Friday Bite 2 January 2026
Signs in the sky
“If Ukraine ceases firing, Ukraine will cease to exist. If Russia ceases firing, the war will cease to exist.” Adam Kinsinger, Republican and former Representative from Illinois.
“If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Donald Trump. Truth Social, 1 January
“We have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few. We have chosen to make a new future for all of us, we have chosen a mayor who is relentlessly dedicated to make life not just possible but aspirational for working people … we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme inequality.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in reference to the swearing in of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdami, 1 January.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! And what a year it promises to be. Those of you who already have my Overview of 2026 will know why I say this, and more details will be revealed in my forecast for the coming year on my YouTube channel, which will go live on Saturday at 5:00 pm UK time.
However, the evidence for a year of unprecedented developments is there in embryo for all to see in the events of the past seven days.
On Tuesday at 8:00 am local time, China officially began a major military exercise in the Taiwan Straits, which eclipsed all such exercises in the area in recent years. The manoeuvres saw China deploy its naval destroyers, frigates, fighter planes, bombers, drones, and long-range missiles to simulate seizing control of Taiwan’s airspace, blockading its ports, and striking critical infrastructure, mobile ground targets and maritime targets.
China has never sought to hide its intention to bring Taiwan back under its control. And with transiting Pluto making its way to the third and final conjunction to its natal Moon, 2026 could turn out to be the time China makes its move. Just for the record, the United States has never officially recognized Taiwan but it has pledged to help it defend itself under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and the 1982 Six Assurances. So, technically, were China to attack Taiwan and blockade its ports America would be honour bound to come to Taiwan’s defence.
At a press gathering on Monday, as the military exercises in the seas surrounding Taiwan were taking place, in response to concerns raised over China’s aggressive display of power, President Trump shrugged, “I have a great relationship with President Xi, and he hasn’t told me anything about it…”
No need to worry then.
Contrast and compare with President Trump’s response on New Year’s Day to the deadly protests taking place in cities across Iran, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”.
Really? Really? I guess that’s if the United States is not too busy defending Taiwan, invading Venezuela and wresting Greenland from the clutches of Denmark.
Indeed, try telling that to Ukraine.
On Sunday (28) – hard to believe it was only five days ago – President Zelenskyy met with the United States’ president at Mar a Lago. Signs that not a lot was going to come of the meeting were there at the outset when Zelenskyy emerged from the plane and stepped onto Floridian soil and there was not a single person from the United States government there to meet and greet him. Certainly not a red carpet. And the meeting itself took place in a dining room.
Signs of disrespect notwithstanding, at the press conference following the meeting, it was all smiles and sounds like “terrific” and “90 percent there” issuing from the two leaders. This in reference to the 20-point peace plan put together by Ukraine, based on meetings with Marco Rubio et al. Fortunately, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an actor and comedian in his previous life so that he was able to wear his poker face as President Trump declared that Putin “was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, [and would supply] energy, electricity and other things at low prices…”
The preceding and following nights. Russia launched one of its heaviest attacks on the Ukrainian capital, bombarding it with drones and missiles, including powerful Kinzhal missiles, and targeting critical infrastructure and residential buildings.
And into this mix and under these alignments comes a new leader.
On New Year’s Day in New York, the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in. There were two ceremonies, the first at midnight held in a subway station under City Hall, attended by eight witnesses and State Attorney General, Letitia James. There was something profoundly moving about this important moment taking place in such an unassuming, dimly lit space. It spoke of lowly beginnings leading to great power.
Time will tell whether or not the above chart is more representative of Mamdani’s administration or the one set for 13:30 on the same day, during which Mamdani officially took the oath of office.
Either way, Jupiter stands proud, at midnight in the tenth house, the most elevated planet and at 13:30, conjoined to the IC with Pluto in the tenth house conjunct the Midheaven. Technically, the afternoon chart is the more powerful since Pluto is in a dominant position and just happens to be squaring Mamdani’s MC-IC axis and conjoined to his Saturn and Ascendant-Descendant axis. Whatever the time of day, the Sun-Venus-Mars stellium was conjoined to Mamdani’s natal Uranus, which suggests his administration may not only prove controversial but end abruptly and in a proverbial hail of bullets.
I have looked at the new mayor’s chart in a previous Friday Bite and see no reason to disagree with my initial observations. Mamdani has come to power at a most auspicious but perilous time and we must assume he is a man whose time has come.
“As you can see from Mamdani’s natal chart above…transiting Pluto is conjunct Saturn and his Descendant and opposing transiting Jupiter. And Jupiter-Pluto combos are all about mass movements and the use and abuse of power.
On the face of it, you would be hard pressed to forecast a win under such “difficult” influences, that is until you consider what an ineluctable destiny Mamdani has in store. It’s going to be one formidable hurdle after another.
Transiting Pluto is not only on the Descendant angle but squaring Mamdani’s natal Mars-Mercury conjunction in Scorpio. He may be a charming, mild-mannered Libra but he has a steel backbone. And since the Sun, Mars and Mercury are all squaring an angular Saturn, he can be ruthless, acerbic and manipulative.
Thrilled as New York democrats may be to have one of their own in charge of their city, as a Muslim he is not supportive of Israel, and New York has a huge and powerful Jewish community. And this is not the only hurdle Mamdani faces. He has very little experience of running large organizations and the fabulous promises he has made New Yorkers may prove near-impossible to fulfil. And then there’s Donald Trump who has made it clear he’ll fight him every inch of the way.
I forecast a very short honeymoon.” Friday Bite, 7 November 2025.
While we may want to believe the words of many of my colleagues that humanity is in the process of a massive upgrade and that those who are sensitive, evolved and open enough are already experiencing a “new” state of consciousness, no longer resonating with linear time but cyclical time and on the way to becoming “light beings”, therefore detached and unaffected by the state of the “real” world, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of what is actually going on in the world.
Whatever our nationality, creed or culture, whatever our age and disposition, we are here as witnesses to and/or participants in one of the most turbulent periods in history. There is a reason we are here. And we shouldn’t be sleepwalking into events that could have been avoided were we to have used our voices and got onto our feet to protest about what our governments are doing or failing to do. The more conscious we are, the more we can prevent humanity from self-destruction.
My last thought goes to all the families and loved ones of those who so tragically lost their lives on New Year’s Eve celebrating in Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Such tragedies make us all think about how precious life is. And how short our span on Earth is. We must make it count.
Friday Bite 26 December 2025
I am about to take my Christmas break but I didn’t want to leave you without anything for Friday – we’ll get back to the present day next week. So, here again, in what is fast becoming an Astrolutely tradition, is my article on the Christmas Star, written for The Guardian in December 1988.
May I take this opportunity to wish all of you and Happy Christmas!
The Christmas Star
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius [Quirinius] was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2: 1-11 King James Version
WHILE THERE MAY BE MANY WHO TAKE EVERY word written in the Gospels as, well, gospel, details of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus differ in many key respects. No actual date is given in the New Testament for the birth, but it is almost certainly not 25 December.
The first mention of 25 December as the birthday of Christ appears in a Roman almanac (354 CE/AD) listing various dates of significance in the Christian calendar. The 25 December was already an important date in the Roman almanac: for at least 100 years it had been the festival of Sol Invictus.
While Emperor Aureleian is credited with allocating the date of 25 December for Sol Invictus, it was Constantine the Great who, after his conversion to Christianity early in the fourth century, made a point of blending Christian and pagan traditions. Constantine used this strategy to help unify his empire, and it was he who merged the birth of Jesus with the festival of Sol Invictus which celebrated the birth of Mithras.
Now, I don’t want to get embroiled in the history of Mithraism, but there are many intriguing parallels between Mithras and Jesus Christ.
Mithra (the Persian god) Mitra (the Vedic deity) and Graeco-Roman Mithras share a common identity as the sun god, the bringer of light. Mithra, Mitra and Mithras were variously called “The Good Shepherd”, “The Way”, “The Truth” and “The Word”. They were born of a virgin mother, had 12 disciples and performed miracles. Their sacred day was Sunday and their birthday, 25 December.
The significance of this date has everything to do with the cosmos. Between the 21 and 24 December, the sun is at its lowest ebb and appears to stand still in the heavens: on the 25th the sun begins its northward journey to its zenith at the summer solstice. Thus, this magical moment when the sun, after three days in statis, began its journey to glory was celebrated: the sun had been reborn.
Before you run away with the idea that I am trying to disparage Christianity, I see no reason why the mythologizing of the birth of Christ should in any way interfere with the belief that he was indeed the Son of God. Those who brought us the story of Jesus in the gospels were writing 80 or 90 years after his death and were intent on enshrining his divinity in their texts. In so doing they may only be guilty of embellishing the truth.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise
men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that
is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.
Matthew 2: 1-2 (King James Version)
LET US NOW TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE STAR IN THE EAST. For centuries, theologians and scientists have speculated on the nature of the Star of Bethlehem. Exploding supernovae, comets and even ball lightening have been considered candidates, but of all the theories the most credible is the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of Pisces, the Fishes.
According to Matthew it was “his star” that led the three wise men to the Christ child. This brilliant light guided them night after night, sometimes disappearing and then reappearing, until it came to rest over Bethlehem.
While a star could appear in a clear night sky and disappear in a cloudy one, what might make even more sense would be a “star” that turned retrograde and direct and remained stationary – came to rest.
The Magi may or may not have been kings but they were almost certainly astrologer-priests, and probably from Babylonia, the seat of learning in those times, or Persia. These early astronomers were capable of enormous precision in their calculations and their empirical observations of the planets and stars, yet they were also mystics who considered all celestial phenomena to hold meaning for mankind. Astrology and science were not mutually exclusive: events in the heavens were signs and signals. As above; so below.
Charting the cycles of the planets presented little problem for these astrologer-priests and they would have calculated major alignments years in advance and recognized their significance.
We can only imagine their sense of awe as their calculations pointed to a conjunction of the two most important planets, Jupiter and Saturn, the outermost planets in the then known solar system, in the mystical sign of Pisces, and not just once but three times: an occurrence so rare as to take place only every 900 years.
This extraordinary celestial event could only be a sign of the birth of a great king, an event foretold by the Old Testament prophets – the long-awaited coming of the Messiah. And in keeping with their teachings it makes a certain sense that they might embark on their journey to find the Messiah – a journey of some several hundred miles – on the first Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.
IT IS AT THIS POINT THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO PIECE TOGETHER a theory for the birth date of Jesus. Starting with the year that this triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces occurred we find ourselves in 7 BC. The first time these two planets came together in that year was late May, then late September and finally early December.
Turning to the Gospels now, Luke tells us that Jesus was born during a census decreed by Caesar Augustus and carried out by Quirinius, governor of Syria. You might think this is an easy enough fact to establish, but there were several censuses ordered by Rome between 10 and 2 BC and, sadly, Quirinius was at no point governor of Syria during that time period: he did not take on this role until 6 or7 AD. However, although he may not have been governor he could, in his role as procurator, have been in charge of the census. Which would support our cosmic time-line.
BUT BEFORE WE REFINE OUR SEARCH TO A SPECIFIC DATE in 7 BC, mention should be made of another celestial candidate for the Star in the East, one that occurred in 3 BC.
In August of 3 BC Jupiter and Venus were conjunct in the sign of Leo and would have risen together in the eastern sky, appearing as one brilliant light.
However, the Magi would have known that Venus and Jupiter form a conjunction in Leo roughly every twelve years, so it would hardly count as a portent of the birth of a great king. A few weeks later, though, in September 3 BC, Jupiter conjoined the fixed star, Regulus – considered then as now to be the star of kings – and although this conjunction also takes place approximately every twelve years, it was the combination of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurring prior to that of Jupiter and Regulus – a kind of messenger of great things to come – and the fact that this latter conjunction arose three times that could have made it significant for the wise men of the time.
I have to say that I think this argument is pretty weak tea, but Dr Ernest Martin makes a good if not always accurate case for it in his book, “The Star that Astonished the World”. The other issue with this 3 BC date is that Herod the Great, presumed to be the Herod who ruled Judea at the time – he who ordered the “slaughter of the innocents” in an attempt to do away with the baby Jesus – died in 4 BC, the year before.
OVER THE CENTURIES ESTABLISHING THE BIRTH DATE of Christ has been something of a preoccupation for astrologers. I’m not sure it would serve a useful purpose here to list them all and to enter into a discussion on the practice of employing the vernal equinox preceding a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction for indications of the arrival of a great “king” or the importance of placing the cardinal points on the angles of the chart; suffice to say Jupiter and Saturn have always been the guiding lights.
Fast forward to the 20th Century and the revered John Addey took on the task of erecting the horoscope of Christ. He considered the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Pisces of 7 BC to be the most likely candidate for the Star of Bethlehem, and concluded a date of 20 August and a sunset time was both symbolically, historically and astronomically appropriate.
At 8 o’ clock in the evening in Bethlehem the sun in royal Leo would have set, and rising over the eastern horizon, clearly visible to the naked eye, would have been the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.
In keeping with tradition, Addey places the first degree of Aries on the Ascendant and the first degree of Capricorn on the Mid-heaven. Mars thus becomes the ruler of the chart, situated in the seventh house in close conjunction to Neptune. Neptune, of course, was not discovered until 1846, and so could never have played a part in the calculations of the Magi or indeed any astrologer born before that time, but if there is one aspect that defines the Saviour it is a Mars-Neptune conjunction. Sacrifice, suffering, selfless love, the ability to heal and perform miracles are all reflected in this one aspect.
The Sun’s position in Leo close to the royal star Regulus must also have played a part in Addey’s choice of a 20 August date; and for good measure, so too would the close conjunction of Mercury and Pluto which brings a theme of death and resurrection into the picture.
Please note the adjustment for the date: 20 August 7 BC converts to 18 August 7 BC
MY SEARCH FOR THE DATE OF THE NATIVITY led me to a similar period of 7 BC but three weeks later – 12 September (10 September with adjusted time). In those few weeks the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction had drawn even closer but now the Sun was in Virgo and the Moon in Taurus. Christ as a teacher resonates with Virgo and his carpenter roots with Taurus – indeed, many sources claim him to have been a stone-mason rather than a wood-worker.
In Pisces rising, we not only find the Saviour and all those themes of sacrifice and suffering but also the Fish – the very symbol of the early Christians. What I also find meaningful in this chart is the close conjunction of the sun and Pluto rather than that of Mercury and Pluto. Plus, Mars in Scorpio in the eighth house of death and transformation is in sextile to this conjunction and trining the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. The theme of resurrection and the eternal life is redolent in this configuration.
DURING THE TIME I SPENT RESEARCHING the Star of Bethlehem it seemed as though I was treading in the footsteps of those astrologer-priests. What a profound experience it must have been for these men of wisdom to follow their star in the certain knowledge that it would take them to the Messiah. How few astrologers today would put their money where their mouth was!
Maybe their journey took them through the desserts, the sun beating down mercilessly on their heads as they went, and, perhaps when they arrived in Bethlehem it was a balmy September evening. However, for all of us who love the story of the nativity, we may only ever picture them in our minds as three richly robed and bejewelled figures presenting their precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to a baby in a manger on a cold and frosty night.