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MONDAY, 25 March – SUNDAY, 31 March

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We are in eclipse season. On Monday, the first eclipse of the year takes place a little after seven o’clock in the morning (UTC). It is a penumbral eclipse, which means the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow, thereby losing some of its definition. It is a very subtle eclipse. You won’t see a bite taken out of it and it won’t turn blood-red, but there will be a slight shading on the lower left.

If you’re in Japan, the Americas, the eastern half of Australia and the western half of Africa and Europe, provided the skies are clear, you should be able to see it.

All eclipses are game-changers, regardless of what type of eclipse they may be, and this eclipse season is already packing a powerful punch. As I mentioned in my Friday Bite, Monday’s lunar eclipse and the total solar eclipse to come (8 April) impact William and Catherine’s charts, both of whom were born on an eclipse.

Whatever emerges out of left field at this time may initially faze us, but after the initial shock a new way forward will emerge. And this does not preclude the impact of a wonderful event to temporarily destabilize us. In my latest video LUNAR ECLIPSE IN LIBRA I talk about life being a never-ending wave from desolation to consolation and that no matter how long we may spend at the bottom of the wave, we will surely (and sometimes very suddenly and unexpectedly) rise to the top.

Onward and Starward.

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces

Friday Bite

Astrology of the Week’s Main Global Events
by
Penny Thornton

Friday Bite: 22 March 2024

 

Endings and Beginnings

The Spring Ingress – Leo Varadkar – Hong Kong – China

 

 

WHILE THE MYSTERIOUS goings on in royal circles continue to dominate the news – was that really the Princess of Wales buying bread at the local farm shop? Not so, according to some. And could King Charles have passed away before apparently holding a meeting on Tuesday with veterans of the Korean War? Absolutely, according to Russian media outlets.

Yes, I’m afraid, we’re still under the canopy of a Sun-Neptune conjunction so illusion and delusion remain the name of the game. There were also rumours that the BBC had been forewarned of an announcement by Buckingham Palace, the timeline of which appears to have come and gone. And yet… and yet. With a lunar eclipse on 25 March (squaring Prince William’s Moon – he was born on a solar eclipse) and a total solar eclipse on 8 April (squaring Catherine’s Sun and Moon – she was born on a lunar eclipse), shocks and surprises are surely in the pipeline.

On Wednesday, history was made when Vaughan Gething was sworn in as first minister of Wales. He becomes the first Black leader of a European country. (A major career milestone indicated by the forthcoming lunar eclipse on his natal Pluto.) On the same day, Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar resigned, taking the country, the United Kingdom and Europe completely by surprise.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong passed a new law, Article 23, which covers newly defined acts of treason, espionage and foreign interference and allows for trials to be held behind closed doors. It will be signed into law on Saturday. This might not represent the final nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s once thriving democracy, but any faint hope that China would allow the territory its former freedoms has faded into oblivion. Hong Kong is to all intents and purposes a fully paid-up member of the People’s Republic of China.

Spring Ingress 2024

THE ABOVE CHART, in keeping with all ingress charts, presents a picture of the next quarter, and, of course, provides a background to the events of the past seven days. It is a powerful chart: Jupiter and Uranus conjoin the IC and a Moon-Pluto opposition cuts across the first and seventh houses. The Moon-Pluto opposition may not be squaring the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, but it is “in sympathy” with it and therefore worthy of consideration.

It is easy to forget that planets at the base of the chart are not only indicative of the homeland and matters related to domesticity, property and family but also government and leadership because those planets simultaneously oppose the Midheaven. And this week’s groundbreaking, controversial and unexpected developments in Wales and Ireland are clearly reflective of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction on the IC. We can expect more shock resignations and appointments and violent eruptions over the next three months (Mars square Uranus), and not only in the seats of governments. Loss and confusion are also in the mix (Sun conjunct Neptune) and a sense of an ending (Venus conjunct Saturn).

On the plus side, the Venus-Saturn conjunction sextiles Jupiter, which speaks of economic growth (relative, of course!), the establishment of orders that will provide stability and prosperity and one or more important mergers.

As I mentioned earlier, the Sun remains conjoined to Neptune, hence the continuing trend for disinformation, illusion and delusion. The Venus-Saturn conjunction, however, provides balance and a dose of reality in an otherwise rather sketchy astro-scape.

Since nations the world over will share these same planetary alignments (although not their positions in the diurnal circle) the next quarter gives little hope for the prospect of peace settlements. Twenty-seven degrees of Aquarius is the United States Moon, and with Mars at that degree in the Ingress Chart, the American people look to be in revolutionary-mode. This degree of Aquarius also figures prominently in the charts of Russia (Ascendant 25 Leo) Ukraine (Venus, 28 Leo) and Donald Trump (Mars 27 Leo).

Leo Varadkar natal and solar arc progressions

I’VE INCLUDED THE chart of Leo Varadkar, not only because you might be interested in this charming and adroit leader (Venus rising and a Sun-Mars conjunction in Capricorn), but because it provides an example of the effectiveness of solar-arc progressions and transits.

At this moment in time, transiting Uranus is precisely opposed to Varadkar’s natal Uranus. He has reached the astrological mid-life crisis. Uranus pinged natal Uranus on two previous occasions last year, but it was at the third and final opposition this week that the former leader decided push had come to shove. “One part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton, and then having the courage to do it. That time is now.”

The Uranus-opposition is a time of great change, sometimes self-inspired and at other times courtesy of fate! You don’t always get to choose what comes or goes on this astrological milestone. Mr Varadkar cited personal and political reasons for his resignation, and while we may not be privy to those personal issues, we can speculate that the defeats in recent referendums turned doubts over his continuing tenure into certainties.

We can point the finger at Saturn’s opposition to natal Saturn (exact next week) for the recent defeats. At the Saturn opposition, we have an opportunity to reflect on the wisdom and success of the actions we took on and around our Saturn-return (age 29). And while this can be a time of consolidation it is almost always a period when we face some kind of failure and disappointment. Once Saturn has moved away from exactitude, the realizations and reckonings we have made pave the way forward for the next fifteen years.

By solar-arc progression, the Midheaven has just moved from Scorpio into Sagittarius – new goals, ambitions and aspirations – and Saturn is poised to exit Libra and enter Scorpio, although it remains in the ninth house of far horizons. Rather more important is the progression of the Sun and Mars which are now opposed to natal Saturn, reiterating the message of the Saturn-opposition. Hard times. Hard decisions. Painful realizations.

Mr Varadkar studied medicine when he was younger, and I am wondering if he isn’t considering taking on a more humanitarian role on the global stage. He is essentially a peace-maker (Venus-rising) and someone who feels impelled to help and heal (Neptune rising). He also has Pluto on his Midheaven (in common with many leaders) so he was born to power, so to speak. I suspect his work is far from over and a new incarnation, courtesy of Pluto on the Midheaven, in time to come.

Watch this space.

Hong Kong 1841

British rule began on 25 January 1841 when the British Navy arrived on the then barren island. The flag was hoisted the following day. As revealed in the chart above by the Mars-Pluto opposition, which forms the rim of a Bowl configuration, the two cultures remained at war – literally and figuratively – until the territory was returned to China in July 1997.

Hong Kong 1997

During the twentieth century, Hong Kong opened up to the West, gradually becoming one of the biggest financial hubs in the world. While it appeared to be the perfect melding of East and West, it was living on borrowed time. And, despite China’s assertions that nothing would change once the territory was given back, twenty-seven years later Hong Kong is not what it was. It has fundamentally changed. By 2027 and Hong Kong’s Saturn-return, it will have completed its journey from democracy to autocracy.

The protest movement against China’s increasing infringement of Hong Kong residents’ legal freedoms began in earnest in June 2019 and continued on and off during the following three years. However, one look at the footage of officials unanimously applauding the passing of Article 23 and it is clear Beijing is fully in charge. Hong Kongers, when asked their opinions by western news channels, declined to comment on the new bill. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, explained, “It will safeguard Hong Kong’s national security like a big wall around us…”

I don’t know about you but I find those words chilling. When you place a big wall around anything it becomes a fort or a prison; either way, it keeps people out. Article 23 will be signed into law, just prior to the lunar eclipse which falls on Mars, the ruler of the chart and squares the Sun.

It has, as I mentioned earlier, taken twenty-seven years for China to draw Hong Kong into its iron grip. That process began in earnest in 2007 when Pluto entered Capricorn and headed towards the territory’s Midheaven. During the last two years, Pluto, with its transformational, reformational properties, has been hovering over Hong Kong’s natal Neptune and, more recently, opposing its Venus — a transit that will take another eighteen months to complete. At the same time, Pluto has been encroaching on China’s Ascendant and rising Moon.

China 1949

China, despite its financial problems, is gaining power, and I suspect we will see more demonstrations of its aggression as Pluto moves forward, pressing on its Ascendant-Moon combo. Taiwan is in its sights…

WHILE BELIEF IN the power of greater consciousness to transcend these global challenges is essential, it doesn’t mean we can ignore what is taking place in the real world. We can hope that Pluto will preside over a rebirth, but like the birth of a baby, the labour can be long, hard and dangerous. 

Magician,Hand
15 March 2024

 

Illusion Delusion

 Vladimir Putin – Princess Catherine Donald Trump

 

WE APPEAR TO have entered the Twilight Zone.

 On Monday, a picture-perfect image of the Princess of Wales with her three children released by Kensington Palace to celebrate Mother’s Day, turned out to be picture-imperfect. News agency France Presse was the first to issue a “kill notice”, which urged other media outlets to remove the image from their publications. In total, there were twenty anomalies in the photograph, leading experts to believe it was created from a collage of shots taken at different times, different places and in different seasons.

The irony of the release of the photograph is that it was intended to quell rumours about the health, well-being and whereabouts of the Princess of Wales. Neptune, for the record, rules film and photography as well as all things illusory and delusory.

No less mind-boggling was Donald Trump’s attempt to stop or delay the forthcoming “hush money” trial set for 25 March. What is almost more baffling than the legal argument itself – that Mr Trump’s presidential immunity (currently under consideration by the Supreme Court) extends to acts committed before he was president – is that his legal team decided to use it at all. Last year, a federal judge ruled emphatically that “hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a President’s official acts”.

However, on Thursday, everything changed yet again. Mr Trump’s legal team accused the Manhattan District Attorney’s office of failing to turn over thousands of pages of documents related to the “hush money” trial that could potentially help the former president’s case. District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, said he “would not oppose” a delay of up to thirty days in order for prosecutors to review the material.

We are in Neptune country at the moment (in between a Mercury-Neptune conjunction and a Sun-Neptune conjunction) so anything can happen, but at this point (the Ides of March) it appears that the trial scheduled for 25 March, when a lunar eclipse over Mr Trump’s natal Neptune would be presiding over the proceedings, will not be happening.

Which brings me to another of the past week’s Neptunian developments: the confirmation that the forthcoming election in the United States will be a rerun of that of 2020. (The “stolen election”.) This inspired Mr Trump to post a message on Truth Social (sic) giving himself a new moniker: Honest Don.

“For the good of our now failing Nation, and in (order to inform the American people of what is going on in our Country, we must immediately have a full-scale debate between Crooked Joe and Honest Don. I’m ready to go, ANY TIME, ANY PLACE!”

Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team was also in court this week arguing that she should be set free under the terms of a previous deal with federal prosecutors. This argument is just as unlikely to prevail as the one proposed by Mr Trump’s lawyers. Nonetheless, the prospect of yet more potentially damaging material emerging about the Duke of York must surely have added to the woes of the royal family. And even if Ms Maxwell does not get another day in court, at some point, the secrets she holds will come out, heaping misery and embarrassment on an already bruised and battered monarchy.

Transiting Uranus has yet to oppose Prince Andrew’s Moon – June and November this year and April of next – inspiring yet more upsets and controversy. And since Neptune (his Sun ruler) is simultaneously squaring natal Jupiter, any sense that he is on his way back to former glory is not rooted in reality. It’s a delusion.

And then there is the pantomime being staged in Russia as the country prepares to go to the polls today. The result is not in question. Mr Putin is set for an unprecedented fifth term as president. Voting in this election will be different and even more controversial than usual, given that the territory has been expanded to include the Ukrainian regions that Moscow has annexed. There are three other candidates on the ballot, but the only serious opposition figure – Alexei Navalny – was killed in an Arctic prison last month.

Navalny may have passed but he is alive and well in spirit, and Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has called for his supporters to turn out en masse at “high noon” on Sunday “to create an image of the Other Russia”. The plan, aimed at upsetting the election, has been dubbed “Noon Against Putin”.

Noon against Putin

There may not be a lot we can take away from this chart in terms of Russia’s future since Putin’s fifth term in office will depend on the time he accepts victory, but it provides a picture of the influences presiding over the election. At high noon, the Moon in Gemini is void-of-course (it will not form any major aspect to a planet or point before it leaves the sign) and is therefore indicative of a lost cause, at least for now. (The lost cause refers to the Noon Against Putin protest as opposed to Putin’s victory guaranteeing him a full term of office. Although…) The Moon, the ruler of the chart, is separating from a square to the Sun and Neptune, which are exactly conjunct. A configuration that speaks of the illusory nature of events.

The election is not illegal, unless you take into consideration the Chechen militia with machine guns patrolling voting booths in the annexed regions, but it is a sham. The people of Russia are in large part being fed an illusion, not only about the war in Ukraine but the nature and intentions of the man who leads them.

An astonishing 86 percent of the country is behind President Putin.

In the run-up to the election, Putin again threatened the West with a nuclear response, should it put “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. This statement came as Sweden and Finland joined other NATO forces in the biggest military exercise in decades. Operation Steadfast Defender is currently focussed on protecting Europe’s Northernmost borders.

Vladimir Putin Natal with SA progressions

Pluto’s natal position on Putin’s Midheaven reflects his status as the leader of Russia. In and of itself, Pluto on the Midheaven does not lead to power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely, but in Putin’s case it evidently does. Pluto is not only important because of its conjunction to the Midheaven, but it is the ruler of the chart. Pluto is also emblematic of all things nuclear.

At this point in time, transiting Pluto is bearing down on his Ascendant – it will be within a degree of a square to the Ascendant in late April and May – while transiting Uranus is squaring natal Pluto and conjunct his natal Jupiter. Jupiter is following in the footsteps of Uranus, inflating his desire for power and control and breeding success and ruthlessness. However, Neptune is squaring his natal Mars suggesting he is weakened in some regard and vulnerable not only to illusion and delusion but treachery and duplicity from others. And, of course, the Sun-Neptune conjunction of the present time is playing on those underlying trends.

We need to keep our eyes focussed on the configurations of mid-to-late April. Two eclipses precede the important Jupiter-Uranus conjunction of the 21/22 April, which occurs as the Sun squares Pluto. Such influences could preside over an aggressive, unexpected and hugely controversial action by Putin yet at the same time they could portend his downfall. Possibly both.

As Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s top aides said recently in regard to Putin’s iron grip on Russia, “Dinosaurs were very strong before they became extinct.”

OH, AND ONE last thing to boggle the mind in this week of Neptunian illusion and delusion. Scientists have discovered that something is changing the expansion rate of the universe, and they know not what. Their conclusion: that we may have misunderstood the universe and its physics. Or maybe the measurements are inaccurate…

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