Astrologically, they look like two figures facing off in a classic “duel.” Because Comey’s Sun opposes Trump's Sun and conjoins Trump’s Moon, the challenge Comey poses to Trump is tangible, and it's emotional.
This is a long-term, irritating relationship, of course—yesterday’s hearings were probably just the beginning.
As I write this, Jupiter appears—from
our vantage point—to be shifting gears into “PARK,” looking over his shoulder
for oncoming traffic while slowing his backwards (“retrograde”) movement and
shifting into “DRIVE”—“station direct.” This is always a momentous occasion in
astrological circles: a retrograde Jupiter can be difficult to deal with if
you’re trying to get something done in this world.
We “spin wheels” and “tread water”
under this retrograde; goals go partially fulfilled, action plans run into
obstacles, patience gets worn thin, and growth is mediocre at best. In Libra—the stylish sedan Jupiter’s
driving these days—relationships, alliances and negotiations can be stymied.
Former FBI Director Comey’s testimony
yesterday on Capitol Hill caught the tail end of Jupiter Rx, so it felt
like those concerned with Trump’s behavior in the White House took several
steps forward, yet not the slam dunk “gotcha”
many were hoping for. Surprising? Not really, given the situation and the
characters in this drama.
We haven’t seen the last of that
drama, of course. Importantly, Jupiter is shifting gears at 13°+Libra—conjunct the U.S.
Sibly Saturn (Congress, the Judiciary) and exactly square the U.S.
Sibly Sun (the president and the nation itself). Of course, a square
from Jupiter is like the proverbial “slap on the wrist,” followed by a “wink,
wink, nod, nod” that you’re not really about
to be held accountable for anything, but even from Jupiter, a square does
produce tension and imperatives.
So, in yesterday’s hearing, all
three branches of the U.S. government were caught in the “last gasp” of the
retrograde, despite the hype. If we thought that the (normally) damning things
former FBI Director James Comey revealed about his interactions with Donald
Trump would have immediate impact, we
might have been disappointed.
This is at least partially due to the fact that Trump has been experiencing Jupiter’s
on-again, off-again return to his natal Jupiter Rx (17°+Libra) since December,
2016, during his presidential transition period. Yes, he’s gotten away with a
lot because of this, yet very little of his agenda has actually been signed into law--another sign of the retrograde's inertia. We'll see if that starts changing with Jupiter's switch to direct motion.
Jupiter's "blessing" on Trump may also explain why he hasn’t
quite grasped the distinction between being a democratically-elected president
and being an autocratic CEO—Jupiter/Zeus expects
and needs loyalty and blind
obedience to get by with his arrogant shenanigans. Those themes came up a lot
in the hearing.
This “grace period” Trump’s enjoying
is—in the nature of a Jupiter Rx—far from unconditional,
however. He is beset on all sides with challenges to his authoritarian excesses,
his odd affinity for the Russians, his total disinterest in what their attack
on our democracy during the election was all about, or what we should do about
the threat going forward. This issue was raised several times in yesterday’s
hearing with Comey, and despite the Trump camp’s preference for fogging over
the whole “Russia thing,” Comey was unequivocal:
"There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever. The
Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose.
They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical
efforts. And it was an active-measures campaign driven from the top of that
government. There is no fuzz on that."
As we’ll see below, this Jupiter
dynamic is key to the challenging impasse the nation’s “checks and balances”
appear to be in at the moment, and Comey is likely to remain a key figure in
the unfolding drama. It appears to this astrologer that he and Trump are, at
this time, the ultimate “dueling” opponents in the OK Corral we call
Washington, D.C.
Let’s consider the Triwheel
below for their two nativities, against the 10 a.m. chart for Comey’s testimony
yesterday.
Triwheel
#1: (inner wheel) Donald J.
Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, NY.; (middle wheel) James
Brien Comey, Jr., December 14, 1960, 12:00 p.m. ST (noon chart, no time
available), Yonkers, NY; (outer wheel) Comey Testimony,
June 8, 2017, 10:00 a.m. DST, Washington, D.C.. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
Interchart
T-Square: Testimony Pluto (Capricorn)
conjoins Comey Jupiter-Saturn (Capricorn) and opposes Trump Mercury/Saturn
(midpoint, Cancer)-Comey Mars Rx (Cancer); this axis squares Testimony Jupiter
RX (Libra) conjoins Trump Chiron-Jupiter Rx (Libra). This is an epic
clash of cardinal energies, and is almost Shakespearean in the scope of its
power struggle and conflicting loyalties (such as Comey was faced with, between
country and Trump). Faced with a heavy Capricorn Pluto square his ongoing Jupiter
return, Trump’s stake here is gaining a stronger foothold on presidential power,
whatever that takes. It’s not surprising that his Twitter feed is full of
attempts to defame and tear down Comey’s reputation.
We can see how this happens with
Trump’s Libra Chiron: his character “wound” (perhaps one of many) seems to be
an inability to treat people fairly if there’s the slightest hint they wish to
restrain his ambitions (Chiron conjoins Jupiter Rx).
If he doesn’t get what he wants, it’s always someone else’s fault.
By contrast, Comey seems to have
internalized the higher energies of Saturn, dignified in Capricorn
(widely conjunct Jupiter, also in Capricorn): he’s a highly respected,
long-serving public servant who is both reputable and realistic, based on some surprising
admissions on his part yesterday. When asked why he didn’t correct Trump when
he attempted to influence him into “letting the Flynn thing go,” Comey
responded that “maybe if I [Comey] had been strong
enough, I would have…” Comey expressed keen awareness of his limitations and
responsibilities throughout his testimony, reflecting his pragmatic (and
self-deprecating) Capricorn energies to a tee.
Despite this pragmatism, however,
Comey appeared ready to fight to recuperate his reputation from Trump’s assault,
which reflects Comey’s Mars (opposite Jupiter-Saturn) and its
role in this configuration. Unfortunately, it falls at the midpoint of Trump’s Mercury
and Saturn,
which puts a target on Comey’s back. We’ve seen throughout Trump’s campaign and
presidency that he uses words (Mercury) to punish and intimidate opponents (Saturn).
In fact, words are a favorite weapon: tearing down other people’s reputations
(and throwing his own staff under the bus, as well) is what he does.
With that same Pluto conjoined Comey’s Saturn
and opposed his Mars Rx, we can appreciate that Comey probably felt duty bound
to throw down his gauntlet and get his story out there, come what may. He has
probably been experiencing something like a “dark night of the Soul,” with this
Pluto passage (which would have been equally challenging during the election
last year when he made difficult choices about the Clinton investigations).
In fact, the Universe seems to be
demanding that Comey show us what he’s made of. It’s hard to be more specific
about the challenges without knowing his birth time (affecting the houses,
angles and Moon), but we’re seeing some of them playing out despite the missing
information.
Most intriguingly, Comey seems to
realize that his role vis-à-vis Trump was similar to the role played in
medieval times by the martyred Archbishop Thomas Becket, the “meddlesome
priest” to Trump’s “Henry II:”
“The reference popped up when Senator Angus King was
questioning Comey, asking him about Donald Trump’s seemingly
casual but firm request to have Comey drop the F.B.I.’s Michael Flynn
investigation. Though Trump did not demand outright that Comey drop the
investigation, even his slightest requests come with an air of seriousness,
King suggested.
‘Do you take that as a directive?’ King asked Comey of Trump’s question.
‘Yes, yes,’ Comey replied. ‘It rings in my ears as kind of ‘Will no one
rid me of this meddlesome priest?’
‘I was just going to quote that,’ King replied.”
I can’t think of a better analogy for the hyper-cardinal face off that we see in this configuration. Each man has
something to gain and something to lose, and the stakes are very high for
everyone around them!
Testimony Saturn Rx (Sagittarius) conjoins
Comey Sun-Trump Moon (Sagittarius) and opposes Trump Sun (Gemini). This
is almost uncanny—the two Suns here are exactly opposite
within 13 minutes of arc, with Comey’s Sun closely conjunct Trump’s “full
Moon.” Astrologically, they look like two figures facing off in a classic
“duel.” Because Comey's Sun opposes Trump's Sun and conjoins Trump’s Moon,
the challenge Comey poses to Trump is tangible, and it's emotional.
This is a
long-term, irritating relationship, of course—yesterday’s hearings were
probably just the beginning.
Comey’s Sun was brought to task
by transiting Saturn yesterday—testifying before a Congressional
is no walk in the park, and it’s all done under oath and threat of punishment (Saturn).
Here’s where we get to appreciate Saturn’s relationship to the FACTS: truth does matter, in the end, to this reality-conscious
energy.
It’s interesting that Neptune
falls a bit wide of forming an interchart T-square with these dueling Suns,
which is just as well, since Neptune will be turning retrograde
on the 17th and moving farther out of orb. When it does reverse course and finally comes
into range of t-squaring the two Suns, however (next year), we should
gain a firmer grip on whose credibility is stronger.
Right now, both men’s Mercuries
(Trump’s in Cancer and Comey’s in Sagittarius) are under Neptune’s
influence—probably another good reason Comey felt compelled to document every
encounter with Trump, who is a natural Mercury-Neptune character (natal
square).
Comey put it pretty bluntly,
basically calling Trump a “liar” more than once yesterday, but not only does
Trump lie, he’s notable for making up
“reality” as he goes, even if he’s contradicting one of his previous stories. What makes this
difficult for others is that he may even believe
his fabrications, challenging everyone else to wonder if they’ve fallen
down Alice’s proverbial “rabbit hole.” This is the same impact that “fake news”
has on our public discourse—what messages are safe to trust?
There’s just so far anyone can take
this loose relationship with reality, however, before it becomes untenable, so
it will be interesting to see what happens when Neptune tightens its
square to Trump’s Sun-Moon. It could be that the nation as a whole will have to
choose a version of reality we want to embrace: Trump’s or Comey’s.
What makes
this a national concern is the fact that Neptune is applying to a
“half-return” (opposition) with Sibly Neptune in Virgo (chart not shown).
Our national illusions will need to be dealt with, for better or worse, and
these dueling Suns (and the individuals they represent) are the characters
fated to be in those crosshairs.
Today, Trump
is claiming that he is willing to testify under oath to refute Comey: he won’t
say whether he’s been taping conversations in the White House or not, however.
If he ever does testify under oath, will he get to pick and choose what he
testifies about?
Interchart
Fire Kite: Testimony No. Node (Leo)
conjoins Comey Uranus-Trump Mars-ASC (Leo), trines Testimony Uranus (Aries) and
Testimony Saturn-Comey Sun-Trump Moon (Sagittarius). The Nodal axis
(Leo-Aquarius) conjoins Trump horizon, taking in his Part-of-Fortune and Comey’s
Chiron (Aquarius). Again, some incredible synchronicity is at work here.
Without over-complicating things, it appears that Trump and Comey are both
caught up in forces that have been unleashed to hold their respective “feet to
the fire.” A “war of the Titans” comes to mind—in mythic terms, the volatile,
primal energies of Creation battled it out, giving “birth” to all that is.
What, we might imagine, will the nation look like after these two are done
fighting it out?
Comey appears fated to upset Trump’s
powerful ambitions and “fortunes,” however Comey himself will also be at the
mercy of these forces, which could be quite wounding (Aquarius Chiron).
Comey’s willingness to be wounded for the sake of a greater good will resonate
with many, and look like “grandstanding” to others. It should be noted that the
grand trine here pulls in the Sagittarius GC, as well—a point that triggers
the release of inconvenient information and revelations. This grand trine also
resonates with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s Leo Venus (a story for
another day—chart not shown), so it will be interesting to see whether Trump
attempts to tear down his integrity as well.
Final
thoughts
For want of a better word, today’s
situation feels “complicated.” I mean this in a specific, elemental sense,
however, because it seems to me that we’re going through the type of
transformation that Florida’s environment is experiencing. The sea levels are
rising on their very low-sea-level perimeter, and simultaneously, the warming
climate triggers fire events that only exacerbate the encroachment of the
waters.
Rampaging brush fires and
encroaching waters are difficult enough to withstand when they happen
individually: when they co-exist, a lot of people simply give up and move away,
and the environment becomes unrecognizable. In fact, people with properties on
Miami’s beaches are reading the “tea leaves” and starting to move out. There’s
no panic yet, but the sense of impending crisis is in the air. What will those beaches
look like 20 years from now?
The combination of
challenges we’re facing is both erosive and creative; an old order is being
broken down in front of our eyes, while a new one is forged in the fiery furnace of will power, ambition and yes, commitment. If the drama in
D.C. this week is any indication, the specific form that new order will take is
literally up for grabs.
Raye
Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and former educator. A graduate of
the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane,
collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs,
culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as
education and health. Several of her articles on these topics have been
featured in The Mountain Astrologer and other publications over the years.
She is
also available to read individual charts—contact her at: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2017. All
rights reserved.
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