A Special Relationship - but do they understand each other?

She's just not that interested. How do you tell that to someone?

It's tricky - especially if you're reading someone's chart and you can tell by the look in his eyes and the still way in which he's holding himself, that this is really important - and the chart, well, it's ambiguous, it could go either way. You hope eventually that he'll realise the truth for himself - or, and this does sometimes happen, she'll get interested. You need to give him a steer, but without being too brutal - because - and this is the nature of astrology and of life - things do change.

Well, I think maybe someone should break the news to UKplc that the United States is just not that into us. (I speak with a little knowledge on the subject since I'm both English and American.) It's not some random accident an astonishing number of Hollywood baddies sound like they went to Eton or spent time in the Scrubs. Englishness is one archetype of badness in American popular culture. Why? Because the main enemy in American history - as taught at school - is those cunning redcoats. Obviously, there's a whole anglophiliac tendency too… but that's for another time.

Anglophile Henry James made a career writing about innocent young Americans being destroyed be corrupt Europeans.

And the English on America - well, how would you characterize it? Contempt mixed with desire? Envy mixed with disbelief? A sense of ownership mixed with a sense of betrayal? Well … it's complicated.

Speaking of desire, contempt and corruption, that's James Mason and Su Lyons in Lolita.

But what of the astrology? How can two countries with a common language misunderstand each other so often? Let's draw up a composite chart and treat the US and the UK as if they were a couple.

So I thought I'd limit the number of elements I'd look at comparing the US Sibly chart and the UK 1801 chart. (This UK chart is one that works well for the country as it is now.)

I thought I'd concentrate on the communications - that's Mercury. Mercury is how we talk and how we're heard.

The US Mercury in watery Cancer is sentimental, emotional, irrational and guess what, it's closely conjunct to the UK's Moon in Cancer. The US communicates directly with the UK's emotional side or  the British public. That works right. When America has an oil spill or hurricane, the British feel sorry for them and want to help.  But what about the other way around? When the UK tries to talk to them?  Oh - ouch!

Poor old UK Mercury in Sagittarius is opposite the US Mars in Gemini - Mr. Volatile and Angry - and uncomfortably inconjunct the US Cancer Sun - the country's sentimental and often self-righteous ego - that's a very irritating angle. And it shows the US's it's-all-their-fault response to the BP oil spill.

When the UK (or people who appear to represent the UK such as Tony Hayward.) raises it's head over the parapet, the US can get really angry, especially since the UK Mercury also makes a hard aspect the US Neptune - ideals and illusions. I think this suggests, that the US has some ideas about Britain that are very hard to shake, and these come back whenever there's a communication problem. So how can Britain be heard? UK Mercury makes an excellent angle to the US Saturn in Libra. (So the US is about to have a Saturn Return - that's interesting.) Libra is the sign of partnership and Saturn the most serious and grown-up of planets. Saturn's the steady, hard-working planet you want in action when the going gets to tough. This suggests that the other Tony's talk of being shoulder-to-shoulder and all that must have gone down very well. Also America came to the Britain's aid in WW2 it was as a partner.

Let's look just briefly at the composite chart - that's when you combine the two natal charts together so you get a picture of the relationship from the outside. And what the world sees is not a squabbling couple at all. Sun, Mercury and Neptune all conjoin the peacemaker sign Libra, so to the rest of the world, Britain and America seem to sing from the same songsheet.  We talk about our ideals (Neptune) of equality and justice (Libra). But wait a minute. That little stellium opposes Libra's own ruling planet Venus in the sign of the warrior, Aries. Perhaps, we talk peace but we make war.

Maybe in Die Hard umpteen, Bruce and Rick will play on the same side.