If you aren’t too exhausted by this
past week’s news to care, it’s been a great week for mundane astrologers to
strut their stuff.
It’s in weeks like these that we see just how well astrological principles apply to events on the ground. A brilliant case-in-point is the chart for Trump’s televised announcement at 9:01 Friday night (D.C./2:01 a.m. Damascus) that he had approved, in concert with the leaders of the UK and France, a “surgical strike” on Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. We’ll consider this chart in depth ahead.
It’s in weeks like these that we see just how well astrological principles apply to events on the ground. A brilliant case-in-point is the chart for Trump’s televised announcement at 9:01 Friday night (D.C./2:01 a.m. Damascus) that he had approved, in concert with the leaders of the UK and France, a “surgical strike” on Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. We’ll consider this chart in depth ahead.
Even though the announcement came
late on a Friday night in D.C.—not surprisingly, after the late-night comedy shows would have been taped, and just
before some of the more in-depth news programs go into weekend mode—we know
that this decision was being hashed over in the White House and among the
military chiefs for more than a week, ever since Assad’s use of chemical
weapons on his people on April 7th.
Interestingly, this date was one exact year from Trump’s first, somewhat impotent missile strike
at a Syrian airfield for the very same reason. Who knows what we should make of
this synchronicity, except to wonder if it was Assad’s grisly-defiant way of
celebrating an anniversary and thumbing his nose at Trump, or if there’s
something sketchier going on between Trump, Russia and Syria.
The situation in Syria right now is
a geopolitical hornet’s nest, with Russia running interference for the Assad
regime, Iran and the U.S. (very dicey relations there) on the ground, clearing
out ISIS, Israel chiming in with missile strikes here and there, Turkey and
Turkish Kurds playing a role, the Saudis thinking about it, and who knows what
else.
Knowing what or whom to trust among all
these players is impossible from the outside looking in, so for our purposes
here, I’ve narrowed the field down to the three major players: The U.S./Trump,
Russia/Putin and Syria/Assad. Trust is
still incredibly difficult: three authoritarians walked into a bar, and…denied
ever being there!
Did I mention that Trump didn’t even
consult with Congress
about striking Syria (and possibly starting a new war in the middle east)? He
would lose face with his authoritarian pals if he did—totally opposite to his
position when Obama faced a similar dilemma. Interestingly, Trump did think to remind Congress to pass his
mammoth defense budget!
A triangulated power dynamic has a
way of playing both sides against the middle, but is Trump really capable of
navigating this 3-D chess game with Assad and Putin to our benefit? Is that even his intention? If progress is made against the use of chemical
weapons in the process, bravo! If Trump has gained a newfound respect for our
British and French allies, all the better, however, a celebration (or a “mission
accomplished”) would be premature.
Unfortunately, Trump’s track record
suggests that he could be playing the “useful idiot,” trading something
precious for the luxury of distracting the American public from the many
scandals he’s embroiled in here at home.
If so, we might wonder just how many
“tails” are wagging the dog.
In all fairness, our allies’ (UK and
France) involvement here lends some
credibility to the effort, and it probably moderated Trump’s (and advisors like
John Bolton’s) more bellicose impulses: on the face of it, we three share an
axe to grind with Russia and Syria, and Assad’s despicable acts did provide a
pretext for grinding away.
On the other hand, Trump’s sudden
turn-about into criticizing Putin and Russia’s Syrian involvement in the last
couple weeks smacks of a cynicism, writ large. On March
20th, Trump called to congratulate Putin on his 4th
term, and then announced in a very off-hand way that Putin would be visiting
the White House any day now to discuss “the arms race.” Huh?
Senator John McCain harshly
criticized Trump’s bromance with Putin at that juncture—Putin’s election was
most likely a sham and besides, it was the week after the Trump administration had slapped a new round of sanctions
on Russia (mostly on its oligarchs) for meddling in our election—talk about
mixed messages!
Trump himself hardly acknowledged the
sanctions, and Putin may not have either...to
believe Trump, the conversation with Putin was brimming with warm
fuzzies and very short on harsh rebukes—guess who would be coming to dinner?
Then, the week of March 26th,
it became obvious that Trump couldn’t ignore Russia’s likely nerve-agent poisoning
of Sergei and Yulia Skripal (on
March 4th), so the administration made the grand gesture of
expelling dozens of Russian diplomats from the U.S. This was done in
concert with 14 European Union members, including our allies UK and France, so
it was an even harsher rebuke than Trump’s sanctions had been. Not
surprisingly, this action seemed to get more of a rise from Putin, who quickly retaliated
in kind.
I dwell on this timeline of
unfolding events and shifting attitudes because we did not arrive at this
juncture along a clear, transparent path. And,
we all have to now wonder what’s next. Trump has already declared “mission
accomplished” in Syria for now, but he’s left the door open for more
adventures—the exact type of adventures that he claimed to dislike when he was
running for office.
![]() |
Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin |
For its part, Moscow
issued a quick and vehement protest at the weekend’s attacks in Syria, but was
apparently “relieved” that the attack was limited in scope, and that Russian
troops and facilities were unharmed.
To be fair, Trump did send out a
tweet-alert for Russia to expect incoming missiles! The press focused on that tweet’s
saber-rattling tone (Trump’s been so “tough” on Russia lately): maybe it was
intended to be a friendly warning and to spare Putin the face-saving pain of
having to escalate? Spank him with “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas
Killing Animal…” and send him to the geopolitical corner. Escalation would be
very bad, no doubt; discerning motives is another matter.
But all’s not quite well that ends well. The troubling reality is, if we don’t
fully trust Trump’s motives, or his unclear relationships in the
US-Russia-Syria power-triangle, how can we judge whether we’re doing something
constructive with our nation’s military power, or if that power is being
wielded for cynical purposes? What’s the plan? And who will be held accountable
if this plan creates more problems than it solves?
Most importantly, where’s the humanity in any of it? Assad isn’t going
to stop brutalizing his people because Trump says so: Sunday morning’s news
included CNN interviews with chemical weapons survivors in a Syrian refugee
camp, and we can all learn something from the resilience of these people. They deserve everything the U.S. and its allies
can do for them, so following up on the ground in the aftermath of the
attack will be essential.
Thankfully, the U.N.
is getting involved, rejecting Russia’s complaints about the allies’ strike on
Syria and considering the allies’ call for a verifiable end to the Syrian
chemical weapons program. Many probably feel that it’s too little, too late.
Hopefully our U.N. ambassador will
be the stalwart here: follow-up is not Trump’s strong suit. Once a campaign
stops producing flashy media content, his attention tends to wander, but the
charts below do suggest that Trump still has “skin in this game,” so this is
far from over.
These are all matters we might
ponder in regards to the charts below. First, we’ll quickly consider the event
chart on its own, and then we will add context to it by examining a triwheel
with the U.S. Sibly chart and Trump’s natal chart. We’ll consider some very
interesting connections with the radix chart of Assad’s regime in Syria, as
well—the astrological plot thickens very quickly!
Please note that the event chart
below is cast for Damascus, timed for Trump’s initial announcement of the
attack at 02:01 a.m. in Damascus. Trump wasn’t in Damascus at the time, but the announcement can be considered the
onset of hostilities, so it makes sense to cast the chart for where the attack
was actually felt.
Chart
#1: Trump announces Allies attack on Syria, April 13, 2018, 02:01 a.m.,
Damascus, Syria. Tropical Equal Houses, True
Node.
Sun-Eris-Uranus (Aries) squares
Mars-Pluto-ASC (Capricorn); Mars conjoins Saturn (Capricorn). I’ve
stretched my usual orbs a bit to encompass all points in this powerful cardinal
square, but the circumstances seem to warrant the stretch. The Aries grouping
straddles the 4th house cusp, reflecting violent retribution
impacting the homeland; Eris can be an honorable warrior at
best, but also vindictive at worst, and her snug association with the other
Aries points here suggests that the time felt right to pull the trigger (Sun),
with Uranian
force. There’s a reason many wars have launched in Mars’ favorite
springtime sign.
Here, the geopolitical “heavies” Saturn,
Mars and Pluto share the 12th house, reflecting the “backroom
dealings” that resulted in this attack. Trump shared none of his deliberations
with Congress, preferring to huddle around a table with top Pentagon brass and
skip over Congress entirely. This was the scene earlier in the week when Trump
melted down about the FBI
and the Mueller investigation, so could what they decided to do in Syria be
related to his gripes with those two entities?
We may never know for sure, but even
the way the boundary between these two matters was blurred in his televised “meltdown”
says that he was feeling the
connection that day. Whatever the connection, we can see in this chart how the
“powers-that-be” (Saturn, Mars, Pluto) felt seriously pushed to act (by
conjunction and by cardinal square). Trump’s natal chart, placed next to this
one, only adds more depth to these connections (more, ahead).
Mercury (Aries) squares Saturn (Capricorn);
Saturn trines Venus-IC (Taurus). This nice Saturn-Venus trine in
earth signs is more about building material structures than destroying them, so
this placement suggests that the Assad regime is realizing (or will realize) some material
benefit from the attacks. How this would be true is unclear—the Pentagon has
released a list of targets that were destroyed, so time will tell more on this
point.
For now, Damascus claims that the
attack was “averted,” Assad
is clearly far from impressed, nor does he seem to feel threatened by Trump’s Twitter
saber-rattling (Aries Mercury). So, we’re left to wonder whether anything of
substance happened in these early a.m. attacks, or whether it was all just a
rhetorical slap on the wrist (Mercury-Saturn) in the end and
another few areas that need rebuilding. The aftermath in the U.N. and on the
ground in Syria will tell the story.
Fixed
Grand Cross: Venus (Taurus) opposes MC
(Scorpio); this axis squares Nodal axis (Leo-Aquarius). This tense,
determined configuration suggests (as it appears) that the situation in Syria has come to a crossroads, and that a beneficial direction is “fixed” for
Syria under Assad, even if it’s only a potential at this point. It's hard to see Assad being held truly accountable for his brutality towards his people, especially with Russia shielding him.
Besides, if that was the purpose of this last weekend's attack, it would have looked a lot different. Assad's "teflon" status is supported by Jupiter’s (Scorpio) conjunction 6 degrees past the regime chart's MC: it’s simply time for something better to happen in this horribly beleaguered country, but it won’t come easy, and if Trump has any thought of taking credit for Assad's "victory," he better not say so out loud.
Besides, if that was the purpose of this last weekend's attack, it would have looked a lot different. Assad's "teflon" status is supported by Jupiter’s (Scorpio) conjunction 6 degrees past the regime chart's MC: it’s simply time for something better to happen in this horribly beleaguered country, but it won’t come easy, and if Trump has any thought of taking credit for Assad's "victory," he better not say so out loud.
An interesting
“disconnect” will probably open up between what we (including our allies) might
consider “success” in Syria and what may actually transpire. Russia has veto
power on the U.N. Security Council and a stake in what happens, reflected by
its December, 1991 radix chart and its staunch Pluto-Venus conjunction
at 21°-22°Scorpio[1]. There
are ties here with the Syrian regime’s chart, as well—more on that ahead.
Moon conjoins Neptune (Pisces), sextiles
Venus (Taurus) and Mars (Capricorn) and trines Jupiter (Rx, Scorpio). Hopes appear to be high that this is a turning point for Syria, and it’s likely that the
powers-that-be (financial and otherwise) operating behind the scenes (12th
h. Pluto
sextiles Jupiter) will concur. Most analysts concur that Assad
has “won” his nation’s civil war, despite his use of banned weapons and his brutality towards civilians, so
it’ll be interesting to see what sort of accommodations he makes with Russia
moving forward.
Do Russian companies soon begin to rebuild Syria
(Taurus-Capricorn) as a return on their “investment” over the past few years?
If so, this could be “boom-time” for them. U.S. corporations are familiar with
the perks of “nation-building”…why would we expect anything different from
Russia?
The Moon-Neptune conjunction
here lightened the mood in the media from its around-the-clock Trump scandal
coverage and cast a fleeting “glow” of heroism over the weekend’s attack. In
that sense, the distractions could be seductive, lulling us into complacency
about a host of problems in the White House. As the coming week progresses,
we’ll probably get a more clear-eyed view of what was really accomplished in
Syria.
This is a good opportunity to
consider the broader U.S. context of Trump’s announcement, in the triwheel
below.
Triwheel
#1: (inner wheel) US Sibly Chart,
July 4, 1776, 5:10 p.m. LMT, Philadelphia, PA; (middle wheel) Donald
J. Trump, June 14, 1946, 10:54 a.m. DST, Jamaica, NY; (outer wheel) Trump
announces joint Syria attack, April 13, 2018, 2:01 a.m., DST, Damascus, Syria. Tropical Equal Houses, True Node.
First, because this triwheel
reflects the “hornet’s nest” energy that’s roiling that volatile middle east
region of the world, let’s make a few general observations. Considering each
aspect in turn will only complicate things here—we need to glean a “big
picture” first and then hope for a few concrete, actionable details we can hang
our interpretive hats on. Remember the focus here: to explore where Trump may
have been coming from when he approved and announced the missile strike in the
wee hours of Saturday morning in Syria, and to get a sense for what’s next. One
major theme seems to dominate this triwheel, so let’s start there.
Shifting
power dynamics
One way to accomplish such a shift is by force. The Interchart Fire Grand Trine between
the Attack
Sun-Eris-Uranus
(Aries), Trump Mars-ASC (Leo) and Trump Moon (Sagittarius) reflects
Trump’s preferred method of asserting American power. His Mars opposes Sibly Moon
(Aquarius), creating a “kite” formation from this flowing grand trine.
This suggests that “We the People” are paying the bills for the Trump
administration’s violent adventures, which may actually inflict more damage on us in the long run than on our “enemies.”
We bear the burden of a weakened
democracy when the “King” (Leo) makes decisions to strike other nations in our
name without our informed consent
through Congress…We will bear the
burden if our forces do more harm than good over there!
The other way to shift power
dynamics is more passive, but equally relentless. It involves the gradual,
yet purposeful erosion of any safeguards against
such shifts—the breaking down of structural norms, the “normalizing” of
behaviors (like viciously attacking the media and the FBI) that dilute and dissolve
our domestic power relations into a chaotic pool.
This dynamic is reflected in the
triwheel’s Interchart Water Grand Trine between Attack Moon-Neptune (Pisces),
Trump Mercury/Saturn (midpoint, Cancer) and Attack Jupiter (Rx, Scorpio). This
flowing configuration also reflects the power of public sentiment, which has been
easily turned against Assad’s use of chemical weapons and in favor of “doing
something about it.” However, caution is warranted: public approval of one “easy”
course of action opens the door and creates momentum for other actions that may or may not be so popular.
Trump’s Mercury/Saturn midpoint is
an interesting player in this grand trine, especially being transited by Moon-Neptune
(Pisces). Michael Munkasey attributes this passage to “breakdowns in
logical processes” and “misleading items deliberately presented as facts.”[2] This
goes back to the question of Trump’s motives and how many tails are wagging the
dog. Fact-check twice, swallow what you see in the news once… shifting
narratives reflect shifting power dynamics!
Munkasey also points out that
negotiations and treaties become bogged down under these energies: this
tendency could impact any U.N. discussions or actions regarding Syria’s
chemical weapons that result from the weekend attack.
Another way to shift power dynamics
is by the full court press: action, lots of it, NOW!! This method is reflected in the aggressive cardinal configurations
in this triwheel: Attack Mercury-Sun-Eris (and Merc/Sun midpoint, Aries) oppose Trump
Juno-Chiron-JupiterRx (Libra); this axis squares Attack Saturn-Mars-Pluto (and
midpoints between, Capricorn) opposite Sibly Venus-Jupiter-Sun-Mercury (and
midpoints, Cancer). We could tease these energies apart into more than
one Grand
Cardinal Square—as I said earlier, a real “hornet’s nest” of powerful
entanglements and aggressive attempts to control the narrative and the
resources.
The mid-degrees of Cancer-Capricorn are known as the astronomical
“invariable plane,” and are thought by astrology to be major power axes. A
quick comment by Bill Meridian will help clarify:
“Many of the great powers are so because they tap into the
energy that streams from these [mid-Cancer-Capricorn] axes…people who were born
with planets at the invariable plane tend to become or feel caught between
opposing forces. That is, they must maintain a balance to hold a situation
together….One can easily see why nations with significant concentrations of
planets at the invariable plane could upset the world balance of power.”[3]
This might be a good place to
remember that the Russian Federation chart ties into all this via its powerful
Capricorn Uranus-Neptune conjunction, exactly
conjoined here by Attack Mars. It’s true that Russia
showed restraint over the weekend—i.e., it didn’t shoot off any weapons in
retaliation—but they may have “bigger fish to fry,” so to speak.
Recall that their powerful Venus-Pluto
conjunction (Scorpio) is now “blessed” with Jupiter’s transit and
that their Scorpio points also fall sextile Attack Pluto (Capricorn). It
does appear that Russia is more focused on financial opportunities and on
solidifying its opportunities for nation-building in Syria, if not the entire
region. We know how Putin hates what happened to the Soviet Union in 1989-91,
so his decision to ally Russia with Assad in Syria may serve some larger,
expansionist “comeback” plan.
Besides, the Assad regime’s Venus
is conjoined by the Russian Federation’s Venus-Pluto conjunction (both Scorpio)
and squared by Syria’s imperious Leo Jupiter[4].
Bottom line, it’ll be interesting to see how Putin and Assad navigate the end
of Syria’s civil war.
Coming
and going
So where is Trump coming from, and where is
he going with this latest attack on Syrian chemical weapons facilities? Trump
seems to be motivated in the moment by
an impulsive, Gemini-style idea stream, always inflected by the Sagittarian
desire to thrust himself into every situation with the most bluster and bombast
he can muster. Observing him, however,
I’ve come to the conclusion that he does perhaps the least harm when he’s
flailing his arms and blustering in front of a crowd. That’s for show, and for
effect, and to keep his base cranked up.
It’s when Trump is sitting with his arms
wrapped around himself in a self-protective posture and speaking in that dusky,
slow-burning tone of voice he assumes when he’s feeling very defensive that we
need to be concerned.
This latter was his demeanor at the
“top brass meeting” regarding plans in Syria that was televised earlier last
week. This was the meeting where he wasted the Pentagon’s precious time by
fuming and lashing out repeatedly about the FBI “breaking in” to his
lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen’s office, home, and hotel room. Where he took
advantage of the cameras to basically blur the distinction between his personal security concerns and the nation’s security. King Louis XIV had
nothing on Trump, with his famous motto, “L’etât c’est moi” (I am the State).
Given this disturbing display, is it
possible to separate the action plan that emerged from that meeting from Trump’s
personal security concerns? His Saturn-Venus conjunction (Cancer) is
being opposed by transiting Pluto (Capricorn) these days, and
with transiting Saturn and Mars (Capricorn) coming up behind Pluto,
opposing (if not now, soon) Trump’s Mercury and Saturn-Venus,
the challenges Trump fears could very well materialize. He may be feeling
cornered, which is a dangerous position, since his native tendency is to lash
out and “punch back” when attacked.
He’s also willing to distract us all
by overwhelming the media airwaves with controversial or shocking
moves—examples abound from his campaign and since. This makes his willingness
to launch impromptu military adventures (especially with no input from Congress
and no over-arching strategy) especially troubling. Unfortunately, there are multiple indicators
that we may be in for more volatile times between now and 2020, and those are
only exacerbated by Trump’s chart being part of the mix.
Specifically, Trump’s natal Full
Moon (Gemini Sun-Node-Uranus opposite Sagittarius Moon-So. Node) has a tight
astrological “lock” on our Sibly Mars (Gemini), which makes
military solutions a convenient “default” mode for self expression that he can
hide behind (Sibly Neptune squares Sibly Mars and his Full
Moon axis). To their credit, investigative journalists don’t stop
fact-checking and probing for motives when he does these things, but he can make that very difficult by classifying any information he doesn't want us to know. Our Sibly
Neptune-Mars
square has taught us to watch for these less-than-transparent (or honorable)
uses of the military.
We’ve already discussed Trump’s thin-skinned
Saturn-Venus
conjunction—it’s difficult enough that it opposes radix Sibly
Pluto, but it is now being challenged on several fronts by transiting Pluto,
as it returns to its radix Sibly position. Astrologers have been expecting some level of crisis and chaos as this
return transit perfects, so it’s probably not surprising that a president would
come along to catalyze that chaotic process. This conjunction may well account
for his protectionist tendencies and zero-sum mentality, as well—tendencies
that divide (Saturn) people over resources (Venus) rather than
unite them.
Finally, there’s the “bully” factor
in Trump’s natal chart—reflected to a tee by his Mars-ASC conjunction in
fixed, dominant Leo. These points have an opposition lock on our Sibly
Moon (Aquarius), so “We the People” get caught up in the drama, whether
we like to or not.
This Leo power center of his could
be entangled in the geopolitical scramble for rebuilding dollars that we’ll
probably see in Syria, as the civil war winds down and they enter the
rebuilding phase.
I say this because Trump’s Leo points fit snugly into the Leo-Scorpio squares we
discussed much earlier between Syria and Russia. This cozy meeting of fixed egos
and hidden ambitions and agendas makes me wonder if the Trump Organization will
be angling for lucrative contracts in Syria, as well. Built by Russian oligarch
connections? The “Trump Damascus” hotel has a ring to it…pure speculation at this point, of course!
Bottom line, Trump’s Leo points seem to make it
very difficult for him to think beyond his own self-interests, so events on the
ground must always be considered from more than one perspective—what the
official narrative says is going on,
and--relying on credible investigative journalism--what is actually going on. Is it any wonder that Trump World does everything it can to undermine journalistic credibility? Is it any wonder Trump is fighting like crazy to keep materials seized from lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen's office secret?
None of this is surprising or new, but our new level of involvement in Syria raises the stakes for knowing the truth.
None of this is surprising or new, but our new level of involvement in Syria raises the stakes for knowing the truth.
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 2018. All
rights reserved.
[1]
Nicholas Campion, The Book of World
Horoscopes, The Wessex Astrologer, 2004 ed., Chart #280, “Russian
Federation, the lowering and raising of the flags,” pp. 273-274.
[2]
Michael Munkasey, Midpoints: Unleashing
the Power of the Planets, ACS Publications, San Diego, CA, 1991, pp.
164-165.
[3]
Bill Meridian, “Power Points in the Zodiac,” Astrological Journal, Vol. 48, No. 2, March/April 2006, pp. 7-9.
[4]
Campion, ibid., “Syria” Assad regime/Syrian independence, Jan. 1, 1944, 12
midnight (no time available), Damascus, Syria. Chart #322, pp. 310-311.