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Yods in astrology are talked about as rare and ‘fated’, the finger of destiny, which sounds scary. The truth is they are fairly frequent occurrences in birth charts and while they do give rise to their own specific issues they can be a blessing rather than a curse.

  They are formed by two planets in sextile both inconjunct a third planet. Because the focal planet is in an element with no natural connection to the base planets – for example, Fire sextile Air inconjunct Earth or Fire sextile Air inconjunct Water there is a sense of discomfort, of things not fitting, of the individual not being the same as everyone else. They feel different and initially unworthy.

  All configurations bring their own challenges. Trines and sextiles make the energy of the planets in aspects flow easily. Too many in a chart can bring a problem of laziness and discontent and in the case of a Grand Trine getting stuck in a comfortable rut. Individuals with easy aspects tend not to place value on their achievements and talents because results tend to come without effort.

 Squares pull together planets in the same modality although in a clashing way – Cardinal to Cardinal, Fixed to Fixed and Mutable to Mutable – and have the advantage of fostering a problem-solving approach. There’s a hurdle to overcome and finding the solution leads to a stronger and resourceful personality.

Oppositions create a see-saw effect, or being pulled constantly in opposite directions – the grass is always greener somewhere else – but can be helpful in understanding the Other point of view. The best example being Ted Kennedy, who had several oppositions and for all his shortcomings was a past master politically at the art of cross-party negotiations.

  Howard Sasportas who had a yod in his chart had an interesting take, describing the focal planet as trapped, not free to operate because it was stuck between dissimilar energies – and yet, perhaps precisely because of that, it becomes the person’s destiny.  He says you have to grow through something you can’t escape from.

  The yod more than any other element of a birth chart headlines Carl Jung’s epithet – “Free will is the ability to choose that which we must do.”  With a yod the focal planet must be lived out. The switch from an early sense of never fitting in and being different is triggered by a seemingly random outer event and not a willed one. Being different with its sense of unworthiness now becomes a uniqueness which has a singular purpose.   

  The examples on this forum are not helpful to those struggling with less elevated lives. Celebrities, Royals and turbo-charged business types have by and large made the transition from outsider to finding their niche, and, however edgy their personalities, have found a way to make their yods work – Disney’s Bob Iger (below), Martha Stewart, Pablo Picasso, Marine Le Pen, actor Jim Caviezel, Prince William and Harry, Princess Diana, Meghan Markle.

  Howard Sasportas said of his yod: ‘I was led by an instinct, a feeling of being pushed along by the Yod formation of the Sun and Uranus to the MC – and it affected my choice of work. It drove me. I didn’t have to make a lot of conscious choices.’

  Princess Diana in her book Diana: Her True Story, made remarks about always feeling different, of carrying a burden that she was unable to articulate, but always knew was there. Her intuition, she said, told her that life would be a winding road, always feeling separate from others; never feeling in the right place. What happened to her ultimately was not the result of her Jupiterian yod though they can be mishandled, especially with Saturn, Mars or Pluto focal points.

  Not everyone lives out the full potential of their chart though Gauquelin (I think) found that the most successful are the ones who do. That means knuckling down to accept the hand of cards that come at birth over which there is no choice. Which means finding a life and career context in which those energies can be used to their fullest. The patterns of life are not always kind but cause less damage if they are embraced.

  Howard Sasportas as a lowly 9 to 5 civil servant or a factory conveyor belt operative would never have worked. Homing in on your individuality, valuing your originality and being pleased at your difference is the sacrifice a yod demands and its reward.

Florida is living through ‘interesting times’ with DeSantis rollicking through right-wing legislative changes and the orange harvest reaching the lowest levels since the 1930s, due to hurricanes in recent years causing crop damage, along with an Asian bacterial infection.

Pending is a law preventing abortions after six weeks. The death penalty no longer needs unanimous jury recommendations; death sentences will be allowed for people who rape children under age 12.  Floridians can now carry guns without concealed-weapons licenses. Plus a whole raft of Parental Rights where sex education is concerned; tightening immigration policy; restricting lawsuits against companies.

 What is curious given the thumping majority DeSantis won in November 2022 is how uncomfortably his chart sits with Florida.

 Florida was admitted to the USA on 3 March 1845 and is  moving through a panicky year with a strong sense of failure pervasive as tr Neptune squares the Mars, on and off till February 2024. There’s also an emotionally upsetting and highly strung tr Uranus square the Venus, Neptune, Mercury in 2023/24 – very much on edge.

  This coming October’s Solar Eclipse at 21 Libra opposes the Florida Pluto and has Mars on the Midheaven and Pluto near the Ascendant located there –  so there may be a crisis or two in the months following. The April 2024 Solar Eclipse in Aries will also tug on the Florida Pluto. Several of this year and next’s Solar and Lunar Eclipses have planets on the angles for Florida so it backs up what the edgy transits show.

 DeSantis, 14 September 1978, has his Mars in Libra opposition the Florida Pluto and his Saturn opposition the Florida Pisces Sun – not exactly a warm and cosy combo.

 His relationship chart with Florida is even more stark with a composite Saturn Mars trine Pluto and Pluto opposition Neptune, Moon Uranus. If that were an emotional relationship there might be domestic violence. Mars Saturn suggests only one partner benefits and there is ruthless control and a need to dominate as well as upend the status quo. Late May 2024 onwards is when it will start to show strain as tr Uranus opposes the composite Saturn and then Mars into early 2025.

 If Desantis is still in the race for the White House he’ll get his second wind from late February 2024 onwards as tr Pluto opposes his Jupiter and that will carry him through on a confident push into 2025. Not necessarily a winning streak but a definite uptick on his chances of the moment.

ADD ON:

ADD ON:  His wife Casey DeSantis, a former new journalist and TV presenter, 26 June 1980, is a Sun Cancer with leadership Leo North Node; and an edgy, tough-minded Mars Saturn in Virgo on the focal point of a T Square to Venus opposition Neptune. Her driven, determined and short-fused Mars Saturn are conjunct her husband’s Virgo Sun which must make for some tense moments as she’ll be a hard taskmaster. Their relationship chart is lucky and super-ambitious with a composite Sun Jupiter sextile Pluto and trine Neptune; with a strong power dynamic from a Mars Pluto conjunction.

  Her synastry with Florida is no more comfortable than his with her Mars Saturn square Neptune colliding with the Florida Mars; though admittedly her Jupiter does oppose the Florida Sun. And her relationship chart with Florida is argumentative, complicated and confused.

  Her chart is up and down this year; with fortunate influences into 2025. Her Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct Pluto may be on the same degree of a conjunction over the Inauguration  or it may be later in the year depending on her birth time. And she’s in for a lucky run from mid 2025 onwards as well.

South America was ravaged by Vatican-inspired foreign conquistadores from Spain and Portugal from the sixteenth century onwards, which decimated the local population with European diseases and forced labour. Having won a hard-fought independence in the early 19^th century, many South American countries are now being held hostage by narco-gangs supplying Europe’s growing cocaine addiction.  Which is all the more ironic since most countries in South America have been keen on the political front to reduce foreign influence. Close one door and another opens.

  The recent assassination of a Ecuadorean presidential candidate, who has spoken out on corruption and alleged links between organised crime and politics, is symptomatic of the rising homicide levels. Fernando Villacencio, 11 October 1963, was a Sun Venus in Libra with a determined Mars Neptune in Scorpio square Saturn and sextile Uranus Pluto in Virgo. He had two yods in his chart – Saturn sextile Jupiter inconjunct Pluto and Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Jupiter.  Handled well they would give him influence and the ability to make a difference in society. Though there is a hint that over confidence could prove a problem.

  Most of the early 19^th century charts for South America are a moveable feast since the various independence struggles journeyed through several stages.  Several have Pluto in Pisces which may point to transiting Neptune in Pisces since 2012 having a hand in the recent surge of the cocaine trade.

  Even if this holds good it’ll be a hard fought battle even after Neptune exits into Aries. The effect of cocaine was first seen by the Spanish invaders as the indigenous people chewed on coca leaves but it was not isolated until 1855 by a German scientist – when transiting Neptune was last in Pisces.

  At what point does do-goodery turn totalitarian? An American movement to persuade businesses to follow higher social and environmental standards and to be both transparent and accountable sounds innocuous enough. B Corp started in 2006 and signed up small companies and later multinationals which can prove they  follow guidelines to make the world a better place. It has only caught public attention now as it appeared in the Coutts Bank dossier which led to the debanking of Nigel Farage, because his views on climate and race did not align with ‘inclusive values’.

  The media storm that Farage subsequently brewed up saw two top brass in Coutts depart and offers to have his account restored – as well as starting a campaign for bank transparency on other closed accounts.  

   B Corp was started in 2006 by three businessmen who had sold their socially-responsible sportswear company and discovered the new owners had stripped away employees’ and overseas workers’ rights. They set about trying to motivate businesses to be ethically responsible by handing them a certificate. They started on the Saturn in Leo opposition Neptune in Aquarius in 2006 – which is an aspect keen to establish a fairer and better society. There was also a status-quo-upsetting, revolutionary Uranus in Pisces moving to square Pluto as they handed out the first certificates in 2007.

  The UK branch, B Lab UK, was registered as a charity (which does not take donations) on 14 January 2015 – when again there was a Saturn square Neptune and a Uranus square Pluto.  So a mix of idealism with a degree of hyper-sensitive neurosis plus a desire to collapse the old order. Both aspects can bring positive change; but both can also be overly rigid, and in negative mode lead to confusion and chaos respectively.

  I thoroughly dislike Farage for his views and the damage he has done but when did agree-to-differ become forbidden territory? Especially in a banking group which is part owned by the taxpayer. This has all the feel of the Stonewall mission creep which started from laudable beginnings to do real damage.  

Why Things Bite Back: the Revenge of Unintended Consequences

Hawaii is facing the largest natural disaster in recent times as Hurricane Dora fuelled wildfires which have left 53 dead so far and 1000 missing. Tourists were forced to jump into the sea and tread water for hours.

  The recent Aries Solar Eclipse conjunct Jupiter is sitting on the Descendant axis located to Hawaii. Planets close to the axis usually suggest a country in line for a crisis of sorts and while Jupiter is traditionally regarded as benign if not lucky, it often appears around disaster events.

  In negative mode Jupiter leads to intemperance and over abundance, an over-the-top excessiveness which knows no limits. In mythology Zeus, usually aligned with Jupiter, is known for his powerful temper. When angry, he became destructive, hurling lightning bolts with such ferocity that they caused violent storms, wreaking havoc across the earth. Jupiter was close to the Midheaven from the 9^th when 9/11 started and close to the USA Cancer Sun as well.

  Hawaii became a USA state on 21 August 1959 at 10.10am Honolulu which gives a 29 degree Libra Ascendant, exactly the same as the  April Eclipse New Moon. So significant changes to its image were to be expected.

 Previous Hawaii history is chequered although 11 June 1810 is a key marker as is the constitution of 6 July 1887, which did hand power to some westerners but also stripped the monarch of his absolute powers.

  All three charts have prominent Jupiters – the 1957 chart with a Leo Sun square Jupiter. The 1810 chart has Jupiter opposition Uranus, which has moved by Solar Arc to have SA Jupiter square Pluto this year and oppose Sun Mars in the next three/four years. The 1887 chart has Jupiter in Libra square Saturn and trine Mars sextile Venus – and its Jupiter was triggered by the recent Aries Eclipse.

  Jupiter could also point to Hawaii’s sun-drenched, sociable, laid-back image as a tourist destination.

  But it is clearly susceptible to excess running rampant as well.

  On the 1959 state chart the next two to four years look tricky as Hawaii faces a mammoth reconstruction effort. Tr Saturn opposes the Pluto this year and Venus Mars in 2024. With uncertainty in 2025 as tr Neptune Saturn squares the Saturn and tr Uranus squares the Sun for forced changes.

   The combination of drought and hurricane force winds is lethal.   

A disastrous security breach has left 10,000 police officers in Northern Ireland fearing for their lives after a ‘monumental blunder’ published their names on the internet. The list included intelligence, undercover, counter-terrorism and surveillance officers as well as MI5 who could be targeted by paramilitaries. Working for the police remains so sensitive many have never told family or friends and regularly check under their cars for explosive devices despite the “Troubles” having ended 25 years ago. An officer has already been shot and seriously wounded earlier this year.

  The Good Friday Agreement which brought an uneasy end to  conflict was signed 10 April 1998 5pm Belfast and has been labouring through tough times in the recent five years with tr Pluto square the Sun, Saturn and Mars which extends on to the end of this year. Then tr Pluto will conjunct the Neptune in 2024/25 for confusion and losses.

 Northern Ireland itself is politically logjammed despite the recent Brexit  adjustment. And assuming the start date/time of 7 December 1922 3.28pm Belfast is accurate, it is poised at a particularly difficult transition point. Not only is the Solar Arc Saturn exactly conjunct the Midheaven, tr Pluto is also conjunct SA Saturn and the Midheaven. Tr Pluto starting to move through the 10^th does suggest the need for a significant and radical rethink about the path ahead. The answers may not come quickly, indeed it usually takes years before a meaningful path is found. Pluto Saturn this year and next won’t make it easier – a discouraging slog which could include violence, especially in 2024 when tr Uranus squares the Mars after mid year into 2025.

  Earlier this year the NI Solar Arc Sun was conjunct the South Node threatening to pull Northern Ireland back into the past. But that influence is now waning.

 The Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) was formed on 4 November 2001, to replace the Royal Ulster Constabulary, 1 June 1922.

  Both charts have a tough, gritty Saturn Pluto hard aspect as does the Northern Ireland chart.  The RUC was Sun Gemini square Uranus, and trine Jupiter Saturn North Node in Libra with a yod of Neptune sextile Jupiter inconjunct a wilful Uranus. Not easily held under control.

  The PSNI is Sun Scorpio square Uranus and Mars Neptune in Aquarius with the tenacious, unsentimental Saturn opposition Pluto. The recent Lunar Eclipse caught the Scorpio Sun as this crisis blows up. And tr Uranus is square the Uranus this year into early 2024 for a bumpy ride.

  What a strain to live under – not even being able to tell your family what you do for a living.

The condition of a frail and ageing Dalai Lama has turned attention to what happens after he goes, with Xi Jinping showing no signs of winding down his totalitarian tendencies. In the 72 years since the invasion Beijing has destroyed more than 50,000 monasteries and shrines in Tibet, following Mao’s maxim that religion is poison, and set up a ruthless policing system with mass surveillance and re-education units. Across the border in northern India, the Dalai Lama oversees an expatriate community with monasteries, museums, schools and libraries that contain 100,000 Tibetan-language volumes on Buddhist teachings, medicine and astronomy; and a government in exile sitting side by side.

   International support for the uprooted Tibetans has faded in recent years after retaliation from the Chinese in blocking visas and cancelling contracts, and buying up chunks of Hollywood which silenced many of the celebrity supporters. But there is anxiety that the Dalai Lama’s death may bring a flash point between China and either the USA or India or both.

  There is no country chart for Tibet since it has such a long history but there is a chart for the national uprising, symbolising the Tibetans hope for independence on 10 March 1959, eight years after the Chinese invasion. It has a confident Jupiter square Pluto but that is running into a collision with the Neptune by Solar Arc Directions in 2024 which won’t be constructive.

The Dalai Lama, 6 July 1935 4.19 am Takster, China, is a warm-hearted Sun Cancer in a healing Water Grand Trine to a regretful Saturn in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio, formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition Moon Neptune in Virgo.  He also has a trapped Pluto square a 4^th house Mars, a hint of the brutal suppression of his homeland.

  His relationship chart with China 1 January 1912 is bleakly descriptive with a chained-together-and- resenting-it composite Sun Venus opposition Saturn square Pluto Moon. There is some movement on this chart from mid 2024 as tr Uranus opposes the Jupiter which could lessen tension though it seems unlikely to be a positive relief. The major pressures will come in 2026/27 when tr Saturn is in Aries and tr Pluto opposes the composite Mars. The likelihood is the Dalai Lama will have chosen his successor before he goes which will rile the Chinese.

  Relations between China and India which are already fraught with cross-border incidents look to be worsening in 2024/25. Tr Pluto is already square the composite Sun and that extends through 2024. With an uncertain, high-anxiety tr Neptune square Saturn in 2024/25 and more jangles in 2025/26. Which may have nothing to do with Tibet but any interference from the Chinese will not be greeted warmly.

 Relations between China and the USA are discouraging and stuck in thick mud this year and next; with a serious chill approaching in 2026/27 as tr Saturn in Aries assails the composite Sun, Mercury opposition Uranus, Moon, Pluto.

The motor neuron disease ALS is back in the headlines after actress Sandra Bullock’s partner died from it three years after being diagnosed.   There is no known cure for the condition which degrades and then kills nerve cells in the brain and spine, though a few have survived long term like physicist Stephen Hawking and US Gestalt therapist Mariah Fenton Gladis.

  Hawking, born 8 January 1942, with sadly no birth time, Oxford, UK, was a Capricorn Sun with two Earth Grand Trines of Mercury in Capricorn trine Neptune in Virgo trine Uranus in Taurus; and Sun trine Saturn in Taurus trine Virgo Moon North Node.  He had an out-of-element T square of Pluto opposition Mercury square Mars hinting at the cruelty of his restrictive condition as well as his absolute determination not to give in.

 Mariah Fenton Gladis, who lived, worked and inspired through 37 years of ALS was born 4 February 1948, a few weeks before Howard Sasportas and had the same mix as him of lively, adventurous, upbeat with Jupiter in Sagittarius opposition Uranus square Venus in Pisces; and challenging with an Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto Saturn in Leo square a Taurus North Node.

  She was diagnosed in 1981 and given a 10% chance of surviving more than ten years.  She married soon after, had two children and carried on with a busy working life. She was Founder and Director of the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training, giving workshops and motivational talks across the globe, including at Esalen – and died sadly in 2018.

  I took several of her workshops at Esalen and she was rock-solid, totally lacking in self-pity and a tower of strength in the face of mind-numbingly appalling tales of childhood trauma. Nothing phased her. ‘Her will was iron, but it was balanced by her soft heart,’ as one of her students later wrote.

  I did her chart at the time and my clear recollection was that her Saturn Pluto and probably Mars were in her 6^th house of health.

  Jaqueline du Pre, the cellist, who died from Multiple Sclerosis, had a slightly similar chart. Born 26 January 1945 11.30am Oxford, UK, she had an Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto in her performing 5^th house. She had Jupiter and Neptune in her 6^th with Neptune square Saturn and square her Midheaven. With her Moon North Node in Cancer quincunx Mars in her 10^th.

  Both Mariah and Jaqueline has Air Grand Trines but Hawking had Earth Grand Trines – so nothing much to be gleaned from that.

 Bryan Randall, the photographer, 10 April 1966 Portland, Oregon, Sandra Bullock’s partner, had a pro-active Sun Mars in Aries on the focal point of a yod to Neptune sextile Uranus Pluto; with Uranus Pluto opposition Saturn square Jupiter – a mix of hyper-active, optimistic/lucky and sombre.

  There’s not much to be gleaned astrologically since it is not a good medical diagnostic tool, especially with variable birth time availability.

  Sandra Bullock, 26 July 1964, 3.15 am Washington, DC, took time out of her career to nurse him in the last eighteen months. She is a Sun Leo with Saturn in Pisces on her Midheaven opposition Uranus Pluto in her 4^th so will always have found career easier than establishing a settled home life. She also has her South Node and Black Moon in her 7^th house of relationships. Her development lies towards her 1^st house North Node in finding a strong sense of independent identity.  He was a good match for her with his Jupiter falling on her Ascendant and Venus Mars in Gemini but sadly not to be. The patterns of life are not always kind.    

Mariah Fenton Gladis: “People often ask me how I do it, listening to people’s problems all day long. I tell them that I don’t hear problems. I hear people wanting to change, wanting to be better human beings, wanting to create happier families. From every continent and all walks of life I hear people wanting to love and be loved more effectively. I hear people wanting to remove barriers in their lives and provide a healthier environment for their loved ones. This is a privileged position that I have, sharing so many compelling and heartwarming moments of laughter and tears with people working toward healing.”

Miraculously still in operation, Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun. Voyager 2 flew by Neptune and Uranus, while Voyager 1 is now nearly 15 billion miles away from Earth, making it humanity’s most distant spacecraft.

  The two space probes are a marvel of 1970s science and engineering, launched when Jimmy Carter was president and Fleetwood Mac was chart topping. Both spacecraft will run out of power sometime after 2025, nearly half a century after they were launched.

  A mistaken command recently lost contact with Voyager 2 but an “interstellar shout”, a powerful command signal, got the probe to turn its antenna back towards Earth and reconnect.

 Voyager 2, 20 August 1977 2.29 pm Cape Canaveral, Florida launched first. Followed by Voyager 1 on 5 September 1977 at 12.56 pm, Cape Canaveral.

  Both charts have Pluto conjunct North Node on the Ascendant square the Cancer Midheaven; with Uranus trine MC and trine Jupiter – innovation rules and good luck.

  There is a prominent Saturn in wannabe-important Leo.

  I’m not sure I am any wiser as to why they have stayed successfully robust for so long.  But if 2025 or thereabouts is the cut off date that will be when tr Neptune is square the Jupiter – which can bring high hopes down to earth – though the probes will stay way out/up there cruising on into eternal darkness, having exhausted their radioisotope generators.

 Reassuring to know that something in the universe still works.