Norman Tebbit – respected even by leftwingers

Norman Tebbit who has died aged 94, was a highly effective minister for Margaret Thatcher, regarded as a political bruiser and parliamentary thug and was once famously described by Michael Foot as a “semi-housetrained polecat”. He turned out to be a politician of substance, grudgingly admired even by those on the left.

 Born on 29 March 1931 into the Depression in London in a lower-middle class family, his father lost his job which gave rise to Tebbit’s oft quoted words, to “get on his bike and look for work”.

 His career was cut short by the IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the party’s 1984 conference. He was  severely injured and his wife Margaret – for whom he cared devotedly – was paralysed for life. He left the government prematurely in 1987 after a stint as party chairman to spend more time with her, and up to her death in 2020 he woke twice every night to turn her.

 ‘He came closest in her government to mirroring Mrs Thatcher’s visceral feelings, and he took pride in articulating them – to the delight of the man in the street. He shared her deep beliefs in the virtue of hard work, the need to take on the trade unions (he had himself been a union official), the damage to families resulting from sexual licence, the innate un-Britishness of Europe and the subversive nature of the BBC.’

He had an Aries Sun conjunct North Node Uranus in Aries conjunct the UK’s North Node so he would resonate with shared issues and be a catalyst for change. He also had a powerfully confident Jupiter Pluto in Cancer in a tough minded opposition to Saturn and squaring his innovative Sun Uranus; with his Mercury in Aries in an argumentative square to Mars in late Cancer. Pro-active, a go-getter, not subtle but to the point.

 He mirrored much of Maggie Thatcher’s chart, 13 October 1925 9am Grantham, England, with her Sun Mars in Libra square Pluto opposition Jupiter which could have turned out to be a tussle for the upper hand – but they held it together to make an influential couple.  Their relationship chart had a friendly composite Sun Venus in a possessive/controlling opposition to Pluto square Jupiter. Together they were a force to be reckoned with.

 The Brighton Bomb went off at 2.54 am on 12 October 1984 with the Taurus Moon was exactly conjunct the UK’s 8th house Mars (to within five minutes of a degree). And the UK chart was on a Solar Arc Half Return putting the country on alert.

 There is not much showing on Norman Tebbit’s chart without a birth time. But it undoubtedly rattled Maggie badly. She was on her Second Saturn Return with tr Saturn crossing her Ascendant starting a downhill slide.

 Margaret Tebbit, his wife, paralysed from the chest down in the bombing, was born 24 May 1934 and died in 2020. Her Venus in Aries chimed with her husband’s Aries Sun and their relationship chart had a lively composite Uranus triune Jupiter sextile Mars with a workmanlike Sun square Saturn.

    Her natal Mars in Taurus (square Saturn) was conjunct Algol both of which were catching the approaching tr North Node in Taurus in 1984, pulling her into one of the worst political atrocities on the UK mainland.

Cycles of Life – Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Tracking the staging posts in life through the cycles of the outer planets in square, opposition and for some Returns to their natal position on a birth chart is an interesting exercise. In a long lifespan there will be three Saturn Returns at 29, 58 and 87; a Uranus Return at 84 and before that two Uranus squares at around 21 and 63 and one mid-life Uranus opposition around 42; as well as a Pluto square and a Neptune square in the early forties, and Pluto and Neptune opposition their natal position in the 80s. Plus a North Node Half Return around 47 and full Return in the late 70s.

  Although they individually have the same general meaning, their impact to some extent will depend on the make-up of the chart. A throw-life-in-the-air-and-be-reckless tr Uranus opposition Uranus at the midlife crisis in late 30s/40 will have a more extreme reaction in a highly Uranian temperament that has been itching to kick over the traces and equally will be resisted by those of more stolid temperament.

  Saturn Returns will have a stronger effect when there are lessons to be learnt and shirked responsibilities faced.

  It will also depend on what other natal planets aspect the outer planet at a critical point in its cycle and indeed whether there are additional transits in the celestial sphere impeding or exaggerating its effect.  Nothing happens in isolation.

  What has always struck me is transiting Pluto which in a lifetime will only make half a cycle and thus only cast its transformational influence over six houses in a natal chart.

 For example, anyone born with a 10th house Pluto will feel its effect through their 11th, 12th, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th houses (depending slightly on the chart’s make up). They therefore never have Pluto through the 5th to 9th house. In this instance their challenges will be more directed towards changes within themselves as an individual.

 Where someone born with a 4th house Pluto will feel its effects through their 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th houses – which being western hemisphere will bring adjustments in relating to others.

  These are obvious examples but a natal Pluto in any house will only effect its influence on the following six houses. The same goes for Neptune.

The Saturn Returns are unsurprisingly about growing up, getting real, taking on responsibilities in the first return; and in the latter two being pragmatic about the limitations of age. Making sensible plans.

The first Uranus square at 20/21 is youthful rebellion time, expressing individual needs not always sensibly, reacting against authority and restrictions. The Uranus mid-life opposition late 30s/40 comes when lives have settled into a rut, youthful dreams have not been fulfilled and regrets surface. It is a wake-up call and can lead to reckless decisions – in extremis leave marriage/job and take off on a Jack Kerouac road trip. The next Uranus square in the early 60s is a nudge not to settle into zimmer frame and hearing aids mindset, but keep a youthful outlook.

  The mid-life crisis so beloved of Carl Jung from late 30s to early forties encompasses Uranus opposition Uranus, Pluto square Pluto and Neptune square Neptune. The Pluto square Pluto is a challenge to let go the past and whatever is outmoded, and can coincide with a tug-of-war as AnOther in life decides to hold firm to the old ways and the individual needs to fight to clear away what is no longer necessary for the future.

  The midlife crisis is a refresher, upending what has become stagnant and could stay that way if not given a revitalizing jolt.

  The North Nodal square, opposition and Return are inner staging posts when there needs to be a review of what progress has been made in the life’s journey from the familiar (lazy option) South Node to the challenging development of the unfamiliar North Node.

  Naturally none of these occurs in isolation since the outer planets moving into new houses or quadrants in a chart will also have a considerable effect.

  Pondering on my own chart – my first Saturn Return (and I have a very Saturnine chart with it on my Midheaven) – I was ill with an indefinable slump for several months, which forced a change in my unhealthy lifestyle, after which my career took off like a rocket.  My Second Saturn Return was also a jolt, this time financially as someone I trusted screwed up, leaving me to cope with a mess. NB (nota bene) from Saturn = do it yourself! Which I have done thereafter.

 Uranus is trickier since my Moon and Sun are in close hard aspect to my natal Uranus so the Uranus aspects tend to rattle everything in my chart up – which I don’t object to since I like constant movement. During my first Uranus square I was sitting my finals at University in a very heavy degree. It was a tr Uranus Pluto conjunction that was around hitting  my Sun, Mercury, Moon, Uranus and I thought Armageddon was coming. It didn’t, I passed – if not with flying colours at least adequately – and I tumbled out of academia swearing never to sit another exam ever again.

 My midlife Uranus opposition oversaw a crazy relationship; with a home move and marriage (to someone else) through the Pluto square Pluto etc. The Second Uranus square – not much.

 My Nodal Half Return saw me upsticks and relocate home/country. But that was alongside tr Pluto opposition tr Saturn in Gemini upending my Moon Uranus, Sun etc.

  Looking back at my list the Saturn Returns stand out and the Nodal squares, oppositions and Return. The major landmarks in  my life – moving house, job etc – are not always obvious from the cycles themselves and I would track them through transits to my chart axis, houses and planets. But everyone’s chart is different and certain transits will have more impact depending on individual placings.

There is beauty to be found in the changing of the earth’s seasons, and an inner grace in honouring the cycles of life.” Jack Kornfield

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein

It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.” Edna St. Vincent Millay

“Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” Charles M. Schulz

“Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you can open up to the arrival of a new archetype, the birth of a new cycle of life. In the shadow, then, lies our myth and our fate.” Connie Zweig

I see that the greatest thing about getting older is how your judgment changes and how you come to understand the cycles of life. And you keep having these amazing flashes of understanding.” Erica Jong

Serbia – Uranus Pluto collides with Saturn

Popular protests against the Serbian regime and its leader Aleksandar Vučić have been met with increasingly brutal repression. What started as student movement has become a broader citizens’ movement which is calling for civil disobedience and demanding a new election. ‘A large section of Serbians have long been uneasy with his “strongman” style of leadership, since he came to power in 2012. But others have accepted his party’s firm grip on state institutions and much of the media as a trade-off for strong economic growth and improvements in infrastructure.’

 Serbia 13 July 1878 2.58 pm Belgrade, has been rattled through this year with tr Uranus conjunct the Pluto in Taurus and square Uranus and Alphard – with the tension-erupting Solar Arc Sturn conjunct the Serbia Uranus at the moment. Which latter is classic Saturnine repression of a rebellious Uranus Pluto uprising.

 Mid this month till late July and again in 2025 tr Neptune will conjunct the Serbia Saturn, undermining the rule of law and causing widespread uncertainty. In 2026 it is followed by a Saturn Return hinting at the need to pause for a rethink.

Aleksandar Vučić, 5 March 1970, is a Sun and Venus in Pisces with Venus opposition Pluto in late Virgo which is catching this September’s Solar Eclipse for a change-or-else-warning. It will be all the more pointed since his Pluto is on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Mercury sextile Mars; and he also has another yod onto Saturn in Taurus which is being put under major pressure in 2026/27 by tr Pluto square Saturn.

  His 1st Presidency chart of 31 May 2017 – which has North Node, Moon, Alphard conjunct the Serbia Uranus Alphard  – has a destabilizing Solar Arc Pluto square the Uranus now; as well as tr Saturn square the Mars across the winter hinting at aggravating setbacks.

His 2nd Presidency chart, 31 May 2022, is pressured this year and in serious trouble in 2026 with failure in the air.

Erin Patterson – down in the woods danger lurks

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of poisoning several of her relatives with wild mushrooms in a trial that has gripped Australia for nine weeks. She prepared a lunch of beef wellington on differently coloured plates allowing her to avoid the tainted food herself – within a week, three former in-laws would be dead, a fourth would be fighting for his life

There was a startling backdrop to the story which was disallowed in court but the Daily Mail (typically) has it all, having somehow blocked those stories in the Australia edition.

 Erin Patterson who was tripped up in various lies in court was born 30 September 1974 and has an ultra-determined, probably grudge-carrying Libra Sun conjunct Pluto and Mars inconjunct Jupiter in Pisces. With her Mars in an edgy, can-be-bad-tempered square to Saturn. Her Neptune in Sagittarius conjunct North Node squares her Jupiter.

  Looking at other notable poisoners:

Mary Ann Cotton, 31 October 1832, Durham England was convicted and executed for poisoning her stepson though she is believed to have killed others including 11 of her 13 children and three of her four husbands for their life insurance policies.  She had a Scorpio Sun inconjunct Pluto sextile Mars – which is not that dissimilar to Erin Patterson – and she also had Jupiter in Pisces.

  Although poisoning is supposed to be a woman’s crime, William Palmer, 6 August 1824 Stafford, England,  tops the list as the Prince of Poisoners. An English doctor he was convicted and hanged for one poisoning case but suspected of poisoning others including his brother, mother-in-law and  four of his children before their first birthdays. He made large sums of money from the deaths all of which he lost by gambling on horses.

 He had two yods of a coercive, cold-blooded Pluto sextile Saturn inconjunct Mars; and a lawless Uranus inconjunct a Leo Sun sextile Saturn. His Jupiter is in Cancer – what gives with supposedly compassionate Jupiters? All three in Water signs and not even in Scorpio.

  All three have notable 18th harmonics which is often the case with serial killers though it can have other meanings. 18 is two time 9 – and 9 in negative mode is acquisitive.

 Why the three above should be riddled by quincunxes is an oddity – it can create a sense of not fitting in though can also produce a singular purpose in life which does not normally lead to wholesale slaughter.   

London bombs, Bhopal – Alphard a warning flag

A memorial service is being held for the July 7 2005 London bombings which killed 52 people and injured 800. Four co-ordinated suicide attacks on London’s public transport during the morning rush hour were carried out by Islamist terrorists.

 The attacks happened when the Solar Arc Mars was square Pluto on the UK 1801 chart which does describe a brutal, deadly event and the explosions happened at 8.51 am when the transiting Midheaven was conjunct the UK’s 8th house Mars which is a sensitive trigger point for calamities.

London 7/7 bombings. What is intriguing is that the Fixed Star Alphard was conjunct the 26 degree Leo Ascendant when the bombings took place. Alphard is in the Hydra constellation, the single star in the neck of the Water Snake. It has also been called the heart of the snake. On the positive side it can give wisdom, musical and artistic appreciation but in negative mode can lead to turbulence, lack of self-control, immorality, revolting deeds and self-destruction. ‘The danger is marked if either Sun, Moon, Mars, Neptune, Ascendant or MC are linked up with this star.’ (Astrology King.) 

   Looking through the archives at other disasters, man-made and natural, Alphard does crop up in some through not all.

The Fukushima nuclear meltdown of 11 March 2011 was precipitated by an earthquake which resulted in a tsunami 50 minutes later which overwhelmed the nuclear power station around 3.36pm when Alphard was conjunct the Ascendant.

The Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world’s worst industrial disaster, when 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide pesticide plant in India were exposed to a highly toxic gas.  It eventually poisoned more than half a million people and caused as many as 16,000 deaths. Children have become second and third generation victims suffering from cerebral palsy, autism, muscular dystrophy and serious disabilities. Support groups estimate as many as 150,000 people were suffering chronic, debilitating diseases such as cancer, lung problems and neurological disorders.

  The first hint of problems at the Bhopal factory occurred around 11pm on 2 December 1984 when gauges recorded abnormal levels. At that point Alphard was conjunct the Leo Ascendant.

The Gujarat earthquake of 26 January 2001, 7.6 on the scale, killed at least 20,023 people, injured another 166,000 and destroyed about 400,000 buildings. Timed at 8.46 am, it had Alphard closely conjunct the Descendant.

 Alphard is relevant at the moment because of its prominence in Donald Trump’s chart – natally conjunct his Mars and his Ascendant – and equally natally conjunct Netanyahu’s Mars and the Israel Mars in Leo as well.

  The Bhopal disaster registered on the India 15 August 1947 chart with a panicky tr Neptune exactly opposition the India Mars, Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Mercury and it was on a Nodal Return which should have been a wake up call though it did not seem to have that effect in terms of damage clean up on the site and help for those affected which was very slow in coming.

 [What intrigues me astrologically speaking and I don’t know what to make of it. Both the Bhopal Disaster and the Gujarat earthquake show up clearly as damaging events on the united India 1 January 1877 chart, which politically no longer exists after the 1947 partition. It has a a fearsome Mars in Scorpio opposition Pluto Algol square Uranus in Leo conjunct Alphard.

   At the Gujarat earthquake tr Saturn in Taurus opposition Mars in Scorpio square Uranus Moon Mercury in Aquarius was colliding with the India 1877 Fixed T Square. At the Bhopal disaster tr Saturn in Scorpio was in hard aspect to the 1877 Fixed T square with Solar Arc Neptune square Mars; and two South Node aspects as well.]

And that odd but seemingly significant accident in London on 24 April 2024 when two cavalry horses were injured and a blood-covered white and black horse took off galloping through traffic. It happened at 8.40am when Alphard was closely conjunct the IC and opposition the Midheaven.

As mentioned above Alphard is not always prominent at calamities but it was conjunct the Ascendant when Laki, the Icelandic volcano started to blow on 8 June 1783 and continued for several months sending a haze across Europe, and killing people and livestock in Iceland.

 The Afghan War began 10 October 2001 with Alphard conjunct the IC. 

The My Lai massacre in Vietnam on 16 April 1968 had Jupiter conjunct Alphard. William Calley, the officer responsible for the unlawful killings of 22 civilians, 8 June 1943 6.12pm Miami, Florida had Alphard conjunct his Midheaven.

Worth looking out for.  

Jennifer Aniston – healing wounds from the past

Jennifer Aniston is gearing up to play a ‘monster of a stage mother’ in the film version of Jeanette McCurdy’s best selling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died which details her experiences as a child actress living with a ‘narcissistic’ parent. It will be all the more poignant for Aniston since she had a 15 year estrangement from her own model/actress mother Nancy Dow with whom she had a turbulent relationship. She was left with deep insecurities after her mother called her ‘fat, ugly and too Greek-looking’ as a child and constantly criticised her weight. A friend latterly said Nancy was jealous of Jennifer’s success since her own career never flourished and she remained unrepentant about writing a memoir about Jennifer which was seen as a betrayal. They did spend some time together before her death in 2016.

 Jennifer Aniston, born 11 February 1969 10.22 pm Los Angeles, has a tricky chart with an Aquarius Sun on the cusp of her 5th house square a showbizzy Mars Neptune in Scorpio. She has Saturn in Aries on the cusp of her 7th house on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Mars Neptune which is a tough yod to handle well. Her Sagittarius Moon, ruler of her 10th, is trine Saturn and square Pluto giving her a cold and possessive mother.

  Intriguingly her need-to-be-independent Aries North Node in the working 6th is conjunct Chiron – and highlighted at the moment by tr Saturn Neptune moving into Aries. This position of Chiron will bring a focus on issues of suffering and healing into the public arena.

 Her mother Nancy Dow, 22 July 1936, had a fearsome Cancer Sun, Mercury, Pluto (and Mars) conjunct Jennifer’s Midheaven and inconjunct Jennifer’s Sun so she would be driven to control her daughter – and put her down to feed her narcissism. Nancy’s Uranus was also in Jennifer’s 7th creating a divisive atmosphere. Not that Jennifer’s actor father, John Aniston, 24 July 1933, was exactly a great help either with his Pluto on her Midheaven and his Uranus on her Descendant but on balance was not quite as damaging as her mother.

Keir Starmer – the devil is in the detail ++ possible Capricorn Ascendant

The enigma that is Keir Starmer should be explainable from his astrology except that sadly his birth time is missing which cuts out some useful information. Houses do put a chart and personality in context since, for example, an 8th house Leo Sun will be very different to a 5th house Leo Sun.  The 8th house individua; will struggle to let its exuberance and entertaining qualities shine out. Midpoints to a degree can add detail where houses are missing or where mystifying traits are on show that are not easily seen from the surface chart itself.

  After this week’s resounding debacle, varied descriptions of Starmer have appeared from those who have studied him close at hand.

 He is: “A lawyer, a technocrat, a manager, but not – a storyteller.”

“I spent six weeks trailing after Keir Starmer and the man I saw felt both hidden and remarkably open often naively so – a man recognisable to so many and yet so far removed that he can seem coldly distant.”

“After a year studying Starmer, I can tell you that he is at once a very kind man and a ruthless one.”

  He does have glaring blindspots – cutting winter fuel payments etc just as his acceptance of tens of thousands in free clothes surfaced. His refusal to admit he or his government are in a hole at all, pointing to their achievements and seemingly surprised  that anyone else might not agree. This leads to accusations of being disconnected – from his own party and the electorate. And there is strong evidence of his cowardice/timidity/reluctance to face down opposition to his plans.

Tom Baldwin, his biographer, said on the upside that his style is well suited to winning trust among international leaders. “He doesn’t do big speeches setting out grand visions for world peace. The reason he works on the international stage is that he comes up with ideas to make difficult situations better. I don’t recognise him as an insurgent disrupter. He is a nuanced, pragmatic, patriotic politician, seeking better outcomes. He’s not interested in some kind of ‘Starmerism’.”

 Where does his chart reflect all of the above? 

A Water Grand Trine of Mars in Cancer trine Jupiter in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio – self-protective emotionally with an inner, private world, sensitive, impressionable, easily overwhelmed, escapist, vulnerable, self-contained, disconnected, hard to get to know. Lives in his own bubble.

 Formed into a Kite by Jupiter opposition Pluto and Uranus, making them the driving planets. Jupiter opposition Pluto may initially give a misleading appearance of strength since it breeds confidence and a tendency to assume the individual is not bound by the same rules as others. It can be autocratic though that does not appear to be so in his case but it may lead to a tendency to ignore realities that are obvious to others. Jupiter opposition Uranus – ‘characterizing this aspect is a soap bubble that bursts with the slightest pinprick. Promises more than can deliver (for example on cutting back on immigration).

  He also had his Jupiter conjunct Chiron which can lead to messianic tendencies, certainly over optimism, an inner sense of having been specially chosen which added to Virgo’s tendency to be self-righteous could add up to an inability to listen to feedback or to learn from the circumstances around him.

 He also has a cool, intellectual Saturn in Aquarius opposition North Node in Leo square Neptune in Scorpio – which would lessen his ability to be decisive, since a focal point Neptune tends to slip, slither and duck when an outright confrontation flares up.

  I had a quick skip down Astrotheme’s useful Search Tool by Astrological Aspects. What was noticeable was that Jupiter in Pisces opposition Pluto did not throw up any notables other than football coach Jose Mourinho. Whereas Jupiter in other signs (Capricorn, Aries or Aquarius) opposition Pluto did seem to bring higher achievers. Jupiter in Pisces tends to be compassionate rather than anything else.

 On midpoints Starmer has his Pluto conjunct his Mars/Neptune midpoint about which Ebertin cheerfully says: “The tendency to cause damage to others brutally or to suffer likewise. And his Mars conjunct Uranus/Neptune = misdirected energy.

 I am hopeless on second guessing Ascendants. But for anyone else who wants to try.

A dull appearance and enigmatic personality might suggest Sun Pluto Virgo on the Ascendant (6am) but that puts nothing in the legal and international 9th so seems unlikely.

 Saturn in Aquarius in his 1st with a late Capricorn or Saturn Aquarius Ascendant (6pm) puts his Moon, Venus in Libra and focal point Neptune in his 9th with an 8th house Sun Pluto Uranus which could be plausible, with a hard-working Mars in the 6th. That has a late Scorpio Midheaven catching the upending tr Uranus opposition at the moment. Have added above but is only a guess.

  The devil is in the detail.

Liam and Noel – an incendiary brotherhood

Liam and Noel Gallagher back together on stage in Cardiff after an acrimonious split 16 years ago sent an audience of 75,000 fans into ecstasy with an Oasis concert which made up for in exuberance what it lacked in nuance and subtlety.

 After a brief hug, the once-warring siblings walking out hand-in-hand with Liam firmly in control, looking the more dominant of the two.

  Liam, 21 September 1972 12.56pm, Burnage, England, does have an amped up chart with an ambitious, assertive Sun Mars in Virgo on his midheaven square Jupiter in Sagittarius opposition Saturn so he will tend to be volatile, argumentative and short-fused.

Noel, 29 May 1967, no birth time, Manchester, is a Sun Gemini sextile Saturn in Aries on one side and Jupiter in Leo on the other. He has the unsettled, unpredictable Uranus Pluto conjunction in Virgo and a not-always-sensitive Mars in Libra square Venus in emotional Cancer.

  The main problem between them is Mars Uranus. Noel’s Mars is conjunct Liam’s Uranus and Liam’s ambitious, argumentative Mars is conjunct Noel’s Uranus and Pluto. Liam’s controlling Pluto is also trine Noel’s Sun.

  Mars Uranus can be an explosive combination with a no-compromise response from either side. They would get under each other’s skin from the start, with trivial differences flaring up into major conflagrations – until Noel reached the point of no return.

 Their relationship chart has a close composite Mars Uranus conjunction which is sextile a friendly affectionate Sun Venus conjunction. The fight for individuality would win out over blood ties.

 In late August 2009 when the elastic finally snapped there was an angry, enraged tr Mars opposition tr Pluto square tr Mercury rattling up their composite Mars Uranus conjunction; and an equally high-tension, crockery-throwing tr Saturn opposition tr Uranus which was tugging on their composite Pluto. There was no way they would manage to steer together through the storms that would create for several years thereafter. Tr Pluto was also squaring Liam’s controlling 10th house Pluto, perhaps hinting at a need for self-reflection and psychological change.

  With maturity – and hopes of a financial windfall from the concert tour – there may be a less scratchy chemistry at the moment. Liam certainly looks likely to be receiving money in quantity over coming months with tr Jupiter moving through his 8th house. Noel has tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter throughout this year which will help bring success.

 Tr Pluto is opposing their composite Sun Venus this year which on the best interpretation could suggest a transformation of their relationship – though it will cause strains – and that will run side by side with tr Saturn Neptune opposing the composite Mars Uranus midpoint through 2026/27 – so holding their togetherness together won’t be easy.

Diogo Jota, Michael Madsen, Julian McMahon – three losses

A sad week with several high profile deaths. Most tragic was Liverpool Diogo Jota, the Portuguese footballer, killed in a car crash at 28 along with his brother, only two weeks after his marriage. 

  Born 4 December 1996 in Porto, Portugal, he was a Sun in Sagittarius square Mars in Virgo; with Pluto  in Sagittarius trine Saturn and sextile Uranus (Neptune) – assertive, high-vitality with a strong Mars and a mix of tough from Saturn Pluto and inventive from a central Uranus. His Neptune was also in an optimistic conjunction to Jupiter in Capricorn.

 His Progressed Mars was around the opposition to his Saturn when he died, which is an accident-prone influence.

 He died at 12.40 am Zamora, Spain when the two yods onto Pluto and Mars were still within orb.

 His wedding to his childhood sweetheart and mother of his three children on 22 June 2025 also occurred when the two yods were in even closer aspect.

******

Actor Michael Madsen, 25 September 1957, known for Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill died this week having been through turmoil in his final years, with a messy marriage breakup, his son’s suicide and alcoholism. What is all the sadder is that his childhood was marred by abuse at the hands of his Navy veteran father, Calvin Christian Madsen, a World War II  who subjected him to frequent violent beatings, which often knocked him unconscious and left him living in constant fear.

  Although he played violent characters on screen, friends say that in his private life he was an introspective figure who wrote poetry and doted on his children. He had an upbeat, high vitality Libra Sun conjunct Mars and Jupiter; with his Jupiter on the midpoint of Uranus trine Saturn. His Pluto and Mercury in Virgo were both square Saturn. His Venus in Scorpio was square Uranus. His Moon was Libra/Scorpio probably conjunct Neptune. It is not a chart that reflects the difficulties of his life – without a birth time. Houses would make a significant difference in his case. Though on midpoints his Sun and Mars are both conjunct his Neptune/Pluto midpoint which points towards sensitivity and a tendency towards alcoholism; and also a sense of being blown about by events beyond his control.

 When he died his Solar Arc Mars was around the conjunction to his Saturn and his SA Sun was also conjunct his Saturn.   A sad story of an obviously talented man.  

*******

Actor Julian McMahon, 27 July 1968 10.20am Sydney, Australia, has also died – in his case of cancer. He was known for Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and more recently FBI: Most Wanted and Netflix’s The Residence

 He had an older father (born 1908) an Australian politician who became prime minister when Julian was two, which saw him left with a nanny. His ‘scary’ mother was an issue with his first short lived marriage to Dannii Minogue. He subsequently married twice more.

 He had an entertainer’s Leo Sun on the cusp of his 11th with his Moon Venus also in Leo in his friendly 11th. His communicative and ambitious Mars Mercury in Cancer was in his 10th. And he had a yod of a 12th house Uranus Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct a 7th house Saturn in Aries which would make close relationships one of his great challenges, despite having his Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct his Venus.  Attracting affectionate partners would not be a problem, but keeping them might be. His Mars Mercury were also square his Saturn hinting at a less than supportive childhood.

 His mother Sonia McMahon, 1 August 1932, like him had a Saturnine yod which are tricky to handle with maturity – in her case inconjunct Neptune sextile Venus (Mars). Her yod apex Saturn in Aquarius opposed his Sun and her Uranus was conjunct his 7th house Saturn with her Pluto in Cancer in square – so she would criticise him and interfere in his marriages and cause problems.

  He dies this week with his Solar Arc Saturn (square SA Mars) exactly square his Pluto.   

[We will be pleased to see the back of these two Pluto and Mars focussed yods which are mercifully drawing apart now. They have not made the past two or three weeks remotely easy.]