Putin is ramping up the rhetoric on Ukraine, daring the USA and its allies to try to defeat Russia. He has increasingly cast the war as a battle between Russia and the USA, triggered by  the humiliation of Russia since the 1991 fall of the USSR, and the enlargement of NATO. The reason for the recall of the lower house of the Russian parliament this Friday during the vacation isn’t clear but could be a hint that Putin intends to boost his efforts. The Russian parliament has already pledged to help two Russian-backed self-declared breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine to develop their legal system.

  This may not be hugely significant but the Jupiter in Scorpio on Putin’s 4^th Term chart, 7 May 2018 11.05 am, is at 18 degrees and thus in line for the Uranus, North Node, Mars in Taurus opposition on 1^st August – and Uranus will oppose the Term Jupiter till mid October. That chart has a Sun opposition Jupiter which will bring luck but also arrogance, over-confidence and a tendency to go too far. Tr Pluto is also moving to conjunct the Term Mars exactly from August 4 to December 10 for the final time which can be ruthless though also trapped, frustrated and enraged – and since the Mars is tied into a square to Uranus it could also potentially be destabilising. Tr Puto will square the Term Uranus exactly in 2023/24 which will be a precarious time for Putin.

 Zelensky’s Leo Moon on a 2pm 25 January 1978 birth time is in the final minutes of 17 degrees and could be 18 and squares Uranus – so it is also being rattled up by tr Uranus now and more so across early August and on.

  The Russia 8 December 1991 relationship chart with the USA has Neptune at this super-sensitive degree catch the tr Uranus Mars North Node opposition in early August – and indeed tr Uranus opposes the composite Neptune now till made October. With undermining Neptune transits as well.

   The USA/Russia 1917 relationship chart is aggravated and blocked with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mars throughout this month till early August, and again late year and on and off till late 2023. Nothing easing up anytime soon.

  Putin looks likely to blow himself up with his Ukrainian land-grab in the longer term but it may not be over for months or even another year yet, leaving the poor (and very stalwart) Ukrainians having to suffer more destruction. See previous post 30 May 2022.  

ADD ON: Nikolai Patrushev, Putin’s close ally from his KGB days and his Security Adviser, a possible successor, has been stepping up his vocal support for the Ukraine invasion. He’s also in line for the August 1^st fireworks display since the tr Uranus, Mars, North Node in Taurus will square his Pluto exactly. Born 11 July 1951, no birth time, he’s an excitable, short-fused, none-too-realistic Sun, Uranus, Mars in Cancer square Neptune and Jupiter. His Sun square Neptune is moving by Solar Arc to hard aspect his Saturn within months and extending through 2023 into 2024 = panicky, uncertain, pressured, blocked, having to face reality.

John McEnroe, the original super-brat and enfant terrible of 1980s tennis, has accomplished an astonishing transformation into a popular, much respected establishment figure. He constantly hectored umpires – “you can’t be serious” – and threw contempt at the strait-laced organisers as he headed for three Wimbledon singles titles in 1981, 1983 and 1984, and four US Opens and retired at 26. His rumbunctious New York nightclub lifestyle and tempestuous, drug-addled first marriage to the actress Tatum O’Neal made him a paparazzi favourite.

  A well-reviewed documentary about his life and personality hits the screens this week, relating his tense relationship with his ex-Air Force father and manager and his ‘no softie either’ mother, as well as the fallout after the O’Neal marriage split, ultimately handing him full custody of their three children because of her heroin addiction. Then he met musician Patty Smyth and appears settled in relative harmony with two more children, bringing his brood to five aged between 23 and 36. She said “I married a bad boy who became a really good man.”

  He was born 16 February 1959 10.30pm Wiesbaden, Germany, and has an astonishing chart. His Sun, Mercury in Aquarius in his sporting 5^th house oppose Pluto which squares onto Jupiter opposition an 8^th house Mars Moon in Gemini. A volcanic mix which acts like a windmill in a hurricane. A high-wire temperament he is short-fused and impatient to the nth degree. His Jupiter square Pluto = over-confident, rules don’t apply. Mars square Pluto = do-or-die determined, desperate when boxed in. Pluto square Moon = intense emotional reactions. Pluto opposition Mercury, Sun = controlling, dislikes being ordered around. His Mars Moon is further emphasised being on the focal point of a Yod to Neptune sextile Saturn. Learning to handle and modulate his anger and reactions will have been a hard life lesson.

  His Venus in sensitive Pisces in his hard-working 6^th house will make for good working relationships with colleagues though since it is unaspected he may be less demonstrative at an affectional level elsewhere. His wife Patty suggests in the film he may be on the autistic spectrum.

  Last but not least he has an maverick and innovative Uranus in his 10^th house of career.

  His second wife Patty Smyth, 26 June 1957, a Sun and Venus in Cancer with a Gemini Moon is quite a Saturnine connection, giving him structure and common sense with her Saturn opposition his Moon and his Saturn opposition her Sun.

  His first wife Tatum O’Neal, a former child star with disastrous showbiz parents, 5 November 1963 3.38 am Los Angeles, in contrast had her Mars opposition his Moon stoking him up  and her Saturn opposition his Uranus. Their relationship chart has a hostile composite Mars opposition Pluto and a tricky Yod onto Venus Saturn.

  His relationship chart with Patty Smyth has certain of the same elements as with Tatum O’Neal but in a diluted form. It won’t all have been easy but it clearly gives him what his complicated temperament needs.  

  He’s at a phase of his life where he is contemplating what ambitions he wants to fulfil for the next decade plus. He may go through a two or three years muddle until he clears his head and then he will start to branch out.

His global star 22^nd harmonic is powerfully successful. His leaving-a-legacy-for-history is intensely determined.  His 5H and 11H are also marked.

  A talented though initially troubled individual and inspiring to see that change is possible.

Like ferrets fighting in a sack, the warring contenders for the Tory throne and their supporters are proclaiming their virtues while smearing the rest with allegations of financial, sexual and other moral improprieties. Eleven have thrown their hats into the compound to date with a hope from the organisers that this will be whittled down to two by July 21^st. Then it goes out to the Tory membership so it will be early September before there is a decision.

   Rishi Sunak is ahead on the betting with 33 MPs backing him; with Penny Mordaunt next, followed by Liz Truss and then Tom Tugendhat.

 Below is a speedy run round their charts, with no birth times, so information is missing.

Rishi Sunak, 12 May 1980, is a Sun Mercury in Taurus in a steady trine to Saturn in practical, hard-working Virgo and opposition an innovative Uranus; with an energetic/enthusiastic Jupiter Mars in Virgo. His midpoints are lacklustre veering towards disastrous now and worsening in August. So unless he has a magical missing ingredient it doesn’t look likely.

Penny Mordaunt, 4 March 1973, a New Moon in Pisces  with a confident Pluto trine Jupiter. Again she has lacklustre midpoints and an exceptionally jangled 1 August. She’ll have the odd lucky break in 2023 but her moment will come in 2024/25 with tr Pluto conjunct her Jupiter.

Tom Tugendhat, 27 June 1973, a Sun Cancer square an ultra-determined Pluto opposition Mars. Tr Neptune square his Saturn now and into August looks very uncertain.

Jeremy Hunt, 1 November 1966, a Sun Venus in Scorpio square Jupiter in Leo, has an unfulfilled-hopes tr Pluto trine his Jupiter/Neptune now till early August and a disappointed tr Neptune square his Jupiter/Node in August. He’ll shine after 2025.

Liz Truss, 26 July 1975, a Sun Leo sextile Pluto; with a hyper-active Uranus opposition Jupiter square Saturn Mercury in Cancer. She looks panicked now till early August with tr Neptune square her Sun/Mars midpoint and blocked with tr Pluto opposition her Mars/Pluto – but after a high-tension August 1^st, she moves onto a luckier run from the 5^th right through till late year with tr Pluto conjunct her Jupiter/Uranus midpoint– which would cover the time, if she got through, when the vote goes out to the membership.

Nadhim Zahawi, 2 June 1967, a Sun Gemini trine Mars and sextile Saturn in Aries; with a sociable Venus Jupiter. Dashed hopes now into August as his tax situation is called into question – with better prospects in 2024/25 though mixed in with a few disasters then as well.

  Kemi Badenoch, 2 January 1980, a Sun Capricorn trine an enthusiastic Mars Jupiter in Virgo. She’s having a tough slog now into early August with diminishing returns.

Suella Braverman, 3 April 1980, a Sun Aries opposition Pluto with Mars in Leo square Venus in Taurus – she’s slipping, sliding and slithering through a Neptunian swamp between now and the year end and beyond.

Sajid Javid, 5 December 1969,  a Sun Sagittarius with an upbeat Mars in Aquarius trine Jupiter and a publicity-attracting square to Neptune.  He was on a confident roll earlier this year and will be again but not until next January with undermining Neptune transits to a key midpoint until early August.

Grant Shapps, 14 September 1968, a Sun, Jupiter, Pluto in Virgo with Uranus in Virgo as well; and Mars in flamboyant Leo. Neptune is being less than helpful to his elevated ambitions this year and into 2023.

Rehman Chishti, 4 October 1979, whom no one has ever heard of but is presumably hoping for a spot of name recognition, is a Sun Pluto in Libra with a stellium in Scorpio. Nope.

  Liz Truss is the only one with Jupiterian uplift (and Ben Wallace oddly enough) and next year Sajid Javid – but birth times can make all the difference.

Two standers-on-the-sidelines exercising their lungs in exhortation and condemnation are:

Dominic Cummings, 25 November 1971, a paranoid Sun Neptune in Sagittarius opposition Saturn square a chaotic, troublemaker Mars (Moon) in Pisces. He’s on a high until early August pleased to be back in the spotlight again no doubt but sinking into mild disappointment thereafter.

David Frost, 21 February 1965, has BJ’s Jupiter in Taurus opposition Neptune which is being hit amidships by the August 1^st Uranus, Mars, North Node conjunction. If only Jupiter was involved it could be lucky, but more likely coming down to earth with a bump – and then some. And that will continue right through 2023. More damagingly he has tr Neptune opposition his Mars in Virgo through this month until early August which brings a sense of panicky failure – one can only imagine he is less than enchanted at the short list.

  Whichever of the three Conservative Party charts is used there is a massive shake-up coming now and in 2023/2024 with tr Uranus hard aspects upending old certainties.

  My guess would be that this replacement will be a short term tenant of No 10 and moving on fairly rapidly.

Joe Biden is having to swallow past criticism of Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince, whom he had vowed to make a pariah for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as he goes begging bowl in hand for cheaper oil for American consumers. Critics are outraged not only because Biden appears prepared to overlook the assassination of Khashoggi, MBS’s political opponent (which earned him the nickname ‘Mr Bonesaw’) but also MBS’s pursuit of the long-running, barbaric war in Yemen.

  Realpolitik always involves unpleasant compromises and there’s not much of dramatic interest in this sorry state of affairs astrologically except for one oddity.

 Biden has his ultra-determined and stubborn (and vengeful) Mars in Scorpio conjunct MBS’s South Node with both conjunct the Saudi Arabia’s Scorpio North Node.  So there is a complicated dance of the fates going on.

  I can’t think that MBS’s South Node conjunct the Saudi Arabia’s North Node makes him a progressive force for the country as he pulls it back to its autocratic worst, imprisoning and torturing relatives and opponents  – shades of the back-stabbing Tudor monarchs of ye olde England. And into the middle of this trundles old Joe.

 Relocating his chart to Riyadh puts JB’s Moon exactly on the Ascendant and Jupiter in the 4^th close to his IC – so it is a country, despite his rhetoric, where he feels strangely comfortable. Not that he gets on with MBS, whose Mars, Mercury in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio clash badly with JB’s Scorpio Mercury, Sun, Venus. But there is a strange pull with MBS’s Venus in Leo square Pluto in tight aspect to Joe’s Taurus Moon. A complicated web of connection.

  The Scorpio/Taurus Nodes are being triggered by this year’s Eclipses so all three – MBS, JB and Saudi Arabia are on alert for game-changing crises and arguments.

  MBS’s Crown Prince chart 21 June 2017 6.19 am Riyadh, is labouring this year and next, with an unstable tr Pluto square Uranus and an uncertain, worrisome tr Neptune square Saturn, moving on to Neptune square the Sun by 2024/25. So his early aggressive ebullience will be muted somewhat.

  I’m not all that familiar with Node crossovers but they seem to be cropping up more and more these days so worth exploring.

Nicole Kidman has surprised many being still together with country singer Keith Urban after sixteen years. He got clean from his  old rock n’ roll druggie lifestyle when they got together and has managed to stay upright since, with two children now in the family home. She says he doesn’t involve himself much in her career which is clearly how she likes it.

  She was born 20 June 1967 3.15pm Honolulu, Hawaii when her student parents were there studying though they returned to Australia when she was young. Her intense and secretive 8^th house Gemini Sun is widely square Uranus Pluto in Virgo which in turn squares her Sagittarius Moon. She will have been used to a constantly changing, high-tension lifestyle so would not want too battened down a partner. She has a hard-working Saturn in self-reliant Aries in a disciplined, edgy opposition to Mars; with a successful, lucky and charming Jupiter Venus in Leo straddling her Midheaven. Her Moon is in an attention-demanding, inspirational Fire Grand Trine to Saturn and her Midheaven, Jupiter, Venus in Leo.

  Quite a mix of hard and soft, inward and outward looking.

 Keith Urban, 27 October 1967, Whangarei, NZ, maybe 12.05 am, was born four months later so has the same outer planet placings. His Scorpio Sun is conjunct her South Node, which suggests an important connection; and his Leo Moon is conjunct her Jupiter, Midheaven, Venus for an affectionate, easy going bond. Two Fire Moons will tend to have similar reactions and appreciate an adventurous lifestyle; and her 8^th house Sun fits his Scorpio Sun.

  It doesn’t leap out as a match made in astrological heaven. But their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction which will help. There’s a showbizzy Mars Neptune which fits though there will be undertones of career competitiveness. A helpfully placed Jupiter will smooth round a few rough edges.

  Their wedding chart from 25 June 2006 has the same curious mix of stress and good luck with a bad-tempered Mars Saturn which squares Jupiter; and Jupiter trines the Sun and Uranus.  But it is an advance on her wedding to Tom Cruise, 24 December 1990 which had a ruthless, over-controlling, scary Mars opposition Pluto and a high-tension and disruptive Sun Uranus and Uranus Neptune Venus plus Saturn – not auspicious for the marriage and it all followed.

  Cruise’ Cancer Sun squared her Saturn opposition Mars with his Saturn opposition her Venus – that was never going to work.

  In recent years she has successfully moved into TV with David E Kelley’s Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers doing well, in which she starred and her company produced. She’s got a long way ahead career wise.   

Prince Michael of Kent, the Queen’s first cousin, now 80, recently announced his retirement, with questionmarks over his many Russian dealings. He is strikingly similar in looks to his great uncle, the murdered Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, which has opened many doors to him in Moscow. His wife, Marie-Christine, dubbed ‘pushy’ by Princess Anne has been stalwartly at his side in public since their wedding in 1978 despite stories of relationships for both outside the marriage. They still live in Kensington Palace despite being ‘non-working’ royals with the Queen footing the bill for a market rent after a furore some years back.

 Prince Michael, 4 July 1942 7.35pm Iver, England, was born seven weeks after his father Prince George was killed in a plane crash; his mother had Greek and Russian royal parents.

  He has a lucky 8^th house Sun Jupiter in Cancer, so despite his constant tales of being short of funds, there is plenty of evidence of good fortune from forebears in that placing. His Aries Moon sits on his IC, tying him into his roots and family. His Venus, Saturn (Uranus) conjunct his Descendant hint at a complex and unconventional marriage which required considerable effort.  His much-travelled 9^th house Mars is in an ultra-determined conjunction to Pluto. Relocating his chart to Moscow puts his Mars Pluto in the financial 8^th house suggesting a fair amount of secret business wheelings and dealings.

  Princess Michael of Kent, 15 January 1945, Czech Republic, has always made a fuss about her German, Hungarian, Austrian noble ancestors, but was brought up in a suburb in Australia. Over the years she has tripped into various scandals, blundering comments and allegations of racism. She’s a Sun Capricorn with a confident trine to Jupiter; with Mars Mercury in Capricorn in a hard-edged opposition to Saturn in Cancer square Neptune in Libra.

  It’s an odd match with her Saturn conjunct his Jupiter Sun and her Mars in opposition; with her Neptune opposition is Moon and her Saturn and Mars square his Moon as well. Her Jupiter is conjunct his Neptune so he’d offer a tantalising prospect to fulfil her expansive dreams of the life she’d like. Her Aquarius Moon probably opposes his Mars. Not well designed to rub along amicably on a day to day basis.

  There is a frisson of affection in their composite chart with Sun Venus opposition Mars. But what dominates it as it does on the wedding chart is a power-couple Jupiter Pluto. This is a combination, when pulling together, which promises social punch, prestige and aggrandisement.

  The wedding chart, 30 June 1978 Vienna, has a Sun Jupiter square Pluto so couldn’t more clearly hint where the marriage was heading.   

  No great conclusions except to wonder at how the aristos and some of the Royals live.   

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Ranulph Fiennes, the transglobe explorer accomplished superhuman feats in the coldest and highest regions of the earth; and after a heart attack in his late fifties ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. He’s a fascinating example of magical Neptune at work, not normally a planet associated with extreme endurance, but it is frequently highlighted in the charts of top level athletes who can cope with punishing training schedules.

  In a new film on his life Explorer, he talks of ‘inviting the ghosts’ of his father and grandfather into his head whenever he’s at a difficult spot. ‘Those times that I really wanted to give up, I [chose not to] because of the thought of shaming my father and grandfather. I would imagine them walking beside me, particularly when I had bad frostbite and was on my own.’

  What is extraordinary (or maybe not) is he never knew his father who died four months before he was born, from wounds inflicted by a mine when fighting in Italy during World War 11; or his grandfather who died in the Battle of Arras in 1917. Yet the image of them lives in his head as his guiding star.

  He was born 7 March 1944 12.30pm Windsor, and has a 10^th house Pisces Sun like other explorers, Sir Richard Burton, David Livingstone and Amerigo Vespucci. His Sun is square a 12^th house Mars Saturn in Gemini which would help with grit, courage, military discipline and the ability to withstand deprivation. He has a confident Jupiter Moon in Leo in his 3^rd which would also help in keeping his enthusiasm up; and his Pluto is exactly conjunct a ‘leadership’ North Node.  

  But what has always intrigued me is his 4^th house Neptune which is sextile Pluto North Node and trine Uranus. Many years ago I interviewed him for a media piece and explained the standard meanings of Neptune in the 4^th to which he took great exception. As he showed me out he said it was the one thing that was absolutely wrong so it always stuck in my head. A friend who had served with him in the army later told me Ranulph could never cope with the thought of his father dying in hospital from wounds. He wanted a father who had a glorious battlefield death.

  His father the war hero, was based on fact but in his absence became embellished with Neptune’s striving for the divine ideal into a mythical almost supernatural presence in his life.  

  I connected this to a story about Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man, who fought at Little Bighorn and survived the Wounded Knee Massacre, who was a Sun Sagittarius trine Neptune, 1 Dec 1863. During an illness aged nine he had a vision in which he was visited by Thunder Beings, figures like wise grandfathers, which marked him out as a shaman and healer. He said when he rode into battle in later years he kept his vision in his mind and emerged unscathed. The one time he let his vision slip a bullet got him in the shoulder.

For both Ranulph Fiennes and Black Elk their Neptunian fantasy/image appeared to act as a protective shield.

  Neptune, when it isn’t dissolving into a puddle of indecision, drowning its sorrows in the bottom of a bottle or running a con, can create a fantasy of such potency it makes the impossible possible (sometimes).

  “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”  T.E. Lawrence – had Neptune Pluto in the 10^th.

  Dreamers of the day like Barack Obama have Neptune on the point of a T Square and look at what he accomplished in terms of making it to the White House for two terms.

  Major film stars often have marked Neptune – both Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery have/had it in the 8^th. Projecting a powerful aura.

  Neptune is more kaleidoscopic and multi-faceted than most planets in its range of outcomes reflecting its dream spinner, shape-shifter energy. And what is intriguing is how it can impact on reality if channelled in the right way.

Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan has died after being shot while giving a campaign speech, which has shocked a country where gun and political violence are rare. He stepped down in 2020 after eight years at the helm for health reasons – ulcerative colitis – an intestinal disorder fittingly for a Virgo Sun. He was known for his hawkish policies on defence and foreign policy, wanted to amend Japan’s pacifist post-war constitution; and pushed for an economic policy built on fiscal stimulus and structural reforms.

  He was born 21 September 1954 Tokyo, Japan and was a late Sun Virgo with the lucky Jupiter Uranus in Cancer of that year which produced many notable successes. His Jupiter squared Neptune which often occurs in the charts of economists. He also had a quietly determined Venus Saturn in Scorpio sextile Mars North Node in Capricorn.

 Tr Pluto was in the final stages of the opposition to his Uranus this year bringing significant change to his life. But more pointedly his Secondary Progressed Mars was exactly opposition his Pluto at the moment. And tr Saturn had just finished a few days back the exact conjunction to his Progressed Mars and opposition his Pluto – which does suggest a high-risk incident.

 Progressed Mars is often prominent for grave accidents when it meets natal Saturn or Pluto in particular; and even natal Sun aspects can feel like a car-crash (metaphorically speaking).

  The Japan chart, 11 February 1889 10.44am Tokyo, indicates panic and shock with tr Neptune conjunct the Mars in Pisces exactly now. In general it is not in a great year with a downbeat tr Saturn conjunct the Aquarius Sun and a high-tension tr Uranus square the Saturn – both jolting on and off into 2023. If the start time of 10.44am is sound then Japan will undergo even greater challenges than most when tr Pluto enters Aquarius next March and it is conjunct the Midheaven, on and off till late 2023. That can accompany a slow, grinding change of direction, loss of reputation and a degree of meltdown where old ambitions and old status are concerned.

Add On: Mits kindly emailed to say Japanese astrologers use 2.35 am as a birth time for Shinzo Abe. Though no verification of source. Have added the chart.

Actor James Caan, the memorable Godfather star who had a steady 60 year Hollywood career with several award nominations has died at 82.

 He was born on 26 March 1940 at 10.31pm (astrotheme) New York, son of a Bronx butcher from a Jewish-German immigrant family; and met the Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola while at university. He started in off Broadway plays, graduated to television, performed in a string of reputable but not successful movies, and had his big break as the short-tempered Sonny Corleone when he had just turned 30.

  As with so many actors his chart fitted his on-screen persona He was a pro-active Sun Aries in a determined trine to Pluto, with his Pluto square Saturn and sextile Mars. His bull-headed Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol was opposition a Scorpio Moon; with his Mars conjunct Venus Uranus as well. A heavyweight temperament and then some.

  His Mars on his Descendant opposition Moon and his Sun/Moon midpoint square Saturn may explain his four marriages. 

  What would help was a creative Neptune in his 10^th trine his Mars, Venus, Uranus giving him an outlet for all that steam-roller energy along with a confident Jupiter in his performing 5^th house.