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Tribalism v. Interconnectivity As U.S. Mercury Turns Direct
After Hillary’s acceptance speech last week, Democrats framed the election process as a "love versus hate" choice. Hillary is campaigning on the slogan, "stronger together", and emphasizes the progress made by the Obama administration. In contrast, Trump wants to "make America great again," and he speaks viscerally to the large majority of Americans who believe the country is going in the wrong direction.
Astrologically, the two worldviews presented by the candidates can be seen in the tribal, self-protective sign of Cancer and the egalitarian, socially expansive sign of Aquarius. The U.S. horoscope, with its Sun in Cancer and Moon in Aquarius, was founded with these two principles as the nation’s dominant archetypes. Throughout its history, Americans have continually struggled to balance their tribal instincts with the ideal of the multicultural "melting pot."
Previously in this column, we’ve looked at how the Uranus-Eris conjunction propels the "us versus them" conversation, especially since Uranus is in the midst of squaring the U.S. Mercury in Cancer. By secondary progression, Mercury is now at an exceptionally important turning point: it’s located at 20º Aquarius and about to turn direct (on September 30). For all practical purposes, it’s now at its most influential point by being at an exact standstill.
The U.S. progressed Mercury is in the 4th house of domestic affairs where it’s forming numerous aspects to other planets around the chart. One of the closest is the quincunx to natal Black Moon Lilith, which accounts for the intense and malicious commentaries, the unbridled rage, and nasty rhetoric that has pervaded the election process. However, a much closer aspect made by progressed Mercury is the fortunate trine to Juno in Libra (orb: 0º24’). Juno is known as the protector of the weak, and also as the wife -- a symbol best personified by Hillary Clinton.
Trump Relocated to Moscow
Investigative reporters are in the midst of tracking down Trump’s curious ties to Moscow and his friendship with Putin.* Many astrologers like to use A*C*G maps to discern one’s fate at specific locations, but in Trump’s case, he has no lines running through Moscow. Relocating the natal horoscope to Moscow offers better insights into Trump’s attraction to the Russian capital.
With Scorpio Rising, Pluto becomes the ruling planet in this relocated chart. Pluto, the planet associated with plutocrats, is in the 9th house of foreign affairs, which readily translates into Trump’s ties with Russian oligarchs. The Part of Fortune conjoins the Descendant, making Moscow a place where he can benefit by forming partnerships. With his Sun and other planets occupying the 8th house of capitalism, Trump’s main interest is business.
The political asteroid Pallas holds a particularly prominent place in this chart by being exactly trine the Midheaven from the 2nd house of money. In a politician’s horoscope, Pallas often symbolizes his advisers, his campaign strategists, and policy wonks. Trump has an unusual number of advisers with close financial ties to Russia. He’s proposed recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, which happens to be where his Pallas line is angular.
Unlike the A*C*G* map, the relocation chart can be assessed like an ordinary horoscope, with transits and progressions telling the story. For example, when Trump opened the Miss Universe contest in Moscow on November 9, 2013, he made some of his most important contacts with the Russian oligarchy, including a friendly interchange with Putin. At the time, his progressed (relocated) Part of Fortune was exactly conjunct natal Jupiter. Currently, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over his Russian relations since transiting Neptune is exactly opposite his relocated Midheaven.
Luke Aikins, Skydiver Extraordinaire
The recent Mars station in Scorpio while quincunx Uranus has brought a wave of explosive violence, and illustrates the potency of this planetary duo. In natal charts the Mars-Uranus connection brings a natural interest in dangerous, high-risk occupations and extreme sports. And the tighter the orb between the challenging Mars-Uranus aspect, the more attracted one becomes to the ultimate, death-defying, daredevil stunt.
Skydiver Luke Aikins is a case in point. He was born (November 21, 1973; Corpus Christi, TX; time unknown) with his Mars strongly placed in Aries and precisely opposite Uranus in Libra. His Moon in Libra conjoins Uranus, indicating an emotional need for the kind of radical action and adrenalin rush that comes from a skydiving jump from 25,000 feet with no parachute, and just a large net to break his fall.
He made his historic skydive last Saturday while under the influence of numerous dangerous alignments. The inspiration for his stunt arrived during the phase astrologers refer to as the "mid-life crisis" when transiting Uranus opposes its own positon around the age of 42-44. Mars was all over this chart when he jumped: transiting Mars conjoined his Scorpio Sun, and he had a progressed Moon-Mars conjunction.
In addition, transiting Jupiter was squaring the U.S. Mars, which put his stunt on live TV and broadcast to the nation. The tightest configuration at the time was transiting Pluto conjunct his progressed Black Moon Lilith (orb: 0º02’) – a clear indicator that death was a serious possibility. What made the entire escapade possible was that his progressed Moon-Mars was perfectly sextile natal Saturn, offering sufficient experience and safety precautions to survive.
* For background info, see https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/30/donald-trump-paul-manafort-ukraine-russia-putin-ties
And
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