Trump – a spiritual challenge

Trump’s purpose
As an astrologer, I assume that everyone is who they are supposed to be, and they are in the right place to fulfil their life’s purpose. Whether we do this to the highest level of our ability is the question. What follows is my take on Trump’s purpose, using his horoscope. Consciously or unconsciously, I think we all do the ‘appropriate’ things in our lives.

Trump is a Gemini. To investigate what a fitting vocation might be for anyone, I use the Sun along with planets that contact the Sun. Not wishing to get too technical, this means I would use the archetypes of Gemini, Mars, Uranus, Jupiter and the Moon to define his vocation. He is born with Mars in Leo exactly on the horizon at birth, which gives this fiery combination (Mars-Leo) a strong focus. It also explains why he demands so much attention!

Trump is doing exactly what he should – albeit in a way that could be a lot more beneficial to the world. He is a thinker and a communicator (Gemini), and a clever one at that. He frequently changes his opinion! He gets people talking.

This Mars means he is in the moment and doesn’t always think before he speaks. The benefit of this combination is his ability to motivate and ignite a crowd. He is a starter who dares to lead. What Trump loves is to compete and to win. That is what his life is about. As his older sister Maryanne (a federal court judge) has said, she learned very young not to fight or compete with him. It was a waste of time.

Mars on the horizon suggests an imprint at birth of an experience that required quick action. This is often a signature that shows up in charts of people who have been delivered at birth by forceps or Caesarean section. There is some need for haste. This can result in a negative expression of Mars – a kind of being born angry or aggressive. Shades of “I wanted to do this myself (birth) and that right has been taken from me. I’ll show you that I can take the lead and do it my way!” And this might be a life-long focus. Mars is brave and in Leo, this Mars can be showy, theatrical and egotistical. Trump wants to be noticed for his manliness! To him that seems to mean being rich, dominating and having a pretty young woman on his arm.

Family imprints
Trump’s competitive stance was probably exacerbated by being the third born (second male) in a family of five. The oldest child, Frederick Jr. (Freddy), would have been expected to take over the family business, however he was seen as a failure by his father Fred. Although Donald was Fred’s favourite son, I’m sure Donald would have preferred to have been the first born in the family. Both Donald and his father, who are portrayed in many articles as being bullies, put a lot of pressure on Freddy. This may have been a factor in Freddy’s addiction problems, which caused his early death in 1981. According to Donald, the experience of observing Freddy’s life is the reason that he has never taken drugs and why he doesn’t drink alcohol or want his children to do so.

The Uranus factor
Trump’s vocation is to break through and shock. And it has been a shock to many that he has come so far in the presidential race. He loves being controversial, rebellious and non-PC. That is his purpose. On a deeper level this really is a wake-up call for the US. In many ways he is the initiator of a process that is getting many people fired up. Both sides are angry. Trump’s supporters are sometimes angry and aggressive and so is the opposition, although they express it in different ways. Anger can be good if it can be focussed for a good cause. US citizens are getting angry enough to actually take a stand and do something. Perhaps this is Trump’s gift. He starts a movement. If he could use his abilities for good ends he could be very encouraging. But at the moment he seems to be trying to show us he’s a fighter and can win, whatever that takes.

The Jupiter effect
Trump also has this archetype strongly emphasised since he has the Moon in Sagittarius as well as the Sun contacting Jupiter. He is a visionary, a PR man, a promoter and a politician. He can see the big picture. Jupiter can be prone to judgement and greed. The master of sweeping statements with a love of being a preacher. He can play God. His judgements are the ones that count, so Trump can rally the troops and indoctrinate them with his beliefs. Jupiter gone bad can be dangerous! If these strengths were put to good use this could result in big positive changes and great strategies, but that doesn’t appear to be what is happening. On the plus side, many are starting to question the system. Trump’s rise is alarming many people so much that they are looking at the bigger picture of politics in general and questioning many premises. Trump is making this very obvious. The warning here is not to fight judgement with judgement, but to look to the system and not the man.

Lastly, the Moon
I would love to know how Trump got on with his mother. He appears to have a good relationship with his older sister Maryanne and goes to her for advice. In astrology, the Moon represents women and Trump seems to be particularly aggressive towards them. Patterns formed early in life tend to show up in later behaviour, so how Trump experienced women at an early age matters. His mother, who was born in Scotland, is given credit only for being a philanthropist. For the rest she doesn’t feature at all in any articles, other than mention of the fact that she was traditional and religious. Perhaps this made the father-son relationship even more important and women’s input less so. It has been said by his ex-wife Ivana that he is a good father, and I can imagine that with the Sun and Moon contacting each other he could be very protective of his children. But you would need to ask his kids about that!

This same aspect makes Donald very patriotic and a good ‘crowd-reader’. Trump has picked up the prevailing mood in the US better than others. Many are angry and ‘Moon’ people can form a good ‘clan’. He can work a room! But patriotism can go too far and he has been criticised for being hostile to many other countries and races. Only the US matters, which, considering the fact that his mother was Scottish and his father was of German origin, as well as his wives being immigrants, is a bit much! The benefit of his stance is that it is helping Americans to get in touch with what they really feel about the US and her politics. It is a very interesting time for the US and therefore for the world.

And so to Mars retrograde

From Ohio State University showing the path of Mars  from 2016 January 9 until September 20. Time step is 6 hours, a round marker is plotted every 2.5 days.

How could the world use this time?
Mars represents the God of War, and many astrologers talk about his backwards (retrograde) movement as being a problem for this fiery God. It can be, but I am of the school that thinks everything in the heavens is good for something! Mars represents how we get what we want – how we fight and defend ourselves. In vocational work I use Mars to determine style and approach. He is currently in the sign of Sagittarius. For the world, that means that the areas in which conflicts are occurring are religious, international, political and in the air travel arena, to name but a few.

Mars going backwards is a time to look at how our approach to winning or getting what we want – or winning an election – is or isn’t working. It is a time to reflect on how we fight. Is the strategy for helping refugees actually working? Is the way political conflicts are addressed effective? Is the way international travel is organised useful?  These are the types of issues we could take time to pause and examine, between now and June, rather than carry on with the same old methods.

How could you use this time?
On an individual level it is also a good time to look at your strategy for getting what you want. If you are working independently, is it time to change your marketing? Really look to see if what you are doing has been working.  On a personal level – are you winning your battles? Or do you need a new approach? Can you still defend your religious or philosophical viewpoints? Or do they need a spring-clean?

I hope you can make use of this Mars back-tracking period. It may also be helpful to remember that the people who upset us the most, are probably the people from whom we can learn the most. Yes, that thought has always annoyed me too!

Faye Blake-Cossar

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