Sagittarius 2016: Mars, Glamour, Propaganda and Donald Trump.

     

Sagittarius keynote:
“I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another.”

(Full Moon Dec. 14, 2016. 0.05 am GMT.)

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Sagittarius, Mars and Glamour
Propaganda: The Crisis of World Glamour
Prophecy of the Aries 2016 Equinox Fulfilled
Donald Trump and the Sagittarius Full Moon 2016
The Electoral College Meeting Dec. 19, 2016.
Trump’s Sagittarian Cabinet Proposals
The Demise of US Global Power

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Sagittarius, Mars and Glamour
Sagittarius the Archer sets goals and since the rise of Donald Trump and Brexit, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has stated humanity’s most immediate goal:

“Now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together … the political shift shows the majority of people are sick of the status quo and felt they had been “abandoned by their leaders.” … It was the moment when the forgotten spoke, finding their voices to reject the advice and guidance of experts and the elite everywhere.

The world is facing crippling challenges, including climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease and acidification of the oceans. Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. It will require the elites, from London to Harvard, from Cambridge to Hollywood, to learn the lessons of the past year. To learn above all a measure of humanity.”

There are reasons of course, planetary and ray influences outlined in the newsletter for Scorpio last month, that describe  the fear, hysteria, divisiveness and trepidation since the US election. As always, there is a sequential progression from sign to sign in the wheel of the year.

The planetary link that oversees the transition between Scorpio and Sagittarius is Mars, the exoteric and esoteric ruler of Scorpio and the hierarchical ruler of Sagittarius. This is worth exploring, particularly on the theme of glamour – illusion as it expresses upon the astral plane. Mars rules the solar plexus centre, the seat of the astral body. All of humanity is immersed in glamour and nobody upon the spiritual path is completely free from it either, perhaps especially so!

“Glamour is astral in character, and is far more potent at this time than illusion, owing to the enormous majority of people who function astrally always.”1

Watery Scorpio is the pre-eminent sign of trial and challenges in one’s desire nature and the theme of glamour, encompassing a broad range of testings in emotional or astral control. Hence Scorpio’s keynote for the ordinary wheel and the bulk of humanity who are unawakened, “Let maya flourish and deception rule.”

Mars at the exoteric level rules the blind instinctual desire and its satiation whilst at the esoteric level, Mars conditions the awakened warrior who consciously enters the battle to overcome these impediments.

It takes many lives to triumph because there have been a lot of incarnations where “lower Mars” ruled. There are now tens of thousands (perhaps millions) of aspirants in the world who have “reversed the wheel” – have awakened to soul, and are working at redeeming the lower nature (at least from the soul’s perspective) – the etheric-physical, astral and mental vehicles.

The astral body is regarded as most difficult, partly because it is linked to the days of ancient Atlantis where the race as a whole was astrally polarised. Even in this Fifth Rootrace where mind is reaching a high point of development, the world is still predominantly astrally polarised.2 Humanity has many habitual Atlantean tendencies to destroy and transform, such as insatiable appetites for material things and theft of property, to name a few.

Mars ruling Sagittarius “hierarchically” means,

“… the lunar lords of the form nature … must eventually be sacrificed to the higher spiritual aspect and brought under the control of the solar Angel.”

Esoterically, the substance of all that composes the sheaths or bodies of the lower nature are regarded as lives or deva substance. In earlier evolution those lives maintain complete dominance over the individual until soul awakening occurs and the long process of disciplining the lunar lives begins.

Note that this self-disciplining leads the aspirant to the Path of Discipleship proper, where other “dis” skills have been learnt – discernment, dispassion and discrimination. Saturn is also regarded as the discipliner or disciplinarian because of the utilisation of mental energy to bring about astral control. It is for this reason that Saturn rules the throat centre, the seat of the mental body. (The throat is also co-ruled by the Earth which is the esoteric ruler of Sagittarius.)

In the above passage, the phrase “lunar lords” implies moon and this has a specific physical connotation, but also an astral meaning because humans are still very much subject to the moon’s emotional “tides”. Mars rules the solar plexus, but the co-ruler is Neptune, the one who governs the tides of the ocean – the oceans of emotion. In Esoteric Astrology, the Moon is regarded as “veiling” Neptune.

Mars and Neptune are also co-rulers of the sixth ray of Devotion and Idealism, said to have its most powerful expression through Sagittarius in this cycle of history. The sixth ray is the “outgoing ray” – to the incoming seventh ray of Ceremonial Order. It is the most common energy conditioning the astral bodies of humanity and rules the personality of nations like USA and Russia.

Whilst Mars as ruler of Aries governs the creative impulses and aggression, it influences Sagittarius similarly. Sagittarius is a fire sign, whose roaring flames reaching upward are a symbol of the mind that aspires to reach the Divine. Yet these flames are fanned by fiery Mars – an emotional enthusiasm that creates great devotion and idealism, or fanaticism and fundamentalism. However,

“The effect of Mars is … largely mass effect and group results, producing great struggles but leading finally to great revelation … in Sagittarius, it is the revelation of the purpose of soul control over the lower kingdoms in nature, via the human centre of energy … Mars establishes relations between the opposites and is a beneficent and not a malefic factor …”3

The passage above discusses the hierarchical rulership of Mars over Sagittarius as a whole, also adding emphasis of changing the old medieval astrology interpretation of Mars as a “malefic”. The influence of Mars actually placed in Sagittarius in the birth chart is another related theme written about here, where it was described as having the tendency to be a “loose cannon” or impulsive. Mars can have all of the lower and higher qualities mentioned above, for the unawakened or awakened.

Mars in Sagittarius is the hunter (Vladimir Putin) – of animals, seeking teachers or stalking the higher wisdom; it is also prominent in the horoscopes of some serial killers (Ivan Milat); and snipers – those who use a rifle instead of a bow, but who utilise the same one-pointedness required to pursue their quarry.

The term “sniping” also applies to those who “snipe from the sidelines”, who interject reactive ideas (ill-informed opinions) without having given reflective, considered thought to a subject. (Collins Dictionary: Sniping – the act of adversely criticizing a person or persons from a position of security.)

Many of us are or have been “guilty” of these kind of behaviours, and in this age of rapidly expanding ideas, the main arena has been internet forums and places like Facebook. There is a certain safety coming from a relative place of concealment, not being physically face to face. This is all part of humanity starting to balance the opposites on the mental plane, learning what it is to truly think.

This sniping upon the plane of the lower mind enables ego (Mars) to assert itself in an opinionated way without, to use a Sagittarian phrase, following through to the target in proper dialogue. Often much speaking but no listening or consideration for another viewpoint. Hence, Sagittarius might mindlessly “shoot off arrows”, usually with some emotional attachment or idée fixe to the topic in question; a good example is Donald Trump’s Sagittarius moon – a blurter of ill-thought-out ideas – premature mental ejaculations!

Whilst averring to sex, it’s interesting to note a Sagittarian connection to the throat and sacral centres – and Trump’s (Sagittarius moon) sexual and misogynistic attitudes:

“We are told that Sagittarius governs the thighs, which are the main centre of physical power and protective strength, and also the sacral centre which provides the energy for the use of the creative powers of the physical life. This is also symbolically true. In Sagittarius, the disciple has two things to discover within himself; these are the power to make progress upon the path and to walk the Way, and also the ability to create in the higher and spiritual sense.

This concerns the relationship between the sacral and the throat centres. These powers (the higher powers) are as yet embryonic in the earlier Sagittarian experience of the disciple, but they become more developed and potent as he cyclically returns to life experience in this sign.”4

This passage refers to the “disciple” stage of soul unfoldment, which it seems is a distant horizon for Trump. In fact, he may have not even “reversed the wheel” and mounted the fixed cross yet. The mental restlessness and lack of focus discussed above is the Gemini (Trump’s sun) polarity of Sagittarius and is related to a passage from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,

“The gradual conquest of the mind’s tendency to flit from one object to another and the power of one-pointedness make the development of contemplation.”5

It is ironic that the image of the contemplative yogi is one of the highest symbols of Sagittarius, yet Sagittarians, before achieving that exalted stage are the worst listeners of the zodiac (Pisceans are the best!) – because they think that they know all, hence are often dismissed by others as “know-it-alls”.

Part of the cause emanates from the rulership of expansive Jupiter in this sign, the planet that stimulates the will-to-know, which is humanity’s birthright. Also, the esoteric ruler of Sagittarius is the Earth and it is co-ruler of the throat centre with Saturn, hence knowledge and intelligence. Sagittarius will often fanatically stick to their views and opinions, conjuring up the image of the child blocking fingers in her ears, chanting “na na na, can’t hear you!”

These points bring up the theme of right dialogue and communication, represented by Sagittarius polar-opposite Gemini. The Twins of Gemini represent the speaking and listening process that occurs between two parties – and if properly conducted, leads to a win-win, heart understanding for both. The Twins meet and merge.

This is true dialogue, as distinct from debate where often the ego has an investment in winning which is characteristic of the entire Western approach. (Debate in Tibetan Buddhist tradition is of a different order.) The former “understands” and the latter fails to “stand under”, i.e. exercise some humility. Hence, again is revealed the egotistical nature of Mars ruling over Sagittarius in its lower expression, strongly activating the concrete mind. (When confronted with the El Diablo of an argumentative lower mind that will not listen, one must simply walk away, no point engaging!)

Mars rules the five senses, hence has a close relation to the lower mind and also of course, kama-manas or desire-mind. All these factors create great irony because Sage-ittarius is the sign of truth and wisdom – but they can also be the biggest idiots! Such are the pairs of opposites – wisdom and stupidity. In these last few paragraphs above is emphasised again the important link between these two Mars-ruled signs, Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Another factor besides Mars, that provides an inter-sign link between Scorpio and Sagittarius, is the fixed star Antares – “the heart of the scorpion”:

“… other streams of energy … definitely play upon and affect our planetary life, such as those coming from … Antares and other stupendous suns … which are related to the constellations of the zodiac and whose force reaches us through these constellations and not directly.”6

Antares is placed sidereally in Scorpio, but tropically in Sagittarius:

“One of the Royal Stars of Persia called “The Watcher of the West”. Being a Royal Star it can bring great success but the possible cause of undoing is that the person goes to excess or become obsessive. Obsession leads to a downfall. However, by keeping a balance between success with one’s goals and the quality of life,  the potential downfall is avoided.”7

Note the term “obsessive”, a term that can be applied equally to Scorpio or Sagittarius. Hence, the work of Scorpio-Sagittarius is closely related to the transformation of forces within the emotional body/solar plexus and their ultimate raising to the heart. It is this heart quality for which Sagittarius or “Jupiterians” are well known – hearty. The heart centre is ruled by Jupiter which is also the ruler of Sagittarius.

The Mars-transformed Sagittarian has raised energies from solar plexus to heart, uninfluenced by kama-manasic prejudice and is now able to broadcast generously its bounty of wisdom. The Walker upon the Way has emerged from the darkness of the Scorpio experience into the fiery light of Sagittarius. S/he has advanced from a believer to being a knower. The Hermit tarot card is one of the best symbols of Sagittarius; he has emerged from his cave and carries this fiery light in his lantern, illuminating darkness wherever he wanders.

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Propaganda: The Crisis of World Glamour
“Propaganda: Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.”8

Let us return now to the subject of glamour at this particular stage of world evolution, where individuals are emerging as more independent thinkers from mass consciousness; minds teeming with ideas, some clear, many inchoate. Therefore, they are subject to the distorting lens of glamour and this applies to aspirants and disciples – ALL of US.

One of the best symbols for Sagittarius as the earnest disciple is Arjuna, the warrior-archer from the Hindu epic, The Mahabharata – for which the Bhagavad-Gita is its golden kernel:

“It should be remembered that just as the battle ground (the kurukshetra) for the aspirant or probationer is the astral plane, so the battle ground for the disciple is the mental plane. There is his kurukshetra. The aspirant has to learn to control his emotional psychic nature through right control of the mind, and this Krishna seeks to emphasise as he trains Arjuna to take the next step towards right vision. The disciple has to carry forward this mental attention, and, through right use of the mind, achieve a higher realisation, and bring into active use a still higher factor, – that of the intuition.”9

Sagittarius brings about this “right control of the mind” through one-pointed thought and focus that is not influenced or over-whelmed by the feeling nature. Yet, Sagittarius is known for its emotional (Mars) enthusiasm and effusiveness that can create much gushing forth (a “gusher”), as the individual is swept up by the grand vision before them, but without necessarily the developed discernment needed to pierce accurately with their arrows to the heart of truth. Indeed, Sagittarians are known for speaking loudly and whilst doing so, standing just a few inches from your face!; their expansiveness does not recognise personal boundaries sometimes, physically or verbally!

A good example of a Sagittarian is the religious preacher of any denomination, often a zealot. Billy Graham is one classic case – Moon conjunct Mars in Sagittarius, conjunct the midheaven (career). And Sun, Venus and Mercury in Scorpio! A preacher is someone who clothes the original idea with more “attractive” astral substance for the masses (who have not developed mind sufficiently to grasp the idea) – creating an ideal, so that they will be inspired by the dramatised idea and get some glimpse of the truth.

“Bible-thumping” was also the province of Alice A. Bailey before she “woke up” to the wider expanse of esotericism. She had the asteroid Vesta in Sagittarius, precisely conjunct Antares (!) – and Sun and Venus in the opposite sign Gemini:

“All this time I was steadily and forcefully preaching the old-time religion. I remained appallingly orthodox or – to use the more modern word – an unthinking Fundamentalist, for no Fundamentalist uses his mind. I had many arguments with liberal minded soldiers and officers but adhered with dogmatic firmness to the doctrinal presentation that no one could possibly be saved and go to Heaven unless he believed that Jesus died for his sins in order to placate any angry God, or unless he became converted, which meant that he confessed his sins and gave up everything that he liked to do.”10

Returning to Arjuna’s plight, it was the prospect of going to war with his entire family that rendered him temporarily indecisive. He had to understand the greater vision that Krishna (his soul) was revealing. Arjuna had to overcome glamour, then he had to deal with illusion upon the mental plane:

“In our race [5^th rootrace], the Aryan, the world illusion is gathering weight and slowly emerging into recognition in the human consciousness and this is a real point gained, for that which is recognised can then be intelligently handled, if the will to do so exists. Today illusion is so potent, that few people whose minds are in any way developed but are controlled by these vast illusory thought-forms, which have their roots and draw their life from the lower personality life and desire nature of the masses of men.

… these thoughtforms draw their vitality also from the realm of ideas, but of ideas wrongly intuited and grasped and forced to serve the selfish purposes of men. Their forms have been brought into activity by the steadily growing creative power of mankind, and have been subordinated to the wishes of men, through the use of language with its power to limit and distort.

The illusion is also precipitated more potently than would otherwise be the case by the effort of many devoted idealistic men to impose these distorted thoughtforms [propaganda] upon the mental bodies of the masses. This constitutes one of the major problems with which the Hierarchy today has to concern itself; it is also one of the first factors which a Master has to consider in connection with any aspirant and disciple.”11

This is where the world finds itself today, it is the planetary kurukshetra, coping with the effects of distorted thoughtforms “imposed upon the mental bodies of the masses” through all kinds of media – internet, print media, art, movies etc. Propaganda or “fake news” – same animal.

The world has been indoctrinated with mass propaganda for the past century, generations have grown up on it, often without discernment that they have been influenced by such campaigns such as: anti-communism, the normalisation of debt, the 2003 Iraq invasion, the 9/11 hoax and recent anti-Russian/Chinese/Muslim propaganda; these indoctrinations have been carefully planned and skillfully executed by various parties for many decades. The great linguist and scholar, Noam Chomsky says, when speaking of his own nation, the USA:

“You don’t have any other society where the educated classes are so effectively indoctrinated and controlled by a subtle propaganda system – a private system including media, intellectual opinion-forming magazines and the participation of the most highly educated sections of the population. Such people ought to be referred to as “Commissars” – for that is what their essential function is – to set up and maintain a system of doctrines and beliefs which will undermine independent thought and prevent a proper understanding and analysis of national and global institutions, issues, and policies …

… Pick the topic you like: the Middle East, international terrorism, Central America, whatever it is – the picture of the world that’s presented to the public has only the remotest relation to reality. The truth of the matter is buried under edifice after edifice of lies upon lies. It’s all been a marvelous success from the point of view in deterring the threat of democracy, achieved under conditions of freedom, which is extremely interesting. It’s not like a totalitarian state, where it’s done by force. These achievements are under conditions of freedom.”12

Now there are media outlets that have been propaganda peddlers for years, who are proposing that they be the arbiters of what constitutes “fake news”! Who is to decide this? No one has the complete truth at their disposal.

The phenomenon of Donald Trump and the US election has flushed all these propagandas and counter propagandas out of the woods into the open – like baying hounds bearing down upon the fox. The World Aspirant must now “step up to the plate” and offer some consistent stability in this uncertain age where Truth has drifted a long way from its moorings in this Kali Yuga:

“… those attitudes of mind which will produce an unswerving allegiance to the spiritual values and an unalterable adherence to the good of humanity … [where] the intellect which has been developed, used and finally illumined, becomes sensitive to a still higher type of mental experience and to this we give the name of intuitive perception.13

It is only the true intuition that can perceive the truth, that can transcend the lower mind and the astral plane where propaganda is generated. In the over-lapping cycle of the Kali and Satya Yugas now, truths are being re-enunciated and re-established.

Sagittarius waits for the returning arrow of intuition. The astral plane is the province of the Materialistic Forces who work actively to retard evolution by using the forces of lying propaganda to hoodwink humanity. Their task is made somewhat simple because of the unfortunate following truth:

“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.” (Gustave Le Bon.)

Yet the masses are also waking up and starting to thirst! In 2016 the planet finds itself in the clamour of this great battle – between the forces of light and materialism. We all have a unifying part to play in this great cosmic drama.

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Prophecy of the Aries 2016 Equinox Fulfilled
Some of you may be excused for feeling “Trump-lag”, the fatigue of trying to come to terms with what is currently unfolding in the USA. Yet, the greater understanding that can be gleaned from the social, national and global implications of his presidency will force everyone to re-examine their values and to participate more fully in the democratic process – wherever they live in the world.

Donald Trump has been discussed extensively in previous missives and given his unpredicatbilty, his impending presidency represents a step into the unknown for the USA and the world at large. (Aries Equinox 2016 Trump Profile and US Election Scorpio 2016.) In the former link, the Aries 2016 ingress chart was discussed:

“…the solar ingress chart for the Aries equinox is set for NYC, determining its rising sign Sagittarius … the “soul purpose for the year”, indicating religion, philosophy, ethics, laws and principles – high idealism. The Aries Sun ruler is Mars, placed in Sagittarius, in the same degree as the ascendant, emphasising some very challenging issues around belief and religion.

Any angular planet has considerable influence and Mars in Sagittarius … can be the fanatical devotee-idealist … in any field of human experience, particularly noticeable in religion and politics; it is a great irony, given that Sagittarius is about expansive consciousness and the large view, yet the exclusiveness and separativeness of kama-manas (desire-mind) can easily take over and dominate; this is due to the influence of the Sagittarius polar opposite Gemini, in its lower expression – concrete mind, reactivity, opinionated, short attention span, busyness etc.

We live in a very Geminian era with an overload of communications and a constant preoccupation with the trivial and superficial, compromising the greater vision. The description of this Gemini-Sagittarius axis also says a lot about the horoscope of Donald Trump who has Sun in Gemini opposite Moon in Sagittarius.

… For the world as a whole, the lower Mars expression is the point of least resistance, especially with Mars angular. Fundamentalism (an emotional adherence to ideas) will certainly be very strong in all fields of human endeavour this year. In the Equinox horoscope, Mars makes a square aspect to Venus-Neptune in Pisces, challenging the world to manifest the highest ideals and vision of unconditional love, compassion and goodwill.”14

Nine months on from Aries in the ninth sign Sagittarius, the gestation period has now birthed a crisis of belief, idealism, fundamentalism and utter confusion. The Sagittarius full moon period will directly straddle Trump’s Gemini sun and Sagittarius moon! (See next section.) We have also seen the “mass effect” of Mars in action, mentioned earlier:

“The effect of Mars is, therefore, largely mass effect and group results, producing great struggles but leading finally to great revelation …”15

The two most important reasons that Trump rose to such popularity in 2016 were,

1. Trump’s Gemini sun falls within a degree or so of USA’s Mars in Gemini. Gemini is esoterically the USA’s personality expression. Trump is in essence, the personality of the USA, at least that unintegrated and immature aspect of its psyche. Trump’s Gemini communication skills has enabled a “conversational” style with his electorate who have felt that they have connected with him personally.
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   It has been argued that that Trump’s hypothesised NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) mirrors the USA as an entity having the same symptoms as outlined below, with the exception of “lack of empathy”:
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   “Narcissistic personality disorder, also known as NPD, is a personality disorder in which the individual has a distorted self image, unstable and intense emotions, is overly preoccupied with vanity, prestige, power and personal adequacy, lacks empathy, and has an exaggerated sense of superiority. NPD is closely associated with egocentrism – a personality characteristic in which people see themselves and their interests and opinions as the only ones that really matter.”
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2. Trump’s Mars in Leo falls closely opposite USA’s moon in Aquarius – tapping into the mass consciousness of the people. Like Hitler, he united a large proportion of the American people in the lower, least desirable aspect of Aquarius.16 Also, Trump’s progressed moon reached the same point in Aquarius as USA’s natal moon, one month before the election, an extraordinary “coincidence”.

In another amazing coincidence,

“In June of 2015 the Third Reich [horoscope] of Adolf Hitler experienced its first Uranus return.”17

That date was precisely June 17, 2015. On June 16, 2015 Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States. The position of Mars in Gemini in USA’s chart and its synastry with events is also uncanny:

“Trump’s candidacy was announced at 11.21 am June 16 2015 in New York, coincident with a New Moon and Mars – all conjunct the USA’s Mars. Trump accepted the Republican nomination at 10.19 pm July 21, 2016, as the Aquarian Moon (conjunct the USA Moon) was precisely squaring Mars.

Trump’s victory was assured at 02.29 hours on November 9, 2016 (by taking Wisconsin) as 24 degrees of Gemini rose over Washington – conjunct Trump’s Sun and the USA Mars. The repetitious Mars connections are undeniable and obviously dangerous – even for Trump. It’s the same US Mars, that was activated by the leaders and major players of the 1861 Civil War.”18

The previous passage describing the 2016 Aries equinox chart elaborates further,

“Mars in Sagittarius is often emotionally driven at the expense of detached clear thinking. Hence, this position of Mars could certainly draw out issues of ongoing prejudice and separativeness in religion and politics. For the world as a whole, the lower Mars expression is the point of least resistance, especially with Mars angular.

… Jupiter is in an exact hard aspect to Saturn in Sagittarius, creating an acute point of tension regarding beliefs and principles, further underlining the theme of Sagittarius-Mars rising. Sagittarius can be most undiscriminating, often a gullible believer and follower, but Jupiter in Virgo offers an all-embracing love with discernment and discrimination.

The worst case scenario for a hard aspect like this, is that the fundamentalists in politics, religion, economics, sciences, climate change etc., will win the day by attracting followers who concur with their outlook on the world.

In the 2016 Aries ingress horoscope, the moon is in Leo in the ninth house, symbolising the dweller, shadow or unconscious; it might represent pride of achievement in academia or religion; the glamour of authority or leaders who have fallen foul of the cult of personality, fed by their followers with a religious zealotry. A figure like this could be Donald Trump, whose Mars in Leo sits near the solar ingress moon.”19

The patterns indicated in the Aries equinox horoscope, have come to pass. Yet the outcome of the election is still unclear with a recount currently underway and the Electoral College still yet to make their decision on December 19, five days after the full moon.

The Electoral College Meeting Dec. 19, 2016.
The Electoral College system – a “mechanism established … in the indirect United States presidential election system, to select the President of the United States … Citizens of the United States vote in each state at a general election to choose a slate of “electors” pledged to vote for a party’s candidate.”20

Trump has 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232, but Clinton has also increased the popular vote by 2.6 million. If some some kind of circumstance arose where some electors in the Electoral College felt that they had to act independently and exercise their constitutional authority (under Article II of the Constitution), then an unparalleled situation would arise, leading to a constitutional crisis. It would take a very large swing of electoral votes to change the situation and observers say that the likelihood of it happening is very slim.

However, the event chart for Dec. 19, 2016 has Pluto at the point of a T-square opposite the US sun in Cancer – square to Uranus-Jupiter; this has potential to cause a huge upset. Also, Mercury goes stationary retrograde right on December 19 (!) conjunct Pluto, adding to the weighty decisions and reflections that must be made. Mercury thus placed has the potential to stall the entire transition process to the new presidency. Mercury retrograde has historically been proven to “throw a spanner in works” – many times!

This prospect of delay is also affirmed by the Mercury-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn making a close square to Trump’s Chiron and Astraea in Libra. Chiron the “wounded healer” and Astraea the goddess of justice and the law – this is a highly significant aspect.

Whatever decision they make, the Electoral College may be in great turmoil making a decision. A decision to overturn Trump might cause such an uproar in the electorate that it could bring the USA to the point of insurrection and rioting.

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Donald Trump and the Sagittarius Full Moon 2016
The Sagittarius full moon falls on Trump’s Sagittarian moon-Gemini sun/USA Mars in Gemini and will be a potent stimulation. Yet the real power in the mix will be the presence of Saturn in Sagittarius conjunct Trump’s moon, having a considerable restraining effect on his fickle lunar nature. Saturn may well “reign in” the archer shooting arrows in all directions, hitherto without necessarily any direction.

This may be a benefit in the imminent cycle of taking the serious office of POTUS and may also reflect the advice and influence of those around him; it could also see his life in peril, as discussed in last month’s newsletter for Scorpio.

The Sagittarius full moon period – with Saturn close to Trump’s moon – will be interesting to watch. The moon represents the dweller or shadow, making a potential horror-scope if unconscious lunar issues are not dealt with. A Sagittarius moon, apart from characteristics already touched upon, has a certain cowboy cockiness and rebelliousness which a lot of Americans find endearing, probably going back to their split from mother Britain. This is part of Trump’s charm for his followers, shooting from the hip, “tellin’ it like ah sees it”!

Yet as stated earlier, it can be very erratic shooting off arrows in all directions, shooting off the mouth and “undiplomatic” conversations with foreign leaders. Yet these could also be ploys that have cunning planning behind them.

“Irascibility, impetuosity and inattention define him, however curtailed, they may prove to be by his entourage and the responsibilities of power. He is, for now, in over his head.”21

This is further borne out by Trump’s moon in opposition to Uranus, conjunct his sun in Gemini – bringing in a touch of the off-beat and bizarre. This is why Trump’s speeches are full of non-sequiturs (A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.) The conversational style of sun in Gemini was touched upon earlier,

“Trump’s speeches aren’t meant to be read. Their seeming incoherence stems from the big difference between written and spoken language. Trump’s style of speaking has its roots in oral culture. He rallies people through impassioned, targeted conversation.” (“Donald Trump’s strange speaking style, as explained by linguists.“)

Sagittarius moon is probably the least discrete of the zodiac – in their quest for “truth” or “honesty”, or simply wanting to shock or “wind people up”. They often do not take into consideration the sensitivities of others, particularly personal privacy – wanting to expose the truth and in the process making others squirm with embarrassment! This can be quite innocent or wickedly deliberate!

Hence Saturn’s transit over Trump’s Sagittarius moon could have a severe restraining and frustrating effect – it could really “pull him into line”; it might even have more severe consequences such as not taking office, losing the election because of  a decision by the Electoral College; it might also mean a major health issue (heart, Leo) or even an attempt on his life.

Trump’s Sagittarian Cabinet Proposals
(See Wikipedia for the updated list.)
Some of Trump’s choices for what some detractors call his “horror cabinet”, reveal some extraordinary synastry between his moon in Sagittarius and planetary placements in Sagittarius for his cabinet personnel. Sagittarius moon has a particular association with fundamentalism in general, particularly religion.

Bear in mind too, that Washington, the governing head centre of the USA, has a Sagittarian personality22 and that the 1776 USA horoscope is Sagittarius rising.

His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both have their Neptune in Sagittarius conjunct Trump’s moon. There is potential here for Trump to succumb to the “sweet sound of the sirens” and be manipulated by the very smart and ambitious Kushner, via his wife Ivanka who is very close to “daddy”. Ivanka may even assume the role of “first lady” in terms of certain duties.

Chief Strategist – Steve Bannon Sun in Sagittarius the philosopher – the philosophy of far right wing politics and media. Denounced for his racist views.

White House Chief of Staff – Reince Priebus Neptune in Sagittarius, falling on Donald Trump’s Black Moon Lilith, the part of his Sagittarian nature that is utterly reckless. Whether this synastry bodes for ill or good remains to be seen!

Secretary of State Undecided and casting the net wide for this top job, as of this posting.

Attorney General – Geoff Sessions Mercury in Sagittarius (conjunct Trump’s moon), reflecting a one-pointed mind whose “philosophy” has embraced dismissing the Voting Rights Act, opposing immigration and sentencing reform, and “… whom a Republican Senate found unfit to be a federal judge because of racist statements and actions.” (Robert Reich)

National Security Advisor – Michael Flynn Known for his fiery rhetoric, he sounds like a Sagittarian (!) but his birth date online is only given as “December 1958.” It’s a good bet that the date is before December 21 when the sun is still in Sagittarius – though Flynn definitely has Mercury and Saturn in Sagittarius, his Saturn falling close to Trump’s moon. It was Flynn who tweeted the following fake news about Clinton, leading to a gunman visiting a restaurant to “self-investigate”:

“[Flynn]:U decide – NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc…MUST READ!2324

Treasury Secretary – Steven Mnuchin Former Goldman Sachs partner – Sun in Sagittarius. Trump: “we’re gonna drain the swamp” – right! To paraphrase the words of Jon Stewart, this guy is the swamp! Four of the proposed appointees have a combined net worth of $8 billion, not that this is necessarily a bad omen, it’s all about motive and skill in the fairer redistribution of wealth.

Commerce Secretary – Wilbur Ross  $2.9 billion personal fortune. Worked for the Rothschild group for 24 years – ominous! He said that USA must free itself from the “bondage” of “bad trade agreements,” and has advocated threats to impose steep tariffs on China. Another Sagittarian sun!

Housing and Urban Development – Ben Carson Brilliant Virgoan surgeon and a highly accomplished individual, but a housing minister? He famously restated in one of his fervent Adventist-influenced speeches in 2015: “The Pyramids of Giza were not tombs, but grain silos built by Joseph, the Biblical son of Jacob.” (Sigh!) Chiron in Sagittarius square his Virgo sun – some distorted philosophies.

Secretary of Education – Betsy DeVos Billionaire, businesswoman, philanthropist, and education activist from Michigan. Teachers unions and other school advocates deemed DeVos’ nomination as “catastrophic for public education.” Capricorn sun with Mercury, Saturn and Mars in Sagittarius!

Ambassador to the United Nations – Nikki Haley (South Carolina Governor) One of Trump’s best picks, one of the few women getting appointments and the youngest at 44. “June 2015 massacre at a historic black church in Charleston … Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, spoke out forcefully against the shooting … and led efforts for the divisive Confederate flag to be pulled from the South Carolina state capitol.”25 Sun in Capricorn, Moon in Pisces, Jupiter in Sagittarius – again, close synastry with Trump’s moon. She would make a great Secretary of State.

(Another younger woman, Tulsi Gabbard is also on the Secretary of State list of contenders and would be an excellent pick, with a mixture of Aries toughness and Libran restraint.)

Secretary of Defense – James “Mad Dog” Mattis A man after Trump’s own heart, given his blunt wit – “it’s fun to shoot some people”, but apparently no intellectual slouch: “His library is about 10,000 books and he’s read every one of them. The guy understands the big picture. He’s an internationalist and he understands engagement. He also understands the judicious use of military power. He’s not looking for a fight but he’ll always finish the fight.”26 Like Carson, another Virgo with sun square Chiron in Sagittarius. Time unknown but probably moon in Leo.

Well, so far – a motley crew of colorful characters to say the least! It does not look good when considering the current Republican domination. Especially with appointments of individuals such as climate-change sceptic Scott Pruitt for the Environmental Protection Agency, who has “fought environmental regulations – particularly the climate change rules.”

There are some very contradictory things going on now as Trump plays his games with everyone, entertaining discussions with Leonardo di Caprio and Al Gore – and then appointing people like Pruitt! Or getting China angry one day and have them praising him for the appointment of a new Chinese ambassador Terry Branstad the next!

Likewise, people like Paul Ryan, poised to “gut medicare” and create a much more unfair system that was far from perfect already. One could easily reach the conclusion that this is indeed a horror cabinet/government, that could send USA to hell.

So the question must be asked, should speculation on outcomes be restrained at this point because (a) its uncertain if Trump will even take office and (b) there is a certain amount of latitude needed for Trump & Co. to make an attempt at governing? Or is this just naive optimism for which the USA has a plentiful supply? Many people, for lots of good reasons, are not going to be holding their breath for a good outcome.

Of course, with all these individuals, we cannot necessarily predicate future actions on past deeds. There is a sceric of an argument (just a sceric and that is all!), that a forgiving latitude (benefit of the doubt) be allowed for them all having learnt a few lessons (become older and wiser) – and having genuine benign intention for the nation at heart. And, like the president, who knows how these people will rise to the occasion once in office? Or allow power to go to their heads and make a mess of it all?

Who knows that Trump, in his idiosyncratic Gemini manner, may actually be successful in blending and directing the skills of those he has chosen for his cabinet? Only time will tell, his main challenge is to create a cohesive and consistent working team. The main problem with most of his cabinet picks is that they are old school (as is Trump himself), part of the crusty culture which must to be radically renovated.

For many of his team it will just be business as usual unless they are held to account by the rest of the nation. These same scenarios most likely would have applied had Clinton been elected. Many democrats have a dark and pessimistic view about the potential for any of these dyed-in-the-wool conservatives to act any differently – and with good reason, given their track records in word and deed. All these factors are like dark clouds, crowding around a sombre horizon for the USA, recalling a statement by The Tibetan in 1947:

“The selfishness of the United States is also due to youth, but it will eventually yield to experience and to suffering; there is – fortunately for the soul of this great people – much suffering in store for the United States.”27

Has USA experienced “much suffering” since 1947 – it seems not, some suffering to be sure, but not “much suffering”. Note the phrase, “fortunately for the soul of this great people” – it is apparent that this period of “much suffering” has now begun and will probably last until at least 2025 and beyond. The old expression comes to mind, “The Queen Mary does not turn on a dime” and time is certainly needed to turn the USA around.

Saturn as the Lord of Karma enters its own sign of Capricorn by the end of 2017, bringing some tough lessons and stays in this sign until the end of 2020. Trump & Co. will be stretched to the limit with their combined business and financial expertise in dealing with their inherited, and soon to be getting worse, financial system – which many of them helped to create over the past several decades, particularly with one of their own, “Reaganomics”.

During that period Saturn will team up with transiting Pluto in Capricorn, a hard-hitting double-act for the USA – regarding the law and economics especially. (The conjunction in Capricorn will oppose Mercury in Cancer in the 1776 horoscope.) This may well signal the start of a real economic transformation, which may include a period akin to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. (Note that Capricorn follows on from Sagittarius where economic trends have been traced. See Saturn in Sagittarius: Cycles of Economic Depression.)

Capricorn is also a sign of initiation and the experience of getting focused as a nation whilst Saturn is in Sagittarius, brings its rewards in Capricorn – if that focus is rightly motivated. For any entity to take initiation, there are always trials and tests to create the right amount of tension needed. The next four years may well provide those criteria.

As far as the troubling times that the USA is entering , the election of either candidate may not have made much difference because of the inevitability of Saturn cycles and karma; also because of extensive dissatisfaction within the electorate. And, the fact that the deep crystallisation created in this nation in the past two centuries is ready to break open – a national “crack-up” if you will. This is needed to transform USA’s unintegrated personality into greater wholeness so that soul purpose can shine. This is the opportunity of true maturation for the USA and the link here may be worth re-reading in that light. Again, can be seen the influence of Pluto for the past couple of years, opposite USA’s Cancer sun.

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The Demise of US Global Power
Nobel Peace Prize-nominated sociologist Johan Galtung, warned that US global power will collapse under the Trump administration.

“The Norwegian professor at the University of Hawaii and Transcend Peace University is recognized as the ‘founding father’ of peace and conflict studies as a scientific discipline. He has made numerous accurate predictions of major world events, most notably the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Galtung has also accurately predicted the 1978 Iranian revolution; the Tiananmen Square uprising of 1989 in China; the economic crises of 1987, 2008 and 2011; and even the 9/11 attacks – among other events.”

In his 2009 book, The Fall of the American Empire – and then What?, Galtung,

“… sets out 15 … “synchronizing and mutually reinforcing contradictions” afflicting the US, which he says will lead to US global power ending by 2020 – within just four years. Galtung warned that during this phase of decline, the US was likely to go through a phase of reactionary “fascism”.

He argued that American fascism would come from a capacity for tremendous global violence; a vision of American exceptionalism as the “fittest nation”; a belief in a coming final war between good and evil; a cult of the strong state leading the fight of good against evil; and a cult of the “strong leader” … Such fascism … is a symptom of the decline – lashing out in disbelief at the loss of power.”28

(The article above is most illuminating and a thoroughly recommended read.)

The fascist-like thinking of Trump is blatantly obvious and easy to criticise, but there has been a “creeping fascism” permeating this nation and the West for decades – on both sides of politics, diminishing human freedoms and eroding public trust. Even as far back as 1954, Senator William Jenner said in a speech:

“Today the path to total dictatorship in the U.S. can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by Congress, the President, or the people. Outwardly we have a Constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system … a well-organized political-action group in this country, determined to destroy our Constitution and establish a one-party state … The important point to remember about this group is not its ideology but its organization … It operates secretly, silently, continuously to transform our Government … This group … is answerable neither to the President, the Congress, nor the courts. It is practically irremovable.”

A decade earlier, in a 1944 speech that rings even truer today, one of the most admirable figures in US politics, Vice-President Henry Wallace said,

“The American fascists … claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.”29

A very ironic statement, given that Trump claimed he would support the “common man” – but who will in his new role embody, “the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously.” It seems that this “deceit to capture political power” has now reached its apotheosis, given Trump’s attitudes and the appointees to cabinet posts.

Of course it is still a matter of wait and see – none of us know what is going to unfold. Uncertainty and unpredictability are the nature of the beast in this transition period. The Servers of Humanity can weather the approaching storm by standing firm and unwavering for the higher principles, to hold the greater vision for a transformed planet and cultivate a courageous heart to offset widespread fear.

Phillip Lindsay © 2016.
Esoteric Astrologer
Hidden History of Humanity
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24. https://rewire.news/article/2016/12/04/gunman-acts-conspiracy-perpetuated-trump-adviser-michael-flynn/ [↩]
25. https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-un-pick-haley-governor-vaulted-prominence-amid-164152986.html [↩]
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27. The Rays and the Initiations, Alice A. Bailey. p.429. [↩]
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29. http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-the-american-fascist/ [↩]