(2 March 2025) President Donald Trump’s campaign promise of peace in Ukraine went off the rails on Friday as he clashed openly with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a live televised meeting in the Oval Office. Initially intended as a public signing of a new US-Ukraine minerals deal which would help bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine, the meeting abruptly ended in acrimony with raised voices, wounded egos and mutual accusations. The failed meeting now appears to signal an end of American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Future peace efforts are now also in jeopardy as Ukraine’s European allies are vowing to continue to offer military support to Zelenskiy, even if the US ends its previous commitments.
As is often the case, astrology offers a unique perspective on the hidden influences that underlie human actions. One particularly revealing chart in this respect is the Davison Relationship chart which combines the horoscopes of Trump and Zelenskiy. Taking the midpoint in both time and space between the births of Trump (Jun 14, 1946, 10.54 am, Jamaica, NY) and Zelenskiy (Jan 25, 1978, 2.00 pm Krivoj Rog, Ukraine), we can cast a combined horoscope (Apr 5, 1962, 12.57 pm, GMT 44N18, 20W13) which reflects the ups and downs of their relationship through current transits.
Three powerful transit alignments stand out at the time of the ill-fated White House meeting. First, transiting Saturn (26 Aquarius) has been conjunct natal Mars (25 Aquarius) for the past few weeks. Saturn-Mars transits are often prominent during serious and intense situations characterized by onerous work responsibilities where the range of action (Mars) is limited by Saturn’s sense of obligation. No doubt, both men are having to think carefully about the way forward in their relationship as Trump campaigned on bringing peace to Ukraine and ending America’s costly support for the war. While this transit can be associated with contentiousness and disagreement, it may better reflect the enormity of the tasks before them in terms of securing peace.
The bitterness and anger may be more directly linked to the Mars-Sun square. Mars had just stationed direct 5 days before at 22 Gemini and formed an exact 90 degree alignment with the natal Sun (22 Pisces). Mars-Sun squares are often difficult as the assertiveness of Mars can create conflict in the face of the natural egoism of the Sun. The Mars-Sun square therefore may have been the primary source of the animosity in the meeting, as well as their difference in opinions in terms of making a deal.
The other element here is that Mercury-Rahu-Neptune conjunction in early Pisces. This 9th house conjunction at 3 Pisces symbolizes confusion, deception and disruption of expectations. Thus, the distorting and dissembling nature of both Rahu (North Lunar Node) and Neptune undermine the rational and logical nature of Mercury. What is especially important to note is that this triple conjunction was very closely aligned with the Ascendant (3 Cancer) and thus became one of the pivotal influences for the meeting. For its part, the 9th house symbolizes higher principles such as law and ethics. Needless to say, any moral dimension of international relations was absent from the meeting which was instead dominated by blunt, realist political logic.
I’ve read that some commentators may have thought the clash may have been scripted or a pre-planned ambush by one or both of the parties as a way of avoiding making the deal. That is possible of course given Rahu and Neptune’s association with deception. However, the alignment of an afflicted Mercury to the Ascendant also suggests confusion, as if the meeting may have unfolded in unexpected ways. For the moment, we will have to leave open the question about the relative importance of intentional deception vs confused crossed-wires from this Mercury-Rahu-Neptune alignment.
The Way Forward
While I am reluctant to make any definitive predictions based on this combined relationship chart, it is possible we could see a modest rapprochement between Trump and Zelenskiy in the coming weeks. If the relationship was going to improve, we would expect to see some strong Jupiter transits to key planets like the Sun or Moon. Alternatively, some outer planet alignments with natal benefics like Jupiter, Mercury or Venus could also bring some constructive developments.
To that end, Jupiter will form a favorable 60 degree alignment with the Sun in late March and early April, just as retrograde Mercury and Venus in early Pisces are aligning with the Ascendant. Rahu and Neptune will still be in close proximity in early Pisces and could still create uncertain or ambiguous situations, however. Nonetheless, the presence of Venus in the 9th house is grounds for some optimism as the influence of Rahu and Neptune could be channeled towards more positive outcomes. Of course, the Jupiter-Sun alignment (=right action, forgiveness) will also help in this regard.
But any improvement may prove to be temporary as Saturn enters Pisces in April and May. Saturn will therefore align with the Ascendant while still in close conjunction with Rahu and Neptune. Any progress that may occur in late March may be more vulnerable to disappointment as we go further into April.
Moreover, once Saturn and Neptune station retrograde in July, these two planets will approach another alignment with the Ascendant in the late summer and early fall. This is likely to be another difficult time for the US-Ukraine relationship.
