London Mayor Elections

 Voters go to the polls this Thursday to elect the next Mayor of London. Here I look at some of the candidates, and past and present Mayoral charts.

 Sadiq Khan

 I first looked at Sadiq Khan’s chart during the election for a Labour candidate.  Since then, he has been much more high profile, and has been seen to conduct a cleaner and fairer campaign it seems than Zac Goldsmith.  Sadiq seems to understand in particular the housing needs of young Londoners, an issue of high priority if services are to continue to be provided in London by nursing staff, cleaners, waiters and waitresses, workers on the Underground, etc.  He comes across as a decent and sincere advocate on behalf of all Londoners.

Here was my assessment of his chart:

 “Sadiq Khan has a powerhouse of energy, from his conjunction of Mars and Pluto, which could be confrontational.  The conjunction takes place in Virgo, so he is able to channel that energy into Health, Community and Environmental concerns, which would be useful for a London Mayor.  His Sun in Libra (he was a Human Rights lawyer) conjuncts Uranus, so he has potential as an innovator.  There is also a loose conjunction between his Venus and Neptune (plus his Mercury sextiles Neptune), so he is capable of sensitivity and inspiration in relationships and the Arts, and subtlety in negotiation which may balance out the overriding will of Mars and Pluto.  His Mercury conjuncts Pluto, so he thinks deeply about issues.  He could be quite personally charismatic, with Venus exactly sextile Mars.  He has no Fire planets, and his Jupiter is unaspected, so sometimes he may come over as lacking enthusiasm.  Mars exactly trine Saturn is an excellent balance of action and measured caution.  Neptune squares closely his Nodal Axis, so in his personal life he may occasionally be confused about his direction… London’s Neptune [is] sextile exactly his natal Jupiter, so spiritually there is a unity.”

This morning, he is reported to be worried that the current dispute about antisemitism in the Labour Party has eroded and reversed his lead in this contest.  On election day, Mars trines his natal Chiron, and Saturn sextiles his natal Sun, which is promising, but he does need the Labour voters to come out and vote, in order to bring about the fairer society in London which he is aiming for.

Zac Goldsmith

 Zac Goldsmith, son of Brexiter James Goldsmith (before the term was coined) and brother of Jemima Khan, earned a good reputation for his work in ecology.  But in this campaign he has been perceived as playing the racist and Islamophobic card against Sadiq Khan, and his privileged background has led to him being accused of being too wrapped up in the inequities of the current London property scene.  He has inherited considerable wealth, and does not seem to take seriously the plight of the ordinary London worker.  If he is elected, the rich in London will undoubtedly gain even further ground.

Goldsmith’s Sun lies in the last degree of Capricorn, an Earth sign, and that may be a clue to his high ideals regarding ecology.  It also may explain why he has a reputation for shyness, and has not been engaging with the public a great deal.  He has Sun square Uranus, so there is a part of him which wants to rebel, indeed he has been called a backbench rebel, and does not always agree with David Cameron on policy.  He has been successful as Editor of Ecology magazine, and has a very strong Writer Archetype (Mercury exactly conjunct Venus in Aquarius), which he tries to use to heal the Earth (Chiron sextile Mercury/Venus).  Robert Booth wrote in the Guardian: “Juniper recalls Goldsmith as a ‘brave but modest’ editor who gave a quasi-academic journal a wider readership”.  He’s capable of balanced judgments (Jupiter trine Saturn), and charismatic leadership (North Node conjunct Neptune and Pluto sextile closely North Node).  His Uranus trines the Jupiter of the London chart, so if elected he would bring a change of some sort, but that may not necessarily be in the right direction for the majority of Londoners.  At the time of the elections, Pluto will be sextile his natal Jupiter (the possibility of power) but Neptune will be square his Neptune (uncertainty), so that is not conclusive in terms of outcome.

Sian Berry

 Green Party candidate Sian Berry actually has more of an emphasis on Water signs than Earth, surprisingly.  She has an upbeat, lucky streak, with Sun exactly trine Jupiter, but could be explosive in speech according to her Mercury exactly square Pluto (I have not heard of any such incidents, I hasten to add).  Saturn on her Mercury may help her to keep such ideas buttoned up, however.  She is very sociable (Venus square Jupiter), and developed good relationships in past lives (Venus conjunct her South Node).  She also has leadership karma (Mars exactly trine her North Node) so may go far in her chosen Party. Dave Hill in the Guardian described her as having “like her party, grown more formidable with experience”. Her Neptune sextiles the London Mars, so she has sensitivity to its needs.  She was born 6 months before Zac Goldsmith and shares the transit of Pluto sextile to her natal Jupiter, but Pluto opposes her Sun and Saturn opposes her Venus, so there will be some disappointment.

 Previous Mayors:

 Ken Livingstone

 Ken Livingstone, who was embroiled this week in accusations of anti-semitism, was a fairly successful London Mayor in the newly revived institution.  But his record of anti-semitic comments going back years, and his inability to restrain himself verbally has made him a loose cannon since he was given a role in the Labour Party regarding the nuclear industry.

We have a birth time for him, unlike the previous three.  He has Sun conjunct closely Mercury in Gemini, which combined with Moon conjunct closely Jupiter in Virgo, gives him a slightly mischievous streak – he has a twinkle in his eye as he makes his controversial statements, as though he knows they will get him into trouble – he doesn’t really care.  The Sun/Mercury in Gemini could cause him to over-intellectualize, and together with a slightly curmudgeonly Capricorn Ascendant, he maybe needs a little more of the heart and a little less of the head.  North Node conjunct Saturn reinforces this persona.  Jupiter was square his Uranus this week, causing him to overreach himself more than usual.  His aspects to the chart of London are warm, e.g. his Venus trines its Neptune.

 Boris Johnson

 I wrote in 2013:

“Boris is a highly popular politician (Sun exactly conjunct Venus indicating the lovable component of lovable rogue), and riding high on the success of the Olympics last summer. His chaotic, anarchic side is his Uranus conjunct Pluto.  Sun in Gemini is associated with cycling, and he has promoted a cycling hire scheme in the capital among other accomplishments.”

So both previous Mayors were Geminians, but Boris did have excellent interaspects with the London chart: his Jupiter trine the London Uranus and North Node, and his Neptune sextile the London Uranus and North Node.  In some ways, London was healing for him, resolving his Jupiter-Neptune opposition.  Though he has ambitions to be the next Conservative leader, his position seems to me a little precarious or controversial at present, pending the outcome of the European Referendum.  Some political pundits are saying that a vote in June’s European Referendum to come out of Europe will seal his chances of becoming the next leader of the Conservatives and/or Prime Minister.

Dick Whittington

Legend has it that Dick Whittington was a 14th Century character, who was promised by the ringing of church bells in Holloway one day that he would become Lord Mayor, went from rags to riches and became Lord Mayor.  He had a street cat called Puss in Boots, who was very helpful.  We do not have his birth date.

Aspects

It’s all good, this week: Two trines, a sextile and a New Moon.  Not a cloud in the astrological sky!  You might be one of those rare people who don’t get on with trines…but otherwise you can plough ahead with your plans for this week.

Well, at least the aspects are on your side.  However, there are 5 planets in retrograde motion, so if you are feeling resistance, it will be due to the retrograde motion of Mercury (communication hitches), Mars (energy turbulence), Jupiter (out of luck), Saturn (blocks) and/or Pluto (psychological processing).  Take your pick, if this seems to be happening.

At Noon today the Sun is sextile Neptune, an event which might have sailed smoothly past you if you are reading this later.  But it does oil the wheels in all sorts of ways, spiritually, artistically and inspirationally, and Neptune is not retrograde.  If you executed an inspired move, then you were helped by Neptune.

Tuesday (3rd) brings the happiest aspect: Jupiter trine the Sun.  Note that Leos especially could have a good week, because all the favourable aspects involve their ruler, the Sun.  So if you have the Sun or Ascendant in Leo, you could be moving onwards and upwards incrementally this week.  Jupiter trine the Sun could bring all of us that extra factor of luck that we need to bring a project to fruition, an interview to a successful outcome, a journey to delightful vistas, or a philosophical point to a satisfactory conclusion.

The New Moon is on Friday (6th) evening, at 16 degrees Taurus.  This is a good time for planting in the garden, making money, and musical and artistic events.  It can be a new beginning for you in whichever House it falls in your chart, so if it falls in your 7th House of relationships, there can be an emotional renewal for instance.  As Taurus is a very solid sign, the results can be reliable and practical.

Around lunchtime on Saturday (7th) the Sun trines Pluto, so it is a good day to wrap up your understanding of the week, complete a project, engage meaningfully with life, or help someone in need.  The force is with you.  By the end of the week, you should be able to heave a deep sigh of satisfaction.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – gliding through
  • Tuesday – a touch of luck
  • Friday – new beginning
  • Saturday – deep satisfaction