Part One: An Invitation To Russian Interference Was Foolish

Open mouth, insert foot, enjoy consequences.  A simple formula for creating chaos.  On July 27, 2016 then-candidate Donald Trump made an evening speech at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, that is at the root of his Administration’s current problems.  Trump was leading in the delegate count but there were movements afoot to stop him from clinching the nomination.  If the rules and contending political forces were allowed to proceed unchallenged, Trump might have possibly been denied the party’s nomination.  Trump acted in typical ‘Trumpian’ fashion: he gave a bombastic address on prime-time TV, seizing the media focus and galvanizing his many supporters.   The following charts, a t/Moon-opp-n/Sun Return and Advanced chart form the astrological basis for this posting.  In a following posting the consequences of this speech will be examined.

chart: t/Moon-opp-n/Sun 12th house.

This Moon-Sun Return chart offers a chaotic political stew, full of just about everything that can contribute to excitement and intrigue.  Let us start with the t/Moon-opposite-n/Sun position in the 12th house and close to the horizontal axis of the chart.  My book, Personal Moon-to-Sun Returns 2 gives, in part, the following generic statement for this configuration: Choices…to help another, (or) … address personal needs first. Balancing conflicts. Working in supportive care fields, government, personal services…  Interactional support is seen, offered, appreciated… Stress. We can nuance this statement to better fit the occasion.  ‘Choices’ refers his resulting actions to firm up the delegate count in his favor.  ‘helping another’ is a mirror for ‘seeking the help of another.  ‘personal services’ is a specific request to another.  The balance of the statement points to the help being asked for.  We will parse this out in more detail as we examine the Advanced chart.

Because of the natal Sun-opposite-Moon pattern, all of Donald Trump’s Moon-Sun Returns churn up a lot of action, confusion, challenges.  He is an archetypical example of a personal-social-tornado.  The opposition of the two lights in his natal chart mechanically sets up their inclusion in any t/Moon-to-n/Sun Return or t/Moon-opposite-n/Sun Return.  In effect, Trump is ‘wired’ to be confrontational.  Add in his rising n/Mars and n/Part-of-Fortune-opposite-Ascendant and you have the inexhaustible source of verbal gun-powder that characterizes his personality.

At the Convention, while a united revolt against his candicy was still a possibility, Trump seized the emotional momentum with a range of constant outbursts, capturing most of the “news cycle.”  In this Return chart we are looking for how the Moon-Sun “theme” will imprint this two week cycle.

• The n/Asc. is at the IC of the chart; Trump will initiate a new phase of his campaign.
• With the two Moons, natal and transiting, at the Desc. angle, he will target a public reaction and support.
• t/Mars-t/Part of Fortune (t/PoF) squares n/Mars-IC; this campaign will energetically change the role of Trump before the nation.  How can this be said?  Jump from the t/PoF to the natal/PoF at the MC!  Trump’s public image will be further energized.  From a bombastic candidate, he will become the face of the Republican party; a big change in his role, giving him official status and presence.  It will be this added dimension that will raise his ‘importance’ and move him beyond the challenges of other candidates seeking the nomination at the convention.  In other words, he has just re-written the rules of the game and pushed the other candidates off the stage.  The anti-Trump ‘rebellion’ will fizzle out.  Enough of the “likely to happen” impressions.  Let us now go the fateful day of July 27th and his speech that night.

chart: July 27, 2016, Advanced.

On July 27, 2016 the Return chart’s angles, diurnally advanced, brought new energies to the angles. 

• n/Mercury-Asc.;  He will speak out forcefully.
• t/Neptune-MC;  He will dramatize the moment.
• t/N.Node-IC;  He will seek to realign the basis of associations that the public has traditionally followed. 
• t/Moon-opposite-t/BML, and square t/Sun-n/Pluto.  The conflicts between logic and emotions of the public will be churned up in ugly and hurtful ways.
• t/Pluto-7th house.  The underside of public reaction and response is tied into the Sun-Moon-Pluto square and tinged by the inclusion of t/Black Moon Lilith.

So, how do these astrological patterns play out in the daily affairs and actions of Donald Trump?

That evening of the 27th, Trump stood at the podium and asked the Russians to provide the 30,000 ‘missing’ e-mail messages supposedly lost from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s various computer servers.  The fact that it was illegal for foreign entities to contribute or participate in any way in U.S. national elections was pushed aside.  The drama of the moment, giving Trump a wave of attention, was more important than reason, legalities, or common sense.  This is a dramatic example of a ‘political animal’ at work.  Trump always goes for the jugular vein, just like any beast of prey.

I can remember that evening; my own reactions and that of the TV commentators.  This was a dramatic moment and a concerning moment.  It was instantly clear that Trump would be the Republican Party nominee, that the fall campaign would set new ‘lows’ in terms of dirty politics and maneuverings.  In the next posting we will jump ahead two years to view a consequential moment related to this speech.

A fox in the chicken house

Scott Pruitt must have been born mean.  It is difficult to imagine anyone who would do more to jeopardize the air, water and food that we all share and need.  That said, let me first start with some basic background.  He was born May 9, 1968 in Danville, KY at 12:14 PM.  His chart contains two groupings of planets not quite in opposition to each other.  With wide orbs we can discern a T-square of Jupiter at the focal point of Neptune opposed Sun and Mars.  Moon broadly opposes Chiron.  Yet, the chart’s groupings gives the impression of a divided personality.   The photo above shows him in a seemingly tentative mood as if he was unsure of what he was doing at the moment.

The widely separated Sun-Mars does not seem to, as a pair, direct his energy.  It is the T-square with Jupiter and Neptune that adds a directive energy.  Opportunity must be striven for, guided by adopted ideals.  We might also cast this, based on his life in politics, as gains and advancement are seen as greed and a longing for ‘more’ (Jupiter) that is fueled by (Sun-Mars) his sense of self-importance and illusion of the world around him (Neptune).  This is a harsh statement to make of a natal chart,  These views are most likely developed in time as an adult, as a politician in his adopted state of Oklahoma where he served as a State Senator and Attorney General.

He articulated many positions:  he was pro-life, opposed same-sex marriage, didn’t like the Affordable Care Act initiated under Obama.  Mostly he didn’t like the environmental policies of the government.  This may have been partly due to the many corporations who generously supported his campaigns for political office.  He filed more than a dozen law suites against the U.S. government’s environmental regulations that governed fossil fuels and the use of land and water.  This was the man whom Donald Trump selected to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Pruitt was confirmed by the Senate to head the EPA on Feb. 17, 2017.  He had a transiting Moon opposite natal Sun Return on that same day.  That chart is shown here.

This t/Moon-opp-n/Sun Return brings his natal T-square pattern to the angular houses; Sun and Mars near the MC, Jupiter near the Asc. and Neptune at the IC. This natal pattern is enhanced by t/Moon-IC, t/Sun-Desc. and t/PoF at the MC.

How might we interpret this?  An angular Moon always draws attention and support; it demands it.  An angular Sun always draws attention, not as personal support but as a beacon to rally around.  With both natal and transiting Sun angular he could be said to find himself in a contentious bubble (two Sun’s in conflict with each other).  The t/Part of Fortune-MC represents the conflicting hearing and confirmation process.  Not only were the opposition party strongly against him, several in his own party objected to him.  Only the support of the President assured that the Republican’s very slim majority would finally rally to his confirmation.

Sixteen months later the story had drastically changed.  During his tenure Pruitt had rolled back many of the progressive programs that were directed towards keeping water supplies clean, air pollution down. land from being contaminated, food production safe.  His management style was criticized as he hired friends at lucrative salaries, spent lavishly on office furniture, travelled by chartered plane, and required constant security protection from public demonstrations.  By the time he resigned from office he had over a dozen investigations lodged against him by various congressional committees.  Trump continued to support him because he was gutting Democratic-created programs and doing what big corporations wanted.  Yet the public outcries and protests continued to build.

 

Pruitt had a t/Moon-opp-n/Sun Return (12th house) on June 24, 2018.  This opposition was within 4 degrees of the Asc.–Desc. axis.  The feelings of others (t/Moon-Desc.) conflicted with his intentions (n/Sun-Asc.).  Add n/Neptune to the Desc. angle and we have his dishonesty and extreme ideals being questioned by others.  The vertical axis finds t/Mars near the MC opposing t/N.Node, t/Venus and n/Asc. in the 4th house.  Associations with others (N.Node) and their approval (Venus) of his personal efforts (n/Asc.) were coming to an end (4th house). 

In addition to focusing our interpretation on the angular house planets, we always take note of t/Sun, t/Moon and t/PoF.   Take note of t/Sun opposite t/Saturn; this is a time of being tested and graded.  The t/PoF conjoins n/Moon in the 6th; his job approval is taking a hit — chance and change are in the air.  As a root chart for a cycle, this has many disturbing patterns.

On July 5th, 2018, his Advanced (diurnal advance) chart shows his n/Asc. at the IC; the start or end of his personal involvement in his career.   t/Venus conjoins his n/Jupiter; his greed and opportunistic approach to his job was being brought into balance.  t/PoF had progressed to the 10th house of career and public image; that was being changed on this date.  Finally, n/Mercury was at the Ascendant.  His letter of resignation was delivered to the President.  On this day a widely seen video was seen on TV showing a mother holding a child.  She was accosting him at a restaurant while he was eating, telling him of the terrible things he was doing that directly affected her life.  Perhaps this was one of the many things that prompted him to resign on this date.

As always, the angular activity of the Return and advanced charts continues to prove their appropriateness in reflecting the life story of the subject.  Once we understand the context of the subject’s life, the symbols become very clear.  We are, in fact, ‘personalizing’ the symbols so that they can tell the story.  This approach to following the daily life of a subject through these daily charts is very different from the practice of using natal charts and transiting charts in the conventional manner.  Here, in this form of charting, we also use natal and transiting planets but we also orientate the chart to the cycle that is initiated when the t/Moon conjoins or opposes the n/Sun.  It is the “cycle” that makes the difference in revealing the true picture.  Our life rides on cosmic cycles.  Our birth chart inserts us into a life marked by complex interweaving of multiple cycles. The natal chart doesn’t show those cycles, but we know they exist.  

 

 

 

Timing of an event.

Photo of a younger Stephen Hawking prior to his illness which took away his mobility.

The last posting left us at an awkward point.  That post ended with a review of a Return chart and a discussion about forecasting.  When the outer planets are involved in the angular activity of the chart I find that applying their meanings-interpretations to personal affairs is difficult.

Think about that.  The outer planets are cast as being socially impacting.  The inner planets are cast as being personal.  It is only when personal chart characteristics interact with social chart characteristics that we can most easily meld the interpretations — or the forecast.  So, let us now look at that Return chart when it is Advanced to the date of Hawking’s passing.

The most notable factor to view is the coming together of the chart’s angles with the natal angles; ie the natal MC conjunct to the transiting MC. This often/always signifies a major inflection point in one’s life; a re-birth or reorientation or a death or ending of some type.  At an advanced age it becomes more probable that a death or change in one’s health status can happen, especially if one is ill or is old.

The advancing angles have also brought the outer planets into play; n/Pluto-MC and t/Uranus-Desc.  Note also the t/Part-of-Fortune conjoining the n/Neptune.  More importantly, t/Uranus has engaged n/Mars (a personal planet) and t/PoF opposes n/Sun (another personal factor in the chart).  Interesting is that t/Chiron is also involved; Chiron being a bridge between the outer planets and Saturn (one of the half-social-half-personal planets).  The Part of Fortune is defined by the Sun-to-Moon arc distance applied to the Ascendant; the PoF shows where we can act and initiate events most easily.  In this case, Hawking’s true self (the Sun), an awareness that doors can open or close (Chiron), and that dissolution (Neptune) can be a solution of the moment are all elements to consider.

There are other elements in this chart to consider before we rush into forecasting one’s passing from this world.  Notice the n/Saturn-square-n/Venus pattern, 7th to 4th houses.  This has been noted as relating to the formal-withheld-consequential denial of close contact and support in his early life.  It has been tied to his ALS condition of progressive loss of motor control over his legs, arms, hands and even facial expression.  Saturn has been a challenge to Hawking concerning his ability to maintain peace and harmony in his life, to achieve satisfaction.  Now, note the t/Saturn-square-t/Venus, 3rd to 6th houses! 

The same natal pattern representing his challenges in life has again come into his life at this very moment.  Now, this happens perhaps once every year or year and a half.  But, it is significant. This is a restatement of his challenge in life.  So, what do we do with this repeating pattern?  We look more deeply into it.  We are dealing with “equal arcs” here; both Saturn-Venus patterns have the same arc-distance between them.  So, we logically go to the two Venus’ which are 49 or 50 degrees apart.  We take half of that arc, 25 degrees and find the chart position 25 degrees from both (the midpoint).  15 degrees Pisces is where we find t/Neptune (14 Pisces).  Neptune, again.  More dissolution.  Note that this point is also the midpoint between natal and transiting Saturn.  We can all sense what a doubled up Saturn-Neptune interpretation suggests.  Not a happy omen in most cases. 

So, to summarize this Advanced chart for this particular day in the life of Stephen Hawking.

• The natal angles are realigned with the diurnal angles of the Advanced chart.  This is an inflection point marking a like major change in one’s life.
• The outer planets have been brought into contact with the personal points of Hawking’s natal chart.  All of the impact and social importance of the outer planets and the world relationship to the person of Stephen Hawking can come into play on this day.
• A significant natal pattern (Saturn-Venus) that symbolizes the range of challenges that he has encountered in this life has been repeated by the transiting Saturn-Venus in this chart. The midpoint of those two highly significant patterns involves another outer planet, Neptune (dissolution). 
• Transiting Sun has reached an opposition point to natal Neptune; vitality vs dissolution.
• The Moon’s nodal axis and the N.Node are said to mark our passage from spirit into this physical world.  Here, n/N.Node-n/Moon and t/N.Node-n/Chiron highlight the road sign leading into this life and the road sign to making a transition out to a more spiritual place.

So, we place our forecasting initially on the angular planets, and then we can fill it in by making associations among many or most of the other planets.  Astrology charts are much like holographs.  The parts indicate the whole, the whole reflects the importance of each part.

Those who are part of our life also have chart connections.  Let us look at the Advanced chart of Jane Wilde, Hawking’s wife of many years.  She divorced him in later life because the amount of work to arrange for his care, the coordination of schedules for his many providers, and his health just became too much for her.  The chart for her on the day of Hawking’s death is shown below.

First, I take note of t/Venus at her IC angle for this date, a position often associated with death.  We can also note n/Venus-square-n/Saturn, the same pattern found in the charts of Hawking.  Her love for him was genuine but subjected to the strain of his diminishing physical condition.  The presence of her love, even though divorced from him, is evident by the t/Neptune-t/Sun conjunct her n/Venus-n/MC in the 3rd., she entertains fond thoughts of him on this last day of his life.

Continuing with Stephen Hawking; we can diurnally advance his Return chart to any date in this cycle by leaving the data in our computer unchanged except for the date. If we change the date to three days later, March 14th, we note that the chart angles have advanced. In fact they are virtually coincidental with his natal angles. Think of this! It is virtually another ‘birth’ moment, a time when one can change the direction of their life. Incidents like this, in many kinds of Return charts and cyclic charts, occur many times in our life. They are special moments when we can choose to go in a different direction. These are moments of great personal power. So, this is a very important day in Hawking’s life. *** t/Moon has moved on and contacted n/Venus-in-the-4th. I have found over many years that an angular Venus, especially in the 4th or 7th house, when contacted, often signifies either death or a love affair. Death or love; both represent a balancing force within one’s life, harmony, peace. For those not experienced in this area, you will have to take my word for it for now. *** The t/PoF in this chart is at the n/Neptune position and opposite the t/Sun; a personal vision, a transcendent state (Neptune) is subject to “chance and change” (t/Part of Fortune) and will affect (the opposition aspect) one’s life and intentions (Sun). The use of simple key words can be used to construct a simple statement. *** The pattern of the Asc. opposite n/Mars and t/Uranus would ordinarily represent a sudden burst and application of energy — but due to astrology’s polarity, it can seemingly also represent a sudden loss of energy. *** We should also note this t/Moon-n/Venus pattern; n/Saturn squares n/Venus indicating a very tense pattern, a pattern that was mentioned in a recent posting on this site. If we look more carefully we can note that t/Saturn-t/Venus are also in a square aspect to each other. Apparently Hawking had come to terms with the personal meaning of Saturn-square-Venus in his chart and in his life. Looking at biographical data, it would seem that Saturn-Venus corresponded perhaps to Ebertin’s observations (Combination of Stellar Influences) of “glandular atrophy, . . . pulmonary emphysema . . . malfunction of internal glandular secretions . . .” It certainly involved emotional inhibitions (his difficulties in marriage) and conditions that put restraints on his ability to reach out intimately to others. *** I have covered a lot in this introduction to how I work and track death in charts, so I’ll leave it at this simple conclusion.