Astrology and Current Events: May 2011

ASTROLOGY AND CURRENT EVENTS: Donald Trump and Messy Myth Making

WHO IS DONALD TRUMP?

Donald Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Personally, I have never held against him the fact that he grew up in a mansion in Queens. That’s his life. According to Wikipedia, he was a bright kid, went to good schools, including Wharton Business School where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Business/Economics when he was 22 year old. He continued with the template his father cut for him and did well in Manhattan real estate. We also know he is in his third marriage and he has five children.

Gemini Sun/Leo Rising/Sagittarius Moon: TRUMP'S HOROSCOPE

Donald Trump’s birth information is available with astro data bank and it has an AA rating. That means a reliable person actually had the birth certificate in hand and examined it. Mr. Trump was born in Queens, New York, on June 14, 1946, at 10:54 am, during a Full Moon. His North Node and the planet Uranus sit right with his Gemini Sun. The North Node with the Sun implies that he is very ambitious. Since Uranus sits right there too, we have to acknowledge the guy is probably very bright. However, Sun plus Uranus is eccentric. It is also aloof. As one TV commentator said, Trump seems totally unaware that people make fun of his hair. He doesn’t care what other people say about him. Sun/Uranus: Trump lives in his own egotistical world. Uranus also aspects his Sagittarius Moon. The aspect is an opposition and that implies emotional instability. The Moon opposing Uranus also suggests that the man is not emotionally dependable. He can change his mind in a nanosecond and think it’s his good intuition. Sun and Uranus is intuitive but the Moon sitting on the other side of the room throws an emotional wrench into his intuitive pudding. This Moon/Uranus thing is not good for family matters or for getting along with people in general.

Now we come to The Donald’s rising sign (or ascendant). It is not a surprise to an astrologer that Trump has Leo rising. Look at that hair! Leo rising is known for a big head of hair. The rising sign is the persona we present to the world. The rising sign is the outfit (including our looks!) we put on when we come to Planet Earth. The rising sign molds our personality and our outlook on life. Leo likes to be the center of attention. The ego and the identity are strong with a Leo ascendant. Leo rising’s outlook on life is about the self and self-expression. Donald Trump wants to perform and he has had that opportunity for several years now on NBC’s show, Apprentice. He is the boss who hires and fires. Mars in Leo sits right on Trump’s Leo ascendant, so he has extra Leo points. Oh dear. Mars on the ascendant (rising sign) is the marker of a person who likes a good fight. Mars is assertion and aggression. We all need a good Mars to make our way in life. In Trump’s case Mars on the rising sign suggests he might be a big bully. It is hard to imagine Trump in a presidential capacity. How does person like this get along with cabinet members and advisors? Mars on this ascendant is unlikely to listen to anyone’s opinion but his own. And remember we have already covered the Sun/Moon/Uranus in his chart. He is different and undpredictable. He is not a team player. He is a performer and a one-man show. These interpretations sound harsh so let me add that Donald Trump is also brilliant at what he does. He is successful and he is engaging as a celebrity. Leo rising combined with Leo Mars on the rising ensures that Trump will make his way in life and be the center of attention wherever he goes.

Trump’s horoscope has many connections with horoscope of the United States of America

So how did Donald Trump get into this “potential presidential candidate spotlight?” For that question, an astrologer looks at the person’s chart and how it connects with the (solar) chart of the United States. For example, Donald Trump’s Sun at 22 degrees Gemini and North Node at 21 degrees Gemini sit right on the 21st degree Gemini Mars of our country’s horoscope. He is connecting with some serious anger in America, or he is angry about something in our nation and his big Sun/Uranus/North Node ego thinks that he can be the truth teller and the savior. The Sun and Mars together spells competition and potentially a combative relationship between Trump and the citizens.

Trump’s Mercury (8 degrees of Cancer) connects with three Cancerian planets in America’s chart: Venus (2 degrees), Jupiter (5 degrees) and the Sun (12 degrees). Trump is communicating (Mercury being communication) the traditional Cancerian values, beliefs and identity of our nation. The overt values expressed are not always the values that are in the collective psyche or in the facts of life. The Sun, Venus and Jupiter in Cancer suggest that the USA values family above all else. However, our country has a high divorce rate and over the years we have seen an increasing number of single parent families. We value family as long as the Cancerian mother makes it happen. Remember that Pluto is currently going through the sign of Capricorn. Pluto has been helping us transform our Cancerian values and beliefs. Pluto is now affecting Trump’s Mercury in Cancer. So, he is expressing the discontent many people feel as the transformation is unfolding. The so-called “Tea Party” formed to speak for more traditional values and a conservative approach to budget and finances.

Donald Trump has another big connection with the nation’s horoscope. His Venus and Saturn are conjunct (sitting on the same chair) in late Cancer right with the USA Mercury in Cancer. Again this is about communication and Trump identifying with traditional Cancerian values in our country.

The fact that Trump has Venus and Saturn holding hands in his chart is surprising. He comes across as totally confident. This Venus/Saturn aspect indicates that he is not as secure in himself as he tries to project. A person with Venus/Saturn in the chart may have a hard time believing in his or her own value or self-worth. They also have a hard time feeling loved. They need to commit to something and excel at the job so they can feel good about themselves.

MYTHS ARE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES

Years ago the word myth referred to a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to exist. Now the word myth is used to include any traditional story. Our human existence is speeded up, so it doesn’t take long for us to create a traditional story. Communication is rapid and it changes our understanding of an event or idea quickly. It doesn’t matter that we have Urban Legend and Fact Check to help us sort out mounds of information thrown our way. Those web sites really want to help us understand what is true and real. The fact is that the human mind grabs a bit of information and translates it to a personal myth in an instant. We tell ourselves a story right away. If the reality we stumble upon does not match up with our belief system, we can easily create a myth to help us reconcile information and make it acceptable somehow. This leads to conspiracy theories. Writer Jonathan Kay says, “conspiracy theories are the religious faith for a secular age.” Well said. It doesn’t matter how off the theory is, it satisfies the belief system of the mythmaker. Donald Trump stepped right into a conspiracy theory and projected the myth like a virus. Because of his public image, our collective body of citizens either cheered or shuddered. Did Trump believe the conspiracy theories about our Black President? Or did Trump use the theories to gain attention? Maybe it’s some of both. In any event he became the archetypal holder of the “Obama wasn’t born in the USA” conspiracy theory and threw that myth onto the everyday stage.

MERCURY AND NEPTUNE ARE MYTH-MAKING PLANETS

Trump’s Mercury makes a challenging connection with Neptune in his chart. This aspect requires a strong and mature ego in order to avoid pitfalls. Mercury is communication. Neptune is inspiration but it is also illusion. Neptune is also the collective myths that permeate any society. Trump may be confused in his thinking (Mercury square Neptune); he may even be in the habit of stretching the truth, or he may make stuff up. But the bigger issue right now is how this aspect seems to help Trump unconsciously tune in to a collective myth: how can a black man be the president? It just isn’t right. The planet Pluto is currently making an opposition aspect to Trump’s Mercury. He cannot help himself. He has to speak up. He is exposing quite bluntly what has been thought about, talked about, whispered about, and conveniently denied. Donald Trump is exposing the polluted psyche of our nation. It would take someone so popular. It would take a person who totally fills the TV screen and whose voice either captures your imagination, makes you laugh, or turns you off. It takes a big ego/personality to expose this myth. So what is the myth? I’m sure there are many but here is a suggestion. We have a myth that we are a tolerant nation. We “myth” that we are all created equal. Some of us even “myth” that the Civil War was not about slavery. There is another myth though that goes something like this: white Anglo Saxon males are superior to everyone else and they should be in positions of power and leadership. Donald Trump has spit this myth out onto the asphalt and airways. Nothing will ever be enough for Donald Trump. He saw the birth certificate, so he moved right on to the Black President’s education. How did a man destined to become Black President get into Harvard? He surely wasn’t that smart. He made reference to the Black President on the basketball court (unconscious slip about sports and the black male?). The Black President has shown his papers. Will that be enough? Not quite. Not yet. Donald Trump is speaking for a portion of Americans who still hold the myth that some people should stay in their place.

DONALD TRUMP THE ARCHETYPE

In my perfect universe, no one would hold the microphone for Donald Trump. He would be ignored. That is not possible. First of all maybe it is necessary for someone to exaggerate the myth. Only a Donald Trump type could accomplish that. The planet Pluto has opposed our nation’s Mars and recently our nation’s Venus and Jupiter. Soon Pluto will oppose our nation’s Sun. Pluto is about elimination. Pluto is destruction. We are supposed to eliminate and destroy what no longer works. We can no longer live on the superficial level of our nation’s Venus and Jupiter in Cancer. The superficial is mom, country, apple pie, and all families are good. As Pluto gets close to opposing the USA Sun in Cancer, our nation will undergo a major identity transformation. We are already a nation/community of heterogenous homo sapiens. The transformation (that we are equal and connected) has already happened, now we just have to live through it. Living through it means getting conscious of the myths we live. Some of our myths need to be reviewed; some need to be eliminated.

“I’m very proud of myself. I have accomplished something really important. I’ve done what no one else could have done.” That’s what the conceited Donald Trump had to say when the Black President showed his long form birth certificate. Hawaii finally pulled it out of the vault for Donald Trump and all the other people who are shocked that the United States of America has a Black President. Of course an east Texas lawmaker said the piece of paper didn’t look 50 years old! Fact Check will not destroy his myth because it violates what he wants to believe.

What’s in it for Trump? Frankly, I’m not sure. It is hard to see this man as a serious candidate for the oval office. He is arrogant and emotionally unpredictable. He is aggressive and probably has no chance of being a team player. If you get to know him, it’s quite possible he is an insecure person who is real hard to get along with and always looking for validation. His Jupiter sitting with Chiron suggests he thinks he is special and has big things to accomplish. Hopefully those “big things” will be more real estate and more TV shows, not politics.

Perhaps Donald Trump’s reward will come in his afterlife. He is holding the archetypal energy of the egotistical white male who feels entitled to have it his way. As he exposes that archetype and overdoes that archetype people will wake up and get more conscious of the myths we are living out in our country. That will be his reward. Our nation has Venus and Jupiter sitting on the same sofa. This is a very generous energy and it is a feminine energy. The historical white male energy has not been able to embrace the feminine energy that permeates our culture. It’s coming though. Donald Trump is going to insure that we wake up and see that we have a Black President (born in the USA) and it’s okay! That’s a start. Black President means a Woman President can’t be far behind.