(15 July 2019)
How low can Trump go? After this past weekend's racist tweets against
four minority Democratic congresswomen, it seems there is no floor.
Was there ever? Previous dog-whistles to his white nationalist base
may now be evolving into out-and-out racism as Trump looks for new ways
to divide the country (and the Democratic party) and provoke chaos
ahead of next year's election. It may well be his only hope.Trump's target was the Squad -- a group of four left-wing Democrats led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who have strongly criticized Trump for his immigration policy and treatment of refugee claimants on the southern border. Last week AOC, as she is known, delivered passionate testimony of the terrible conditions facing asylum-seekers in Texas border detention camps. Just 29 years old and elected to Congress last year, she has become the face of the left progressive wing of the Democrats.
Like Trump, she is a polarizing figure. She has become a charismatic celebrity in liberal circles as her youthful energy has captivated many party members who view the leadership as out of touch and in need of renewal. By contrast, the right wing mocks and vilifies her at every opportunity, much as they did with Hillary Clinton.
Ocasio-Cortez's horoscope shows her to be a very gifted communicator. She was born with Mercury in its own sign of Virgo in the 11th house (=gains through speech) alongside a very forceful conjunction of the Sun and Mars. AOC's strong 11th house is a key source of her good fortune and career success at such a young age. Her Mercury is further enhanced through its close opposition with the Pisces Moon (=compassion, empathy) and the square with Uranus. The Moon-Mercury is a very strong alignment for sharing her vision with the world and the Uranus contact amplifies this further. To be sure, the Mercury-Moon-Uranus T-square has a downside: the risk of unpredictability and lack of consistency. She enjoys innovative ideas and solutions but may become bored with people or issues after a while. She may also be prone to change her mind quickly and thoughtlessly.
There have been hints of this destabilizing Uranian effect already as she sometimes seems overly earnest, naive and emotional when confronted with facts or with other ways of looking at the problem. The ongoing tension with the more deliberate House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is emblematic of AOC's preference for innovation and novelty. AOC also enjoys her unconventional ways through the aspect between Rahu (North Lunar Node) and the Sun-Mars. Whenever Rahu or Ketu is associated with the Sun or the Moon, the person tends prefers to go their own way and not toe the company line. She is very much a trailblazer.
As a photogenic and media-savvy politician, it is helpful that she has Venus rising in Scorpio. Venus so positioned in the 1st house lends attractiveness and charm which usually benefits the individual throughout their lives.
It is also possible to see Ocasio-Cortez as a mirror image of Trump. Both are disruptors of their respective party's status quo. Trump has transformed the GOP from a globalist, pro-free market party into a anti-free trade, white nationalist party. AOC wants to take the Democrats further to the left towards a more Western European balance of capitalism and socialism where the rich are taxed more highly and the poor are better protected by a safety net.
We can see some intriguing overlaps in their horoscopes. AOC's lunar nodes align exactly with Trump's Sun-Moon opposition. Her nodal placements identify her as his interrupter, much as an eclipse dims the light of the Sun or transforms the appearance of the Moon. She has the capacity to block or distort (Rahu) his fundamental energy (Sun, Moon) through her ideas and tactics. The Lunar Nodes and the Lights (Sun, Moon) are antithetical to each other in a fundamental way. The Rahuvian influence suggests AOC seeks to undermine the Trump's power through unconventional or surprising means.
And yet there are some apparently positive connections between their charts. Her Jupiter (16 Gemini) is exactly conjunct his Mercury (15 Gemini) while her Saturn (14 Sagittarius) is in opposition. They somehow can benefit each other, as if playing off each other like professional wrestlers or even musicians. While politics may not be cynically reduced to entertainment, I do see them as opposing forces in some larger Marxist-Hegelian dialectical morality play. Thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Just as Bush begat Obama, and Obama begat Trump, it seems that Trump's extremism has laid the foundation for far-left Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez. Their mutual antagonism produces conflict but this can allow both to flourish in the political arena by leading their respective sides. In some sense, they may actually need each other. Like an angry talk-show host, Trumps needs conflict to survive politically and AOC provides that in abundance. Similarly, AOC also needs a status quo establishment power holder to fight against in order to further her ambitions.
Another compelling contact occurs through her Sun and Mars which are conjunct his Jupiter. That is an alignment of mutual understanding and constructive alliance. This is not to say that they will cooperate in future (!), but that they somehow can understand each other, at least in some basic existential sense.
AOC is enjoying some of the spotlight here as Jupiter will soon station on her Scorpio Ascendant. This should create more positive outcomes for her generally. The Jupiter influence is giving her a much-needed break from the difficult Saturn square to her Sun and Mars this past spring when her Green New Deal failed to gain any traction among the Democratic leadership. Let's see how long Jupiter can remain her ally against the negative effects of that ongoing Saturn square.
Weekly Market Forecast
US stocks are still flying high this week on the promise of lower interest rates from a pliant Federal Reserve. While other markets are showing more signs of flagging (e.g India, Germany, China), the US large cap market is the best of the bunch as capital is still flowing into USA. As many other economies are showing more obvious signs of slowing, if not recession, the US is proving to be more resilient for now.
I thought we might have seen more downside last week given the Mars-Mercury conjunction and the Mercury retrograde cycle. Some of the aforementioned global markets were down but the US shrugged off concerns and powered higher.
This week there is the potential for some uncertainty to rise around the lunar eclipse tomorrow (Tuesday evening EDT). Eclipses aren't always bad news for markets but this one has the added feature of taking place just one degree from the south Saturn Node at 29 Sagittarius (sidereal). I wouldn't forecast the end of the world here, but there is a deductively plausible case for some downside that merits watching, especially on Wednesday. The US market is setting records so it's hard to be too bearish, and yet the planets are still not giving an 'all-clear' signal. That suggests some problems may lie ahead this summer.
For a more detailed analysis of the markets, please check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST). I outline the key technical and planetary influences for US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, as well as currencies, gold and oil.
