Michael Gove

In a week where Rishi Sunak called a surprise General Election (on the Sun/Pluto trine), there have been more Tory MPs announcing they are standing down.  None more prominent than Michael Gove, often regarded as an Architect of the Tory Party in the last 14 years, despite two unsuccessful leadership bids.  Regarded as a great intellect, he could always be relied upon to defend the indefensible when interviewed on a Conservative controversy of the day.

Birth Chart

He has of course featured constantly in this blog, so I will draw upon some of those references.  As for his birth chart, my first reference was during a spat with Theresa May on 8/6/14:

“Michael Gove has a strong chart, and like Theresa May, has endured in a cabinet post since the Tories came to power under David Cameron in 2010.  He has never been a teacher, but has been in charge of education policy, introducing measure after measure of policies which hark back to his own childhood.  The latest of these this week is a suggestion of punishing parents for children’s misdemeanors.  I think his awareness of psychology is fairly superficial.  He has a studious chart, with 5 planets in Virgo and the Moon harmoniously placed in Taurus, so that he is secure in his own childhood memories and plays them out through trines to his Virgo planets.  He is also a warrior, with a powerful Mars in Scorpio exactly sextile Pluto.  Mars is also conjunct Neptune, so some of his warriorship is subversive, but then so is Theresa’s, with her Mars being in Pisces.”

I would add that he has over half his planets in Earth signs, making him grounded in some ways, and half his planets in the Mutable signs (able to adapt his argument to any scenario).  With Uranus closely sextile Neptune, he can deal with complexity.  But with Jupiter square Neptune he is confused and conflicted in matters of religion and spirituality.  He stated in The Spectator in April 2015:

“To call yourself a Christian in contemporary Britain is to invite pity, condescension or cool dismissal.”

Life and Career

Michael was born in Aberdeen, and adopted at the age of four months.  He studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and went on to become a journalist, his natal conjunction of Mercury and Venus giving him a facility with words.  He had joined the Labour Party in 1983, but switched to the Tory Party and met Boris Johnson during his time at Oxford.  He was selected as a candidate for Surrey Heath on 5th July 2004 (with Pluto trine his natal Jupiter in Leo – taking power), and became an MP at the 2005 General Election.

Education

Gove was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by David Cameron in 2007.  When in 2010, the Cameron-Clegg Coalition came to power, Michael Gove became Secretary of State for Education.  My first blog reference then was:

7/10/12 Blog:

“It is David Cameron’s week, in terms of hosting a party Conference, and it is interesting that the Mayor of London Boris Johnson now has a popularity rating much higher than the Prime Minister.  What is also interesting is that Cameron’s governmental U-turns have now been counted to number as many as 30.  And the government policies are proving to be Conservative in the true sense of the word.  Or maybe Retro would be a better word, as Education Minister Gove puts forward examination procedures which hark back to his childhood”.

He set about unnecessary reforms to the education system, while neglecting necessary ones, in my opinion.  I believe teachers in general, of whom I know a fair few (!) were not enamoured of his reforms in this tenure.  Teachers’ Unions passed motions of no-confidence in his policies.  He was, due to his unpopularity and failure, removed from the post on 15th July 2014, with Neptune opposite his natal Venus (a personal failure) and Pluto square his natal Saturn (forcible removal).

Brexit

He was moved on to the position of Chief Whip in 2014, then after the 2015 election he became Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor.  When David Cameron announced a Brexit referendum in February 2016, Michael felt it was time to make his mark, and became a prominent architect of the Brexit movement to leave the EU.  Gove argued: “Britain would be “freer, fairer and better off” for leaving…the day after we vote to leave, we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want.”

From the blog:

Wednesday 24th February 2016

“Michael Gove tried to imply the European deal was not legally watertight, and could be overturned by a European Court.  That day he was feeling brave, with the Chiron trine to his natal Mars exact.  I think he has underlying emotional issues with Dave who removed him from the prestigious top Education job as he was so unpopular.  These two best buddies have a close relationship, but a wild exaggerated karma with Michael Gove’s Nodal Axis exactly square Dave’s Jupiter: Michael Gove was essential to David’s success, but only up to a point, beyond which the friendship became an embarrassment.”

A leadership contest for the Conservative Party ensued, and Gove first endorsed Boris Johnson, then pulled out his support at the last minute.  This was one of the events which gave him a reputation for mendacity and for a Machiavellian mindset.  He withdrew his support for Johnson on 30th June 2016, with transits including Mars sextile his Uranus (pulling a surprise) and Saturn trine his natal Saturn (a deliberate act).  He then put himself into the contest, finishing third to Theresa May, who took over as Prime Minister.  In 2017 he was  appointed as Secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Levelling Up

He made another play for the Conservative leadership in 2019, which was won by Boris Johnson, coming third again, this time to Boris Johnson. Gove then became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, during which time he threw himself into preparations for the Brexit deal (or no-deal) to come, to ensure that supplies would be maintained in the event (“Operation Yellowhammer)..  Then in 2021, during the Covid period, he became Secretary of State for Levelling Up, but public opinion seems to have judged his achievements in this role as being paltry.  During the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, he announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme, enabling families to take in Ukrainian refugees.

Gove was dismissed from the Johnson cabinet, on 6th July 2022, for alleged disloyalty, and was described as a “snake” by a Downing Street source, reinforcing his earlier reputation.  The astrological transits were emphatically karmic, with the Nodal Axis square his natal Jupiter, and the North Node trine his natal Pluto.

Under the premiership Rishi Sunak he has continued to front Levelling Up, but with no significant results.  His transits this week show Uranus exactly trine his natal Uranus (a conscious break with the past), and for when he stands down at the Election on 4th July, Jupiter square his natal Sun (a new freedom) and paradoxically Saturn opposite his natal Pluto (a wrench).

Sarah Vine

Married since 2001 to Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine (responsible for some vituperative headlines in the paper over the years), their split was announced in mid-2021, and they were divorced on the grounds of his “unreasonable behaviour”.  Their synastry is not super-warm on a personal level, but sparky (her Uranus sextile his Mars) and with shared values on a deeper level (her Uranus sextile his Neptune, and her Neptune sextile his Uranus).

I feel that, given his personality, and his transits, he may find it difficult to adjust to a non-political life come 4th July.  So it may take him time to make the psychological adjustments for a new path, but with all that mental energy he’ll find a way, reflecting on his time in power along the way.

Aspects

After the flurry of aspects last week, which included Wednesday’s Sun/Pluto trine coinciding with the surprise announcement of a General Election (“There may be the sense of an ending, which clears the way for a new beginning or rebirth”), our aspects start this week on Tuesday (28th) with a sextile between Mercury and Saturn.  Thoughts and feelings can be channelled and harnessed into constructive plans and ideas.  Mental foundations can be laid.  You may have taken in all the facts for dealing with an issue or project, and are ready to put in serious and solid plans based on sober thinking. The aspect favours documentation and knuckling down to form-filling etc.  Geminis and Virgos have the chance to regain their balance, if they need to.  Progress can be made, including possibly for health related checks.

On the same day, our Sun aligns with the Fixed Star Hyades Cluster in Taurus.  “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld advises us:

“This is an energy of inspiration that can be brought into works of art, music, dance and poetry.  It can be used as an additional force for civilization or for people to grow and learn.  This force of  inspiration can be very powerful in times of stress or difficulty for the artist or for the people who would receive what is being shared.  The energy from this cluster can be very helpful to people involved in artistic pursuits when a blockage is felt and one needs to have an extra push of energy, a breaking down, or a shifting of perspective.”

Thursday (30th) links us to another Fixed Star, Aldebaran, the Alpha Tauri star.  From the same source, we learn:

“By the very nature of the broadcast energy from this star and its connection to other life forms and other stars, there has been occasionally set up a network of many other stars all around Earth.  These beings understand how loss and the understanding of it is unnecessary.  Yet they broadcast an energy to Earth to tell you that your creation of this as a learning principle is bold, is to be admired, is to be understood, and eventually when the lessons are understood from it, then discarded.”

Finally, on Friday (31st), a mentally enlivening aspect of Mercury conjunct Uranus appears for us to work with.  Communications are spiced up by this conjunction.  We will certainly see speedier communication, though with a possible touch of unpredictability.  It’s likely to keep you on your toes, on a mental level.  It could be exciting mentally, and unusual phenomena may happen, such as startling coincidences or undeniable telepathic experiences.  You’ll be thinking inventively and out of the box.  People will realize their connectedness in non-physical ways.

The week in bullet points:

  • Tuesday – constructive plans and ideas; artistic and musical inspiration
  • Thursday – deep learning
  • Friday – spicy communications
Date: May 26th, 2024 · Comments RSS · Tags: News