Dear Friend and Reader:
When Pres. Trump became the third president in American history to be impeached, the Sun was aligned with the core of our spiral Milky Way galaxy.
There’s no shortage of big astrology happening at the moment to commemorate this event; most of it spreads out for months, with influences going back years. The Jan. 12, 2020, conjunction of Saturn and Pluto comes to mind; the impeachment trial in the Senate is likely to be happening that week.
Yet when you have a chart for such a rare event, the thing you want to know is what was happening right then? As in right at that moment.
What stands out is the Sun’s position in late Sagittarius, just a fraction of a degree away from the supermassive black hole at the core of our spiral island in space.
That happens just one day a year, and Wednesday into Thursday was the day (the Sun and the core aligned to the arc minute at about 3:22 am EST on Thursday).
My friend Loraine Hutchins, who is zero percent astrologer and 97% sex educator, got it right when she said Wednesday night that the Sun conjunct the core “is a fulcrum we turn upon.”
Two Articles of Impeachment
Two articles of impeachment were filed against Trump, which are the equivalent of criminal indictments. One involves selling out the national security of the United States by using military aid to Ukraine to extort a phony investigation against his political rival Joe Biden.
This is the equivalent of soliciting a bribe, or using public office for private gain. Once again, the little kid in me is not quite grasping why so many adults find this acceptable. It’s not difficult to understand. And it’s obviously wrong. I think to miss the point, you have to want to. But simply put, this is not why a person holds the office of president. Their job is to serve the nation, not to be self-serving.
Trump did this in the immediate aftermath of a two-year investigation into whether Russian hacking helped him win the 2016 election. The now infamous phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukanian president, happened the very day after Robert Mueller, who investigated Trump for two years, testified before Congress. Given that Trump was caught a second time, Congress had to act and act swiftly. And they did. This is the most spine I’ve seen the Democrats exert, ever.
Trump has also been accused of obstructing Congress. This is because he ordered all federal agencies and employees not to cooperate with the impeachment proceedings. Many important officials complied, refusing to honor congressional subpoenas to testify, and refusing to turn over documents. We can assume that this was because they would have had a negative impact on him.
This is a serious offense because it subverts one of the most important principles of American law: the separation of powers by the different branches of government — which are co-equal. We treat the president like the big boss, but there are two other co-equal branches of government — Congress and the Supreme Court. Refusing a subpoena could land an ordinary citizen in jail for contempt of court or contempt of Congress. Trump has now been charged personally.
Answering to a Higher Authority
While the branches of government are co-equal, the higher principle there is the notion of the law itself, the Constitution, and the idea of justice. We’ll consider a number of other classical and modern factors that help us see what’s going on with this truly unusual historical event at this unusual time in history.
Yet the Sun conjunct the Galactic Core is the thing that makes this chart vibrate with “answering to a higher authority,” borrowing a line from Hebrew National frankfurters. It is plausible that the galaxy itself is “that great big thing out there in the sky” which we think of as God.
The GC is not a well-developed concept for most astrologers, though events like this help contribute to a delineation. Its existence was discovered in 1932 by an engineer named Karl G. Jansky, who figured out that the origin of a hissing sound affecting newly laid transatlantic telephone cables was interference being broadcast from a radio source 25,000 light years away — the core of our galaxy.
The supermassive black hole at the core is four million times the mass of the Sun, but about the size of Neptune. It’s surrounded by millions more stars that concentrate around the event horizon, orbiting, colliding and whipping by at incredible speeds. And of course, with some getting swallowed, never to return.
The metaphor is obvious: the self-anointed King of America, Donald Trump, whose astrological significator is the Sun, is caught in a vortex he won’t be able to get out of. Once you’re caught in its gravity, there is no escaping a black hole. This does not mean he will be convicted in the Senate trial. That remains to be seen — and there is no telling, at this point. But he has been caught and accused, and he is in custody.
Adding to the Fun, Mercury is Conjunct the Great Attractor
There is a second, far more massive deep space point in Sagittarius, called the Great Attractor. This is the central gravitational focus of more than 100,000 galaxies closest to us. Think of it as the center of our supergalaxy, called Laniakea, which is Hawaiian for “great heaven.”
Mercury is just 11 arc minutes from the Great Attractor (the closest measure of a conjunction defined by ancient astrology), in effect fusing them into one thing.
Another point usually neglected by astrology, the Great Attractor describes far reaching implications of events, words and ideas. This works whether you can see it or document it, or not. We now have a second confirmation of the scope and scale of this event.
For weeks, of course, this has been conceptual, rather than official. There have been several sets of hearings, and recommendations by congressional committees. Yesterday’s action by the House of Representatives is an irrevocable act.
There is no going back; there is only going forward. Or said another way, the only way out is through.
The Saturn-Pluto Conjunction is in Full Force
As you probably know, we are in the time of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This happens less than three times per century, and is the defining feature of the astrology of our era. The conjunction is exact once, on Jan. 12.
The conjunction is the peak of the Pluto in Capricorn era, which began in early 2008, and has had several outstanding moments. However, the conjunction in January is the apotheosis. We no longer need to ponder what it’s about, as many astrologers have been doing for years. We are now living through history in real time.
Let’s put that in a little context; Saturn-Pluto events are always relevant. Think of the conjunction as the equivalent of the New Moon. The most recent equivalent of the Full Moon (the Saturn-Pluto opposition) began in August of 2001, and was followed by the Sept. 11 incident. The conjunction brings to an end the “post-9/11 world.” A new cycle has begun.
The impeachment has been cast by some observers as a struggle against tyranny. This has historical precedent. Saturn-Pluto aspects like this can bring a time of fear and contraction of thought. They tend to be dense moments, where many people like to think in black and white terms. A kind of negative conservatism can take over, and it certainly seems to be.
Yet in these cycles, there are also people who defy the trend, and who rise to the occasion of whatever is happening. Yes, most people get caught in the hype. But some refuse and resist. Some hear the calling and do their bit and take up leadership roles. Some of their names you will know; many, you will not.
The Senate Trial Will Occur Under the Saturn-Pluto Conjunction
The next step in this process is that the House of Representatives sends the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for a trial. It looks like the trial will happen in early January, and that in turn means right in the vortex of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction.
I could not think of astrology that more elegantly describes such a reckoning. Saturn and Capricorn are the very sigils of government and official power. Pluto is the unstoppable force, which may be destructive but always has a spiritualizing effect.
Before that happens, there is the question of whether there will be a fair trial. Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s leader, has advertised that he’s going to work closely with the White House attorneys to protect the president. This is a violation of his official duties, which call on him to be objective. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is likely to delay sending the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate until she has some reassurance that there will be some semblance of an actual trial.
The main question is, will witnesses be called? And will the Senate demand documents, and allow them into evidence? There is one faction of Republicans that would love an up or down vote. Another faction wants an actual trial.
The trial, as you may know, will be presided over by John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court. He may have some influence in these matters. He has shown he’s a fair minded person, and certainly that he wants to be perceived as one.
We Don’t Know What Is Going to Happen
While it seems obvious, from where we stand, that the Senate will vote to acquit Trump, we don’t know that for sure. In fact, we don’t know it at all. We are in the age of hyperbolic party loyalty, extreme tribalism and above-average stupidity.
However, there are additional moving parts to consider. One is that there are several other investigations pending against Trump and his buddy/volunteer lawyer/fixer Rudy Giuliani.
Rudy in particular is in the crosshairs of the Southern District of New York, which nobody wants — despite the fact that he used to head that very office. My amateur opinion is if Rudy is popped, it’s game over.
To get a conviction in the Senate, we would need approximately 18 members of the Republican conference to change their minds. However, long before that happened, Trump would most likely resign.
The Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn is a high-pressure event. It is in fact a grand conjunction, which includes Mercury, the Sun and Ceres. Trump (the Sun) is in that alignment, and he is outnumbered and outgunned.
Something has to give. Let’s see what it is.
With love,
Trump’s Charts are Rather Challenged At the Moment
Trump does not have the world’s easiest natal chart. It’s amazing he’s held up this long. For example, he’s born an hour before a lunar eclipse. In the chart of an average Don, he would need to be conscious to stay out of trouble and not get involved with the wrong people.
However, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. In the case of The Donald, a corrupt head of state, his natal eclipse could prove to be a serious detriment. Yet, currently this is the least of his worries.
Now that he has officially been impeached, Trump is politically injured. It’s one thing to be under investigation. It’s another thing to be under indictment, which is what’s happening.
Trump’s Solar Return Chart
I am not a big user of the Solar Return technique, but this morning I called up Rob Hand to get his impressions of the impeachment chart.
Rob went right to Trump’s solar return last June, which features Mars on the North Node and Saturn on the South Node, exact to the degree. This translates to Saturn and Pluto on the South Node (they are within three degrees of one another) and Mercury-Mars on the North Node (they are within three degrees of one another).
Saturn on the South Node describes his lack of discipline. Mercury and Mars on the North Node amplify Trump’s emotionally driven Twitter tantrums, which some days exceed 100 rounds.
All of these heavy-duty planets aligned with the lunar nodes ramps up the karmic implications of current events, personally for Trump, and for the rest of us. They describe someone who is caught in his own “unconscious” tendencies, which wrap around his neck like a vine. And the nodes always point to something much larger than is obvious; something much larger than himself. The nodes point to collective reality.
With Cancer and Capricorn in the picture, he’s caught in his early childhood dramas, which is why he seems like a three-year-old. But this is blown out to the size of society by his position and his power.
Under Pressure: Trump’s Natal Saturn
Trump’s natal chart features Saturn at about 23 degrees of Cancer. You may recognize that degree — the grand conjunction of Mercury, the Sun, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto are all opposing his natal Saturn and will be peaking during the impeachment. His natal Saturn is now taking an endless (many years long) square from Eris, which is even more pressure.
Said another way, during the impeachment trial, Trump will be having his Saturn opposition, with Pluto also about to oppose his Saturn for a year. We have the image of someone fragmenting emotionally, who didn’t have much together in the first place. Eris in the picture means that his not so secret weapon, the internet, will come home to roost. And women will serve more in the role of destabilizing him than supporting him.
It is possible for ordinary folks like you and me to grow and adapt our way through transits like this. We can call the astrologer or go to therapy or stay in bed for a few days, or go work out in the garden.
But for an overgrown baby with a thousand secret scandals and the nuclear suitcase three feet away, and someone who cannot really get along with anyone and who probably has no actual friends, this is not going to be easy. Among the possibilities are what else comes out, but also Trump buckling under the pressure.
We can take Nancy Pelosi’s lead — and pray for the president.
More On that Leo Ascendant Sun. Night on Planet Waves FM
People are asking about the mid-Leo ascendant in the impeachment chart (below), which connects to the Lion’s Gate of esoteric literature — and I’ve also noticed the connections to the Aug. 11, 1999, total solar eclipse and the 9/11 chart. I will have a much more spacious reading of the full set of charts on Planet Waves FM, which resumes Sunday night at 7.
