“Those
who charge that Trump’s bigoted vitriol is a distraction wrongly limits policy
to written, concrete forms. Policy also comes in the form of practice—regularly
exercised procedures that are also used to influence behaviors.”—Andre M.
Perry, Foreign
Policy, July 19,
2019
“I am
going to tell you what my mother told me: ‘Don’t you ever let anyone tell you
who you are. You tell them who you are. Period,’ ” Harris said, growing
visibly angry as she spoke. “We are Americans, and we will speak with the
authority of that voice.”—Washington
Post, July 20, 2019
Jesus loves the little children
All the
children of the world
Red, brown,
yellow
Black and
white
They are
precious in His sight…
--Traditional
Sunday School song
From the almost totally white crowd she surmised that most of them were probably Christian
(understandable), so why didn’t they know
that traditional Sunday School song? She shared her feelings by saying, “I
do not feel shock. I feel grief. I do not recognize this Christianity, even if
the faces in the crowd were familiar.” As
Bass put it in her title, “The God of Love had a very bad week.”
In fact, people of all religions
(or none at all) could have found Trump’s rally troubling—his tweets that
incited those chants before the rally
were equally so. So, is this sordid, utterly hateful, nativist approach what we have to look forward to
in Campaign 2020?
An insightful political analyst this
past week commented that because Trump’s support and re-election depends so
heavily on the same 30-some percent of the nation’s voters, distributed across
the country in an electoral college-friendly way—his precious Base—he must keep them stirred up and motivated in this effort. In fact, Trump
knows just the hot button topics to use in his rallies for this purpose, he
knows just the tone to set, and he knows just the “reality TV” performance
style that does the job.
I tend to agree with the Foreign Policy article cited above:
despite all kinds of analyses that claimed Trump’s point with his July 18th
“send them back rally” was to distract from other
stories, racism isn’t just a distraction for Trump; it’s policy that has deep economic
ramifications, especially for so-called “Blue” states. We saw that with his
really determined effort to rig the national
census against Blue states by adding the citizenship question. This would
have had, in turn, economic consequences
for those states because accurately counted population determines not just the
number of state representatives each state is allotted, but how federal
resources are doled out to each state.
 |
| Persons, rather than citizens must be counted for a fair census. |
So there’s a method to his “divide
and conquer” madness: more on this ahead.
Finally, racist provocations are also
how he keeps the spotlight on himself, playing
the social “lightning rod” role he clearly relishes. If we could see his
“thought bubbles,” I bet at least some of them would say, “Look what I can get away with, and my people love me for it!!”
Yes, the same performances that
leave him open to late-night comic heckling achieve their aims with his base perfectly, and he appears to be
calculating that the formula he ran with last time will win again, if he can just attach a set of even more outrageous screws to the nation’s
moral sensibilities. Flaunting all
the norms and crushing all our moral
and ethical expectations of a national leader works for him, he finds, especially
when racist attacks are part of the equation. But, heavens, don’t use the
“R” word on him—there’s “not a racist bone in his body!”
So if he’s not a racist, does that
mean he just uses people of color for
his own purposes—like they’re just so much “roadkill”—but he really doesn’t mean any harm? Frankly,
I’m not sure which motivation is more disgusting.
The pattern is pretty predictable
with him: push the limits, then deny,
deny, deny and hide behind others. When
he received an outpouring of bad press after this controversial rally, he tried
to disavow the chant that he, himself
stimulated with the infamous tweets that preceded that rally. Whether the chant
was spontaneous or pre-planned and orchestrated (stranger things have happened
in “Reality TV” Trumpworld), Trump basked in the outpouring for a full 13
seconds before he continued speaking.
Even so, by claiming to disavow the
latest chant, he essentially threw his followers under the proverbial bus, like
some irrational mob that just somehow
caught the racist wave and let it bring them ashore. Taking responsibility just
isn’t his “jam,” as they say.
Unfortunately, this is a formula
that’s worked for him and he’s built a support system around his “executive
privilege” to make sure it does: his
former attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen can attest to that from his jail cell
as we speak. But whether or not to apply the “R” word to our sitting president
is not the main point here, after all: the far greater concern is, why is he so intent on dividing us as a
nation?
That concern raises many, many
questions: how many times can our national unity-in-the-midst of-plurality be
struck with the shattering lightning bolt that is Trump (his natal Sun-Uranus conjunction comes to mind) and still
survive? Interestingly, those Gemini points of his trine our national Aquarius Moon, representing “We the People,” but
his natal Mars-ASC (Leo) opposes that
same point: it’s not surprising that he has been able to hit upon a narrative
(Gemini) that works for those looking for the strong-man leader type (Mars-ASC),
but what is surprising is the way in
which he has exploited that resonance for the sake of dividing the nation.
 |
| Divide and conquer is a cynical way of destroying democracy from within. |
Let that soak in: it’s hard to miss
that his apparent goal is to divide the nation because that somehow
serves his purposes. What purposes,
exactly?!
Let’s keep that question in mind as
we explore the following chart (Chart #1) for the Greenville, NC
Trump rally (7/17) in question. It’s interesting astrologically—and very relevant—that this chart also roughly approximates the dynamics
at work when the House voted to condemn Trump’s racist “send them back” tweets
of July 16th. So, as happens
in all charts, there are choices for
how the energies are expressed.
Trump’s
“send her back” rally, July 17, 2018
Chart #1: Trump “send her back”
rally, July 17, 2019, 7:00 pm DST (approx. time, gleaned from news reports),
Greenville, NC. Tropical Equal Houses,
True Node.
Because this chart is not exactly timed, we’ll disregard anything
to do with chart angles (ASC, MC, etc.) and house cusps. The Moon was
transiting early Aquarius throughout that evening, so we can glean something
about the tone of the rally from that
(not to mention some important aspects), even though we don’t know its exact
degree. If anyone knows the precise time this rally kicked off, please let us
know!
T-Square: Moon (Aquarius) squares Uranus
(Taurus) and opposes Mercury and Mars (Leo). As noted above, the Moon’s
exact degree is uncertain, but it’s within a degree or two at the most
of what we see here, and the t-square would still be within orb.
It’s also worth noting here that
Trump’s natal Pluto (Leo-chart shown immediately below) was conjoined by Mars in
this rally chart—he was in fighting mode and eager to pump up his ego-driven
power with the adoring crowd. This aspect would have been in place the day
prior, as well, when he sent out those infamous “send them back” tweets.
He may
have taken this power quest a bit too far this time, however: Moon
square Uranus can get out of hand, and quickly, especially when it
triggers a potentially volatile Mercury-Mars combination in which words often trigger actions. Thankfully, those two weren’t in closer conjunction that
night.
It would also be the case that the Moon/Uranus (midpoint, Pisces) would be at or near 21°+Pisces—very nearly conjunct Neptune
(Rx, Pisces) and sextile Pluto (Capricorn). At that degree,
this midpoint would also fall square Trump’s
natal “full Moon” opposition (Gemini-Sagittarius), so again, he may have taken
his divisive tactics just a bit too far. Those who light matches can expect to get
burned.
Not that the House condemnation of
the tweets that started the whole debacle will discourage him—Trump is more likely
to double-down and use that to further enflame his base, consolidate his
control of the GOP and divide the nation. Even so, unforeseen consequences are
possible when Uranus gets into the act. According to midpoints expert Michael
Munkasey, the Moon/Uranus midpoint evokes:
“…unconventional rulers with an emotional flair…Leaders who
rule at whim, with little sense of how their enterprise is seen by the rest of
the world; an emotionally immature person placed in an important and visible
leadership role.”[1]
Could he be more accurate here?
Venus (Cancer) disposes Uranus, conjoins No.
Node (Cancer), opposes Saturn-So. Node-Pluto (Capricorn) and widely squares
Eris (Aries).This reflects the ease with which Trump dangled his harsh,
punitive messages and insinuations regarding the “Squad”—in particular
Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)—in front of his audience, who then fed those
sentiments back to him (opposition) in chant form with “Send her back!” His
followers have become finely attuned to his signals, to the point that he
barely needs to break a sweat to get them going, and that shows in these
aspects, with the Moon disposing the Cancer points and opposing Mercury
and Mars.
 |
| Rep. Omar received a warm welcome home to Minnesota. |
Chanting uses the power of repeated
words to heighten emotion and to whip up and enflame the situation. When
purposely led, it’s also designed to channel the visceral collective force it
creates into some unified purpose. Because chants unify, they work to focus and entrain
people’s brain waves around a purpose—reflected here by the defensive/offensive
Cancer-Capricorn polarity that evokes “Us vs. Them.”
This polarity is stressed
by Eris
in fiery Aries stoking their grievances, valid or not. Inciting defensive
hatred of immigrants ensures that Trump’s followers look the other way (“fake
news!”) on border issues; inciting the crowd to strike out at perceived
“enemies” helps to bundle Dems (“socialists,” all of them) and immigrants into one neat efficient target in their
minds—Rep. Omar.
Of course, all Trump’s rallies are
focused on giving him a stage on which to preen and strut, like a pro-wrestler
beating his chest. Courting adulation is key—and
giving that adulation is perhaps the key to being considered a “true
Trumpite,” or even a “true patriot” (since patriotism has been reduced to Trump
loyalty these days). We’re seeing textbook demagoguery in
action.
 |
| Inciting fear is for those who want to control, not govern people. |
We can see the broad impact the
dynamics at work that night in North Carolina are having on our quality of life
in this nation here as well: it’s reflected in how tightly the No.
Node is tied into this t-square, and how closely the nodal axis is
tracking with the Saturn-Pluto cycle. In
late Capricorn, Saturn and Pluto are also transiting opposite Trump’s natal Saturn-Venus conjunction
in Cancer, which may be rattling him just a bit, but in the end just making him
more doubled down in defense. He could be fearful that his “friends” (Venus)—those
who submit to his authority (Saturn), basically—will abandon him, or even
worse, try to hold him accountable (Saturn-Pluto).
We know how Trump feels about the
loyalty of his followers—he famously remarked during the 2016 campaign that he
“could
shoot somebody on 5th Avenue and not lose any voters.” Every
rally further cultivates this license to act with impunity, of course—with his
followers he very well could be
“above the law.” Self-protection will always be job #1 for his Saturn-Venus—in
Cancer, disposed by his Moon in limits-averse Sagittarius. Lashing
out at others to protect his “freedom” is just part of the process.
T-Square:
Saturn-So. Node-Pluto (Capricorn) opposes
Sun-No. Node-Venus-Part of Fortune (Cancer); this axis squares Pallas (Libra). The
Sun-Pallas
square is very wide, but
since there are groupings involved, we’ll include it here. The tension present
in Trump’s rally, in Congress (as the House vote to condemn his tweets
proceeded), not to mention the tension (oppositions) roiling the entire
polarized nation that day are certainly represented here. Outrage and disgust
over the bald-faced injustice (Pallas)
at work was countered by apparent delight
(Venus)
at what Trump dared to say out loud.
This likely is a sneak preview of Campaign 2020—the battle lines are drawn, and
we have to wonder how much more polarized we can get before the fall-out literally
cleaves us in two. Is that what Trump’s divisive tactics aim to accomplish—a modern
day Civil War? Or simply an economic
war that “starves the enemy” with a robustly funded and protected fossil fuel
industry that eats up our remaining public lands, crowds out any hopes for a
green economy, yanks jobs away from “Blue” states and lets their economies
wither on the vine?
 |
| Will the U.S. be divided again, based on state economies? |
Most of this is already happening,
and it’s being enabled by an anti-immigration police state (Saturn-Pluto)
that undermines states that rely more on immigrant labor (i.e., states that
might vote Democratic). Trump’s immigration policies aren’t just about securing the border, or even
about racism (certainly a factor); they’re about controlling the economic
bloodstream of this nation. This less obvious reality is reflected in the fact
that this Saturn-Pluto activity is happening conjunct Sibly Pluto (Capricorn)
in the nation’s 2nd house of “Big Money” resources and
values.
He who controls the nation’s purse strings
controls everything—that’s why our
Founders entrusted the power to allocate funds to the House, our most representative and least autocratic body. We know how Trump feels about the power of the
House to do anything, however, especially
when it comes to exercising their responsibility to oversee the Executive!
As Saturn and Pluto
complete their 1982 cycle in the coming six months (new cycle launches
on January 12th, 2020, at 22°+Capricorn),
we’ll get a better sense of who is going to win out in this struggle between
the Executive and Legislative branches. Ideally we’ll see our institutional checks
and balances restored to better health, but it’s hard to count on that from
what we’re seeing today.
One final point about Eris’s
role in this cardinal t-square lends a bit more insight into the Saturn-Pluto
dynamic: Henry Seltzer, the astrologer who literally “wrote the book”
on Eris,[2]
documenting its discovery and thoroughly exploring its astrological
implications, points to an attribute associated with this volatile energy that
is far less discussed. He uses American motives for the 2003 invasion of Iraq
as an example, citing,
“…the predator impulse of natural process, associated with
the Eris archetype as we are coming to understand it, in a life-and-death
struggle for the procurement of the resources needed for survival.”
The primary resource he’s referring to here, of course, is
oil, not to mention the regional control that was gained from our
dominant presence in the Middle East. Is it any wonder that this regional U.S. dominance
is being challenged today by Iran, and that the Trump administration is
desperate to debilitate them with economic sanctions? Now we see that his
tactics may stop merchant and cargo ships from sailing through the Straits of
Hormuz, and that’s not likely to end well.
 |
| Iran is threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz to international ships.. |
This may seem like a digression from the conversation at
hand, but it’s all of one piece with Trump in the end. Eris is now transiting square Trump’s defensive Saturn-Venus
(Cancer) at the same time they are tightly woven into our nation’s
economic dynamics (Saturn-Pluto on our Sibly Pluto)—his own predator instincts
(always on display in his Twitter
feed and in his rallies) are being triggered in a host of precarious ways, but
perhaps most dangerously with Iran.
Here’s where Congress’s power of the purse and its foundational
responsibility for declaring any and all wars may truly be tested for all its
worth.
Jupiter (Rx, Sagittarius) squares Neptune
(Rx, Pisces). This square reads like a “clash of the Titans” in the
sense that both planets are at peak strength in the middle degrees of their
home signs, with Jupiter actually co-ruling
Pisces as well! That this square is happening in the midst of Saturn-Pluto’s
balsamic phase sets up the possibility of serious ideologically-based social
conflicts and corruption scandals.
One manifestation that was clearly
represented in the “send her back” rally is a tendency towards an almost theocratic
(ideological) despotism. “Love it or leave it” is another way of saying that
Trump’s view of America reigns supreme, and those who disagree don’t belong
here. Like Napoleon Bonaparte did in France in 1804, Trump has crowned himself
some kind of modern day “Holy Roman Emperor,” or even better, “demi-god.”
This may sound exaggerated
(everything with Jupiter is), but consider this: his Evangelical followers
refuse to hold him to any standards
of behavior as long as he appoints conservative judges, so Trump might as well
be considered a “Zeus” (Jupiter) “god”-like figure—answering to no higher power
for anything he does. Ask poor Hera/Juno (Melania?) what she had to put up with!
 |
| Hera and Zeus set the standard for "difficult" marriages in mythology. |
In fact, if this tortured trajectory
follows its usual path, we’ll be seeing the return of a McCarthyist state. Unfortunately,
the GOP can be counted on to fall in behind him like so many terrified
lemmings.
So it isn’t surprising that the Jupiter-Neptune square ties
into Trump’s nativity pretty tightly, with Jupiter transiting conjunct his Moon (Sagittarius) and Neptune
(Pisces) transiting his 7th house, square his Sun-Node-Uranus opposition to Moon
(Gemini-Sagittarius). His sudden concern for ideological purity is
perhaps a bit self-serving and driven by which way the political “winds” are
blowing at best.
As for the impact of this transit on Trump's personal life, he’s
likely to experience problems with legal cases, his choice of lawyers and case
outcomes, and with significant relationships. We know that the women he has
used and abused over the years still have stories to tell—we can probably
expect more provocative chanting to distract us from all this!
Notice that Trump has worked to head-off any legal
problems by installing an Attorney General (William
Barr) who defends him over the
rule of law, so it’s hard to know where any of this lands. Jupiter on Trump’s Moon will
certainly reinforce his emotional confidence and sense of entitlement, yet that’s
a shorter term transit. Neptune in his 7th house of
“Others” could still haunt his steps well into 2025.
 |
| This underwater sculpture evokes our current situation to a tee! |
Final
thoughts
IMHO, it’s time to shake off the
Neptunian fog that society in general is experiencing
these days--clear minds are going to be so critical going forward! One immediate priority should be to clearly and seriously examine what Trump’s purposes are. Divide and
conquer is a well-worn strategy in military circles, but it’s usually reserved for enemies. Who or what exactly counts as
“the enemy” for Trump? This is uncharted territory for a U.S. president—usually
there’s at least a glimmer of concern for the nation-at-large and all its people. Or at least an attempt by
sitting presidents to expand their bases, to “win friends and influence people”
with a bit of care and diplomacy.
We’re
plainly not seeing that here. Trump’s
rallies are always dotted with a few minority-looking people (usually placed
behind the podium to be more prominent), but overall they are far from
representative of our richly multicultural nation.
It would be one thing if he was trying to expand his base by promoting
the type of agenda that would appeal to a broader swath of Americans, but he’s
not. Instead, he punishes states that didn’t
vote his way, or states with huge minority populations by withholding
resources (ask California, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, and more). Through his
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, he’s tightened the screws on Blue state
education systems by rolling back Obama-era student assistance programs. And
where are the “tremendous” infrastructure programs that Trump promised? The
people of Michigan are slated to begin paying a huge added tax on gasoline
because federal dollars are far from enough to fix our torn up roads—I’m
guessing we’re not alone.
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky
has been receiving money hand over fist for public projects, thanks to his
Trump Cabinet member wife, Elaine
Chao, who “helped coordinate grant applications by McConnell’s political
allies.” As long as Trump keeps feeding a few key players in Congress with
federal dollars, and as long as corruption is implicitly tolerated, the status
quo will remain.
Between all that and the heinous
situation at our southern border, perhaps we need a new rallying cry…something like
that treasured Sunday school song, perhaps?
You really are fantastic!
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