Sarah Palin – Unpredictable, controversial, and back on a bus to blitz the US.

Whether you love her or just can’t stand her, one thing is for sure. It is impossible to ignore the former Governor of Alaska, as she fills more column inches on the internet, the media and the newspapers than Barack Obama himself. As she starts her national bus tour, very reminiscent of the political “battle buses” the political leaders climb aboard before a UK election to tour the country, one wonders if she harbours an ambition to challenge the incumbent President in 2012, or is this a stunt to build up a powerbase before having a clear shot in 2016? With Palin, it is hard to predict, as her natal chart, (born on 11th Feb 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho at 21.44 – disputed birth-time), is one of the more unusual that I have seen.

Sarah Palin’s chart is dominated by Uranus and Aquarius, and I mean dominated!! Sarah is a Sun sign Aquarius in a close conjunction to Mars and Saturn, if the 21.44 time is accurate straddling the 4th and 5th houses. Also in Aquarius we find both the Moon and Mercury, so she acts like and Aquarian (Mars), thinks like an Aquarian (Mercury), reacts emotionally like an Aquarian (Moon), has Aquarian ambitions (Saturn) and what is more all those planets save Mercury have stressful aspects to Aquarius’ ruler Uranus, which itself is in a hard-line conjunction to Pluto, the aspect that defined the revolutionary spirit of the 60’s. Talk about an overload of one planet!!

Aquarius is the mover and shaker in the heavens, the planet that more than any over casts aside the old guard and ushers in new fresh ideas and attitudes. Aquarius through the planet Uranus represents revolution, rebellion and unpredictability. It also gives a severely social edge to anyone, wanting to do the best for the people in a purely humanitarian way. You will find Aquarian people have a severely glamorous edge, this is an electric quality that crackles and fizzes with enthusiasm; there is a real edge to the personality. Finally, there is the cool detached Aquarian, the one you just can’t get close to but are fascinated by. Sarah has all these characteristics in her chart and and more.

Ok, down to the details. The Sun as I said is part of a powerful conjunction with Mars & Saturn. Here is serious, determined ambition (Saturn in the 5th), Sarah will take the world on her shoulders to get to where she wants to be, without the help of others. That place is somebody who is special, recognised and notable in some way. Sarah seeks attention and adoration. With Mars on the cusp of the 4th & 5th houses, the influence of Mars will blend into the two. The Martian spirit to be first will come through, this is one tough ultra-competitive lady, who will hate to being beaten by anyone. However, with these planets in Aquarius she will go about this in a unique way, if necessary using shock tactics to hammer her point across. This is underscored by the quindecile to Uranus from the triple conjunction. In essence, Sarah is obsessed with bring in a new type of conservatism to gate crash the old politics that have dominated the American political scene for a long time now. With Pluto connected to Uranus by conjunction these ideas are harsh, hard-line and in some cases very extreme. It is interesting that she and Glenn Beck teamed up on the Tea Party project. They are astrological twins, born one day apart and both affected by very similar aspects, they sing from the same Aquarian hymn sheet looking to usher in new values, rebelling against the old Republican line. Whether this is too radical a step for the American people to take at this juncture will be down to them and their consciences. However a bus tour around the whole country certainly from the outside looks like an attempt at the very least to soften them up and to get used to the ideas and ideologies that she has. One other thing before I leave this segment, being Aquarian, watch out for her using technology, Twitter, Facebook and any other social media forums to get her point across – she naturally is very tech-savvy.

Returning to the Sun, Mars Moon & Mercury in the 4th house, here is a lady who very much likes to keep home as a private place and with the Moon here, I can guess that her mother would have been a big influence on her life. Mercury and the Moon here indicate a love of history, heritage and the past plus a love of books and reading, Sarah despite her image will be very well read and she will love to write too. Her book “Going Rogue” says all you need to say about her, with yet again a very Aquarian title. Sextile to Mercury and the Moon is Venus in the 6th house. This aspect gives Sarah a charm and caring edge, especially in one to one encounters, as well as considerable artistic flair. Mars and Sun quindecile Uranus hints that family life in the Palin household will be punctuated by temper tantrums and disagreements and the atmosphere will be quite chaotic, however with the Sun and Moon in the 4th all this will be kept tightly under wraps.

Jupiter all alone in the 7th house is peregrine and sits opposite her ascendant. This is a very positive position and this positivity and optimism will shine through her personality. It indicates a fruitful and enjoyable married life, she thoroughly enjoys being a wife and being opposite her ascendant gives her abundant good fortune, she will feel that she can get away with murder. Jupiter unconnected to any other planet will encourage her to do everything in a BIG brash way. The bus tour is a good example. She isn’t visiting just targeted states, she is travelling around the whole country. The Jupiter influence also extends to her faith which she will openly acknowledge, she was born into a Roman Catholic family and she has described herself as a bible believing Christian.

Now we come to the real fly in the ointment for me. Connecting to the Sun Mars Saturn conjunction by square aspect and to the Uranus Pluto aspect by sextile is Neptune placed in the 2nd house of self-worth and finance. Wherever you find Neptune it casts a cloud of confusion and deception, maybe of rose-tinted optimism over whatever it touches. Neptune in the second could make her either confused or deceptive over her financial dealings, the joint aspects to Pluto and the Sun indicate that some elephants could be hiding in the cupboard somewhere along the line; the square may encourage her to embellish the truth. In my experience, taking that course of action always comes back to hurt you later on. Neptune square Sun always wants to take the least line of resistance. Neptune in the second house is often the position of someone who makes their money from creative mediums like TV and film and radio. Already Palin has had a headline spot on Fox News in the US.

If Sarah does officially decide to run for the Presidency, I will look at her suitability for the position in a following post, however just by looking at her chart I would guess that creative media like TV and radio will offer the former Governor of Alaska a far more fulfilling career long-term, as I believe her views are far too controversial for majority of Americans to take and I think she would buckle under the pressure of such high an office, with that troublesome and debilitating Neptune square Sun, Mars and Saturn. Time of course will tell…

John Edwards – Charged over campaign funding abuse

This is a story that I have been following from here in the UK for a while now (to see my previous post please click at the bottom of the article). Today a court in South Carolina formally charged the former Presidential candidate with using funded money to cover up an affair with Rielle Hunter who worked with Edwards on his Presidential campaign. Edwards allegedly paid her off to cover up the fact that he fathered her child.

Having a glimpse at Edward’s progressed chart, something I had not done previously the events of today are very much highlighted.

  

Edward’s progressed moon is passing through his first house exactly square to his Neptune/Saturn conjunction, the one I mentioned in my previous post that I believe deluded him into believing that he could get away with the alleged fraud that he has been charged with. The Moon rules his chart and so any aspect it makes or transiting planets make to it will affect him acutely. Saturn square Moon means of hard emotional lessons learned and those lessons include deception (Neptune). Widening out the picture, Saturn with Capricorn on the cusp of the 7th house rules his personal relationships and legal affairs (remember the 7th is Libra’s house -  the scales of justice) and Neptune through Pisces on the cusp of the 10th house rules his public image and career prospects now tainted with the allegations of the deception and cover-up. One other aspect of note on this chart is that progressed Mars is exactly to the minute conjunct his South Node and thus opposite his North Node. Edwards is firmly in the public eye (North Node) for all the wrong reasons. Mars natally sits in the 12th hidden house and Aries is totally encompassed in the 10th house; there was something hidden about his personal ambitions. Now Progressed Mars has entered the 2nd house of self worth, and in order to protect his personal standing Edwards used the money his followers had invested in him (8th house of investment and other people’s finance). Unfortunately for Edwards, Mars’ conjunction with the South Node which is normally a tough connection has brought these dealings into the public domain.

Looking at the Solar Arcs chart for Edwards, one aspect screams out. Edward’s Solar Arc Midheaven is now just 3 seconds of a degree form an exact square to transformational Pluto. In Astrologer Noel Tyl’s own words on this Solar Arc square, this is a time when “past mistakes can be opened to view and threaten ruin”.

John Edward’s life from here on in will never be the same ever again…

Please see my previous post - John Edwards - Falling from Grace

Barack Obama – President gives surprise decision to publish birth details

President Obama’s birth certificate was published by the White House today to allay fears by some Republicans, in Particular Donald Trump that he was actually born outside the US. The situation astrologically was caused by Neptune in the past couple of months being square to Barack’s natal Midheaven. Neptune has been transiting through Barack’s first house of personal identity causing confusion (Neptune) about his public position (Midheaven). Obama shocked people with this act and looking at the chart, transiting Uranus is trine to his natal Mercury and his Midheaven bringing unexpected (Uranus) news (Mercury) about his right to do his job (Midheaven). By looking at extended house rulership, Uranus rules the chart and his projection to the world with Aquarius on his ascendant. Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo which on the 5th and 8th house cusps. This was a carefully assessed risk (5th house) to expose his origins (1st house) in order to change other peoples views (8th house).

Please also see Barack Obama’s natal chart analysis at the following link
Barack Obama - The astrology of the President

Glenn Beck – A look at the horoscope of one of America’s most controversial TV hosts.

From a UK perspective, we don’t have anyone remotely like Glenn Beck on our TV screens. A broadcaster with very religious, conservative views, a historian, politician, a writer, a reformed alcoholic and drug addict and a man who openly uses emotion to get across his message. He is my eyes a unique character and in the news as he is ending his regular show on the FOX news channel. I look at his life, his character and his horoscope.

Glenn Beck was born in Everett, Washington in the US on 10th February 1964, one day before his Tea Party colleague Sarah Palin. I will look at Sarah in a future article. I have no official birth-time, and if anyone knows it please email me, however looking at a couple of major events in his life I have rectified his chart to have a time of 20.40.

Glenn is an Aquarian, his Sun in conjunction with Mars and Saturn in the 5th house of entertainment and creativity. His Moon is in serious Capricorn and he has according to my calculations a critical and nervous Virgo ascendant. With the Sun in the 5th house, he is a showman and will like to be the centre of attention. He fizzes with energy and will be hugely ambitious, yet at the same time he is very serious about his work and has a certain sombre demeanour about him. He knows that his talent alone will not keep himself at the summit of his profession so he will work like a demon to keep himself there. Saturn in the 5th house also means that he will harbour an ambition to administrate his own TV and radio empire, and recently I understand he has formed a multimedia production company. Broadcasting is certainly in his blood as Neptune sits in the 2nd house of finance, he will make money from creative pursuits and communicative Gemini rules his Midheaven, signifying his career path was always going to go down the media route.

What makes Beck unusual is that for a conservative he is prepared push back the boundaries to shock people (Uranus) to add weight to his mantra. The stellium in the 5th house is quindecile Uranus, he has an obsession to encourage (Mars) a radical (Uranus) conservative (Saturn) agenda and with emotional Cancer intercepted in the 10th house of profession he uses emotion and even tears to illustrate this. Uranus is conjunct Pluto which everyone in the mid-sixties has in their chart. This generation was one who would want to make their mark on the world by reform, and reform (Uranus/Pluto) of the political system (quindecile Saturn) through action (Mars) and creative means (Sun in the 5th) is one of his main aims.

Cancer of course is ruled by the Moon which is tenanted in conjunction with Mercury in the 4th house of home. The Moon in the 4th is very emotional, patriotic and security conscious. There is a love of his family and there would have been a strong bond between himself and his mother who passed away in an boat accident when Glenn was 15. At that point in 1979, Solar Arc Pluto on this rectified chart would have been conjunct his ascendant and opposite his natal Venus. His life (Ascendant) would have been completely changed (Pluto) over the loss (Pluto) of a female (Venus – his mother). Back to the Moon which is widely conjunct Mercury. Here is a love of history and the past plus a love of reading – his mind will be generally introspective, he will love to discuss his experiences and has a talent for getting people to talk about themselves, excellent for a radio or TV broadcaster.

Much has been made of Becks religious beliefs which he uses on his shows. Religion and belief is shown through Neptune and Jupiter. We find Neptune square to the 5th house Sun Mars Saturn conjunction. Neptune is spiritual and square Saturn so his beliefs are conservative. Neptune is in Scorpio the planet of transformation and rules alcohol and drugs. Glenn has openly admitted to being addicted to these, and the square to the Sun does suggest that he would be attracted to them. In 1994, the problem was particularly bad with Beck entering Alcoholics Anonymous and suffering with substance abuse; just as Solar Arc Jupiter, the planet of excess opposed his natal Neptune.

Jupiter feeds by sextile into the 5th house conjunction so it is natural for him to openly share his faith in his broadcasts. To add weight to this Sagittarius is on the cusp of the 4th house so we know that his home was a place where faith was encouraged and still will be. Jupiter sits in the 7th house along with Venus in Aries. Glenn is very sociable and will want to connect with a wide range of people and will actively (Aries) want to not only explain his beliefs and philosophies (Jupiter) but will also be receptive to other’s opinions. Venus here need a loving union and his wife will be very dear to him.

Right now transiting Jupiter is conjunct his natal Jupiter so he will be feeling to time to move on from what he has been doing and to expand his role. Transiting Uranus and Mars are opposing his ascendant so he will be taking affirmative action and transiting Neptune is trine his Midheaven so his work dreams are starting to become reality. Despite his disappearance from the daily TV schedules, you will be hearing more of Glenn Beck effect in the future.

Barack Obama – Running for a second term in 2012, a look at the astrology of the President.

In a move that has surprised most political commentators, Barack Obama has firmly nailed his colours to the mast and has signalled his intention to run again for a second term as President of The United States. I look at Barack the man, why astrologically he has announced to run now and I look ahead to 6th November 2012, election day.

Barack was born on 4th August 1961 at 19.24 in Honolulu, Hawaii. A proud Leo Sun sign, he has a media savvy Gemini Moon and a cool yet sociable Aquarius ascendant. A quick look at the pattern of the chart shows most of the planets in the Western hemisphere; this is a man who thinks of other people before he thinks of himself and with 5 planets in fixed signs he is determined but a little stuck in his ways.

The Sun and Mercury sit in wide conjunction in showbiz Leo. All Leos love to be the centre of attention ( I should know as I am a Leo too) and Barack is no exception. He will be proud, individual and he will want to be the best he can be. Being at the top is natural for most Leo’s it’s the place they naturally believe they should be. Mercury in Leo makes Barack have strong opinions which he will express with gusto, he is a strong confident orator who will like to put on a show. In the sixth house this combination adds a great attention to detail in his day to day work, getting to grips with the smallest problem, Barack is an organizer supreme and quite a perfectionist. He will also be very conscious of his health and will a great fan of keeping fit and healthy and his vision to overhaul the US health system shows this.

Opposite Mercury is Saturn and Jupiter. As well as the small details, Barack will also be able to express the bigger picture and his communication will have a serious, hard-nosed edge with Saturn exceptionally strong in Capricorn. Woe betide anyone who crosses Barack, as he is one tough cookie who will show little mercy. He will have a stern temper with Saturn trine Mars and he has a great store of energy and controlled ambition pushing him to the top. Jupiter is in socially aware Aquarius thus Barack’s big vision and belief is being fair to all, not just those at the top. This is backed up with socially orientated Libra on the cusp of the 8th house of change and taxation. Where Saturn and Jupiter gives someone a balanced outlook, it sometimes holds you back. I often find people with this aspect cannot make up their mind or will go for the more conservative option rather than taking a risk or two. Barack’s catchphrase in the 2008 election was “Yes we can!!”, not “Yes we will!!”. Very Saturn Jupiter in that regard,  Barack will always find it rather easier to sit on the fence.
Saturn is retrograde as always this indicated that the love of the father was missing. As we know, his parents separated when he was just 3 years old. With a peregrine Uranus conjunct his North Node, his relationship with his mother was distant and cold. This Uranus will tend to dominate the chart and Obama’s demeanour is strangely similar, kind, sympathetic but with a cool edge. His path in life will be to be very socially aware, a humanitarian and setting a radical agenda.

Those cool emotions are also shown by the Moon in restless Gemini. He will be very aware of “the message”, always wanting to be informed and aware of the latest news. He will also want to control the message and it’s content with the Moon square Pluto in critical Virgo. His family and especially his children will be very dear to him and he will want to keep their upbringing very much in a secure and private environment, shown by the Moon sitting in the fourth house.

Next door in the fifth house we see Venus. This is a very romantic, gentle Venus being trine to Neptune. A lover of romance, he will appreciate the love of his wife Michelle, be a bit of a dreamer and may have artistic or creative flair. For sure Barack will be a big sports fan and appreciative of competition. Neptune in the ninth shows an appreciation of all type of faith, no matter how unusual. It also shows that his education was very confused and disrupted. Interestingly Neptune is square the Sun, here is a possibility for using drugs and or alcohol to escape from reality and the difficult aspects of his life.

Finally I look at the 7th house of partners and marriage. Here we find Pluto, Mars and that peregrine (not connected to any other planet by major aspect) Uranus. I wonder about this combination. Sure he will be attracted to strong feisty and controlling women with Mars and Pluto here, and Michelle is certainly that, but he will also be very irritable man to live with as he is such a perfectionist (Mars in Virgo). That stand alone Uranus here in the 7th tends to say to me that the relationship with his wife may be a bit cooler than we think. Pluto suggests that through marriage Barack’s life was transformed, however in the future, this same Pluto through a malefic transit could also herald a further change of perspective in the direction of his life. We shall see.

So why did Obama move now to get his Presidential campaign running so early. Well transiting Saturn is sextile his natal Sun so a good time to show his authority and express his desire to progress further. Also transiting Mars and Uranus are trine Mercury and sextile Uranus so he felt in essence he was feeling lucky and confident to push his message and shock people with the timing. Transiting Pluto is also trine natal Pluto and with Scorpio on his Midheaven showing he needed ultimate control in his work (being President), this was a time to try to strengthen that tight grip on the reigns of power. Scorpio and Pluto are relentless in their pursuit of such things.

To look at my updated assessment of how Barack Obama will do in 2012 against Mitt Romney please click on the following link…

Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney – Who does astrology say will win the 2012 US Election?

Update 28th April 2011 – Birth Certificate

President Obama’s birth certificate was published by the White House today to allay fears by some Republicans, in Particular Donald Trump that he was actually born outside the US. The situation astrologically was caused by Neptune in the past couple of months being square to Barack’s natal Midheaven. Neptune has been transiting through Barack’s first house of personal identity causing confusion (Neptune) about his public position (Midheaven). Obama shocked people with this act and looking at the chart, transiting Uranus is trine to his natal Mercury and his Midheaven bringing unexpected (Uranus) news (Mercury) about his right to do his job (Midheaven). By looking at extended house rulership, Uranus rules the chart and his projection to the world with Aquarius on his ascendant. Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo which on the 5th and 8th house cusps. This was a carefully assessed risk (5th house) to expose his origins (1st house) in order to change other peoples views (8th house).

Other Links on Solaris Astrology

Barack Obama and the state of the planets in January 2012

 

Geraldine Ferraro – The woman who broke male domination in US politics

Over the weekend another lady with a huge reputation passed away. Geraldine Ferraro broke the mould by being the first ever woman to run for Vice President of the United States . A fighter for women’s rights, a teacher, a lawyer & politician she blazed a trail for more female involvement in US government and society.

Geraldine was born into an Italian American family in Newburgh, New York on 26th August 1935. She was a careful Sun sign Virgo with a proud Moon in Leo and a go ahead Aries ascendant. An interesting combination, although humble and conscientious, Geraldine would like the limelight and that Aries ascendant gave her the impetus to lead and push the barriers forward, Aries never takes no for an answer.

Geraldine’s 6th house was full with 4 planets, the Sun, Neptune, Mercury and Venus all in Virgo. in her work she would be meticulous, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s and always analysing everything. She would have been very organized, however she would have detested a regular routine and she required a social element to all her work. Neptune, Venus and Mercury are sextile to a very tight Mars/Jupiter in Scorpio conjunction in the 7th house. Mars is energy and enthusiasm, Jupiter rules beliefs and education and the 7th house rules legal affairs; Scorpio is investigative wanting to get to the bottom of any issue. Put it all together and you can see all the motivations for being a teacher and a top lawyer.

The wide conjunction of these planets are opposite administrative Saturn in the 12th house. Saturn is retrograde indicating that her relationship with her father was cut short; he died when she was only 8 years old. Her father ran two restaurants and in his image Geraldine always would have been attracted to running things too. Government would have caught her in general as the 10th house of work and career has Capricorn ruled by Saturn on the cusp and totally encompasses the house, as well as being on the cusp of the 11th house of groups, associations and political parties. Mercury/Venus suggests she had an idealism she was working to, being quindecile Saturn, this became an obsession. Not only the political ideal but  a notion that women (Venus) should be more involved in the process of Government (Saturn). Geraldine also was the founder of the National Organization of Italian American Women and supported numerous other women’s groups and associations, another link to Capricorn sitting on the 11th house cusp. Political life and serving people was a goal she must have been working to throughout her whole life. Please note that most of her planets are placed in the Western hemisphere of the chart – Geraldine thought of others before thinking of herself.

There is a lot in this 6th house as the 6th is the house of health. Geraldine would have been very conscious of her health with her Sun Saturn opposition across the 6th 12th health axis on her chart, and she suffered for the last 13 years of her life with cancer. To her eternal credit, she pushed for cancer awareness and it was a cause she championed until the end of her life, never once complaining; typically humble in a Virgo way.

Geraldine was a maverick and had an independent attitude shown by Uranus in the first, she would go out on a limb where others feared to go, backed up by that pioneering Aries ascendant spirit. She also had a burning desire to control things, Pluto in the 4th house is Peregrine (unconnected by aspect to any other planet) so this planet would tend to dominate the chart. With Pluto in Cancer she would have been very proud of her nation and of women in general and the achievements they could contribute. Even though she would have hid the problems in her home-life and in her suffering late in life, her message would have been compassionate especially towards those disaffected and the needy. In the Democratic party, she found a spiritual home and in Geraldine, America found a lady of substance in whom in the future they will forever be proud.

George Osborne – Struggling to keep control of the British economy.

Today George Osborne becomes the star of British politics, the one day of the year that the Chancellor of the Exchequer (or if you are reading this article outside the UK the finance minister) takes the lead role over and above of the Prime Minister, for today is budget day. This is the day when the UK finances for the next year are in focus, taxes adjusted and benefits and borrowing limits are set. The UK economy is in trouble and Osborne is under pressure to guide it in the right direction.

George is a rather reserved Sun sign Gemini in a restrictive conjunction to Saturn. He was born on 23rd May 1971 in Paddington, London (no birth-time) and at 39 years of age is the youngest man in recent history to hold such a high office of state. You would expect a Gemini to be quite confident and a bit of  a chatterbox, but that Saturn limits his communication making George not the greatest and most powerful of speakers. As well as that Gemini Sun, which is conservative in nature (with this aspect he could never have been a liberal !), George has 4 planets in steady as you go, rather stubborn Taurus. Taurus is associated with money, creating and building and it no surprise that this is where he was always destined to end up working with finance. As well as Saturn in Taurus, we also have the Moon with Mercury and Venus in close conjunction. The Moon here is very deliberate, he will not rush into any decisions, but once he has made his mind up, he will not budge. Mercury/Venus shows an ability to work with people, he will be very good in one to one dealings and it gives the art of a bit of a showman, able to create a bit of theatre. He will rather enjoy standing up in front of Parliament and delivering the budget speech.

Mars is sitting in humanitarian Aquarius square the Mercury/Venus conjunction and trine to Uranus. Again this confirms George as a team player able to discuss and work out the details together, but once all the decisions have collectively been made, he will want to spearhead the projects himself. He will be interested in new unconventional ideas and improving social conditions, new technology will also interest him greatly. George will have a very sharp mind especially with respect to finance and also a very sharp temper; he will not suffer fools gladly. In his more private moments, George will be the one who made the first move on any romantic meeting and his relationships will be very important to him, he will be very loyal and to him, his wife will seem like his own personal possession.

The charts main pattern is a wedge with Pluto at the point. Pluto connects outwardly to a Sun/Saturn opposite Jupiter/Neptune aspect. Neptune opposite the Sun weakens the personality and Neptune opposite Saturn often weakens the health. It also causes a conflict between your beliefs and spirituality and the actual needs of the real world. Does George follow his beliefs or adapt himself to what is happening in the markets? Often he will consider changing course causing himself confusion, however in the end I believe his emotions will win over logic, the stubbornness of  the Moon says he doesn’t adapt his strategy. This stubbornness may eventually cost him dear, as those in high finance have to have the ability to adapt and mould their ideas with the world markets and the changing circumstances of the day. One thing for sure is that George will believe in the dream (Neptune) of free (Jupiter) market finance (Saturn/Sun) so long as he can control the limits (Pluto). Pluto is in detail obsessed Pluto, so his control will be carefully planned and implemented.

Right now, George has transiting Neptune squaring his Sun/Saturn Jupiter/Neptune opposition. This is confusing, deflating and reducing his confidence. He may well try to hoodwink the British public into believing the economy is in better shape than it is, a dangerous ploy as the public often see through such deception. He may also have some radical ideas this time to adjust the UK budget, as transiting Uranus just into Aries is trine the same opposition and Solar Arc Uranus squares it too. With inflation and unemployment still rising and growth still stagnant, Mr Osborne needs to pull some financial rabbits out of the hat.

Ireland, Enda Kelly and his new government and challenges ahead.

The sun rising over the River Liffey in Dublin represents the new dawn Ireland wakes to tomorrow. The phoenix will start to rise from the ashes of virtual financial ruin, however for Enda Kenny and his new coalition government, it’s going to be a long hard tough slog.

Ok, here we go. The official time of Mr Kenny taking up the role of Taoiseach was according to the Irish press at 14.43 hrs. This gives a Sun Mars conjunction in the 8th house of financial relations with other countries, so plenty of forcefulness and action towards the EU. There will be plenty of arguments with them. However, there is a Jupiter Saturn opposition so it will be difficult for Mr Kenny to find a balance between cutting back and keeping growth going. Saturn is in the 3rd house of communication so there will be a  forceful radical message rammed home but  Uranus and Mercury is quindecile Saturn, so this message and approach will get severe criticism and opposition, especially in the press. Pluto is trine the Moon, square Jupiter, Uranus/Mercury and sextile Mars so the people will feel under the thumb with long distance travel, education and export trade as well as the debt restructuring on the ledger for reform or subject to increased taxes. Watch the unemployment rate to suffer too. Mr Kenny may well have to deal with serious religious issues with such an emphasis on the 9th house. As Venus is in the sixth house, I expect a more measured and gentle response from Mr Kenny’s government to health reform. On this particular chart, Neptune is peregrine, unconnected to any planet, so an air of confusion and/or deception of the pure motives will hang over the government, especially in regard to foreign affairs.

Looking to Ireland’s natal chart and it’s Solar Arcs right now, SA Saturn has just gone though it’s opposition with firstly the Sun then Venus highlighting the administrative & financial restrictions put upon the nation. Right now, SA is sextile Ireland’s Sun so public optimism is in the air, SA Sun is conjunct Uranus, a revolution of sorts has taken place and SA Venus is conjunct Uranus, this has been the public sending out a radical message; this is the first time in 14 years that Fine Gael has been in government. Looking ahead a bit, Ireland may be back in the news for the wrong reasons in a year and a half’s time (SA Mercury square Midheaven) and SA Saturn square Jupiter (Saturn is passing through the 4th house of the official opposition and Jupiter is in the 6th of the nation’s wealth), possibly the government’s finances will be on shaky ground at that point. On the transits, both transiting Uranus does not have far to go to square the Irish Midheaven at 5 degrees Gemini which represents a rebellion of some type, timed for April next year, maybe the coalition will start to fragment. There will be a few bumps along the way before Ireland gets back firmly on it’s feet.

Please also see -   Enda Kenny - Challenging Ireland to change

Necmettin Erbakan – The man who engineered Islamic politics in Turkey and divided the population.

On Sunday, Turkey’s first “religious” prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan passed away. Today in Istanbul, his funeral was attended by thousands of mourners. Even though he was Prime Minister for just one year, Erbakan is being hailed by the current crop of Turkish leaders as the father of Islamic politics, the man who broke the Republican political mould in his homeland and ushered in a new way of governing. Born in (Sinop 29/10/1926), he trained to be an engineer, later becoming a teacher and eventually a politician. His views, initially clamped down upon by the secular military, now underpin the philosophies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul, the present Prime Minister and President of Turkey.

Necmettin had a remarkable chart, which I shall look at now. He was a Sun sign Scorpio conjunct Venus just into Libra. This made him ambitious, yet popular, he would have had a wide circle of friends and admirers. His Moon was in glitzy, pompous Leo, he loved the limelight and his emotions would have been out there for all to see. Hugely determined and stubborn with no less than seven planets in fixed signs, this man would not stop until he achieved his dreams.

There are two points of focus to his chart, and in effect he had two careers, one as an engineer and one as a politician. If you look you can see them clearly. Mars sits in Taurus at the point of a t-square. Taurus is the sign of construction,  and also at the point of an unusual Yod shaped configuration – that’s a lot of energy being concentrated and he had a constant flow of it pushing him forward. This man was always going to be a builder, a engineer (so appropriate with Sun in heavy Scorpio and Mars sextile Pluto – he designed German Leopard tanks), a constructor or things, of new ideas and philosophies (especially as one of the squares to Mars is from religious Jupiter in social, humanitarian, radical Aquarius). This would be emotionally important to him with the Moon opposite Jupiter square Mars. Feeding off that Mars by sextile quietly sitting by the side-lines was Pluto in Cancer. For all that Martian energy, there was a by-product of this construction; power and control (Pluto) of his homeland (Cancer).

At the other end of the chart, the base of the “Yod” I spoke of earlier (a Yod is normally made of a 60 degree sextile as a base with two 150 degree quincunx aspects feeding off into a point, but this one is 30 degree Semi-Sextile with two 165 degree Quindeciles – even more focused energy) is a Saturn/Mercury conjunction, also in Scorpio. Here is an administratively minded man with a deep, deep intellect and a searching mind. Trine this conjunction was radical Uranus in spiritual Pisces and square it was Neptune in Leo, another spiritual signature. Neptune was sextile that social Venus one of the bases of the Yod. Erbakan’s vision was a  new radical, religious way of governing that would be socially acceptable in a previously secular society. That dream he fulfilled on 28th June 1996 when he became Prime Minister. At that time, Jupiter, representing his philosophies and beliefs was transiting through administrative Capricorn, was opposite his natal Pluto in Cancer and trine the Mars which glues the rest of his chart together. Transiting Sun was trine it’s own position and transiting Uranus going through it’s own sign of Aquarius was square natal Sun and sextile the Mercury/Saturn conjunction. The radical ideas and ethos and the chance to build a new way of governing in Turkey all came together in one glorious moment for him.

This is a steam roller of a chart, and it took the might of the military to knock this formidable man off his perch. His ideas still live on, and the lessons have been learnt by the students he taught. He mentored Gul and Erdogan and when they won power with the newly reformed AKP in 2002 and latterly in 2003, their strategy has been to weaken the military machine that derailed the founder of their philosophies. He was a man that divided opinions; adored by religious conservatives & despised by the Republicans and liberal minded.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg – Baron “Cut and Paste” gets the boot and leaves Chancellor Merkel weaker.

Seeing this story, I had to have a look at the astrology and as always it checks out. The popular 39 year old German Defence minister (above) Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (born 5/12/71 – Munich – no birth-time), or to give him his full name Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (I kid you not) has resigned after it was found that half his 475 page university doctorate had been copied form other sources, word for word. Guttenberg or Baron Cut-and-Paste, Zu Copyberg or Zu Googleberg as the German media have playfully nicknamed him, was becoming a leading candidate for Chancellor in the future; alas this scandal has ruined his ambitions. He has also quite rightly been stripped of his PhD.

The Baron has a Sagittarius Sun conjunct Jupiter which for all intense purposes is a lucky aspect square Mars in Pisces. Normally this would be an all-action, adventuring, placement going out and doing things on a physical level, but Pisces is more dreamy, non-combative and deceptive here, so his beliefs, philosophy and education is where he would take risks, to his cost. He has a security motivated, patriotic Moon in Cancer and the other stand-out aspect for me is a wedge pattern, sextile and trine aspects onto an opposition. We have Saturn in communicative Gemini, opposite Neptune also in Sagittarius the sign of education. Saturn in Gemini raises doubts in the head about how intelligent you really are and often the consequence is for you to work even harder to compensate for this. However this Saturn is opposite Neptune which encourages you to take the easy route out. The easy route out for the Baron, supported by that Mars in Pisces was to cheat in his studies. Remember that wedge, Saturn opposition Neptune trine and sextile onto Pluto in Libra. Here is the Achilles heel in his deception, the self-destruct button waiting to be pushed. Uranus also squares his Sun/Jupiter conjunction too, although fortunate (in a hereditary sense), Guttenberg is accident prone too. Right now that Pluto (destruct button) is being opposed by transiting Uranus (unexpected events). Transiting Uranus also squares his natal Mercury (bad news). Transiting Mercury squares natal Sun and conjuncts that deceptive Mars highlighting what he had done; transiting Sun squares it’s own position.Transiting Saturn sits on that natal Uranus sextile his Sun/Jupiter, hard lessons to be learned from this revelation. There is more I could say, but you get the picture; the Baron’s political ambitions are now effectively toast.

Chancellor Angele Merkel also loses out of this situation too. She stuck by Guttenberg when the story broke in the German press, as three state elections were on the horizon. Looking at her transit chart, transiting Saturn is a couple of degrees from exactly being conjunct to her Midheaven, so right now her public standing is taking a bit of a battering and she is receiving criticism. Expect the forthcoming election results to go against her and her coalition government.

Enda Kenny – Challenging Ireland to change

The new Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny has an unenviable task in turning around Ireland’s crippled economy, and he comes with a tough message, “Get your heads down and get back to work!”. The Fine Gael leader is currently negotiating a new coalition government, and should assume power on 9th May when the Irish Parliament will ratify his accession.

As yet, we have no birth-time for him, if anyone out there does have a confirmed time it would be nice to know. Enda has a steady as you go Taurus Sun conjunct Mercury and Mars, so a man with plenty of controlled energy and plenty to say. Mercury/Mars indicates a sharp temper if crossed and that conjunction is sextile Uranus in Cancer, he is patriotic, has radical ideas to help his homeland and wishes to implement them. That Mars is in a wide square to Pluto in Leo, a very fixed combination that will not be pushed out of the way – he’s got a stubborn side to him. The triple conjunction is quindecile (165 degrees) Neptune in social Libra – he has a social dream that will burn deep in his psyche. Enda has Jupiter in Aries, a pioneering spirit and an interest in philosophy and also of all things foreign, however this Jupiter is square Uranus, so there will be conflict between the needs of his homeland and his relationships with the outside world. Looking at his foreign policy and his dealing with the European Union as Ireland goes about dealing with it’s massive debt problem should be very interesting and revealing. Saturn in critical cautious Virgo opposes Jupiter, should he push too hard he may have to learn hard lessons when that opposition is activated by transits in the future.

Enda’s relationship with his homeland (Ireland natal chart 18/04/1949 – Dublin) is interesting. Enda’s Sun & Mercury conjunct Ireland’s natal Mercury so his message will hit home. Ireland’s natal Moon (the people) is opposite Ireland’s Uranus and trine Mars. The public will see him as a man of change and of action, his role is to shake things up. Enda’s Jupiter sextiles Ireland’s Jupiter, so he will be seen as lucky but a word of warning for him. Enda’s authoritarian Saturn squares the Ireland Uranus, his tough line will be challenged in due course.

Ireland needed a hard man to sort out it’s 100 billion Euro debt problem. They seem to have found one. I will update when Enda Kenny takes power in a couple of weeks.

Please also see Ireland, it's new government and the future  **This post now updated 9th March 11 **

Silvio Berlusconi – On the edge of a precipice

 

He has dodged the bullet several times in his political career, but this time I believe that Berlusconi will not survive the pressure building upon him and the stars clearly show this. Below is his natal chart - things to look out for - his Sun in socially orientated Libra in the first house conjunct Mercury which is on the point of a natal Yod (more of that later).  He is a workaholic, both Moon and Saturn in the 6th, severe on anyone who works for him, and would have had a tough upbringing - his mother would have been hard on him). Pluto is power hungry in 10th, house and connected to his Venus in the 2nd by a tight square (I use warm colours reds orange where the energy flows easily - trines & sextiles and blues and purples for tension or blockages - oppositions & squares).