or six weeks. We are your future.”

Born 6 December 1957 in New York, he’s a serious Sun Saturn in Sagittarius in an innovative trine to Uranus; with an uber-determined Mars in Scorpio in an excitable square to Uranus, so he likes to live on an adrenaline rush. His Mercury in practical Capricorn is in a persuasive trine to Pluto. He has planets in all three Air signs though not in aspect – a restless and communicative Gemini Moon, a tolerant and people-friendly Venus in Aquarius and Jupiter in fair-minded Libra. His healing Neptune is coincidentally conjunct a Scorpio North Node, tying him into the mood of the moment.

It’s a chart that really needs a birth time to make sense. Though his key midpoints tell a story. His Mars sits on his upbeat, crusading and lucky Sun/Jupiter midpoint. His Jupiter is conjunct his Saturn/Pluto midpoint so bleak conditions bring out the best in him. His Pluto is square his Mars/Saturn which will make him resourceful in crises.

At the moment and through this year and next, tr Pluto is square his Jupiter bringing enthusiasm, confidence and success. Though he’ll run into the buffers next year with Solar Arc Sun square his Mars. But he’s got resilience to spare and is used to shocks and emergencies.

Pic: Pat Arnow.

Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister, has been found not guilty on 12 of the sexual assault charges facing him, while another charge was found not proven. His defence barrister said in his summing up “I’m not here to suggest he always behaved well or couldn’t have been a better man on occasions. I’m dealing with whether or not it was established he was guilty of serious, sometimes very serious, criminal charges, which require a “very, very high standard of proof”. They were majority verdicts.

The Times reports that at least another four women have made complaints to detectives in Scotland about Mr Salmond’s alleged behaviour in London, which will be considered by the Metropolitan Police.

There are suggestions that a political conspiracy from within the Scottish National Party lay behind some of the charges, with suggestions that Nicola Sturgeon may be damaged by the fallout. Commentators point to the bitter internal war in the SNP since the lost 2014 independence referendum, with supporters in the fight-on Salmond camp up against supporters of the more cautious Sturgeon. There is talk of Salmond suing the Scottish Government for their handling of the matter before criminal charges were laid.

What an unholy guddle.

Salmond, 31 December 1954 4.30pm Linlithgow, Scotland, is a highly articulate and powerfully charismatic man, an astute politician with a considerable ego, who lead Scotland to near independence, but also suffers from questionable judgement, notably in taking on a talk show with the Putin-backed Russia Today network.

He is facing a whole raft of negative influences this year and for several years following, which he’ll approach with his usual bullish confidence. From late this month and through April tr Neptune is conjunct his 10^th house Mars which usually accompanies a sense of panicky-failure, and that influence repeats in September and next February. His Solar Arc Midheaven is moving to a downbeat opposition to his Saturn, exact within weeks; and even more discouraging and trapped, his Solar Arc Mars moves to square his Pluto, exact in 2021, but in effect within a few months. Tr Saturn is also in hard aspect to his Jupiter Uranus square Neptune this August through to November which will dampen his enthusiasm. Tr Pluto will then oppose his Uranus Jupiter in 2021/22 which will put him into confidence-overdrive, determined to make waves, but his Solar Arc Saturn, already catching the dreary, deprived conjunction from Pluto in 2020/21 will oppose his Jupiter Uranus by 2022 for a dead-halt and setbacks. 2022/23 also sees tr Neptune conjunct his 10^th house Moon, which doesn’t suggest career success or voter popularity; and that latter coincides with Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Sun. It should be crawl into a bunker and stay there time, except he’s unlikely to go quietly.

Nicola Sturgeon, 19 July 1970 3.16 pm Irvine, Scotland, has bolstered her popularity with her response to Boris’s Brexit and the CV19 crisis. She does have tr Saturn opposing her Cancer Sun and square her Jupiter through the autumn which will be discouraging; and some career losses from late May onwards. But that could be due to myriad reasons.

Her relationship with Salmond who was her mentor, was never as cosy as the red carpet moments. His controlling Pluto is conjunct her Midheaven so he would shape her career but also insist on having total control; and his ambitious Mars opposed her Pluto for what clearly turned into a bitter power struggle.

Their relationship chart has a friendly and affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction. But also a one-upmanship Jupiter Pluto conjunction – initially that can provide a surge of joint enthusiasm pushing the pair onto success but when it falls apart – as it usually does – the energy turns inwards and creates a tussle for the last word and the upper hand. There’s also an unkind and one-sided composite Saturn square Mars which suggests a partnership where one partner has to sacrifice their needs to prevent arguments; and Mars is also in a volatile and no-compromise square to Uranus. Their friendship has been under immense pressure since the 2014 Referendum with the tr Pluto square tr Uranus hitting on the composite Sun Venus and tr Neptune undermining the Jupiter Pluto.

The two SNP charts, 14 December 1933 and 7 April 1934, are in upheaval over the next two or three years; with hints on both of a major and confident push in 2023.

National Guard troops will be deployed to the three states hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak – New York, Washington state and California. But governors and mayors are tearing their hair out over shortage of medical equipment which has been blithely promised by Trump and his team but  not yet materialised. New York’s Bill de Blasio said supplies could run out within days. He has repeatedly attacked Trump for not invoking the Defense Production Act to force private companies to make more supplies; and has said the city needs three million N-95 masks, 50 million surgical masks, 15,000 ventilators and 25 million sets of gowns, gloves and other protective equipment. “If we don’t get ventilators this week we are going to lose lives we could have saved — I can’t be blunter than that,” he said.

Both the New York state, 26 July 1788, and New York Inc, 1 January 1898, charts are worrisome and not just for this year. NY Inc has the enthusiasm and confidence-denting Solar Arc Saturn opposition Jupiter now and that continues in amplified form in 2021 as Solar Arc Saturn squares the NY Sun; with undermining Neptune transits to midpoints at the moment, more in 2021, and further on till mid decade. So it’ll be a slow recovery. The NY State chart, is jolted and jangled now with Solar Arc Saturn square Uranus; and panicked with tr Neptune opposition Mars plus turbulent transits to midpoints. Though there will be some rays of sunshine breaking through with a couple of Jupiter midpoints holding up enthusiasm in 2020/21. Until there’s another flattening Saturnine down in 2023.

Seattle Inc, 2 December 1869, has the illness and panic-prone tr Neptune square Saturn this year and Solar Arc Neptune square Saturn in 2021; there’ll be some upbeat news in 2021 but alongside more downers.

Washington state, 11 November 1889, has the same pattern of upheavals, disruptions and acute frustrations from 2020 to late 2022; with a few moments of stardust in 2021.

California, 9 September 1850, is in a grimly determined mood in 2020/21 with tr Pluto square the hardship Saturn/Pluto midpoint and unsettled Saturn/Uranus midpoint; with some Neptunian dips as well. They are heading for a difficult 2023/24 when tr Pluto squares the Uranus Pluto, though that could be natural disasters and not a pandemic hangover. Though the economic damage is likely to be felt for a number of years.

Trump’s Administration chart is at its most unstable at the moment with the Solar Arc Pluto having moved to close the square to Uranus to exact; with a discouraging setback and depressed mood from tr Saturn coming to square the Admin Sun from today onwards till early April as it moves into Aquarius, returning mid June till early July; with an emotional shock or a voter revolt in June as well from tr Uranus opposition the Admin Moon; and that repeats late September to late October.

The blustering, bragging loudmouths – Trump and Boris and Brazil’s Bolsonaro – are the least well-equipped to cope with a crisis. All talk of the Churchillian spirit appears to have disappeared down a sink hole. Not only are they faced with actual, hard knock-on-wood reality – a scenario they can’t spin; they are, even worse, being forced to face the unpalatable truth that they aren’t in control which wounds their narcissism.

Anthony Fauci, chief immunologist for the White House – ‘the grandfatherly captain of the virus crisis’ – is letting his frustration show about Trump’s prevarications, delusions, lies and inability to understand the implications of coronavirus. He rolls his eyes in public at misstatements about vaccines and has now given a remarkable interview to a science magazine saying that facts have to be given to the White House several times before they sink in.

Born 24 December 1940, he’s a Sun Capricorn trine Jupiter Saturn in Taurus; with Jupiter Saturn probably opposition a Scorpio Moon and certainly square Pluto in Leo, and Uranus in Taurus opposition Mars in Scorpio – so absolutely unbudgeable and built for the long haul. His Neptune sits exactly conjunct his Mars/Pluto midpoint which could describe a doctor suited for a deadly crisis to a T.

His brook-no-interference Mars opposition Uranus clashes mightily with Trump’s Midheaven and Mars, so it was never going to be a peaceful connection.

Their relationship chart has a half-friendly, half-evasive composite Sun opposition Venus Neptune; and a sticky collection of an unsupportive, only-one-can-win Mars Neptune trine Uranus sextile Pluto. Their relationship is due a shake-up from the middle of April when tr Uranus squares the composite Pluto, a time when tr Uranus is also conjunct the Jupiter/Saturn midpoint on Fauci’s own chart which often coincides with career losses and sometimes loss of job.

Speaking truth to power carries risks certainly where Captain Chaos in the White House is concerned.