The UK government is today hosting an international summit about online gambling.

The Department for Culture, Media, & Sport (DCMS) announced the summit in January 2006, when Neptune was within just three seconds of arc from the UK's Venus (leisure industry, economy) in the 5th house (gambling, children), and it's being hosted now as Neptune has just stationed and is beginning to slowly creep forwards.

Echoing the astrology, back in January the DCMS said:

"We want to initiate a discussion about problem areas, which include protection of children, advertising, money laundering and criminal infiltration."

News reports noted that the UK is home to many of the world's largest online gambling sites. The government has sought to 'grow' the UK's share of this part of the global industry - in total worth more than £15 billion - as Neptune has transited the UK's Venus in the 5th house.

This BBC News article is shot through with astrological meaning, for those who want to play 'spot the astrological connections' it's a good read: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6100012.stm

Here's the DCMS page about the online gambling issues: http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Press_notices/archive_2006/remotegambling_factpact06.htm

Lastly, here's an article written at the very start of 2005 that picked out Jan/Feb 2006 and Sep-Dec 2006 as key times for these issues: http://www.astrology21.co.uk/c1ukneptunevenus.html

Hot on the heels of the head of the UK army saying the country should pull its troops out of Iraq soon, came the news that the Labour party's rating in popularity polls is at its lowest since the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher last won an election in 1987. An updated Lancet-published study of deaths in Iraq said that there have been around two thirds of a million excess deaths since the USA-UK-Australian invasion of the country.

Today the longstanding Impeachblair.org campaign might be about to have a long overdue victory. Early Day Motion 1088 has been on the Parliamentary records for some time now, but this afternoon MPs will be voting to have their say on "the need to set up an inquiry into the conduct of Government policy in relation to the war in Iraq." This could be a watershed for Tony Blair and the Labour party alike.

These important events cluster around the station of Neptune, as it turns direct (resumes forward motion). As regular readers of this blog and/or the Astrology for the 21st Century website will be aware, Neptune has been correlating with Blair and Labour's long, slow unravelling over this and other issues (privatising the NHS, Iraq, Afghanistan, faith-based education, student top-up fees for university education, so-called '(City) Academies' (i.e. privatising schools), prisons and crime and 'anti-social behaviour', undermining human rights, the debt-based economy and false sense of prosperity, etc).

For more information on the astrology of these events, please feel free to browse previous entries on this blog and also visit www.astrology21.co.uk

Newspaper article about Labour's lowest popularity rating since 1987 http://politics.guardian.co.uk/polls/story/0,,1930731,00.html

Here are November's key planetary movements:

1st Jupiter forms an exact semisextile aspect with Pluto

3rd Moon reaches its perigee (i.e. it is closest to the Earth)

5th Full Moon (i.e. Sun opposition Moon)

8th Moon reaches its maximum northern declination

8th Mercury transits across the Sun's disc, as viewed from the Earth

11th Jupiter forms an exact novile aspect with Neptune

12th Moon's last quarter phase (i.e. Sun square Moon)

15th Jupiter forms an exact septile aspect with Uranus

15th Moon's reaches its apogee (i.e. it is furthest away from the Earth)

17th Venus enters Sagittarius

18th Mercury stations and turns direct

20th uranus stations and turns direct

20th New Moon phase (i.e. Sun conjunct Moon)

22nd Sun enters Sagittarius

23rd Moon reaches its maximum southern declination

24th Jupiter enters Sagittarius

28th Moon's first quarter phase (i.e. Sun square Moon)

A recent article in the Guardian newspaper has - at long last - focused attention on the UK's socio-economic issues:

"Inequality, slowly being pushed once again into centre-left debate, is not just a matter of hard stats: it is also manifested in the dislocation that comes from watching a consumerist circus that has precious little to do with you. Not that you would know it from listening to Westminster chatter, but the problem informs whole swathes of national life"

In an early act of self-delusion back in 1999, Tony Blair infamously declared:

"My friends, the class war is over."

Yet as the Guardian the other day pointed out:

"the supposed arrival of the classless society is less a matter of conditions on the ground than a culture that blithely ignores them."

In the newspaper there followed a healthy and much-needed debate in the readers' comments section, 'Comment is Free'. Several readers found it worthy of remark that at last the inequality issue had been brought up for discussion.

Astrologically, the Saturn-Neptune opposition focuses on the UK's Venus, the planet of economics, social cohesion, balance, equality, and fairness. In the first months of 2005, an article was written and published on the Astrology for the 21st Century website, drawing parallels with the period of UK history in the 1840s that saw "the rise of the working class, the birth of socialism, the labour movement, and the cooperative movement. There was a widespread increase in conscioussness of class divisisions, coupled with agitation for equal rights and representation."

As in the 1800s, the risk today is that the governing few show 'mercy to the poor' merely in order to 'lengthen thy tranquility' of the rich.

To read the Guardian article, click this URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1929928,00.html

To read about the transit of Neptune to the UK's Venus, click this URL: http://astrology21.co.uk/c1ukneptunevenus.html

To read about the Saturn-Neptune opposition, click this URL: http://astrology21.co.uk/c1saturnneptune.html

To read a related Guardian article, click this URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1928065,00.html

An interesting space-related development......

"[President of the USA, George] Bush .... said the United States would oppose the development of treaties or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space.

The provisions were contained in the first revision of U.S. space policy in nearly 10 years. Bush's order, signed more than a month ago, was not publicly announced although unclassified details of his decision were posted on the Web site of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power," the policy says. "In order to increase knowledge, discovery, economic prosperity, and to enhance the national security, the United States must have robust, effective, and efficient space capabilities."

The policy says that space systems should have rights of passage without interference, and that the United States would view any deliberate interference with its space systems as an infringement on its rights.

"The United States considers space capabilities -- including the ground and space segments and supporting links -- vital to its national interests," the policy said.

"Consistent with this policy, the United States will: preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so; take those actions necessary to protect its space capabilities; respond to interference; and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests."

The White House said the policy does not call for the development or deployment of weapons in space.

"This policy emphasizes that the United States is committed to peaceful uses of space by all nations and that space systems enjoy the right of free passage," National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones said."

You can read the full article here:

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=10200291T866

Rather than merely watching the debate in the media about Pluto's planet status, why not join in!

http://plutopetition.org/

That's another fine Saturn-Neptune-Opposition mess they've got us into :-)

These are an interesting read, especially by those who're tracking the current Saturn-Neptune Opposition....

News reports that the UK government's alleged vote fraud is to be investigated by the Council of Europe:

http://news.pipex.com/pipex/story/0,17019,8830_1604074,00.html

http://www.24dash.com/centralgovernment/11708.htm

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23371077-details/Government+faces+probe+over+vote+fraud/article.do

Here is the link to the official web page of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, detailing the motion for resolution entitled

'Application to initiate a monitoring procedure to investigate electoral fraud in the United Kingdom':

http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc06/EDOC10993.htm

An interesting article by George Monbiot that gives an inkling of another angle on the government's unravelling authority (Saturn-Neptune, as discussed on this blog over the past few months):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1924177,00.html

And an interesting comment added by a read of George's article:

"Lord Devlin ... wrote these words (in 1956):

"Each jury is a little parliament. The jury sense is the parliamentary sense. I cannot see the one dying and the other surviving. The first object of any tyrant in Whitehall would be to make Parliament utterly subservient to his will; and the next to overthrow or diminish trial by jury, for no tyrant could afford to leave a subject's freedom in the hands of twelve of his countrymen. So that trial by jury is more than an instrument of justice and more than one wheel of the constitution: it is the lamp that shows that freedom lives.""

Blair's government has been busy undermining trial by jury for some time now.....

Here are the major planetary movements and alignments for this month:

2nd Mercury enters Scorpio
4th Saturn forms an exact novile aspect with Uranus
6th Moon reaches its perigee (i.e. it is nearest to the Earth)
7th Full Moon (i.e. Sun and Moon are in opposition aspect to one another)
10th Pluto forms an exact novile aspect with Chiron
12th Chiron is stationary direct
12th Moon reaches it's maximum northern declination (i.e. highest point north of the Earth's equator)
14th Last Quarter Moon Phase (i.e. the Sun is in square aspect with the Moon)
19th Moon reaches its apogee (i.e. furthest away from the Earth)
20th Jupiter forms an exact quintile aspect with Chiron
22nd New Moon (i.e. the Sun and Moon are conjunct)
23rd Sun enters Scorpio
23rd Mars enters Scorpio
24th Venus enters Scorpio
25th Jupiter forms an exact square with Saturn
27th Moon reaches its maximum southern declination
28th Mercury stations and turns retrograde
29th Neptune stations and turns direct
29th First Quarter Moon Phase (i.e. Sun and Moon are in square aspect)

Whilst for years it's been assumed that Gordon Brown would simply be 'baton-passed' the Prime Minister's job by Tony Blair in a 'coronation', it's astrologically by no means assured. In fact, Brown could well be the Prince Charles to Blair's Queen, apparently destined never to inherit the throne.

Brown's chart does have some leadership/authority links to the Labour party's chart - that much is obvious, otherwise he wouldn't be where he is now - however they're not as strong as Blair's.

Brown's transits are also not indicative of someone about to assume power. The current Saturn-Neptune opposition links with Brown's Pluto, just as it does in Blair's chart, and this can symbolise power slipping through someone's fingers.

A Uranus transit to Brown's Jupiter suggests reversals of fortune, however there's no telling which way the reversal might go. This transit has been within orb from April to September 2006, and will be within orb again throughout 2007 and into 2008.

Backtracking slightly, at the end of August and beginning of September this year, when the latest Blair leadership crisis broke and Brown was pictured leaving Downing Street with a rather large smile on his face, transiting Mars was exactly opposite Gordon's Mars. Mars opposition Mars is renowned for battles of wills, running out of patience, flare-ups, and fierce rivalry. And this, all within the larger context of transiting Pluto square Brown's Mars, symbolising intense will-power being focused on ambitions and the compelling need to get ahead. This latter aspect is within orb until the end of November 2006.

Throughout November and December 2006 Gordon is likely to feel in the mood to push forward with his plans, and chance his luck. By January 2007 his impatience could boil over, and around 23rd January 2007 his desire to be 'top dog' is very likely to reach a peak, as is his willingness to fight for the position. This is therefore a date to watch, particularly as a simultaneous transit of Mars to Brown's Uranus suggests a short-fuse, an intolerance of delays, sudden and bold acts, and a refusal to toe the line.

February 2007 is another strong month for Gordon, and come March and April he will be positively brimming with the desire to take charge. May has some brakes to place on his drive forwards, but the period through to June and July looks pretty favourable, overall, for moving ahead with his goals and wishes.

August to October 2007 - i.e. the latest time when Blair is supposed to leave office - holds the potential for disappointments and testing times, with limits placed on Brown's capacity to realise his potential in the way that he wants, as Saturn transits opposite his Sun. This does not preclude the assumption of authority, but it needs to be seen within the larger context of the information outlined above.

Blair has confirmed that he will have resigned by September 2007. Bearing in mind that he is known for lying, we cannot rely on his confirmation. However, if we astrologically trace his eroding popularity over the last few years we find that his current trajectory towards the exit is set to continue.

Politicians and commentators have speculated about when Blair will publicly name a precise date for his departure. Some say he will stay in the job right up to September 2007, others say he will go in May 2007, and others say he will have to at least commit to a date by February or March 2007 so that the May '07 elections can be free of the associations with damaging policies and disastrous wars that his presence evokes in the general public's consciousness.

Astrologically, any of these speculative time-scales are feasible, and it's just not possible to predict an exact date with certitude. However, what astrology can tell us is that Blair's leaving - whether voluntary or otherwise - could happen much sooner than expected.

The current Saturn-Neptune opposition is strongly connected to Blair's chart, as well as the Labour party's as discussed above and elsewhere on this website. This reflects the fact that the stage is well and truly set. He was forced to publicly confirm that he will go by September 2007 within days of the exact Saturn-Neptune opposition. At the end of October 2006, Neptune will station and turn direct. Just a day before, Mercury will station and turn retrograde. Both of these planets form aspects with Blair's chart, suggesting that a further crisis point will be reached in just a few weeks' time [it is now 2nd October].

Because stations of planets like Neptune take a few weeks to build and a further few weeks to release, the whole of October could see another crisis looming for Blair that renders him unable to do anything but let go of control, and possibly of power. As Neptune stations it will be square his Sun, representing the dissolution of his outward role in the world. Sacrificing recognition, fame, glory, applause, are all part and parcel of this transit which occurs in stages, beginning in March 2003 (the start of the war against Iraq) and ending in January 2007.

The Mercury station is followed by its retrograde movement. On the very day of its station, Mercury will sextile Blair's Midheaven. An announcement of some kind, or a flurry of communication about his future career, is very possible at this time. Mercury will then traverse back through the Zodiac, in Blair's 6th house (his job), and around 9th November it will oppose his Sun. The days around this aspect are another time when an announcement could be forthcoming, whether from Blair himself, one of his entourage, or one of his political foes.

After turning to direct motion, Mercury will once again oppose Blair's Sun around 27th November, and the days around this aspect could be when an important public communication of some kind takes place. Note that these are not the only times possible, it's just that they stand out because they occur during the retrograde period and involve Blair's Sun which represents him as a leader.

Throughout November and December 2006 transits of Mars suggest that Blair will find it a tough battle once again (assuming he is still in charge by then). He may well bite off far more than he can chew through a feeling of misplaced confidence in himself and his capacity to win - moreso than his habitual hubris, that is.

By mid- to late February 2007 the brakes are on once again, although Blair is likely to nevertheless be in the mood to take on all challengers; he would be wise to be cautious this month. March's transits suggest more high spirits, with perhaps a desire to branch out into something new. Power conflicts remain very probable. April looks like another tough month, and during May it's highly unlikely that Blair will want to relinquish any leadership position he holds or back down in the face of his enemies.

His transits during June suggest that it's time to back down; he's unlikely to win contests during this time, or at least to be so totally exhausted by the struggle to win that the victory is a hollow one. July and August show a time favourable for forging ahead but with a strong possibility of power conflicts again. This is a good time for him to start something new. From mid-August to mid-September he is likely to feel hemmed in, surrounded by obstacles, unable to find room to manoeuvre.

The context of all the above is the aforementioned transit of Neptune to his Pluto, coupled with the transit by Saturn, so no matter how positive the month-by-month transits might seem, the overall picture is one of letting go of power and former glories.

Born in 1906 when Uranus was opposite Neptune and re-born in 1994 when Uranus conjoined Neptune, the party is heading for a period of awkward re-adjustment as Uranus approaches its semi-sextile with Neptune in 2009 and 2010. In addition, the party formed itself as Saturn trined Neptune, and with Saturn now opposite Neptune the party's leader Tony Blair - who was born with Saturn conjunct Neptune - is finally admitting that it's time to go. Meanwhile his foe and clone - David Cameron of the Conservative party - is stepping more prominently into the picture, accompanied by his very own Saturn trine Neptune aspect.

As Saturn has opposed Neptune the party has become extremely divided within itself and from the nation itself. The opposition is the point of furthest separation, and what follows is reconciliation, re-alignment, and moving back towards unity. That is what's next for the Labour party, both within its own ranks, and between the party and the country it purports to serve.

That's the larger context. Now here are the specifics.

Between September 2006 and July 2007 the Labour party's Sun, representing the party leadership, receives a series of oppositions from transiting Saturn, representing testing times and encountering limits to possibility. From February 2007 until January 2010 the party's Sun also receives a series of conjunctions from transiting Neptune. Conclusion - even when Blair's long gone, the party's leadership crises will continue. It will struggle to renew it's vision of itself, finding itself in the doldrums, and it will go through a period of confusion about where it's heading and hence who represents a suitable and appropriately symbolic leader.

In February 2006 transiting Neptune began opposing the party's North Node, remaining within orb until the end of August 2006. It returns next year, and in fact is present all throughout 2007 and 2008. This not only reflects a meltdown in the direction and development of the party, but also a meltdown in the party's relationship to Blair and Brown, because in their charts Pluto is conjunct the party's Node and hence is receiving the same transits at approximately the same time. In September and October 2006 transiting Saturn will conjoin the party's North Node, and so the meltdown of authority is brought into sharp focus at that time.

From July to October 2006 transiting Pluto sextile's the party's Sun, reinforcing the signals that are saying 'change at the top'. This transit has coincided over the last few years with the slide in support for Blair's leadership of the party, talk of the feud between Blair and Gordon Brown, and the party's ensuing crisis about holding a 'coronation' (very Solar!) of Brown. This aspect also represents something of an identity crisis in the party, and the need to revitalise the party from the grass-roots upwards rather than pursuing top-down reform.

Last but by no means least, the party's about to undergo its Saturn half-cycle, meaning that transiting Saturn is opposite natal Saturn, in a kind of half Saturn Return. This will be exact in 2007 and 2008, and is indicative of a great deal of soul-searching where the party will need to examine its foundations, review its goals, and try to put itself on a solid footing.