Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Humpty Trumpty promised a Wall,

Humpty Trumpty couldn’t at all;

Not all his lemmings or his sycophants

Could make his Wall real by yelling their chants.

 

 

On Friday, February 15^th, 2019, US President Donald Trump declared a state of National Emergency after failing again to attain congressional funding for his much vaunted Border Wall with Mexico. The promise to build such a barrier (and have Mexico pay for it) was perhaps the quintessential rallying cry of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, with thousands of supporters thundering to Trump’s call-and-response urgings at campaign events, “Build the Wall!”

 

Statistics from Trump’s own government deny the value, even the practicality, of this endeavor, and the dangers and ills Trump trumpets in support of its creation – the influx of undocumented immigrants, human trafficking, illegal drug importation – are demonstrably ones for which the Wall would do little good, as they typically occur via legal ports of entry. Trump has had several deals for funding this vanity project in the past, all of which he has exploded on a whim after receiving blowback from ultra-conservative commentators. $25 billion was offered in a deal with Democrats in January 2018 in exchange for regularization of the DACA recipients’ status, but Trump passed. As recently as December 2018, a budget including $5 billion was on the table, but Trump caved to pressure from Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, and chose instead to shut down the government in an attempt to up the ante.

 

After 35 days, Trump relented with his tail between his legs, allowed the government to reopen, and has now accepted a budget with a mere $1.34 billion for Wall funding. This represents less than a third of what Trump could have gotten in December, and a mere one-fifteenth of what was offered over a year ago. “Art of the Deal”, indeed!

Then shortly after signing this budget, Trump declared a national emergency, an extraordinary measure which allows the president to shift funds from previously allocated projects to whatever purpose he deems necessary. Never before has this action been taken to circumvent Congress’ power of the purse, after being denied a request for funding. But we’re used to Trump’s manipulation of law and smashing of norms. The Trump administration is now being sued by 16 states over the move, which Trump himself categorized, in the very act of announcing it, as a non-emergency: “I didn’t have to do this.” Once again, Trump has shot himself in the foot planted squarely in his mouth.

 

So what’s all the fuss about a Wall? Why is this so important to Trump, and such anathema to others?

 

Using asteroids to paint a picture of the Southern Border Wall’s significance, we have no exact matches for “Wall”, but a number of similar English terms, and some Spanish ones (considering the venue for the structure, on the border with Mexico; foreign language terms work just as well as their English counterparts). For English substitutes we have asteroids Wallia, Wallin (“wall-in”), and Waldman (“wall-man”); Spanish terms for walls of various types which yield asteroid approximations include pared (with Pare as the celestial referent), muro (Murom), muralla (Murali) and tapia (Tapio).

Let’s see what we find.

 

First, to Donald Trump’s natal chart (born 14 June 1946, 10:54 AM EDT, Jamaica NY, Rodden Rating AA). We can certainly see why Trump talks about this so much (and the irony here of course is the recent revelation that the whole “Build the Wall!” thing was not policy-based, but a mnemonic device crafted by Roger Stone to keep the poorly focused Trump on script during campaign rallies, and talking about immigration). With natal asteroid Mexico exactly conjunct speechifying Mercury at 8 Cancer, and Spanish wall stand-in Murom close by at 10 Cancer, all opposing asteroid Whitehouse at 4 Capricorn, a Border Wall (Murom) with Mexico (Mexico) is a natural fit when orating (Mercury) for the Oval Office (Whitehouse).

 

Trump is also personally identified with the Wall, highly invested on an ego level – with Murali at 20 Gemini conjoined both the Sun and Uranus, Trump sees the Wall (Murali) as self-defining (Sun), a projection or part of himself; and his stance on it is likely to be controversial, his approach erratic (both Uranus). Asteroid Wallin at 10 Gemini is exactly sextile Pluto at 10 Leo, so Trump sees this as a source of his personal power, as well as a sort of test of how much his power has increased as President. With asteroid Waldman at 20 Taurus conjunct the MC at 24 Taurus and asteroid Lie at 17 Taurus, the Wall (Waldman) is bound up with his reputation, status and career (all MC), and he’s prone to dishonesty, exaggeration, and downright deception (all Lie) when discussing it.

Asteroid Tapio at 5 Leo also conjoins Pluto, doubling down on the “power source” effect, and is exactly sextile Neptune at 5 Libra, doubling down on the deceptive tendencies when the subject at hand is the Wall, or Wall-related. Asteroid Wallia at 25 Cancer is an exact match for Venus and also conjoins Saturn at 23 Cancer – the Wall (Wallia) is an important source of Trump’s popularity (Venus) and affects his career and presidency (both Saturn), reiterating the Waldman/MC energies. In Saturn/Venus/Wallia we can also see the restrictions (Saturn) on financing (Venus) the project (Wallia). Asteroid Pare at 26 Aries is exactly trine Mars at 26 Leo and also trine the 29 Leo Ascendant: Trump is willing to fight (Mars) for his Wall (Pare), and it forms a vital part of how others see him (Ascendant).

 

Not bad, for a bunch of wannabe “Wall” substitutes.

Trump made clear his intent to declare a National Emergency at 10:50 AM EST during an open-air press availability at the White House on February 15^th. The Ascendant/Descendant axis of 24 Taurus/Scorpio was an exact match for his natal MC/IC axis, signifying that moment as pivotal to his career, status or reputation. It was a fraught period; the transit Sun at 26 Aquarius had just squared that natal MC/IC axis, and was about to oppose/conjoin the natal Ascendant/Descendant axis at 29 Leo/Aquarius, suggesting important changes and a highlighting effect for Trump personally. Transit asteroid Murom at 29 Aquarius conjoined the Sun, showing the Wall as in focus for the time, and was exactly conjunct Trump’s Descendant, indicating the Wall’s prime importance in his relationship with his base.

 

Of course, where Trump is, can Lie be far behind? It cannot, and actually, it’s just a bit ahead, at 3 Pisces, conjunct both the transit Sun and Murom, as well as Mercury, the decision and the announcement itself, at 9 Pisces. Mercury is further conjoined to Neptune, planetary ruler of deception, at 15 Pisces, so there’s no lack of sleight-of-hand, misdirection and fraud at play.

Reinforcing the fact that it’s a wall we’re talking about is Mercury’s exact semisextile to asteroid Waldman at 9 Aries, and further defining which wall is asteroid Mexico at 6 Aries. These square Trump’s natal Mercury/Mexico/Murom conjunction, as well as transit asteroid Troemper at 5 Capricorn, firmly identifying Trump as the speaker, with his subject matter.

 

Transit Murali at 15 Sagittarius conjoins Jupiter, indicating the overreach of the declaration, while transit Wallin squares it, from 19 Virgo; both are also squared Neptune at 15 Pisces. These form a Grand Cross with Trump’s natal Uranus at 17 Gemini, suggesting the controversy evoked. Also involved here are transit asteroids Tapio and Pare, which at 14 and 17 Gemini cluster about natal Uranus. That spells a lot of controversy over the Wall issue, and a lot of blowback. With Murali’s (as well as Wallin’s, Tapio’s and Pare’s) connections to Trump’s natal Sun/Moon polarity at 22 Gemini and 21 Sag, we see again the centrality of the Wall to his self-image and emotional foundation, the very personal connection he feels to the structure.

Transit asteroid Wallia at 26 Cancer has just returned to its natal degree at 25 (making for a sort of “Wall Return” for Trump, a re-energizing of its natal impact), and conjoins that Saturn/Venus combination at 23 and 25 Cancer. Wallia is also angular on the transit IC at 3 Leo, which further conjoins natal asteroid Tapio at 5 Leo. Asteroid Whitehouse at 14 Taurus is exactly sextile transit Tapio at 14 Gemini and also trined to transit Saturn at 16 Capricorn, planetary ruler of walls, barriers and borders.

 

The importance of this issue of the Border Wall with Mexico is presaged in the US natal chart (7.4.1776) by asteroids Mexico at 10 Scorpio and Murali at 14 Pisces. Both are at, or approaching, station, making them embedded features in the country’s psyche, sensitive points which can trigger overreaction or pull focus. Mexico turned direct at 10 Scorpio on June 26^th, 1776, just 8 days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, while Murali turned retrograde a degree later, at 15 Pisces, on July 13^th, just nine days later, but is already slowing to station. Note also that currently transit Neptune, ruling deception, misdirection and confusion, sits exactly atop Murali’s station degree from the country’s founding.

 

Funny what you can find when you know where to look…