Egyptair flight MS804 goes missing over the Eastern Mediterranean.

Overnight there were reports of an Egyptair Airbus A320 aircraft flying from Paris France to Cairo going missing over the Mediterranean Sea. The flight took off at 23.09 hours Paris time and it had just entered Egyptian airspace when air traffic control connections to the airplane was lost. It is feared that the aircraft crashed into the sea and search teams are now looking in the area where last contact was made. 

Oxfam – The Astrology of the world’s premiere charity

Oxfam were thrust into the headlines today as actress Scarlett Johansson broke off an ambassador role withe charity because of a disagreement between the two. Scarlett also represents the company SodaStream which is based in Israel and has a production plant in the West Bank. Oxfam as a company does not support trade from companies based in disputed settlements, and as such on a point of principle the two have parted from their relationship. This made me think about when Oxfam was created and how the Astrology of their natal chart would look.

The Astrology of the BBC – Crisis time for Auntie Beeb.

Here in the UK, our main broadcaster and a respected name around the world is in meltdown. A sex scandal involving one of the BBC’s main stars Jimmy Savile who passed away last year broke in the past couple of months with claims that Savile molested girls on BBC property and even during the recording of programmes. It has since transpired that Savile may have been one of the UK’s most prolific sexual abusers. This scandal deepened as an investigative “Newsnight” programme into Savile just after his death was pulled off air at the end of last year in favour of a celebration of his life, and a second “Newsnight” edition in the past couple of weeks made completely unfounded child abuse claims against a former Conservative Member of Parliament, Lord McAlpine. This lead to the resignation of George Entwistle, the Director General of the Corporation. The BBC is now leaderless and it seems rudderless, being guided by an acting DG in Tim Davie who started work today. Much of this can be seen in the natal chart of the BBC which I investigate in this article.

Curiosity Mars mission a triumph for NASA

I’ve been away from Solaris Astrology for a bit taking a bit of an Olympics break. Everyone needs to recharge their batteries and the games here in London so far have been a triumph. So too was the successful landing for NASA for “Curiosity”, a mission to land a vehicle the size of a small car on Mars. Curiosity is the most technically advanced rover ever to be sent to one of our neighbouring planets and landed on schedule in the middle of the Gale Crater on the red planet. It’s mission over the next few years will be to search for the signs the Mars previously supported or can support life.

Facebook floats and faces the ultimate litmus test of it’s worth.

In going public and floating on the Nasdaq stock exchange, Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg raised around $16 billion of investment for himself and his social media company. Since the launch however, the stock price has dived and alleged hidden financial information about disappointing future profits, primarily based around the rise of Facebook on mobile (cell) phones combined with a lack of an advertising strategy, have surfaced. Zuckerberg and a lot of other rich investors meanwhile cashed in their shares early, possibly saving themselves millions in the process, however Zuckerberg looks like he may pay some of that back as he is now being sued. If he had consulted an astrologer before he chose the launch date, he could have saved himself and his company a whole lot of trouble as I will show you.

Rupert Murdoch told by British MPs that he is unfit to run an international company.

It must be a humiliating day when as the owner of a multi million dollar international corporation you are told that you are unfit to run your own business. That damming verdict was issued today by a Parliamentary select committee investigating the phone hacking scandal that has rocked the British media world. In theory, it could signal the start of a witch hunt in the UK by those in power to drive Rupert Murdoch from our shores. It seems all in sundry have had enough of one man dominating up to 40% of the media output in the UK. Once upon a time, everyone wanted to court Rupert Murdoch but those days are fading, and he is increasingly being seen as a rather sad, manipulative and divisive figure.

Qantas – Strike grounds passengers and planes as Australian airline considers major reforms.

Qantas otherwise known as Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services is the oldest continuing airline in the world, but it is not operating any flights at the moment. A company policy of major restructures including outsourcing services to other countries to cut costs have caused the existing workforce to go on an indefinite strike, grounding the whole fleet and stranding passengers across the world. As ever, Astrology can pinpoint the reasons for the problems.

The Murdoch family, News Corporation and a father and son relationship under great strain.

Today I continue to look at the characters and events involved in the UK phone hacking scandal. This time on the hit list is James Murdoch the 4th son of billionaire and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Rupert himself and his company News Corporation.

I have been through the outline of the scandal rocking the UK in previous posts, however the net goes out further than the cessation of the News of the World newspaper and the arrest of the aide of David Cameron. Central to the whole situation is the management of the UK arm of the worldwide media empire owned by Rupert Murdoch through his companies News International and News Corporation, the former of which is run by Rupert’s son, James.

Rupert Murdoch was himself the son of a wealthy Newspaper magnate in Melbourne, Australia. Born in Melbourne on 11th March 1931 at 23.55, Murdoch is an elusive Sun Sign Pisces with a pioneering Sagittarius Moon and a hard nosed Capricorn Ascendant. The Pisces Sun is tightly conjunct to Mercury at the point of a wedge formation with Saturn in Capricorn opposing a Pluto and Jupiter conjunction in Cancer. This is a hugely powerful wedge. Murdoch will see things his way (Sun/Mercury), has huge money making acumen (Pluto/Jupiter) and incredible drive and ambition to run things (Saturn opposite Pluto). He will be stern and uncompromising in his pursuit of success (Saturn in Capricorn in 1st house) and of course with Mercury and the Sun in Pisces, no surprise his business is based around creative media (TV ruled by Neptune) and the press (ruled by Mercury).  Murdoch is shrewd and a good strategist, and because Mercury is in Pisces he will “feel” what course of action to take to improve his position. He is private, hard to track down, studious (Sun/Mercury in 4th/ Mercury square Pluto) and very elusive, unless of course he has a desire to meet you. People work around Rupert’s schedule, not the other way around.

The Sun makes a quindecile to Neptune in the international 9th house, so this business is focused on having a wide reach all over the world. Pluto in the 7th will bring Murdoch to have powerful connections and contacts, however friends in high places can also turn into ruthless and nasty enemies if trust is breached. Remember in the stratospheric level that Murdoch networks in, his peers are and can be as ruthless and nasty as he can be. Saturn/Pluto oppositions can bring unimaginable success, but also catastrophic falls from grace when the opposition is activated. This one connects the first and seventh houses, dealings with powerful foes (Pluto in 7th in the house of open enemies) can bring hard lessons to be learned on a personal level (Saturn in 1st). Pluto conjuncts with Mars in the 8th house and this Mars also opposes to Saturn. When Rupert wants something, he will get it, no too ways about it. Through this opposition he will have incredible determination and willpower, but sometimes he will be too rash and impulsive and this will cause a setback. Not that it will deter Murdoch for long, he keeps on going, because he is unable to stop. The reason? He is obsessed by acquiring money and possessions. Venus sits peregrine in the 2nd house of finance. Not aspecting with any other planet, it’s effect will be very strong, especially emanating out of the 2nd. Murdoch’s attitude to women will be hot and cold with Venus in Aquarius, committed one minute then suddenly losing interest. Uranus in the 4th house suggest his home life would be disruptive and it is borne out in the fact that he is already onto his 3rd wife, 42 year old Wendi Deng who is 37 years his junior.

Now, Murdoch has bowed to British public and parliamentary pressure and cancelled his bid by News Corporation to fully buy out British Satellite Broadcaster BSkyB run by his son James who has ben embroiled in the middle of the scandal rocking the British media. How will he react with regard to his son and will he even consider pulling out of the UK media market completely? My feeling is that he will play for time, cutting out anybody who will damage the long term viability of his businesses in the UK rather than pulling out of the market completely. The 8th house of big business and change is not highlighted in the transits or Solar Arc charts, which is something I would expect to see if he was planning this course of action.

Putting the transits of the day against Murdoch’s chart is however interesting and accurately describes the situation Rupert finds himself in. Transiting Saturn is opposing natal Uranus and square to natal Jupiter. Saturn is operating out of the 10th house, so his work practices are being restricted because of family problems (Uranus in 4th house) and these restrictions are being brought about through open enemies, in this case the public and UK Parliament (7th house). Looking at how these restrictions will manifest themselves, Capricorn (Saturn) sits on the ascendant so Rupert the person or his personal actions will be affected. Sagittarius (Jupiter) is intercepted in the 12th house, so indicates that Rupert will have no control over what is going on leaving him isolated and suffering in some way. Finally Aquarius (Uranus) sits on the cusp of the 3rd house so this is a learning curve for Rupert, communication and media will be focused upon and changes will have to be made. I will look at a couple more aspects. Transiting Pluto conjuncts the ascendant and trines to natal Neptune. Here the self is affected (Ascendant) through actions from the 7th house (Pluto – powerful adversaries or those in control) and 9th house (deceptive practices in foreign media). Ultimately this will lead to a loss of power (Scorpio on cusp of 12th) and a finalisation of a situation (Pisces on 4th house cusp) possibly involving the family. Finally as this crisis ratcheted up, transiting Mars in the 6th was exactly square to natal Mercury in the 4th. Mars in the 6th indicated that his everyday work routine (6th) was being upset by the actions (Mars) of an employee (6th) in his media empire (Mercury) and this situation was impacting on someone in the family (4th).

That someone of course is his son James. He was born on 13th December 1972 in Wimbledon, London (I have no birth time for him). James has an adventurous Sagittarian Sun and a Piscean Moon, complementing his father’s Sun. More than likely his Moon would be in conjunction with his father’s Sun, so there is a natural affinity between them and no surprise to me that Rupert has seen James as his heir apparent. James’ Moon is difficultly aspected, squared by both Sun and Saturn (which is retrograde) forming a stressful t-square. This aspect suggests a problems between his mother and father (they divorced in 1999), the retrograde Saturn tells me that he never received the love that he needed from his father. As he needs to feel approval (Moon square Saturn), James will do anything to feel accepted by his father, and with a Sagittarian Sun, he has the instinct of a gambler. James is a bit of a risk taker and it is fine when you win, but it spells trouble in big business when you don’t. Saturn is quindecile Mercury, so James will not enjoy making speeches or speaking in public as a rule. He will have a serious demeanour and will appear as someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders. In someway, at only 38 and in such a high powered business position, it is.

Also in Sagittarius is a Neptune and Mercury conjunction. Along with the Pisces Moon, there is a huge amount of creative talent on this chart, especially with regard to music which James will love. This will surely be his release away from work. In cutting his teeth in business, James ran record companies, which eventually were absorbed into the News Corp portfolio. James will like the creative side of the media business, however one thing he is not blessed with is huge common sense and logic, his mind will work in a non-linear fashion. The Neptune/Mercury conjunction is sextile to Pluto and as a result he will be interested in anything secret mysterious or unusual.

Uranus in Libra is at the point of a wedge formation fanning out to the Sun/Saturn opposition. James will like his independence and will not be afraid of using technology or non traditional techniques to forward his work ambitions. There is also a mini grand trine on this chart based around the Moon trine Mars/Venus conjunction sextile to Jupiter. Venus/Mars can be a little pushy and in Scorpio is very deep, emotional and jealous. There is a sting to his temper and huge determination to get the better of rivals. Mars in Scorpio sextile Jupiter in Capricorn is clever, very confident and hugely ambitious and associated with big achievers. One will be able to plan and follow a clear strategy and this aspect will give James a very professional attitude in his endeavours, however there is the risk of being over confident thinking that one can get away with almost anything.

Putting all these elements together, you can see a possible picture forming. James needing the approval of his father would be tempted to sanction his employees to risks to keep his newspapers at the top of the market. The allegations coming out of News International are truly shocking, and as more leak out, one does have to ask how far did these alleged practises go? Is it just contained within the UK, or does this contagion spread throughout the whole Murdoch empire, and just who has been victim to the same alleged illegal activity?   

James transit chart is very stressful. Transiting Neptune is exactly square natal Mercury so you can see deception (Neptune) and media (Mercury) causing him trouble. Transiting Uranus is trine natal Neptune – technology and bizarre practices (Uranus) used for these deceptive acts. Uranus is also square to natal Pluto and transiting Pluto is square it’s natal position too. This to me suggests a transformation in James’ life of some sort. Transiting Saturn is square natal Jupiter, so James over confidence will lead to difficult consequences, defeat and lessons for him to learn.

Without James’ birth time, it is difficult to guess how this situation will pan out, however if the allegations do lead to his door, then father Rupert will have an agonising decision to make. To protect his own company, will he have to sack his own son? The transiting Pluto square Pluto aspect on James’ chart does not bode well for him. As much as he loves James as a father would, Rupert is a hard nosed businessman and I believe he would not shirk in his responsibilities. 

**** Update 29th Feb 2012 ****

James Murdoch today left News International in the UK being “moved” by his father to other duties in New York looking after pay TV expansion. Sounds like a bit of a demotion. He moves as transiting Uranus at 3 Aries is just one degree from exactly opposing James’ natal Pluto at 4 Libra. This will bring a great sudden change in his life and the power he wields. Transiting Neptune is also exactly square to his natal Mercury which is quite deflating. One wonders if he has a Virgo or Gemini Midheaven?

This move is obviously designed to take him out of the line of fire in London, especially as the “Sun on Sunday” has now launched replacing the long departed News of the World. Does it show that James is more culpable than the Murdoch family have let on so far? I always thought there was a potential cover up between father and son, and the events of 29th Feb 12 only strengthen my views. I very much suspect he stayed just until the new newspaper was launched, and then by mutual agreement with his father he went to hide away in New York. The family business as such stays alive and well, for now at least…

Links - News of the World Closes   Andy Coulson   United Kingdom chart & the hacking scandal

The News of the World, Britain’s most successful Sunday newspaper prepares to shut down for good.

Amid the phone hacking scandal which has captured the news channels attention in Britain, the newspaper at the centre of the allegations is to be closed down. The News of the World which has 3 million readers each Sunday is to close this weekend and all profits from the sales of the last edition are to be donated to charity. This will be a huge blow to the reputation of the News International group, headed by James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The News of the World was first published on 1st October 1843, 168 years ago. The natal chart has a Sun Venus conjunction in fair minded Libra quindecile to Pluto in Aries which suggests going out to dig out the truth. Aries is a very proactive placement for Pluto. This quindecile squares onto a Saturn Mars and Moon conjunction in administrative Capricorn. A lot of effort, work and emotion will go in to make sure that the paper was a success. Uranus makes a wide opposition to the Sun/Venus providing an individual yet humanitarian voice to the publication, and Mercury is peregrine just into Scorpio highlighting this chart is all about communication and information as well as big business. There is also a far reaching very creative Neptune/Jupiter conjunction sextile to Pluto. This is potentially the fly in the ointment for the News of the World as it encourages rather underhand and deceptive ways (Neptune) to get the stories. Jupiter will exacerbate the problem leading to a rather complacent attitude, thinking that using any means is “ok”. This time, in allegedly hacking into murder victim Milly Dowler’s mobile phone, as well as allegations of tapping into the mobiles of the families of British soldiers killed in action whilst the NOTW full supported the British armed forces in newspaper campaigns, the reported actions of the NOTW have enraged the British public, as well as politicians of all parties and persuasions.

The decision to pull the plug on the NOTW comes as the natal chart is under huge pressure.  Transiting Saturn is still conjunct to the NOTW Sun and Venus (and has been for the last few months) as the phone hacking allegations began to take hold. This started with a court case involving Sienna Miller which she won in May 2011 in the high court, receiving £100,000 in compensation from the Sunday newspaper for hacking into her mobile phone. Transiting Uranus is also opposite the Sun/Venus, providing shocking new allegations and most damagingly transiting Pluto is square the Sun/Venus conjunction dredging up these alleged previously hidden vile acts to get the stories ahead of the competition. Transiting Neptune is trine to the singleton Mercury highlighting the possibility of deceptive action including mobile phones (ruled by Mercury). With the natal Sun under such a bombardment from the outer planets, it is no surprise to me that the newspaper is being wound up.

***Update 8th July 2011***   Andy Coulson, former editor of the NOTW was arrested in connection with the phone hacking scandal and former editor and News International boss Rebekah Brookes said she has "visibility" on revelations to come: “in a year you'll understand why we made this decision”. Sounds like there is worse news to come…

Sony Corporation feels the heat after PlayStation 3 is hacked

Just to prove that you can do horoscopes for virtually anything if you have a start date, I decided to look today at the Sony Corporation who are reeling after their flagship device the PlayStation 3 was hacked leaving 70 million people’s personal and bank details around the world at risk.

The Sony Corporation was formed on 6th May 1946 at 09.30 in Tokyo, Japan. As befits a company that makes things Sony has a Taurus Sun. Taurus is synonymous with music and sound and even the name of the company was based on the Latin word for sound “Sonus”. Of course the standout device which Sony was initially known for was the Walkman many years ago, paving the way for the digital mobile devices of today. Typically, the Sun is found in the administrative 10th house, Sony has grown to encompass music publishing, games machines, TVs and much, much more. Sony’s Ascendant is in protective Cancer and the Midheaven is in pioneering Aries. The Aries Midheaven shows a spirit to push back boundaries and to bring new and exciting products to the marketplace.

With Moon, Pluto and Mars in the first house, Sony is an aggressive, competitive company (Mars in 1st) which is very self reliant (Pluto) and determined to do it’s own thing (Moon in 1st). Do you remember the battle between JVC’s VHS video cassette system and Sony’s Betamax, Nintendo vs PlayStation, Sony’s Blu-ray vs Toshiba’s HD DVD? Pluto here also means that Sony will reinvent itself often, a factor that will keep it always relevant to the buying public. From transistor components and radios when Sony first started, Sony is now reliant on the games, computers, the TV and music markets. As time and technology moves on, so will Sony. One other thing, have you ever noticed that Sony’s products are always either silver (Moon in 1st or Cancer on the Ascendant) or black (Pluto in the 1st). The placements of the planets affect our colour choices too.

Looking at the rest of the chart, we see Venus and Uranus together, Sony has pushed forward the technology of colour (remember the Sony Bravia adverts) and technology (Uranus) for the public (Venus). We see trines to this conjunction from Neptune and Jupiter, Neptune in the 3rd represents communication products -  TV, music, radio & hi-fi. Quindecile to Neptune in Libra is Mercury in the 10th house in Aries – yet another intense link between creation of pictures and music (Neptune), ideas & communication (Mercury) for the general public (Libra). Jupiter sitting in the 4th house shows and international intentions, but from a large base at home in Japan. Despite being a worldwide company, Sony’s roots remain deeply entrenched in it’s home market of Japan befitting a Cancerian ascendant and Saturn in the 12th representing the administration of the company hidden away behind the scenes. The insular nature of Sony is also reflected by the fact that most the planets are found in the Eastern hemisphere of the chart so Sony will only reluctantly share it’s technology with others.

Right now, Sony’s Midheaven is under severe attack from transiting Saturn exactly conjunct to the IC (opposing the Midheaven) showing that Sony’s worldwide reputation is getting a severe hit. The news has come out now as transiting Mercury the planet of communication and news conjuncts that same Midheaven, (the media have got hold of the story). Transiting Venus and Uranus are opposite Neptune in the third house and transiting Pluto is square Neptune highlighting the potential theft and the compromising (Neptune) of Sony’s technology (Uranus), the hacking and security repercussions of the crisis (Pluto), the fact that this situation is worldwide (9th house) and the financial hit (Venus) that may affect the public (Venus) and Sony itself.