Alex's Asteroid Astrology

So what’s behind all the drama about the crowd size for Trump’s inauguration? With the newly-minted president claiming it to be the largest ever, estimating it at “a million, a million and a half” (which in itself is a pretty broad range for an estimate), but the Parks Service suggesting it was closer to 250,000, a tempest in a teapot exploded over the new administration’s first weekend.

Take a look at the pictures below: the one on the left is of Barack Obama’s first inauguration, in 2009, at noon; the one on the right is Trump’s, in 2017, also at noon. If you can’t see the obvious difference here, consult your oculist immediately: you may have Trumplexia (an inability to see what is clearly in front of you).

Obama’s historic first inaugural, installing the USA’s first non-white president, drew an estimated 1.8 million; estimates for his second inauguration come in at about a million, give or take. Trump’s numbers don’t even come close, despite his bluster and bravado, but there are plenty of logical and logistical reasons for this, having nothing to do with popularity.

First, another old white man in the White House? Ho, hum, right? Not exactly news. Second, DC itself and the area around it have become increasingly progressive in recent years, so there is an ever-decreasing pool of locals to cull from, and many Trump supporters are economically challenged or far afield from the capital, making it more difficult for them to attend. Third, weather forecasts indicated at least some portion of the day would be moderately wet, potentially depressing turnout.

These are all reasonable, logical reasons why the attendance was low, so why not just grin and bear it? Why make outrageous, obviously false, easily refuted claims? Why take to Twitter to accuse the Media of bias? Why call the park service personally to ask them to review the photos and “revise” their estimates? You’ve just been inaugurated President of the United States – what are you going to do next? Go to Disneyland? Start focusing on the country’s problems? No, you’re going to obsess on crowd size and try to inflate the numbers, strong arm low-level officials and bluff it out.

But WHY?

Asteroids to the rescue! Let’s take a look at asteroid Photographica, for starters. This point is a celestial marker, not just for still photos, but any kind of photographic medium, such as video or film, in print or digital. It’s also the “image” one crafts.

Donald Trump’s natal Photographica lies at 26 Capricorn, opposing his natal Saturn/Venus conjunction at 23 and 25 Cancer. Trump wants to be loved, admired and popular (all Venus traits) in his career (Saturn), and, for him, this photo of low turnout puts the lie to that, making him feel unloved (a frequent manifestation of Venus and Saturn in conjunction, that need for approval, but feeling undervalued). Additionally, that natal degree matches the Midheaven of the administration exactly, 26 Capricorn. So it’s important, not just for his personal image, but for his administration, and this is literally the first image the world has of him as US president – a half-empty Mall.

Underscoring the importance of Photographica at that day and time is its transit position at 7 Taurus, within orb of the administration’s Ascendant at 14 Taurus. The Ascendant is how others see us, the way we present ourselves to them, and Photographica on this angle dramatically boosts its impact and importance. From 7 Taurus Photographica also opposes the Moon at 9 Scorpio, representing the people. We can almost hear Trump’s plaintive cry: where are all the damn PEOPLE?

And when we compare this to Trump’s birth chart, we see just how vital this is to him. That 14 Taurus Ascendant? That touches off Trump’s natal asteroid at 15 Taurus, and his natal asteroid Lie at 17. Narcissus represents obsessive self-focus, and Lie is just that – deception. Not only that, but transit Photographica also closely squares his natal asteroid Hybris at 8 Leo and Pluto at 10. Hybris is the root of our word “hubris” and represents excessive pride or arrogance, and Pluto is gut-wrenching devastation and loss.

Put it all together, and we have a picture (Photographica) representing the administration’s public face (Ascendant), which devastates (Pluto) his pride (Hybris) and sparks his massive ego (Narcissus) to make things up (Lie) to save face. All evidence to the contrary, this really was the biggest inauguration ever, and who ya gonna believe: me, or your lyin’ eyes?