Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Jarring Jacket
A bizarre sidebar emerged in the migrant family separation story on Thursday, June 21st, when First Lady Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to a detention center for minors in McAllen, Texas. Both when boarding her plane in Washington, and again when disembarking upon her return, Mrs. Trump wore a green jacket emblazoned on the back with the words “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?” in white graffiti-style lettering.
The jacket caused a sensation, which the White House tried to dampen by stating, “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message.” (To which late night TV host Stephen Colbert responded that he agreed there was nothing hidden, the message was there in plain sight.) Of course Melania’s husband exploded the White House’s official explanation by later tweeting that the message was indeed intended, and was in reference to her feelings about the Media. Right.
The jacket, an off-the-rack design by Zara which falls far short of the First Lady’s typical style, does seem, at best, a poorly thought-through choice for this (or any) occasion. Thankfully Melania doffed the outerwear while in Texas, wearing it only for the plane ride. But the message, if message there was, had been sent. Was she revealing her true feelings? Was she expressing the administration’s attitude to the crisis? Was it a wink and a nod to Trump’s base, not to take her apparent concern seriously?
Melania sets off to visit migrant children separated from their families by Trump’s immigration policies; what message did she intend with this jacket?
How to puzzle this out? PNAs might help solve the riddle. There has been an ongoing conjunction of asteroid Whitehouse with Uranus (currently at 2 and 1 Taurus), which has been eliciting greater-than-usual controversy about the administration; this would affect Melania as First Lady as well. This was joined by asteroid Allen at 29 Aries, for McAllen, Texas, the epicenter of the family separation controversy, and Melania’s destination.
The Sun at 0 Cancer was highlighting both asteroid Troemper at 27 Virgo and asteroid Texas at 2 Libra by square. This becomes a T-Square when Saturn at 6 Capricorn is factored in, representing the government generally, and the office of the presidency specifically. So we’re seeing there Melania (Troemper) in focus (Sun) as the official government representative (Saturn) of the situation at the border (Texas). Asteroid Melanie, closest to Melania, at 27 Leo is exactly semisextile Troemper, and in trine to the Allen/Uranus/Whitehouse grouping.
Not generally noted for an “off the rack” style, Melania displayed a far more advanced sense of couture at the 2017 inaugural parade
There is no “Zara” asteroid, for the jacket’s manufacturer, but there is a Sara (“S” and “Z” are somewhat interchangeable with PNAs), and a Zarabeth, as well as a Jakoten (for “jacket”). Sara is exactly conjunct Pluto at 20 Capricorn, suggesting some hidden agenda, manipulative purpose, or power play, as well as the scandal the garment evoked. Pluto/Sara is squared Photographica at 17 Libra, representing the pictures which caused the controversy, and opposed asteroid Child at 21 Cancer, indicating the minors she was enroute to visiting.
Asteroid Zarabeth at 25 Pisces opposes Troemper and is inconjunct Melanie, closely linking both the First Lady’s names with the article of apparel in question. Asteroid Jakoten at 13 Sagittarius is exactly semisquare Askalaphus at 28 Capricorn, known for tale-bearing and the revealing of secrets. It is also exactly semisextile Jupiter at 13 Scorpio, evoking publicity, and inconjunct to asteroid Nemesis at 14 Taurus, suggesting self-undoing in some form. There is an ambiguous conjunction with asteroid Lie at 14 Sagittarius: does this refer to the First Lady’s trip as a lie, to the White House cover story that the jacket meant nothing as a lie, to her husband’s Tweet that it referred to the Media as a lie, or all of the above? Could it even serve as a sort of double negative, meaning that the sentiment expressed on the jacket, that she doesn’t care, is itself a lie, and that she truly cares deeply?
Jakoten also squares Neptune at 16 Pisces, another indicator that deception may be involved somewhere here, though it can also refer to confused, muddled thinking or behaviors, in choosing such inappropriate garb in the first place. Perhaps the truth of the matter will be found in asteroid Truth, which at 6 Libra conjoins Texas and is exactly squared Saturn. Does the Zara jacket reveal the truth (Truth) of the administration’s (Saturn) attitude toward the migrant family crisis (Texas)?
Melania at the McAllen, Texas shelter for migrant minors, seated beneath the “Kindness Tree”. The bottom of the trunk is cut off, but does the rest of the message read, “make me sick?”
The importance of the jacket becomes clearer when we look at Melania Trump’s natal chart. Born 26 April 1970 (no time available), Melania’s 5 Taurus Sun is exactly conjunct asteroid Child and exactly squared asteroid Sara, for Zara, at 5 Leo. This suggests that the sentiments displayed really do reflect her innermost feelings about this issue. With transit Venus at 8 Leo, still within orb of natal Sara, the jacket was a logical fashion statement, with perhaps that deeper meaning. But the exact Sun/Child conjunction suggests that she strongly identifies with children, which would seem at odds with the Zara jacket statement.
A second Venus-Zara connection arises in the natal conjunction of Venus at 28 Taurus with Zarabeth at 29; this may help to explain Melania’s attraction for the mass-market jacket in the first place. Incidentally, also here is asteroid Tantalus, at 25 Taurus, noted for heinous acts. With Venus, this implies she is drawn romantically to perpetrators of such acts, or that she is capable of them herself when in a relationship, or that she expresses these urges via fashion.
A less rumpled view of the Zara jacket, fully displaying the sentiment; what was Melania thinking?
Natal Jakoten at 19 Cancer opposes transit Pluto/Sara, and is about to become the center of attention, with a Solar Eclipse conjoined it from 20 Cancer on July 13th. Natal Melania at 21 Libra closely squares natal Jakoten, transit Child, and transit Pluto/Sara, also conjunct transit Photographica. Again, we’re seeing remarkable precision here, in a story about how a picture (Photographica) of the First Lady’s (Melania) Zara (Sara) jacket (Jakoten) created a scandal (Pluto) on her trip to visit migrant minors (Child).
Natal Texas falls at 0 Cancer, exactly where the Sun was on the day of her visit. And natal Uranus at 5 Libra steps right into the transit Texas/Truth pairing, highlighting the potential for controversy when in that region. Natal Pluto joins with asteroid Nemesis at 25 Virgo, and these overlay the transit Troemper/Zarabeth opposition – again, a Zara (Zarabeth) garment creating a scandal (Pluto) and a moment of self-undoing (Nemesis) for Mrs. Trump (Troemper). Natal asteroid Lie at 26 Pisces puts the cosmic cherry on top of this pattern, conjoining transit Zarabeth and once again calling into question the veracity of the jacket’s message. Lie also conjoins natal Juno at 27 Pisces, the spouse, suggesting that she is married to a liar, or perhaps that the Trumps’ marriage is a lie to begin with; at a minimum, Lie/Juno with transit Zarabeth advises that the President’s Tweet about the jacket’s meaning is untrue.
Melania Trump is not above using fashion to send a message, but the intent of this outfit from the 2018 State of the Union speech is unclear. Its white color suggests a stark contrast with Democrats, clad all in black in support for the #Me Too movement, but the pantsuit itself is reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s supporters in the 2016 election. Conflicted much?
Transit Icarus, describing, rash, reckless actions heedless of the consequences, falls at 16 Pisces, and is exactly conjoined by transit Neptune, bringing confusion and distracted thinking into the equation. Icarus is exactly quintile (72 degrees) natal Venus, opening up the possibility that Melania’s fashion choices may on occasion be ill-considered at best.
Melania Trump’s natal asteroid Truth at 0 Taurus conjoins her Sun, defining her as essentially honest, at heart a truth-teller. So does the jacket message reflect her own views, or is she calling out the administration’s attitude, as their official representative for the occasion?
Enigmatic and Sphinxlike, Melania sits in the shade of the Kindness Tree, having doffed the jacket that proclaims her indifference
Perhaps asteroid Sphinx has the last word here. Sphinx represents riddles, enigmas, puzzles, and the qualities of inscrutability, impenetrability or opacity. At 27 Aquarius, Melania’s natal Sphinx is exactly semisquare natal Photographica at 12 Aries, and squared natal Venus/Zarabeth – we’ll likely never know her true intent in donning that garment.
