Trump Realigns?
On September 6th, 2017 a stunned congressional GOP leadership exited the White House in the wake of their theoretical leader’s apparent dissing of their goals and adherence to the Democratic leadership’s plans for resolving an upcoming fiscal crisis. The debt ceiling, estimated to be reached at the end of September, was being linked to disaster relief funds for Hurricane Harvey, in the hopes that this prickly issue could be settled with bipartisan support.
Republicans wanted an increase in the debt ceiling sufficient to fund the government for up to 18 months, to get them past the mid-term elections before the thorny issue would have to be raised again, but Trump agreed with Democrats that a three-month extension was sufficient. This puts the subject on the front burner again just in time for the year-end rush to vacate the Capitol for the holiday season. The timing of the short-term extension might also allow future negotiations to be bound up with the fate of the Dreamers, those persons brought into the US illegally while children, now at risk of deportation after Trump’s rescinding of DACA the day before. With some 80% of the US population agreeing that the Dreamers should be allowed to stay and given some sort of legal status, Republicans could be placed in an awkward position if this issue is linked with debt ceiling negotiations. On the one hand, they run the risk of shutting down the government if they vote against granting Dreamers a safe haven here, but potentially will offend their base if they support legalizing Dreamers to keep the government open.
Having received some positive press (for a change), for his willingness to work with Democrats, Trump seemed to like what he heard. The following week he laid out a tentative deal to resolve the fate of the Dreamers, in a broader package to include increased funding for border security (but not for the infamous wall). Whether this is a true deal or a negotiating tactic has yet to be determined, and certain elements of Trump’s vaunted base have reacted hysterically and shrilly to the idea that their dear leader could even contemplate such a thing.
Is there a true realignment occurring here, or is this just Trump’s payback for disappointing GOP failures to pass his health care agenda or support his efforts to end the Russian investigation? Is Trump really making common cause with Democrats, or simply vexing Republicans?
Hard to say, given the perennially erratic and mercurial nature of the President. But whatever may be happening here on terra firma, there are signs above that a realignment may be in progress, though as with anything celestial, it’s not likely to be permanent.
Our cast of characters should be familiar by now: asteroid Troemper for Trump has been a reliable indicator of its terrestrial namesake’s movements since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president. Additional, there are points to represent the congressional leadership, on both sides of the aisle. Asteroids Paul and Ryan very effectively denote Paul Ryan, House Speaker, while Mitchella and McConnell designate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
On the Democratic side, we have asteroid Nancy for Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, but nothing close to Pelosi has yet been named in the heavens. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer presents even more of a challenge. Neither name has an asteroid match, and there is not even an asteroid Charles, his given name. There are some suitable substitutes for Charles, however, including Carla, the feminine form of the name in Spanish and Italian, and Charlotte, the closest match in English. The surname Schumer, like Pelosi, is unrepresented.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: two cats that swallowed the canary.
But even with these limitations, we can clearly see a pattern forming here. Or rather, two patterns. Trump, of course, is the lynchpin, in the form of Troemper. But before we look at these in more detail, let’s pause to reflect on the day itself.
One clear indicator that a realignment may be happening is the status of Mercury, which made its direct station the day before. The preceding weeks-long period of its retrograde coincided with the worst of Trump’s Twitter bashing of his supposed congressional “allies”, Mitch McConnell talking the brunt of most of the presidential ire. Just as conditions reverse during the retrograde, so too do they shift with the return to direct motion. Trump may have taken that time to rationally reflect on his situation, and made the decision that alliance with the Democrats would yield a better outcome for him personally than continuing to engage with flailing Republicans.
Or it may just be a whim. In either case, Mercury Direct is an astrologically consistent time to do this. We also see the Sun at 13 Virgo is just past its annual opposition to Neptune at 12 Pisces, the planet governing deceit, subterfuge, confusion and misdirection. That could certainly suggest that this is no more than a political feint, a warning shot across the GOP leadership’s bow that if they continue to disappoint Trump, he’ll find someone else to play with.
The chances that this is so are increased by two points which transform this opposition into a Grand Cross. These are asteroid McConnell at 12 Sagittarius, exactly squared Neptune, and asteroid Charlotte at 15 Gemini. Their opposition to each other reflects their terrestrial counterparts’ respective roles in the US Senate, as leaders of the majority and minority, with opposed aims and goals. With McConnell exactly squared Neptune, the deception is focused on him, and he’s the one who is most disappointed and disillusioned by the event, two more Neptunian keywords. Charlotte, representing Chuck Schumer, is more in the role of useful tool here, to accomplish the main deception. The fact that at 15 Gemini Charlotte is encroaching upon Trump’s natal Uranus at 17 Gemini underscores the likelihood that Schumer had been cast as the agent of Trump’s shocking disruption (Uranus) of the political status quo.
That’s one pattern. The other involves Troemper. At 8 Leo, it’s true that Troemper conjoins asteroid Paul at 14 Leo (with Venus at 13 Leo between them, though I have to say, there’s not much love lost there), which implies a union of sorts. But propinquity can chafe as much as it unites, and being together in the sky is no guarantee of being on the same page here on earth. It is, however, an indication that the two entities are somehow “yoked.” If the plough team works well together, all is fine, but if mismatched, little good ensues.
Troemper is also trined to asteroid McConnell at 12 Sagittarius, a symbol of an easy, cooperative flow between them. But trines require active engagement to prosper, or they remain so much untapped potential. Asteroid Mitchella at 25 Virgo in square to Trump’s natal Sun at 22 Gemini suggests there’s unresolved conflict there. Mitchella also conjunct the USA Neptune at 22 Virgo is a reiteration of the “disappointment” theme we encountered with McConnell squared transit Neptune.
But between them one conjunction and one trine do not a pattern make. So what’s the other pattern in force that day?
That would be a very dynamic T-Square, formed of Troemper at the fulcrum, with an exact square to asteroid Carla at 8 Taurus (for Chuck Schumer), and another square to asteroid Nancy at 12 Scorpio (for Nancy Pelosi). This vibrant pattern is noted for its energy and action, and brings together all three actors in the apparent realignment, a stunning homage to the effect of PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) abilities to reflect earthly realities.
In addition to its powerful impact in this pattern, Carla has another advantage: it is also stationary! Carla turned retrograde on September 4, the day before Mercury, and two days before the “realignment.” Stationary bodies are entrenched and embedded, the still points upon which the chart revolves, and with the square between Troemper and Carla exact, Trump would naturally be drawn to Chuck Schumer as a plausible alternative, a sort of rock upon sinking sand, as it were. Astrologically, it’s logically consistent for Trump to make this choice (something that can’t always be said of his decisions).
Of course, that day is past. The deal is cut, the deed is done, but is there any indication of this being a permanent shift?
Not really. Astrology is a kaleidoscopic art. The pieces form one pattern one day, and another the next. A simple turn of the dial and everything is reshuffled. Also of note – the Sun is exactly conjunct asteroid Sphinx for the deal, an indicator of mystery, inscrutability, and enigmatic, incomprehensible or perplexing outcomes. No one can be sure what is meant, or what is real. But for now, as always, what we’re seeing play out here below is an echo of what we find above.
