Gordon Brown is the current Chancellor within the Labour government, assuming his position in May 1997. He is generally credited with being successful in this role, and many people would like to see him take up the role of Prime Minister after Tony Blair either resigns, is dismissed by his party, or is voted out by the public.

Since the 1990s rumours have circulated that Gordon and Tony once agreed a deal that Tony would indeed hand over to Gordon at some point, however these rumours are denied by the government. The rumours have intensified as Tony Blair has come under increased pressure to stand down, coinciding with major Neptune transits to both Tony's and Gordon's charts.

This piece looks briefly at Gordon's apparent facility with economics, his relationship with Tony Blair, and his all-important approach to the European Union's central bank.

Gordon's Economic Skills

Gordon's 5th and 7th harmonic charts are both very strong, but due to limitations of space only one configuration in his 5th harmonic chart will be focused on.

Gordon was born when Venus was in quintile (i.e. 5th harmonic) aspect to Pluto. Both Venus and Pluto are 'the money planets' in astrology. The 5th harmonic relates to the idea that 'knowledge is power'. It shows what interests, skills, and creativity a person might have that they can put to use in shaping the world around them. In Gordon's case, this clearly relates to financial affairs.

Looking at his 5th harmonic chart [view chart], his Sun in trine to Venus-Pluto, showing that Gordon's sense of himself is directly attuned to this financial knowledge-power. Furthermore, if his birth time is correct then there is a connection between his Ascendant and this Venus-Pluto aspect, showing how at the very minute and location he was born this economic skill was highlighted.

But that's not all, because Gordon's 5th harmonic is not the strongest. He is attuned to an even more refined level of the 5th harmonic. His 25th and 125th harmonic charts are both very strong, and show us even more information about his Venus-Pluto quintile aspect.

In his 125th harmonic chart [view chart] Venus-Pluto connects with Jupiter and Chiron. Again, they link to his Sun, so this level of 5th harmonic refinement still engages his sense of himself directly. Venus-Jupiter-Pluto is traditionally associated in astrology with banking, big business, and capitalism. It shows a capacity to powerfully influence the growth of economies, and an attunement to creating prosperity, wealth, and financial success.

To further reinforce the importance of Venus and Pluto in Gordon's chart, Venus is on his Sun/Ascendant midpoint, and the midpoint of Jupiter and the first degree of Aries. This shows that Gordon's financial activities are central to his personality and behaviour, and to his wider interaction with the world. His Pluto is also on the midpoint between his MC and the first degree of Aries. This links his financial interests directly with his career in the world at large.

The Drama of Gordon and Tony

Comparing Gordon's chart with Tony Blair's shows a good deal of ability to support one another and work well together. There are numerous indications of closeness and mutual respect. However, there are also plenty of signs that the rumours of Gordon feeling betrayed by Tony's reneging on his promise to hand over leadership of the Labour Party may be more than just rumours.

Tony's Sun, representing his sense of himself, is square to Gordon's Moon, Mercury, and Pluto. Gordon's Sun is square Tony's Mars and Jupiter, and his Moon is conjunct Tony's Pluto. These connections suggest the potential for significant power struggles between the two of them. It's likely that they feel threatened by one another, and that they would rather be on the same side than have each other as enemies. Friendly rivalry is much more preferable than unfriendly back-stabbing. At the beginning of their political partnership the former seemed to be in play. Lately, Gordon and Tony's body language and speeches have revealed open hostility between the pair.

The midpoint synastry backs up this picture of rivalry and competition for power. Gordon's Mars is on Tony's Saturn-Pluto midpoint, which is a classic indicator of 'control freakery' at play in a relationship. Gordon's Saturn is on Tony's Mars/MC and Ascendant/MC midpoints which makes this controlling dynamic a very personal and individual one. Further backing this up, Gordon's Moon is on Tony's Mars/Saturn and Saturn/Ascendant midpoints.

Tony's Ascendant is on Gordon's Moon/Venus, Venus/Pluto, Mars/Pluto, and Pluto/Node midpoints. This is a sign of a close friendship that can easily slip into envy and distrust. Bonding sours into feelings of mutual betrayal. Together they are a formidable team, but when in conflict with one another they can destroy themselves and all they have worked for from inside the relationship. Tony's Mars on Gordon's Moon/Mars and Jupiter/Pluto midpoints again points to competition and power being at the root of their connection to one another.

With Tony's Midheaven on Gordon's Mercury/MC and Uranus/Pluto midpoints, Tony's needs to be wary of Gordon's ability to radically influence - even disrupt and rebel against - Tony's goals. Tony's public image can be powerfully affected by Gordon's tactical manoeuvres, as well as his speeches.

Added together this is a picture of two people who, once they have locked horns, will find it exceedingly difficult to disengage from the battle.

Gordon and the European Central Bank [View AstroMap]

The European Central Bank (ECB) is based in Frankfurt, Germany. One way to look at the relationship of Gordon to this important bank is by comparing Gordon's chart to the chart for the bank. However in this section a different tack will be taken in order to illustrate another level of relationship.

It's possible to take a person's birth chart and map it onto the surface of the Earth, showing where a person will encounter different parts of themselves. Experience has shown that this accurately describes what 'fate' we draw to us in terms of events, experiences, and relationships with people. So we can look at Gordon's chart and see what his chart, projected onto the Frankfurt area, reveals about his approach to that area of the globe, and by extension, to the ECB that's located there.

Interestingly, his two 'money planets' are both strongly highlighted in this city: Pluto is in a novile aspect to the Descendant, and Venus is in a 16th harmonic aspect to his Midheaven. This tells us straight away that whenever Gordon has dealings with Frankfurt he is primarily financially focused. The Ascendant is in 16th harmonic with his Sun here, and also semisquare his Mars, so he is also ready for a battle here and a clash of personalities. With the MC semisextile his Mercury he is likely to find his views and opinions challenged in this area, but on the positive side with Jupiter sextile the MC opportunities for achieving his aims can open up here.

EU-USA Free Trade Area

On 18th November 2003 Gordon and the USA's Treasury Secretary John Snow spoke at a CBI (Confederation of British Industry) conference in Birmingham. Together they officially announced their plans to pursue a project leading to a free trade area between the UK, the USA, and the EU. Whilst the majority of people paid scant attention to this speech, some of the media gave this the significance it warranted. This speech took place when Venus and Pluto were conjoined, in trine to Gordon's Pluto. Mars was conjunct Gordon's Jupiter, and Jupiter was opposite Gordon's Jupiter. These are the three planets connected in Gordon's 125th harmonic, discussed above. [Link to text of speech]

Ever mindful of the growing economic 'threat' of China and other up-and-coming nations, the USA, UK, and the larger European states have for years now been preparing to deal with the issue of challenges to Western dominance by joining together their economies into a free trade area covering more than a billion people. This would bring together so many large economies - and some very effective armies - that the Western alliance would, in theory, be able to maintain its collective position in the world and further spread its own brand of 'globalisation'.

Gordon does seem very pro-USA. Is there a legitimate danger of further economic, political, and cultural encroachment by the USA being invited into the UK? Why is the UK people's belief in themselves so low that they feel they must import a spirit of enterprise from outside? Have they forgotten that the Victorians invented the 20th century? From the mother of all parliaments, to railways, telephones, television, and the World Wide Web, British people have shown incredible creative genius and entrepreneurial spirit.

Note: See also the history of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD)

Next Prime Minister?

Although Gordon has many planets in Pisces in the 12th house - traditional significators of someone who is most emphatically not a leader or interested in leadership - Gordon's chart is actually full of the desire to be in charge. As well as his Aries Ascendant, he has a Moon-Pluto conjunction in Leo. However his midpoints show it with even greater clarity:

Moon on Mars/MC, Mars on Sun/Ascendant and Jupiter/Aries point, Jupiter on Sun/Aries point, Saturn on Jupiter/Ascendant, Pluto on MC/Aries point, Aries point on Jupiter/Ascendant, MC on Mars/Neptune.

Combining with this, his Mars makes a strong septile (7th harmonic) triangle with Uranus and Neptune, showing how inspired he is by the idea of his actions reaching beyond the personal level, rippling out onto a societal level.

But does he stand a chance of being Prime Minister?

Again, space is too short to go into this question in the necessary depth, though some starting points for further research can be found if we map his chart onto the surface of the earth.

When looking at the UK map from this point of view (see above AstroMap link) what stands out is that his Neptune is particularly strong in the UK. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he has a tendency to slip into invisibility in the eyes of the public here. It could also account for his apparent popularity in this country, however Neptune is also renowned for indicating an undermining influence, and in terms of finances it relates to inflation, 'leakiness' (e.g. fraud - NB this should not be taken to imply that Gordon has been involved in fraudulent activity, it is merely stating a traditional astrological association with Neptune - or spending money on white elephants), and false hopes.

Another view of this is the tendency to become embroiled in personal and business partnerships that bring about self-undoing and require sacrifice. Unfortunately for Gordon, that's exactly the situation he has found himself in with Tony Blair. The possibility of deceiving and/or being deceived in this country is high for Gordon. With his Ascendant semisextile to Mars there is the added complication of leadership struggles in this location.

On the plus side, Gordon's Jupiter is quintile the Descendant near London, and so he meets popularity and opportunities for progress here. His IC novile to Pluto also indicates a passionate commitment to this area and his activities here. The combination of Jupiter and Pluto shows that financial issues are likely to go well here. Again, this is exactly the situation he has found himself in. Septiles involving his Sun, Ascendant, and MC complete the picture of recognition and a charisma that continues to hold people in its spell.

More information on Gordon Brown's birth chart:-
Gordon Brown's Cabinet - this website - published 2004
Gordon Brown's stars - blog entry - published 12th July 2007
Gordon Brown: Iraq, Iran, & Afghanistan - blog entry - published 9th July 2007

More information on Blair, Labour, & Gordon:-
Tony Blair article - this website - published 2004
Labour party meltdown - blog entry - published October 2006
Gordon Brown leadership - blog enty - published October 2006
Gordon Brown vs. Tony Blair - blog entry - published May 2006

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