THE ANDREW FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE still gets to have a double-barrelled surname. That will be next to go, and then they'll give him a cockney accent. Pisces has a habit of losing everything. Think Gorbachev and the USSR. In the Andrew's case, Sun is in the 8th, opposite Pluto. There are the sexual transgressions that have brought him down. And the current square from Uranus, almost exact as we speak, has 2 crossings to go. The story isn't over yet.
Spares are trouble. Margaret, Andrew, then Harry. There are still ways to go with Harry. The next spare (due to a change in the law of primogeniture) will be the 10 year old Princess Charlotte. Her chart ruler, the Moon, is in a t-square with Uranus and Pluto. This one will not go quietly. Every royal generation seems to throw up a black sheep. That is what happens when a family is circumscribed by tight rules: not everyone can fit them. In ordinary circumstances, Andrew would have been the hapless, slightly sticky uncle (yuck!), and always a bit broke.
Sometimes the black sheep are in fact the white sheep. Moneyed families throw up black sheep, or sometimes white sheep disguised as black, because money ends up ruling who you should be: so much becomes infra dig. And while some relish it, there are others who cannot bear that cage.
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Glamour
UK magazine has chosen 9 transwomen - ie men - as their women of the
year. How do women feel about this? Do you feel you are being erased?
This is the last gasp of the madness of Neptune in Pisces, where the
most fundamental category of all is discarded in the interests of
'progressive' thought.
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The
spirit we are born with is the strongest factor in who we are, far more
so than DNA and childhood. It is why identical twins raised together
can be so different. And it is why children observably have their own
definite and distinct characters from the outset. It is not enough to
pay lip-service to this fact, and then carry on as though all our
difficulties have a childhood origin. Who we are is deeply mysterious
and ultimately unknowable. This is the foundation of self-knowledge.
Childhood explanations may be comforting and even persuasive, but they
are a false refuge that keeps at bay the majestic, and perhaps
terrifying, mystery of who we are.
Astrology understands this mystery, and it is corrupted when it uses the chart to over-emphasise the influence of childhood.
SOME EVENTS ARE MEANT TO HAPPEN....
With astrology you can sometimes see in advance that certain events are going to happen because they are 'meant' to, whether or not you agree with them. The purposes of the universe are beyond mere human understanding. And they are certainly beyond party politics. At its crudest, the universe is not 'evolutionary' and therefore 'left wing'! 
In the case of Brexit, the astrology was telling me that the UK was going to vote leave, because we were at the end of a long series of major Pluto transits (we had joined under Pluto in an earlier cycle) and only leaving would give the kind of seismic change congruent with such astrology.
In the case of Brexit, the astrology was telling me that the UK was going to vote leave, because we were at the end of a long series of major Pluto transits (we had joined under Pluto in an earlier cycle) and only leaving would give the kind of seismic change congruent with such astrology. Neptune, entering Aries, is just starting its own journey around the UK chart. In the coming years, as we approach the next election, it will near the UK North Node at 13.55 Aries. Nigel Farage has Sun at 13.54 Aries. The astrology is saying very clearly that he will be the next PM, with the new vision that Aries suggests. He also has Uranus Rising from the 12th, like the UK, so he gets the national awkward-squad quality. I am not saying that I agree or disagree with his policies. Same with Trump: his chart is a close fit with the US Sibly chart, so he was always going to win.
THE SHADOW OF KEIR STARMER
If you don't come into relationship with your shadow, it will come for you as fate. This is what is happening to Keir Starmer. Good lawyerly Virgo that he is, the more he tries to control events through creating rules, the more his government gradually sinks into Piscean chaos, the opposite and shadow sign to Virgo. This will only deepen as Uranus squares Starmer's Sun in the coming years. His premiership may end abruptly, and he may end up scratching his head at where it all went wrong. Politicians tend not to be very introspective.
ASTROLOGY on WIKIPEDIA and GROKIPEDIA
Compare the opening sentence of the Astrology article in Wikipedia and the AI-generated Grokipedia. Wikipedia begins, "Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century." Grokipedia begins, "Astrology is a system of divination asserting that the positions and movements of celestial bodies, such as the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, influence or correlate with human personality traits, behavior, and terrestrial events.." Grokipedia does not begin with a negative judgement, but allows astrology to be described in its own terms, before critiquing later, as is necessary. Grokipedia has my vote. It is fairer and more truthful, as Musk set it out to be, as a protest against the bias of Wikipedia. https://grokipedia.com/page/Astrology
THE ASTROLOGY OF TRUMP THE PEACEMAKER
Donald Trump has this year arranged peace deals between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, Egypt and Ethiopia, India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Serbia and Kosovo, and Israel and the Palestinian territories. And doing his damndest with Russia and Ukraine. I don't think it is politically biased to call this remarkable.
Where do we find the peacemaker in Trump's chart? I'd say Venus-Saturn in Cancer in the 11th House. Backed up by the big stick of Mars Rising in Leo. He has re-instituted Americas as the world's policeman, described by the US Saturn in Libra in the 10th. Trump's Chiron is exactly conjunct the US Saturn, a healer if there ever was, and his Jupiter is also close by.
AI, MASS UNEMPLOYMENT and THE RENEWAL OF MEANING
The development of AI (Pluto in Aquarius) has an exponential quality to it. We are arguably already living through the technological singularity, where the future becomes increasingly hard to predict, such is the pace of change. Most people may be without jobs sooner than we think. A new vision (Aries) for the soul of humanity (Neptune) will be needed, for productive work has until now been central to experiencing meaning in life. Neptune in Aries can equally mean the loss (Neptune) of agency (Aries) that the dissolution of the world of jobs implies. Uranus in Gemini is the catalyst, the new element in the mix, that can provide a creative solution, new ideas that break the mould. Such is the magnitude of the paradigm shift when Saturn and all 3 outer planets change signs at the same time.
PUTTING THE BABY BACK IN THE BATHUnder
the last Saturn-Neptune conjunction in 1989, Communism collapsed. Under
the current conjunction, western liberalism is collapsing. The presence
of Neptune in both cases suggests religion, that which will redeem us.
Substitute religions that snuck in as Christianity came apart, which is
why neither lasted very long in the grand scheme of things. The sign of
Pisces which these 2 planets are at the end of suggests the extremes of
compassion, the suicidal empathy, as Gad Saad puts it, to which the West
has become subject.
Under
the last Saturn-Neptune conjunction in 1989, Communism collapsed. Under
the current conjunction, western liberalism is collapsing. The presence
of Neptune in both cases suggests religion, that which will redeem us.
Substitute religions that snuck in as Christianity came apart, which is
why neither lasted very long in the grand scheme of things. The sign of
Pisces which these 2 planets are at the end of suggests the extremes of
compassion, the suicidal empathy, as Gad Saad puts it, to which the West
has become subject.
The
sign of Aries that they are entering is the opposite, it suggests the
people putting themselves first. In other words, Nationalism. This has
been a dirty word since WWII. But it is just about loving your people,
which is natural and healthy. Just as we individually get it wrong
sometimes, so do peoples get it wrong. But you don't want to throw the
baby out with the the bathwater.
The
return of the political right across the West constitutes a rebalancing
in this respect. The presence of Neptune suggests we might end up
making too much of a religion of it, but I think that is far better than
feeling ashamed of loving your own people. Until now you were only
allowed to love your own nation if it had victim status, like Scotland
or Ireland or Gaza. But now the big guys are starting to stand up to be
counted again. It is why the US has MAGA, and why the UK is bestrewn
with Union Jacks. You don't have to love all of it. But it is a
necessary remembering.
It
is also why the EU is floundering, because it was founded on the fear
of Nationalism: the Saturn-Neptune conjunction is all over the EU's
Angles, suggesting dissolution but not rebirth, because those Angles are
Mutable.
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Prediction:
watch the EU come apart next year as Saturn and Neptune make their
final passes over the EU Angles. The sign of Aries suggests the part
played by nationalism,, which will no longer be such a dirty word. Maybe
we'll finally be putting Hitler behind us
AN EARLY ELECTION?
Saturn hard-aspecting the Sun, Moon, North Node and all 4 Angles of the UK 1801 chart over the next 2 years may be enough to do for this government, the earned consequences (Saturn) of incompetence and ignoring what people voted for. Saturn is preparing the country for Neptune, which will do the same aspects, but more slowly. A new vision for the country (Neptune in Aries) will slowly emerge out of the wreck of the old. It is perfectly possible, with this astrological perspective, that there will be an early election.
PS Within the astrology here I have inserted my opinion that the government is not doing a good job. You may think otherwise, in which case you will draw different conclusions from the astrology.
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Astrology is a serious profession. My house in Cross St, Moretonhampstead, soon to be twinned with Diagon Alley
SOME KEYWORDS FOR INTERESTING TIMES
'May you live in interesting times' goes the old Chinese curse (allegedly). We live in such times, and they have only just begun. Saturn and the outer planets are all entering new signs, describing the start of the shift. A few key phrases so far. Pluto entering Aquarius: the rapid development of AI. Saturn-Neptune entering Aries: a swing to the right politically, and the end of the post-war political order. Uranus entering Gemini: issues around free speech, the breaking-up of an old consensus reality.
ON THE NATURE OF ASTROLOGY
A
number of astrologers have disagreed with my optimistic interpretation
of the current sextiles and trines between the outer planets, correctly
pointing out that they can also mean bad things happening easily. I
guess technically this might leave us hardly able to predict much at
all.
However,
I think it also brings us to the nature of astrology itself. For when
we read a personal chart, are we not left with any number of possible
interpretations to choose from, and is it not our intuition, the sky
gods whispering in our ear, that prompts us to pick one and speak it?
What you say is supported by the planets, but in the final analysis it
is not a science, it is you standing naked with your hunch.
And that is what I did as I
sat with the outer planets. And maybe I will have listened wrongly. And
short of obvious events like major wars, the degree to which you think
bad events are happening is inevitably subjective to a large degree.
What I do know objectively is that in the bigger picture, humanity is
living in a time of unprecedented prosperity and peace, with merely a
few local wars to disturb it. Along with the usual messages of doom and
gloom from the news media.
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We have an ancient relationship with the sky. That is why astrology
fascinates you, even though you may consider it nonsense. It speaks to a
layer beneath the modern human.
STRANGE ASTROLOGY
The Elon was the head of the Martian government in a 1952 sci-fi novel by rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. His MC was at 19 Aquarius. Elon Musk's Mars is at 21 Aquarius.
URANUS and THE OVERTON WINDOW
Uranus has entered Gemini. The Overton Window - that which is culturally acceptable to talk about - began to enlarge earlier in the year, when Uranus went Direct. We are now, allowed, for example, to say that a woman is a biological female, without being called a transphobe. We can question net zero without being called a climate denier. We can say that Covid probably began in a Chinese lab without being called a conspiracist. We are even starting to be able to talk about immigration without being called a racist. We cannot yet question Islamism or Feminism without being called names, but hopefully Uranus in Gemini will also bring those freedoms of discourse. If you're not free to talk, then you end up not free to think. It's a big deal.
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Neptune
is where the collective seeks redemption. It is not the raw physical
and psychological survival of Pluto, it rather refers to the integrity
of the soul. As Neptune moves from Pisces to Aries, we are seeing a move
from one extreme to the other. From woke, where there are no
boundaries, where all minorities, real or imagined, merit equal
emphasis, to the raw masculinity of Aries: its renewing vision of the
true centre of society, and its refusal to be intimidated by the charge
of toxicity. Each extreme has its merits and its dangers. Nevertheless,
enough of the collective has decided that primal masculinity is what
will save the soul of the USA for Trump to be elected.
PLUTO and THE NEW PROMETHEAN AGE
Maybe the essence of human nature - at least the masculine side of it - is told in the story of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. For this crime against the natural order, he was condemned to being strung up in the Caucasus, his liver pecked out every day. The liver is the seat of life, and restores itself. Life renews in the dark of the nighttime. That is the price of our compulsion to live as the gods. It takes us away from the sources of life. But we can keep returning to the source, after the torment of separation. This describes well the scientific endeavour and its pitfalls.
It wasn't just Prometheus who was punished. Zeus took his revenge on humanity by despatching the beautiful Pandora, who released her box of miseries upon the world. Those miseries are the consequence of the separation from soul that arises from the hubris of trying to become as gods. But hope remained within the box. Hell is not forever, there is always a way back. The miseries are, if you like, the protest of the feminine at the unbalanced masculine, goading us back to a new synergy.
As Pluto enters Aquarius, turbo-charged by Neptune entering Aries, so do we seek to steal the ultimate fires: recreating the soul itself, through Artificial Intelligence; and reaching for the stars themselves, storming Olympus, through establishing humanity on Mars and beyond. We have to do this, for it is our nature. But we always pay the price of separation from soul, for which penance and a new accommodation with nature are necessary. That is the perennial human journey and predicament. Our genius results in a forgetting of who we are, and suffering is the gateway to a return.
In one version of the story, it was the centaur Chiron who ended Prometheus' torment. Chiron was in unbearable and incurable pain from a poisoned arrow, but there was no end to it, for he was immortal. He exchanged his immortality for Prometheus' release. Chiron's pain is best seen in human terms not as physical or psychological, but as existential. It is the 'incurable' conflict between the human and the animal. Once the human gives up his yearning to be as the gods, to be immortal, and becomes animal again, the torment of the dissociation from his true nature can be healed.
Aquarius is the sign more than any other that is prone to the split between human and animal, reason and instinct. That split is Chiron's wound, himself 1/2 human and 1/2 animal. Pluto's transit through Aquarius is likely to make this split extreme, and there will be a reaction, much as the Luddites destroyed the first machines during Pluto's last transit through Aquarius. AI, space travel and all the other burgeoning technologies are not something to be shied away from. It is precisely the human journey to keep stealing the fire and to integrate that with a remembrance of our natural selves.
SURFING THE GALACTIC HIGHWAYS
Below is a recent review on Amazon of my astrology book Surfing the Galactic Highways. The deal remains: buy it and give it a rating, and I will give you free astrology reading. The same goes for my book The Medicine Wheel.
"I’ve been a fan of Barry Goddard’s blog, Astrotabletalk, for over a decade, so buying this book was a no-brainer. It’s no surprise that it has become one of my top three favorite astrology books, alongside Cosmic Loom by Dennis Elwell and The Eagle and the Lark by Bernadette Brady.
Like Elwell’s work in particular, much of this book focuses on the philosophy of astrology. Goddard puts it into perspective with a wealth of useful examples, quotes, and connections to history and science. He explores how astrology points to aspects of reality we used to be more in touch with—such as the primacy of consciousness over the material world—before an overly rational, scientific mindset came to dominate the Western world.
Where Surfing the Galactic Highways truly excels is in its simplicity and focus on the basics. Goddard translates these fundamentals into real-life examples, drawing from both public figures and his own experiences. Astrology can sometimes feel like an endless chase after the latest shiny method or obscure techniques, where the vast array of tools, such as asteroids, allows one to cherry-pick data to match preconceptions or biases. However, I’ve long believed that if something is truly important, it will be clearly visible in the basics—and this book wholeheartedly reinforces that view.
Goddard is an exceptional writer. His work is refreshingly free of clichés, and every sentence carries his distinctive voice. The writing is clear, concise, and engaging, allowing the symbolic power of astrology to shine through. You can dip into any chapter and find fresh insights. One of my favorite moments is when he introduces Chiron by noting that it’s only about the size of the Isle of Wight—it’s such a fascinating and peculiar concept to contemplate!
For me, the book is especially strong in describing the lived experience of outer planet transits. Goddard frames them as initiatory rites that are best surrendered to—or at least not resisted. Another message that resonated deeply with me is his emphasis on the importance of intuition and self-reflection. Astrology, he suggests, is ultimately just a pointer to guide us toward these inner faculties.
If you haven’t spent years observing your own outer planet transits—those moments when the powerful “gods” pay you a visit—it’s hard to fully grasp their impact. While some younger astrologers on YouTube may have brilliant insights on these transits despite their limited experience, I feel there is an understanding that only comes with time and lived experience.
Anyone with an interest in astrology should have this book in their collection. It’s the kind of book you’ll likely return to more than once."
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Psychological
astrology is vitiated by what James Hillman called the parental
fallacy, which is foundational to psychotherapy, and attributes far too
much shaping influence to childhood. The planets whisper to us what they
wish us to know about who we are, and what we must do, but that is all.
Outside of that lies the Great Mystery, that life is always edging us
towards. Our origins are unknowable.
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Astrology reads from the book in nature. Science reads from the book about nature.
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Lest we sanitise Hades and Persephone 
A poem by Marie Howe.
A poem by Marie Howe.
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The limitations of material existence are, from Saturn's point of view, to be worked with, to create a vessel for the spirit. From Chiron's point of view, those limitations are to be accepted as inherent, and as a prompt to turn our gaze to the outer planets. Chiron is the crack in the earth, through which the oil riches pour upwards from the depths. Saturn is the rig at the surface that makes something of them.