Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president facing multiple criminal investigations, chose the week after a disappointing finish for Republicans in the Midterm Elections to announce his candidacy for the presidency in 2024.  With criminal indictments against him already issued and more pending, the act may be more a bid for resuming the specious immunity conferred by the office of the presidency, than any true desire to pick up the tattered threads of his political career.

Many Republicans blame Trump for the poor showing at the polls; with the winds of change blowing favorably in their direction due to inflation and high gas prices, the GOP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, with most high-profile Trump-backed candidates losing their races nationwide, from Senate candidates Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania and Herschel Walker in Georgia, to Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.  The much-vaunted “Red Wave” turned into a trickle, with a narrow majority in the House, and one net seat loss in the Senate, which remains under Democrat control.  Not a single Dem incumbent Senator lost his or her seat, in large part due to the poor quality of Trump’s hand-picked candidates.

Despite the setback, Trump threw his hat into the ring on 15 November 2022 at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, in a poorly attended speech with no GOP leadership present, and even most family members giving the announcement a pass, including all of his adult children.  As is his wont, Trump bloviated his grievances for upwards of an hour, and when some spectators tried to leave the room early, they were stopped by his security detail.  Trump uttered the fateful words confirming his candidacy at 9:22 PM EST, and a chart cast for that time shows his precarious grip on the prize he seeks.

Asteroid Troemper has been our celestial referent for The Donald since he descended that golden escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015 to announce his first presidential run, and time and again it has proved its utility.  At this attempted reboot, asteroid Troemper at 18 Sagittarius is enmeshed in a Grand Cross of energies not exactly primed to boost his chances.  

Troemper conjoins asteroid Karma at 21 Sagittarius, a sign that a moment of reckoning has come for the 45^th president.  Even old allies are abandoning him, with Rupert Murdoch’s conservative New York Post lampooning Trump as “Trumpty Dumpty” in a cover story after the elections.  This Troemper/Karma pairing opposes asteroid Achilles at 17 Gemini with Mars in retrograde at 23 Gemini.  Mars retro is never a good time to initiate action, particularly where politics is concerned, with Mars ruling campaigns of all types, from military to advertising to a presidential run.  Achilles is even worse.  The source of our phrase “Achilles heel,” this point represents weakness and vulnerability, an inherent flaw which threatens to destroy the individual.  Achilles paired with Mars, tied directly to Troemper, suggests a weak candidacy doomed to failure from the start.

On the crossbars lie asteroids Donn with Kassandra at 19 and 21 Virgo, and asteroid Nemesis with Neptune at 19 and 22 Pisces.  Donn here doubles down on the personal note for Trump, tying him yet more intimately to the overall pattern.  Kassandra represents “wasted breath”, according to asteroid maven Martha Lang Wescott, and carries with it serious credibility issues.  Will even the Trump MAGA faithful respond to this call, and find another victorious run to be a believable outcome of this announcement?  Certainly many deep-pocketed, major Republican donors don’t, considering backing another Trump candidacy as good money thrown after bad.  Nemesis conjunct Neptune may be the worst of the lot.  Neptune is fantasy, illusion, the inability to accept reality, often leading to bitter disappointment; and Nemesis is ruin and destruction, often self-created.

Put it all together, and there’s a world of hurt waiting to open out from that announcement.

The Ascendant of the announcement at 20 Cancer is fast-approaching Trump’s natal Saturn at 23 Cancer, ruling career, while the 23 Scorpio Sun is aligning with his natal IC at 24 Scorpio, the low point of his chart, with Trump’s fortunes at a seeming nadir.  Squared by Damocles at 25 Aquarius (which also therefore squares the MC at 24 Taurus, ruling career), there is some looming threat or disaster in the offing, affecting both work and domestic affairs.  Dare we suggest a change in domicile, to some federal penitentiary, and in occupation, perhaps manufacturing license plates? The Sun is also exactly conjunct asteroid Washingtonia, indicating Trump’s focus (Sun) on a return to the US capital (Washingtonia).

The Moon at 18 Leo opposed Saturn at 19 Aquarius suggests a chilly (Saturn) response from the public (Moon), reinforced by asteroid America at 6 Libra, exactly opposing an exact conjunction of asteroids NOT and Grieve at 6 Aries, with TNO Chaos at 0 Cancer on the fulcrum of a T-Square.  The country (America) isn’t willing (NOT) to endorse another stint for the Grievance President (Grieve) and his patented brand of political turmoil (Chaos).  Pluto at 26 Capricorn hugs the 20 Capricorn Descendant, perhaps symbolizing that Trump’s personal power is setting, soon to dip below the horizon into oblivion, as witnessed by the Midterm GOP fiasco he did so much to create.

Several advisers and conservative analysts encouraged, even begged, Trump not to make this announcement until after the runoff race for Senate in Georgia in early December, lest he squash the chances of picking up that seat for the GOP, but he plodded on regardless.  And they lost that race.  To be fair, with indictments looming and his grip on the Republican Party slipping, Donald Trump doesn’t have a lot of options, and announcing a presidential run allows him to paint the upcoming charges against him as so much political witch-huntery. 

Trump’s presidential run may work on that level, but as a winning campaign?  Doubtful.

Perhaps most concerning for Trump’s short-term outlook is the ongoing extended conjunction of asteroids Troemper and Karma; this pair has been traveling within ten degrees of each other since mid-July 2022, and will continue their rough embrace until early spring of 2024.  This affords a protracted period of Trump (Troemper) being potentially called to account for his prior actions (Karma).  With TNO Eris, noted for a vengeful sense of justice and a disdain for rule-breaking, playing tag in opposition to Trump’s natal asteroid d’Arrest throughout this period, and two solar eclipses in 2023 which directly impact this point defining indictments and the filing of charges, it seems likely that Donald Trump’s long ride of evading serious consequences for his misdeeds is coming to a screeching halt.

Grab a good seat to watch the show, and pass the popcorn – it’s going to be a bumpy year!