Emperor Napoleon I of France (born
Napoleone di Buonaparte) was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, France (then
Corsica).
He rose to power as a charismatic French Revolutionary military
leader; he went on to basically reinvent France as well as most of Europe in
his own image.
He did this first, by conquering most of them in the so-called Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), and then by imposing the “Napoleonic Code” rule of law across this new empire.
In his own times, Napoleon was
compared to conquering emperors like Alexander the Great and Charlemagne.
Napoleon himself was known to believe that Charlemagne (the “Holy Roman
Emperor”) was the only worthy comparison. We might want to consider another
comparison, in light of this history. Leaders with such overblown self-images
rarely end well; it seems the U.S. may now have its own Napoleon clone, Donald
J. Trump.
“He characterized his election as
part of ‘a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen.’ Forget
about his loss of the popular vote. Or his 40 percent favorability rating. Or
the puny crowd at his inauguration in comparison with the throngs at Obama’s
eight years ago. Trump remained a singular man on a singular mission — a legend
in his own mind.
We’ve already become so accustomed to
his egomania that we sometimes forget how remarkable it is. He’s a braggart
beyond his predecessors in the Oval Office, and that says something sad and
scary about the country that elected him and the kind of leader he’s likely to
be. With Trump we enter a new age of arrogance. He’s the cock crowing at its
dawn.”
It’s likely that Frank
Bruni was not thinking about Chinese New Year when he penned the above
lines: it’s interesting in light of his observations about Trump that this will
be for the Year of the Rooster—specifically, the Fire Rooster. Astrologers tend to see meaning in such synchronies—perhaps
Trump’s powerful—and yes, arrogant—Leo
Mars/Ascendant conjunction illustrates the “cock crowing at its dawn?”
But I digress; in poking around in past
astrology publications, I found an article that is helping me put Trump’s
pathetic rush to overturn American democracy with a flurry of executive orders
into historical context. Countries have been turned upside down in short order
before—we’re just the latest case. Case in point here: Trump may be a lot
taller, and a whole lot less well-read, but there are enough eerie echoes
between Napoleon Bonaparte (France’s one and only “emperor” from 1804-1815) and
Donald J. Trump to warrant an exploration. Not just as a matter of curiosity—we
might just learn something about what to expect going forward.
According to a masterful article
written by astrologer André Barbault[1],
there have been a number of efforts to rectify Napoleon’s birth time. After an
exhaustive discussion of the alternatives, Barbault settles upon an 11:30 a.m.
chart, so that’s what we will be using to examine the parallels between Trump’s
and Napoleon’s charts and to some extent, between the two historical periods
involved. Let’s consider the biwheel:
Biwheel
#1: (inner wheel) Emperor
Napoleón I, August 15, 1769, 11:30 a.m. LMT, Ajaccio, France; (outer
wheel) Donald J. Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, NY.
Equal Houses; True Node.
To be clear, while I am certainly
beholden to Barbault’s article for many of the following observations about
Napoleón’s chart, I have adapted my reading to a tighter allowable orb for
aspects (the traditional 4th harmonic Ptolemaic ones), which alters
some considerations. I’ve also added Chiron into the picture, which I believe
adds a valuable dimension to this discussion. I highly recommend Barbault’s
article for further reading (see Note 1). Teasing out the parallels between the
charts was my idea, of course!
Trump Mars-Ascendant (Leo) conjoins Emperor
Napoleón (EN) Sun; Trump Pluto (Leo) conjoins EN MC-Mercury (Leo). Barbault
points out the fierce “Lion” at the heart of Napoleón’s being: here we see that
leader’s fiery, passionate Sun elevated in his 10th,
widely conjunct his Leo MC—a signature aspect for a person whom others want to
follow into battle. Barbault quotes Napoleon as saying: “I am the French Revolution”—are we seeing the parallels yet? Trump’s
arrogance emerges more from his fiery angular Mars-Ascendant—perhaps a
more openly belligerent spin on the same personality quality.
A leader known for being
“lion-hearted”—an essential quality for empire builders—naturally draws
followers. Trump, on the other hand, drew loyal followers with his thin-skinned
demeanor and pugilistic, “anti-establishment” behavior, which is certainly carrying
over into the White House. “I alone
can fix this” (all America’s woes) was Trump’s rallying cry at the July convention,
and Napoleon might have proclaimed something similar—absolute power is a
comfortable fit for such potent Leo types.
Even as an entry-level military
leader, Napoleon rallied his troops with charismatic magnetism, projecting his
personality out onto his loyal followers, lauding them for having “fought like
lions.” Attributing this charisma and skillful communication to Napoleon’s
equally elevated Leo Mercury, Barbault cites the emperor’s self-adulation: “My
great talent is to see clear…”[2]
When it comes to outright bragging,
however, Napoleon had nothing on Trump’s brutish Mars in Leo demeanor. Bruni’s
article is titled “The President Who Buried Humility” for good reason:
“His remarks…at the Lincoln Memorial
early Thursday evening included the assertion that his victory was really
theirs. “You had much more to do with it than I did,” he told them. ‘I’m just
the messenger.’
But then he recited, for perhaps the
thousandth time, how emphatically he defied so many pundits’ predictions and
how huge his rallies were. He has indulged this tangent so repeatedly that
Politico recently published a
story with the headline ‘Trump
Can’t Stop Talking About How He Won.’”
Likewise, Napoleon valued winning so
deeply that he “branded” himself a romantic
hero: cue Mars and
Neptune!
EN
Grand Earth Trine: Mars conjoins Neptune
(both in Virgo); this duo trines Uranus (Taurus) and Pluto (Capricorn). Acquiring
territory (earth signs triad) while assuming power (Uranus-Pluto) over the
resource “spoils” of victory (Neptune-Pluto) was a sure path to
hero-worship (Mars-Neptune) in the early 1800s: subjugating colonized peoples
and their lands was every ambitious sovereign’s economic growth plan, and the
military implemented the plan. Laws regarding ownership and private property
were key to the Napoleonic Code, and despite France’s abolition of slavery in
1794, this “ownership” system was reinstated
in some places under Napoleon.
This grand trine reflected Napoleon’s
leadership style, according to Barbault. He cites Napoleon saying “I draw my
plans of battle from the dreams of my sleeping soldiers”—a stunning, unique
expression of this close Mars-Neptune relationship! Further,
“the genius of their leader—maker of their dreams...these men were won over by
the collective trance so much so that they worshipped and served him as if
there were no greater happiness.”[3]
Napoleon may have had the heart of a
lion, but he valued cunning and calculated deception as well: “I am sometimes a
fox, sometimes a lion. The key for governing is to know when it necessary to be
one or the other.” Barbault attributes
this dimension of Napoleon’s character to his 1st house Scorpio
Jupiter, but his wily, instinctual Mars-Neptune contributed.[4]
Casting a “collective trance”
certainly fits Neptune’s modus operandi, but this earth grand trine allowed
the use of Neptune for the purposes of material
empire building, which may or may not promote civilized social evolution. A Neptune-Uranus-Pluto
grand trine is rare: Barbault cites
the 575 B.C. triple conjunction between these points as the seed bed for this
amazing collective dynamic. He notes that this B.C. period ushered in the
“great prophets (Zarathustra, Isaiah, Pythagoras, the Buddha and Confucius…the
advent of Greek rationalism, the seed of our modern civilization…”[5]
Napoleon (and others of his day) undoubtedly
did impact human civilization in profound ways we take very much for granted, but
he was above all a man who seized the potential of his times for his own self-aggrandizement.
Things didn’t end well for him, however; despite accomplishments that cannot be
denied, he died in exile after a crushing 1815 defeat at Waterloo. His troops had
lost enthusiasm for following him years before that.
Trump Mercury (Cancer) squares Neptune
(Libra). According to New York
Times columnist/economist Paul Krugman,
Trump has been “furious at the media for its failure to reflect the magnitude
of his achievements”—here we see why numbers (i.e., inauguration attendance)
and “magnitude” (the heroic scope of his victory) are so important to Trump. It
seems he can’t quite wrap his mind (Mercury) around the idea of losing
even one vote because that idea
registers as a personal injustice—if one vote was cast for his opponent, it must have been illegal!
In this same Tweet, Krugman
also wondered out loud if Trump is actually mentally ill. Columnist Ruth
Marcus writes that “Trump’s erratic first week was among the most alarming
in history.” This Mercury square Neptune aspect could certainly tend in that
direction, but Trump could also simply be a “fox,” who like Napoleon before him,
knows how to use the power of delusions and uncertainty.
One way or another,
the state of his mental health is for the professionals to figure out. In fact,
there were times Napoleon’s courtiers wondered about their emperor’s mental
health, but his issue was more about depression than being unhinged; his Moon-Saturn
opposition (Capricorn-Cancer) was a clear factor.
When does being an ungracious “sore
winner,” unable to let a personal sleight go, cross into mental health territory? We may find that out
yet; Trump
has announced there will be a “major investigation” into illegal voter fraud in
the election. Since he has no proof to offer those who challenge his
assertions, it appears he wants to manufacture the evidence. Republican voices
are already lining up behind him—this is their opportunity to further suppress
the vote going forward.
The “Wall” being built is not just on
our Mexican border—it’s going to be built around the ballot box, as well. As
for Trump’s mental health, obsessing about walls, imaginary “carnage” and threats
posed by immigrants
and refugees (the most disempowered people on Earth) can’t be a good sign. These
people fleeing terrorism and war themselves are “the roadkilll of Trump’s
posturing and fearmongering,” according to CNN analyst Fareed
Zakaria.
Neptune can clearly promote
delusionary, conspiracy-theorist type thinking, but this aspect with Mars
also suggests an instinct for the optics and narrative of power, and Trump
could simply be “crazy as a fox” here. He is determined to command any and all
signifiers of power—staging his executive order signing photo ops in
prestigious symbolic places, like the Hall of Heroes at the CIA, and so on.
Further, Trump wants to be considered
the “one reliable source of information” for the public (undermining the free
press in the process), and if his team can’t control the narrative put out in
the media, he gets very pouty. When the Mexican president canceled his state
visit here, it coincided with Trump’s face-saving effort to insist that Mexico is
still going to pay for the border wall, “one way or another.” No, all signs
point to the American taxpayer being on the hook for that corporate boondoggle.
Interestingly, Napoleon’s Venus-to-Neptune-Mars
sextile ties into this configuration, with EN Venus conjoined Trump’s Mercury.
Simply put, the trappings of glory are
essential to leaders who are “legends in their own minds”—otherwise, the
“Emperor has no clothes.” Both these men are known for having over-the-top,
opulent taste in furnishings, etc. It’s not hard to see Trump dressed in that
iconic Napoleonic regalia, hand tucked into his lapel.
Importantly, Trump’s Mercury
also disposes his progressed Virgo Sun (which crossed into his
touchy Virgo 1st house last June), and his volatile/erratic Gemini stellium (Uranus-No. Node-Sun). This
Mercury
renders Trump insecure (Cancer) and insatiably hungry for
what comic Trevor Noah
calls “profiles in tremendousness.” Trump’s beleaguered press sidekick (Mercury)
Sean Spicer has the unfortunate job of feeding the media Trump’s “beliefs” in
place of facts (Neptune). Just how long can that go on?
Trump Taurus MC squares Leo Mars/ASC. Since
we’re on the topic, every mental illness masks needs of some kind, and we can
glean something about that. Trump’s chart features a deficit of earth, which could account for his
erratic, ungrounded nature. Interestingly, his sole earth placement is a
powerful fixed Taurus MC. This square likely supports Trump’s stamina—he is,
we hear, quite a workaholic.
This placement also speaks to the
strong career image he likes to project to the world, and to Trump’s apparent need to build and control substantive
territory and structures. This certainly explains his career in real estate,
but it also speaks to his obsession with “the Wall” and his need to control our
territorial borders.
Disposed by his security-conscious Cancer
Venus (conjunct legal-minded Saturn), Trump’s MC
seems to reflect a view that success equals keeping others out of his land. Related, the land (and the riches within it,
undoubtedly) is a business resource (Taurus)
in his mind, so it’s not hard to see why he opposes environmentalists who want
to shield those resources from business. Passing up on an opportunity to profit
from available resources is not his style.
EN Jupiter (Scorpio) opposes Uranus
(Taurus); Trump Jupiter-Chiron (Libra) trines Trump Uranus-No. Node-Sun
(Gemini) and sextiles Trump Moon-So. Node (Sagittarius). Barbault
considers Napoleon’s Scorpio-Taurus opposition an
indication of the Emperor’s fatal ambition and overreach. The ancient Greeks
would have called it hubris. As
Barbault puts it: “The man was driven by the irresistible expansive force of
his being, and we may believe that this need for more, always more, resulted in
a loss of direction, because he always went further, finally too far, the
tyranny of his internal imperialism
[emphasis added] turning against him.”[6]
Clearly, Napoleon’s nodal
axis (Sagittarius-Gemini) t-square to Chiron (Pisces) pressured and
enflamed his driven nature even further. The synchrony here between this
configuration and Trump’s Gemini-Sagittarius nodal axis-Uranus-Sun
configuration is pretty breathtaking: rather than “burning out,” as
Napoleon seemed to have done, however, Trump shows signs of overreaching with
his words and divisive, chaotic nature (Gemini).
Napoleon dreamed of unifying Europe
under one ruler, crowning himself as Emperor—predictably, he made fatal
strategic and tactical errors as a consequence of this drive for “more, always
more.” There’s an uncanny echo here with the 2016-2017 Jupiter-Uranus opposition
(Libra-Aries),
and Trump’s chart also evokes this “excessive ambition” dynamic with its Jupiter-to-Uranus-NNode-Sun
trine and Jupiter-Moon sextile (in addition to the Gemini-Sagittarius
configuration named above).
Transiting Jupiter has recently
returned to its natal position in Trump’s chart (clearly a help during the
campaign), but it may be that throwing open the doors to a veritable candy shop
of power and benefits for him all at once is tripping him up by inflating his
already engorged sense of entitlement.
His misguided assumption that the president “cannot have a conflict of
interest” (just by virtue of being president?) is certainly reflected here.
David
Brooks describes Trump as the “Lord of Misrule” for his aversion to rules
and protocols. He’s a throwback to medieval “fools,” Brooks says, who were
often “rude and frequently unabashed liars….willing to make idiots of
themselves” to prove their worth and strike out at the status quo. IMHO, there
are better uses for the disruptive energies of Uranus.
The expansive, intellectual energies
of Jupiter-Uranus
are also wasted here; so far, Trump seems to prefer the more chaotic potentials
of this blend. Barbault likens Napoleon’s Jupiter-Uranus opposition to his
“inner demon;” time will tell if Trump’s natal trine is similarly destructive,
under pressure from transiting Jupiter-Uranus. The trine is more
“libertine,” since the potentials of both planets are unleashed without the
checks and balances provided by the opposition. Hopefully, transiting Uranus
will step in to fill that void with constructive protest (looking at the airports this weekend and
the aggressive legal efforts of the ACLU, there seems to be room for hope).
EN Saturn (Cancer) opposite EN Moon
(Capricorn); Trump Saturn-Venus (Cancer) quincunxes Trump Moon-So. Node
(Sagittarius). Barbault feels that Napoleon’s Moon-Saturn opposition
(especially with Saturn-ruled Capricorn’s involvement) was his Achilles heel, in
the end. He says it promoted an unhelpful solitary, workaholic tendency in the
emperor. The old saying about being “lonely at the top” comes to mind here,
considering Napoleon died in exile on a remote island.
In a stunning piece of synchronicity, Trump’s
Cancer Saturn-Venus combination conjoins Napoleon’s Saturn.
There’s probably a parallel with being “lonely at the top,” as
well—Trump is surrounded by others, but it’s hard to see him as anything but a
solitary individual, quite out-of-touch with humanity (especially now that he’s
banned a large segment of it). One commentator described an interview with
Trump as “listening to the Admiral in Mary
Poppins.”
Trump’s Saturn-Venus quincunx his
Sagittarius Moon-SNode is a frustrating mix; his
Moon
also disposes these Cancer placements. This points to the way Trump’s emotional
nature seems to pull him in counterproductive directions—witness his history of
bizarre 3 a.m. “tweets” that attack others, so he can then feel “free”
(Sagittarius) to lash back with even more ferocity (a dynamic he seems to
crave).
Is he simply filling that attention
void with this behavior? We see a love/hate relationship with authority (Saturn)
here as well; Venus’s involvement points to why he prefers finance-based
punishments (tariffs, taxes, withheld funding) for controlling others.
Repeatedly we’ve seen that when others
resist his agenda (as the Mexican president did), Trump’s full Moon-Uranus-Nodal
axis configuration simply won’t allow him to relax and let anything go.
This is likely to be an ongoing battle—Trump has already picked a fight with
millions around the world, and his new U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, is putting
the world on notice for him:
"Our goal with the administration is to show value
at the U.N.," said Haley, President Donald Trump's envoy to the
international body. "And the way that we'll show value is to show our
strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies and make sure that our
allies have our back as well."
Haley noted that those U.N. members "that don't
have our back, we're taking names, we will make points to respond to that
accordingly."
So, what’s the plan? Trump is clearly counting
on the military option (he may even “send the Feds” into Chicago!), and a quick glance at the U.S. Sibly chart shows why we
cannot underestimate his reckless impulses: his Gemini Sun-Node-Uranus conjoin Sibly Mars (21°+Gemini).
Haley’s opening salvo at the U.N. lobbed
a shocking Gemini “message” that carefully implied military involvement (Mars
inhabits the Sibly 7th house). Are we looking at a foreign policy
aimed at “getting back” at countries that don’t get with Trump’s program? That’s
not the “greatness” we need.
History
echoes loudly
The possible parallels between
Napoleon’s French empire and what appears to lie ahead for the U.S. with Trump
and Co. makes for a long story, but one parallel leaps off the page that should concern us:
When Napoleon took the reins of power
in France in November 1799, it was as “First Consul.” The French had just
abolished their absolutist monarchy in the bloody 1789 revolution and its
aftermath (lots of heads literally
rolled), so they weren’t prepared to accept another monarch in 1799. Long story
short, Napoleon’s charisma and early popularity as a military hero gained the
people’s trust, and by May, 1804, he had finagled his way into the title of Emperor—over a new French constitutional monarchy.
Napoleon’s ambition for power simply
had no bounds—he was a supreme megalomaniac. As it turns out, being crowned
emperor (Dec. 2, 1804) was more for show than an “upgrade” for Napoleon—no new
powers were assigned to him at that time, but the optics were great. And being seen as great was very important to him.
So, will Trump, as he may think he’s done, create a whole new nation in his own “great” image, as
Napoleon did?
To explore this possibility, I’ve set
Trump’s nativity and Inauguration charts against the 1787 U.S. Federal
Constitution chart; I’ve chosen the latter chart because the Constitution is the
final bulwark standing between Trump and an extreme transformation of the U.S.
in his image. Will he finally settle into life as a more-or-less normal U.S.
president, bound by the Constitution and a Congress and Supreme Court that sometimes, but not always gives him everything he wants? Or, are we in for a much
more extreme ride?
Wherever possible, we’ll stay focused
on new insights and avoid rehashing the contents of past posts about Trump’s natal/Inauguration
chart interactions (see 11/30/16
and 1/19/17
posts). Let’s begin.
Triwheel #1: (inner wheel) U.S. Constitution signing, September 17, 1787, 4:00 p.m. LMT,
Philadelphia, PA. Source: Campion, BWH, Chart #376, p. 371[7]; (middle wheel) Donald J. Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST,
Jamaica, NY; (outer wheel) Inauguration 2017, January 20, 2017, 12:00 p.m.
ST, Washington, D.C. All charts use Equal
Houses, True Node.
So, what impact does the Inauguration chart (representing the new
administration) seem to have on the Constitution here? As Trump’s natal placements
become relevant, we’ll add those into the conversation.
2017
(Inauguration) Neptune (Pisces) opposes Constitution (CON) Mercury. CON Mercury
(Virgo) disposes CON Sun-Venus (also Virgo) and CON Jupiter-Chiron (Gemini). Clearly, Neptune’s Pisces transit wielded
enormous influence over the election campaign (squaring Saturn for most of it),
the election itself, and now, the resulting Trump administration.
The impact Neptune is threatening here against the Constitution’s Mercury
may explain why “fake news” has permeated our political discourse and why
Orwell’s 1984 has shot to the top of
the Amazon bestseller list. Considering
how dispersed Mercury’s influence is within the Constitution chart (via
rulership/dispositorship), the power of delusion (not to mention delusions of
grandeur on Trump’s part, with his natal Mercury-trine-Inauguration Neptune)
will weigh heavily during the new administration.
Consider how Neptune’s power operates: it
basically overwhelms or floods over a
pre-existing reality and chokes the life out of it. Once its objectives are
accomplished, it then peacefully and quietly recedes as if nothing happened:
“Who me? I didn’t have anything to do
with that destruction.” One reporter tapped into this type of power when he
characterized Vladimir Putin’s favorite tactic of deny and lie, whenever he is confronted with facts and
evidence.
Trump is a very skilled pupil of these tactics. He simply dismisses any
inconvenient facts as “fake news,” or “the dishonest media,” at the same time
he keeps flooding the Twittersphere with his preferred narrative. It worked
during the campaign (quite possibly enhanced by Russian influence) and Trump is
apparently counting on this technique to work during his administration. Judging
from yesterday’s performance, it seems that when Trump isn’t able to muzzle
free speech and actual facts on his own, he has wing man Steve Bannon
handy to issue threats.
A critical aside
Neptune’s
undermining impact on Mercury
in these charts is not simply about delusionary thinking, etc.—again, we
need to consider how Mercury’s influence is dispersed
throughout the CON chart to fully appreciate what’s at stake here.
Mercury
also disposes CON
Chiron (Gemini), which in turn trines CON Pluto (Aquarius). In
a stunning bit of synchronicity, Trump’s Chiron-CON Neptune (Libra) forms
the third leg of an air grand trine with these two CON points, and Trump’s
Uranus (Gemini) conjoins CON Chiron (Gemini).
Trump’s continuing tendency to lash out at the “world out there” for
the sake of healing his own intensely felt wounds is seen here, but the stakes
are infinitely higher now—with Trump’s Uranus trining CON Pluto in Uranus-ruled
Aquarius
and his Jupiter (Libra) also trining that CON Pluto, he’s capable
of nuclear-armed destruction in the name of his megalomania-laced wounds.
Such leaders tend to use security and laws (CON chart) of the
homeland as their open-ended pretext for ethically-questionable (Jupiter-Chiron)
behavior. Are there higher, more enlightened uses of these configurations? Of
course, but based on the man’s behavior and mindset, we need to brace ourselves
for the darker potentials as well.
Blessings on us all
CON
Mercury-Venus conjunction. This represents
the fundamental democratic “blessing” of free speech and cooperative trade
relations (commerce clauses). Mercury’s dispositorship of Gemini
Jupiter suggests that this Mercury needs to function
well for the success and growth of our governmental system. Trump’s
Pluto (Leo) semi-sextiles CON Mercury, hinting that there will
be friction and a somewhat uneasy relationship between Trump’s sense of power
and entitlement and our core constitutional principles. There’s not much need
to speculate here—with his draconian immigration/refugee
orders, the clashes are already happening.
Trump’s heavy emphasis on trade relations (and his disastrous first
whack at them with Mexico this week) seems curiously grounded in his power
needs. He has staked a lot of political capital on his promises to tear apart
and renegotiate trade agreements, but deal-making at the expense of civility
and cooperative relationships (i.e., with Mexico) will most certainly come back
to haunt us.
Interchart Mutable Grand Cross: Inauguration Saturn-Trump Moon-SNode
(Sagittarius) opposes CON Jupiter-Trump Uranus-NNode-Sun (Gemini); this axis
squares CON Sun (Virgo) opposite Inauguration Mars-Chiron-Venus (Pisces). We’ve seen this movie before—mutable grand crosses
were a stressful feature of the 2016 election campaign, but thus far I’ve only
considered them in reference to the Sibly chart, not the Constitution chart.
Either way, the nation has been subjected to a long, destabilizing, wounding
shake-up. With his tightly connected Sun, Trump has clearly been the
agent of this shake up—a fact that he is proud to point out.
Many close observers in the press these days are—to their
credit—speaking out about the dangers of this destabilizing force, and how
deeply it may have penetrated our democratic system’s defenses. The Sibly
connection is key here, too: that chart’s 22°+ Virgo
Neptune conjoins the CON chart’s Sun (representing our
ideals and the American Dream), reflecting that the Constitution is the real dream we were founded upon. It wasn’t home ownership, it
wasn’t a chicken in every pot, it wasn’t freedom from taxation, and it
certainly wasn’t the capitalist system that was then beholden to slavery.
Our foundational dream was democracy
and the sovereignty we gained
from breaking free of King George III’s tyranny. Do we even remember what that means these days?
Anyone who has ever experienced a flooded basement knows how easy it is
to undermine a home’s foundation—there’s just no substitute for preventing the flood! Saturn
put up a feeble attempt at prevention this past election season, but in
Sagittarius, it was marginalized by Libra Jupiter (ruling Sagittarius). This
Jupiter’s proximity to Trump’s Jupiter-Chiron, not to mention the CON
chart’s Neptune (Libra) overwhelmed the forces of reason (Saturn)
with “fake news” and promises to “make America great again” (Jupiter-Neptune).
Trump
Mercury (Cancer) quincunxes CON Moon (Sagittarius). If we allow that the CON Moon represents the passionate,
freedom-loving “spirit” embraced by the writers of that document, here we see that
Trump’s thinking (Mercury) is incompatible. The founding revolutionaries were
animated by so-called “Enlightenment” thinkers, such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, John Locke and Adam Smith; taking a page from their writings, the
founders became very cautious about the corruption inherent in state religions
and keenly tuned into the potential of a liberated humanity.
For his part, Trump is happy to leverage religious biases for the sake
of power (banning Muslims, prioritizing
Christian refugees). His fearful mindset (Cancer) is driving his
immigration and refugee policies, with no regard for the anti-democratic
outcomes.
This fiery CON Moon reflects the ideals of liberty and equality that are given
practical expression in this document (CON Mercury in Virgo squares the Moon).
A wide, dissociate trine between the Moon and Uranus (late Cancer), with
Uranus
in a discordant position, but disposing the 1st house Aquarius Pluto-Saturn
(widely conjoined) points to the powerful “complications” these ideals ran into
as the country evolved.
American colonists dropped their differences long enough to unite
against the King, but the Constitution had to accommodate some incompatible
viewpoints to gain ratification. These compromises have been keeping us
ideologically divided ever since.
Enter the Emperor
Interchart Fixed Grand Cross: Trump Pluto-CON DSC (Leo) opposes CON Pluto
(Aquarius); this axis squares Inauguration ASC (Taurus) opposition to
Inauguration Moon (Scorpio). This
nation was founded as a radical transformation (Aquarius Pluto rising) away from monarchy (Leo), which is clearly
seen here. Trump’s Pluto, on the other hand, lines up to oppose that liberation, interacting with the Inauguration points here
(the Moon
in Pluto-ruled Scorpio) to promote a “strong man” government, ruling by
executive fiat.
In all fairness, Pluto signs are a generational
matter, and not all Pluto in Leo leaders have pitted themselves against the
Constitution; we always have choices about how we express our planetary
energies.
Aspects expert Bil Tierney says that the fixed grand cross “tends to
work its powerful energies out on the will and desire level, creating inner
frustrations often leading to emotional crises (Moon). The four squares
intensify the willfulness and unyielding fixity of this quality.”[8]
Women (Moon) are playing an interesting role in securing Trump’s hold,
as well—a topic that might require an entire post!
Those who expect Trump to compromise on Constitution-related issues
have a long wait; legal action will be needed, which brings us to the next
issue.
Interchart Grand Air Trine: Trump Gemini points trine CON Saturn
(Aquarius) trine Trump Chiron-Jupiter (Libra). If we end up being dependent upon Trump’s Attorney
General pick, Jeff
Sessions, to protect the Constitution’s checks and balances in the end, we
may be in for a rough ride. Unfortunately, this trine may point to Trump’s
ability to benefit from, rather than answer to normal legal options.
The worst-case scenario would be that Sessions becomes a tool for
prosecuting Trump’s so-called “enemies” (those who “don’t have his back”
according to Haley), and thus healing Trump’s Chiron “wounds,” in
return for great power and influence for himself. Sessions has refused to
recuse himself from any investigations against Trump, so that should tell
us something.
As it happens, Sessions’ natal Jupiter-Venus (Scorpio)[9]
tie into Trump’s Mars/ASC-to-MC configuration—clearly, Sessions is motivated by
the “blessings of great ambition, achieved by whatever means necessary” (Jupiter
disposes his Sagittarius Sun). In a curious bit of
synchronicity, Sessions’ Jupiter echoes Napoleon’s natal
placement; there are serious ambitions at stake here, and as Barbault argued
for Napoleon (Biwheel 1 above), the
cunning skills of a “fox.” Will he be Trump’s “major domo?”
Final thoughts for now
An emperor claims to derive
his power from “on high,” and a “divine mandate” is certainly convenient for leaders
who don’t want to follow rules. However, that’s not the American Dream of democracy. Here, power derives from the People, and everyone—even the president—answers to the Constitution. If we allow Neptune to erode that relationship between power and responsibility, we are in for troubling times, indeed.
Lots of uncertainty looms ahead, but all things considered, democracy
is working pretty well this week: protests everywhere, with far more citizens
engaged in what’s happening out there than usual. Nothing says democratic
leaders can’t be strong (our Founders
certainly were)—but it’s equally important that the People are stronger.
February
eclipse coverage coming soon!
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.
[1]André Barbault, “The
Astrology of Napoleón,” Considerations, Vol.
XX, No. 4, Nov. 2005-Jan. 2006, pp. 3-51.
[2] Ibid, p. 23.
[3][3] Ibid,
p. 15.
[4] Ibid, p. 21.
[5] Ibid, p. 8.
[6] Ibid, p. 27.
[7] Campion, BWH, Chart #376, p. 371.
[8] Bil Tierney, Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, CRCS
Publications, 1983, p. 87.
[9] December 24, 1946, 12:00
p.m. (no time available), Selma, AL.
