“Donald Trump’s clueless diplomacy is a gift to Xi Jinping” runs the headline as Indian PM Modi cosies up to the Chinese and Russian leaders. On the surface it seems like a strategic slap in the face for Trump, though as ever in geopolitics there are pros and cons in either direction.
India and China are not natural allies – there are bitter feelings over China’s claim to an entire Indian state – Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing calls “South Tibet”. And since the border war in 1962, China has occupied 15,000 square miles of Kashmir that India considers its sovereign territory. Plus China is by far the biggest provider of weapons to India’s old enemy, Pakistan. China’s threat to Indian territory becomes greater because of the sheer scale of Xi’s military build-up. China’s declared defence budget of $250 billion (£185 billion) is over three times bigger than India’s $75 billion (£55 billion) in part because China’s economy is almost five times the size of India’s.
‘In the past the only way for India to balance China and insure itself against the ambition of its neighbour is by drawing closer to America. That is what India has been doing for at least 20 years’ (William Hague). But Trump’s bullying in trade talks and hosting of Pakistan’s army chief to lunch will have soured the mood considerably.
Modi’s 3rd Term chart is moving through treacherous times with the Mars square Pluto moving to exact within 4 months by Solar Direction and Neptune in final degree Pisces catching the September Eclipse and tr Saturn Neptune conjunct over the winter -so high uncertainty all round.
India’s relationship chart with China hints that hoping for the best may not be a good policy with tr Saturn Neptune opposition the Venus in 2026/27; and a nerve-stretched tr Uranus square Neptune in this year and next.
But what shows more clearly upsets and dented hopes are India’s relationship with both Russia 1917 and Russia 1991 – with tr Neptune Saturn conjunct Uranus and opposition Pluto in 2026/2027 on one and tr Saturn opposition the composite Sun on the other.
Nothing certain in the shifting sands of international diplomacy.
Looking at midpoints of transits may sound obscure but can occasionally be illuminating.
The inner planet aspects to midpoints are fast moving and only around for a day or so – though in itself that can be helpful for that day’s mood.
The Sun is square the Mars/Pluto midpoint today which is heavy going, requiring considerable effort to move ahead.
Venus is conjunct the Mars/Uranus midpoint which is emotionally excitable and at times upsetting.
The more interesting ones are the outer planets which stay in place for much longer.
Uranus is square the Saturn/Pluto midpoint pointing to difficult decision made in challenging circumstances. Can be risky and tough-going.
Uranus is also square the Neptune/Pluto midpoint which brings on hyper-sensitive nerves, with a hint of supernatural or bizarre experiences.
Neptune is conjunct the Uranus/Pluto midpoint = neurotic, low energy, uncertain, odd experiences.
Pluto is square the Uranus/Neptune midpoint = at the mercy of external circumstances, over easily persuaded, abandon resistance.
The outer planet midpoints will stay in aspect for some time and it shines a different light on the interplay of the four planets in early degrees – Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn – bouncing off each other.
Angela Rayner, the UK Deputy PM, is embroiled in a contentious situation over property with the Conservatives accusing Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, of hypocrisy. She avoided tax when buying a seaside property in East Sussex, purportedly to give her a safe seat for the next election. She ducked £40,000 in stamp duty by listing it as the only property she owns; and given she has also listed her Greater Manchester home as her primary residence, allowing her to avoid £2,000 in council tax on her government-owned flat in central London, it all seems a gigantic muddle.
Whether or not it all turns out to be a storm in a teacup the optics are bad amid reports that Labour is planning to increase property taxes as a way of avoiding a multibillion-pound shortfall in public spending.
Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to the prime minister’s independent standards adviser asking him to investigate whether Rayner broke ministerial rules. There is no suggestion she has broken any laws, but the Tories said this was “inappropriate tax avoidance for a minister subject to higher standards of conduct”.
Born 28 March 1980 in Stockport, England, she has been proud of her background as a single mother at 16 who later became a care worker, a trade union representative and then an MP. She has rollicked through several scandals and relationships. (See wiki).
She has an unaspected Aries Sun which Tierney describes as ‘an independent spirit but not always in a wholesome or well-balanced way.’ Self-esteem and self-pride are important. Can be self-centred.
She also has an impulsive, explosive Uranus square flamboyant Mars in Leo and a ‘leadership’ Leo North Node. But what dominates her chart is a yod from a super-ambitious Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct an indulgent, acquisitive Venus in Taurus conjunct Algol. Her Venus in Taurus is also opposition Uranus square Mars North Node and trine Saturn – so the most active planet in her chart.
Her Solar Arc Sun is moving to conjunct her yod apex Venus in 2026 which need not necessarily be bad but it will highlight her possessive, materialistic tendencies. And by 2028 her Solar Arc Sun will oppose her Uranus for a major change in her life. In 2027/27 tr Neptune will conjunct her Sun for a low energy, discouraging phase. She has a mixed bag ahead in the immediate months with uncertainty, jolts and jangles as well as some luck.
But her relationship with Keir Starmer will be seriously stressed from later this month to early December with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mars; and a high-tension tr Uranus opposition the composite Saturn Neptune from early this August to May 2026.
It may give Chancellor Rachel Reeves pause for thought as she aims to raise taxes in several directions against the background of this kind of tap dancing with property deals. The Rayner/Reeves relationship chart has a composite Sun Venus which is catching this September’s Lunar Eclipse – apex of a composite yod which binds them together by fate for good or ill – and this will bring a crisis or two crashing into their togetherness.
Amazing to think Starmer’s government has been in for less than fourteen months – it feels old and worn out already.
ADD ON: Starmer’s relationship with Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also under pressure after his reshuffle, bringing economic experts into No 10, leading to charges that he had sidelined her. All hotly denied.
The pound fell sharply in the wake of his economic reshuffle with long-term borrowing costs, the highest in the G7 in the UK reaching their highest level since 1998 driven higher in recent years by persistent inflation and rising public debt. Borrowing costs are close to a 27-year high, increasing the cost of financing government debt to £100bn a year, almost 10 per cent of the annual budget. To add insult to self-harm, the chancellor’s tinkering with tax relief for foreign residents has driven the super-wealthy to friendlier climes overseas.
The Starmer/Reeves relationship chart with a composite Neptune Sun, Venus is being assaulted by tr Uranus in opposition exactly now (since early July) and extending on through 2026. The composite Pluto in final degree Virgo is also in line for this September’s Solar Eclipse and tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Pluto through the winter. So continuing strains if not an outright parting of the ways are inevitable.
George Clooney is being hailed by critics with ‘his best performance ever’ playing an ageing Hollywood A-lister suffering a midlife crisis on a trip through Europe in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly which has just premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Born 6 May 1961 2.58 am Lexington, KY, he has a 2nd house Sun in Taurus opposition a film-star’s 8th house Neptune which in turn squares Jupiter in Aquarius – laid back, friendly, with humanitarian interests and an aura of fantasyland. He has Mars in flashy Leo in his performing 5th in a high-vitality opposition to Jupiter and a harder-edged opposition to Moon Saturn in late Capricorn. His 6th house independent-minded Uranus trines an upfront Venus in Aries and squares his Sun Mercury. His Pluto North Node in Virgo is sparsely aspected suggesting he may find difficulty integrating his drive for power and influence.
At the moment he has tr Jupiter moving through his sociable 5th house for a morale-boosting few months. He will be under pressure of a good variety with tr Pluto square his Mars/Jupiter midpoint now and through 2026 which suggests success and will be positive for new projects.
Though quite what his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his 8th house Neptune will bring by late 2027 into 2028 is not clear. Pluto on Neptune can be majorly confused but it can also trigger great ambitions – in this case from behind the scenes.
His marriage to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, 3 February 1978, has produced twins and despite a composite Sun conjunct Scheat appears to be sailing along contentedly. Her Jupiter in Gemini falls in his family 4th house and her Aquarius Sun Venus in his hidden 12th house – so it is a relationship that thrives away from public view. Her (Moon) Neptune sits on his Midheaven adding a caring slant to his career. Her Mars falls in his 5th house of children and fun though it opposes his Moon Saturn which will create a few rough edges.
Their relationship chart has a Water Grand Trine of Sun trine Neptune trine Mars with Sun opposition Pluto – again hinting at a relationship lived in a private bubble which is closely knit together, at times controlling and possessive.
“The lunatics have taken over the asylum” – said of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their responsibilities, and should rather be put under scrutiny themselves.
Robert F Kennedy Jnr, an anti-vaccine crank put in charge of US health has fired the respected head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and chosen a former speechwriter and top aide with no training in medicine or infectious disease science as a replacement. The firing prompted at least three senior CDC officials to quit. One shared a scathing resignation letter online in which he explained he was “unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”
The WP writes: ‘The episode underscores that Kennedy is operating with essentially no meaningful constraints.’
The Kennedy family were alarmed by RFK Jnr’s support of Trump called it an affront to the memory of their father, Robert F Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and daughter of JFK wrote that RFK Jr. was unqualified to lead HHS, which oversees 13 federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Her letter to the Senate before his confirmation said that “siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death.” She accused her cousin of lacking any relevant experience for the role and said he holds “dangerous and wilfully misinformed” views on vaccines. “Bobby is addicted to attention and power. Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children — vaccinating his own kids while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs.”
The CDC, 1 July 1946, with a Cancer Sun sextile Mars in Virgo and square Neptune Jupiter is well-designed as a caring entity. But the Solar Arc Pluto square the Saturn in Cancer since the Inauguration has put an immense blockage in its path. That will pass but there will be sinking moments in 2026 with tr Saturn Neptune square the Neptune followed by high insecurity with tr Uranus square the Mars in 2026. Worse by late 2026 into 2027 the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the Mars does suggest a major emergency.
What is striking about RFK Jnr’s chart, 17 January 1954 5.32pm (unconfirmed) Washington, DC is his Capricorn Sun Mercury Venus North Node opposing Uranus and square Neptune. Another instance of Uranus not being exactly progressive. More significantly the focal point Neptune in square hints at an inability to face reality and a flagrant refusal to back down even in the face of incontrovertible evidence (Uranus Neptune) – and a tendency to live in fantasyland. He also has a wide yod of a super-confident Jupiter sextile Pluto inconjunct his North Node Venus Sun in Capricorn.
He does have his Solar Arc Saturn opposition his Uranus down causing considerable tension at the moment – with a degree of paranoia running rampant as tr Pluto squares his Neptune/Saturn midpoint this year and next and Solar Arc Pluto moving onto a road-block conjunction to his Saturn in Scorpio in 2027, followed by a discouraging tr Pluto square his Saturn in 2028/29. He will grind to a halt eventually – with alarm-bells flashing in his relationship with Trump in 2026 and worse in 2027 as tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Uranus and then oppose the composite Mars. But there’s no saying the damage that will be done along the way.
As to the question of when the madness will end? On the USA 1776 chart the Solar Arc Sun square SA Saturn is grinding its way across the USA Mars square Neptune. There will be continuing uncertainty with anger erupting after a collision-type event with SA Sun square the USA Mars in early 2026 but the undermining mood won’t disappear until the Solar Arc Sun clears the opposition to Neptune after mid 2027.
The 2025 Inauguration chart which has a focal point and stressed Moon in the 6th house of health, employment and government workers which squares a Mars opposition Mercury has just passed the Progressed Moon square Mars recently and is aiming for the Progressed Moon square the Pluto by March 2026 which may be peak-jeopardy/stress level with public anger breaking out (Moon Mars). The Inauguration Neptune is also closing the conjunction to the Pisces North Node and Scheat by August 2026 which may be another staging post as Trump plans sink deeper in a swamp.
Later in 2027 the Solar Arc Uranus (on the Ascendant) will conjunct the Inauguration Algol for what may be a decisive moment.
There is a different side to Uranus – when it appears on the Ascendant of this wrecking-ball Inauguration and indeed in Prince Andrew’s 1st house – and there is zero humanitarian or progressive about him, for sure.
ADD ON: Statistics
A baby whose mother was not vaccinated against whooping cough while pregnant has died after contracting the infection, the UK Health Security Agency has said. Thirty-three infants have died of the illness since 2013 – 27 of whom had mothers who had not received the jab in pregnancy.
None of the main childhood vaccines in England reached the uptake target of 95% last year, the uptake among pregnant women currently stands at 72.6%. Vaccination rates among children and pregnant women in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef have warned that the number of measles cases in the European region doubled to 127,350 in 2024 – the highest level in 25 years.
As at 4 July, there were nearly 1,300 confirmed measles cases in the US – a 33-year high. More than nine in 10 of those affected (92%) were either unvaccinated or did not know their vaccination status.
The outbreak in the US follows a sharp rise in anti-vaccine sentiment.
The current Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr previously spread misinformation about childhood vaccinations and had minimised the danger of measles. He also promoted unproven treatments like cod liver oil. As cases have grown, he has backtracked on the MMR vaccine, writing in a post on X that it was “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles”.
Public health experts have warned that the US will lose measles elimination status if the disease continues to spread at the current rate for more than 12 months.
An all too predictable media storm followed Taylor Swift’s engagement announcement to Travis Kelce on Instagram which raked in over 1m likes in less than 10 minutes, now currently over 18m.
Born within two months of each other, she is a Sun Sagittarius with the triple conjunction of Uranus, Neptune, Saturn in Capricorn plus Mercury. Her Moon in Gemini/Cancer (the birth time is not known) possibly close to Jupiter in Cancer. Her Venus in friendly Aquarius stands in contrast to her Mars and Pluto in determined (vengeful) Scorpio.
Travis Kelce, 5 October 1989, is a Sun Mars in Libra (often a sporting sign oddly enough) which squares her Jupiter for a supportive bond. He also has the marginally chaotic triple conjunction in Capricorn. His Sagittarius Moon chimes with her Sun and his Venus in passionate Scorpio is exactly conjunct her Mars for a strong attraction.
It won’t always be an easy interaction since his Sun Mars will square her Saturn Neptune Mercury. But the relationship chart has a tightly bonded, possessive and controlling composite Sun Pluto Mercury conjunction. The composite Jupiter which will smooth round a few rough edges as it is trine the composite Mars and Sun Pluto as well as opposing the composite Uranus Neptune Saturn. Jupiter hints at mutual support and boosts optimism.
There may be a few upsets through the winter with tr Neptune Saturn (and the Solar Eclipse) square the composite Venus in final degree Sagittarius. With some tough moments in 2026/27 with tr Pluto square the composite Mars for some frustrations and difficulties.
Maintaining a public relationship as well as juggling that amount of fame is no easy matter.
France has the misfortune to be in the centre of the calamitous Scheat storm in coming months. The government may fall next week if a confidence vote fails with Left and Right catching the prime minister in a vice as he attempts to address the problem of a massive national debt by controlling spending, cutting the number of public holidays, freezing income tax thresholds and limiting the rise in social security and pensions.
France this year had the third highest debt pile in the eurozone — after Greece and Italy — at 114 per cent of GDP. It’s budget deficit is the highest in the single currency area. With already high rates of taxation the problem is not revenue raising but swathes of inefficient and unproductive government spending.
Youth unemployment is over 15 per cent (UK 9 per cent); and the French are in a permanent state of anxiety over migration and the failures of integration.
France, 21 September 1792 3.30pm Paris, has its final degree Virgo Sun catching this September’s Virgo Solar Eclipse exactly for a full blown crisis before in in the following months. Plus over the winter tr Saturn and tr Neptune both square the France Virgo Sun for setbacks and high uncertainty.
The Banque de France chart with Uranus in late Virgo is also in line of the Eclipse and tr Saturn Neptune – so financial woes will mount.
Emmanuel Macron, 21 December 1977 10.40am with his Sun Mercury in final degree Sagittarius catches all of the above in hard aspect plus his Solar Arc Mars at 29 Virgo will be in a car-crash square to his Sun now and for the rest of this year.
His Second Term chart, 13 May 2022, has a Mars Neptune conjunction which is now closing to exact – which will turn a publicity-attracting term into an embarrassing failure.
If the PM Francis Bayrou’s confidence vote by a miracle survives he faces even more acute pressure in 2026.
There are increasing murmurs that the bond (debt) markets will be the ones who force decisions not just in France but also the UK and even more so the USA.
The Trump trail of tears and terror continues to lengthen as he retreats from saving the world in the face of Putin and Netanyahu’s intransigence and instead turns his vengeful laser on home targets – Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve, John Bolton, former ally turned critic, and Democrat-run cities which he deems killing zones because of the murder rate.
Chicago is next in his sights despite have a lower mortality rate than many GOP run cities which has envigorated the Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker, a potential Democratic presidential hopeful, into mounting a stalwart defence against any prospect of federal troops being sent in.
A commentator said: “This clash runs deeper than a short-term political spat. It might develop into a full-blown crisis between a Republican White House and a major Democratic-run city and state. Likely legal challenges could turn on core values of republicanism in a dispute between a president with a monarchical sense of power and a state that rejects federal duress.”
Trump has already dispatched troops onto the streets of Los Angeles and Washington, DC, and is clearly pushing his testing of the limits of executive power and a way of normalizing the idea of khaki-clad soldiers conducting domestic law enforcement.
The Chicago mayor said ““What the president is proposing is military occupation of the city of Chicago and cities across America.” California governor Gavin Newsom has accused the president of using the military as a “private army.”
J.B. Pritzker, 19 January 1965 1.01 pm Palo Alto, California, is a billionaire businessman and politician. He is a final degree Capricorn Sun with a formidable Mars, Pluto and Uranus in Virgo as well as a Virgo Moon opposition an executive 10th house Saturn – and an 8th house Venus Mercury in Taurus. Plus a high-finance Jupiter in Taurus opposition Neptune. There’s nothing much to suggest success in 2028. But his relationship with Trump which is riddled with dislike at the best of times will be turned upside down this December and mid March to early April 2026.
Chicago will be a worthy foe for Trump, 4 March 1837, since its Mars Jupiter in Leo is conjunct Trump’s 12th house power-hungry Pluto. That relationship chart hints the war of words will escalate over the winter with continued pressure beyond that.
Trump’s relationship with John Bolton and Jerome Powell also show considerable unrest and turbulence when Uranus retrogrades to late Taurus from this November to April 2026. With Powell’s woes continuing into 2026. Gavin Newsom/Trump will also creak and groan now through 2026 and on.
I wondered – for the umpteenth time – precisely what drives Trump – astrologically speaking. Gemini like all signs has its trickier side and can be unfeeling. A Gemini North Node tends to rush around like a bull in a china shop. Mars in Leo is bombastic and a flagrant attention-seeker, can oddly be petty when it feels ignored, but Leo itself is not renowned as a sign with a vengeful streak. Uranus in the 10th demands freedom and dislikes having to submit to rules. All of which suggest a temperament veering towards the chaotic and impractical with no Earth signs – but not of a Stalinesque dictator or a Viktor Orban for that matter (Sun Gemini square Pluto with Mars opposition Saturn.)
There are two other ways of approaching a chart. One is with midpoints and his, unsurprisingly, has a super-confident Sun square Mars/Jupiter and Jupiter square Sun/Pluto. But he also ominously has his 12th house Pluto sitting on the midpoint of Mars/Saturn which has overtones of brutality and destruction and will give him a capacity for great unkindness (cruelty). Especially so with a 12th house Pluto which can have a deep, dark reservoir of intense over reactions.
The other approach is via Fixed stars.
Trump has Mars conjunct Alphard, the Hydra water snake which is associated with – trouble and scandal through love affairs. “This conjunction brings out the dynamo in the native. Properly directed it brings them to leadership. However, the native may bring on sorrows and possibly scandals due to their actions. These natives are generally daring and foolhardy, defiant and stubborn.” He shares this with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ascendant conjunct Regulus – a splendid and illustrious life; glorious, mighty and commanding nature; fame, busy with many activities, bountiful resources, well known or feared. Illustrious generals who subjugate regions and cities, are inclined to speak frankly, have a taste for fighting. Great honour and wealth, and violence and trouble, acute disease, benefits seldom last, victory over enemies and scandal.
Manilius a Roman poet of AD 30 is quoted.:
‘But when the Lion shews his ravenous Jaws
Prepared for Rapine, and unsheaths his Paws,
A Spendthrift’s born, who minds himself alone
—
So fast his Gluttony, his Lust so wild
That he devours himself, yet is not fill’d.’
Midheaven conjunct Algol: A splendid and illustrious life. Both negative and positive influences. The darker side is bigoted, secretive, subject to violence, either to or by the native, a propagandist. Mass vandalism, fanaticism, tragedies, ruthlessness. Algol has has a long tradition as a troublemaker.
Saturn conjunct Procyon he shares with the Marquis de Sade, Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua dictator), George W. Bush, Itamar Ben-Gvir (Israel minister of National Security), John F. Kennedy.
The 2025 Inauguration chart which has a dictatorial, intimidating Sun Pluto opposition Mars – also has Jupiter conjunct Aldebaran: This position brings recognition or glory that has not been earned. Unless a conscious path is followed all will be lost eventually.
And Mars conjunct Procyon: The native can become involved in statements that are open to question or debate. There may be a complete lack of compassion for others. Scandalous actions and insensitive, cruel actions, prideful and of a controversial nature.
For Fixed stars see Astrology King website. V helpful.
James Dobson, the Conservative preacher once called “the nation’s most influential evangelical leader” with an entrée to the White House under Reagan has died. He believed in the notion of the traditional family with a male breadwinner and a female caregiver, thought spanking children aged 15 months and on was advisable with switches or belts kept on the child’s dresser as a reminder of authority, was against LBGT+ and pro-conversion therapy, was against abortion and feminism and opposed teaching about evolution. His wiki entry is an eye-opener.
He was born April 21, 1936 with a travelling evangelist father and a mother who was ‘was intolerant of “sassiness” and would strike her child with whatever object came to hand, including a shoe or belt; she once gave Dobson a “massive blow” with a girdle outfitted with straps and buckles. He later became a child psychologist by training.
A Sun, possibly New Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus with Mercury Mars also conjunct in Taurus, he would certainly be fixed and traditionalist in his outlook – though his Uranus clearly had its own idiosyncratic tilt and not in the direction of progress. Uranus like Aquarius, which it rules, can have a rigid, intolerant streak. And underneath Taurus’s indulgent persona there often/always lurks a desire for power.
He also surprisingly had Neptune opposition Saturn which can be creative and often lacks decisiveness, but clearly not in his case. His Jupiter in crusading Sagittarius was virtually unaspected which can indicate a lack of judgement with a strong sense of disconnection and a need to keep searching for answers. It will depend on the house position which is not known but could give him the zeal to push his message.
His Capricorn North Node according to Schulman would tend to make him ‘a self-appointed hallmark of tradition.’ But it would also root him in immaturity since this Node hates letting go the past. ‘The soul has become fixated at one point in early growth.’ With an abusive childhood and parents he could neither face nor walk away from, he turned traumatizing children into a virtue with a cosmetic dollop of Christian purity as a way of avoiding facing up to his own damage.
The only aspect of Jupiter is a minor quincunx to Pluto in Cancer which latter plugs into the USA Mercury in Cancer opposition Pluto which opens the country up to coercive individuals who bulldoze them into listening to/accepting fixed opinions which are not open to rational discussion.
[Years back I talked to Ellen Bass who wrote Courage to Heal for abuse survivors. In conversations (no doubt heated) with Ralph Underwager, a preacher, who defended accused child abusers and went to ludicrous attempts to do so, she reckoned the key difference between their viewpoints was – he thought children were born evil and had to be ‘made’ good. While she thought the opposite. One gets that impression with other religious zealots – a very odd belief.]
