Crisis Solar Returns for the U.S.
Crisis Solar Returns for the U.S.
Donald Trump and the Chart of
the U.S. Presidency
May 2020
There is an extraordinary correspondence between the horoscope of George Washington’s first inauguration and the horoscope of Donald Trump. Actually it exists to some degree in the horoscopes of most presidents, although usually not with respect to the angles, as is the case here. It explains how someone with no training in government of any kind could be catapulted into an extremely high pressure job, for which they were woefully unprepared, with predictable results.
First, the inauguration: William MacClay, Senator from Pennsylvania, was an eye-witness to George Washington’s first inauguration on April 30, 1789 at New York, New York. It took place at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan at the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets, near the present location of the New York Stock Exchange at # 11 Wall Street. The original Federal Hall was demolished in 1812. New York was the U.S. capital city in 1789.
According to MacClay’s journal, the Senate convened at 11:30 am (local apparent time – local mean time did not exist in the U.S. in 1789) in Federal Hall and waited for Washington to arrive.
Douglas Southall Freeman wrote in volume six of his seven volume history of George Washington (which won a Pulitzer Prize) that a coach arrived at Washington’s quarters after the noon hour with an honor guard to escort him to Federal Hall. Freeman’s text says that Washington’s coach left his residence—a short distance from Federal Hall—at 12:30 p.m. Washington, usually formal and reserved, had the good sense to get out of the coach to walk the last hundred yards in order to be closer to the people. Regulus, the alpha star in Leo, known as “the little king” rose a little before its ecliptic degree (because it has north declination) at 12:35 p.m. LAT. At this point with Washington on foot amidst a cheering, excited crowd, young girls dressed in white, were throwing flowers at his feet. Some people were surely in tears. The crowd was delirious, full of patriots, veterans and people who had suffered mightily under British oppression and occupation before the Revolution, during the fighting, and after the Revolution during the severe economic depression of the middle 1780s. The population of New York at the time was 30,000 but on this day it was swelled well beyond that figure to perhaps the greatest number the city had ever contained up to that time.
Inside Federal Hall, John Adams, who would be the first vice president, was beside himself trying to think of how to address Washington (“His Excellency” was considered) and how to refer to himself (back-benchers, MacClay related, weary of Adams’s pretentions referred to him as, “His Rotundity.”)
According to MacClay’s diary, Adams opened the doors of Federal Hall at 12:40 p.m. with Washington all but on his heels. Washington entered the building, bowed to the Senate, took his seat and waited for Adams to speak. Adams forgot everything he had intended to say. After an excruciatingly awkward silence, Washington said, “I am ready to proceed.” There were no other formalities than that. Both MacClay and Freeman, wrote that Washington was immediately whisked outside onto the balcony of Federal Hall, before a crowd of tens of thousands and administered the oath of office followed by church bells ringing throughout Manhattan and discharges of cannons from ships in New York Harbor.
The moment of this oath is the chart for the office of the presidency itself. There was no president, acting, understood or otherwise until Washington solemnly swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It is impossible to know who had the more accurate watch or clock and if they had been set to the Sun on that day, and if not, if the going of the watch or clock in question was accurate. Furthermore, it’s unlikely that MacClay’s watch and the clock in Washington’s residence were keeping the same time to the minute. I’m inclined to think that Washington probably left his residence before 12:30 p.m., but Freeman wrote 12:30. Yet one should not quibble over matters that cannot be definitely ascertained. I’m satisfied having first looked into the matter in 1988 that the time is at the very least approximately right, and by my reasoning via solar and lunar returns, probably right on the money. That is, I think Washington was inaugurated at 12:45 p.m. local apparent time. The local mean time equivalent is 12:41:55 p.m. (see figure 1) because the equation of time was +3m 05s. That is, the Right Ascension of the Mean Sun was fast of the Right Ascension of the Apparent Sun by that amount. When the equation of time is positive and the standard is apparent time, one must subtract the equation of time to get the mean time equivalent.
This horoscope is very powerful and remarkable in many ways, not least due to the fact that its angles are the same as the natal angles of Donald Trump (see figure 2).
Presidents usually have a strong connection with this horoscope. Not only are Trump’s angles the same as Washington’s Inauguration angles but Trump’s Jupiter is square the Washington Inauguration Moon, which is very lucky. Trump’s Venus is conjoined to Washington’s Inauguration Jupiter within two thirds of a degree, which is luckier still. What is massively unlucky, however, is that Trump’s full Moon eclipse is closely square the Washington Inauguration Saturn. That means that he would not uphold the Constitution as he swore to do at his own inauguration in January 2017. The proof of that is apparent every day by his almost every word and deed, and especially by his impeachment.
Washington’s data are in the frontispiece of Freeman’s first volume of his Washington biography. According to that information Washington was born at “about ten in the morning.” Because the equation of time is large in February and negative, which means it has to be added to get the mean time equivalent, 10:00 a.m. local apparent time is 10:14:03 a.m. LMT (see figure 3). Clocks in 1732 would definitely have had to be reset every day at local apparent noon both to account for the constant change in the equation of time as well as to expunge the daily inaccuracy of the going of the clock. Only the clocks at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and the Paris Observatory kept mean time in those days. Local Mean Time was not a civil standard anywhere in 1732.
Now to Trump who is almost the antithesis of Washington: first and foremost, they both have angular Mars in close square to each other. They would not get along; in fact I would expect instant enmity.
Trump’s Pluto is closely opposite Washington’s Mercury. Washington had Mercury trine Jupiter, symbolic of career success and his honesty. Washington would recoil from Trump because Washington’s word was his bond and Trump’s word is worthless. Washington would consider such a person a scoundrel and not worth his time.
The bad exchanges are compounded by Trump’s Saturn opposite Washington’s Moon and square Washington’s Pluto. Trump would reject Washington’s ideas of honor and virtue (due to Washington’s Moon in Sagittary) because he sees those things as weaknesses to exploit. I don’t assert that Washington’s Moon square Pluto was a good thing; rather it is symbolic of the very bad relationship between Washington and his mother. My point is that one who has Pluto square the Moon will get on badly with someone whose Saturn gets involved with both elements of their Moon-Pluto situation.
Washington’s Saturn very closely opposes Trump’s natal Neptune and squares Trump’s natal Mercury, which is usually a very bad exchange between people. Washington would call out Trump’s surreptitiousness, mendacity and evasiveness. Washington addressed people and issues head-on. He would not give the time of day to a poseur, and especially a draft-dodger. It should be borne in mind that Washington was a soldier for a longer period in his life than any other.
Trump’s Pluto is square Washington’s Inauguration Sun, which places the current president at some remove from the essential features of enlightened, conscientious leadership of a republic because he is committed to autocracy and in effect to a dismantling of the institutions of government that Washington spent the spring, summer and fall of 1789 installing in place.
On election day this year, November 3, 2020, transiting Mars will be quincunx Trump’s natal ascendant as well as the ascendant of Washington’s Inauguration. I think it’s very likely that Trump will either try to create some kind of emergency situation that postpones the election when he sees that he will lose (which many people say he could not possibly pull off because it’s illegal), or he may be indisposed.
Just as significant, transiting Mars will retrograde back into a square with Washington’s Inauguration Moon on October 19th and again when it is direct on December 10th. Transiting Mars will also retrograde back to conjoin Washington’s Inauguration Mars on October 29th and again when it is direct November 29th. The first contact of transiting Mars conjoined to the Washington Inauguration Mars will be on July 28th; the first contact of transiting Mars to the square to Washington’s Inauguration Moon will be August 3rd. The Moon relates first and foremost to the body and to a nearly equal degree to the home and the family. Mars transits are bad for the office-holder at whatever time or epoch that they appear because Washington’s First Inauguration refers to the office more than the person.
Quite likely noteworthy, Trump’s demi-lunar return (see figure 4) that begins July 17th has Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in the first house. A demi-lunar return is cast for the moment that the transiting Moon opposes its natal place. They are not less powerful than a standard lunar return. The Jupiter is not a problem in this chart but the ascendant will be directed in right ascension to Pluto on July 24th; the ascendant will be directed in right ascension to Saturn on July 28th and transiting Mars will reach the nadir of this chart on July 30th. In Trump’s demi-anlunar return of July 25th (see figure 5), Mars is angular in the West. The western horizon is directed to Mars in mundo on July 27th. An anlunar return is a lunar return cast for the solar return Moon. The demi-anlunar is a lunar return cast for the moment that the transiting Moon opposes the solar return Moon. Anlunars and demi-anlunars are just as potent as standard lunar returns.
These things underscore what I consider the most worrisome element in the president’s 2020 solar return: solar Mars is conjoined to solar Neptune and they are both square the president’s natal full Moon (see figure 6). It follows that something would develop in July because the western horizon of the solar return will be directed to solar Mars and solar Neptune in the second half of July. The issue is his health. He will be 74 in June 2020. His fondness for fast food, his volcanic temper, the pressure of the presidency and the obvious fact that he appears to be remarkably over-weight will, I think, catch up to him during the summer and extend into the fall. His overall health is likely to be a factor in the 2020 election—as much a factor as his job performance.
Note: All positions displayed here are sidereal and employ the Fagan-Allen ayanamsa. The synetic vernal point for George Washington was 8° Pisces 59’ 37”. The S.V.P. for Washington’s Inauguration was 8° Pisces 11’ 50”. The S.V.P. for Donald Trump was 6° Pisces 00’ 44”. The S.V.P. for Trump’s 2020 sidereal solar return is 4° Pisces 58’ 44”. Thus, a little more than four degrees of precession have accrued since Washington’s birth in 1732 and the present day in May 2020. Washington was born February 11, 1732 with respect to the Julian calendar, which was employed in the American colonies until September 1752. The Gregorian equivalent of Washington’s February 11th Julian date is February 22nd.
© Kenneth Bowser, 2020, all rights reserved.
Figure 1: Washington's Inauguration
Figure 2: Donald Trump's Natal Chart
Figure 3: George Washington's Natal Chart
Figure 4: Donald Trump's Demi-Lunar Return
Figure 5: Donald Trump's Demi-Anlunar Return
Figure 6: Donald Trump's 2020 Sidereal Solar Return
