A cautious beginning of the maybe end of the US’s longest running war in Afghanistan comes with a deal signed with the Taliban. The war cost $2 trillion, took the lives of 3,500 plus American and coalition troops and tens of thousands of Afghans. At the height of the war, more than 100,000 American troops occupied Afghanistan, as did tens of thousands from the NATO coalition. Resources were withdrawn too quickly early on as the focus switched capriciously to Iraq in 2003.
It started on 7 October 2001 4.25pm Kabul in retaliation for 9/11 in an effort to hunt down eradicate Al Quaeda. Since then it has perplexed three administrations and ends – if it does – with remarkably little to show as the superpower proved unable to combat Afghanistan’s punishing terrain. And found as the Russians did before them and the Brits in the 19th Century that retreat was the only option – which is why it became known as the graveyard of empires.
Whether or not the Taliban will honour their promises or the Afghan government can work with them is questionable. But Trump is in election year and wants to show he can live up to his promise of pulling back.
The start chart had the war-like Saturn Pluto opposition sitting firmly across the Ascendant/Descendant axis tied into a bleak Moon and it was the driving rod of an Air Grand Trine of Uranus and Neptune to a grandstanding 5th house Sun trine Moon Saturn in Gemini. The Sun was also on the focal point of a T square of an opportunistic, risk-taking Mars opposition Jupiter. Too much Air suggested not enough practical planning went into the venture; with the crusading Mars Jupiter gives a hint of recklessness; and the ego-centric Sun, particularly in the 5th, points to a need to show superiority.
The North Node of the War chart at zero Cancer will be triggered by this June’s Solar Eclipse but whether that suggests a full cycle has truly come to pass or not is moot. Tr Neptune is conjunct the War Solar Arc Midheaven which could suggests a fizzle-out, low key finish.
The Afghanistan national chart does have a blip of cheer at the moment but in general it’s not in great shape with corruption rampant, the country’s institutions feeble and the economy dependent on American and other international aid. Financial problems loom large in 2022/23 with tr Pluto opposition Mars; and most of this decade is restrictive with tr Pluto moving through the 8th.
The Afghanistan/USA relationship chart does have hints of an untying of the knot with tr Uranus square the composite Sun exactly now; but there’ll be an uphill struggle this year with discouragement from tr Pluto trine the composite Saturn so it won’t be an easy disengagement. And further disappointment in 2022/23.
Old age is catching up with Madonna as she collapsed on stage in Paris due to crippling knee and hip injuries. She has been forced to cancel 14 shows recently with eight shows left out of her 79 tour dates which started on September 17, 2019, in New York City, and is set to conclude on March 11, in Paris.
Let no one tell you exercise is good for you – go talk to old dancers and athletes. Hip and knee replacements are almost mandatory as they wear out from over-use.
She was born 16 August 1958 with an unverified time of 7.05am in Bay City, Michigan. She’s a Sun Leo so needs an audience and with her Mars in super-determined Taurus in a high-octane square to both Uranus and her Sun, she’s not designed for the quiet life. She needs to live on the edge in an adrenaline rush.
Tr Uranus is moving to square her Uranus in 2021 which is one of those generational markers which indicates it’s time for a rethink and revisioning of life for the future. Since her Uranus is connected into her Mars it will have a feel of what’s to follow with tr Uranus conjunct her Mars in 2022 which will make her insecure and tend to act recklessly to prop up her self-esteem. That 2022 Uranus Mars influence can also be associated with operations. Though I’d imagine she’s already had a few of those.
Tr Neptune will square her Saturn from late this March on and off till early 2021 which will be dispiriting and anxiety-provoking. But she’s not one to give in easily and in 2021/22 she also has tr Pluto square her Jupiter which will rev up her engine and confidence. With a successful Solar Arc Sun conjunct her Jupiter in 2023; though there’s a blocked Solar Arc Saturn opposition her Sun in 2024.
Whatever happens she won’t hang up her dancing shoes and go quietly into a backwater without a fight.
I’m not sure I buy that time of birth – doesn’t look as flamboyantly crass as she is and was.
“Events, dear boy, events” is what PM Harold MacMillan is supposed to have responded in answer to the question of what’s most likely to knock a government off course. A black swan scenario of unpredictability with extreme consequences. Who’d have thunk it would be a surprise epidemic which blew holes in Trump and Boris’s blustering braggadocio?
Trump’s First Administration chart, 20 January 2017 12 noon has Solar Arc Pluto exactly square the Uranus now, to within the minute of a degree, which was always going to be a point of instability; with an undermining-popularity tr Neptune conjunct Venus – and tr Saturn moving towards a downbeat, face-reality conjunction to the Admin Aquarius Sun in the final week of March onwards. Transits to midpoints thereafter are pressured, emotionally upsetting, inducing feelings of being unloved running into disaster territory from late May into June. Which may, of course, be other events as well as coronavirus.
However much Trump may blow smoke rings over the virus, the US Federal Reserve clearly isn’t swallowing his obfuscations. Their chart, 16 November 1914 9am Washington, has been in catastrophe-mode through February with tr Neptune opposing both their Mars/Saturn and Mars/Pluto midpoints; plus a loss-making tr Pluto square Jupiter/Saturn. Panic of a different order will bite in the final week of March with tr Saturn opposition their 8th house Neptune. And from mid April tr Uranus starts a nerve-stretched jangling phase running into 2021.
The chairman Jerome Powell, famously at odds with Trump over policy before this turned up, will be feeling a chill with POTUS from now till late March; and can look forward to career dents through March, uphill struggles until late 2021 and sagging will power and influence.
Just as a side note. The Chiron on the Trump Admin chart is conjunct the Mars and square Saturn which may be an oblique pointer to political setbacks coming via health issues.
Trump’s own chart shows the trapped, frustrated and enraged tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint now till June with nerve-stretching Neptune transits which picked up his Uranus in February moving towards the square to his Uranus/Node in late March, returning late year; with a car-crash disaster (metaphorically speaking) in July, August and September as tr Uranus squares his Mars/Saturn midpoint.
That 10 degree Uranus in Taurus across the summer shows up on several charts as a critical or high-crisis point.
Boris Johnson, already swamped by floods except he appears to be ignoring them may find Coronavirus more difficult to skitter across. His Second PM chart, 13 December 2019 11am, has been sagging badly in the face of crisis in February with tr Neptune square the Mars/Saturn midpoint and that worsens from now onwards as Neptune moves to square the Mars/Pluto midpoint over coming weeks – both of which indicate an inability to get a grip. His own chart shows panics and low popularity in March and onwards; with a lessening of confidence in sidekick Dominic Cummings. Though 2021 looks to be the year of a final reckoning both for his term chart and his bond with his Rasputin.
The Bank of England is confused, panicked and nerve-stretched this year but will be in a much worse state come 2024/25 with logjammed Solar Arcs and a majorly uncertain tr Neptune square their Saturn.
Bob Iger, one of Hollywood’s most powerful and stratospherically successful men is stepping down as CEO of Disney. In his fifteen-year tenure he has built up a powerhouse of franchises, acquiring Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and the marquee assets of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox; and recently set up the streaming platform WaltDisney+ to counter Netflix and others.
Born 10 February 1951 in New York, he’s an enduring, controlling and super-ambitious Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto, trine Neptune. With his Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct North Node Mars, Jupiter, Venus in Pisces – so the other face of creative, visionary Neptune. Not always riddled with sentimentality – viz Harvey Weinstein and Rupert Murdoch, both with Pisces Suns – but undoubtedly imaginative and can make productive businessmen. Neptune rules photography and the movie business since it’s favoured vehicle is the image not the word.
Iger’s Neptune was conjunct the Disney film’s Sun Saturn in Libra (16 October 1923); with his Pisces planets including Jupiter trine the Disney Pluto and its Uranus, forming a creative Water Grand Trine. His Sun opposition Pluto hooked into the Disney Jupiter in Scorpio square Neptune – another positive link.
Disney is ploughing through thick mud this year with tr Pluto square the Sun Saturn; but it’s 2023 when they’ll face their biggest challenge with a discouraging and blocked Solar Arc conjunct Sun Saturn.
Katherine Johnson, a trail-blazing mathematician, overcame racial and gender discrimination to become a kay part of Nasa’s space exploration programme. Her calculations, made with a slide rule and pencil, were critical to the missions which sent Apollo 11 to land on the moon and afterwards to see Neil Armstrong’s history-making moonwalk and return to Earth. Her story was told in the 2016 Hollywood film “Hidden Figures.” She has just died at 101.
She was born 26 August 1918 in West Virginia with a farmer/lumberjack father and a teacher mother, was fascinated by numbers from an early age, and excelled at school and then college, despite the restrictions placed on African-American education.
What’s fascinating about her chart is partly the confidence and determination it exudes with a Virgo Sun on the focal point of a trine from Pluto Jupiter trine Mars in Scorpio. But also the prominence of her Neptune in Leo. It is conjunct her Venus and perhaps on the focal point of a T Square of Mars opposition Moon. Her Saturn in Leo also sat exactly on her Sun/Neptune midpoint.
Her super-star 22nd harmonic has an exceptionally notable Neptune.
Neptune is surprisingly often prominent in genius-level mathematicians’ charts, which isn’t quite what you’d expect. Mary Cartwright, a Brit pure mathematician, an expert on chaos theory, 17 Dec 1900, was a Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius opposition Neptune and Pluto. Andrew Wiles, 11 April 1953, who solved Fermat’s Theorem is a Sun Venus in Aries opposition Neptune Saturn. He has two Yods – of Mercury in Pisces sextile Jupiter in Taurus onto Neptune Saturn – and Pluto sextile Neptune Saturn inconjunct Mercury. So heavily Neptunian/Piscean. Leonhard Euler, 15 April 1707, was a Sun Neptune in Aries trine Pluto Jupiter in Leo. Bernard Riemann, 17 Sept 1826, was a Sun Jupiter Mercury in Virgo with Mercury trine/sextile a Neptune opposition Saturn.
Coronavirus has turned into a full-blown global panic as it spreads from the Far East into Europe and the USA. Despite the astrology being more similar to the Saturn Pluto 2003 SARS outbreak than the Saturn Neptune 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak, the numbers are veering alarmingly upwards. (See previous post January 25 2020). Apart from understandable personal fears, there is also an almost certain prospect of a ‘sudden stop’ financially as supply chains dry up and international travel is restricted.
Several things make 2020 stand out as a more-than-usually difficult year. One is the Saturn Pluto conjunction in Capricorn which points to hardship, deprivation, financial restrictions. There was only one exact aspect, last month, but its’ sombre influence will be in effect all year every time the Sun or Mars in a Cardinal sign aspects Saturn and Pluto still in orb – March, April, July, August, September, October, December.
There’s also the possible effect of Saturn moving into Aquarius late March to early July which, while not in exact square to Uranus in Taurus, will have a shiver of that effect, most often associated with financial downturns and economic instability. It moves to exact in 2021 though by that time Jupiter has also moved into Aquarius which should ease the effect.
The Saturn Pluto followed by Jupiter conjunction is similar to the 1817 broad conjunction of the three in Pisces which led to the ‘Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the USA followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821. The Panic announced the transition of the nation from its colonial commercial status with Europe toward a dynamic economy, increasingly characterized by the financial and industrial imperatives of laissez-faire capitalism. Though driven by global market adjustments in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the severity of the downturn was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands, fuelled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns.’ So financial collapse – Saturn Pluto = deprivation – followed by resurgence from Jupiter. It was a major turning point at least for the USA. (From previous post August 30 2017.)
The other relevant astro-factor in 2020 are the Eclipses. From earlier Feb 6 2020 post: The Solar Eclipses this year are in spine-straightening Saros Series. The late December 2019 at four degrees Capricorn heralded a sense of traumatic transformation and significant endings running in effect for several months across the beginning of this year.
The 21st June 2020 Solar Eclipse at zero degrees Cancer is associated with difficulties, restrictions, inhibitions, separations and illusions. Bernadette Brady remarks in The Eagle and the Lark that this eclipse brings blocks and ’the individual is prone to misjudging his or her strength and is best advised to wait before taking any real action.’ It was around previously in 2002, 1984, 1966, 1948, 1930 and 1912.
The 14th December 2020 Sagittarius Solar Eclipse casting its shadow over the following months is strongly emotional about relationships or money. There is a sense of fatedness and individuals feel they are caught up in situations or relationships beyond their control. This will bring acute frustrations and the advice is to avoid rash actions. It was around before in 2002, 1984, 1966, 1948, 1930, 1912.
A mishandled reaction in the USA (not beyond the bounds of possibility) plus a financial hit to the markets will impact on Trump’s chances of re-election if he’s still standing by then. The New York Stock Exchange chart is in serious meltdown from late this month on and off till late January 2021 with tr Neptune opposition the Mars.
European indexes have had their worst fall since 2011. The FTSE All World index, 31 December 1986, has the ‘utter devastation’ Solar Arc Neptune square Pluto at the moment as well as the bubble-bursting tr Neptune conjunct its Jupiter in Pisces and tr Neptune will continue on to conjunct the Mars/Jupiter midpoint and then Mars until late 2023 – so a longish phase of market panic.
The FTSE EuroFirst, 31 December 1985, is equally desolate and shaken to its core with a Solar Arc Neptune square the Mars/Pluto midpoint, moving to square Mars in 2022; with Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the Capricorn Sun with the Eclipses hitting on the Sun as well early and middle of this year. The Germany DAX has the car-crash halt of Solar Arc Pluto opposition Mars at the moment; and the Solar Arc Sun and Mercury picking up the tr Saturn in Aquarius opposition in late March, worsening through 2021 as the Solar Arc Sun is in a confused opposition to Neptune and a setback square to Saturn.
Stock Market index charts aren’t always as illuminating but these are fairly stark.
More Add on: Wall Street’s benchmark stock index has seen its quickest correction since the Great Depression. A six-day losing streak has pushed the market more than 10 per cent below its recent peak. That ranks as the fastest time to correction since July 1933 — when the S&P 500 dropped 13.3 per cent in two sessions — according to calculations by the Financial Times.
Other two index charts – Tokyo and Hong Kong would also suggest this isn’t an overnight panic but one which could well worsen in 2022/23.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph proffers a sobering but sensible review of the facts:
The Daily Mail, as per usual, is working itself up into a catastropherian lather with a worst case scenario of half a million UK deaths. Their chart, 4 May 1896, has, as expected, not just a fear-the-worst Mars Pluto square but Mars square a delusionally-over-the-top Neptune Pluto. Mars Pluto types tend to see death, disaster and melodrama everywhere. Maybe I’m being unduly laid-back but it doesn’t feel like a rerun of the Black Death. Time will tell.
Saturn Pluto does tend to induce a sense of dread which, from personal conversations, appears to be affecting many people at the moment in all areas of their lives away from health. A pervading sense of alarm and a runaway imagination fearing disasters wherever they put out a foot.
Add On:
It’s an ill wind ………….. the 14th Century Black Death killed more than one-third of the global population. But one outcome was to empower workers, as a scarcity of labour meant wages increased. It contributed to the end of serfdom in countries such as England, as peasants’ bargaining power increased.
One other side effect was it prompted those still alive to enjoy life to the fullest. A Florentine chronicler wrote: “Men gave themselves over to the most disordered and sordid behaviour… As they wallowed in idleness, their dissolution led them into the sin of gluttony, into banquets, taverns, delicate foods and gambling. They rushed headlong into lust.”
The Great Plague of London in 1665 which killed a quarter of the population had calamitous instant results for trade. But the Great Fire in 1666 which followed led to a growth spurt with massive rebuilding much like the post-war recovery of Germany as the economy rose rapidly from the ashes.
Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape in the third degree and criminal sexual assault, but cleared of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault by a court in New York. The jury took a week to come to their decision. Their verdict on each charge had to be unanimous, or else a mistrial would be declared. He’ll remain remanded until March 11.
Tr Saturn is almost exactly in a blocking square to his Solar Arc Midheaven, within a degree, suggesting his birth time of 9.45pm is reasonably sound. His Progressed Moon is also in a downbeat square to his Saturn exactly now. His bullying, control-freak Pluto on his Midheaven square Mars in Scorpio on his Ascendant has moved by Solar Arc to catch a several year run ahead of tr Pluto hard aspects starting late this month. He’s also got undermining Neptune transits through this year and next; though one upbeat Uranus transit to a Jupiter midpoint in March, so the sentence may not be as bad as he feared – or an appeal is being launched. But one way or another he’ll never be back.
Previous post: AUG2619
The Harvey Weinstein #metoo court saga winds on with the long-delayed start due on September 9th. He has been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of first-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape to which he had pleaded not guilty on all counts. It’ll be a viciously fought trial and the legal system can be a very blunt instrument for tackling sexual offences, often ending with skewed verdicts. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. More than 80 women have alleged sexual misconduct on the part of the producer, over four decades though the court case only involves two women.
He’s onto his third set of defence lawyers which now includes a powerful female Chicago attorney who specializes in defending men in sexual harassment cases, Donna Rotunno. She has previously argued that the #MeToo movement has done a disservice to women. She said “I believe women are responsible for the choices that they make,” and suggested she could get away with a good deal more in cross examination as a woman.
Weinstein was born 19 March 1952 with an unverified time of 9.45pm in New York. It’s a feasible birth time putting his final degree filmic Pisces Sun in the entertaining 5th house; and his ruthlessly dominating Pluto on his Midheaven square a vengeful Mars in Scorpio on his Ascendant. Plus a fountain-of-initiative Cardinal Grand Cross of Saturn Neptune opposition Mercury Jupiter in pro-active Aries square Uranus opposition a Capricorn Moon.
He’ll go into the trail on a confident high with tr Pluto square his Jupiter but since it also squares his Neptune through till early November his hopes are likely to be dashed. Late September to mid November as well he has tr Neptune opposition his Saturn/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘shattered nerves’ as well as ‘falsehoods and frauds.’ From late January 2020 the trapped, infuriated, scary, powerless tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars midpoint returns for a few weeks and repeats on and off till late year; with a confidence-eroding tr Neptune square his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint picking up next spring and running through till 2021. So he won’t exactly be bouncing with exuberance.
The BBC are showing a documentary Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein on September 1st
Actress Rosanna Arquette is interviewed in it as one of the first women to share details of Weinstein’s abuse with Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker and in the New York Times along with Rose McGowan. She talks of her career being ruined as she spurned his advances and the documentary investigates Weinstein’s use of an Israel intelligence firm to put together profiles on his adversaries in order to undermine their allegations and dissuade them from speaking out.
Her fear and paranoia which she speaks openly about (see URL below) are understandable and show up starkly on the astrology. She was born 10 August 1959 4.45pm New York which gives her an 8th house Sun Uranus in Leo which Weinstein’s Pluto sits directly on top of with his Mars square. A scary combination which will strike deep fear in her.
Priti Patel, the UK Home Secretary, is knee-deep in rumours of spats with her senior civil servants with the Times reporting multiple Home Office sources accusing her of bullying, belittling officials and presiding over an “atmosphere of fear”. There has also been a leak (hotly denied) that MI5 has been keeping intelligence away from her. There was general surprise she wasn’t dumped at the recent reshuffle since she’s generally regarded as weak and not up to the role. Though it is a monstrous job in a dysfunctional department.
Sim Jenkins writes in the Guardian: “Patel’s greatest fans would not laud her subtlety and sensitivity. A lack of experience and chequered ministerial career restored her to high office only because Boris Johnson wanted a right-wing loyalist who would carry his anti-Europeanism to extremes. Patel has set about this with a bludgeon.”
She was born 29 March 1972, of second-generation immigrant Ugandan-Indians, and is a longstanding Eurosceptic. Under Theresa May she was Secretary of State for International Development though was forced to resign after a political scandal involving unauthorised meetings with the Government of Israel. Patel has been criticised by political opponents for defending the tobacco and alcohol industries.
She is a Sun and Mercury in pro-active Aries opposition both a controlling Pluto (Moon) and a rebellious Uranus in Libra square Jupiter in Capricorn so she will be ambitious for money and success, as well as status, is lucky, overly excitable and wayward and given to over confidence. She also has a short-tempered Mars Saturn in Gemini opposition Neptune – shades of Dominic Cummings.
Though oddly she doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Cummings and that relationship is more unstable through this spring than with Boris. And Carrie Simmonds seriously doesn’t get on with her – not that there’s any suggestion Carrie is running No 10 but she’s likely to be throwing in the odd comment.
Priti Patel’s own chart looks in for a very rocky ride over coming months with tr Uranus bouncing off various Sun, Mars, Mercury and Saturn midpoints. April and May look like months of rapidly sinking personal confidence and career losses. And those influences repeat later in the year.
Add ON: Sir Philip Rutman, 19 June 1965, Patel’s top civil servant in the Home Office at the centre of the allegations, has resigned and taken the highly unusual step of announcing he intends to claim against the government for constructive dismissal. He said there had been a “vicious and orchestrated” campaign against him.
Patel is pushy and overly confident with her Sun opposition Pluto square Jupiter, never mind short-tempered from Mars Saturn in a slippery opposition to Neptune. Her Pluto is conjunct Rutman’s Mars and square his Gemini Sun, so it was never going to be a peaceful partnership.
Their relationship chart is an eye-opener with a tricky Yod of Neptune sextile Uranus Pluto inconjunct Saturn; and a Grand Trine of Mars Jupiter and Neptune formed into a Kite by Neptune opposition Mercury (Sun). Such a Yod suggests a fated connection which will have far-reaching consequences for both. Tr Pluto is just this week picking up the square to that composite Saturn.
And an emphasised Neptune would be evasive and ultimately disappointing.
Rutman himself looks fairly short-fused with a Sun square Mars in pernickety Virgo; and wouldn’t be short of pushy-confidence himself with his Jupiter square Pluto. Two egos colliding.
The battle Royal within the Windsors is getting tetchy with the Harry/Meghan camp suggesting the Queen doesn’t have jurisdiction over the word Royal when the edict that they have to drop their SussexRoyal branding was handed out. Normally dirty laundry is kept out of sight but it’s clearly not the Hollywood way with whining and puffing from the young couple that others in the family have earned money commercially while retaining their titles. Which is undoubtedly true but in their case was going to be so blatant that it clearly crossed a line that even the family-friendly Queen wasn’t going to accept.
While Meghan will undoubtedly get the blame, Harry should know better, having been brought up to understand the rules and protocols.
His relationship with his father is particularly dire over the next two years – with tr Neptune square the composite Mars for a longish phase of significant disappointment from later this month on and off till late 2021 as well as being opposition the composite Uranus. Tr Pluto is also in a challenging square to the composite Sun this year; and there’s an emotionally upsetting tr Uranus conjunct the composite Moon from July onwards. All of which looks as if it’ll get worse before it gets better.
Harry’s relationship with brother William is also severely stretched through this year with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mercury and tr Uranus square the composite Venus this year, Sun next year and Mars the year after – which again doesn’t look like a rapprochement any time soon.
Harry’s chart looks edgy, nerve-stretched and panicked this year; with tr Saturn moving downwards through his First Quadrant pushing him deeper into unresolved psychological issues and then he picks up heavy duty emotional and negative Solar Arcs in 2022/23.
His relationship chart with Meghan is already running into serious strains. That peculiar composite Moon square Saturn Pluto is under pressure from tr Saturn opposition the composite Moon from the final day of this month, on and off all year; with tr Pluto in a discouraging square to the Saturn from late this month as well, on and off till late 2021, followed by tr Pluto square Pluto in 2021/22 and then opposition Moon in 2022/23.
Her delusional dreams of a multi-billion dollar charity along the lines of the Gates, Obamas, Oprah Winfrey will run into the sand after a year or so when the untitled Royal schtick loses its glister.
