Starting today at around 6.00pm the Public Sector unions go on strike over pension reforms for a full day and a half strike. Workers like teachers, custom’s officers, public employees in courts, job centres, tax offices and even driving centres will all stop work, as Britain grinds to a shuddering halt. Even though the public finances are in trouble and few argue against that cuts do have to be made somewhere, it firmly lies at the door of the Prime Minister where those cuts fall, and by targeting the Public Sector so heavily, Cameron now faces a dire summer of severe discontent, and a battle with the unions. Heard that one before???
David Cameron was born on 9th October 1966 in London at 06.00am (from memory). This give his one of those nightmarish charts for astrologers, with his ascendant right on the cusp of Libra or maybe right at the end of Virgo. A few minutes either way in birth time makes the difference. In such cases with the Ascendant on the cusp, I like to try to find a blend of the influences, blending the harsh critical edge of Virgo with the socially aware side of Libra. This means that all the angles, Ascendant , IC, Descendant and Midheaven are treated in the same manner. This being the case, the personality he will portray is of someone who does have the values of careful housekeeping which is very Virgo but with a social conscience (more Libran). Cameron in an interview described his political views as Liberal Conservatism – pretty accurate portrayal of sitting on the astrological fence, by the man himself.
Ok we do know that David is a Sun Sign Libran with a wide conjunction to Venus in the first house. A first house Sun is normally very self-assured and confident of himself. To lead is one’s role in life if you have a 1st house Sun and he will tend to clash with strong like-minded individuals. David has to to feel in total control, however he will have to network and share ideas; Librans need to network to get on in life. This is quite at odds with the first house Sun, so how to we square the circle? I feel that David will use his charm (Sun & Venus in 1st) to coerce friends and associates to help him to get him where he needs to be & then he will tend to disregard these contacts once their use has come to an end – in short, he will use people to progress. Bad news for Liberal Democrat coalition partner Nick Clegg then!! Maybe these politicians should consult us astrologers before making important decisions of who to support? Venus in the first likes to portray a neat smart appearance, a touch of vanity perhaps? Certainly, David is almost always seen in a sharp suit, and even in his more casual moments he looks as if he has just walked out of the menswear section of John Lewis. Venus in the first is also very kind, sympathetic and popular, and David will always give a helping hand if asked to aid someone.
The Sun makes a sextile aspect to the Moon in Leo, just into the 10th house conjunct to Jupiter. The Moon in the 10th needs to run things themselves and will not like to be seen as subservient, doubly so in regal Leo. This is a position that prefers to invest time at work rather than time at home, and this can lead to problems with partners and family if the work/life balance is not correct. Moon conjunct Jupiter is tolerant and forgiving, will to give a second chance if mistakes are make. Watch out for this if ministers overstep their brief or upset the public. As PM, it can be seen as a sign of weakness.
Moon/Jupiter is square to Mercury in Scorpio in the 2nd house of finance. As well being interested in finance and money related issues, Mercury here in Scorpio will be adept with the hands in making things like sculpture, pottery, even doing mechanics. Alongside Mercury in the second house is creative, dreamy, escapist Neptune. Quite appropriately, one of his loves at school was art studies. He also studied history and of course with a second house Mercury, economics. Mercury squares the Moon and gives David that interest of history, the past, nostalgia and patriotism. He will be a confident public speaker, has a talent for listening and will have a genuine interest in the lives of others. Anything with a human element will fascinate and engage him. David will have grand plans and ideas, but may gloss over the important details when questioned, just because he failed to consider them all. That’s always the problem with Jupiter, promising more than you can deliver. The “Big Society” is so very Jupiter in description, yet nobody, including David himself it seems, knows what he means by the slogan. It just sounds good. David will also love travel, and I am sure will get away to foreign shores at the drop of a hat.
Following on around the chart, we find Mars in Leo the 11th house peregrine (unaspected to any other planet). This Mars will tend to dominate the chart. In Leo and unaspected, this Mars is very pushy, very proud, very arrogant and does not take no for an answer. David will always be right and will throw tantrums if he isn’t. Now interestingly Mars in the 11th is the ultimate team player, however just as he will be part of the team, David will just have to be captain. Life for him will be a competitive sport, and he will have huge will to win. Mars feeds into the Midheaven by trine, as does Venus and Mercury. You can see the focus towards his career (Midheaven) like an arrowhead as well as another one to authoritarian Saturn (his ambition). Sometimes astrology is easy, to see the focus in life you just look at the patterns and they tell you the story.
Now then, there is one very difficult aspect on David’s chart. A very nasty Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Virgo in the 12th house opposite to the Saturn I mentioned retrograde in Pisces the 6th. Whenever I see an opposition including Saturn along this axis including Virgo and Pisces I immediately think “health”. Saturn retrograde shows that the love from the father was missing in some way in the younger years, and as Saturn is so afflicted by this heavy opposition, it was no surprise in researching this piece that David’s father had both legs deformed and was forever in hospital having surgery to correct them. Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) sits on the cusp of the fourth house on the parental axis, reinforcing my assumption that his father suffered with his health. Aquarius ruled by Uranus (part of this opposition) is on the cusp of the fifth house, the house of children. Tragically, Ivan their first child had severe health problems with cerebral palsy and a rare form of epilepsy. He passed away aged just 6. With Saturn here in the 6th house, David naturally takes his personal health very seriously and is known to religiously keep fit. Nonetheless, no matter how well you keep yourself in trim, if the planets indicate a weakness, then when difficult transits come along, those weaknesses will be exposed. Those also with a 6th/12th house opposition or with Saturn that I have looked at (Steve Jobs and Serena Williams) have both had major health issues in their lives. As far as I can see, David should be fine in the next few years and I hope that he has seen the last of his family tragedies for a long while to come.
The Uranus/Pluto generation of the mid/late 60’s was a generation that wanted to sweep away restrictions and make a difference to the world. I am one of that generation, and I try to do this through my astrology in service to the public. I try to change public perceptions and open their minds to new ways at looking at situations. Like myself, Cameron has a Uranus/Pluto conjunction in the 12th house. He tries to change perceptions through service to the public too. With David, that service is through administration of things (Saturn) – in government. Trine to Neptune, that governance take on a more ministerial or preaching approach which may appear quite condescending in tone. Trine to Jupiter, over time David will learn when to push and when to hold back, when to be optimistic and when to be more sober. That will only come with experience in the top job, and hopefully the pride I mentioned of earlier will not get in the way of the humbleness needed with all the responsibility he wields.
The current situation for David is fraught. Just look at the transit chart and you a myriad of aspects covering every planet and almost every angle and I could be here a week trying to explain every nuance of what is happening in the PM’s life. Let’s just say it’s very, very stressful. Picking out a couple of important aspects, transiting Uranus is square to Cameron’s Midheaven and opposite his ascendant. Neptune trines the Midheaven and is opposing natal Mars. Uranus represents rebellion (those on strike) opposing him and his work position, and is transiting through the 7th house of open enemies. Neptune shows disruption and confusion and opposite Mars in the 11th house of groups and unions, you can see the picture very clearly. The trine to the Midheaven shows either that Cameron is complacent thinking he will solve this problem easily (Neptune is moving though the speculative 5th house) or he is confused or trying by deception to solve the problem. Uranus and Neptune do not move quickly, so this problem is not going away very soon. I fear a summer of disruption continuing at least into the autumn and maybe longer.
One other aspect from the transit chart I noticed. Pluto is 3 degrees away from a square to his natal Venus. Venus rules relationships and with Libra on his ascendant, any transit to Venus will hit David Cameron very hard indeed. Pluto when exacting the square will sever a relationship either (professionally or personal). Will it be personal, will the coalition government be on the brink of collapse or will the effect be seen elsewhere away from the Downing Street bubble? Look for the signs around Christmas time this year to find the initial cracks in this particular relationship, although any potential break will not effect themselves until a year later around November 2012.
