“It is my fervent hope and the hope of millions that ...
such courage is still possible, that today’s members of Congress regardless of
party are willing to look at the facts and speak the truth, even when it
contradicts party positions…”
Former President Obama spoke the above words and more, after
accepting the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK
presidential library this past Sunday. Needless to say, the contrast between the uplifting spirit
of that event and the tone in Washington this week couldn’t be more stark.
Here’s the “short” list:
- Monday: Former Justice Department
Acting Director Sally Yates’ testifies in a Senate Intelligence Committee
hearing about the warnings she delivered to the Trump White House last February
that Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, was possibly compromised
by his ties to Russia; it took 18 days for the new president to take her
warning seriously and to fire Mike Flynn, and then only after the news accounts
started to make him look bad. In those 18 days, Flynn continued to attend
sensitive, classified-only meetings on behalf of the administration.
- Tuesday: “breaking news!”—On the bizarre pretext that the
director mishandled the case surrounding Hillary Clinton’s emails during last
year’s presidential campaign, Trump fires FBI Director, James Comey, just days
after Comey confirmed that the Trump organization is being investigated for
ties to Russia. Timing is everything—the White House aide who delivered the firing
letter to FBI headquarters yesterday, reportedly entered the building at just
past 5
p.m. (meaning that’s the time we’ll use for the event chart ahead). Comey
was not given personal notice—attending an FBI event in Los Angeles, he found
out via television reports, while he was standing at the podium.
As one reporter put it, Trump has been “looking” for a way to get rid of
Comey, and his politically-appointed Deputy Attorney General and Attorney
General just happened to send letters to Trump suggesting that Comey should be
fired, affording him some cover—how much cover remains to be seen.
Calls for a strictly independent investigation into these Trump ties are
mounting, even as I write this. “We have crossed a line we haven’t crossed
since Watergate,” another reporter
commented. CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jefferey Toobin calls Trump’s
move a “grotesque abuse of power.” Even more stunningly, Congresswoman and House Intelligence Committee member Jackie
Speier (D, CA), characterized the
development as a “Constitutional
crisis.”
She believes Comey’s dismissal had its genesis in the FBI Director’s
testimony at a House intelligence hearing on March 20th, which
revealed that Trump campaign members were being investigated for ties to
Russia. “The president has gone one step way too far,” Speier concluded.
One of several high-level voices decrying Trump’s attack on the “rule of
law” with Comey’s dismissal, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is leading the
charge for appointing a Special Prosecutor, similar to the one appointed to
investigate the 9/11 attacks and the 1970s Watergate crisis that led to
then-President Nixon’s resignation.
- Wednesday: Given the timing, Trump’s
meeting today with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov is almost ghoulish. Apparently,
Syria is the topic of discussion, however Trump does seem determined to rub
American noses in the optics, demonstrating (in his mind, anyway) that he’s accountable to no one, for nothing. If something
looks fishy or suspicious, that’s on us. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell
has come out in support of Comey’s
firing, and is dismissing calls for the Special Prosecutor into Trump-Russia
ties. He, of course has a vested interest (and to my mind, should recuse himself on all Trump-related investigations): his wife Elaine Chao is Trump's Secretary of Labor.
Trump himself is saying it’s time to “get beyond” Russia, and when asked
about Comey’s firing, Lavrov
“laughed it off.” Senator Tim Kaine
says he believes we are “living through the stress test for this 230-year
democracy.”
The Personal Dimension: MSNBC
political analyst Robert Costa
observes how closely Trump himself has been involved in the Comey dismissal—the
real mystery is why the White House is surprised by the explosive, shocked and
deeply concerned reaction across the nation. We’ll examine this dimension when
we consider Biwheel #1 between the Trump and Comey firing charts.
The flip-side of this, of
course, is what the firing means to Comey himself: we’ll tease out the dynamics
at work when we examine Biwheel #2 between his noon chart
(no time available, birth data taken from Wikipedia).
A few interesting dynamics between the natal charts of the two men will come up
in the process.
The Historical Dimension:
the glaringly obvious precedent for Trump’s actions is being noted by many
analysts, including Michael Bechloss,
White House historian. He draws the parallels between today’s event and the October,
1973 so-called “Saturday Night Massacre” of Nixon/Watergate fame. In that
instance, Nixon—beset by investigations headed up by Special Prosecutor
Archibald Cox—decided to fire the investigator, as Trump is doing more than 40
years later.
There’s a long story to tell here, but Bechloss summed it up
nicely by pointing out that Nixon wasn’t above the law then, and Trump isn’t
above it now. We’ll examine that parallel more closely in Biwheel #3, setting the
1973 event chart (set for noon) against the Comey firing. Suffice to say, the
echoes are deafening.
The Collective Dimension: here we’ll consider the “Constitutional crisis”
label that many are applying in Biwheel #4, setting the U.S. Sibly
chart against the Comey firing event chart.
Bear with me, please: to do the
complicated astrology of this story justice, I will need to roll it out in
stages, over the next couple days. In this post, we’ll consider the first, personal dimension.
Biwheel #1: (inner wheel) Donald J. Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, NY; (outer
wheel) Comey Firing, May 9, 2017, 5:05 p.m. DST, Washington, D.C..
Interchart Cardinal Grand-Square: Trump
Saturn-Venus (Cancer) opposes Firing Pluto (Capricorn); this axis squares
Firing Mercury-Uranus (Aries) opposed to Trump Jupiter-Firing Jupiter. We
can see that a great deal of tension was released by Trump with this firing.
Interestingly, the move seems to have been calculated for its potential benefit
to Trump’s Jupiter and to ease up on any personal wounding (we’ll see how this
ties in which Trump’s Chiron next). The fact that Trump claims he’s the victim of a “hoax,” a baseless
investigation that he calls a “waste of taxpayer money,” is clearly a defensive
ploy: his security-oriented Cancer points are squared by the aggressive,
shocking Aries duo of Mercury-Uranus.
Falling over his 8th
house, Mercury and Uranus may register in Trump’s mind as a threat to his
businesses, which with this placement, he might equate with threats to his very
existence. His financial conflicts of interest show no sign of being resolved,
and calls for investigations into those are probably also a factor in the
cardinal tension.
Clearly, the investigations
into fired National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s Russian connections are
threatening to Trump, as well: CNN
just announced
that “Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of
former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as
part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according
to people familiar with the matter. CNN
learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired
FBI director James Comey.”[emphasis added].
The plot thickens: CNN is also revealing that just days
before Comey was fired, he “sought
more resources from the Justice Department for the FBI’s Russia
investigation.” By definition, a grand square reflects that many interrelated forces
and concerns converge at once: all of this together provides a stunning
example.
It makes sense then, that Firing Pluto (Capricorn) opposes Trump
Saturn-Venus (Cancer). This suggests that Trump feels under siege by powers
beyond his control, and the fact that he’s not
in total control (damn those pesky checks and balances) is a major problem for
him, one that perhaps guides a lot of his actions. The firing letter he sent to
FBI headquarters made a point of “thanking” Comey for assuring him 3 times that he, Trump, was “not under
investigation.” Clearly this contradicts Comey’s own testimony; maybe Trump’s
thinking if he says this enough times, it’ll be true?
Senator Kaine
(D, VA) points out how “deeply insecure” this president is, and we certainly
see that here. This is not the role Trump
signed on for in the presidential “reality TV” show he envisioned, where he
gets to fire people who fall short in their loyalty to him, and the problem
just goes away forever. His aggressive Sagittarius Moon (a full Moon)
disposes his Cancer points (Saturn-Venus and Mercury), so he doesn’t
hesitate to use offense as a good defense. More on all this as we go.
Firing ASC (Libra) conjoins Trump’s
Chiron-Jupiter (Libra); Firing Venus/Mercury-Uranus (midpoint,
Aries) opposes Trump Neptune/Jupiter (midpoint, Libra); Firing Venus opposes
Trump Neptune. This is a tricky
configuration to tease apart, however there’s a sense that Trump’s illusions (Neptune)—that
he’s somehow immune from accountability—are only partially supported here. The shocked
press (Mercury-Uranus) is already covering the story mercilessly, influencing
how well Trump will be able to charm (Venus) his way out of the brouhaha he’s
created.
In fact, there’s a real
possibility that a cover-up is
underway, with allies (Venus) supporting his potential
corruption (opposing his Neptune). The midpoint oppositions reflect
the “he said/she said” dilemma for those trying to get at the truth,
but they also suggest that Trump will be held accountable in some way for his
careless decision, and the hypocrisy and possible ethical improprieties it
represents (Jupiter/Neptune). Uranus will continue squaring Trump’s
Saturn-Venus
through March, 2019, as Pluto moves into an even tighter
opposititon to these Cancer points, so this is a long-term pressurized
situation.
Firing Mars (Gemini) squares
Firing Neptune (Pisces) and trines Firing Jupiter-ASC-Trump Jupiter-Chiron
(Libra). The growing scandal involving former military officer Michael
Flynn is certainly covered here; the connections to Trump’s Libra points
suggest that the Flynn story does implicate him in some way—most likely
financial (2nd house Libra). Given that Trump’s Neptune rules his
Pisces 8th house, it’s not surprising that he likes to keep his
financial dealings (especially 8th house indebtedness) as nebulous
and mysterious as possible.
Three distinct, but related
threats are clearly roiling Trump: 1) the resurgent questions about why it took
Trump 18 days to fire Flynn after then-acting DOJ Director Sally Yates issued her
warnings against him; 2) the subpoenas just issued for Flynn’s financial
records; and Senator Lindsey Graham’s
intentions to investigate any business dealings Trump may have in Russia. All
told, these threads of inquiry may hit too close for comfort.
Flynn’s offer of testimony in
return for immunity could also be weighing on Trump’s mind, even though no one
has taken Flynn up on the offer. This pressure forms an interesting backdrop
for the next configuration.
Interchart Yod: Firing Neptune
(Pisces) inconjoins Firing Jupiter-Trump Jupiter-Chiron and Trump Pluto (Leo). Elusive
Neptune is always a tough energy to have as the focal point of anything, much
less a frustrating yod, but it certainly reflects the obstacles encountered in
the investigations noted above, which have been on-again, off-again, subject to
constant distortion and sabotage. The fact that Trump is relying on conveniently
timed DOJ letters suggesting that Comey’s handling of the Clinton emails was
the proverbial “straw” that warranted firing is Obfuscation 101.
Neptune falls over his 7th
house of allies and enemies, reflecting his “victim consciousness;” the
inconjuncts with his 12th house Pluto (Leo) and 2nd house
Chiron suggest that this defensiveness (and feeling of woundedness) may
approach the depths of paranoia. The White House’s attempts to “circle-the-wagons”
in his defense also fit here.
Interchart Grand Trine: Firing
Mercury-Uranus (Aries) trine Trump Mars-ASC-Firing No. Node (Leo) trine Trump
Moon-Firing Saturn-GC (Sagittarius). There’s some cosmic Kung-Fu at
work here, with Trump tapping into the public’s passion for getting to the
truth (Saturn-GC) and flipping it to his own advantage. Or at least, he’s
trying to. The Leo Node on Trump’s Mars-ASC presented an opening and validated
his compelling need to regain control, however as we’ve seen, the Aries points
aren’t particularly supportive in other ways.
Even the trine formed by the
Aries points with his fiery Moon can promote over-the-top
emotional behavior that may or may not be productive. The trine also reflects the momentum that’s been
gained lately in the investigations, not to mention the revelations (GC);
Comey’s request for further resources probably raised a red flag in Trump’s mind,
who would clearly want to interrupt that momentum for his own emotional (Moon)
reasons.
Speaking of emotional needs,
Trump seems to be driven by an intense need to diminish former President Obama at every
opportunity, and he certainly wouldn’t want the nation’s spotlight to linger on
Obama’s receipt of the Profiles
in Courage award this past Sunday any longer than necessary.
In fact, this
same fiery grand trine cast Obama in a noble, dignified light, tying into his Leo
North Node-Uranus conjunction, which disposes his Aquarius Jupiter. I won’t go
into it any further here, on this frenzied news day, but the triwheel below
certainly reveals Trump’s “issues” with Obama’s success, and his desire to grab
the spotlight back to himself. It’s hard to envision Trump gaining the
spotlight for anything positive at this point, but he certainly has his ways of
dominating the news.
Feel free to offer your
observations on the triwheel below - more on the historical dimension of the Comey firing soon!
Triwheel: (inner wheel) ; (middle wheel); (outer wheel).
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.
