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MONDAY, 2 December – SUNDAY, 8 December
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Friday Bite
Astrology of the Week’s Main Global Events
by
Penny Thornton
29 November 2024
Friday Bite: 22 November 2024
Dark Energy
IT WAS REVEALED today that astronomers have discovered the first “Einstein zig-zag” – an image of one quasar replicated six times in a single image. The “zig-zag” was first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915 and referred to as “gravitational lensing”. Why this discovery is so significant is that it could help scientists tackle two of cosmology’s greatest mysteries – the nature of dark energy and the speed of the universe’s expansion. I think you’ll agree with me that this is one awe-inspiring expression of the current astrological patterns. The more concerning ones follow.
THE PAST SEVEN days have produced a litany of controversial developments, far too many for me to take apart here, so I am going to mention a couple in brief, leaving my main focus to rest on the war in Ukraine.
On Thursday, warrants were issued by the International Criminal Court for the arrests of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant and Hamas military leader, Mohammed Deif. They are accused of alleged war crimes including starvation, murder, persecution and other inhumane acts related to the war in Gaza. (The recent full moon fell on Israel’s Sun and squared Netanyahu’s Mars.)
Also, on Thursday, Matt Geitz, Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General in his new administration, withdrew his name from consideration after realizing he was “becoming a distraction”. Later in the day, the president-elect announced his new choice for the post, Pam Bondi, Florida’s former Attorney General and a strong voice in the “stolen election” campaign. This was quite the birthday present for the former prosecutor whose Sun (25 degrees Scorpio) is conjunct Trump’s IC and currently the focus of an opposition by Uranus. A short-lived position maybe or just an unexpected rise to prominence. Perhaps both.
ON THIS DAY, sixty-one years ago, President Kennedy was assassinated. I don’t know why I suddenly thought of this as I was preparing the Friday Bite, but it may have been because we are living through a similar era when the threat of nuclear conflict hovered over us, and that era continues to resonate with us through the assassination of a most charismatic American president.
On 22 October, 1962, President Kennedy ordered a naval “quarantine” of Cuba in response to a Soviet build-up of weapons on the island country. (President Khrushchev had secretly agreed to supply Cuba with weapons after the failed attempt by the US to overthrow the Castro regime with the Bay of Pigs invasion.) For six days, the world held its breath as Kennedy refused to remove the blockade and Khrushchev refused to remove the weapons. Finally, on 28 October, the Russian premier issued a statement that Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba.
History informs us that Khrushchev considered the Kennedy administration (ergo the United States) to be too weak to respond to the Soviet Union’s actions.
On Thursday (21 November, 2024), President Putin issued a direct threat to the United States and the United Kingdom that Russia would respond “directly and reciprocally [to] an escalation of aggressive actions [by countries] that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.” This statement came after Russia fired an experimental hypersonic ballistic missile into Ukraine’s Dnipro region.
Four days earlier, President Biden had given Ukraine permission to fire its long-range missiles at targets in Russia, which it did the following day. And on Tuesday, UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles struck Russia’s Bryansk region. On the same day (Tuesday, 19 November – Pluto’s re-entry into Aquarius) President Putin announced changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine. It now says that an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as an assault on Russia.
This comes at a time when the astrology is on a knife-edge.
On 15/16 November, a full moon took place that was no ordinary full moon: it was conjunct Uranus and caught up in an alignment with Neptune and Pluto and Mars. As I have explained previously, when planets occupy the same degrees, albeit in different signs, they resonate with each other, thus intensifying their effects and presiding over important, sometimes life-altering, developments. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were part of that alignment and will be in formation for a longer-term, which has implications for matters of the nuclear kind. (You may remember, all three outer planets have given their names to nuclear elements and one or all have already placed their signatures on major nuclear events.)
Neptune and Pluto have been in-sextile for decades, but Uranus only joined them in August 2022, some six months after Putin invaded Ukraine. They have been in this configuration since that time and will continue to remain connected until the end of 2025: indeed, they will be at their closest in August and September of next year on the second degree of Aries (Neptune), Gemini (Uranus) and Aquarius (Pluto). So, it is not surprising that the threat of nuclear engagement has reared its ugly head.
To return to the recent full moon. At 24 degrees of Taurus (trining Pluto at 29 degrees of Capricorn and sextiling Neptune at 27 degrees of Pisces), it is picking up planets and points in the charts of many of the key actors on the global stage. We might start with Israel’s Sun (24 degrees of Taurus) and Netanyahu’s Mars (26 Leo), Great Britain’s Venus (29 Capricorn 51ʹ) Russia’s Ascendant (25 Leo) and Venus-Pluto conjunction (22 Scorpio), Putin’s Pluto (22 Leo), Ukraine’s Moon (22 Aquarius and Jupiter-Venus-Mercury at 25-28 Leo) Zelenski’s Saturn (28 Leo) the United States Moon (27 Aquarius) and Pluto (27 Capricorn), Biden’s Sun (27 Scorpio) Trump’s Mars/Ascendant (26 and 29 Leo respectively).
The pressure on all these hugely important figures and countries, as viewed through the astrology, is at maximum, and we must simply wait to see if the alignments preside over a major breakthrough or something a lot less welcome. As we did in October 1962, we must now hold our breath until the middle/end of December and then again from New Year through February.
As regards the Cuban Missile crisis, the end of this monumental stand-off came on the new moon in Scorpio. And I thought it would be interesting to see what the prevailing alignments were and whether they had any resonance with the current period.
The first factor I find interesting is that the impasse came to an end on the new moon, heralding a new chapter for Russia-US relations. Second, the Mars-Saturn opposition in the first decan of Leo and Aquarius, was not only squared by the new moon but conjunct the nodal axis, the points at which eclipses occur, therefore bringing a huge element of fate and destiny into the mix. Also significant is the Jupiter-Uranus/Pluto opposition, which was closely connected to the new moon.
Mars and Saturn, the Lesser and Greater Malefics, are grindingly hard to deal with and in this case certainly reflected the entrenched position of both the US and Russia. Fortunately, Khrushchev thought better than to start a nuclear war and, in the end, both the US and Russia were winners – Khrushchev made a secret deal with Kennedy whereby, in return, the US removed their weapons from Turkey.
Also of consideration, while in October 1962 Jupiter was opposing the applying Uranus-Pluto conjunction – a combustible combination to say the least – in the April of 2024, Jupiter conjoined Uranus as a full moon squared Pluto, and on the same four degrees of Scorpio.
At the moment, Mars and Pluto are in opposition and caught up with the aforementioned configuration, creating an even more intriguing alignment, the Envelope. (What does the envelope contain?) I found it interesting that this Mars-Pluto opposition is similarly occupying the early degrees of Leo and Aquarius as were Mars and Saturn in October 1962.
Mars-Pluto oppositions, conjunctions and squares are more volatile and more dangerous than Mars-Saturn aspects. They bring an element of push-comes-to-shove to events. Putin – Scorpio rising and Pluto conjunct the Midheaven – is no stranger to brinkmanship, although history informs us that red lines have been crossed more than once in this war so why not this time too? The major test of this theory is likely to come in early December.
I could be accused of making two and two add up to four, but the repetition of degree areas and planetary combinations does come under the banner of synchronicity, and astrology is nothing if not about synchronicities.
Which seems to me to be as good a place as any to end this Friday Bite. I leave you with the thought that in the same way that I was reminded of President Kennedy’s assassination, which led to the exploration of the Cuban Missile crisis and its relevance to today’s critical moment, we are not yet through this season of assassinations, albeit political ones.
Friday Bite: 15 November 2024
Decisions, Decisions
“He [Robert F Kennedy Jr] wants to do some things, and we’re going to let him go to it… Go have a good time, Bobby.” Donald Trump, Election night 2024
“Put not your trust in new leaders, better systems, new organizations and regulatory reorganizations. They may well be good and necessary, but will to some degree fail.” Justin Welby, former Archbishop of Canterbury.
THE WEEK BEGAN with remembrance ceremonies across the world honouring those who died for their countries in two World Wars. Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to send Ukraine a message. On Monday, Russian aircraft were moved into launch positions creating an illusion of a forthcoming massive attack. In the event, it never happened.
In Germany beleaguered Chancellor Olaf Schwarz is facing calls to step down and to be replaced by the Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius.
In the UK, on Tuesday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby resigned in the wake of a report that he and other church officials had failed to act when evidence of the brutal abuse of teenagers and young men by leading barrister, John Smyth, came to light more than ten years ago.
I note that Welby was born on an exact Neptune-Uranus square at zero degrees of Scorpio/Leo respectively, which is currently being triggered by transiting Pluto at 29 degrees 56 minutes of Capricorn. Plus, his Saturn-Pluto square at 28/29 Scorpio/Leo is being sparked by transiting Uranus at 25 degrees of Taurus. Not only is the Archbishop following the Saturn-in-Pisces trend for atonement but Pluto is digging up old crimes and transforming his role as one of the most respected and revered figures in the country.
On Thursday, Sri Lankans voted in their droves for the Marxist-leaning President Anura Dissanayake who has promised to reject old systems of government.
And in New Zealand, parliament was suspended on Thursday after Māori MPs performed a haka to disrupt a vote on a bill that proposes to change the way a treaty between the British Crown and the Māori people is interpreted – the Treaty of Waitangi. While the bill, proposed by the libertarian Act party – a minor party in the country’s coalition government – is almost certain to fail, it has inspired fierce opposition from New Zealanders. Hundreds of people have set out on a nine-day protest march (hikoi) to the capital where thousands are expected on Tuesday to gather for a rally.
The above chart marks the moment that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed – the very treaty that protects Māori rights and is currently under threat of being fundamentally altered to include all New Zealanders. As you will see, the natal Sun-Mars conjunction at 26/28 Capricorn is currently being transited by Pluto, and since at the time the treaty came into being, Pluto was 29 degrees of Aries, transiting Pluto is simultaneously squaring its natal position.
Clearly, the Māori people have no intention of allowing their rights to be appropriated.
I HAD INTENDED not to talk about the United States and Donald Trump’s return to power, but the choices that the president elect is making for the top jobs are quite astounding, and certainly resonate with his vow to radically transform government, if not the American constitution.
Most controversial thus far is Matt Gaetz, former representative for Florida’s 1st Congressional district, and now nominee for United States attorney general. Mr Gaetz was subject to a two-year justice department investigation into suspected sex-trafficking, which ended without charge, although the House Ethics Committee report on his alleged drug taking and sexual misconduct may still be released. None of this is a good look for an attorney general and the Senate Republicans who have advise and consent power may not approve.
I have no time of birth for Mr Gaetz and without one it is difficult to see how this politician has risen to such potential glory. He has a wide Jupiter-Pluto conjunction which could be conjunct a Scorpio Moon, but that’s really it when it comes to power and leadership. Although, with Mars opposed to Venus in Aries and the Moon in Scorpio possibly conjunct Jupiter and Pluto, we certainly have an explanation for those allegations regarding sexual misconduct… Neptune is already in the orb of his natal Mars and conjunct his Venus, while Saturn will reach that same point in April-May of next year. And since transiting Neptune is currently squaring natal Neptune, it would suggest that he’s living the dream or more likely, living in a world of illusion and delusion.
Other controversial choices include former Democratic congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence – she who has been accused of being a Russian asset – Fox News host, Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defence who has similarly faced accusations of sexual misconduct, and although he has served in the military has no experience of national security or foreign policy matters. And last but not least, Robert F Kennedy Jr for Health and Human Services Secretary.
I have looked at Mr Kennedy’s chart on a couple of occasions and was not convinced that he would make it to the White House. What I could not have imagined was his abandonment of his Independent crusade and endorsement of Mr Trump. For which he has been richly rewarded.
I know a lot of you admire and support Robert Kennedy Jr but there are many who do not. And I am among those who question his anti-vaccine stance and his espousal of conspiracy theories. Donald Trump has vowed to give Mr Kennedy free reign when it comes to the nation’s health, which may also prove to be an issue for the Senate Republicans who must consent to his appointment.
Robert Kennedy Jr has a stellium in the late degrees of Capricorn (Mercury, Sun, Venus and Chiron) and with his nodal axis at 24 degrees Capricorn-Cancer and his Moon in Cancer, he was born the day before an eclipse. He is thus destined to make his mark on life and, in this case, the country. All his Capricorn planets are squaring Neptune as is Uranus, which certainly supplies a reason for his predilection for conspiracy theories. At best, we could say he has humanity’s (and America’s) best interests at heart but, at worst, he is completely misguided. And this makes him a dangerous choice for Health and Human Services Secretary
Pluto is currently transiting his natal Mercury and poised to conjoin his Descendant, so while he may get through the Senate inquiry, his tenure is not going to be smooth and he will have many powerful enemies.
As I complete this Friday Bite the full moon in Taurus is reaching its peak, and its conjunction to Uranus. This full moon connects to many of the characters in the American political drama currently playing out in front of our eyes. And, as we go forward, yet more powerful and destabilising alignments are forming, so, as I said in last week’s edition, nothing is set in stone and there are further shock waves to come.
Hang onto your hats.