Hudson Valley Astrologer

“Socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor.”

Martin Luther King

“A perfect call?” Perfect in what way? Maybe perfect in the same way we mean that “the perfect is the enemy of the good?” #45’s blunderbuss never seemed more inflated than it does now. And Mainstream Media enables him. They allow for unlimited expansion, like the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. The Donald is unreal. What’s real is the stress and pressure building in people’s lives, exposing threadbare arguments that stretch his exaggerations beyond all comprehension. He learned long ago how to appropriate the news cycle with gibberish and take advantage of an unwary public for ratings, for his own benefit. It was back in the early 90’s and Trump was going through a divorce. The attention made him feel good, made him feel important, even though his empire was crumbling all around him. He lost many of his prized assets the year before his divorce. Then he lost his wife. Astrologically there was a powerful Cardinal Stellium taking shape at the time. It formed in Trump’s 6th house. Here we go again!

My daughter is in medical school and shared that she heard 3 residents had died from covid-19. “That could’ve been me, dad. 8 years of sacrifice and training! Puff! Gone like that! (She snaps her fingers in front of her face with tears streaming down) They were only in rotation for like a week! My heart breaks for them,” she said. That day Trump chose to rail against the established scientific view on hydroxychloroquine as though it were some miracle drug. A sad analog occurred during the 1918 pandemic and the misuse of aspirin. The public demanded doctors “do something” even though they didn’t understand the etiology of the disease nor the side effects of the drug. Researchers now suggest that aspirin may have exacerbated conditions causing more death. Here we go again! Chloroquine is just another “shiny object” Trump waxes on about in his daily marathon briefings on coronavirus. And his flunkies pickup on his dog whistling. He gives himself “high fives” and rates his performance a “10.” Meanwhile, in his infinite delusion, the medical system and economy teeters on the brink of collapse. Residents die trying to save their covid patients but markets rally! Residents and staff are ill equipped to grapple this unseen enemy BUT the FED becomes the buyer of last resort for the markets, buying $1MM worth of assets every second. There is something brutally wrong with this picture. Like in 1991, the reckless get bailed out. Everyone else pays.

Trump is INFLATED, more than ever, even in a “zero-bound” world with prices everywhere in free-fall: INFLATED! “My Tabloid president” regularly puffs himself up, bristling with the sharp porcupine innuendo of the dark web. A conspiracy minded repertoire dredging up stories from the shallows of the “deep state.” Fear mongering about a Leftist boogeyman as if a Lenin or a Mao could so easily assume power, here in these Divided States of America. As if Americans could be so naive, so gullible to take the bait and elect an incompetent strongman to the highest office. Ha! Good one! Beneath the quill of his pointed and narcissistic know-it-all persona hides a hysterical Know Nothing anima gone mad. His political animus is subsumed by his personal anima. Trump personifies a peevish, sulky and oversensitive nationalist run amok, his expressions and responses are laced in paranoiac hyperbole and hysteria. Rats! He appears to be a vulnerable mouse creature beneath the sharp jabs and hypodermic insults he hurls, obscuring more rodent insecurities harbored deep within. Rats! Rats! Rats!

Legend has it that some 15 centuries ago all the knights of the Round Table gathered for a feast to honor the exploits of their guest of honor Parsifal. He was quite the character apparently, and according to myth an archetypal role model of the hero. But at the height of the celebration, in walks this “hideous damsel” as told by Robert Johnson in his extraordinary book HE!. In the book, Johnson investigates the meaning and myth of the Holy Grail. When the damsel enters the room the party suddenly stops! Then the “hideous damsel” speaks. She rails against Parsifal detailing his many faults and failures in life. The women he abused and abandoned. The children he left hungry and crying. The innocent people he destroyed. And at the end of her tirade, with all those in attendance suspended in a trance she screams, “It is all your fault.”^{1 2} John Sanford first sets this story up in his book, Invisible Partners, with a brilliant perspective from Faust. But let me interject that I think he is also retelling a story from the Vedas in a way, that explains one of the attributes of Ganesha, the elephant god of beginnings (ruler of Astrology). Ganesha is often depicted holding a “goad.” It is a sharp spear like instrument used to jab and flay the surface skin of the beast (Symbolized by the “Elephant” or by a “Whale” in various myths and used as a symbolic key or representation for the receptacle of Knowledge: Coire Sois) and to train her baser instincts. To cooperate. To redirect the massive energy of the beast in another direction. A perfect metaphor to help us understand and reframe the attributes of the “beast” we ride today where people with prominent egos have taken center stage and are perhaps merely tools of a far greater power, instruments of a force that is not to be confused with the force itself. Sanford ties in his Faustian twist just before introducing the narrative of Parsifal and the Knights of the Round Table, and I think in the process gives the Devil his due: “In Goethe’s great drama Faust, when Mephistopheles is asked who he is, the devil replies, ‘A part of that power which always wills the evil and always works the good.’³ So it is that the power of evil, while striving to bring about destruction, can in fact engender the good.”² To “goad” us into action. To force us to truly change. To reestablish our aim and be thankful for what the “goads” have “woke” in us.  

Trump made his debut with the public Oct 16, 1973, when the “failing” New York Times did him a favor by reporting his business shenanigans on the front page “below the fold”.⁴ Saturn turned stationary retrograde that day and “business” would never be the same. Eventually Saturn would square Trump’s natal Neptune once it turned direct and began moving forward again. It would square 5’ Libra 51” triggering the midpoint picture Neptune=Saturn/Uranus located @ 5’ Cancer 51”. What does this midpoint picture suggest? I think it makes an important statement: Donald Trump feigns comportment and gravitas. What he projects is more of an act than anything of substance. But large numbers of people buy his act. One interpretation of this midpoint picture suggests an empty suit. And yet Trump still became Mr. Unprecedented: the 45^th president of these Divided States of America. Some people see a lost soul with flailing arms, almost as if he is struggling not to drown. A swimmer beyond the buoys, out of his depth and desperately reaching for anything to grab, to hold on, to anchor himself and keep himself from going under. Others see “the chosen one.” Some see a wandering troll in search of a target who attacks others precisely because they seem to possess what he lacks: substance and a meaningful philosophy. Others come to his defense no matter what buffoonish behavior he puts on display or what contrarian comments he makes. Trump appropriates facsimiles of argument and talking points much like a Cockatoo from the confines within its cage. Whatever the wind blows in he picks up and repeats. A parrot for dog whistlers. And I mean no disrespect to the Cockatoo. But the truth is that Trump has been fighting to be understood his entire life, to make a name for himself. And his discontent suggests he has fallen short, where in the dark cold recesses of his mind, without an original thought in his head, he intuitively understands that people of @real stature and intellect have done their best to ignore him. At their own peril apparently, and at ours. But he is like “Uncle Fun” at the family picnic who despite himself says inappropriate and offensive things, every time, and right on queue. He’s the guy that makes you not want to go to the picnic in the first place. The guy world leaders demean behind his back (Mockery).⁵ He is Mr. Unprecedented! John Cleese called him “an extraordinary caricature of an asshole”⁶ who found an audience in the pro wrestling crowd and attracted the attention he craves from the masses addicted to the moot court of mockumentary T.V. He found his tribe and his people. Many, like him, discontent with the status quo.

Combing the biographical material available on Trump lays bare ample storylines that he is a conniving conman who punches above his weight and somehow gets away with murder (Mars in Leo). Perhaps literally now that there is an epic pandemic on his watch, where he manipulated the Coronavirus “experts” to provide a “high” estimate so that he could come in “under bid” as if he were selling a dilapidated building in Manhattan instead of talking about people. Devaluing individual lives so that he could like a hero when “only” 60,000 people die. Now that’s “deplorable,” no doubt. Supporters do not seem to know his personal story very well and instead look past his peccadilloes, buying into his “narratives” for an alternate universe. It seems that Trump makes up for his many shortcomings by displacing his anger elsewhere, placing the vitriol and self-loathing he feels for himself onto others. And supporters love these antics, which is almost scarier or more disappointing than Trump’s behavior itself, because as low as his approval ratings are, there are millions of Americans who come to “The Big Event” ever day and cheer for their favorite “villain.”

But underneath his temperamental angst and bravado lies deep sadness I think, insecurity and fear of being ignored. This is an astute observation made by those who have worked closest with him.⁷ Astrology doesn’t necessarily make the same derogatory statement about Trump. Astrology doesn’t explicitly say that someone is an asshole or not. Like epidemiology models, symbolic language covers too wide a girth to be that precise. But the models can be very useful. And, Trump’s chart is revealing when guided by symbolic language. At its core his chart suggests an alert and intense awareness for his surroundings, a studied sensitivity that compels him to have reactive responses that are for the most part hyper reflexive. And although his energy will flux and fluctuate with his environment as he begs to differ and be different, to differentiate himself, he will express an odd fixity and stubbornness within extreme flexibility (mutable energies with Uranus, square his Leo Ascendant). Trump makes an all-out effort to connect with people but without really “connecting.” His relations will be based on aloof, skin-deep ties meant to fortify his sense of security. He just wants/needs “everyone to respect his opinion.”⁸

Noel Tyl wrote descriptions for 144 pairings of the Sun and Moon in each of the 12 signs of the zodiac. Sun-Moon blends describe our “core” being and potential. For example, what he wrote about the Sun in Gemini and the Moon in Sagittarius (Trump’s chart) is prescient: “To be influential is of greatest importance for personal fulfillment, but the influence is more in the process of planning and outwitting than it is in building from the ground up.” Tyl’s description goes on to suggest that this blend is much more of a talker than a doer. And even the most casual review of Trump’s biography bears this out. The briefest perusal of his presidency supports this view as well. Trump claims credit for things he hasn’t done and sometimes for things that haven’t been done at all. At the same time, he does not take responsibility for things that are well within his purview. Look! Look closely! What do you see? Mendacity cloaked in anger, a thin-skinned way of concealing the truth from the “truthers.” A veil to hide his ignorance, that he is uninformed, uneducated and weak in character. For example, The Art of the Deal was published the year ending a decade where Trump had lost more personal wealth than any living human being on the planet. And those losses weren’t simply write-offs and depreciation, as he claims, but an elaborate scheme to avoid personal bankruptcy. And his losses were twice the 2^nd place finisher. Trump talks about “winning” in the midst of proving he was the “biggest loser.”⁹ It all makes sense, Pluto was traveling along the belly of his chart. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were traveling through his 6^th house during the late 80’s early 90’s. Today we have a similar cosmic pile up in Capricorn. Here we go again! And significantly, Solar Arc Mars comes to the nadir of Trump’s chart next year with perhaps as much or more punch than the late 80’s transit of Pluto. We will see!

Despite his flaws he strives to appear strong and smart. But regardless of the state of his physical well being or his mental health there currently seems to be a diminishing sense about him, a crystallizing brittleness growing before our eyes. “Our” dear Mr. Unprecedented appears evermore fragile, like a dull pane of painted glass ready to shatter as soon as the morning light hits; and behind that glass someone who is just not as smart, not as strong as he would like to be. So, he makes shit up as he goes, as though he were the brightest bulb in the room, as though he were truly informed and ahead of the curve that is flattening down on top of his head. Trump’s press briefings make it abundantly clear that the president has “the understanding of — a fifth, or sixth grader.”¹⁰ CBS sent a Whitehouse correspondent to the daily briefing recently to get some straight answers about Jarred Kushner’s use of the possessive adjective “ours” and the government’s actions for sending sorely needed PPEs during a crisis to states friendly to Trump over states exhibiting far greater need. Trump’s response to Weijia Jiang, was utterly absurd. And although nothing new, and nothing we haven’t seen before, like his blow up with CNN’s Jim Acosta or his caustic rebuke of Peter Alexander, a reporter from NBC, something jumped out at me this time. Weijia Jiang’s showed incredible poise and coherence under fire. Trump squirmed and couldn’t answer her question directly without letting the unconscious “hideous damsel” take over. That’s it! He is not in possession of his anima a therapist might say (full disclosure: I am not therapist). He is not in control. And this is dangerous for the world because “She is dark and monstrous in direct proportion to the man’s outer success, and inner denial of the things of his soul.”¹¹ She (the “hideous damsel”) becomes the instrument of his own destruction. It is getting worse with each encounter. At some point soon she will pass the point of no return. We will witness her taking full possession of him and understand fully Robert Johnson’s depiction of her ‘grotesque form.’

According to Bill Meridian, Donald J. Trump was born June 14, 1946 @9:51 am. This was the time used in the old Rodden data base citing the mother as the source of the time. Meridian then honors the long-held practice of his teacher Charles Jayne who liked to say, “mom is the best source for a birth certificate.” Meridian also confirmed the time in a conversation he had with Trump’s second wife Marla Maples who agreed that the 9:51 am time was correct.¹² We are then pointed over to a brilliant article posted on the Kepler website by Christian Arens.¹³ No need to re-litigate the entire issue here but I do find it interesting that most astrologers were so quick to accept as proof a digital copy of a birth certificate that was presented by The Donald himself. The same guy who Daniel Dale, Washington Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star, created a website for called Trump Lies (http://trumplies.us/). Trump only produced a copy of his birth certificate following a brouhaha with comedian Bill Maher. Maher challenged Trump to reveal his own birth certificate in a pan of Trump’s idiotic “birther movement.” There was an air of conspicuous deception within the affair. Apparently, a big reveal was planned but then unexpectedly canceled and rescheduled. Suspicious? Was the document not ready for the public? Why was it delayed? Was it forged? Finally, the document was presented showing a 10:54 am time and the “official birth-time” was immediately accepted as proof. And if the document was forged why would the Trump team advance the time by 63 minutes? I’m not a conspiracist and although I wouldn’t put it past Trump to forge his own birth certificate it is far more likely that if the “mother’s birth-time” is correct and not the time printed on the certificate it is because there was a clerical error in recording the correct time. On the other hand, if Trump preferred the “official birth-time” over the genuine article professed by his mother, it is only because his Ascendant is conjunct the renowned star Regulus. And he must have heard from his personal astrologer that this point was the “star” of a king. So, he said, “OK, I’ll take that one.” Besides, Solar Arc Sun came exactly to said Ascendant in 2016 suggesting a tremendous opportunity for Trump to shine. Indeed, he was elected Mr. Unprecedented.

But wait! Solar Arc Sun came to Trump’s Ascendant in the 9:51 am chart as well, 13 years earlier, around September 2003. That was the year The Apprentice debuted on NBC TV.¹⁴ The two charts aren’t that different. And despite the ‘official’ chart being so widely accepted, I must admit that I am partial to the 9:51 am chart if only on principle: that the release of the 10:54 am chart might as well be another entry on the website Trump Lies. But also because Capricorn on the 6^th house cusp, ruled by Saturn conjunct Venus in 12, better describes a germaphobe, obsessive compulsive hand washer, and for someone keeping his environs clean and orderly, (stories dating back to military school winning awards for tidiness and episodes of losing his shit over finding cigarette butts in a stairwell at the Taj Mahal.) and for showing up at work every day on the minute, wearing his uniform, the conservative business attire that he hasn’t deviated from in 50 years. Aquarius on this cusp, ruled by Uranus I think would be expressed much differently. We could establish “hits” all day long in support of either chart, fitting the curve so to speak to support our own bias, and even though the idea of Trump falsifying his own birth chart approaches astrological lunacy beyond all proportion, I am sticking with my premise to use the 9:51 am chart.

“The funny thing is that even a critical story which may be hurtful personally can be very valuable to your business. The final key to how I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not think big themselves, but they can get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest, the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it TRUTHFUL HYPERBOLE! It’s an innocent form of exaggeration and a very effective form of promotion.”⁶

Donald Trump

“Innocent?” “Never hurts?” Not really. The phrase itself is a lie about lying. And maybe it is worse than lying. Maybe the “truthful hyperbole” thing, better known in New York City as Bull Shit, is a cover up for something else. Ursula Faw called it for what it is in an opinion piece she wrote about Trump’s mini me Jared Kushner. She referenced the Dunning-Kruger Effect in her April 4, 2020 piece on Politizoom.com. The state of mind some people possess where they believe they are competent when they are in fact incompetent. And fair enough, people will unconsciously project an inflated sense of self, to protect their self-image by exaggerating who they are, giving off an air of competency where none exists. And what appears amazing is that often these people are so deluded that they have no sense of awareness around the fact that they are doing this. They don’t know that they don’t know! Scott Adams published a very funny and insightful Dilbert comic strip about this Dunning-Kruger Effect. I follow Scott on Twitter because he has an amazing following of Trumpsters whose collective comments provide a window into this Dunning-Kruger zeitgeist plaguing the country. Apparently, there are legions of people who “don’t know they don’t know.” Taking the pulse of a “zombie” is difficult, much less arguing with one (Arguing with Zombies¹⁴) but I totally recommend Scott’s feed for insight into this wingnut perspective. And to be fair, I think Adams calls them the way he sees them and as soon as Trump reveals his inner “damsel,” Scott will drop that bitch like a bad habit. Another maniacal voice in this genre is Gerald Celente author of the Trends Journal. Like Adams, he presents core observations that on the face appear valid but then smears his analytics with opinion and whinery. I’m not sure if Adams and Celente are echoing the Trumpian tactics of rage and fury for the sake of niche marketing or being sincere. I think a little of both. Provocatively shocking, both Scott and Celente provide challenging and up to the minute commentary, occasionally and surprisingly critical of the administration at times (but rarely).

As the most controversial president ever to have taken office, on trumped up credentials, clearly the beneficiary of grade “inflation,” most of his wealth inherited and the rest of it only made possible through government subsidies, bailouts and handouts, a sorted business past, distorted in epic proportion by television and social media, Trump appears overdone. America, I think is ready for a change. Needs a change. Deserves a change. But a teacher of mine once said, “America gets the president they deserve. Always.” And if true, it makes one wonder what we did to deserve this… The only challenge to this premise begs the question: change to what? Early on in his campaign Joe Biden use to talk about fighting for the “soul of the country.” I think that’s right. But is he the guy to bring the fight? Solar Arc Saturn to his natal Node, and transiting Neptune coming to the I.C. suggests a guy bringing a knife to a gun fight. It doesn’t look good. But maybe Joe is merely the sacrifice. Perhaps this election is not so much about Joe needing to win, but more about him not losing like happened in 2016. In any event, I think the V.P. position on either ticket becomes much more consequential going forward than the head of either ticket. Trump will be 74 and Biden will be 78. It is possible that Trump’s work is done and now the final dismantling of old structures needs to be handed over to another aspect of the force who will finish this “undoing project” and the final dismantling of America, so that the world can begin again.

Moving Trump’s Midheaven from 24 Taurus in the “official” chart to 8 Taurus in the unofficial chart, the one Trump’s mother supposedly acknowledged as the “true” birthtime, moves Trump’s Moon from the 4^th house to the 5^th house, as well as Saturn-Venus from the 11^th house into 12 and Jupiter from 2 to 3. Temperamentally, the planetary placements for the 9:51 am chart seems to resonate with the personality’s quirkiness, especially the Moon’s extroversion in the 5th, tied-in with a the social suppression of Saturn-Venus as represented by bouts of isolation in front of the T.V., a habitual pattern that Trump formed early on and that has lasted over his lifetime. Such isolation lets the cathode rays bombard a mind into fragility. Neptune ruling the 8^th house and square Mercury, ruling the 2^nd and 11^th houses, speaks to the “truthful hyperbole” quote above, and I think to the Dunning-Kruger Effect just mentioned. Something is other than it seems in terms of his self-evaluation and sense of worth despite his bloviating self-confidence. Despite his being unctuously idolized by sycophants. It’s an act! He’s a confidence man! And he’s putting on a show. If you challenge his authority or make him appear weak, he eliminates you. Only brownnosers need apply.

An open letter to Congress signed by over 700 psychiatrists and psychologists claimed Trump is too unstable for the job of being the U.S. President. (Mental Health Deteriorating) They cite sociopathic and narcissistic leanings, and that Trump appears to be on the spectrum seems to be self-evident. A fitting read in fact for an exaggerated 11^th house with Uranus conjunct the Sun, ruler of the Ascendant, his high-strung need for love and attention overwhelms every other impulse, stretching to extremes. The ruler of the 11^th, Mercury squared by Neptune, mental confusion, hurt, and perhaps being mentally abused. Sitting on frayed nerves and only ever a heartbeat away from having a nervous breakdown, he fights back. His anxieties are probably only eclipsed by his desire for power, money and lifestyle. His need for love displaced by money and material things. Trump was born on a lunar eclipse. Therefore, the Sun, Moon and Nodal Axis involve critical degrees in his chart and transiting Neptune is square to this axis as we speak. Deception, intrigue, betrayal and mistrust are emphasized, and when drugs or alcohol are not involved, something else confuses things, delusion or even outright criminality is revealed.

Little is discussed about Trump’s relationship with his mother, but the chart suggests from my view a relationship that was problematic. She may have been unusual and eccentric in the very least or mentally unstable. If so, this relationship would have put tremendous pressure on Donald and I think the relationship with his mother affected him even more deeply than the relationship with his father, which for some reason seems to get most of the attention in his biographies. This omission is no accident, and more information needs to be unearthed. But the insight gained could clarify Trump’s relationship with his ‘anima’ and by transference our relationship with it as well. The relationship with his father was focused on the family business, but there were deep insecurities that Fred harbored from the loss of his own father while still a young boy and which carried over to Donald. Although Fred’s insecurities would be inherited by his son, it is my contention that these insecurities were inflated BIGLY by the relationship Donald had with his mother. Pluto rules the 4^th cusp and is square the M.C. And even though the mother may have been a primary source of Donald’s oddity and befuddlement, his father did loom large in many ways. Watching his father get grilled by a Senate Finance Committee on national television for example, probably left Trump with a deep distrust in government (even though the grilling was deserved) and stirred enough vehemence in Donald to exact revenge. Ultimately, the fuel for the run for the presidency might be just that, revenge and hatred for past grievances and his family’s disgrace… “… Fred still told his son that he was a king and that he had to become a killer in everything he did.”¹⁵ And so he would become a killer… literally, in 2020 by his mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

A little-known secret behind the Trump family’s ministry of wealth is some strange distortion of Norman Vincent Peale’s self-help gospel. But Trump is more the Ayn Rand of “subjectivism” than he is a practicing “Christian.” And with his minister’s blessing, he appropriated Peale’s message, “believe that you can, and you can” in the echo chamber of the New York tabloids. In the 1980’s his casino empire was burning, and his first marriage was going down in flames. Trump orchestrated the equivalent of a reality gossip column, a prelude to his mockumentary. He learned to whet the appetite of readers, build a celebrity following, and curate the scandalous as outrageous entertainment, a reality sitcom that the public couldn’t get enough of. The Capricorn Stellium beginning in ’88 squared his natal Neptune. He stole Noam Chompsy’s invention of “fake news” and exploited it to his own advantage. He became a shill for unassuming consumers of junk news. Now, in today’s environment, Trump creates cover for himself and his ignorant protestations by pointing to the Chompskian truism that mainstream media distorts information and bends the news to their own advantage. And through the media outlets we are beholden to corporate America. His legions belch in unison, “fake news.” But the “fact” that Trump is not “wrong” does not make him “right.” What the zombie view leaves out, John Cleese puts a tidy bow around in his discussion about Trump… “to me, it’s like people who go and watch professional wrestling and don’t realize that it’s fixed. If they can’t see it when it’s right under their nose, I have no idea how they’re going to realize how wrong they are.” The reckoning is here, and Trump’s supporters are an important and vital aspect for ensuring that the wrecking ball completes the arc of its swing through the old and tired structure that need to be dismantled. More than the scaffolding needs to come down.

Looking ahead into what is possibly the most important election the country has ever faced, let’s look at how Astrology can be helpful in identifying a leader’s fall from power. According to Bill Meridian the following indicators may point to changes ahead:

1. Eclipses Conjunct and Opposite the Sun, sometimes Square
2. Progressed Full Moons
3. Eclipses conjunct and opposite the MC
4. Saturn transiting over the Sun

Eclipses conjunct and opposite the Sun, sometimes square

January 10^th, 2020 a Lunar Eclipse hit Trump’s North Node right on its dragon head @ 20’ Cancer 00”. This was when the NSC reported to him the imminent threat of the coronavirus soon to be pandemic. Significantly, these are sensitive degrees because Trump was born under a Lunar Eclipse at 23 degrees Sagittarius. The ensuing Solar Eclipse on the Summer Solstice, June 21, 2020, is exact on a World Point at 00 Cancer 00. There is no direct tie-in to any of Trump’s natal planets, but there is a tie-in with the U.S. Natal Chart (U.S. Vote for Independence: Jul 2, 1776 @11:50 a.m. Philadelphia. Raymond Merriman. Forecast 2020 book p. 52) @00 Cancer holding Venus, ruler of the Ascendant and the 8^th house. Interestingly, Ray also uses a chart for the Federal Reserve which according to the New York Times, was created by the Federal Reserve Act which was passed on December 23, 1913 @6:02 p.m. in Washington D.C. Pluto also occupies this 00 Cancer degree and was opposed the Sun in the chart of the FED. And the Nodal Axis on the chart for the NYSE lies along the 00 Libra – 00 Aries axis as well. These are important measurements since Trump is the “leader” of the “free” world. Perhaps unprecedented world cooperation and practical solutions are shared among countries that will provide a solution for the Covid-19 outbreak and its aftermath. But that would be a dramatic reversal of the trend which appears to be moving in the direction of every man (country) for himself. More than likely we will see Money and Power humbled by an anomalous fall from grace, after having outsized influence on society since the suppression of the Sacred Feminine (396 b.c. end of the Eleusinian Mysteries).

Progressed Full Moons: NA

Eclipses conjunct and opposite the MC: NA

Saturn transiting over the Sun

During the 2016 election Jupiter traveled through Trump’s 2^nd house and then occupied the 3^rd house for most of 2017. Jupiter came to natal Neptune first, before reaching its return point: A promising and hopeful signature of fulfillment. At the same time Saturn opposed Uranus and then turned its focus to personal ambitions as it aligned with Trump’s natal Moon in Sagittarius. Trump catered to conservative forces and consolidated his power when Saturn moved to oppose the Sun throughout 2017 (the Trump Inauguration, peak power, consolidation of power), at that time he also experienced his Jupiter return. The Jupiter return can feel a lot like a party. Akin to the Knights of the Round Table toasting Parsifal, a climaxing jubilee just prior to the entrance of the “hideous damsel” who breaks up the party by announcing last call. Perfect! By 2018 Saturn moved to oppose Natal Mercury (depressive mindset; Trump tries to censor Michael Wolf and disallow the publication of his book Fire and Fury) and square Natal Neptune. Remember, Neptune represents the soft underbelly of the Trump psyche. The midpoint picture Neptune=Saturn/Uranus. The emperor has no clothes, but supporters will double down on his obfuscation and misdirection. Apparently, none of these “truthers” have been to a Trump multilevel marketing meeting. He drove one into the ground but not before mastering the art of the anecdote so commonplace in their revival meetings, displacing pitch for fact. (… a good friend of mine was a top distributor for a vitamin company that Trump took over called Ideal Health. He re-branded the company as Trump Network. They went out of business in short order after thriving for 20 years, and Trump essentially pillaged the company for its cashflow. An eerie tactic of his presidency, only this time he is plundering the entire country. This is serious!) Jupiter rides to the rescue in 2019 as it comes to Trump’s natal Moon, ruler of the 12^th, house of palace intrigue and deception, his natal 12^th house also holds Saturn conjunct Venus, and Pluto as well. When the books come out on the impeachment process, we will likely give new meaning to what is meant by “smoked filled rooms” and backroom deal making. Republican congressman and the Republican lead Senate were openly gaslighting the entire country in defense of what most of them privately admitted was an abdication of their duties and their being an accessory to a crime. That was the height of the shaming of America. We are now entering a period of disgust.

The rally cry of “fake news” and “liberal haters” is extraordinarily effective even though it is psychological projection 101. Still, it’s not looking good for Mr. Unprecedented. Venus is opposed by Saturn from January 2020 to October 2020 while at the same time transiting Pluto opposes Saturn. This is significant because Venus, ruler of the 10^th house, represents Trump’s position in office; Pluto rules the 4^th house of endings/new beginnings. Eventually Saturn (ruling the 6^th) opposes Pluto (in 12) from March through December of 2021; Saturn doesn’t oppose the Ascendant until the beginning of 2022 in February. If Trump does win reelection it will undoubtedly be tough sledding for him, his physical health will be at risk. But for him to gain a second term he will have to overcome Pluto’s opposition to natal Saturn-Venus first. Not an impossibility. I wrote about this in the delineation of Kobe Bryant’s chart. Big personalities respond to difficult transits differently. We might say some people thrive on adversity and tension. And Trump is a Big Personality; and he is different. Going into this period, persistent pressure on 12^th house matters from the 6^th house may prove enormous if not insurmountable. And remember, he experienced similar pressure back at the Capricorn Stellium during the late 80’s and early 90’s. He survived and then some. But these pressures are intensified today with Pluto transiting the 6^th house and merely incremental to the transit of Uranus coming to the Midheaven. (Of note: In the “official chart” Solar Arc Uranus=Ascendant and Solar Arc Mercury=Nodes, transiting Saturn, Pluto and Neptune show similar stress as in the 9:51 chart. Both charts “agree” essentially.) Trump’s descent, if it comes to that, will be dramatic of course. With Uranus at the top of his chart from May 2020 to March 2021, we will likely see increased volatility in his behavior and expression, fluctuating with the stock market and the economy. The change ahead will be upsetting for him and chaotic, but also lead to extraordinary new opportunities if he doesn’t die first. Uranus will square Pluto immediately afterwards and Trump will likely shift his attention to leading some type of rebellion, either from within or from outside of the government. This outcome has only been bandied about as a remote theoretical and unthinkable reaction, but Trump’s prominent need for ego recognition will raise this potential to an entirely new level and perspective. The battle for the “soul” of the country is not a metaphor. The 2020 election occurs within a 6-month orb of Solar Arc Mars opposed Trump’s Midheaven, exact on June 17, 2021. I think it was a crazy notion to consider that Trump might win the 2016 contest in the first place. Some astrologers predicted it, most did not. Scott Adams predicted it, and his call reignited his career and turbo charged his social media platform on top of his already wildly popular and hilarious comic strip Dilbert. He rediscovered his “voice,” but that’s a story for another post. Trump’s voice grows increasingly incoherent and aggressive. Like his rival Biden, his age is showing. Trump’s Sun-Moon opposition is squared by Neptune, he’s not thinking clearly. He will not see situations realistically and will have difficulty understanding developments. His one ace in the hole, his penchant for just making things up on the fly and the readiness of his audience to gullibly support his delusions, may backfire.  

In hindsight we can say that Trump did not win the 2016 contest. We must appreciate the point of view that suggests the democrats lost the election more than Trump won the election. But Trump sensed the “kill” and he went all in. He was built for politics and gossip columnist Rhona Barrett said as much in her 1980 interview. Richard Nixon’s wife Pat said the same thing to her husband and former President. In the chart sourced from Trump’s mother, natal Pluto is square the Midheaven. Often Pluto in relationship to the M.C. corresponds to government work and a life of prominence. This is a very significant natal measurement and by itself lends efficacy to the idea that the original chart carries meaning. Trump’s 12^th house Pluto suggests an innate understanding of accumulated cultural teachings where he has an almost weird attunement for the wisdom of crowds. He somehow knows what people are thinking, and tunes into the zeitgeist of the country. He then exploits these intuitions to seize on opportunities. With this ability Trump began grooming his audience way back in 1973. He is a product of the media he bashes. He’s an entertainer and gambler, profiteering more from casinos, sports and television than the real estate business. These are the 5^th house expressions of a 5^th house Moon. The Apprentice, the Taj Mahal, professional wrestling, owner of the Generals (a USFL football team, not former cabinet members), etc. Whatever criticism can be lodged against Trump, being short on governance, void of style, or incoherent in his messaging, he is unarguably adept in dog whistling. Even his critics must agree that he has a certain genius for branding and putting a label on things (name calling) that stick. Jupiter retrograde in the 3^rd, making nearly an exact Sextile to the Ascendant, suggests such a “jenius.” Playing the role of “Emperor for Life” in his own mind (Neptune square Mercury). But the actor is merely immersed in his role and may even believe for brief moments that he is the character he portrays himself to be, but at the end of the day it is still just an act. Lacking in cooperative dynamics. Lacking in the attributes he’d hoped to be remembered and appreciated for, he will instead be remembered for putting on one of the greatest (most horrific) shows on earth. Rivaling the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Syble chart, which is one of many astrology charts representing the birth chart of America reveals Neptune transiting through the 1^st house. Neptune squared the Ascendant from May-July 2016 and then Mar-Nov in 2017. Neptune has moved on and contrary cheers from the peanut gallery, instead of Making America Great Again (“Truthful Hyperbole”) the Trump presidency has invited a Great Shaming on America. Not being able to recognize this as fact is like not being able to recognize that the 3-time champions Saturn and Kronos, The Eliminators of Professional Wrestling fame, was an act. Neptune doesn’t come to the I.C. until May 2025. We may need to wait until then to begin a healing process that can help cure all that ails society. Pluto conjunct Jupiter is squeezing in on the country’s natal Pluto Return, and exactly trine Neptune on election day. We may see some unusual happenings and perhaps even supernatural events. Biden will need some Divine intervention I’m afraid, because Trump and Mnuchin just absconded with $500bln from the Cares Act settlement to fund their war chest, money that essentially requires no oversight. Similar to how the administration directs PPE’s when people’s lives are at stake. How inconvenient. Republicans are fighting a civil war, and Democrats are fighting a pandemic. The administration can use these funds to counter any air assault launched by Michael Bloomberg and they had plenty of money to do so already. But this is war from the administration’s perspective. It’s always been war. The deaths from the coronavirus are just casualties and as mentioned a morbid marketing ploy. Saturn is closing in on natal Pluto, and so business conditions ahead may be much worse for the country than expected. With similar past transits as background and the country’s Pluto return still ahead, the time may be ripe for upheaval and revolt. We can anticipate that the price we will have to pay for our collective gullibility will be high and prolonged. But let the healing begin.

For now? “Not so great!” Trump’s love affair with President Xi of China appears to be on the rocks. Strange since the two seem to have so much in common. The Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, recently published a book called A Battle Against Epidemic: China Combating covid-19 in 2020. “the forthcoming hardback is billed as a tribute to President Xi Jinping’s ‘outstanding leadership’ in the fight against the novel coronavirus. With Mr. Xi already dubbed “Commander of the People’s War” against covid-19 by official media…” ¹⁷ But the book was quickly recalled as the department has realized that it needs to rework the narrative. Trump essentially tries to manage the same sort of propaganda from the pulpit of his daily briefings. Lying to the country! Day in and day out he distracts and deceives the public much the way Xi misleads his own people. Trump’s bazaar performances are not working, except for few loyalists. Each “episode” proves worse than the last, some strange cross between a weird magic show and a late-night infomercial. Trump is a “carnival barker” and multilevel marketing storyteller. The nations leading cardiologists have come out warning caution in the use of hydroxychloroquine as New York City and surrounding areas have seen a spike in cardiac arrests of up to 400%. Undoubtedly, not all due to HXC but increased risk of heart attack is one side effect. Too bad the Trump presidency didn’t come with a warning on the label that his base not only could read, but one they might believe in as well. Looks like we had to learn the hard way. I’m hoping its almost over. Even though a Biden win promises to herald in a new administration, time may have in store a certain misery to come and yet unknown. The United States and the world are being stirred in a cauldron of change, passing through a crucible. There is still a ways to go and it won’t be easy.    

1. Robert Johnson, HE! (King of Prussia, Pa.: Religious Publishing Company, 1974), p. 74
2. John A. Sanford (Mahwah N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980), p 56-57
3. Goethe’s Faust, by C.F. MacIntyre (Norfolk, Conn: New Directions, 1941), part, p. 91.
4. Dunlap, David W., 1973/Meet Donald Trump, New York Times July 30, 2015
5. By Politico 12/04/2019
6. Faw, Ursula. John Cleese Call Trump an Extraordinary Caricature of an Asshole Predicts America Shall Prevail, Politizoom.com, November 10, 2019
7. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/president-trump/transcript/
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13. https://keplercollege.org/index.php/articles-opinions/using-astrology/1029-donald-trump-birthtime
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprentice_(American_TV_series)
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