The Lion, The Fool and The Truth

A Shamanic Astrology Look at Number 45

by Erik M Roth, Shamanic Astrologer

Happy 71^st Birthday Donald on June 14th

With the exception of an article on the major candidates for President of the USA I wrote in October, I’ve only sparingly written about The Donald since then.  But the growing political and legal scandals have compelled me to provide a deeper astrological perspective on Trump’s astrological chart and planetary initiation (cycles), including looking at points that may not be so obvious.

The Donald can be seen a varied version of a blending of the archetypes of Leo, Gemini and Sagittarius, as I’ve previously written.  While Donald has fully engaged into his natal Leo Mars and Ascendant (King of his Pride) he is fueled by The Fool in his Gemini Sun and supported by his attachment to whatever so-called truth that exits his mouth in his Sagittarius Moon.  He creates, invents or takes whatever truths are supportive of him and generally dismisses the rest (whether they are factual or not).  That is one way a strong combination of these archetypes can manifest in a person.

The archetypes (or signs) are neither good, bad, malefic, benefic or better than any other.  This analysis does not mean that everyone with this archetypal combination will turn out the same.  There are many, many variants to this combination due to the astrological house of the planets, the aspects of the outer planets, the place and family of birth as well as the culture.  All of this creates a unique individual in which the archetypes are expressed.

The Initiations (Cycles)

The scandals that continue to pile up for number 45 are (except perhaps the magnitude of the Watergate scandal of President Nixon) unprecedented in the modern age while considering this is only the first 5 months of his presidency.  One of the items I did mention in a previous article are the initiations (astrological planetary cycles) that Trump is experiencing right now.  The sum of the intent of the initiations is for The Donald to express his authentic self, be completely honest with himself and those around him, invest time, money and energy into his creative vision as well as come to terms with his past.  Astrologically-speaking, he is under intense pressure to produce results that inspire others through leadership as well as expressing radical, radiant self-love.

The Donald is also being initiated in a powerful Jupiter Return cycle that last took place in 2004-2005, when he met and married Melania Knauss, his current wife, which appears to be going through its own seasonal change after 12 years.  It’s called a Jupiter Return because Jupiter returns back to the same spatial region of the sky (and sign) where it was when Trump was born and when he and Melania married.  This is happening in the sign of Libra, all about conscious, equal partnership and in this case, serving as Donald’s vision quest.

Saturn and Law

While Trump is a volatile and reactive man, he is also highly resistant and appears to thrive on controversy, even lighting the matches for controversy to spark.  These initiations or cycles will and have been testing his limits on what are normally his strengths.  There is no bias in these initiations, but these certainly is an intent.  Following the rules and laws are something Trump only grudgingly does and appears to always be ready to flaunt his ability to find loop holes, break the rules or laws or simply invent his own.   During a heavy, multi-pronged Saturn initiation, getting away with his usual pattern of rule-breaking is being met with an equal or greater counter energy reminding him that he is not above the law.

The two Saturn cycles involved are

• Saturn conjunct his natal Moon (and South Lunar Node) in Sagittarius (12/21/2016 to 9/30/2017)
• Saturn in opposition to natal Sun in Gemini (1/5/2017 to 10/24/2017)

Primarily because of the new job, he is encountering more resistance probably then at any other time of his life.  And that resistance is coming from ALL sides.  Saturn could very well be

considered as anathema to the archetype of Gemini, in that Gemini is a free-electron and Saturn is the container.  But Saturn as a container is not to trap something, but intended to focus growth toward a more harmonious path in life.  It is the resistance of the person experiencing the initiations (cycles) that creates trouble.  If one resists one’s own opportunities for personal growth, then life in general becomes much more difficult to navigate.  And with a greater responsibility as number 45, a greater difficulty naturally results.

We’ve all seen the dramas played out during Trump’s presidential campaign and his ignorance of boundaries and a general lack of respect for the boundaries of others.  We have seen where, when he holds his illusionary crown he ignores most sensibilities and rules while inspiring hostile actions at his rallies, even making statements like,  “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldn’t lose any voters, ok? It’s, like, incredible.”  on January 23, 2016 at one of those rallies in Iowa.  This is pure Gemini-Leo statement in that he said it full public view to gain more of an audience and enjoying seeing his name in the headlines.  And the Leo side of it is a reflection of the fact that he can stand in the midst of being a murderer and claiming his voter-base would ignore it.

Back in January 2016, The Donald was not in any of the cycles he’s in now.  In fact, he was relatively free of cycles/initiations (except Chiron squaring his natal Moon) during that part of the campaign.  It was likely why there was an avenue for him to obtain the Republican nomination.  But now Trump does not have that luxury.  The gravity well of Saturn cycles cannot be ignored.  If he said that same statement as President, the public and government reaction would be far different, especially now that Saturn is involved.

From the resistance of showing his tax-returns (as all Presidents have in the last several decades) to his frequent attacks on the press, even called the press, “enemy of the American people”  especially those in the press that share things Trump dislikes, are the kinds of actions and reactions from him in which trouble will follow him.  But probably where the greatest trouble has risen is the ongoing connection of his campaign to being directly influenced by another State, namely Russia.  This is where the boundaries, laws and rules are at their most rigid.  There has already been casualties from this connection between Trump’s campaign and Russia (Jeff Sessions’ recusal and Michael Flynn’s departure).  The FBI Director was fired for reasons that are officially unclear, but it is general knowledge that Comey was let go due to his probe of the Russia connection to Trump’s campaign.  But I feel the more dramatic and powerful impactors of this running Russia story are yet to come.

“The Truth? Why the truth is just an excuse for a lack of imagination.” – the fictional character Garrek from Star Trek DS9

Trump is of course throwing as much resistance as possible to the Russia connection.  But with Saturn in Sagittarius and Trump in a major Saturn initiation, The Truth is intended to be revealed.  And this truth could lead to an upset and overturn of The Donald in the long run with echoes of Richard Nixon.  Could the Russia scandal lead to Trump’s resignation or impeachment?  It is possible considering the pressures to find the truth of it all.  Recently, a man named Robert Mueller was confirmed to lead the investigation of the connections between the Trump campaign and Russian influence.  Mueller’s past roles show that he hasn’t been afraid to tackle the most difficult jobs and discover the truth, wherever it may be and whoever may be holding it.

Note: While we don’t know Mueller’s birth time, he was born on August 7, 1944 and the Moon changed signs from Pisces to Aries that day.  After reviewing Mueller’s life history, it is my belief that Mueller has an Aries Moon with either a Sagittarius or Capricorn sign as his Ascendant.  He was also born during a Neptune-Saturn square alignment aspecting his natal Moon (and likely his Ascendant).  For more about the Saturn-Neptune square read here

While it is possible that Trump may yet survive this scandal, as a so-called “Teflon President”, I believe even The Donald has limits to the pressures and controversy.  Saturn’s conjunction with his natal Moon in Sagittarius is essentially placing enormous stress on his old pattern and behavior, especially in his expression of the truth.  Saturn is testing him on how far he has grown and while he can travel away from the White House, sooner or later the music of his actions and words must be faced.  It boils down to accountability and owning up to the truth.  At least that is the intent of the initiation of Saturn.  He is fighting others about versions of the truth when in actuality, it is well-past time for him to shed old skin.

Jupiter, Venus, Pluto and the Mogul

The man whose code name by the Secret Service was “Mogul” during the Presidential campaign is also experiencing other initiations beyond the rules of law.  And the main theme of these initiations together revolves around conscious, equal partnership, the feminine and his identity.

As mentioned earlier, Mogul is experiencing another Jupiter Return.  But this particular Jupiter Return is fraught with complications from Pluto, a Venus Return and Lunar Nodes activating his Relationship Axis (Ascendant/Descendant).  While this Mogul has had a checkered past when it comes to relationships, that in and of itself is not unusual.  He’s in a whole new timeline context then where he was in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s.  His marriage with Melania took place when the planet Jupiter was last in the sign of Libra (2004-2005).  This means that the marriage is experiencing its 1^st Jupiter Return (happens about every 12 years) while trump is experiencing his 6^th Jupiter Return.  This is important in understanding the life cycle of anything.  A new frontier and vision has opened up for him and Melania.  I will share more on this later.

When reading Trump’s astrology chart, the area around his natal Venus in Cancer (inner feminine and relationship to the feminine) is his most vulnerable spot, especially when considering that his inner feminine aspects his natal Jupiter in the sign of Libra with the red-eyed planet in a natal conjunction with Chrion (represents a person’s wound and area of life where self-healing is needed).  Plainly-speaking, The Mogul is now experiencing a time when healing needs to take place around his relationship to the feminine (inner and outer).  Opportunities will present themselves for him to do this work.

• Jupiter Return (Jupiter conjunction with Jupiter) 9/9/2016 to 10/10/2017
• Pluto squares his natal Jupiter 2/12/2016 to 12/21/2017
• Venus Return 3/31/2017 to 11/1/2018

But what can Trump do or will he even be aware that this important healing work needs to be done and that it can only further his journey?  It’s likely that he will have trouble seeing that working with the feminine in an honest fashion will take place.  During these transits (Jupiter Return, Pluto square Jupiter and Venus Return), we’ve seen his words and actions to disempower women and also view the eerie shadow of his treatment of women from the past with a slew of sexual misconduct allegations during Trump’s presidential campaign.  But he also has a history of disrespectful behavior toward women and reportedly while he was involved in pageants and the TV show, The Apprentice 

The 12^th House and the Feminine

Of course, he was seen during television debates with Hillary Clinton bullying his way to be heard over his opponent, repeatedly insulting her and any others that saw him differently than he saw himself.  In addition, there was also the much-publicized Billy Bush tape from an episode of Access Hollywood where The Donald boasts about his utter disregard of boundaries when it comes to women.  While there are a variety of factors on the natal chart that con contribute to this, it is the placement of his natal Venus (conjunct Saturn) in Cancer in the 12^th House that helps me understand it.

How does having the alignment in the 12^th House help me understand Trump’s “tremendous” problem with the other sexes?  His natal Venus in Cancer on a basic level represents his relationship to the feminine, which archetypally shows up as the “mother” archetype.  Cancer represents family, nurturing, compassion and providing a safe environment for children to reach their full potential (raising life from the seed-point to maturity).  With Venus conjunct Saturn natally (on Trump’s chart when he was born), this creates a natural difficulty when relating to the feminine, which begins with his mother and continues in a large way in most of his relationships with women.

He pushes and breaks through boundaries, personal space, lack of respect for the rules, to gain attention, flirt, be the free-electron eternal youth and exercise his will over anything he considers his or his territory where he empowers himself to do nearly anything he wants.  Saturn’s position shows there will be consequences to his actions in this department frequently and sense he rarely, if at all, admit any fault or own up to his actions, he will have a tendency to continue to repeat the pattern while paying out large sums of money in reparations (while still not admitting fault).

There is, though, a way, the Mogul is expressing his Cancer Venus is through family (along with his natal Mercury in Cancer) and his view of the feminine.  He tends to also see the feminine as simply a role of the mother and to have and raise his children.  This approach was very likely enforced in youth and the roles of his mother and father even though he was aware there were other roles for the sexes.  I do sense that there was something experienced by The Donald around his mother that is being held in lock and key.  Ultimately, the intent of this is for him to experience this feminine inward so that it becomes a part of him rather than to project the external feminine’s job to express that role of the mother archetype.

Further, his choice of special administration positions has gone to family members Ivanka Trump and Jarred Kushner.   Although it is still not clear what his daughter Ivanka does but Jarred has been involved in some higher level actions with other administration officials, including those with The Mogul himself.  This is an example of people Trump brings into his administration because they are either family or they have shown loyalty and given him attention.  This serves more of the minefields of his Leo archetypes in supporting an illusionary creative vision of being some kind of king and the Cancer family works in his shadow that he perceives as supportive (when in reality may not be the truth).

Since this Venus-Saturn alignment is in the 12^th House of his natal chart, it is area of his life that is challenging for him to access consciously, almost in a way, hidden.  In some ways, it exists outside the mundane world in the mystical realm.  This would also explain the mystery surrounding his relationship with his mother.  His inner feminine is a rule-making but compassionate, nurturing and family-oriented goddess within.  In my experience, this inner feminine will make repeated attempts to make herself known to The Donald, but the power of his archetypes (Leo, Gemini, Sagittarius) and the natural inability to see the feminine in its authenticity creates a recipe for a near-ignorance of how the feminine can benefit his life in a healthy way.

This doesn’t mean that all men who have a 12^th House Venus position is going to be experiencing the same thing.  There are many, many shades to this position along with archetypes.  It is the blending of all the archetypes, family upbringing, culture, outer planet complexes, genetics and current life intent that makes us who we are.

Helping Himself to 2 Scoops

With all that said, Trump’s Jupiter Return and his current marriage with Melania is at its next stage.  There have been signs that this marriage is not harmonious, but this is based solely on observation, reading the body language of the pair and also seeing that Trump has spent most of his time away from Melania.  But they both have opportunities to come to terms with this situation.  However, it is important to show that Pluto’s impact here is likely assisting The Donald in bringing up events that are completely beyond his control and force him to face fears around his marriage, his path and vision for the future.  It’s up to Trump to recognize the forces around him to get his attention for learning how to surrender.  Unfortunately, his Leo/Gemini/Sagittarius energy is so strong that for him to recognize the signs would take extreme circumstances (which appear to be building up).

The other initiation I mentioned was of the nodes going over his Ascendant/Descendant axis.  This to me confirms the importance of Trump really getting and understanding what radical, radiant self-love is all about in a healthy way plus his emerging relationship with relationship and respecting the sovereignty, independence, revolutionary roles and brilliance (Descendant in Aquarius) of the other sexes, primarily in women.  This is one key or clue for The Donald to rise above the repetition of toxic behavior and patterns he seems bent on never giving up.

Summary

What can The Donald do to help himself?  How can he let go of unhealthy patterns and minimize the minefields he cuts through with a blunt instrument?  How will Trump be able to come to terms with the wounds around the feminine?  All of these answers require initiative on his part to do necessary soul work.

1. Discover what authentic radical, radiant self-love is all about: His version of Leo is toxic and tends to bring out the shadow in those who are not only inspired by him but also oppose him. This means truly loving one’s self.
2. Tune into the feminine from those closest to him without judgment or bias. This requires being open-mindedness like never before.
3. Let go of his attachment to the Truth as he thinks he knows it. This is only a destructive path.  It’s about exploring how truth and meaning can healthily support his identity project of (Leo) radical, radiant self-love and being a healthy inspiring leader.
4. Face up to and deal with his wounds around the feminine and relationship. Open up to doing relationship that is supportive of the feminine, rather than trying make the feminine adhere to his rules.  This is a big part of how he can heal.

Do I think that Donald can reasonably do any or all of the above?  No, I don’t because he prizes his ego and image above all else, including being a rascal everything around him, including himself.   He has great trouble listening to his heart or at least recognizing it in the noise of his brain and mundane desires.

I’ve always been an optimist at heart and I do see the Mogul fulfilling the role that was handed to him in an almost unimaginable bizarre tumble of Lions, Fools and Truths.  The circus in the White House continues but like all circuses, the Big Top comes down at a certain point.  It’s possible Trump may keep it raised longer than we think but also a surprise or two linger that could bring the tent down upon him faster in this accelerated time we live in.

Special Eclipse Note: The Total Solar Eclipse that takes place on August 21^st in the United States will be right on The Donald’s natal Mars and Ascendant in the sign of Leo.  What could this mean?  This is a super new moon that could create a vast opportunity for Trump to truly engage in his vision for himself as well as open to love like he’s never experienced it.  But the shadow of this could lead to desperate damage control and vanity to maintain his image.  This will certainly influence others around him in a big way no matter the choice he makes after this powerful total solar eclipse.