Friday Bite 4 September 2026

Murky Waters

The lie is the elemental matter of the Trump administration. The value of lying is Donald Trump’s deepest belief. He built his celebrity image through shameless and constant deceit that permitted him to bounce from blunder to blunder while constantly reeling in new suckers. Lying is also what binds his loyalists to him: The highest calling of any figure in Trump world is to refuse any concessions to reality when Trump commands it, and the surest ticket to oblivion is to speak the truth. Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 28 August

‘So, your country’s not doing well. Don’t forget, you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz, and you weren’t there to help me. Your country was not there to help me. We didn’t need help, but I did ask Nato, and I asked your former leader, “Why didn’t you send a couple of ships?” He said we don’t have any, and it was pretty sad… But the Falklands is very interesting because your country is not the same country it was 20 years ago, 25 years ago. It was a long time ago. And you went there and you just took it back very quickly and there were no games. So I don’t know if you’re prepared to do that. I just don’t know if you have the capacity to do that.’ Donald Trump, 3 September

ANY WEEK THAT opened on a Mars-Saturn square was destined to be painful, and it didn’t disappoint. Whether it was the desperate search for survivors in the mud-clogged valleys of Nepal or the warnings from governments across the world about the effects of the upcoming Super El Niño which could make this summer’s wildfires and floods look like a Sunday picnic or Russia’s new wave of attacks on Ukraine’s railway network – the “backbone of Ukraine’s economy” – they painted a grim picture. When the Lesser Malefic and the Greater Malefic are aligned we expect to be challenged by circumstances and to reap a harvest from our past actions, but it doesn’t make them easier to bear. It’s about time Jupiter and Venus got together and gave us some great good news and a happy ending or two.

Despite being mired in domestic and international problems that would have felled another president, on Monday, Donald Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling that the construction of his Big Beautiful Ballroom could go ahead. On the strength of the victory, work started on the 250-foot-high triumphal arch near Washington’s Arlington Cemetery.

Roll on the midterms.

Head of Estonian intelligence has warned that Vladimir Putin could be “overthrown at any time” – not necessarily tomorrow, but when it happens it will be sudden and quick. Which goes along with my thinking on the Russia situation. Adding fuel to the fire of the Russian president’s imminent/not so imminent demise, in a conversation with Prime Minister Modi of India, Putin revealed that he could lose his life over the failure to win the war in Ukraine.

There is certainly something going on in Russia’s corridors of power, but of one thing we can be sure, when Vladimir Putin’s back is against the wall, he doubles down.

AND SO TO the Falkland Islands. In an address to his country on Thursday night, President Javier Milei, a right-wing populist and ally of Donald Trump, announced that he is imposing sanctions on oil companies drilling in the waters surrounding the British owned Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). In so doing he dredged up Argentina’s claim to the Islands. (You may remember the stir caused at the World Cup Final in July when two Argentinian players held up a banner declaring the Falkland Islands belonged to them.)

The ownership of the Falklands, some three hundred miles east of Argentina, has long been a thorn in its side, even though it wasn’t a country when Great Britain landed on the islands in 1690.

Just over forty-four years ago, in April 1982 and at the time of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra, Argentina sent several thousand troops to seize control of the Falkland Islands. Britain, then under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, responded with a major military deployment. On 14 June, Argentina surrendered and the islands have continued to retain their British sovereignty.

I should also add that this week in an interview with the GB News channel, Mr Trump would not commit to helping the United Kingdom in the event of a territorial dispute saying, “it [UK] wasn’t there to help me…”.

The astrology of the piece is fascinating. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982, the Sun was placed at 12 degrees Aries 14ʹ, and as Javier Milei made his sabre-rattling speech on Thursday evening, 12 degrees Aries 17ʹ was rising side by side with Saturn. That Saturn has reached the Sun of Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands sends a powerful message. It is time, era ora, in this case to right a perceived wrong.

Also at the time of the Argentinian president’s speech, Mars was at 15 degrees Cancer, conjunct Argentina’s Mid-heaven and Sun. Quite the call to arms. And if this wasn’t enough to demonstrate how the planets resonate with certain degree areas across time, Uranus is currently opposing both Argentina’s natal Uranus and that at the time of the 1982 invasion.

Last but not least, when Milei gave his speech on Thursday evening, the moon had recently conjoined Uranus and so triggered the all-important configuration involving the three outer planets – Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

I’m not sure all these synchronicities and signals point to push coming to shove and Britain once again being forced to defend its territory, but I do think that it serves as another nail in the coffin of the UK’s “special relationship” with the United States. That Milei has suggested oil sanctions on companies in the vicinity of the islands is interesting. Drilling of the Sea Lion Field in the Falklands’ northern waters is due to begin in a matter of months and is expected to generate billions for the islands and the Israeli and British businesses that have invested in the project.  This, if nothing else, is probably the motive behind the new threats to “take back” the islands, almost certainly goaded on by Donald Trump who, as we know, prizes oil above all.

I WAS GOING to wade into the scandal that just hit the Reform party – Nigel Farage’s chart has roughly the same angles as the party’s chart (three degrees of Aquarius rising and four degrees of Sagittarius on the Midheaven) which means that Pluto is transiting both Ascendants and Uranus conjoining their ICs, however, time got the better of me. Based on these transits and on Saturn sitting on Farage’s Sun, I think the party is in real trouble.

Friday Bite 28 August 2026

Poetry and Peril

“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked…We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.” Prime Minister Mark Carney, 21 August

“We took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it. So if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake [Lake America, formerly Lake Ontario], now all we need is an ocean. So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific.” Donald Trump, 27 August

“… whether you’re a Democrat, an independent, or someone who has generally voted Republican in the past, most voters want the same things right now: to be led and represented by normal people who are good at getting things done. People want leaders who respect those who disagree or vote differently instead of calling them the enemy. People who know that God does not belong to a political party in the United States of America. Most voters want to elect leaders who are not simply trying to rebuild the past, but trying to create something new and better.” Pete Buttigieg, Transport Secretary, 17 August

POETRY AND PERIL? If you are confused by the title, poetry refers to the death of beloved Dolly Parton who left us on Tuesday morning. She was an extraordinary songwriter and performer, and a philanthropist who never forgot her roots. The peril relates to Russia and Iran and the escalating threat they both pose to the world. On Tuesday, CIA’s director, John Ratcliffe, made a flying visit to Moscow, which has fuelled speculation that this was no ordinary diplomatic mission but one with a much more serious message for Russia.

If you are still nurturing doubts that eclipses preside over life-changing events, take a moment to look at footage of the tsunami river of mud, ice and water cascading at speed into the valleys and towns of Nepal and Tibet. In particular, the mountain of water that rose above the government buildings at the Gyirong border post, sweeping away buses, trucks and people running for their lives. Almost 2000 people are feared dead. If that doesn’t reflect a lunar eclipse in Pisces squared by Uranus, I don’t know what does.

And this morning we learned of the death of King Harald V of Norway – a Pisces with the lunar eclipse on his natal Sun and Norway’s Saturn.

I’M GOING TO begin in the Himalayas. At 8:37 on the morning of 26 August, an enormous section of a glacier broke off and fell onto the valley floor of Nepal’s Langtang National Park. So powerful was the event that it was initially thought to be an earthquake registering 5.2 on the Richter scale. Here is a picture of that moment.

Mars is culminating and squaring the Saturn-Neptune midpoint and the Ascendant-Descendant axis. All three planets are bordering the angles of the chart making their combined effect even more powerful, and in this case, destructive. Mercury and the Sun are within two degrees of the lunar eclipse, which took place on Friday morning.

This event becomes even more significant when we look at Nepal’s natal chart. Natal Pluto is to be found at 9 degrees Capricorn and within minutes of an opposition to transiting Mars and a square to the Ascendant-descendant axis at the time of the glacier-slip. Nepal’s natal Neptune at 5 degrees of Virgo is conjunct the lunar eclipse and its natal moon is squaring the eclipse.  Nepal’s natal Sun is but three degrees away from the eclipse. And there is more. Neptune is currently squaring Nepal’s natal Saturn and Pluto squaring natal Uranus.

Now, all these connections could have manifested in many ways. Revolution or war could have broken out, the government might have collapsed or the president die. Instead nature did what it does best, teach us about the perils of disregarding Mother Earth and the random nature of geological events.

KING HARALD OF Norway died on Friday morning in hospital while receiving treatment for a bacterial infection. He was eighty-nine years old and had occupied the throne for thirty-five years. He had been at the helm during some of the country’s most turbulent times, and he was much loved by the Norwegian people. His son, Haaken Magnus who inherits the throne met with government ministers at the Royal Palace earlier today and announced his accession. There will be no coronation since Norway abandoned such royal ceremonies over a century ago. King Haaken VIII has adopted his late father’s royal motto, “Everything for Norway”.

King Harald’s reign has not been without controversy, particularly this year. In the spring, the United States Department of Justice released a tranche of documents related to the Epstein affair, including emails, some of which involved the crown princess, Mette Marie. Close on the heels of this unwelcome revelation the crown princess’s son by her first marriage, Marius Borg Hoiby, was convicted of several drug-related crimes and multiple charges of rape. He was sentenced to four years in prison and is currently under house arrest awaiting an appeal.

There are strong links between the Norwegian and British royal families. King Harald and King Charles were cousins – their great, great grandfather was King Edward VII – and both have had to contend with family “black sheep” and developments of a deeply embarrassing nature, to put it politely. King Harald’s daughter, Martha Louise, married an American shaman and later, in 2022, was forced to step down from royal duties, the couple attributing the decision to public criticism of their marriage. Her husband is black.

As you will see from the above chart, Friday’s lunar eclipse straddled the late King’s MC-IC axis, which was in turn squared by transiting Uranus. King Harald’s Sun at 2 degrees of Pisces was within two degrees of the lunar eclipse, and since Norway’s natal Saturn falls at 2 degrees of Pisces, the lunar eclipse also made its mark on the country. We should also note that Norway’s Venus, the ruler of the 10th house of leaders, rulers and government, is placed at 4 degrees of Taurus, and is thus not only squared by transiting Pluto but triggered by all the outer planets and the recent basket configuration of late July.

The new King has become monarch as Mars reaches his Midheaven and squares Saturn. In the last twenty-four hours transiting Venus has passed over his natal Mars-Uranus opposition, all of which suggests that he has come to the throne unexpectedly and not at the best time for him. Pluto, the ruler of his chart, is squaring his Ascendant-descendant axis and will conjoin Jupiter 2028, although it is already in orb, which is descriptive of his transformation from crown prince to King, head of the family and the country.

And now to Russia.

IN RECENT WEEKS I have looked at Russia’s and Putin’s charts, pointing out that the recent solar eclipse fell on Putin’s Midheaven while Uranus has been hovering over the Russian president’s Moon and squaring the country’s natal moon. I have been expecting dramatic events in Russia, and although we haven’t seen a revolt, a coup or a regime change, the sounds coming out of Moscow are concerning to say the least. Which brings us to John Ratcliffe’s clandestine trip to Russia where he met with Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of Russia’s FSB intelligence service.

The last time a director of the CIA made a similar clandestine trip to Moscow was in November 2021. Willliam J. Burns flew to Moscow as Russian troops massed on the borders of Ukraine. He went to Russia with the express purpose of informing the administration that the United States knew of its intent to invade Ukraine and warned that there would be consequences.

Clearly the warning had a great effect. Russia invaded Ukraine three months later.

The CIA has long maintained communication channels with Russian intelligence services, so a direct one-to-one meeting with the head of the FSB has nothing to do with diplomacy and everything to do with an immediate and pressing issue. According to sources, Ratcliffe’s mission to Moscow was to straight-talk Bortnikov regarding the war in Ukraine. He may have advised Moscow to cut a deal before Russia’s military and economic situation gets any worse. CIA analysts have for some time questioned whether Putin’s advisors have given him an honest assessment of the war’s trajectory and toll.

In the past few days, Putin has made it clear that if the UK continues to supply Ukraine with drones and help the country in any way in its war with Russia, there will be consequences. And on a lunar eclipse, you can’t dismiss such threats as mere sabre-rattling. On the face of it, it seems madness to attempt to widen the scope of the war in Ukraine and test NATO’s resolve, but that is to forget what Russia is, and who the Russian people are. This was a country that lost almost eleven million men in World War II: they survived an invasion by Hitler but came back to defeat Nazi Germany. Russians die for their country. Such a love for their homeland runs in their blood.

So, we must as usual, wait and see what this lunar eclipse will preside over in terms of Russia’s next move. However, if it was John Ratcliffe’s intent to warn Russia to make peace with Ukraine, based on past experience, I don’t think it will make a spit of difference.