The impending conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn will be a global phenomenon, affecting every country on Earth to one extent or another. But some countries will feel the pressure of that powerhouse duo more than others — and the United States could well find itself at the top of the list. This is largely because of the heavily Cancerian nature of the U.S. July 4th horoscope, which will directly receive the oppositional force of the transiting Saturn–Pluto conjunction.
But to fully understand that impact for the United States, we also have to look at how it’s affecting the horoscope of Donald J. Trump. That’s not just because he is President of the U.S., but also because the conjunction will be quite closely activating a very important configuration in Trump’s own birth chart.
Donald Trump
June 14, 1946
10:54 a.m. EDT
Jamaica, NY (40N41 73W48)
Placidus houses, True node
Trump’s Saturn–Venus in Cancer
Trump was born with a fairly close conjunction of Saturn and Venus in Cancer (with Saturn at 23º and Venus at 25º). This means that the transiting Saturn–Pluto conjunction — which becomes exact at 22º Capricorn in January 2020 — will be creating a powerful opposition to Trump’s natal Saturn–Venus conjunction. While this isn’t the only astrological configuration affecting him over the coming year, I think it could well prove to be the most critical.
To really grasp how this transit might affect him, I think it’s useful to first understand some of what that natal aspect means in terms of his basic personality and psychology. I’ve come to believe that this pattern is a key emotional driving force of his personality.
On a purely material level, we could talk about his relationship with money. If you ask most beginning astrologers what indicates the potential for “wealth” in a chart, most of them will say to look for Jupiter–Venus contacts, or Jupiter in the 2nd house. But I find it fascinating how so many ultra-rich types have Saturn–Venus connections in their charts. Take computer giant Bill Gates, born with a Saturn–Venus conjunction; or Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also born with a Saturn–Venus conjunction (as was his estranged wife MacKenzie); or Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, born with Saturn opposite Venus; John D. Rockefeller Jr., born with a Saturn–Venus conjunction; or media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey, born with a Saturn–Venus square — the list goes on.
Donald Trump has that planetary pattern, too — in his case, the conjunction is in Cancer, as mentioned above. This can mean many things, of course, and undoubtedly fuels his drive for wealth, real estate, multiple homes, and so on. But in light of his very public behavior through the decades, I believe that it also points to an extremely deep insecurity and vulnerability, a sense of emotional wounding (perhaps rooted in childhood?) that’s caused him to erect walls around not only himself and his family, but even the country itself, apparently. Close associates have spoken over the years of his hypersensitivity to criticism, as well as a perhaps subconscious fear of being unloved, which he seems to compensate for by surrounding himself with beautiful women and hordes of adoring supporters.
Paradoxically enough, one of the things I’ve encountered with many natal Saturn–Venus types is that they often harbor a deep-seated feeling of poverty, an inner sense of scarcity that has them believing there’s never quite enough to fill that hole in their soul — like my multimillionaire client with a hard Saturn–Venus aspect who seemed convinced that he was dirt poor. That sort of psychological mindset might also help to explain Trump’s need to compensate by amassing so many material possessions — the gold-plated furniture, the expensive cars and clothes, and so on.
My point here is that the transiting Saturn–Pluto conjunction in Capricorn is starting to pummel his natal pattern very, very hard, and will continue doing so over the next year or two. I see a few different real-world possibilities resulting from that.
One of those is that his personal finances could take a major hit during this period, in terms of losses due to bad investments, lawsuits, or failed real estate projects. It could also point to negative feedback he’ll be fielding over the financial policies he instigates for the country concerning tariff measures, tax reform bills, or military expenditures.
Pluto in particular has a lot to do with buried matters being uncovered, so these transits will likely involve secrets increasingly coming to light about Trump’s true wealth and holdings, his bank accounts, and his taxes. There could even be more revelations about his dealings with foreign governments, and investigators (like those from the Southern District of New York) continuing to probe into his real estate dealings and problems relating to his hotels.
But also — and this could prove much more problematic for him, since it hits so close to home, emotionally — the Saturn–Pluto transit may also involve his family members being put under the spotlight, since the sign Cancer is involved. This could trigger even more strongly the “circle the wagons” mentality suggested by his natal pattern. Remember, too, that the transiting Saturn–Pluto conjunction is falling in Trump’s 5th house of children (according to some house systems), which could prompt him to go into hyper-defensive “mother bear” mode and become even more extreme and dramatic in his behaviors.
Likewise, I think the Saturn–Pluto transit could well trigger a primal sense of emotional wounding that Trump has likely harbored all his life, a deep feeling that he is unpopular or unloved. Pluto being what it is, this could also involve a sense of betrayal, a realization that others he thought had been loyal are now turning on him. That’s already been happening over the last year or two, in fact, but it will likely continue to happen for quite some time.
In very general terms, transiting Saturn opposing or squaring anyone’s natal Venus — even without Pluto’s involvement — can make for a very unhappy time, with feelings of great loneliness and isolation. With Pluto added to the mix, though, I suspect that this period ahead could become an exceptionally depressing and vulnerable one for Trump. If indeed impeachment hearings wind up being conducted, that would certainly throw a few Olympic-size swimming pools full of gasoline onto that horoscopic fire as well.
There’s one other possibility that I think is worth mentioning. To one extent or another, the horoscope of a national leader becomes that of the entire country he or she represents. Does this mean that Trump’s financial difficulties under those transits point to something ominous about the economic fortunes of the United States during this time? Much as I’d like to believe otherwise, I think it’s a reasonable possibility, and I will be watching the U.S. economy closely around the time of these transits.
Trigger Dates
Even though the general influence of these energies will be in effect for quite some time, I’d like to go over a few specific trigger dates that I believe will be especially worth noting — that is, when the transiting Saturn–Pluto conjunction will be activating Trump’s natal pattern in dramatic ways. To be clear, these aren’t the only transiting planets affecting his chart; however, for simplicity’s sake, I’ll limit my observations to just the influence of Saturn and Pluto.
- Even though the effects of the Saturn–Pluto conjunction won’t technically climax for Trump until 2020, there are several “sneak preview” triggers taking place before then, one of which has already happened. I’m referring to the Saturn and Pluto retrograde stations that occurred in late April and early May of this year. Among other things, this manifested as the furor over Attorney General William Barr’s testimony about the Mueller Report (and his subsequent refusal to return for a follow-up hearing), but was also reflected in surprising news about Trump’s taxes and financial losses that came out in early May.
- Transiting Mars will soon be acting as a trigger when it opposes transiting Saturn and Pluto, so I’d suggest watching Trump’s affairs closely during the period from June 15 through the 20th. (Editor’s Note: This article was written and submitted to TMA in early June.)
- Transiting Saturn will be exactly squaring Trump’s natal Jupiter on July 6, so I would expect some major judicial-related frustrations for him from roughly the 3rd to the 9th.
- Both Saturn and Pluto will be stationing again (direct) from mid September through early October of this year, 2019, and will create a strong hit to Trump’s natal Saturn–Venus conjunction, giving us another sneak preview of what’s ahead for him in 2020. It may be worth paying attention to the dates around the planetary stations: for Saturn, September 18, and for Pluto, October 2.
- The Saturn–Pluto conjunction actually becomes exact for the first time on a global scale on January 12, 2020, but that entire month could be especially turbulent for Trump, since just a little over one week later, on January 21, transiting Saturn will be precisely opposing his natal Saturn. The fact that the global pattern of the Saturn–Pluto conjunction is occurring so closely to the time when transiting Saturn will be triggering his natal Saturn shows just how close that collective pattern appears to be linked to his personal destiny.
- Then, on February 6, 2020, transiting Saturn opposes his natal Venus for the first of three times. Again, there may be a growing sense of social isolation and feelings of rejection, but it could also involve the spotlight being cast on his finances and real estate holdings, as well as those of his family members.
- On February 13, Pluto opposes Trump’s natal Saturn precisely, activating his chart in a major way.
- This same energy comes to a boil during the next station of Pluto, which goes retrograde on April 25 at 24º59’ Capricorn, very closely opposing Trump’s natal Venus and Saturn.
- On July 12, Pluto again opposes Trump’s natal Saturn exactly.
- On September 6, Saturn opposes Trump’s Venus for the second time.
- Then, on September 29, Saturn stations direct at 25º20’ Capricorn, activating his natal Saturn–Venus by opposition.
- Several days later, on October 4, Pluto stations direct at 22º29’ Capricorn, opposing his natal Saturn–Venus and prying open more previously buried secrets about his finances or personal life.
- A few weeks later, on October 21, Saturn exactly opposes Trump’s natal Venus for the third and final time.
- While these turbulent energies continue for him well into 2021, I want to point out an important trigger that will be occurring around December 20, 2020, when Pluto exactly opposes his natal Saturn. This is especially significant because it coincides closely with another transit that is affecting everyone: Not only is it close to the winter solstice, but transiting Mars will at 22º Aries, squaring the degree of the Saturn–Pluto conjunction (22º Capricorn) of January 2020. Mars aspects often serve as triggering mechanisms for other celestial patterns, such as eclipses, stelliums, or major outer-planet aspects. It’s safe to say the holiday season of late 2020 could be a particularly dramatic one for Donald Trump. Note, too, this will be shortly after the next presidential election, so it’s likely that whatever turbulence this energy stirs up for him will be in response to the outcome of the election.
In short, while it’s impossible to know specifically what will be happening for Donald Trump over the next couple of years, there’s no question that it will be a roller-coaster ride for him, both professionally and emotionally, and that these highlighted dates will warrant special attention.
Bio: Ray Grasse is associate editor of The Mountain Astrologer magazine, and author of several books, including The Waking Dream, Under a Sacred Sky, and Urban Mystic. His website is www.raygrasse.com