Friday Bite 7 November 2025
All Change is Good
“The Sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.” Zohran Mamdani, 5 November.
“So, if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up,” Zohran Mamdani, 5 November
“Our energy costs are down. Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… Thanksgiving meals [are] 25 percent down. So, I don’t want to hear about affordability.” Donald Trump, 6 November.
AS BEFITS A week with a Mars-Uranus opposition and a full moon, shock and awe were in plentiful supply. Aside from the seemingly endless examples of random violence, governmental gaffes and political contortionism, the election of New York City’s first Muslim, democratic socialist mayor and the democratic rally, as evidenced by wins in gubernatorial elections and the redrawing of congressional district boundaries in California, have done much to keep hope alive for American democracy.
The Trump administration has been given a bloody nose by American voters but what we know about the president is that when anything goes against him, he doubles down on the very issues that have caused outrage and uproar.
Another great truism in politics is that when things get tough at home, leaders head abroad. And Donald Trump is in a class of his own when it comes to the politics of distraction. Which in this case probably means our attention is about to be turned to Venezuela. Epstein who? Mamdani who?
I’m not going to focus all my attention on the prospect of the United States going to war with Venezuela, but for the first time in all the many years American administrations, including the first Trump administration, have sought to remove President Nicolas Maduro, there are signs they may well succeed this time.
The above chart is ideal for examining the influences which are playing such a big part in the upsets, controversies and breakthroughs currently taking place.
Zohran Mamdani was declared the winner of the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday evening, some hours before the full moon in Scorpio, however, the end of a major chapter for the largest city in America is writ large in the above chart. Jupiter, the ruler of the horoscope is at the apex of a Kite configuration involving Mars, Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and Saturn, and since the Mars-Uranus opposition is on an angle (the Ascendant-Descendant axis) its effect is even more pronounced. The call of revolution is sounding long and loud. The Mars-Uranus opposition is also the central strut of a second Kite and the upper edge of yet another configuration, a Cradle. When several planets are aligned in different signs but on the same degree, they are resonating at the same pitch and generating a powerful vibration. This is why so many huge events are taking place at this time.
As you can see from Mamdani’s natal chart above, I have drawn in the Kite configuration to show you how instrumental it is in bringing him to power at this time. 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.
I thought you might be interested in looking at the chart of New York City to see if it too reflects such a sea change in its existence.
There are, as far as I know, three charts for New York: the first – 16 May 1626: the purchase of the island of Manhattan by Dutch Settlers; the second marks the first charter of the city: 7 May, 1686 and the third represents the joining of the five boroughs into one big city of New York on 1 January 1898.
Looking at all three, the above chart for January 1898 has the most to offer in regard to the present time and looking back to 9-11, the most pivotal event in New York’s history. New York City as we now know it was born on a Saturn-Pluto opposition – Pluto at 13 degrees of Gemini and Saturn at 7 degrees of Sagittarius. On 9-11, the prevailing Saturn-Pluto opposition had reached 12 degrees Sagittarius (Pluto) and 14 degrees Gemini (Saturn) so, not only was there a near-exact mirroring of New York’s natal Saturn-Pluto opposition, but those degrees are also those of the USA’s natal Ascendant – Descendant axis.
At this moment in time Uranus is opposing NYC’s natal Uranus (it is experiencing the infamous Uranus-opposition at which everything turns upside down) and, of course, at the time of Mamdani’s election, Mars was conjunct the city’s natal Uranus. And for added impact, Neptune, Saturn and the recent solar eclipse at 29 degrees of Virgo are all squaring the city’s natal Mars-Venus conjunction.
Lah de dah.
Before I get into Venezuela and Maduro, I want to show what effect this extraordinary triple alignment is having on Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world. Yesterday Tesla shareholders approved a plan to offer him close to a trillion dollars to grow the company to eight trillion in value.
Yet again, it would seem counter-intuitive that a transit of Uranus to a Saturn-Neptune opposition could preside over such a massive increase in wealth and power. But, if we have learned anything from astrology, we must know that this apparent piece of great good fortune is a poisoned chalice.
As you can see from the above chart, the present Mars-Uranus opposition, which is the linchpin of one Kite configuration, is triggering Maduro’s natal Sun-Mercury conjunction at zero/one degrees of Sagittarius and widely squaring his natal Jupiter-Pluto opposition.
Venezuela’s natal moon at 2 degrees of Sagittarius is likewise triggered by the Kite, plus it’s Mars is to be found at 25 degrees of Pisces (currently conjoined by transiting Saturn) while its Sun at 29 degrees of Virgo is opposed by transiting Neptune and the focus for the recent solar eclipse.
I rest my case.
While there is a large body of opinion that considers the only war to be waged by the United States on Venezuela is one of psychology and bluff, there are some who believe military action is imminent. And I am one of them. I think it highly likely that “shots will be fired” in the next couple of weeks, if not on or around the new moon in Scorpio which is closely opposed to Uranus and forming a similar set of configurations.
Onward and starward.
Friday Bite 31 October 2025
A Hurricane of Change
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.” Donald Trump, 29 October.
“[These tests] certainly cannot be viewed as nuclear testing at all.” Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, 29 October
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.” Buckingham Palace 30 October.
HURRICANE MELISSA MADE landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday with wind speeds of 185 mph. It was the worst storm to hit the island since records began 174 years ago. The category 5 storm weakened as it made its way across the Caribbean, but at least 50 people have lost their lives. Jamaica is decimated.
As I often say, the planets don’t affect the weather, but it’s hard not to see the symbolic connection between such an epic storm and life-changing events in people’s lives, not least Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
In America the government shutdown continues, affecting the lives of millions of ordinary Americans. Unless it is resolved in the next few days, millions may not receive food aid, millions may go without heat and thousands of troops could have to work without pay. And all the while ICE agents continue to arrest immigrants and US citizens alike, often in brutal ways reminiscent of the Nazi purges of the 1930’s. And where was President Trump? On a tour of Asia, having some awkward moments in Japan – wandering off during a welcome ceremony – and in South Korea talking happy talk with a visibly embarrassed President Xi Jinping. Not to mention the American president’s revelation during a press conference on Airforce One that he had recently taken a “very hard” aptitude test in which he had to identify a number of wild animals.
I’m not sure how long the United States can go on ignoring the evidence before its eyes of the president’s cognitive decline, but hopefully it will be before he gets anywhere near the nuclear button. It seems inevitable that this administration will collapse before the midterm elections, very possibly in the period from late January and a series of transformational Pluto transits to late February with the solar eclipse at 28 degrees of Aquarius, which falls on the US Moon.
Early in the week, during a visit to a military hospital in Moscow, Vladimir Putin let drop that “another invincible” Russian weapon had been successfully tested. It appears he was referring to Satan 2 (a much-anticipated intercontinental ballistic missile) and Poseidon, an underwater nuclear torpedo, which allegedly has a range of 6,000 miles. How interesting, and certainly synchronistic, that both these weapons of mass destruction bear names that resonate with the current Saturn-Neptune conjunction.
THE FATE OF Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince, was under discussion in last week’s Friday Bite but in the space of two weeks his situation has gone from bad to the worst-possible-case-scenario, and thus worthy of a second look.
The announcement from Buckingham Palace (included in full at the beginning of this article) came at 7:00 pm on Thursday. It is widely believed that King Charles finally had the courage not only to officially remove his brother’s titles and honours but found a way to remove him from Royal Lodge, something he had been struggling to do since his coronation. However, according to Tom Sykes in his substack The Royalist, Prince William was the driving force behind the cutting edge, “formal process” to strip Andrew of his titles and honours: Sykes also added that a source close to Prince William had said that “William is King in all but name now.”
The history behind the former prince’s disgrace officially starts in 1999 with Andrew’s introduction to Jeffrey Epstein, although according to Andrew Lownie’s impeccably researched biography Entitled, the Yorks had known Epstein for at least decade by then.
In April 2015, allegations that Andrew had sexually assaulted the seventeen-year-old Virginia Giuffre in March 2001 appeared in court documents in Florida.
In November 2019, Andrew steps back from public duties after a disastrous interview on BBC TV in which he claimed never to have met Ms Giuffre.
In January 2022, the Queen strips Andrew of a range of military affiliations and royal patronages.
On 15 February 2022, Andrew reaches a settlement with Virginia Giuffre for a figure of some £12 million.
On 26 April 2025, Virginia Giuffre takes her own life.
On 14 August, Andrew Lownie’s biography Entitled is published, exposing the extent of the York’s depravity.
12 October: an email from Andrew to Epstein is released in which he writes, “we are in this together”.
17 October: Andrew gives up his titles and honours but retains his birthright as prince.
30 October: the former prince is stripped of all titles and honours and becomes Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
You may remember that I suggested the solar eclipse of September 21 at 29 degrees of Virgo would place its signature on seismic changes within the monarchy. We now know the precise events that have led to just such a scenario. And this wave of change is far from over, extending to at least the end of February 2026 and the solar eclipse at 28 degrees of Aquarius.
To set these current events in their correct perspective, only twice in royal history have titles been removed. The first occurred in the sixteenth century when Henry VIII removed the titles of his daughters (Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I) and in the twentieth century when British royals who fought on the side of Germany in World War One were stripped of their titles.
As I mentioned in last week’s Bite, 2025 is turning into something of an annus horribilis for King Charles. (The Late Queen Elizabeth referred to 1992 as her annus horribilis over the shameful events within the royal family, which threatened the very existence of the monarchy.) The Uranus-Neptune conjunction placed its signature on that time as indeed does the current Uranus-Neptune sextile.
However, the more important conjunction is that between Saturn and Neptune. The Saturn-Neptune cycle has played a major role in the history of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth 1 came to the throne on the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Taurus and Queen Elizabeth 11 on the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra. But it’s not only coronations, which mark the end of one regime and the birth of another, that are responsive to the Saturn-Neptune cycle but crises that affect the monarchy’s existence. In 1936 and the Saturn-Neptune opposition on the Virgo-Pisces axis, King Edward VII abdicated the throne, imperilling the monarchy.
So, here we are in 2025, in the throes of another volatile period for the British throne. I believe the steps taken in the past two days have done much to assure the future of the monarchy, not least the King’s and Queen’s concern for the victims and survivors of the sexual abuse, but there is, as I said earlier, more to come.