Friday Bite 20 March 2026

Trumped

“If Europe is under attack, we will never come to help you and to support you.” Donald Trump, January 2020

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory,” Donald Trump, 16 March 2026

“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” Donald Trump, Truth Social, 18 March, 2026

“I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic and social institutions… The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure.” Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, 18 March 2026

SO, HERE WE are, 20 March and Mercury is about to turn direct. Since the incursion into Iran began on a retrograde Mercury, a change of direction for the war can be expected. I had hoped that that change of direction would be a US declaration of victory and an end to the bombing, however, it appears the exact opposite is the case, and the conflict is escalating.

Such is the pace of the accelerated times in which we live, the situation in the Middle East changes from hour to hour. After the initial US/Israeli strikes on 28 February, Iran countered by attacking its neighbours – UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – in the process decimating air travel and necessitating the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of ex-patriots, foreign workers and tourists. Three days after the US/Israeli attack began, Iran struck four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to the closure of the Strait to all but selective traffic, thus sending the price of oil soaring and making global markets very jittery indeed.

As a result of Hezbollah’s sending missiles into Israel, the IDF pummelled Lebanon, displacing almost half a million people and rendering parts of its cities to rubble. And in the last thirty-six hours Israel struck the South Pars gas field – the largest in the world and part owned by Oman – which prompted Iran to declare that were its energy structure to be attacked again, it would show “zero restraint”.

I could go on, but we need to get on! A point I should make, however, is that initially the US (aka Donald Trump) denied all knowledge of the Israeli plan to strike the South Pars gas field, claiming Israel acted alone. After evidence surfaced that the President had indeed been consulted, there was a joint Netanyahu-Trump pivot to the President’s having advised the Israeli Prime Minister against such an action.

And so it goes. Denials here, accusations there; the war won yesterday, today $250 billion needed to continue it. What, according to the astrology, does the future hold?

I thought we’d start by looking at the Aries Ingress chart from the perspective of Iran.

The Sun-Neptune-Saturn conjunction is flanking the Descendant, bringing its properties into sharp relief. The seventh house is not just about relationships but is also known as the house of “open enemies”, so you don’t need a degree in astrology to figure out that Iran is being hammered and its resources depleted by its Israeli and American foes. Plus, the nodal axis – the eclipse point – is the degree of its natal Saturn, so in these initial regards, the prospects for Iran are looking discouraging to say the least. However, however. In the tenth house, standing proud, is Jupiter, which is trining the Moon and Venus, the ruler of the chart. In traditional astrology, these are signs of success; a country standing proud in the face of an onslaught.

Don’t for a minute think I do not realize that the Iranian regime is despicable. The ayatollahs have ruled by fury, force and fear for forty-seven years and the people of Iran have suffered mightily under its government. Even in the last three weeks, while bombs and missiles have rained down on Iranian cities and suburbs, there have been regular public executions.

It is clear that President Trump did not heed the warnings of members of his intelligence service because it is inconceivable that they were not aware that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz were it to be attacked. Iran threatened to do so in 2012 during a dispute with the European Union after it imposed sanctions on it. And there was clearly a good reason why previous US administrations had not gone to war with the Islamic state. The tragedy is that Donald Trump believes he is invincible and since he is known not to read intelligence briefings nor to listen to anything that he doesn’t want to hear, it’s not only the United States that is in an ineluctable position but much of the world.

Donald Trump is the perfect model of a mercurial man. He changes his position as often as his ties and he can pivot on a pinpoint. He was once a great communicator; now he weaves and wanders. If there is a main indicator of his malignant narcissism it is to be found in his rising Mars in Leo. Although he never served in the military – bone spurs prevented him from joining his contemporaries in Vietnam – he is always ready for a fight, always on the attack. Fearless with the use of his verbal weapons. An ego as fragile as a quail’s egg.

Currently Uranus is squaring his Mars and Ascendant, and the recent solar eclipse, which squared Uranus, opposed his Mars and Ascendant. Trump was born on a lunar eclipse so he is more sensitive to eclipses, whether that means he is emboldened by them or his life is shaped by the events they preside over. In this case, the eclipse presided over Operation Epic Fury, and we have yet to find out whether the results of this action will prove to be a feather in his cap or the means of his political demise. I suspect the latter.

It appears the moment to declare a victory and retreat has gone, leaving few options on the table for the United States other than to double down and put boots on the ground. Two thousand, two hundred Marines are on their way from Japan to the Arabian Gulf and it seems likely they are destined for Qarg Island from where 90 percent of Iran’s energy exports are distributed. The Iranians will no doubt be prepared for such a move, so the chances that any threats from the US to destroy its oil supplies in increments unless it reopens the Strait may be met by some considerable opposition.

Ultimately, Iran will have to come to the table – all wars, no matter how long they last, end in diplomacy – and looking forward in time, the full moon of 1 May, which flanks Iran’s MC-IC axis looks to be a plausible moment.

There are six more weeks to go until May, and with a series of major alignments involving Saturn, Neptune and Pluto to come, in terms of the war, we may not have seen anything yet.

BEFORE I GO, I want to make a brief mention of what is happening in Russia, since events in the Middle East have eclipsed much of whatever else is going on in the world. For the past two weeks, Russia has had virtually no internet service. Apparently, this is due to security measures implemented by the government. However, the rumour mill is grinding, suggesting that an increasingly paranoid Vladimir Putin is fearful of a coup.

Earlier this week, a pro-Kremlin blogger, Ilya Remelso, publicly called for Putin to face trial as a war criminal. He argued that the war in Ukraine has been fuelled by Putin’s “complexes” and blames him for devastating Russia’s economy. We are probably not surprised that Mr Remelso was arrested on Thursday and committed to a psychiatric hospital…

Nonetheless, the writing is on the wall for the Putin regime, although I believe we are still some months away from such an eventuality.

Friday Bite 13 March 2026

Operation Epic Flub

“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign [sic] upon them…” Donald Trump, 9 March.

“We’ve won. Let me tell you, we’ve won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won,” Donald Trump, 11 March

“This is Ronald Reagan Plus. Donald Trump is resetting the world in a way nobody could have dreamed of a year ago. He is the greatest commander in chief of all time. Our military is the best of all time. Iran is going down, and Cuba is next.” Lindsay Graham, 8 March

“I assure everyone that we will not forgo taking vengeance for the blood of your martyrs,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, 12 March

A WEEK IS a long time in war.

Within hours of Israel’s and the United States’ attack on Iran, many European and Commonwealth countries lent their support by sending ships to the Mediterranean and the Gulf – France sent its entire fleet – or opening up their air bases to American planes. Not so the United Kingdom. Sir Keir said no, inviting an immediate response from Donald Trump that he was “no Churchill”. The prime minister argued that the UK was not in the business of attacking other countries, unless it was in self-defence. And, indeed, when Iran fired back, the United Kingdom agreed to allow American bombers to use its military bases, got HMS Dragon out of hibernation and put the aircraft carrier Prince of Wales and the landing ship, RFA Lyme Bay on notice.

Too little, too late. The damage was done; the “special relationship” in tatters.

However, for once, Sir Keir appears to have been on the right side of history, since the cries of “illegal war” have been echoing across the world.

Nonetheless, Sir Keir’s prime ministership continues to be on a knife-edge, and if it weren’t for the fact that there is no one to replace him, Thursday’s release of documents revealing that he was fully informed of Mandelson’s hugely compromised position in regard to Jeffrey Epstein, Starmer would no longer be a lame duck, but a dead one.

AS I WATCH news coverage of the war in Iran, my heart sinks. Earlier today (Thursday) a written statement, purportedly by the newly elected Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who may or may not be injured, in a coma or dead, was read out on Iranian television. It was clear that this was no leader and no regime ready to lay down arms and head to the negotiating table. If anything, they have doubled down. Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and stated that Iran would continue to attack US bases in the region. The Supreme Leader demanded compensation from the United States and threatened to expand the war further afield.

Without the benefit of a time of birth, there is not a lot to take away from the above chart. The Sun in Virgo suggests he is a thinker and more of a behind-the-scenes player, yet the Sun is square Mars so he’s a fighter and not afraid to take risks, nor to say what he thinks. The Moon is in Leo, and if he was indeed born in the morning, transiting Pluto will be opposing the Moon, which would certainly chime with his entire family having been wiped out by the American/Israeli attack. Another interesting factor is that the major transits of the time – the Saturn-Neptune conjunction opposing natal Uranus and transiting Uranus opposing Neptune – are suggestive of a greater force currently at work in his life.

IN LAST WEEK’S Bite I mentioned that the war on Iran was America’s folly, and events of the past few days have done nothing to change my mind.

“My feeling is… that this war is America’s folly. The attack on Iran, its whys and wherefores and its legitimacy are in doubt and typical of Neptunian chaos and confusion, illusion and delusion. It has been ill-conceived and there are far too many unseen factors to contend with. At the very least, this war will be a stain on Donald Trump’s presidency… America will pay a heavy price for its actions… and this war will have untold consequences. Maybe we’ll see signs of light once Mercury turns direct (20 March) but even if the missiles stop in a matter of weeks, what has been stirred up may take years to settle down. And, one way or another, Iran and its proxies will not let its enemies’ actions go unacknowledged. There will be trouble. And on the streets of Western cities.”

It has always seemed to me from the perspective of Iran’s charts, that the leadership, which is still intact by the way, and, according to US intelligence “not at risk of collapse any time soon” remains strong. And Iran, despite having its navy decimated, its missile-launching capacity largely destroyed and much of its infrastructure severely damaged, was in a stronger position than the US, which is suffering from the Saturn-Neptune conjunction on its IC and Uranus squaring its Moon. So I am not in the least surprised that Iran has not only fought back but that it now has the upper hand.

In the video I recorded on Monday and will air on Saturday, I discussed the possibility of the war ending, or at least the bombs stopping, before the end of March. The war began when Mercury was in retrograde so there is likely to be a change of pace and direction when Mercury heads into direct motion on 20 March. The trouble is, even if the Trump administration “declares victory and leaves”, Iran is by no means done, and its intention appears to be to continue a war of attrition for years.

The prevailing view is that Trump, now backed into a corner and in no mood to admit defeat, will put boots on the ground. I hope this is not the case, but we will probably find out in the next few days. What I do know is that regardless that the world would be a safer place without this barbarous and pitiless Iranian regime in situ, America and Israel’s war is and was not the answer. And, far from making the world a safer place and Iran Great Again, has instead made the threat of World War III a lot more real.