Escape with a camera crew in tow

 

Escape to the Chateau isn’t quite the Truman Show but it’s a documentary series that followed Dick Strawbridge and Angie Adoree through their three-year renovation of a 45 room French castle, which hadn’t been lived in for forty years. Running water, heating and electricity had to be installed in time for their wedding and they continued after to build an events and wedding business there.

He’s an ex-Army officer, engineer and environmentalist, born 3 September 1959 in Burma; while she runs a Vintage fashion/hospitality business, born 7 April 1978.

He has his Sun, Moon, Pluto and two other planets in Virgo so is very earthy and meticulous; while she has her Sun, Moon and Mercury in Aries, so is fiery and inspirational. Aries and Virgo are not an intuitively good mix. But both are New Moon babies so relatively self-sufficient; he has a controlling Sun Pluto, while she has a Sun opposition Pluto; both have their Saturn in aspect to the other’s Jupiter which is probably a balancing factor; and both have their Venus in an earth sign. So in a way they have markedly similar character traits despite being different sun signs which will help them understand each other.

Their relationship chart has a well-integrated composite Sun in a sensible and enduring trine to Saturn and dynamic sextile to Mars; as well as being in a possessive square to Pluto; and an affectionate conjunction to Venus. Depending on birth times it’s also possible that there is a composite New Moon which makes for a complementary relationship in which both feel more whole when together.

Janey Godley – making good from an unlikely start

 

Janey Godley, the extraordinarily successful Scots comedienne is wowing them at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year with her political satire though continuing to crack jokes about her abuse as a child, the murder of her mother and marriage into a gangster family. She has a sell-out tour round the UK coming.

She was born 20 January 1961 with an alcoholic father and a chaotic, debt-prone mother in Glasgow’s East End. She was abused by an uncle throughout her childhood, until she threatened him with a red-hot poker, left school with no qualifications, married at 19 to the son of a local gangster and worked in the family pub where she honed her witty, acerbic chat. Her mother was murdered, she believes, by a violent boyfriend. “I had nits, scabies, we were poor,” she says of her childhood. “I remember eating out of bins and being a teenager with dirty clothes. But I was bright and I loved reading, so I had the chance to escape. And I’m not ashamed of it, because it wasn’t my fault.”

She moved into a stand-up career in her 30s, having abandoned the gangster family.

She is probably an Aquarius Sun with Mercury also in Aquarius, a favourite comedians’ sign; with Jupiter Saturn conjunct in Capricorn giving her strong ideals and a way with money. It’s a chart that really needs a birth time to make sense. But even without it there are three inconjuncts, putting her out of step with her environment – Sun inconjunct Mars in Cancer, Mercury to Pluto and Saturn to Uranus.

Her victim/saviour 12th Harmonic is notable with an inspirational Grand Trine of Mars, Saturn, Neptune and a Grand Cross of Mars, Venus, Uranus, Mercury – she’s a survivor and a fighter.

Her get-it-together 5H is also strong as is her obsessive 11H.

Dwayne & Lauren – a Leo Sun Venus wedding

Dwayne Johnson, mega-successful Fast & Furious blockbusters actor and retired wrestler has married his long-time girl-friend Lauren. They’ve been together since 2007 and have two children, aged 3 and 1.

He was born 2 May 1972 6.02pm San Leandro, California and she was born 8 September 1984 in Massachusetts. He has a partnership-oriented 7th house Sun Taurus trine an amiable Moon Jupiter in Capricorn with a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in Gemini in an ultra-determined (don’t mess with me) square to Pluto. She’s a Virgo Sun with fits well with his earthy Sun and Moon; with her Venus in Libra which goes well with his airy Venus; and she also has Jupiter in Capricorn.

It’s not all seamless since her Saturn in obsessively conscientious Scorpio opposes his Sun; and her excitable Mars Uranus in Sagittarius sits on top of his Neptune opposition Saturn – so she’ll alternately restrain him and stoke him up.

Their relationship chart has an exact possessive composite Sun square Pluto; with the Sun also in a live-wire trine to Uranus and sextile Mars. The latter probably helped by him having an exacting career. There’s a sensible, cool but enduring composite Sun Venus conjunction. The composite Jupiter isn’t much integrated apart from a wide opposition to the Sun.

They picked a Sun Venus conjunction in Leo for the wedding day in sunny Hawaii to make it picture perfect.

Mike Pence – Trump’s cosmetic halo

The holier-than-thou Mike Pence who sold his soul for a seat near the centre of power has been selected again as Trump’s putative VP for 2020.  Born 7 June 1959 he’s another slippery Gemini like Trump with his Moon in Gemini/Cancer (more probably Cancer given his family-oriented leanings and strong wife); a flashy Venus, Mars and Uranus in Leo in a publicity-loving square to Neptune; and a money-attracting Jupiter in Scorpio in a pushily confident square to Pluto.

His relationship chart with Trump isn’t all sweetness and light with a suppressive composite Mars Pluto with undertones of hostility and resentment from a power imbalance; and an uncertain, distrustful Saturn Neptune in a can-be-fanatical square to Uranus.

From later this month till mid this November their connection will be wreathed in a sea fog of confusion with tr Pluto square the composite Neptune. With further uncertainty and discouragement from Neptunian hard aspects to two Saturn midpoints through this autumn into February 2020. Where it runs into real problems with sinking morale between them is from late March 2020 as tr Neptune starts to square the composite Sun, repeating late August/September and just after the Inauguration. Plus a separating, chilly tr Saturn opposition the composite Venus in March and on and off through the year.

Pence’s own chart does have tr Pluto sextile his Jupiter from February 2020, on and off till late 2021, which is mildly successful and confident; and is there exactly at the Inauguration. Although he has running concurrently tr Pluto square his Saturn/Uranus midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘harm through force majeure, rebellion, violence or brutality’ which even given Ebertin’s somewhat gothic descriptions doesn’t sound like an all-singing-and-dancing win. Across the election itself he has tr Pluto square his Neptune/Node which hints at a breakdown in relationships; and across the Inauguration he has an irritable tr Saturn square his Mars for a setback; with a neurotic, worrisome tr Saturn square his Neptune immediately after.

There’s not much illuminating from Karen Pence’s chart – she certainly dislikes Trump with her Scorpio Sun Venus (in an immoveable opposition to Mars in Taurus) square Trump’s Mars in Leo; and her self-righteous Saturn in Sagittarius conjunct his Moon and opposition his Sun. Their relationship chart has a bad-tempered composite Mars square Saturn in an explosive conjunction to Uranus. Mind you her relationship to Mike Pence is no cakewalk with a composite unkind, one-sided Mars opposition Saturn square Venus; and a controlling Sun Pluto. Insiders say she wears the trousers.

Stephen Miller – pulling Trump’s strings

 

Stephen Miller, Trump’s 33-year-old senior adviser, is now the lynch pin of his presidency, driving the narrative about immigration which will supposedly win him a second term. His power is at its peak according to two long pieces in the Washington Post and New York Times which publicity won’t go down well with the narcissist-in-chief, though Miller downplays his role and boosts up his devotion to the maestro.

Born 23 August 1985 4.53 pm Santa Monica, California, he has a darkly obsessive chart with Pluto in Scorpio on the MC midway between an 8th house Sun and a 12th house Neptune; with Mars in Leo also in the 8th in an unsentimental, hard-edged square to a 10th house Saturn in Scorpio. He’s Fixed, fanatical, more than slightly off-the-wall and scary.

His trajectory is undergoing a radical change at the moment into early 2020 with tr Uranus opposition his MC and Pluto, some of which suggests success but not totally. His relationship with Trump will be nerve-stretched and uncertain late August to mid November and agitated with losses mid November to mid December. And it looks increasingly separated in 2020 with tr Saturn opposition Venus, Mercury, Sun in February, August till late November 2020.

Miller’s own chart looks dismayed and disappointed in the aftermath of the 2021 Inauguration.

Miller swears, despite rumours to the contrary, that his relationship with Jared Kushner is friendly and supportive. That’s hardly true with a composite chained-together and resentful Saturn, Pluto, Mercury and a competitive, argumentative Sun Mars in the relationship chart. It’ll be bouncing along unhappily through mid 2020 with tensions and eruptions.

See previous post April 11 2019

Pic: Gage Skidmore.

Prince Andrew & Sarah – a smokescreen of sorts

 

Prince Andrew is quite rightly being nailed to the wall by the Daily Mail, with a punishing and relentless series of stories about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, including unbelievably after his prison sentence for under-age sex. Ex-wife Sarah has been roped in as a prop accompanying Andrew to Balmoral and then fleeing with him to Spain when the rancid publicity became too much even for his devoted mother, HM Queen. There was talk of him perhaps remarrying Sarah, though that looks like a stretch.

Sarah, 15 October 1959 9.03 am London is in a distinctly trapped, frustrating and scary phase until early 2022 with tr Pluto square her Libra Sun and Sun/Mars midpoint now, before moving on to square her Mars in Libra in 2021/22. She’s also got a devastating Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Neptune exact in six months’ time and a jolting Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Sun in 2020, which will then bump across her Sun/Mars in 2023 and Mars in 2025 – so a long patch of extremely stormy weather, none of which looks like a second honeymoon.

Princess Eugenie, who is the younger daughter and was most affected by the ruptured parental marriage, is sagging badly vis a vis her father from late this September, on and off into early 2020; and looking agitated mid 2020 onwards in relation to family matters. Both Sarah and Beatrice will find mid this November to mid December the more difficult to cope with in relation to Andrew; as will Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

The Queen’s relationship chart with Andrew is stressed this year, but in major disaster-zone in 2020 from May onwards.

The catastrophic influences Andrew has at the moment of tr Pluto conjunct his Mars/Saturn and his Venus/Saturn lift temporarily from the 24th of this month but then return November 11th to December 18th this year. Into 2020 he faces the reputation damaging tr Pluto square his Midheaven running for two years.

For more astro-details on Prince Andrew see post July 21 2019.

Elizabeth Montgomery – try, try, try again at the altar

   

Actress Elizabeth Montgomery was best known for Bewitched, a multi-award winning 8 series television run in the late 1960s/early 70s. She was married four times – the first lasted under a year, then seven years and ten years and finally she hitched up with actor Robert Foxworth whom she was with for over 20 years. Practice makes perfect.

She was born 15 April 1933 4.38pm Los Angeles, to film star Robert Montgomery and a Broadway actress mother.

She had a feisty, charming and unpredictable Sun, Venus, Uranus in Aries in her 7th house of close relationships square a controlling Pluto in the 10th. A Sun Uranus conjunction finds close relationship tricky because of the compromises they require; and that is doubled up by having Uranus in the 7th. But a 7th house Sun needs a relationship and Venus there would be good at attracting affectionate connections. Once in a committed relationship her 10th house Pluto would pose problems since she would dislike sharing the driving seat.    NB. Much married Liz Taylor had Venus Uranus in Aries square Pluto as well.

Elizabeth’s final partner, latterly husband, actor Robert Foxworth, 1 November 1941 11.23 am Houston, Texas, was an unlikely match for a triple Aries with control issues, since he had a Scorpio Sun square Pluto, so would be pretty unbudgeable. But his Venus in Sagittarius was in an affectionate trine to her Sun, Venus, Uranus with his enthusiastic and light hearted Jupiter sextile her Aries planets. And his Aries Moon was in her 7th house of relationships, admittedly alongside his Mars, which would offer support and make it argumentative at times.

Their relationship chart had a power-couple composite Sun opposition Pluto Jupiter which was sextile/trine Saturn. As long as they focussed on pulling together in their public image all would be well; but if Pluto Jupiter turns inwards into the relationship there’d be a struggle for the upper hand. Jupiter would help smooth rough edges; and Saturn gives longevity. There was also a supportive and affectionate Moon Venus in a sparky trine to Mars.

I’m not surprised it took so long to find what she needed and it’s often said of Aries they need to mature and have the rougher edges knocked off before they get sensitive to the requirements of relationships.

Peter Fonda – struggling to forge his own identity

 

Peter Fonda has died aged 79. He was scion of an acting dynasty he rebelled against, and an icon of the hippie culture of an America in social upheaval in the late 1960s. His drug-dealing biker-flick Easy Rider which he wrote, produced and acted alongside Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, while high on LSD, shot on a miniscule budget, became a huge success in 1969 leaving him rich. It was the first counterculture movie to be a major hit and its anti-establishment ideals touched a nerve for America’s youth as it depicted “two cats just riding across the country … ” – a modern version of the Western. It was also his revenge against his cold father Henry Fonda and his superstar sister Jane, and his dysfunctional childhood, during which his mother committed suicide when he was 10 and he afterwards injured himself in a gun accident. His later film choices were uninspired but he was again nominated for an Academy Award thirty years later for Ulee’s Gold.

He was born 23 February 1940 12.09 pm Manhattan, New York, and had a creative Pisces Sun exactly on his midheaven with a collection of communicative Mercury in Pisces and enthusiastic Jupiter Venus in Aries also in his 10th. His Virgo Moon was opposition his Sun sitting on his IC and he had Neptune also in his 4th – so he’d struggle to find his own identity away from the famous family name. He would carry a good deal of anger with his Mars in Taurus square his Pluto and trine his Moon as well as sextile his Sun.

His father Henry Fonda, 16 May 1905 2pm Nebraska, had a controlling Pluto on the midheaven with a talented but fanatical Half Grand Sextile from Uranus opposition Neptune sextile Saturn and Mercury. Henry’s Saturn was conjunct Peter’s midheaven and Sun, so he’d have a discouraging effect on his son; and Henry’s Uranus was in Peter’s 7th so his erratic presence in his life would grate as well.

His older sister Jane had her problems with her father and it wouldn’t always be an easy relationship between herself and Peter, but her Sagittarius Sun fell on Peter’s Descendant which would help and her Jupiter fell in Peter’s 8th which would be supportive at a deep level.