Eagles, Pluto, Insurrection and Trump

In 2015, when Donald Trump was running for presidency, he was attacked by a bald eagle called ‘Uncle Sam’. The bald eagle is a symbol of America and a bird associated with the sign Scorpio and the planet Pluto. Progressed Pluto in the US chart was (and still is) anaretic – issues of power, control, abuse, truth, governments and toxic behaviour are critical in the country. When I saw the eagle attack Trump, I remember thinking, ‘the bird knows’.  A few months later, in 2016, a little bird landed on the podium of Bernie Saunders as he was speaking on the campaign trail before the election. Bernie himself said ‘I think there may be some symbolism here. I know it doesn’t look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace.”

I’m English and I didn’t (then) know a lot about the political parties of America or in fact much about either candidate. But having ‘read’ the birds since childhood, I knew immediately that these contrasting signs were loud and clear. America was about to make a very important choice – war or peace?

The Storming of the Capitol Chart

I’ve chosen Midday as the chart for the Storming of the Capitol as this was the time when Donald Trump gave a final speech which encouraged his supporters to ‘stop the steal’. The speech was filled with warlike language with his followers chanting ‘Fight for Trump!” The midday chart puts fiery, impetuous Aries on the Ascendant with ruler Mars in the 1st house on the anaretic degree. Anaretic degrees feel URGENT and none more so than the final degree of Aries. It demands action!

Mars had been in Aries for six months due to a retrograde through this sign and by this point the heat had built to a critical level, fuelled by a continuous rhetoric of lies. Neptune, the planet of confusion, distraction and distortion is square the Nodes in the 11th house of politics, an ongoing aspect that speaks of mass delusion. Over 60 failed court cases brought by Trump to prove election fraud had been rejected but still the lie lives on. Neptune was on the Sabian symbol ‘A Master Instructing His Disciple’. Trump himself is seen by many of his followers as being an almost divine figure. The Nodes themselves were stationing direct. I use the True Node which very occasionally stations direct for a few days. When the Nodes station direct, there is a sense of creating new karma. In that moment, we are not held captive by or indebted to the past – instead, as the universe holds its breath, we either stand or fall on our own.

Eris, the troublemaker and she who points out the elephant in the room, sits close to the Ascendant. Eris is going through a series of five squares to Pluto. This ongoing aspect speaks of toppling dictators and those who abuse their powers. The mob however, drew on Eris’s anger at being ‘badly treated’. She fuelled vengeance. But whilst Eris fed the mob a bitter pill, on a wider scale, Eris exposed the Truth – that the leader, the power broker, the manipulator was Trump. Pluto is in the 10th house of authority squaring the Ascendant-Descendant intent on wrestling back control. America is moving towards its Pluto return in 2022 so along with progressed Pluto anaretic – all the themes of the Lord of the Underworld are front and centre.

Mars is still widely square to Pluto, symbolically, the soldier answering to or fighting with his General – fired up and ready to burn. Eris whispers from the 12th about how unfair it all was, how unjust. The First Quarter Moon in judicial Libra opposes her and squares the Sun and Pluto, effectively triggering the Eris-Pluto square. The Sun itself was conjunct the MC and on the Sabian symbol ‘A Repressed Woman Finds A Psychological Release In Nudism’. It makes me think of the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. We also have the story of repression and release, in this case a furious uprising of those who had been told over and over by their ‘king’, their shining leader, that a great wrong had been committed. “Do you like my new robes?” Asks the Emperor. Everyone say yeah.

The Insurrection and the US Chart

If we put the chart of the Storming of the Capitol around the chart of the US we can see Mercury, the communicator, conjunct natal Pluto, tapping into the upcoming potent Pluto return story. The US progressed Moon has just moved into Aquarius, suggesting that the people now want something new and different but it’s also a sign that can be associated with rebellion. The progressed Moon met with progressed Pluto in October of 2020, intensifying the public mood to a critical degree. Pluto can also stand for crime so for those who believe the election was ‘stolen’ from Trump, we can see how this still echoes in the insurrection chart.

Along with the Pluto vibes, there is also the fact that the US chart is currently in the midst of Saturn chasing the Moon by conjunction. This phenomenon happens when transiting Saturn and the progressed Moon become locked into an aspect with one another. Saturn chasing the Moon symbolises a ‘growing up’ period which is often marked by feelings of despondency, a sense that life is ‘too hard’ and heavy responsibilities. Whilst there are always positive payoffs available for the work we do under this influence, it seems that in the case of the US, some of the more literal translations apply. The Moon is ‘the people’, Saturn is ‘the authority’. So, we have issues of people for and against the authorities or for and against the system. The public mood is depressed. Saturn chasing the Moon began August 29, 2019 and will finish on July 12, 2022 – right in the middle of the Pluto return. The latest conjunction between America’s progressed Moon and transiting Saturn was January 10, 2021 – just four days after the insurrection.

Note too that Jupiter, Saturn and Pallas are all gathered around the South Node of the US chart. The South Node is a weak point, old karma. Jupiter is also the ruler of the US chart and it currently rules the transiting South Node in Sagittarius. The transiting South Node is moving through the US first house which can be another symbol of feeling like you are on ‘the losing side’ or simply facing old karma and old lessons.

Trump’s Chart and Transits

Note that Trump has anaretic Leo rising. Given that this is the sign of Kings and Actors, we get a sense of someone larger than life. Asteroid Apollo conjunct his Ascendant is also magnified on this degree. Apollo is a Sun God, good at everything – does it remind of you of no one is better at *** than me? a refrain that we have heard many times from Trump. Interestingly, Apollo was also associated with fighting evil and some believe that Trump is fighting a secret cabal who are killing children. It’s a fabrication of course but still, the astrological symbolism is perfectly fitting. The Ascendant shows how others see us, the image that we wear in the world. With Leo and Apollo on the Ascendant, more than anything Trump needs attention – the kind that makes him shine like a valiant hero. It’s echoed in his Sun, the ruler of his chart, in the very public 10^th house of status conjunct the North Node of destiny. Destined for Fame – or perhaps, we should now say, infamy.

Note too that Trump has natal Mercury square to Neptune, as aspect he has used all the way through his presidency. Whilst this aspect can promise imaginative thinking, Trump has shown us the shadow of this aspect with bumbled speeches, unrealistic ideas, a salesman’s patter and at its worst, outright lies. Mental health issues can also be a manifestation of this aspect.

“The Art of the Deal,” 1987: The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole.

Neptune is now in Trump’s 7^th house, the house of other people, relationships and open enemies. Neptune’s transit here tells us there’s a danger of not seeing others clearly. There’s also an element of believing what he wants to believe when it comes to his relationships with others. The transiting Nodes are on top of Trump’s natal Nodes – his Nodal return then bringing up old karma, a turning point in his soul’s evolution. Since Biden’s election, all the way along the cry has been for Trump to concede. “Surrender for your soul’s growth” said Neptune but he would not because anaretic Leo rising is far too proud (in this case). Instead he fell deeper down the rabbit hole of his natal Mercury-Neptune aspect, sending a steady stream of tweets which were continuously erased or fact checked. Neptune though will have the last word as Trump is approaching a series of three squares to his natal Moon and five squares to his natal Sun. Combined with Saturn’s entry into his 6^th house, health issues as well as problems that stem from an inability to accept reality may haunt him over the next two years. Painful losses are indicated, especially when it comes to legal disputes.

Transiting Pluto now opposes Trump’s natal Saturn which can feel like forces beyond one’s control destroying the structures of one’s life – and in this case, tearing down his authority. Mars has spent 6 months in his 8^th house where he has wrestled for power and battled against the inevitable change that the 8^th house of transformation and death implies. Mars on the last degree of Aries in the insurrection chart was a last chance, one last stand. I notice that the rising degree of the Insurrection chart was conjunct Trump’s natal Sedna, tapping into a feeling of deep betrayal. Soon after the Capitol building was breached, Mars entered his 9^th house of law and international communication.

Given the event which resulted in the death of five people, after one final warning, Twitter decided to suspend and then ban Trump’s account for good, erasing all his previous tweets at the same time – yet again a manifestation of natal Neptune square Mercury! Mars entering his 9^th house made it plain that he had incited violence through the internet and brought an outcry against him. It was a domino effect as one by one, the main social media platforms silenced him (Neptune is a planet associated with silence).

Trump’s Second Impeachment

Hot on the heels of being (almost) erased from public view came Nancy Pelosi who was gunning for the 25^th Amendment. As there were some too afraid, too embroiled, or too loyal to Trump to take this action, Impeachment was the next port of call.  Trump certainly made the history books, but perhaps not in the way he had hoped. No other president in history has ever been impeached twice. Although the time of birth for Nancy Pelosi is debatable, what we know for sure is that Nancy has Eris conjunct her Sun. Nancy’s Sun sits on Trump’s Eris, illuminating the bringer of strife and once again, the elephant in the room. Now we see you, says Nancy.

Looking at the impeachment chart itself (thanks to Facebook friends who captured the time for me!), the most notable feature is the full 7^th house – a house traditionally associated with justice. The fast-moving Moon is only minutes away from a direct conjunction to the progressed Moon of the US chart! A Sun-Pluto conjunction is conjunct the Descendant. Truth, dictators, and crime illuminated. We could also simply say the government in the spotlight. The Sun and Pluto are also conjunct asteroid Scylla, the monster. The Sun is also just minutes past a square with Eris, so we are still with the same story – deposing dictators and abusers of power. Are we in danger of demonising one person for the actions of many? Maybe – but then, Trump’s actions have been monstrous.

In my post on the Full Moon which occurred before the presidential election that saw Trump’s victory in 2016, I spoke of how clown symbolism manifests when the collective psyche is fearful. The degree of that Full Moon was 23° Aries, the same degree as the Ascendant of the Insurrection Chart. In fact, the story of that lunation four years ago seems powerfully prescient.

The birds made their call. The eagle told us that Trump would be bad for the US. Uncle Sam sensed the threat. But still he came to power because Trump is a reflection our collective fear, itself a creation of a deeply corrupt system. Pluto tells us that we cannot eradicate what we don’t see or acknowledge. Trump’s devilish game in the most powerful position in the world has brought it home to us in no uncertain terms. Change is essential. Change is imminent. Change is here.

For someone with so much light on his Ascendant, it seems strange that Trump has manifested its absence. Yet Pluto, the planet furthest from the Sun, is unaspected in Trump’s chart aside from an opposition to Ceres. With Pluto having no connection to the main planets in our solar system it makes it difficult for Trump to see his own shadow. It’s the aspect behind his infamous ‘grab ‘em by the pussy’ comment echoing Pluto grabbing Persephone and dragging her to his lair. It’s Trump signing off on inviting bids for oil drilling in the sacred landscape of Alaska. It’s terror of anyone who does not look like him – male and white-skinned.

In the 12^th house, Trump’s Pluto is like an imploding black hole consuming all light. His terror of life/women/his mother unconsciously driving every action – a nod here too to his Moon conjunct the South Node. His Sun is conjunct Atropos, the oldest of the three Fates whose name mean ‘inflexible One’. It is she who chooses the mechanism of death and she who cuts the thread of life. Combined with the Pluto opposition to life-giving Ceres, Trump has an unconscious tendency to destroy what he touches. Yet, a little part of me wonders – what could he have achieved, had he chosen to acknowledge the darkness within to release his light.

Painting – Bird of Washington by John James Audubon