Friday Bite 14 August 2026

 The Glorious Twelfth

“We are low-keying it… We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money… It will work out… It always works out. It’s like a chess game.” Donald Trump, 10 August

“The man who cowered hiding from the Iranians in a catering truck and who has personally done more to increase Iran’s strategic influence than anyone in its own government ever has, is now blathering nonsense via social media. The world sees him more as an impotent fool today than ever before.” David Rothkopf, National Security reporter 12 August.

“Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence. The President has no—and claims no—constitutionally assigned authority over that property, which is designed and maintained for the use of all Presidents, current and future, and for the American people. We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now.” The Court Appeals, DC, 7 August

THE TOTAL SOLAR eclipse did not disappoint. Not only was it a breathtaking spectacle to observe but events of the past week have been similarly awe-inspiring. Twenty-four hours before the eclipse, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale devastated western Columbia killing more than 180, most of them in the cities of Cali and Pereira.

On the day of the eclipse, Donald Trump confirmed that he had secretly flown from Turkey to the United Kingdom on a separate plane in order to evade a potential Iranian strike on Air Force One. Quite why he felt compelled to announce to the world the “great plane switcheroo” thus simultaneously informing his potential assassins of the game-plan, is unclear, but what was more shocking was his leaving everyone on Air Force One to succumb to their fate, including Marco Rubio, several White House staffers, journalists and crew.

The day before the eclipse, Bashar al-Assad was sentenced to death by a Syrian court, after a trial in absentia convicted him of killings, torture and arbitrary arrests during the fourteen-year civil war.

Last Sunday, Netanyahu announced that Israel was rejecting the Board of Peace’s 15-point Gaza peace plan: “I want to be clear here — Israel is ruling out the 15-point plan…as long as I am prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established.”

Back to square one.

And then there was the weather. While in China more than a million people were evacuated as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall, across Europe temperatures soared and even rainy England sweltered under temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius. And yesterday, several wildfires threatened the town of Stourbridge in the west Midlands, destroying several houses in the outlying areas. Also in the UK, two trains were derailed, seemingly because the intense heat had buckled the rails.

It is as though Mother Nature is wreaking her revenge on us for the liberties we have taken with this precious planet.

IN LAST WEEK’S Bite I discussed the salutary tale of Professor Jason Arday who resigned from his post at Cambridge University. Then, I did not have even a birthday for him, let alone a time of birth. But thanks to one of my readers, I now have a date: 9 May 1985.

The chart above is speculative so the angles cannot be trusted, however it does give us an impression of this suspected fantasist who allegedly pulled the wool over the eyes of one of the great universities of the world. (Not a good metaphor but you get my drift.)

In case you haven’t been following Arday’s story, he was diagnosed with autism as a child and did not speak until he was thirteen. He only learned to read and write when he was eighteen. Four years later he received a Masters degree in psychodynamic practices at Birkbeck University of London and in 2015 earned a PhD in Education (with a focus on the sociology of education and race) – a dissertation for which he has been accused of plagiarism. Along the way, he has apparently written several books, run six marathons in six days and maybe, possibly maybe, created the internet.

I’m not a great fan of rectification, so why I’m presenting a chart with a speculative time of birth can only be explained by the effects of the recent eclipse! I started from the perspective of his spectacular fall from grace, which should be reflected by one of the slower-moving planets on an angle. By placing transiting Saturn on the IC – after all, this is a classic example of chickens coming home to roost and the end of a glittering career – Sagittarius rises with Uranus, the rebel, on the Ascendant and Neptune, the illusionist, rising toward it. His Mars is in Gemini – a versatile Mars to say the least – and is widely opposed to Uranus, the maverick of the planets.

His natal Neptune at three degrees of Capricorn is currently being squared by Neptune, and natal Pluto at two degrees of Scorpio is being squared by transiting Pluto. Either one of these transits would be enough to unhinge you, but together they suggest the fabric of one’s existence is at risk of unravelling.

Arday has a wide Sun-Saturn opposition, loosely squared by Jupiter, which could indicate hardship and struggle especially in early life (Saturn-Sun) followed by great success (Jupiter).

THE SUBJECT OF earthquakes has come up a couple of times recently, and Monday’s eruption in Colombia presents a couple of classic significators. Uranus is culminating and forming a Grand Trine with Venus and Neptune. I have drawn out the configurations, so that you can see the Envelope type shaping with Uranus at the pointy end. This configuration has been in play with different personal planets for some weeks and was at its most critical between July 20-29.  Mars at the time of the earthquake was 29 degrees of Gemini and squaring the Venus-Neptune opposition, thus playing an important role in the gathering of planets, which is almost certainly coinciding with great waves of energy.

You may remember that a few weeks ago I talked about 28 degrees of Gemini figuring prominently at the time of eruptions, and here it is again. Aside from this degree of Gemini opposing the Galactic Centre, there is no reason why it should keep appearing. However, in the same way that 28 degrees of Aquarius is considered to be the Astrologer’s degree, maybe 28 degrees of Gemini is the earthquake degree.

Just speculating.

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.