Friday Bite 24 July 2026

Gate of Tears

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Donald Trump, 22 July.

 “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.” Donald Trump, 23 July.

“We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years. A new political model and a new economic model.” Andy Burnham, 20 July.

Bab el-Mandeb translates as Gate of Tears.

THE SUN IS out, the barbie on and people are gathering to share good times and warm beer. How normal is that. So, what was all that hype about an epic configuration? Has anything changed? Did aliens land and we ascend? Did we find a cure for Alzheimer’s or the Pope resign? No. But take a moment, and you’ll see that developments in the Middle East are escalating and leading toward a conclusion with massive consequences for us all. We are at a tipping point.

This configuration deserves all the hype it has generated.

That Andy Burnham has become prime minister of Great Britain under this alignment means either he is a consequential leader or that events of great consequence will occur while he is at the helm. (I suspect the latter.) I discussed Mr Burnham in last week’s Bite and the one before so I’m not going to spend time in this one speculating on his future, however, I would like to add that he took power as Mercury (16 degrees of Cancer) squared a Moon-Saturn opposition, and since Mercury was conjunct the Midheaven, that T-square becomes a Grand Cross. Not only that but 16 degrees of Cancer is opposite Burnham’s natal Sun and Great Britain’s Mercury. Given the way he came to power, all the hoops he had to go through, the astrology supports the perception that Burnham is where he has to be at this crucial time for Britain.

Let us turn now to the Middle East. It’s hard to believe that it was only four weeks ago that the United States and Iran signed the Memorandum of Understanding. As we now know, the content of that agreement appeared to give Iran the right to control shipping in the strait of Hormuz. However, two days after signing, Trump encouraged commercial vessels, their transponders turned off (violating Article 5), to sail through the strait’s southern passageway, allowed Israeli operations to continue in Lebanon (violating Article 1) and demanded that Iran’s newly unfrozen assets be spent on US grain (violating Article 11). Iran immediately retaliated by sending drones to attack shipping in the strait. Every day since then, tit for tat strikes have occurred, and all the while the two nations have traded threats of ever more dire consequences.

On Monday (20 July) the Iranian-backed Houthis based in Yemen announced that they intended to block the Bab al-Mandeb strait between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. And on Wednesday, they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Today (Friday) the militia announced that they were closing the strait only to Saudi Arabian vessels. By closing off this alternative passageway international oil supplies are severely compromised.

On Thursday, President Trump let it be known he was considering a massive attack on Iran.

I’m not a military expert but I do read the opinions of those who are. Robert Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago and advisor to every presidential administration from 2001 – 2024 suggests that Trump is “trapped in an escalation ladder with no clear offramp.” The administration has two equally undesirable choices, “either accept Iran as the dominant power in the Persian Gulf or launch a ground invasion to seize a symbolic piece of territory before the global economy runs out of oil.” Pape draws a parallel with Lyndon B. Johnson and the dilemma he faced with the escalation of the Vietnam situation; the former president later admitting that he knew his military options were unlikely to succeed but at least they would avert a defeat in the election.

Pape’s assessment of Trump’s options is blunt: “He’s pursuing military options he likely knows are unlikely to work, but they’re his best chance to open Hormuz before the [oil] crisis hits.”

One thing we know about Donald Trump is that failure is not an option. The American president effectively backed down once with the Memorandum of Understanding disguising it as a victory for America – and we can see how that worked out – and he is unlikely to do so a second time. Already, there are thousands of troops in the region, 5-6 warships inside the Persian Gulf and over 20 just outside. They’re not just there as window dressing.

Astrology is a language. The planets, their cycles, degree areas, aspects, signs and houses make up that language in the same way that 21 consonants and 5 primary vowels make up the English language. Astrology is also a code. And to crack the code you have to search for patterns. The above chart of the exact Jupiter-Pluto opposition taken from the perspective of America is not just a snapshot of that moment in time with an Ascendant, a Midheaven and nine planetary bodies arrayed inside a 360-degree horoscopic circle, it is a code. It is conveying vast troves of information.

Jupiter-Pluto oppositions, as I have mentioned before, have a boom-bust effect, which is discernible in economic crashes throughout history. Jupiter and Pluto, mighty planets in their different ways – Jupiter because it is the largest planet in our solar system and symbolic of expansion and Pluto because it is the densest planetary body in our solar system and emblematic of transformation. This particular Jupiter-Pluto opposition is caught up in a series of sextiles with Uranus and Neptune and so has an even greater potential to boost and transform aspects of our existence. Pluto is associated with subterranean resources, hidden wealth and dark power; as such it has dominion over crude oil. Jupiter resonates with power, wealth and fortune. Neptune governs liquids hidden deep underground – oil, petroleum and gas. And while Uranus has nothing to do with oil and energy per se, it has a relative role to play in the enrichment of uranium.

This configuration – Barbault’s Basket – has everything to do with the oil crisis that has been building for months and is now at a tipping point and threatening global stability.

If we look a little more closely at the above chart, there are other hidden messages that reveal the potential within this configuration. On the day of the Jupiter-Pluto opposition, the Sun was 27 degrees of Cancer, the opposite point to the United States’ Pluto and conjunct the Moon at the launch of Operation Epic Fury. The Ascendant at 23 degrees of Virgo is a degree away from the United States’ Neptune and the Venus of Operation Epic Fury. At this moment in time Saturn is precisely opposite America’s natal Saturn and squaring its natal Sun while Mars at 15 degrees of Gemini is three degrees away from the United States’ Mars, and the Midheaven within a degree of the US Mars.

Defeat, war, hubris, vanity, treachery and duplicity are writ large in these things.

Next Wednesday, the full moon at six degrees of Aquarius will conjoin Jupiter, oppose Pluto and so trigger the Basket. Six degrees of Aquarius also just happens to be America’s south node. At the very least the Iran situation will come to a head next week, which doesn’t mean there will be a ground invasion – maybe Saudi Arabia will pull a masterstroke and cool things down, after all full moons breed closure – however, given everything I have explored and Donald Trump’s character, I believe we are likely to see boots on the ground, and if not next week then on and around the Leo solar eclipse of 12 August.

Friday Bite 17 July 2026

Dire Straits

The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.” Donald Trump, 13 July.

“Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” Donald Trump, 14 July.

“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” Senator Lindsey Graham, 3 May 2016

“Mr President, you’re not far behind God.” Senator Lindsey Graham, 10 June 2026.

“This is the end of my political journey… to my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.” Sir Keir Starmer, 16 July.

 “[We’re going to] put the power that comes from that unity at the service of people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again. That’s what we’re going to do, everybody. We’re going to give them hope back.” Andy Burnham, 17 July.

HALFWAY THROUGH AND July is more than delivering its promise of crisis and controversy. It is proving to be a month of extremes, both in terms of the climate and national and international events. More than 10,000 deaths in Europe have been attributed to the recent heat wave. And last night marked the sixth night in a row of US strikes on Iranian infrastructure and tit-for-tat attacks on Gulf states and the wider region.

Within the last seven days, the United Kingdom has lost a former minister Ann Widdecombe – killed, allegedly in a politically motivated attack – and witnessed the departure of Prime-minister Sir Keir Starmer while the United States has lost Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to a torn aorta and “mislaid” Republican Senator Mitch McConnel who may or may not be alive but is certainly out of action.

On Thursday night, Donald Trump took the opportunity to address the nation, not on the dire straits (no pun intended) in which the world finds itself due to the US/Israel war in Iran, but the desperate plight of the American voting system. Despite filing 62 lawsuits contesting the result of the 2020 election and all of them failing, Mr Trump reiterated his conviction that the election had been rigged, and that in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future, new voting measures were to be put in place. He went on to accuse China of interfering with that election.

Sir Keir Starmer spent his last day of official duties in Ukraine, where he was given the country’s highest award for a foreign individual, the Order of Freedom honour. While the prime minister may not have won Britain’s heart over his management of the country, he has been an impressive figure on the international stage. He has championed the Ukraine cause and proved a steadfast friend and supporter of President Zelensky. And he was, just for a moment, a Trump whisperer. Criticised for his lack of charisma and his many U-turns, as he made his last speech in the House, a palpable warmth and affection spread across the chamber. I suspect he will be missed.

And so it was that today Andy Burnham took his place as leader of the Labour Party. On Monday, he will become Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is an unknown quantity, yet he has been a Labour politician for 26 years. He has stood for the leadership of the party on two previous occasions – 2010 and 2015. He has held important ministerial posts, however, he is best known for being Greater Manchester’s mayor, a role in which he has distinguished himself since 2017.

The above chart represents Andy Burnham’s becoming the leader of the Labour Party. It is an impressive chart, first and foremost because his leadership is beginning as the formation known as Barbault’s Basket is almost exact. In fact, the Ascendant at seven degrees of Libra connects to that configuration creating another formation, the Envelope. While I don’t set too much store by the name a configuration is given, I rather like the idea of something being concealed within the envelope. In other words, we must wait and see what Mr Burnham has to deliver. Maybe he does indeed have secret powers. And he’s certainly going to need them given the divisions within the Labour party and the country and the uncertain times in which we live.

I have looked at Burnham’s chart in a previous Bite (19 June):

“The above sunrise chart is the best we can do since there is no known time of birth for Andy Burnham, however, I would hazard a guess, given his appearance, that he has Cancer rising. As it is, we know he is a Sun Capricorn – the Moon, Venus and Mercury also in this Saturn-ruled sign – and he has Mars in Pisces. He is thus both a dreamer and a realist. Organized, sensible, reliable (to a point) and strong. Venus and the Sun, and possibly the Moon, are all squaring Uranus so he has some trailblazing capacities and he’s not afraid to buck a trend. However, you wouldn’t want to cross him. He has the great benefit of a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, which provides a perfect balance between optimism and realism and gives him a powerful sense of purpose.”

The Moon-Venus conjunction in Virgo of the leadership chart mirrors Burnham’s natal Moon-Venus-Sun conjunction in Capricorn while Jupiter squares his natal Jupiter-Saturn opposition. And since Jupiter is part of the Basket configuration, we have a clear message that he is a man whose time has come.

The Labour Party was formed on a Jupiter-Saturn square and a Neptune-Uranus opposition, the latter being emblematic of its socialist roots. More pertinently, its Midheaven at 18 degrees of Pisces is conjunct Burnham’s Mars while its Moon at 4 degrees of Libra is currently opposed by Neptune and, of course, part of the Basket configuration.

That Burnham’s Mars falls on the party’s Midheaven suggests he will fight for the party yet he could also find himself in conflict with it. And given his leadership has taken off with the Ascendant on his natal Uranus, there is a strong revolutionary aura to the new regime.

Burnham takes power with the Labour party behind him and the people of Britain with hope in their hearts. But the proof of the pudding, as always, is in the eating.

IN TWO DAYS TIME, on 19/20 July, the Jupiter-Pluto opposition, which forms the base of the aforementioned Basket, will take place. Sometimes, a configuration comes and goes and nothing of note happens, but nothing is for nothing. What is forming at this time will place its signature on hugely important events of a global and personal nature. And when the events occur we will be able to trace their origins to this period of time.

Barbault himself saw July 2026 as the beginning of a golden age, although he also anticipated “shifts in power”, and there is certainly a case to be made for these influences presiding over major breakthroughs and the beginnings of better things to come. However, we should also be realistic. And the conflicts we have raging at the moment are making our world a very dangerous place.

In the months leading up to 9-11, the Saturn-Pluto opposition was in play as was the Jupiter-Pluto opposition. This combination led me to believe that a singular event – possibly a war – was on its way. And since the exact Saturn-Pluto opposition fell on America’s Ascendant-Descendant axis, I believed the United States was at the centre of what was to come. I wrote about this in my Cosmic Update of July 15 that year.

“Saturn’s conjunction to the descendant (the cusp of the seventh house of partners and open enemies) suggests that it is other nations and other leaders who are proving and will continue to prove to be America’s biggest challenge. America’s partners will at the very least become critical of US policies and actions and at worst there could be hostilities where once there was unity. As for America’s enemies, these leaders, nations and groups will come out against America in full force now. And if ever there was an astrological setting for war, it is this one.”

The opposition became exact on 5 August 2001. August the fifth came and went with nothing of note. Six weeks later, and we all remember what happened. Later it emerged that on 5 August the Bush administration had received a briefing detailing the intent of Bin Laden to strike inside the United States. The briefing was ignored.

Last Wednesday, Donald Trump told Fox News that the US is planning to attack Iran’s bridges and power plants and today, Reuters reports that Iranian leaders have asked the Houthis to close the strait of Bab el-Mandeb, the waterway that links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. These are not the times to keep ramping up the ante. There will be consequences.