Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Former US President, current presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and convicted felon Donald J. Trump turns 78 on 14 June 2024.  A chart cast for the moment when the Sun returns to its natal degree and minute can reveal much of what awaits in the coming year, a year which, for The Donald, is fraught, to say the least.  Before the twelvemonth is out, Trump is likely to find himself an occupant, either of the White House, or the Big House.  With sentence pending on his criminal conviction in New York state, and awaiting three more criminal trials, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the 45^th president.

Due to astronomical anomalies, Trump’s Solar Return occurs a day prior to his actual birthday, on 13 June 2024 at 7:03 AM EDT.  As of this writing, it’s unclear where Trump will spend that day, but the chart is set for his golf club at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, currently his primary residence.

The chart features an angular T-Square, with the Solar Return (hereafter abbreviated “SR”) Sun on its fulcrum at 22 Gemini, conjunct the 0 Cancer SR Ascendant, squared SR Saturn at 19 Pisces on the 17 Pisces SR Midheaven (also termed the MC) and SR asteroid NOT 285 at 22 Virgo, on the 17 Virgo SR IC.  Saturn is many things, including old age, career, and the presidency itself, but it also rules the law and accountability, punishment and penalty, and tends to restrict, limit or deny, often bringing loss, additionally known as the ancient lord of death.  NOT is a general disqualifier, a symbol of negation, an inability to proceed, a blockage or failure.  Anything within orb of an Angle is heightened and emphasized for the year, becoming a formative agent for the timeframe.

It’s no more than appropriate to see such a configuration, involving Saturn, in the SR of a septuagenarian running for President, and in and of itself, this might not signal failure in the attempt.  But with NOT involved, the cosmic scales tip in the direction of a negative manifestation (at least, as viewed from Trump’s perspective, if not his countrymen’s). 

There are further factors which ameliorate or reinforce this pattern.  Also with the SR Sun, on a planetary level, are SR Venus at 25 Gemini and SR Mercury at 21 Gemini.  Not as fortuitous as Greater Benefic Jupiter, Venus, known as the Lesser Benefic, can nevertheless bring luck and fortune, smoothing one’s path and promoting positive outcomes.  It also represents women generally, a constituency which will be vital to Trump’s political fortunes, the result of which will in turn vitally impact his legal situation.  If Trump wins the presidency, then the two pending federal criminal cases against him evaporate, and the Georgia election interference case is, at a minimum, put on hold.  If Trump loses the November election, he faces a much more dire future.

Mercury represents speech, of which there will be no lack from Trump in the coming year.  It’s campaign speechifying, political rhetoric, witness testimony, and jury deliberations, as well as the decision-making process and the vote itself.  The importance of all these to Trump’s solar year should be obvious.

In addition, several asteroids impact the SR Sun.  Justice isn’t done with Trump yet, not by a longshot.  SR asteroid Justitia 269 at 28 Gemini conjoins the SR Sun; Justitia is named for the Roman goddess of justice, and was exactly conjunct Trump’s natal Sun in the closing days of his first criminal trial.  Right there is SR asteroid Jackschmitt 7749 at 29 Gemini, a CNA (Compound-Named Asteroid, consisting of both first and last names strung together as one word), which here approximates Jack Smith (with Schmitt the German rendering of his surname), the special counsel overseeing both of Trump’s federal criminal prosecutions. 

Persons whose PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids, of which CNAs are a subset) connect to the SR Sun will be pivotal in that year’s circumstances.  This alone argues for a Trump loss at the polls, for a victory would make Jack Smith’s role moot, a spent force in Trump’s life.  The power team of Justitia and Jackschmitt conjunct his Sun spells an ongoing existential threat for Trump in the coming year, originating in the Justice Department, in the person of Smith.

Note also that Justitia’s Greek counterpart, SR asteroid Themis 24, appears at 6 Cancer, conjunct the 0 Cancer SR Ascendant, governing how others see him, making this second referent for justice almost as powerful as the first.  Accompanying Themis are SR asteroids Smith 3351 (another allusion to Jack Smith), Willis 13730 (for Fulton County DA Fani Willis, overseeing the Georgia criminal case), both at 12 Cancer, and Nike 307 at 2 Cancer, named for the Greek goddess of victory.  This empowers both Jack Smith and Fani Willis as agents of justice, and Nike here could suggest victory for these prosecutors in the cases they are bringing.

But Nike’s placement is a bit more ambiguous than that.  At 2 Cancer it also conjoins the SR Ascendant at 0 Cancer, so is this a signal that the officers of justice achieve victory, or that Trump himself emerges victorious from his troubles, seen as vindicated?  Nike’s placement is exactly ten degrees from both the SR Sun and the Smith/Willis conjunction, at the outermost orb of conjunction to each, effectively on their midpoint, so it’s difficult to determine whom it favors most.  The picture is further complicated by a T-Square, with Nike on its fulcrum, in square to SR asteroids Fortuna 19 at 8 Aries and Victoria 12 at 5 Libra.  Fortuna is named for the Roman goddess of fortune, who spins her wheel, providing both positive and negative manifestations; Victoria is Nike’s Roman counterpart, also focused on winning.  But again, which side do these favor?  I would suggest a slight preference for the Smith/Willis pairing, based in the fact that these squared points interact with that conjunction, but not with Trump’s Sun.

There’s a trio of points at station in this Solar Return, namely SR asteroids America 916, Hybris 430, and Damocles 5335.  Stationary bodies exert a much greater than normal influence on character and biography, becoming the focus of energy and manifestation for the year.  America at station suggests the pivotal importance of the nation for Trump’s future.  If he’s accepted as its head once more, all his legal problems disappear; if he’s rejected, prison becomes a virtual certainty.  At 12 Aquarius, asteroid America turns retrograde four days after Trump’s birthday, and is paired with two modifiers that may prove key to which way the national cat jumps.

SR asteroid Kassandra 114 conjoins from 6 Aquarius, while SR asteroid MANIAC 228029 conjoins from 19 Aquarius.  And that’s the crux of the matter in a nutshell, as regards Americans’ opinions of The Donald.  Kassandra is about credibility; while some swallow every lie Trump offers and plead for more, others are convinced that everything he says is worth less than the breath it takes to say it.  Similarly, MANIAC is not an energy you want to be associated with, among those who will decide your suitability for the highest office in the land, being associated with insanity and fanaticism. 

Trump has never struck me as the “stable genius” he claims to be, but his acts and utterances post-election 2020 have become increasingly unhinged.  The MAGA crowd cheers him on, but there aren’t nearly enough of those folks to sweep him back into the Oval Office.  The election will be decided by independents, moderate Republicans, and those so-called “double haters,” people who are turned off by both Trump and Biden.  But given a choice between old and perhaps ineffectual, and old and obviously crazy, whom do you think they’ll pick?

The situation worsens for Trump when we look at asteroid America’s other entanglements.  Opposed SR asteroids Niobe 71 and Nemesis 128 at 13 and 14 Leo, a T-Square is formed by SR asteroid Narcissus 37117 at 8 Scorpio.  Niobe refers to pride and conceit, two very entrenched Trump traits, likely on full display as the campaign plays out.  Nemesis represents ruin and destruction, often self-created; and Narcissus indicates pathological self-focus.  Again, not the ways you want voters to view you, and Trump’s trademark pride (Niobe) and self-obsession (Narcissus) could be his downfall (Nemesis).

SR Asteroid Hybris at 2 Scorpio turns direct on June 25^th, conjunct Narcissus, opposing SR Mars at 3 Taurus, with SR asteroid TRIUMF 14959 at 1 Taurus, in a T-Square with SR Pluto on the fulcrum at 1 Aquarius (and also incorporating Kassandra).  Hybris is named for the Greek goddess of prideful arrogance, and the root of our word “hubris,” defined as “excessive pride or self-confidence.”  Hybris’ stationary status makes this character trait a deeply embedded factor in the year, one on highly public display, as if Donald Trump needs any celestial prompting in this area!

The opposition to Mars/TRIUMF is interesting, and one of the few potential bright spots in the SR chart for Trump.  Mars governs campaigns of all types, from military to advertising to politics.  TRIUMF here suggests ultimate success for the Trump Campaign, were it not for those troublesome qualifiers.  We’ve already seen Kassandra as credibility issues; paired with Pluto, ruling criminality, Trump is presenting a less than convincing defense against his conviction, and that will hamper the campaign.  To accept his version of a “rigged” trial, one must believe that a massive conspiracy exists, extending over years, and including the many Trump friends, allies, employees and loyalists who gave damning testimony at his trial.  Pluto can also lead to devastating outcomes, and Mars indicates anger or hatred – his base will be energized, but so will his opposition.

Damocles, the final point at station, turned retrograde on May 31^st, and represents the threat or doom hanging overhead, about to descend at any moment.  Damocles has been birddogging asteroid Donn 4689 (for Donald) since late May, with the two just five degrees apart on May 30^th, when Trump officially became a convicted felon with his criminal trial verdict, and that legal doom descended. 

SR Damocles and SR Donn are still conjunct for the Solar Return, at 5 and 2 Pisces respectively, meaning the peril continues throughout the solar year, even as these two bodies separate in the sky.  Adding fuel to that fire is a square to a triple conjunction of SR asteroid Troemper 28130 (our celestial referent for The Donald), SR Jupiter (ruling politics and the courts) and SR asteroid Karma 3811, at 1, 4 and 10 Gemini.  This suggests an extended period for Trump (Donn, Troemper) of being called to account for prior acts (Karma), formatted as jeopardy (Damocles) in a judicial (Jupiter) context, with political ramifications (also Jupiter). 

This cosmic picture expands into a T-Square when we factor in SR asteroids Roe 28803 and Merrick 65672 at 5 and 10 Virgo, opposing Donn/Damocles.  Surely the overturning of Roe v Wade, and Trump’s continual embrace of the loss of reproductive rights for women as his special accomplishment, will have serious implications for the election’s outcome.  The Dobbs decision, wiping out almost fifty years of rights for women and made possible by the three Trump SCOTUS appointees, is another facet of that peril which hangs above his tangerine head.  Reinforcing the importance of Roe v Wade’s demise is SR asteroid Wade 4710, which at 17 Pisces conjoins the SR MC exactly, affecting Trump’s career, status, reputation, and place in the world.  Wade conjunct the MC puts his presidential bid and career at risk, and therefore by extension, his freedom.

Also in the “looming peril” category is the Justice Department, here depicted by asteroid Merrick, for US Attorney General Merrick Garland (who heads it), opposed Damocles.  It’s fascinating sometimes to speculate on the vagaries of “chance” in history.  Had Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not refused to fill the SCOTUS seat vacated by Antonin Scalia’s death in the final year of Barack Obama’s presidency, this same Merrick Garland, Obama’s nominee for the post, would now be seated on that Court, and safely removed from any role in bringing Donald Trump to justice.  His vote there might even have prevented Roe v Wade’s overturning, which has constituted such an albatross for the GOP, losing virtually every major election since.  It’s a classic cosmic case of “Be careful what you wish for.”

Additional SR factors include the SR Moon at 14 Virgo, conjunct the 17 Virgo IC and opposed Saturn at 19 Pisces.  Both the Moon and the IC refer to the domestic environment or residence, and Saturn’s opposition suggests this will be somehow restricted or limited.  This could indicate imprisonment or house arrest, anything which curbs Trump’s freedom of movement.  The Moon is also Trump’s health generally, which may suffer due to the incalculable, perhaps intolerable, stress of his legal position, and the rigors of a presidential campaign.

The political atmosphere engendered by Trump this year is portrayed by SR asteroid Whitehouse 4036 at 25 Cancer, closely squared by a pairing of SR asteroid Washingtonia 886 and SR TNO Eris 136199, at 24 and 25 Aries, with SR centaur Chiron at 22 Aries also in the mix.  Whitehouse of course represents the presidency, and Washingtonia refers to DC, the seat of federal government.  Eris indicates stress, strife and division, and represents populations who feel aggrieved, disrespected, and marginalized; Chiron suggests an incurable wound, and maverick behaviors.  Put it all together, and it paints a picture of a country torn apart, at war with itself, where healing is unlikely and animosity reigns, exacerbated in no small part by Donald Trump’s efforts to stoke these internal divisions for his own benefit.

All in all, Donald Trump’s 78^th Solar Return will be a year that brings into focus some of his worst character traits, emphasizes the legal peril and judicial jeopardy in which he still stands, inclines toward restriction and negation, and places him front and center on the national stage.  It’s a challenging year, to say the least, and its outcome would seem to be ruin – for Trump himself, or the nation at large.