Friday Bite 17 July 2026

Dire Straits

The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.” Donald Trump, 13 July.

“Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” Donald Trump, 14 July.

“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” Senator Lindsey Graham, 3 May 2016

“Mr President, you’re not far behind God.” Senator Lindsey Graham, 10 June 2026.

“This is the end of my political journey… to my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.” Sir Keir Starmer, 16 July.

 “[We’re going to] put the power that comes from that unity at the service of people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again. That’s what we’re going to do, everybody. We’re going to give them hope back.” Andy Burnham, 17 July.

HALFWAY THROUGH AND July is more than delivering its promise of crisis and controversy. It is proving to be a month of extremes, both in terms of the climate and national and international events. More than 10,000 deaths in Europe have been attributed to the recent heat wave. And last night marked the sixth night in a row of US strikes on Iranian infrastructure and tit-for-tat attacks on Gulf states and the wider region.

Within the last seven days, the United Kingdom has lost a former minister Ann Widdecombe – killed, allegedly in a politically motivated attack – and witnessed the departure of Prime-minister Sir Keir Starmer while the United States has lost Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to a torn aorta and “mislaid” Republican Senator Mitch McConnel who may or may not be alive but is certainly out of action.

On Thursday night, Donald Trump took the opportunity to address the nation, not on the dire straits (no pun intended) in which the world finds itself due to the US/Israel war in Iran, but the desperate plight of the American voting system. Despite filing 62 lawsuits contesting the result of the 2020 election and all of them failing, Mr Trump reiterated his conviction that the election had been rigged, and that in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future, new voting measures were to be put in place. He went on to accuse China of interfering with that election.

Sir Keir Starmer spent his last day of official duties in Ukraine, where he was given the country’s highest award for a foreign individual, the Order of Freedom honour. While the prime minister may not have won Britain’s heart over his management of the country, he has been an impressive figure on the international stage. He has championed the Ukraine cause and proved a steadfast friend and supporter of President Zelensky. And he was, just for a moment, a Trump whisperer. Criticised for his lack of charisma and his many U-turns, as he made his last speech in the House, a palpable warmth and affection spread across the chamber. I suspect he will be missed.

And so it was that today Andy Burnham took his place as leader of the Labour Party. On Monday, he will become Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is an unknown quantity, yet he has been a Labour politician for 26 years. He has stood for the leadership of the party on two previous occasions – 2010 and 2015. He has held important ministerial posts, however, he is best known for being Greater Manchester’s mayor, a role in which he has distinguished himself since 2017.

The above chart represents Andy Burnham’s becoming the leader of the Labour Party. It is an impressive chart, first and foremost because his leadership is beginning as the formation known as Barbault’s Basket is almost exact. In fact, the Ascendant at seven degrees of Libra connects to that configuration creating another formation, the Envelope. While I don’t set too much store by the name a configuration is given, I rather like the idea of something being concealed within the envelope. In other words, we must wait and see what Mr Burnham has to deliver. Maybe he does indeed have secret powers. And he’s certainly going to need them given the divisions within the Labour party and the country and the uncertain times in which we live.

I have looked at Burnham’s chart in a previous Bite (19 June):

“The above sunrise chart is the best we can do since there is no known time of birth for Andy Burnham, however, I would hazard a guess, given his appearance, that he has Cancer rising. As it is, we know he is a Sun Capricorn – the Moon, Venus and Mercury also in this Saturn-ruled sign – and he has Mars in Pisces. He is thus both a dreamer and a realist. Organized, sensible, reliable (to a point) and strong. Venus and the Sun, and possibly the Moon, are all squaring Uranus so he has some trailblazing capacities and he’s not afraid to buck a trend. However, you wouldn’t want to cross him. He has the great benefit of a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, which provides a perfect balance between optimism and realism and gives him a powerful sense of purpose.”

The Moon-Venus conjunction in Virgo of the leadership chart mirrors Burnham’s natal Moon-Venus-Sun conjunction in Capricorn while Jupiter squares his natal Jupiter-Saturn opposition. And since Jupiter is part of the Basket configuration, we have a clear message that he is a man whose time has come.

The Labour Party was formed on a Jupiter-Saturn square and a Neptune-Uranus opposition, the latter being emblematic of its socialist roots. More pertinently, its Midheaven at 18 degrees of Pisces is conjunct Burnham’s Mars while its Moon at 4 degrees of Libra is currently opposed by Neptune and, of course, part of the Basket configuration.

That Burnham’s Mars falls on the party’s Midheaven suggests he will fight for the party yet he could also find himself in conflict with it. And given his leadership has taken off with the Ascendant on his natal Uranus, there is a strong revolutionary aura to the new regime.

Burnham takes power with the Labour party behind him and the people of Britain with hope in their hearts. But the proof of the pudding, as always, is in the eating.

IN TWO DAYS TIME, on 19/20 July, the Jupiter-Pluto opposition, which forms the base of the aforementioned Basket, will take place. Sometimes, a configuration comes and goes and nothing of note happens, but nothing is for nothing. What is forming at this time will place its signature on hugely important events of a global and personal nature. And when the events occur we will be able to trace their origins to this period of time.

Barbault himself saw July 2026 as the beginning of a golden age, although he also anticipated “shifts in power”, and there is certainly a case to be made for these influences presiding over major breakthroughs and the beginnings of better things to come. However, we should also be realistic. And the conflicts we have raging at the moment are making our world a very dangerous place.

In the months leading up to 9-11, the Saturn-Pluto opposition was in play as was the Jupiter-Pluto opposition. This combination led me to believe that a singular event – possibly a war – was on its way. And since the exact Saturn-Pluto opposition fell on America’s Ascendant-Descendant axis, I believed the United States was at the centre of what was to come. I wrote about this in my Cosmic Update of July 15 that year.

“Saturn’s conjunction to the descendant (the cusp of the seventh house of partners and open enemies) suggests that it is other nations and other leaders who are proving and will continue to prove to be America’s biggest challenge. America’s partners will at the very least become critical of US policies and actions and at worst there could be hostilities where once there was unity. As for America’s enemies, these leaders, nations and groups will come out against America in full force now. And if ever there was an astrological setting for war, it is this one.”

The opposition became exact on 5 August 2001. August the fifth came and went with nothing of note. Six weeks later, and we all remember what happened. Later it emerged that on 5 August the Bush administration had received a briefing detailing the intent of Bin Laden to strike inside the United States. The briefing was ignored.

Last Wednesday, Donald Trump told Fox News that the US is planning to attack Iran’s bridges and power plants and today, Reuters reports that Iranian leaders have asked the Houthis to close the strait of Bab el-Mandeb, the waterway that links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. These are not the times to keep ramping up the ante. There will be consequences.

Friday Bite 10 July 2026

“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Donald Trump, 5 July, 2026

 “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.” Donald Trump, 2 January, 2021

“I think it’s over. I don’t wanna deal with them anymore. They’re scum, you know what scum is? They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. And they’re vicious, violent people.” Donald Trump, 6 July 2026

“And we’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people. And they were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people… and they’re, you know, looking to help their country” Donald Trump, 14 June 2026

IT SEEMS THE war with Iran is back on. Or maybe not. Who knows? Donald Trump doesn’t appear to know. (He’s a Gemini, and in two minds about the whole thing.) What we do know is that in the early hours of Tuesday morning Iran fired on three commercial vessels in Oman’s territorial waters near the Strait of Hormuz. That evening, the United States struck several of Iran’s port cities. On Wednesday, Iran launched drones and missiles at American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. On Thursday, the United States bombarded southern Iran.

So much for the Memorandum of Understanding.

All the while, the six-day funeral for former supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei was taking place, wending its way through cities in Iran and Iraq. Millions of Iranians took to the streets, many bearing banners vowing revenge on America. One placard held by dozens of mourners read: WE WILL KILL TRUMP.

The point I want to make about the above chart, which represents the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the Elysee Palace almost four weeks ago, is that Mars was thirteen degrees away from Uranus and reached this planet of change and revolution on 4 July, as America celebrated Independence Day and the days-long funeral of Iran’s supreme leader began. As it is, with Neptune rising at the time of signing, are we surprised that the Memorandum is mired in misunderstanding.

Trump, meanwhile, was in Ankara attending the NATO summit. Apparently, the president arrived in a sour mood, perhaps aggravated by having to transfer from the spanking new Air Force One to the old 747 for security reasons half-way through the flight to Türkiye.  Or perhaps he was a little put out having done his best to ensure that team USA had its star striker for the match against Belgium only to see it lose 4-1 on the day.

Nonetheless, having started off on the wrong foot, criticising his NATO allies for not spending enough on defence and reiterating his desire to seize Greenland, President Trump declared the Ankara summit a “tremendous success”. And the rest of NATO must surely have breathed a collective sigh of relief when the meeting between Trump and Zelensky went well and resulted in permission for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptor missiles and eighty billion dollars more for the war-torn country.

The conference could indeed have gone a lot worse. Saturn is currently on NATO’s natal Sun, which is closely opposed to natal Neptune, and the summit began as the Sun squared Saturn, generating a powerful T-square configuration. The separating Mars-Uranus conjunction was none too far from an opposition to NATO’s natal Chiron, all of which suggests that while on the surface relations between the USA and other member states is more than cordial, there are deep cracks in its foundations. It was only six months ago that the prospect of NATO going to war with the USA over Greenland raised its head (Sun conjunct Pluto) and it is interesting that the situation has reemerged just prior to the Sun’s opposition to Pluto.

I should mention that there are two charts worthy of consideration for NATO, the one above, which represents the founding of the alliance in April of 1949 and the other of August the same year, which marks the moment that NATO came into force.

In the above chart, Venus at four degrees of Libra, the ruler of the seventh house of partnerships, is currently opposed by transiting Neptune while Neptune at thirteen degrees of Libra is presently opposed by transiting Saturn. Uranus at four degrees of Cancer is also being squared by transiting Neptune, thereby generating a tense T-square. In earlier Bites I have suggested that these transits are presiding over the weakening of the alliance in terms of its relationship with the United States, however it is simultaneously gaining strength with other member states for precisely that reason. Saturn-Neptune conjunctions, preside over the end of regimes and symbolize the dissolution of old ideals and structures as new movements build momentum.

IT WAS NOT a good week for Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform party and, in the event of a general election, potential prime minister of the United Kingdom. Reform is a far-right populist party, and Farage, a leader in the image of Donald Trump.

It was not a good week because the issue over a £5,000,000 gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harbourne will not go away. Mr Farage failed to notify the parliamentary authorities about the gift, which was given to him before he announced his intention to become a member of parliament. This infringement of parliamentary protocol has been fiercely disputed by Farage who claims he has done nothing wrong and is the victim of an establishment witch hunt. However, the truth is that some months ago, bankers reported the gift to the National Crime Agency because they were concerned that the money was laundered.

On Tuesday, Nigel Farage announced his resignation as MP for Clacton, immediately triggering a byelection. He then declared his intention to run for election. In his speech, he challenged the major parties to a “fair fight” to let voters judge him. All the major parties have opted to boycott the byelection, dismissing it as a political distraction. Thus far, Mr Farage faces a challenge by Count Binface and Laurence Fox, former actor and leader of the Reclaim Party.

Nigel Farage’s statement was billed as a “statement on my future in public life”. And he couldn’t have picked a better title or a better moment, given the astrology of the times. Farage – Sun and Mars in Aries and the Moon and Midheaven in Sagittarius – has transiting Pluto on his Ascendant, his solar arc progressed Midheaven is on his Ascendant, solar arc progressed Mars is on his IC and transiting Uranus is on his IC. Were this to be a general election, these progressions and transits might well change his political life in a good way, making him prime minister. However, this is not that time. He is instead facing a real threat to his standing as a politician. And if investigations prove that he was the beneficiary of gifts of laundered money, his career is over; he could face charges of corruption.

As you will see, I have drawn in Barbault’s Basket outside the wheel, which makes important connections to Farage’s natal chart. This configuration becomes exact on and around 19/20 July, and it will be capped on 27 July by a full Moon at six degrees of Aquarius. The full moon will flank the Jupiter-Pluto opposition and Farage’s Ascendant-Descendant axis.

Mr Farage, like Mr Trump, is a lucky guy. He escaped death by inches when a private plane he was aboard crashed into a field on the day of the general election in 2010. He is charismatic, charming and articulate, loved by his fans, detested by pretty well everyone else. Given the boom-bust nature of the Jupiter-Pluto opposition on his Ascendant and Uranus hovering over his IC, it is asking a lot of Dame Fortune to get him out of this mess, but she might. Just like Trump, who is a Houdini when it comes to avoiding annihilation, proof of corrupt practices may be impossible to prove. However, if this were the chart of anyone else, I’d say his days as leader of the Reform party are numbered.