Friday Bite 7 August 2026

Unravelling

“My REAL Polling Numbers, not those made up by the Fake News Media, are the best they have ever been, and why wouldn’t they be with the biggest tax cuts and employment numbers EVER, the biggest outside Investment in America in World history, a totally secure Border, a giant Victory in Venezuela, the Denuclearization of Iran, unparalleled respect and success throughout the World, and much more? Don’t believe the Radical Left’s Fake Poll numbers. They are Crooked and Corrupt, just like the Country Destroying Dumocrats are Crooked and Corrupt. VOTE REPUBLICAN FOR GREATNESS IN AMERICA!” Donald Trump, 3 August

AUGUST IS THE “silly season” in the world of news, but not this year. Whether it’s 70,000 Moroccans landing on the shores of neighbouring Ceuta in the hopes of being granted entry into Spain (more than 80 people drowned in the attempt) or FIFA CEO Gianni Infantino trying to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors through an equity company led by the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner or the British government’s plans for early release of hundreds of prisoners to create room for new inmates, much to the utter outrage of victims of sex offenders, grooming gangs and the like (Prime Minister Burnham later rolled back on the release of these categories of prisoners) or reports that the United States was running out of munitions, August is already showing signs of being a month of unprecedented developments.

What also caught my attention was the resignation of Jason Arday, a University of Cambridge professor over whom there has been considerable speculation. Arday became the youngest ever black professor in 2023, but in recent months questions have been raised about his academic qualifications and achievements. Most serious of all has been the allegation that parts of his PhD dissertation had been plagiarised. Clearly, a charismatic individual and quite the feather in the university’s cap for appointing him in the first place, his claims, for instance, that he had run 30 marathons in 35 days and 300 miles in 3 days for charity as well as running 600 miles on a treadmill in six days are hard to believe. Arday does not lack supporters, however, including his publishers Simon and Schuster, and accusations of racism hang heavy on the air. I wanted to explore his chart and his story for this Friday Bite but sadly, there is no birthdate for Professor Arday, no day, no month, only the year, 1985. A mystery man indeed.

Hopes of a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz have been rife this past week. Talks between Oman and Iran have been ongoing, and it appears that they are in the “final stages” of an agreement. While this sounds hopeful, the United States is not part of the talks and since it is adamant that no fees, permits or approvals should be demanded for passage through the waterway, it’s difficult to see how this deal could prove to be the long-awaited breakthrough. And with reports of Iran attacking four tankers in the Strait this past week and the Houthis destroying several tankers in the Red Sea, the signs of an ending to this injudicious war seem as remote as ever.

However.

In five days’ time on 12 August, there will be a total solar eclipse in Leo. All new moons come with the theme of new beginnings, and when they are eclipsed, those new beginnings arrive with bells and whistles. Whatever the actual events upon which this eclipse places its signature, new pathways will open up. And in relation to the war in Iran, what is taking place now, whether in the way of actual talks or behind the scenes actions, a giant shift is in the pipeline.

The eclipse in and of itself is a game-changer, but since it occurs against a background of other powerful configurations, its portents are even greater. In my video on the solar eclipse (due out on Saturday) I spent some time looking at its connections with the charts of Russia and Vladimir Putin, so although the Iran war is currently dominating the headlines, Russia’s increasingly aggressive attacks on Ukraine – you may have seen footage of the drone hunting down a market vendor in Kherson – are evidence of a new stage of the conflict. And a disturbing one at that.

The solar eclipse does not make major connections to the charts of America and Donald Trump, although it will square Iran’s natal Uranus triggering the state’s revolutionary zeal. Indeed, the eclipse is almost unaspected – just a weak trine to Saturn. Unaspected planets have an all or nothing effect. Since they are unintegrated with the rest of the planets they act autonomously and somewhat randomly. Thus, there is a case to be made for this eclipse turning out to have epic ramifications.

In the background there are two Kite formations and the “Barbault Basket”. The Mercury-Pluto opposition forms the strut of one of the Kites and the base of the Basket while a Venus-Neptune opposition forms the brace of the second Kite. Mercury-Pluto combos inspire confrontation, whether in the sense of facing a problem or hostilities, while Venus-Neptune oppositions have a quality of surrender about them, whether you submit to an overwhelming experience or give up. So, these are themes to incorporate with any game-changing developments.

The above chart is set for Washington, DC and although the eclipse itself may not land on any significant planet and point on the US chart or Donald Trump’s, there are other planets and points that do. The Midheaven at the moment of the eclipse is Donald Trump’s natal Mars while the IC is but a degree away from the United States Moon.

This eclipse comes at a time of turmoil for the United States – the war has had a huge effect on the price of food and gasoline, and the American people are suffering. Trump’s ratings are at an all-time low and he is dealing with one failure after another. A better president might have resigned. Maybe he will. (Now that would be worthy of a total solar eclipse.) There are certainly signs in the astrology that the president, despite his bluster, is weakening.

At the time of the eclipse Venus will be at 5 degrees of Libra, which is Donald Trump’s natal Neptune, and since Neptune is opposing Venus it is simultaneously opposing its natal position. Losing one’s grip, living in a fog, magical thinking, lack of judgment and irrational fears and anxieties are but a few of the side-effects of Neptune opposition Neptune. Thus, at the very least this solar eclipse will preside over a period of maximum confusion for Mr Trump. And when in doubt, this president doubles down.

Add to this, the Midheaven conjoining Trump’s Mars, and I would say he is in fight or flee mode.

Friday Bite 31 July 2026

Earthquakes and Escalation

“We are going to beat the f*cking sh*t out of them. We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating.” Donald Trump, 29 July.

“We consider the strait as an achievement of the recent imposed war and a divine gift to the great Iranian nation… Tehran will not back down from asserting its rights over Hormuz.” Ali Nikzad, Iran’s deputy speaker of parliament, 29 July

“The president can’t change the country on his own. But what can he do? He can give an example.” Volodymyr Zelensky.

ON MY LIST of topics for this Friday Bite was the earthquake that struck the Kumamoto peninsula in Japan. For a moment, I caught myself thinking that this deadly quake was last week, not three days ago. That’s how accelerated time is becoming, maybe not in literal terms but psychological. As one jaw-dropping development follows another in quick succession, not only is there too little time to absorb and process each event but when we do recall it, it seems to have happened ages ago.

When I posted the Bite last Friday, Donald Trump was considering a “massive attack…bigger than ever before” on Iran. By the weekend, he’d had an abrupt change of mind and the tit-for-tat strikes stopped. Apparently, diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States were going well. Then suddenly, out of the blue, on Tuesday, Iran struck US bases in Jordan.

The significance of this attack cannot be underestimated; it represents the first offensive surprise strike by Iran and illustrates the state’s growing confidence in its position. And the timing wasn’t accidental. At the time, Donald Trump was meeting with Zelensky and Netanyahu at the White House, prior to the funeral of Lindsey Graham.

Last week the much-hyped Basket configuration became exact. This week, the full moon in Aquarius triggered that alignment with some spectacular results, not least the earthquake in Japan.

On 28 July, at 16:27 local time, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Japanese Shindo scale hit the Kumamoto peninsula, killing thirty-five people and injuring dozens more. After the initial quake, more than one hundred aftershocks followed. On the same day, South Korea temporarily halted trading as tech stocks tumbled and its Kospi index plunged more than ten percent. Plus, Iran made its first offensive surprise strike on US territory.

What is significant about the above chart is that it occurred as Uranus precisely squared the MC-IC axis and Mars conjoined the Descendant exactly squaring Venus. And Uranus is part of the Basket configuration, which is made up of the other two outer planets and Jupiter at 4+ degrees of Leo, Aries, Gemini and Aquarius. The Descendant at 23 degrees of Gemini was five degrees away from Japan’s Moon (28 degrees Gemini), which also happens to be at the opposite point of the Galactic Centre (currently 27 degrees Sagittarius).

The planets do not cause events, but they form a narrative which reflects them. In this way, an eruption of the earth in one location takes place as markets tumble elsewhere and in other parts of the world events of global significance occur.

One of the most important facets of the current alignment is that it represents a point in time at which the seeds of much greater developments are being sown. André Barboult, after whom this Basket is named, saw it both as the beginning of a “Golden Age” but also as a time of strife. And we should look at these apparently isolated incidents and see them merging into one great event over time.

On Saturday, Ukraine attacked an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, a strategically vital route between Iran and Russia. Ukraine justified its attack by asserting that the vessel was transporting military equipment between Russia and Iran. With this action, two theatres of two different wars became one, one in which the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, Ukraine and North Korea are involved.

All great conflicts have a date upon which they officially began: The French Revolution, 14 July 1789, the American Civil War, 12 April 1861, World War I, 28 July 1914 and World War II, 1 September 1939. Great conflicts may have begun on those dates, but the seeds were sown, months if not years, beforehand. The thing is, a global conflict is not an inevitability. It is not inexorably written in the stars. Why? Because we have free will and we can make choices; our leaders can make choices.

The above chart is set for Wednesday’s full moon in Aquarius from the perspective of Washington DC. The configurations will remain the same whatever the country and the time zone. What changes are the angles of the chart and the houses. The Basket configuration is outlined in black, now with the full moon and the Jupiter-Pluto opposition forming the base. Additionally, outlined in red, is the Venus-Mars midpoint, which falls almost exactly on the full moon degree of 6 degrees 30ʹ Leo/Aquarius. The closeness of these aspects is what makes events that take place at this time so significant.

Its importance for the United States in particular cannot be underestimated. Not only does the Venus-Mars midpoint pick up the full moon and the Jupiter-Pluto opposition but it is the natal nodal axis of the country and thus deeply connected with its fate. Mars at 21 degrees Gemini is the US natal Mars, taking us clearly into the field of battle – Mars is emblematic of assertiveness, passion, courage and conflict. And then there is Saturn. It may not be part of the configuration but at 14 degrees of Aries and opposing America’s natal Saturn it is adding another layer of trauma.

The United States is currently experiencing its Saturn opposition, which is always a trying period for nations just as it is for individuals. We need to take accountability for our actions on a Saturn opposition to its natal position; while we may reap a rich harvest, more often than not, we experience failure and setbacks. The purpose of this transit is to acquire strength through adversity. However, without recognizing the part we have played in our own demise, that opportunity is lost and an even harder set of lessons will greet us further down the road. And with a president who never acknowledges failure and never ever backs down, the future is looking bleak, not only for the United States but for us all.

Nevertheless, I will stand by my belief that different choices make for different outcomes, so although the events that have taken place under such portentous signs have the capacity to lead to a global confrontation, such an eventuality is by no means inevitable.