Review of the Year 2018

That was the Year that Was – Selections from the blogs…

January

7th:

Karma Chameleon No. 1

Emily Bronte/Kate Bush

Emily Bronte was in the news this week, so that’s my opportunity to launch the first in a new occasional series “Karma Chameleons”!  She is in the news because it is the bicentenary of the year of her birth.  A row has erupted about the appointment of supermodel Lily Cole to the Bronte Society in order to assist this celebration.

The reason I have chosen Emily Bronte for the first “Karma Chameleon”, apart from the fact I have always been a fan of her novel Wuthering Heights and her poetry, is that she bears a remarkable resemblance to Kate Bush, whose big hit single of the 1970s bore the name “Wuthering Heights”.  It is tempting to think that she may, just may, be a reincarnation of Emily.

February

25th:

Billy Graham (1918 – 2018)

“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

~ Billy Graham

The Archetypal Evangelist Billy Graham died this week, on Wednesday 21st February.  He was revered by many, but my first impressions of him in the early 1970s were that his rallies were a scary display of hypnotic power.

Birth Chart

If ever a birth chart suited its subject to the letter, Billy Graham’s does to an amazing degree.  I am fascinated by the interplay of religion and spirituality in a chart, and this chart does not disappoint.  All roads lead to religion in his chart, and his personality is a force to be reckoned with.

Firstly, he has half his planets (5) in the element of Water, so his power is on an emotional level.  Curiously, one of his health ailments may be linked with this, as he suffered from hydrocephalus from 1992.

He had 0 planets in the element Earth, and may have been ungrounded, as evinced by the quote “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

6 of his planets were in the Fixed signs, depicting a very strong willed individual, and this quality he undoubtedly used in his persuasive preaching, and in his adherence to his ideals.

The Sun conjunct Venus in Scorpio gave him charisma and magnetism.  You can see the Sun in Scorpio in those mesmeric eyes.

March

11th:

Russia

(A tale of two Russian fathers and daughters)

Salisbury is a wonderful place, close to my heart.  I visit family there once a month.  It is utterly bizarre to be watching it on the news daily, in the context of a Russian spy mystery.  Father and daughter Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found last Sunday in an extremely distressed condition on a bench near the centre of the city.  The cause of their physical distress was a nerve agent, which apparently could only have been developed by a state.  The police officer who first rendered aid to the pair was also affected, and is in hospital in serious condition.  A passing doctor also tended them, but was not affected.  They have been praised for their incredible courage.  Like Amber Rudd, our Home Secretary, it is not for me to point the finger until the truth has been established.

Sergei Skripal

Sergei Skripal is a former military intelligence officer from Russia, who acted as a spy for Britain.  He was imprisoned in 2004 for such activities (with a dangerous transits of Pluto opposite his natal Mars); and then released in 2010 as part of a swap between Russia and the U.S. and allowed to live in Britain.  At his release transiting Uranus was square his Sun, a sudden freedom but probably bringing difficulties in adjustments to change.

Last Sunday (4th March 2018) was an extremely Neptunian day.   The Sun was exactly conjunct Neptune in Pisces, Neptune’s own sign.  One side of Neptune is glitz and glamour (as in the Oscars) but the more sinister side can be poisoning, as Neptune rules such substances.  As a peculiar aside, I find it interesting that the French word for fish, poisson, (linking it with Pisces) is similar to the English word for poison – but there is no etymological basis for that peculiarity. Sergei had the transiting North Node exactly quincunx his natal North Node, a karmically based event, plus Neptune (poisoning) on his North Node. Father and daughter remain critically ill in hospital.

April

15th:

Mark Zuckerberg

On Tuesday (10th April) this week, with Venus square the Nodal Axis, the social network Facebook came under the karmic microscope, as its founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress to answer questions regarding recent misuse of data.

Mark’s Birth Chart

Mark Zuckerberg’s birth chart bears many hallmarks of a shy but socially minded individual with technical skills, who has made a fortune through the creation of a social network.  First of all, he has the North Node (karmic mission) in Gemini (communication) in the 9th House of wider communication networks.  The North Node conjuncts his Chiron, so that his work is healing or problem-solving for him.  The 9th House contains his Sun and the Midheaven, too, making it a major focus of his life, with global interests.  The other House of great emphasis is his financial House, the 2nd, containing Pluto (finances on a grand scale), plus Saturn and an exact conjunction of the Moon and Mars (quick emotional reactions, confidence, and a keen interest in finance). His Moon conjuncts Saturn (loneliness) and that conjunction opposes his Venus. He was born on a Full Moon in Scorpio, and arouses strong emotions in others.  Not only are his female planets the Moon and Venus in opposition, but so are his male planets (the Sun and Mars) so he is equipped to be combative.  Mercury trine closely Neptune delivers mental inspiration, and Venus trine Jupiter provides a love of human interaction.  Uranus on the South Node suggests a past life connection with technology in Atlantis.

May

13th:

Uranus Enters Taurus

“It’s been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will”

~ Sam Cooke [Sun in Aquarius]

This week’s arrival of Uranus in Taurus on Tuesday 15th May has been widely broadcast of late, and it probably hasn’t escaped your notice, especially if you use Facebook.  Uranus  takes 84 years to tour around the zodiac, and 7 years per sign and House.

Nature of Uranus in Taurus

Uranus, an Air planet is the planet of sudden change, sees no ideological reason why change should not take place, and the Earth sign of Taurus is resistant to change as it registers the practical obstacles and ramifications.  Thus, the combination of Uranus and earth can sometimes result in earthquakes, both climatic and personal.

Historic Considerations – Finance

On its last entry into Taurus, in 1934, we were in the throes of the Great Depression, a financial crisis which began in 1933 when Uranus was still at the end of Aries.  But Taurus is equated with finance, which is why many Astrologers predict a major overhaul in the area of finance. They also equate it with the rise in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

June

10th:

G7

An extraordinary photo was shared on instagram by Angela Merkel yesterday from the G7 summit, of a seated Donald Trump (arms folded) being confronted by Angela Merkel with the other members of the summit looking on, with Japan’s Shinzo Abe’s arms also folded.  You didn’t need to be able to read body language: the unsmiling looks told all.  Later, Donald Trump left the summit early to engage with Kim Jong Un in Singapore.  The main bones of contention were trade tariffs and relations with Russia.  But President Trump is also at odds over climate agreements.

The Group of Seven

The membership of the Group of Seven, representing more than 62% of the global wealth, consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.  The European Union as a whole is also represented.  Meeting to discuss joint economic policies, the concept of the G7 was founded in 1973.  Russia joined in 1998, when it formed the G8.  But following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, the Russian Federation was ejected.  This 44th summit was hosted by Canada.

Heads of State

The summits are attended by the heads of government, and I will look at the countries in alphabetical order.

Canada, represented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Geographically and traditionally, Canada is a natural ally of the United States, but like the U.K. and France there is also a neighbourly rivalry.  He delivered the joint communique for the summit advocating a “rules based trading system”, which Trump rejected. Trudeau stated “Canadians are polite and reasonable but we will also not be pushed around.”  The transits for Canada at the moment include Neptune squaring its Venus (bizarre developments in relationships). For Capricornian Trudeau, who has a patriotic chart, his transits include two difficult aspects from Chiron, bringing crisis and possible health challenges.

…

July

1st:

Wimbledon 2018 – Week 1

Here we go again!  It’s the height of summer, and the tennis season here in the U.K.  We can manage without the carbonated drinks in this time of shortage, but it looks like we’ll have the vitamin D from all the sunshine of the next fortnight, while enjoying the tennis.

As usual, I will set off by outlining the top 4 women’s and men’s seeds, and then comment here and there as the tournament progresses.  For the first round, I will not look at the opponents for the top seeds, as they should be expected to go through.  I will, as usual, endeavour to answer any questions about your favourite players as we go along.

Women’s

Simona Halep – No. 1 Seed

Earlier in June, Simona won her first grand slam at the French Open, against Sloane Stephens.  She had lost the first set (Mars was opposite her Chiron) but Jupiter was sextile her Neptune (a dream come true) and Jupiter was sextile her North Node (her time had come).

How do her transits fall during Wimbledon fortnight?  At the beginning of Wimbledon, she still has Jupiter sextile her Neptune, so she still has dreams, but not the karmic back up of the previous line up of transits.

At the end of Wimbledon Mars (having retrograded) is again opposite her natal Chiron (causing some nerves), Jupiter is till sextile natal Neptune (keeping alive the dream), but Saturn squares her natal Sun (some self-doubt perhaps creeping in), and Uranus is trine her natal Jupiter (she can still pull the rabbit out of the hat if she gets there).

…

August

5th:

Fleetwood Mac – A Soul Group – Part 3:  Christine Perfect/McVie

“If you wake up and don’t want to smile
If it takes just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You’ll see things in a different way”

from “Don’t Stop” by Christine McVie

Christine McVie

Time to introduce the first female member of the band, but before Christine’s arrival, they had to deal with the loss of founder member Peter Green.  The band were doing well, releasing two albums in 1968, “Fleetwood Mac” and “Mr. Wonderful”.  They continued to increase their fan base.

Although he had founded the group, Peter Green, was becoming increasingly unhappy with the way of life.  Belonging to the band gradually became dissonant with his developing philosophy of life.  He told Mick:

“Mick I don’t want to waste my life.  That’s what I’m doing.  I’m wasting my life.”

He was becoming increasingly sensitive to the suffering in the world, and wanted to give all his money to the poor.  He was obsessed with his search for God.  Mick described the reaction of the rest of the group: “We agreed with the beauty of his idealism, but we were practical.”

…

September

2nd:

U.K. Politics – Autumn Term 2018

With both our main parties tearing themselves apart at this point in time, and the country still divided over Brexit, I thought I would take a look at the current state of play astrologically in U.K. politics.

U.K. Chart

Neptunian confusion reigns supreme in the (1922) U.K. chart at the moment.  So it is no wonder we are in the state we’re in.  Jupiter from Scorpio in 6th House squares its natal Neptune in Leo in 3rd House, so its communications are unclear or exaggerated.  Neptune from Pisces in its 10th House squares its natal Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius in 7th, so its reputation and relationships are unclear. There is a sense that it has “lost its way”.

Theresa May

Aside from practising her dance moves in Africa, she is limbering up for the challenges of a new term, walking a tightrope with Brexit, trying to maintain her Chequers proposal, and staving off a challenge to her leadership.  She is ready for the fight, with Mars trine her natal Mercury, Jupiter sextile her natal Jupiter (still smiling), and Mars sextile her natal Saturn.  However, with Mars square her natal Neptune, she is facing subversive factions.

October

14th:

Jamal Khashoggi

The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi seemingly within the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul remains a mystery.  It has been claimed that the Saudi Arabian journalist was killed inside the embassy, as he did not emerge.  Khashoggi was a long term critic of the Saudi regime, on issues such as women’s rights and the intervention against Yemen.  The U.K. government continues to profit from arms trade deals with Saudi Arabia.

Family

His surname was made famous by his uncle, Adnan Khashoggi, who was an arms dealer on behalf of the Saudi government, and who led a luxury lifestyle.  Dodi Al-Fayed was Jamal’s cousin, and their Marses are exactly conjunct.

Birth Chart

Khashoggi is, or was, a Sunsign Libran with Venus, the North Node, Mercury, and possibly the Moon also in that sign.  He was reported to have visited the Saudi Arabian Consulate in order to obtain documents to marry his Turkish fiancee, who waited for him outside, and who reported him missing after the consulate closed for the day.

Mercury is conjunct his North Node, so it is part of his karmic mission to be a journalist, and speak out.  Jupiter conjunct Neptune will have given him a strong conscience.

He has, or had, Mars square closely to Pluto, indicating that he could be a victim of violence.

November

25th:

Protests in France

“There is no place for violence in the [French] Republic.” ~ Emmanuel Macron

French citizens have had enough this week of footing the bill over fuel, and keeping Emmanuel Macron in the luxurious style of a would be Napoleon IV.  Even acknowledging the justification of their cause, and knowing the propensity of the French for revolution, it was still shocking to see the Champs Elysees ablaze last night.  It was also startling to see the water cannon employed for crowd control.  [A fun fact about water cannon is that Boris Johnson bought £85,022 worth of water cannon for London a few years ago, and it has just been sold off at £11,025 possibly to  be placed in a museum.]

Emmanuel Macron

I devoted a blog to Emmanuel Macron in April last year, and analyzed his birth chart to an extent:

“The Sun is conjunct exactly with Mercury, giving him the capacity for concentrated thought, at the end of Sagittarius in his 12th House of Inner Vision. He studied Philosophy (Sagittarius) at University, and in debate has a considerable mental agility.  The capacity for application and hard work is further accentuated by the Sun/Mercury trine Saturn.  His Ascendant is in Capricorn, the sign of Politics.”

This was at a time when he was seen as the most centrist candidate for the French election, and an acceptable swerve from the right wing Marine Le Pen.  Much has been made since of his presidential style and penchant for pomp, and he gave an interesting interview with Andrew Marr in January, describing himself as a Jupiterian (whatever he meant by it).  Certainly, his Sun is exactly conjunct Mercury in Jupiter’s sign of Sagittarius and opposes Jupiter closely.  That makes him Jupiterian by any astrological standards.  But his popularity ratings have been consistently low and plummeting during his “reign” (recently standing at 21% in September), and his public are not amused.

December

2nd:

George H.W. Bush (1924 – 2018)

Another former president of the United States of America died this week: the elder Bush.  Contemplating his life takes us nostalgically back to an era when progress seemed to be happening in the world…

George Herbert Walker Bush was well prepared for his role as president, having built his character and life experience through service in the second World War, as a businessman in the oil industry, as a Congressman and as a Vice President.  Then as fate would have it, his period of office as president coincided with important world changes.  His Ascendant was exactly conjunct the North Node, indicating that he was a karmic catalyst.

Birth Chart

George had the Sun in Gemini, the Moon in Libra and   his Ascendant in Leo.  His Sun was exactly square Uranus, so he was strong willed and not afraid to be controversial.  He had Venus conjunct Pluto in Cancer, so he was a man of deep feelings and patriotism.  Mars was exactly trine Saturn in his chart, indicating measured action, and he was described as a “pragmatic caretaker” which is descriptive of that trine.  He found strength through his religious faith, and that is reflected by the positive interaction of Jupiter trine Neptune in his chart.