Julia Gillard ousted as Australian Prime Minister as Kevin Rudd takes over.

In an amazing night of drama in the Australian capital city of Canberra, Julia Gillard the now former Prime Minister in an attempt to firm up her position before the upcoming General Election, held a snap leadership vote as one of her aids in the Labor party suddenly switched allegiances to her rival for power, Kevin Rudd. The vote held in the past couple of hours saw Mr Rudd win by 57 votes to 45 and now it is he who becomes Prime Minister and will lead his party into the upcoming election.

Jupiter conjunct Polaris – Setting off on a new journey

This conjunction is valid from today until 24th June 2013

Jupiter is now moving closer to the pole star Polaris which sits high in the night sky in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the little bear. Polaris has always been used by explorers as a star by which they find their way and this is exactly the effect it has on any planet, in finding a route or setting a path. The path set here is one of expansion, of embracing different cultures, new faiths and ideas and of learning, of going on a journey and not worrying about the consequences of the challenge and the quest as reaching your goal outweighs the potential pitfalls that may lie along the way.

Jupiter is the planet of law and maybe new agreements and statutes agreed under this aspect will pioneer a new direction and attitudes. In a way this is an entrepreneurial aspect, representative of the businessman who wants to start up a new enterprise, the man who is full of innovation and has optimism and hope on his side.

I think you might see a slightly bolder and brave attitude within leaders and their handling of difficult and troubling problems around the world. The G8 summit in Northern Ireland starting on Monday may see the world’s leaders in a bullish mood willing to tackle issues together that normally would lead to inertia and fudge.

With you and your life, if you have plan for your future or you want to achieve something big, see if you can start putting some ideas together now as Jupiter conjunct Polaris sets a marker point down to go on a journey and to follow that distant star. The conjunction will start to initiate the grand trine in the night skies above us with Neptune and Saturn, so this aspect really can expand your life in the next month or so and finally long held ambitions can be seized and acted upon. I would wait until Saturn moves direct from 8th July before really moving forward and putting ideas into action though.

All in all, this is a lovely positive position for Jupiter, a signpost on the way ahead as he heads for the sign of Cancer and the start of a spectacular Astrological summer to come.

Kim Kardashian – Celebrating the birth of her first child

A little break from all the bad new stories around at the moment to report on a happy event. Celebrity Kim Kardashian and her partner KanYe West have announced the birth of a yet unnamed daughter at approximately 01.30am on Saturday according to the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK. Kim actually was not due to have her daughter until a month later in a the first couple of weeks of July but medical complications meant that the baby arrived yesterday.

Venus conjunct Sirius - A chance for some diplomacy but a threat remains.

This connection is starting to take hold and is in effect up until 15th June 2013

A couple of days ago Mercury rolled over the fixed star Sirius in Canis Minor, the constellation of the great dog. Now it is time for Venus to do the same. As I explained before, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and has always been seen as a place where the mundane can suddenly be transformed for a brief time into the extraordinary for the world to see.

The soothing, loving effect of Venus will now hold this spot in the sky for a couple of days on the back of her making an intense t-square with first Pluto and then Uranus, one within which relationships will have been strained to their limits. Venus if nothing else is a planet of diplomacy as well as of love, mainly through the influence of Libra who she rules which wants peace and fairness at all costs. This can instil a more calming influence over tense situations and hopefully settle some disputes that have been bubbling and boiling over the last few days.

There is a catch though and I think this applies especially to the on-going situation in Turkey. Mars is still going to be connected to Aldebaran during this time too and so we potentially have a double edged sword being shown. Take the peaceful hand of conciliation being offered (Venus conjunct Sirius) or take the consequences of more violent action (Mars conjunct Aldebaran) if you don't.

Outside this crisis, Venus conjunct to Sirius shows a chance for great creativity, art and beauty to be produced and for lots of love to be shown. Robson says this conjunction indicates ease, comfort and luxury, extravagance and gain by inheritance. Let's hope that these kinds of qualities can win the day...