The pollsters and most of the astrologers, myself included,
did not predict that Trump would win the presidency of the U.S. It was a while
after the election before I understood why he was elected and why it was the
wrong move for the country, astrologically-speaking.
Currently the chart for
the United States of America (see note 1) has secondary progressed Mars in the
sign Libra and retrograde. Libra is the least comfortable fit, of all the
signs, for Mars. When you add Mars retrograde, re-learning how to use our Mars
becomes much more difficult.
Secondary progressions, also known as a day for a year
progressions, show how entities evolve. Our evolutionary task is always to
expand and include the new facet of our being. In every chart Mars is the
planet of taking action. It also symbolizes young men, warriors, police,
athletes, and masculinity. When Mars changes sign by secondary progression our
evolutionary task is to change our way of taking action, and changing our sense
of the masculine. We can also think of this as expanding our expression of
Mars. When Mars is retrograde, we are called on to step back and let someone
else make the first move—to be more passive, to respond instead of initiating
action.
During the history of the United States we have experienced
Mars in the signs Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and now Libra. Our nation’s natal
chart has Mars in Gemini which means that our tendency is to scatter our energy
and talk a lot. We take action by talking about it to our friends, neighbors
and closest allies. As Mars has moved by secondary progression though the
succeeding signs, we have had to learn new ways to operate. With Mars entering
Libra in 1940, our Mars needs to act through peace-making, through diplomacy. Our
efforts using this energy resulted in the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after
the war and setting up a democratic government in Japan. We were also
instrumental in founding the United Nations, which we host in New York City. In
late 2006 our secondary progressed Mars turned retrograde in Libra. It will
remain retrograde through early 2086—nearly 80 years total. It also will be in
Libra throughout that time.
This means that the Universe is asking this nation to act in
a Libra retrograde fashion. This means working with close allies. Responding,
but not initiating situations. Using diplomacy. Thus, with secondary progressed
Mars in Libra, success means stepping back from confrontations. Success means
letting other countries set the agenda; and success means using diplomacy.
These modes of operation are characteristically feminine.
They are ways that less powerful beings can work with bullies. As a nation, this
new way of expressing Mars is uncomfortable for many, particularly men. This is
one reason many faulted President Obama, because his style was too “laid back.”
He was an exemplar of how to work with secondary progressed Mars retrograde in
the sign Libra. Had Hillary Clinton been elected, she, too, would have easily
worked with the same Mars retrograde in Libra energy.
Instead, Donald Trump was elected president. Why? Donald’s
horoscope is strong with Fire and Air energy; these are the extroverted and
masculine signs. His Ascendant, Mars and Moon, are in the Fire signs Leo and Sagittarius.
These aspect each other, with Mars being conjunct the Ascendant and both trine,
harmoniously related to, the Moon. When a person has a planet conjunct his
Ascendant, he is the personification of that planet. Donald Trump thus
represents Mars, the macho man.
Mars in Leo lives grandly. Mars has multiple
lovers, and in Trump’s case, three wives. Mars is bombastic, quick to anger, and
can be a bully. Mars is the archetype of the young virile man. Thus Donald
Trump represents Mars (at least one manifestation of Mars) in the national
psyche. Those who voted for him, predominately men, wanted to keep the old ways
of handling affairs with men in charge. With Mars this represents a certain
kind of physically aggressive and take-charge man.
Choosing to elect Trump, a man who exemplifies an active
Mars, is a rejection of the evolutionary thrust for our country. Since this
runs counter to the evolution of our nation, it was the wrong move. If we
followed our natural evolution, it would be time to express the calmer, more
diplomatic, and more feminine energy of Mars in Libra retrograde.
Could Pence become president?
Possibly. His chart is less martial than Trump’s, so he would be less involved
with working out Mars karma for our country. Of note, though, is that Pence’s
Mars is expressed as being a warrior for religious views, as his natal fiery
Mars in Leo is right on the Ninth House cusp of religion.
In order to better understand Mars retrograde in Libra, study
these individuals:
Frederick Winslow Taylor,
father of scientific management.
Erich von Daniken, the
author of books about extraterrestrial beings visiting earth.
Palestinian Leader Mahmoud
Abbas
Actor Dudley Moore
Musician Herb Alpert
Russian diplomat Sergey
Lavrov
Clare Boothe Luce,
Ambassador, congresswoman, journalist
A country with Mars retrograde
in its natal chart, is Japan. The national chart for Japan, as reorganized
after WWII, has Mars retrograde in Scorpio in the tenth house. Japan is famous
for stepping back from war since WWII when they were hit by two atomic bombs,
resulting in over 200,000 people dying.
Note 1: Most astrologers use a chart for July 4th
1776 in Philadelphia for the nation’s chart. Astrologers differ as to the exact
time for the chart. I use the Scorpio rising chart set for 2:21 PM Local Mean
Time. Other astrologers favor the Sagittarius rising chart, the Virgo rising
chart, and the Gemini rising chart. In terms of the timing of secondary
progressions, the difference between the Scorpio rising chart and the
Sagittarius rising chart is about 6 weeks, which is nothing when you are
talking about Mars in a sign for 45 years—and more when it retrogrades as it is
now doing. A few astrologers use a chart for the Reunification of the United
States after the Civil War in 1865, or for the establishment of the
Constitution in 1789.
