Review of the Year 2020

Review of the Year 2020

That was the Year that Was.  You may not be eager to read it!  It is slightly more serious than earlier summaries.   But contains selections from the blogs, as usual…

January

12th:

Saturn conjunct Pluto

As you may know by now, the two great planets Saturn and Pluto make a grand conjunction today, a conjunction which heavily impact our lives, and the world in general.  For ourselves, the conjunction may highlight a challenge which we may already be aware of.  In the world, there are current challenges connected with international relations, climate change (witness the Australian bush fires), and particularly in the U.K. Brexit challenges, and a crisis for the monarchy.

February

9th:

There is merely one aspect this week, which is highly unusual.  It is the Full Moon in Leo (an opposition with the Sun in Aquarius), and it has already happened (at 7.33 a.m. today).  Moon in Leo can be dramatic, and bring about power struggles.  But Leo is creative, and can write its own screenplay, especially if working in a balanced way within a group.  It has been quite a turbulent morning in terms of the gales lashing the British Isles (storm Ciara), and the declaration that the Coronavirus crisis is now possibly deemed a pandemic and already outstripping the 2003 Sars outbreak in seriousness and casualties.  There usually is a crest of emotion at the peak of the Full Moon.  So this Full Moon may leave you with material to ponder…

March

8th:

Democratic Leadership Contest

On “Super Tuesday” last week, the search for a hopeful to oust Donald Trump from office took an unexpected turn, when candidates pulled out and gave their backing to Joe Biden, and he experienced a huge upturn in his chances against Bernie Sanders…

Joe Biden

Joe Biden has many points of similarity in his chart when compared to Bernie Sanders, and some of those are due to his being a similar age (now aged 77, he was born 14 months after Bernie).  One way in which he is opposite in nature is that Bernie has 0 planets in the emotional Water element, while Joe has half his planets (5) in Water. Joe also has over half his planets (6) in  the Fixed signs, giving him a very strong will.  He has the Sun plus three other planets in the sign of Scorpio in his 12th House, and has had more than his fair share of drama during his life.  He has endured much hardship, but with the Sun trine Jupiter he has been strong and positive.

April

12th:

Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet

Keir Starmer, Leader of the Oppositon, put together his Shadow Cabinet this week.  Some of these I have already written about, and some are new to my researches.  There are nearly 100 listed, so I can only write about a few this week, and maybe come back to this theme another time.  Among the top members, Keir has tried to incorporate a spectrum from the left to the right of the party.

Lisa Nandy – Shadow Foreign Secretary

I wrote in January:

“Of all the charts, Lisa Nandy’s inspires me the most.  She is a strong willed Leo, a sign known for leadership.  She was born a month before Rebecca Long-Bailey in the same year. Whenever I have watched her, say on Question Time, she has seemed eminently sensible, and just nice (and that’s her Sun conjunct Venus).  I hadn’t thought of her as leadership material, until looking at her chart. With the Sun conjunct Jupiter, she could get lucky.  She has certainly surprised many with her success in impressing MPs in the initial weeks of her campaign.  Another surprise is that she has the Sun square exactly Uranus – The Rebel Archetype.”

She has landed a good, meaty role in that of Shadow Foreign Secretary, and I think she will shine.  I wrote for this period: ” But with Mars opposite her natal Mercury at the final, this does not seem momentous or  helpful enough to indicate a win.”  But she was one of the first appointments Keir Starmer made, and that is testimony to the good campaign she fought.

May

31st:

Jacinda Ardern revisited

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, kept her cool this week when an earthquake struck.  She has also been praised recently for her exemplary handling of the pandemic in her country.  I last wrote about her in March of last year after the massacre in Christchurch, so it may be time to revisit the astrology around this amazing woman.

It has also been pointed out that female leaders (e.g. Angela Merkel) are prominent among the nations which have produced low casualties in the epidemic.  In India, K.K. Shailaja a female health minister and former teacher produced a remarkably proactive regime in her state of Kerala. Could this be a sign of things to come, the rise of the wisdom of the divine feminine, replacing the age old patriarchy?

June

21st:

Marcus Rashford

“This is not about politics; this is about humanity”

~ Marcus Rashford

Young footballer Marcus Rashford, aged only 22, procured a stunning U-turn from the government this week, on behalf of children living on the breadline.  The government had refused to extend lunch vouchers through the summer holiday for schoolchildren who needed them.  Marcus wrote an open letter to Parliament, and also opened up in an interview about his own dependence on lunch vouchers growing up, and how his mother struggled to make ends meet, bringing up several children.

His letter:

“On a week that would have opened Uefa Euro 2020, I wanted to reflect back to May 27th, 2016, when I stood in the middle of the Stadium of Light in Sunderland having just broken the record for the youngest player to score in his first Senior International match. I watched the crowds waving their flags and fist-pumping the three lions on their shirts and I was overwhelmed with pride not only for myself, but for all of those who had helped me reach this moment and achieve my dream of playing for the England national team.

Understand: without the kindness and generosity of the community I had around me, there wouldn’t be the Marcus Rashford you see today: a 22-year old Black man lucky enough to make a career playing a game I love.”

July

26th:

Kim Kardashian

I was touched this week by the words of support given this week by Kim Kardashian on behalf of her husband Kanye West, a few days after an outburst he made when addressing his declaration to run for President again.  Her words can be used as a plea for consideration for those with bi-polar syndrome, or with any other form of mental illness.  For this reason, I will print her words at the foot of this short blog.

Kim’s Message:

“As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand.  I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.

I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions.

Living with bipolar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some.  That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true…”

August

16th:

Kamala Harris

“I have the great honour to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris – a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants – as my running mate”

~ Joe Biden

On Tuesday last week, the Democratic presidential candidate in the U.S., Joe Biden, made his long-anticipated choice for a running mate.  In this crucial time, when many hope for someone with that extra something special which might oust Donald Trump, and prove a strong back up for the elderly Joe Biden, a seemingly promising choice has been made in Kamala Harris.  She is young, female and black, making this a historic moment.  What is more, she is more than capable of taking on Trump and Pence in debate.  This event enables us to take a fresh look at the prospects for the presidential race.

September

27th:

Ruth Ginsburg (1931 – 2020)

“It’s about time. For so long women were silent, thinking there was nothing you could do about it, but now the law is on the side of women, or men, who encounter harassment and that’s a good thing.”

~ Ruth Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on 18th September, was an amazingly influential figure in the American justice system, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for 27 years until her death.  She was notably a great champion of feminism and equal opportunities, and pushed forward a great number of progressive reforms. The timing of her death could not have been more poignant, for those hoping for a change of party, let alone a change of president in the United States in November’s election.

Birth Chart

She was born under the Sun sign of Pisces, the sign of compassion, and  could well have been an advanced Soul – symbolically Pisces represents the completion of the zodiac, and sometimes can denote a final lifetime on the wheel of incarnation.  She certainly worked all her life painstakingly for the betterment of conditions for society; at first she was moderate and non-confrontational, but later as she gained confidence and power, she asserted her voice increasingly.  With the Sun trine Pluto and the Moon in Scorpio added to her Pisces Sun, there was great depth and power about her work and character.

October

4th:

David Attenborough

With travel restrictions this year, the naturalist Sir David Attenborough has recently taken to social media to get his urgent messages across to humanity.  Among other vehicles,  he has recently set up an Instagram account (now totalling 5.1m followers).  Not surprisingly, he has a record number of followers, wherever he goes.  Among other transits for his social media expansion is Jupiter trine his natal Sun.  Governments may not listen, but his popularity grows.  He has been telling us about the effects on nature of climate change for years, with increasing urgency.  In the last couple of years, young Greta Thunberg has been bringing fresh pressure to bear on the cause, and they have become allies.

Birth Chart

Sir David has 5 (half) of his planets in the Water element, so he is really at home in that element (witness his Blue Planet series).  His Sun is in Earth sign Taurus, and he has done more to illuminate Life on Earth than anyone.  At the age of 94, he has made a huge contribution to its study, which is impossible to exaggerate.  Taurus also gives him a great deal of grounding.  His Sun is opposed by Saturn, so he feels a huge weight of responsibility, which he carries and conveys admirably.  His Sun is also square Neptune, showing great sensitivity, and again emphasizing the role of the oceans in his life and work.

November

29th:

Diego Maradona (1960 – 2020)

“When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. I’d never felt like that before, but it’s true… and not just because it was such an important game. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He’s the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon.”

~ Gary Lineker

The passing of Diego Maradona this week was mourned by football fans all over the world, but especially in the hearts of his homeland Argentina and his adopted home for a while, Naples.  He is hailed by many as being the greatest football player of all time.

Birth Chart

The film of Maradona’s life by Asif Kapadia was aired last night on television.  He also wrote an article about the making of the film in yesterday’s Guardian.  He pointed out some Archetypes, which were put on a poster:

“Rebel, Hero, Hustler, God. He didn’t like ‘hustler’ – he interpreted it as thief – and said: ‘This film is a lie, they’ve cheated me, I’m never going to watch it, I trusted them and they betrayed me.’ ” 

I found the film very sympathetic, and very illuminating, and you may spot some of the Archetypes in his birth chart.

Maradona had half his planets in Water, which made him highly emotional in make up.  He also had 0 Air planets, so he worked very much on instinct.

His Sun was in Scorpio (the sign of Light/Dark) conjunct closely Neptune  (the planet of the Saint/Sinner Archetype).

December

13th:

Barbara Windsor (1927 – 2020)

Another national treasure, Dame Barbara Windsor, has left us this week…Whether you were a fan of the Carry On Films, or a regular viewer of Eastenders, she will have been part of your lives.  Even if you weren’t a fan of either, you would have known her cheeky blond persona.

Birth Chart

Barbara Windsor had 0 Air planets in her chart, so operated very much on instinct.  She was born around a New Moon in Leo squaring Uranus, a born performer and a headstrong individual.  Her Ascendant was in Capricorn conjunct Jupiter and the Part of Fortune, and so comedy and cheeky laughter were very characteristic of her personality.  She had Mercury trine Uranus, which gave her a quick mind (she did exceptionally well in her 11-plus).  Romantic sorrows and heartaches are depicted by Venus square Saturn and conjunct Chiron (she was involved with a string of unsavoury characters).  She did not want children, but she had an undeniably sexy side: Mars exactly trine Pluto (a powerhouse of energy), and Mars conjunct the Midheaven in Scorpio (very Carry On!)  She also had great inner strength, with Saturn trine Pluto, which she especially displayed late in life in her courage in the face of Alzheimer’s.