Friday Bite: 13 September 2024

Cat Ladies and Dog days

Presidential Debate – Putin – Prince Harry

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats… They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country.” Donald Trump, September 10, ABC live television debate.

“The UK must issue a straightforward warning to Putin: if you continue to murder men, women and children with glide bombs launched from Russia, then we will lead the rest of the world to authorise our long-range missiles to take out your launchers.” Grant Shapps, former defence secretary. 

If the decision is taken [to allow missiles to strike targets inside Russia] it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries… and this will, of course, change the very nature, the very essence of the conflict…” Vladimir Putin, 12 September

“Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine, Russia can end this conflict straight away.” Sir Keir Starmer, 12 September

WE ARE NOT AMUSED. Last Friday, in Antrim, Northern Ireland, a bronze statue of the late Queen Elizabeth was unveiled. It was largely greeted with derision. Some called it “offensive”, one likened it to Mrs Doubtfire and others demanded it be “taken down and melted”. It was the beginning of an interesting week for the British royals.

On Tuesday, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a video of the family enjoying life in the bucolic Norfolk countryside. Shot by a professional team, the three-minute film was visually stunning and laced with symbolism. Butterflies, white feathers, and walks through wheatfields were accompanied by Catherine’s voice telling us that her chemotherapy treatment had been completed and she was looking forward to returning to work in the future.

The same day, details of the King and Queen’s royal tour to Australia and Samoa were released with the New Zealand leg cancelled “on doctors’ advice”. Later in the week, Prince William stood in for the King at the Sovereign’s Parade in Lincolnshire. Despite all the positive sounds emanating from Team Windsor, the King’s fragile appearance does little to allay rumours that he will abdicate in the near future, a scenario I have aired in previous Friday Bites. Next year, Saturn and Neptune will be within a hair of each other, beginning a long season of erosion and restructuring for many institutions and regimes, and monarchies.

Over in Montecito, California, the beleaguered Duchess of Sussex received another blow to her home and lifestyle enterprise. The US Patent and Trademark Office has not only turned down her application on the basis of geographical locations not being trademarkable but it has also rejected the American Riviera Orchard logo, due to there being a missing/indecipherable O.

Prince Harry will be forty years old on Sunday, which is another coming-of-age, and certainly the bridge between youth and middle-age. His solar return chart places Saturn on the Midheaven opposing the Sun, which speaks of greater responsibilities, which may be welcomed, or greater burdens, which may not. Saturn, of course, is about time so there is also a sense of things coming together in time, of reaping a harvest or chickens coming home to roost. Saturn squares his natal Mars, which suggests struggles and frustrations with his role and his ambitions and desires. The Moon, the ruler of the chart, is in the eighth house of financial, emotional and sexual exchange, and is caught up in a positive Grand Trine with Jupiter and Venus. So, all is not lost. His own family life may continue to be a source of happiness. However, Saturn is dominant and whenever Saturn is dominant, joy and success are hard to come by. Certainly, there is little indication of a return to the royal family fold, indeed, there are signs of a hardening of the rift.

ON WEDNESDAY, SATELLITE images were released of a Russian-flagged cargo ship believed to be supplying ballistic missiles from Iran docked at Russia’s Port Olya 3. The day before, Anthony Blinken, US secretary of state, announced that the United States had evidence that the Russian military has received shipments from Iran of Fatah-360 ballistic missiles. (Iran and Russia immediately denied the claims.) This hugely significant development not only dashes the hopes of a rapprochement between the new Iranian government and the west, but threatens to widen the war in Ukraine.

In my most recent video [LUNAR ECLIPSE IN PISCES], I looked at the Libra Ingress chart for Russia, which is cause for concern in regard to the widening of the war in Ukraine. Pluto rises and is exactly square an elevated Venus, strong in its own sign and often prominent in the charts of major conflicts. Mars is conjunct the Descendant, suggesting Russia will come under attack during the next quarter and its relations with its global partners will be fractious. The Moon and Uranus are conjunct the IC, ramping up the potential for destabilization of the homeland and, since the Moon represents the people of Russia, either the people are in rebellious mood or the people of Russia will be under attack.

In the aforementioned video I expand on the placement of the Sun in the eighth house of financial partnerships, which, with its opposition to Neptune – the central strut of a Kite configuration – is suggestive of loss, on the one hand, and confusion/dissemblance, on the other. In my research, I came across sources which claimed the Russian economy was in great shape, in large part due to the development of new markets in the global East and South and its oil exports. Others, however, including Alexey Zabotkin, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, maintain the Russian economy is slowing, a trend not helped by China’s decision to stop trading due to fears related to western sanctions on Russia.

Given this ingress chart, it would seem to support the notion that hurting the Russian economy is the best form of attack and, even though it appears that Russia has found ways to get around the draconian sanctions, it is nonetheless being battered. Russia has lost much of its workforce to the military campaign in Ukraine with the result that there are not enough people to man the factories. Plus, Ukrainian attacks on its oil refineries are depleting Russia’s most valuable resource. With oil prices set to rise and interest rates rising to combat inflation, the Russian people may finally begin to complain.

I guess the big question is, will Putin finally act on his threats to attack the west. My gut feeling combined with the ingress chart is that push has not yet come to shove. And the further we get into 2025 and the Saturn-Neptune conjunction the more likely we are to see regime change in Russia.

THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL debate was another key event during the last seven days. By all accounts Kamala Harris was the winner and judging by all the clips and soundbites, she didn’t have to work very hard to press Donald Trump’s buttons, especially in regard to crowd sizes. I looked at both presidential candidates’ charts in my video [VIRGO SEASON] and both were under less than brilliant stars.

The chart of the debate was dominated by a Grand Cross in mutable signs: Moon opposition Jupiter squaring a Sun-Saturn opposition. This configuration connected with Donald Trump’s natal Uranus at 17 degrees of Gemini while Uranus at 27 degrees of Taurus was widely conjunct his Midheaven and closely squaring his Mars and Ascendant in Leo. Uranus in this case upset his apple cart, throwing him off balance and causing him to veer off-piste and make unsubstantiated accusations. (The Haitian population of Springfield, Ohio, including the legendary John Legend, were not amused…)

For me, the debate was not just a test of Kamala’s mettle and her ability to bear the mantle of power but her astrology, particularly the placing of Saturn on her Midheaven. Saturn on the day (15 degrees Pisces) was precisely opposed to her natal Pluto which is sandwiched between Uranus and Venus thus, all three planets were triggered by the prevailing Grand Cross. This combination could have reversed her rise and made a recovery impossible. Instead, in true Saturnian style, she rose to the occasion.

In the same way that Margaret Thatcher (Saturn rising in Scorpio) was able to triumph over adversity every time Saturn transited a sensitive point in her chart – she was not called the Iron Lady for nothing – we now know that Kamela has the capacity to do the same.

There are still fifty-two days until America goes to the polls, and if a week is a long time in politics, almost two months is an epoch. Nonetheless, the puppet masters behind Mr Trump are going to have to work overtime to turn his campaign around.

I HAD HOPED to end with more than a few words about Geoffrey Cornelius who died on 27 August. Geoffrey was not only one of the most brilliant astrologers of our time – he founded the Company of Astrologers in 1983 – but one of the kindest and most gentle of men. His funeral is to be held next Thursday (19th) at St Alphege Church in Whitstable. I will write more on Geoffrey and his contribution to astrology next week.

In the meantime, my love and condolences to Maggie Hyde and his friends and family.

Friday Bite: 6 September 2024

Accountability

“Our favourite, if I may say so, was Mr Biden. He was removed from the race but he recommended supporting Ms Harris, and we will do so. We will support her… She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that she is doing well.” Vladimir Putin, 4 September, Eastern Economic Forum, Vladivostok.

“As a conservative, as somebody who believes in and cares about the constitution, I have thought deeply about… the present danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, I am voting for Kamala Harris.” Liz Cheney, 4 September

THIS IS THE third time the word accountability has appeared as the heading for my Friday Bite. Saturn in Pisces, the final sign of the zodiac and the last house of the horoscope, is where we look back on the preceding twenty-nine years, tie up loose ends and take accountability for our actions. And week after week, over the past eighteen months, we have seen chickens coming home to roost and famous figures falling off their perches. This week, the report on the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 pointed the finger of blame at construction companies and successive governments which, by putting profit over people, caused the death of seventy-two men, women and children. Sadly, it will take at least two more years for cases to come to court and heads to roll. That’s if they ever roll such is the level of corporate corruption and depraved indifference of those responsible. But at least companies have been named and shamed. This report was published on an applying Sun-Saturn opposition (Virgo-Pisces), more than a nod to the fire itself which occurred on a Sun-Saturn opposition on the Gemini-Sagittarius axis.

On Monday, in Israel, a general strike was held in protest over the government’s handling of the hostage situation in Gaza. During the weekend, the bodies of six captives were recovered in an underground tunnel: they had been shot at close range some two to three days beforehand. While Hamas is directly responsible for those deaths, Israeli citizens who downed tools and took to the streets certainly believe Netanyahu and the Israeli government need to take account of their failure to bring the hostages safely home by prioritizing their military goals.

In an effort to overturn his conviction on thirty-four felony counts, attorneys for Donald Trump failed for the third time to get the hush money case removed from New York. Sentencing is due to take place on 18 September – the day of the lunar eclipse, which, as I have pointed out in the previous Bite, makes landfall on his natal chart. Nonetheless, there is still time for appeals to be granted, even at this late stage, thus, sentencing may never happen. Then again, Saturn in Pisces, accountability…

Still in the USA, on Wednesday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Russian nationals who used a right-wing media company based in Tennessee, Tenet Media, to spread Russian propaganda, divide Americans and get Trump re-elected. Two employees of the state-backed Russian media company, RT are accused of using laundered money to pay right-wing American influencers disproportionate sums to manipulate American opinion. Gone, apparently, are the days of messages left in dead boxes and invisible writing, all Russia needs to do to disassemble America (and the west) is to feed the public’s voracious appetite for conspiracy theories.

Mars-Neptune aspects are redolent with lies, conspiracies, betrayal, treachery and disinformation. And Mars and Neptune were exactly square on Wednesday. Such an influence is not all bad though, and during the Paris Paralympics we have seen example after example of the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. On Thursday evening, Ali Truwit won a silver medal for the United States in the 400m freestyle. Just over a year ago, she fought off a shark in the waters of the Caribbean and then swam 70 metres to a boat with half her left leg missing. I do not have Amy’s time of birth but she was born on a close Sun-Pluto opposition and an exact Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. On Thursday, transiting Jupiter was conjunct her Mars. She, of course, is one among thousands of fellow athletes who have had to beat overwhelming odds to become heroes.

Also, on Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney, one of a handful of Republicans to vote to impeach Trump after the January 6 insurrection, announced her support for Kamela Harris. Another form of courage in the face of overwhelming opposition. Which reminds me that in last week’s Bite and my video [Virgo Season] I mentioned that Robert F Kennedy had endorsed Donald Trump and crossed over to the Republican Party. Endorsing a presidential candidate does not involve joining their party. I apologize for the error.

ON THURSDAY, MICHEL Barnier became the new French prime minister. You may remember the name because Monsieur Barnier was the EU’s chief negotiator for Brexit. In July, President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election – considered ill-conceived beforehand and an absolute disaster once it had happened – which has left the French Assembly in chaos. However, in what may turn out to be a masterstroke, Macron has chosen a prime minister who could keep the government ship afloat.

A conservative, Barnier joined the Union for the Defence of the Republic (UDR) when he was a teenager and still belongs to its successor, the Republicans (LR). His bid to become the Republican’s presidential candidate failed, however, since the universe works in mysterious ways to achieve its ends, it may be a case of: cometh the hour, cometh the man. No prime minister can satisfy both extremes of the Assembly, but his Republican background is appealing to the centrist, right-wing and populist parties of which Marine le Pen’s National Rally (RN) wields the most power.  He and Macron are both from the pro-European establishment and share similarly right-leaning views on the economy.

But what does the astrology tell us.

Cancer rising and the Sun in Capricorn certainly resonate with Barnier’s Republican soul, yet revolutionary Uranus rises and both his Moon and Mars are in Aquarius. So, he is not afraid to go against the grain in pursuit of the fairest and most equitable solutions, a characteristic further amplified by his Sun ruler, Saturn, in Libra. I was amused to learn that Sir David Davis, former secretary of state for Brexit, noted that Barnier was particularly fond of using hiking metaphors, describing Brexit as “climbing a mountain”. How Capricorn is that.

I have a feeling that Monsieur Barnier is going to be good news for France as it negotiates one of its most tumultuous periods (Pluto squaring natal Neptune/Jupiter and inconjunct natal Pluto). His Saturn falls on the nation’s Venus, which could steady the ship on those stormy waters, while his Uranus sits on France’s IC inspiring radical but necessary change.

Of course, it depends which chart for France you’re looking at. There are at least seven beginning with 3 July 974 and the coronation of Hugh Capet, the first King of the Franks (Sun Cancer, Moon Virgo, Mars conjunct Pluto in Libra), then to 22 September 1792 – the abolition of the monarchy (Sun Libra, Moon Sagittarius, Mars in Scorpio) – and finally 6 October 1958 and the fifth republic established by Charles de Gaulle (Sun Libra, Moon Cancer and Mars in Gemini). It seems appropriate to rely on the most recent chart, although it seems that of the fourth republic resonates best with recent events – transiting Uranus opposing the natal Mars-Mercury conjunction.

Toutefois, let’s stick with the fifth republic and watch how this political knot unravels over the course of the next two years. Neptune and Saturn will both enter Aries next year, squaring Barnier’s Mercury and opposing his Saturn while simultaneously opposing France’s Venus. It’s not necessarily a recipe for unrest and disunity but it will create a climate in which it will be very difficult to match ideals to reality and unless the various parties compromise on their visions and beliefs there will be stalemate.

SINCE I DON’T want to end on a Saturn-Neptune note I’d like to return to the fabulous displays of courage, determination and sheer brilliance we have been witnessing at the Paris Paralympics.

Dream the impossible dream. Anything is possible.