Thursday was the day of the long knives at Number 10. A widely anticipated minor cabinet re-shuffle turned into a political blood-letting. Ministers came and went but it was Sajid Javid’s unexpected resignation as Chancellor that provided the real shock and awe of the day.

What was going on up there in the heavens? This was not mid-to-end January when a series of hugely challenging configurations were in play. On the face of it, the cosmos was in smiley-mode. That’s until you look a little deeper into the astrology.

We can safely point the finger at Sunday’s full moon in Leo for bringing simmering situations to a head and setting the stage for some major endings and beginnings. The full moon was the first after the lunar eclipse of 10th January, so whatever crises were inspired, whatever plans were activated, on and around that eclipse (and, of course, we cannot forget it occurred hours before the Saturn-Pluto conjunction) would have an opportunity for resolution or refinement 28 days later.

The full moon in Leo may not have been a supermoon, but it loomed large on the night of the 8th. At 20 degrees of Leo it was aligned with the Fixed Star Algenubi (Ras Elased Australis) which is “of the nature of Mars and Saturn” – an unremittingly difficult combination. Mars and Saturn act like a lead balloon descending upon you, apparently, through no fault of your own, and causing serious damage. As indeed must have been the impact of the Prime Minister’s words on Sajid Javid some four days later

Mr Javid had held the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer for a mere 204 days, becoming one of the shortest serving Chancellors in history. Despite appearances to the contrary his tenure had been conflict-ridden since the outset when one of his special advisors was fired by Boris Johnson and escorted by police from Number Ten. Javid and Boris’s Svengali, Dominic Cummings, repeatedly clashed, although it seemed the Prime Minister had “every confidence” in his Chancellor. However, when on the 13th February at the end of what had been an apparently cordial meeting, Boris asked Mr Javid to sack his entire staff of special advisors in what must have appeared to be a blatant move to seize control of the Treasury, the Chancellor felt he had no option but to resign.

It is open to debate as to whether he jumped or was pushed.

Four days earlier, the full moon had opposed Sajid Javid’s Mars in Aquarius and squared his Ascendant-Descendant axis. (The authenticity of this time of birth, by the way, is debatable, so don’t place too much attention on the angles of the chart.) What we can be certain of, however, is that on the morning of the 13th February as he met with the Prime Minister, the Moon was in Libra (as is his natal Moon) applying to a square of Saturn. Not only this, but Mars at 28 degrees of Sagittarius was conjunct the Galactic Centre and squaring his natal Pluto.

The die was cast. It was the Ides of February…

The Galactic Centre is interesting. I’m not a great fan of going beyond the solar system for astrological insight, but I do find the Fixed Stars add an extra dimension to interpretation and the degree of the Galactic Centre (27/28 Sagittarius) crops up with interesting regularity at the time of earthquakes and other kinds of eruptions. (You’ll see what I mean in my January 2019 newsletter on earthquakes.) The Galactic Centre is a Black Hole at the centre of our galaxy and believed to be a “power source”, neither negative nor positive, simply a power source.

So, not only must it have been a Mars-Saturn hammer blow to Mr Javid when he was asked to sack his entire staff but in resigning his office he threw a spanner in the works of his political future – something you just might do with Mars squaring your natal Pluto as it aligned with the Galactic Centre.

I like Sajid Javid. He appears to be a man of principle, which is sadly missing in the world of politics these days. I can’t be sure, but the spanner he has just thrown into the works may just turn out to be divinely providential, and in the months and years to come he will rise again to power.