McCain, McConnell & a Stinking Fish: the Astrology of the Senate's healthcare quest

Late breaking news: in the wee hours vote this morning (Friday, the 28^th), McCain cast the deciding “no” vote that effectively killed the GOP’s healthcare effort for now.  

The following statement was released after his vote:

"'I've stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict-party line basis without a single Republican vote,' McCain said in a statement. 'We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of aisle, heed the recommendations of nation's governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve.'"

Rewinding to Tuesday: Senator John McCain did a huge service to the nation upon his dramatic return to D.C. by rebuking the Senate for putting partisanship over solving the nation’s problems. I was particularly cheered when he reminded the Senate of its role in checking the Executive branch:

“We are an important check on the powers of the Executive. Our consent is necessary for the President to appoint jurists and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the President’s subordinates. We are his equal!”

McCain made good use of his personal and political capital in this rebuke—he called out the Senate’s impotent paralysis for what it is: a quest to make partisan political points without having to work with the other side. It didn’t work with the Democratic-only passage of Obamacare, he reminded everyone, adding that it isn’t likely to work with his party’s current quest to replace Obamacare.  As many others have pointed out, the current goal isn’t to solve America’s healthcare problems, but simply to rack up a “win,” come what may. 

Importantly, McCain appealed to the Senate’s sense of tradition, its mission and basic common sense by suggesting a return to “regular order,” a messy, but necessary procedure for bringing the entire Senate into legislative discussions so compromises can be crafted that work for the nation. He put it like this:

"What have we to lose by trying to work together to find those solutions? We're not getting much done apart. I don't think any of us feels very proud of our incapacity. Merely preventing your political opponents from doing what they want isn't the most inspiring work.”

Diagnosed with brain cancer in the past week or so, John McCain is experiencing great challenges these days. I certainly wish him well through all this—and I appreciate his strength and commitment to the Senate and its integrity. It’s an old saw, but there really is nothing like a health crisis to focus one’s attention on what’s important, and McCain certainly seems attuned to that. 

Astrologically, the good senator from Arizona is experiencing some powerful transits and a predictably stressful configuration that’s worth consideration here—not to make any predictions about his health (I will gladly defer to doctors on this), but to explore what it all says about his role in D.C.. 

The biwheel below sets a noon chart for Tuesday’s speech (exact time unknown) against his birth chart (time rated AA by Rodden). This speech seems to mark an important turning point for McCain, so it’s worth a look.

Biwheel #1: (inner wheel) John S. McCain, August 29, 1936, 6:25 p.m. ST, Colon, Panama; (outer wheel) McCain Speech, July 25, 2017, 12:00 p.m. DST (no exact time known), Washington, D.C.. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.

Speech Sun-Mars (Leo) oppose McCain Moon (Aquarius). What a literal cosmic description for the senator’s actions that day! Returning to D.C. with a still-fresh surgery scar above one brow to support his party, but prepared to speak at length about their shortcomings, as well, McCain displayed great “warrior” qualities (Mars) and leadership (Leo Sun). He poured out his concerns in a heartfelt and emotional manner (Moon) which was, to some ears, a bit too reprimanding and revolutionary (Saturn and Uranus dispose his Aquarius Moon). 

Interchart Mutable Grand Square: Speech Neptune/Chiron (midpoint, Pisces)-McCain Saturn Rx (Pisces) opposes McCain Sun/Neptune (midpoint, Virgo); this axis squares Speech Venus-McCain Chiron (Gemini) opposite McCain Jupiter-Speech Saturn (Sagittarius). 

Speech Neptune opposes McCain’s Neptune; this axis squares McCain’s 10^th house Jupiter – clearly, McCain is feeling—both personally and from a career perspective (between his 1^st and 10^th houses)—the undertow (Neptune) of D.C. corruption—and is feeling trapped by it (opposition from 1^st house). In fact, his speech reflected this sentiment clearly: partisan politics has become a trap that stops the Senate from getting anything done—hence, the “muck” effect discussed in the last post here. Several analysts pointed out that his speech was one thing, but his actions in voting to open debate on the GOP healthcare plan were another, contradictory thing--a discrepancy his final Friday vote reconciled nicely for now. 

Interestingly, McCain's natal chart also features a Jupiter-Neptune square, so his career reputation is also being challenged.  

Speech Neptune/Chiron midpoint (Pisces) conjoins McCain Saturn Rx and opposes McCain Neptune (Virgo). With his natal, mutable Saturn-Neptune opposition, t-squared his Jupiter, McCain is no stranger to norm-bending dilemmas that personally victimize him (7^th house Neptune disposes 1^st house Saturn). This is probably where he acquired his reputation for being a “maverick,” not to mention a survivor who manages to work around difficult situations he finds himself in. The addition of transiting Neptune/Chiron here imposes a painful urgency on McCain that lights up his t-square for a new round of struggle. 

His speech, and these mutable energies (especially Jupiter and Neptune), reflect that he is seeing the downside to waging an ideological crusade for the sake of ideology alone. He comes by that “crusade” naturally: Neptune and Jupiter co-rule McCain’s Pisces ASC. His powerful history in national defense matters is reflected in the house placements of these points. 

 Interchart T-Square: Speech Venus (Gemini) opposes Speech Saturn (Sagittarius); this axis squares McCain’s Venus (Virgo). Obviously, all of this ties into the larger Grand Square configuration, as well.  The outpouring of good wishes and support he has experienced since announcing his diagnosis is certainly reflected in Venus’s presence here (his natal Virgo Venus speaks to health issues), and so is the renewed appreciation he expresses for the privilege of serving in the Senate (Speech Saturn).

The wide square from Speech Chiron to natal Chiron (Pisces-Gemini) reminds us that McCain is experiencing a late-life Chiron-square-Chiron transit (out of 3° orb for now, but returning there soon and finishing out the year within orb). Reflecting back on his life and the good fortune he’s enjoyed is quite natural at this juncture. 

Flashing forward to Friday morning’s final vote: If MSNBC’s 1:40 a.m. timing for the final vote is accurate, McCain’s Virgo Sun and Neptune fell over the Vote’s 4^th house, opposing Vote Neptune in the 10^th. The same Neptunian force that has undermined McCain’s health allowed him to have the final say on GOP healthcare efforts. 

IMHO, we owe McCain a deep debt of gratitude for stepping up to this challenge. Again, we wish the good senator well as he begins his cancer treatments. 

Mitch’s quest

A bit of interesting healthcare-related history is in order. According to Wikipedia, Mitch McConnell was stricken with polio as a young child, and he was treated, and probably saved from a lifetime of disability, by the same Warm Springs in Georgia that helped Franklin Delano Roosevelt treat his polio. McConnell is quoted as saying his care at the Springs nearly “broke” his family at the time—an interesting note that makes me wonder why, as Kentucky’s senior senator, he wouldn’t like to see today’s families spared the trauma of catastrophic healthcare bills. 

Contrary to McCain’s message, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems to still be under the illusion that radical partisanship works. With John McCain casting the deciding no vote, however, the final vote of McConnell’s Healthcare “Vote-a-Rama” at 1:40 a.m. Friday morning (7/28) proved that such tribalism certainly is not working for the GOP. As NBC’s Chuck Todd put it, McCain “saved Senate Republicans from themselves.” 

Joining Republican hold-outs Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins in voting no, McCain viewed the final bill presented—the so-called “skinny repeal”—to be a sham designed to pass the problem back to the House with little serious Senate input. Others who shared this view with him, such as Lindsey Graham, still voted for the bill; to his everlasting credit McCain decided to use his vote to call out that nonsense for what it was. 

It’s a shame that McConnell was so intransigent about the secretive, closed-door, GOP-only process he called for in pushing this healthcare debacle. As we’ll see, his natal chart reveals a definite rut-bound streak that has probably served his career well over the years, but is probably not helping him right now. Only in the past two days has the full Senate been given a chance to debate healthcare, and from discussions I’ve seen, they’re not even clear at all times what the various versions of the bill propose. How could this convoluted mess possibly improve the nation’s healthcare options?!

I won’t even try to sort through the tangled web the GOP has woven with all its healthcare-related maneuverings, but in the end, it seems that McConnell is reaping the harvest of his intransigence with the failure of the GOP’s healthcare efforts. Let’s examine the chart for the failed 1:40 a.m. vote next to his natal (noon, no time available) chart. 

Biwheel #2: (inner wheel) Failed Senate Healthcare Vote, July 28, 2017, 1:40 a.m. DST, Washington, D.C.; (outer wheel) Mitchell McConnell, February 20, 1942, 12:00 p.m. War Time (noon chart, no time available), Sheffield, Alabama. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node. 

McConnell Venus-Mercury-Vote MC (Aquarius) oppose Vote Mars-Sun-Part of Fortune-McConnell Pluto-Part of Fortune-Chiron (Leo). Cutting across the 9^th-3^rd house axis of the Vote chart, this aptly represents a legislative event that was highly-pressurized for McConnell—he had a lot riding on the success of this effort and the Cosmos simply wasn’t with him on it. Possible financial implications are also evident in McConnell’s Venus-Pluto opposition falling afoul of Vote Mars-Sun: we can only wonder what that means (wealthy campaign donors might ditch him?).

The impact on McConnell’s Chiron is wide, but as Mars transits over that point shortly, we may hear more: do we need to worry about Trump taking out his anger with McConnell on his wife, Elaine Chao, who happens to be Trump’s Secretary of Transportation? That would be a serious wound to McConnell. 

McConnell Mars-Saturn-Uranus (Taurus) fall over Vote 12^th house, square McConnell Sun (Pisces) and separately trine both Vote Pluto (Capricorn) and McConnell Virgo Neptune. These are two separate trines because McConnell’s Neptune and Vote Pluto are not trine. This seems to reflect disconnects between McConnell’s material priorities—the concerns that have driven his commitment to repealing the ACA. As mentioned earlier, McConnell has good reason to empathize with families whose members have pre-existing conditions (like his polio would be today), so his intransigence in wanting to forge ahead taking healthcare away from people flies in the face of something in his own nature (Sun) that he seems to have repressed. In worst cases, Polio (a Neptunian epidemic) strips any sort of control away from its victims (Pisces)—with all his fixed energy, McConnell is entitled to some deep-seated trauma over that experience.

In keeping with his fixed energies, in his post-vote comments, McConnell remained adamant about his “Obamacare is a failed program” mantra—clearly, either he is unable to see the other side of the story (that the ACA could be fixed with a bipartisan effort) or he’s simply too caught up in political pressures to bend. One way or another, his entrenched natal Taurus energies didn’t work for him in the end. 

If we were looking at his chart next to Trump’s, in fact, we would see that McConnell’s very fixed, determined Taurus stellium squares Trump’s bullying Leo Mars-Asc. Perhaps this is the pressure that has kept him on this repeal-and-replace quest, whatever the consequences?

The fact that McConnell’s Taurus stellium falls over the Vote’s 12^th house is significant, too: the 12^th house is the Cosmic Waiting Room, where Neptune subverts even the best-laid plans. Never mind plans that are haphazard and morally-conflicted like this repeal effort has been. The 12^th house also forces one to consider big existential questions like “how did I get here?” and “do I really want to be traveling this path?” McConnell will be grappling with these questions, as he decides whether to get behind bipartisan efforts going forward. This isn’t going to be easy for him.  

Final thoughts

McConnell is part of the 1940s cohort born with Saturn-Uranus conjunct in Taurus, and this group may be vulnerable to the August 21^st total eclipse in late Leo, coming soon to the U.S. Like McConnell, this group also has Chiron in early Leo, being transited by Mars, so this is a group to watch going forward.  

Finally, as we saw with McCain, Neptune is also the “usual suspect” throwing McConnell into an uncertain future. I suspect that if White House Tweets begin to fly, attempting to humiliate and unseat McConnell, his colleagues will rise to his defense, as they’ve done with Jeff Sessions. Specifically, Neptune is now tracking with McConnell’s Virgo-Pisces Nodal axis, t-squaring his Gemini Jupiter, and probably challenging both his ideological leanings and his life of public service. 

From his concession comments after the vote this morning, it sounds like he was sure the GOP was doing the American public a favor with its healthcare efforts. The outpouring of protests around the country saying otherwise meant nothing?

This seemingly twisted viewpoint McConnell promoted was also protested or questioned by the medical industry, physicians, hospitals, the Congressional Budget Office, and virtually everyone who’s sat down to crunch the numbers. Unless I simply can’t see things from their side of the Looking Glass, it seems to me that the GOP has no idea what the American public wants and needs. 

Or—more likely—their whole healthcare effort was a Neptunian smoke-screen concealing other priorities (i.e., tax cuts for the wealthy). Given McConnell’s GOP leadership role, some responsibility for that distortion belongs to him—hence the pressure on his Nodal axis.

There’s a reason we’re hearing Neptunian analogies like the “fish stinks from the head” in the news these days: in mid-Pisces, Neptune is roiling D.C. with mutable madness. The “head” implicated here is Trump himself, whose Gemini-Sagittarius oppositions are vulnerable to Neptune’s undermining energies right now. We’re seeing the effects on McConnell, McCain, and the Senate’s “stinking fish” of a healthcare bill. 

And, we’re seeing it with the Scaramucci-led chaos in the White House this week, which has Neptune’s fishy fingerprints--distracting and deflecting attention from serious issues like the Russia investigation, not to mention Trump's ridiculous tweets banning transgender Americans from serving in the military--all over it. 

I caught a quick conversation that put a lot of the past week’s White House news into context, although the link eludes me: in a nutshell, the journalist said that Trump has sold the American public on the idea that “shamelessness…is fearlessness.” Again, playing with Neptunian mirrors and distorting reality: if the fish stinks, it stinks!!

What a brutal wake-up call we’re living through!

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. 

From euphoria to muck: the 2009 Jupiter-Neptune cycle lives on

We rarely stop to consider the Jupiter-Neptune cycle in any depth—it sounds so friendly, so expansive and bubbly. And, in fact, it can be all those things. Remember the tsunami-style state of euphoria that swelled over Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day 2009? Even those who didn’t vote for Barack Obama, or didn’t really welcome the idea of our first black president, had to feel a bit energized and uplifted that day. 

However, as with every outer planetary cycle, there’s a dark side to Jupiter-Neptune energies, and we’re seeing the results in today’s news. Jupiter and Neptune “collude,” if you will, to erase limitations for the sake of growth, and that’s exactly what brought our mainstream economy down during the 2007-8 period. That’s also the exact situation Trump seems interested in replicating, only the limitations he wants to erase are those which challenge his executive power—over Congress, the Justice Department, over voters, and so on. 

Jupiter and Neptune aren’t really interested in the “separation of powers”—they’re more about eroding such boundaries and allowing the “Big Fish” to swallow everyone whole.

So, how did we get here? The last two Jupiter-Neptune cycles are clearly relevant: the January 1997 cycle that launched at 27°+Capricorn, and the still-current 2009 cycle that took off at 26°+Aquarius, conjunct Chiron, I should add. Significantly, both cycles tied into the U.S. Sibly chart in ways that impacted the economy. Let’s briefly consider the context surrounding each.

Globalization and the post-Soviet Union “Gold Rush” days

The 1997 Capricorn cycle set the tone for those globalization-happy, “Gold Rush” times, with great enthusiasm for rolling back financial regulations—most notably, the Glass-Steagall Act that separated commercial and investment banking was repealed by President Clinton in late 1999. It launched conjunct Sibly Pluto—the nation’s planetary corporate “Overlord.” Corporate downsizing, outsourcing, etc. were the order of the day, and by the time George W. Bush handed the White House keys over to Obama 2009—months before the new cycle would take off—the  overblown, unregulated finance industry had put our economy in deep trouble. 

Not coincidentally, this 1997 cycle also explains a lot of the revelations in “The Russian Laundromat,” published by The New Republic this past week. If the article is verifiably true, Russian oligarchs were pouring money into New York real estate and the Trump Organization all through the 1990s and 2000s—not to occupy the properties they purchased, but to launder their ill-gotten millions and billions. 

You might recall that the Soviet Union imploded and became the Russian Federation on December 25, 1995, fresh on the heels of the new 1993 Uranus-Neptune cycle in Capricorn, with Virgo Jupiter trine that conjunction. Even though Eastern Orthodox Christians don’t celebrate Christmas until January, this Russian reorganization turned out to be Christmas for Russian oligarchs. Russian leadership set off a “wild West”-type scramble to distribute previously nationalized industries to these newly-minted billionaires. 

Over time, this oligarch-based economy evolved to become today’s Russian kleptocracy—a strong-man leader calls the shots, and the State, enabled by his financially-dependent minions, do his bidding. This was not exactly the democratic transition the idealists were hoping for from the new order there.  
  
Former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort’s heyday as a foreign agent on behalf of Russia and other authoritarian regimes (especially Turkey) also peaked during this 1997 cycle period—obviously, the details of these investigations are way beyond me here, but the New Republic article is definitely recommended reading!

Short-lived euphoria 

As noted, the 1997 Jupiter-Neptune helped set the stage for the Big Money juggernaut that did so much irresponsible damage to our economy in the 2007-8 recession. Jupiter’s time in Capricorn had a lot to do with that damage, so when Jupiter came up for air by entering Aquarius just before Inauguration 2009, the country was ready for a party. 

The Obama inauguration felt like a refreshing new start, after 8 long years of George W. Bush (who looks much better in retrospect!). Bush’s presidency was bracketed on both ends by the life-changing horrors of 9/11/2001 and the destructive ravaging of our financial and housing markets in 2007 and 2008, which wreaked long-term financial havoc for millions. High unemployment, foreclosed housing and loss of credit standing were still major issues, so whether we voted for Obama or not, we all needed a bit of euphoria.  

On the flip side, I would argue that astrologically, the murky, corrupt situation (aka the “Swamp”) we see in D.C. today has a lot to do with the powerful Jupiter-Neptune cycle that launched on May 27^th of 2009—at 26°29’ Aquarius conjunct the Sibly Moon (We the People). The former Capricorn cycle unleashed Sibly Pluto’s greed, and the 2009 cycle—launching conjunct the Sibly Moon—highlighted the impact that greed has had on the American people. In retrospect, it’s clear that the Trump “uprising” of 2016 was an Aquarian reaction to the excesses of the 1987 Capricorn cycle. 

It’s just too bad that the cards were stacked in that uprising—most likely with substantial outside interference—in favor of a man with little basic integrity, and a long shady history of financial dealings. And, a man whose actions demonstrate how he would welcome a Russian-style kleptocracy in this country: he clearly sees himself as the strong man who answers to no other branch of government, of course, and his dependent billionaire minions would kowtow to him around the White House conference table and do his bidding.

Not to be overlooked—Trump would also love to pass along the scepter of power to his son, Donald Jr. when the time comes, perpetuating a Trump dynasty that could go on for decades. As we’ll see in the chart below, Jr. is an astrological “Mini-Me” if there ever was one. Among other parallels, Jr. seems to share his father’s deep affinity for Russia. To explore these connections, we’ll examine a triwheel between the father, the son and the Russian Federation. There’s an undeniable resonance that proves nothing in a court of law, of course, but may help add context to the daily news.

Triwheel #1: (inner wheel) Donald J. Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, NY; (middle wheel) Donald Trump, Jr., December 31, 1977, 12:00 p.m. (noon chart, no time available), Manhattan, NY; (outer wheel) Russian Federation, December 25, 1991, 7:45 p.m. ST, Moscow, Russia. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.

Please note that we have no birth time for Trump, Jr., so we can’t say anything definitive about the chart angles and the Moon placement shown in the noon chart we’re using here. Even so, there’s a lot to consider here, so to simplify the very complex connections, we’ll map out the major points of convergence between all three charts:

At Trump Sr.’s (hereafter just “Trump”) ascendant: the Russian Federation’s Moon and Jr.’s Saturn conjoin in early Virgo and conjoin Trump’s late Leo ASC-Mars. The Russian people (Moon) and Jr. clearly know how to tap into Trump’s ego needs and “play him” if you will for their purposes. Jr.’s Saturn here suggests that his role is to administer for Dad—hence his role (with brother Eric) overseeing the Trump Organization’s business (or at least appearing to) while Trump is in office. In that capacity, Jr. is supposed to not be involved in the day-to-day business of the White House, but that’s a big question mark. 

Russia’s Moon (with these strong connections to the Trump charts) exactly trines its national Capricorn Sun, representing their leadership, so the friendly, tangibly-beneficial (earth signs) relationship between the Trumps and Russia seems clear. Jr. has been on record talking about the volume of money that has poured into their organization from Russia over the years, despite Trump’s later attempts to deny financial ties with Russia.

Russia’s Virgo Jupiter-Sagittarius Mercury/Mars (midpoint) square creates an interchart T-Square with Trump’s Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon and with Jr.’s Sagittarius Mercury-Neptune. The promise of Russian wealth (Jupiter) appears to motivate Trump’s (and Jr.’s) ambitious agenda, but Jr.’s Mercury-Neptune is triggered here by Russia’s aggressive, propaganda/money machine, Jupiter-disposed Mercury/Mars, and this perhaps explains his lack of ethical boundaries when it comes to dealing with Russia. “Most people would have taken that meeting,” Dad said in Jr.’s defense during last week’s troubling revelations (see here for a chart for that event). 

Jr.’s mindset is clearly attuned to Dad’s emotional, Full Moon need (Gemini-Sagittarius Sun-Moon) to accomplish his goals and cut through obstacles by any means necessary. Contact with Russia likely stimulates this need further (Mars) and makes Jr. a valuable go-between (Mercury). This raises questions about whether Trump is somehow beholden to Russia in ways that keep him “loyal”—a possibility prosecutor Mueller is undoubtedly considering.

Russia’s Capricorn No. Node-Uranus-Neptune oppose Trump’s Cancer Mercury-Saturn-Venus, particularly stimulating Trump’s Mercury/Venus (midpoint); Jr.’s Capricorn Venus-Sun conjoin Russia’s Sun-Node-Uranus-Neptune. Trump’s Cancer gathering seems to explain his thin-skinned defensiveness when challenged, and probably represents a great well of personal and financial anxiety/insecurity that he projects onto others when he attacks them for things he’s doing. His Mercury falls square his Libra Neptune (Jr.’s conjunction shows that the astrological pear falls close to the pear tree), and Mercury disposes his Gemini Sun-Node-Uranus, confirming that for him, the best defense is a shocking offense. His mercurial nature makes Twitter the perfect tool for this.

The ties between Jr. and Russia in this triwheel are especially interesting for the way the Capricorn points of both Jr. and Russia oppose Trump’s Cancer Mercury/Venus. Clearly, Trump takes some comfort from this strong-feeling Capricorn energy on his team, and this is probably doubly true because there are financial implications. If the news reports (and the Trump boys’ comments in this regard) are true, the Trump Organization has profited mightily from the reorganization of the Soviet Union over the years—and Russian meddling in our election may have won the family the election. The election was a family (Cancer-Capricorn) affair and Trump’s presidency carries that forward.

But there is an astrological catch. All of these significant Cancer-Capricorn oppositions form an interchart T-square with Trump’s Libra points (Neptune-Chiron-Jupiter) and Jr.’s Libra Node-Pluto. The Trumps are clearly aligned when it comes to values (these points fall over Trump’s 2^nd house), a sense of wounded entitlement (Chiron’s contribution) and destiny (Jr.’s Node), but this t-square questions whether the Russians will have their backs forever. 

Most likely, they will just as long as the Trump White House proves useful to them: Russia’s Aquarius Saturn inconjoins Trump’s Cancer Mercury and Trump Jr.’s Virgo Saturn. It should be pointed out here that in the Sibly chart, the president is represented by the 13°+Cancer Sun: this point falls closely opposite Russia’s aggressive Capricorn Uranus-Neptune: this surely supports our Intelligence services’ concern that Russia is determined to get something out of the U.S. president, and that it’s working to undermine our democracy. Uranus disposes Russia’s Aquarius Saturn, which trines Trump’s Libra Neptune; we can’t draw legal conclusions from this, but the relationship is suggestive.

Trump’s already made one major concession to the Russians in Syria (canceling the CIA program that was arming forces opposed to Assad), probably one reason why Congress is working to prevent Trump from rolling-back the sanctions they are currently proposing for Russia and others. It’s quite possible that Russia’s Uranus-Neptune square to the Trumps’ Libra points will begin to pinch either their finances (Trump Jupiter, ruling his 8th; Jr.’s Pluto) or their reputations (Trump’s Jupiter also rules his 5^th)—all the more reason Special Prosecutor Mueller needs to access Trump finances to understand what’s going on with Russia. 

Things are going to get interesting. As we saw last week with his ill-fated June 2016 meeting, Trump Jr.’s weak spot seems to be “foot in mouth” disease (Mercury-Neptune), and through an excess of enthusiasm for pleasing Dad he stumbles into situations that incriminate himself, the Trump administration itself, and the Russians. It’s hard to not misspeak when the modus operandi is to “make things up as you go:” with their respective Mercury-Neptune connections, the facts are often quite malleable for both Trumps.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/7/22/1683053/

Attributed to Bradford Veley, via CartoonStock.com

The family biz
 
Obviously, the Trump saga is a soap opera that just won’t quit, but one last dimension to the story deserves attention in light of the 2009 Jupiter-Neptune cycle we’re still experiencing. Since Jupiter and Neptune tend to unleash forces into the collective that were pent up for some reason, they are closely associated with contagious fear-mongering, hysteria, and the mob mentality that often results. They could also be related to pent up anger about real oppression on the part of government officials—i.e., involving police abuse, the incredible excesses of our prison incarceration rates, attempts at race-based voter suppression, and so on. There is considerable unrest afloat that could ignite if things get worse instead of better. 

The almost “cult”-like impact that Trump’s campaign wielded on his 38-40% base fits here, as well: rules, norms, facts, and rational behavior lost out to over-the-top emotionalism and a “follow-the-leader” (over the brink) kind of mentality that Trump often used during campaign speeches to stoke violent emotion, if not violent acts. IMHO, we need to take Trump’s hold on his followers’ emotions seriously:  history is filled with examples of would-be dictators getting their hooks into people using this same playbook. 

In 2015-6, these emotion-laden dynamics were energized to Trump’s benefit by the Uranus-Pluto square from cardinal Aries to Capricorn (Uranus transited trine Trump’s aggressive Leo Mars-ASC throughout the campaign). Among other results, the spike in race- and ethnicity-based hate crimes since 2015 (especially targeting Muslims) reflects all this.

Importantly, Trump’s family seems okay with all this—Donald, Jr. is reportedly an avid consumer of Alt-right news and seems to share his father’s (and grandfather Trump’s) white supremacist/anti-immigrant attitudes. Their “Make America Great Again” mantra stops where business concerns begin, however: this past “Made in America” week was marked by Mar-a-Lago  seeking more foreign workers. That’s Jupiter-Neptune: make up the rules as you go, stoke emotions whenever possible, and always maintain plausible deniability!

What’s on the horizon?

The lies are already catching up with the Trump administration, but then that’s been happening since day one of his presidency. The question is, will Trump, Trump, Jr. and other administration members involved (like Jared Kushner, etc.) be held accountable when the full truth finally emerges? Time will tell, but if we know anything about Trump, it’s that he loves a useful distraction. In this regard, one upcoming cosmic event is worth watching. 

As we’ve considered on this blog, a total solar eclipse traverses the continental U.S. on August 21st (see here for more) that will closely conjoin Trump’s Mars-ASC: this could have far-reaching effects on the Trump administration, but it’s important to note that eclipses aren’t always negative for those whose charts connect—the transits alone to Trump’s chart are fairly supportive looking, in fact.

So, does the eclipse give Trump’s power (Mars) a boost, or does it portend the opposite? 

Until Jupiter exits Libra and enters Scorpio this coming October, separating from its square to transiting Pluto, I’m inclined to think Trump will continue enjoying support as he pushes for kleptocratic reforms. Perhaps Congressional Republicans (Jupiter) will stop enabling him quite as much come October.  

I am frankly concerned that the eclipse portends an internal revolt or an external threat that could give Trump an excuse to impose martial law on the nation. We can only imagine what damage he might try to do with our democracy—and the Mueller investigation—at that point. Another period to watch is early September, when Mars transits over the 28°+Leo eclipse point, reactivating the eclipse. Russia benefits any time we are in a state of turmoil, so stay tuned!

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.