(2 June 2020) “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”  The events of recent days have highlighted the inherently messy nature of the US political system as ongoing anti-racist protests have often descended into chaotic rioting and looting in many cities across the country.   The protests began following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American, while in police custody in Minneapolis last week.

The civil unrest has forced many cities to impose curfews and call out the National Guard.  President Donald Trump has encouraged governors and mayors to get tougher on the protests but so far the mostly-Democratic controlled cities have been reluctant to come down too hard for fear of making matters worse.  Trump has threatened to use regular army troops to quell the unrest but so far it remains only a threat.  But the protests enjoy a fairly broad public sympathy so what began as an anti-racism protest may be morphing into a wider protest movement against the Trump presidency.

The astrological signature for the current unrest is clearly seen in the Mars-Sun-Venus alignment.  In recent days, we have seen an unusual pattern whereby Mars, the malefic planet of aggression and conflict, is aspecting both the Sun and Venus in Taurus.  The Sun (government, authority) and Venus (harmony, comity) also happen to be conjunct at this time, thus the Mars aspect damages them both simultaneously.  Both the government and the police are coming under intense scrutiny at this time and all notions of Venusian harmony are in short supply.

The reason the impact of this pattern is focused in the US at this time is perhaps because of significant afflictions in the Inauguration horoscope of Donald Trump (Jan 20, 2017).  The Inauguration chart has an Ascendant (Lagnesh) of 20 Aries so the Mars-Sun-Venus alignment is activating that degree by hitting the cusps of the 11th (friendship, ambition) and 2nd houses (security, fixed assets) with Mars also aspecting the 5th (youth, recreation) and 6th house cusps (open enemies, illness).  This is a very apt planetary configuration for conflict and national outrage that is being driven mostly by young people.

And we should remember that Saturn (7 Capricorn) is still very much in conjunction with the Sun (6 Capricorn) and underscores how beleaguered the Trump White House is at this time.  The Sun represents Trump in this chart and the ongoing Saturn conjunction reflects the barrage of criticism toward him and his inability to get the upper hand in this matter.

The protests are likely to continue in some form over the coming days as Mars will move towards its conjunction with its natal position at 0 Pisces on June 18.  This looks like an intensifying of the current crisis, perhaps including a more explicit military development.

Interestingly, the likelihood of the protests continuing is also seen in Trump’s personal horoscope.  The Saturn influence is still in effect here as it sits on his 6th house cusp indicating blockages and a defensive posture against open enemies.  But look at the ongoing Sun-Mars square in transit.  It will set up against his Sun-Rahu-Uranus-Ketu-Moon alignment (yes, he was born on a lunar eclipse) from about June 11 to June 15, very close to the date of his next birthday.

So while the Mars-Sun-Venus alignment will only remain close at hand for a couple more days, Mars will continue to aspect the Sun for several more days after that.  This will keep energy and aggressive tendencies higher than normal.  And since the Mars-Sun square will activate both Trump’s chart and the Inauguration chart, it seems likely that the protests, chaos and rioting could continue for a while yet.

Weekly Market Forecast

Despite the domestic turmoil in the US, markets have generally moved higher over the past week as the focus remains on the post-lockdown reopening.  I thought we might have some downside from last week’s Mercury-Rahu conjunction and the increased Mars influence this week but this has yet to manifest.

This week could still see some downside given this ongoing Mars influence.  However, I would think that Friday’s lunar eclipse is perhaps a better candidate for some selling.  Mars will form a double square (or T-square) configuration with the Sun, Moon and Venus.

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