Trump Entrenched: Asteroid Troemper Turns Retro

Editor’s note: we are delighted to publish this article by Alex Miller, with thanks to Alex and his website, Alex’s Asteroid Astrology, an incomparable resource for asteroid-related astrology. There you’ll find in-depth astrological analyses of breaking events, as well as the astrological meanings of many mythic named asteroids.]

On Wednesday, May 22, a White House meeting on proposed infrastructure legislation between Democratic leadership and Donald Trump imploded in under five minutes when the President berated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, taking them to task about ongoing congressional investigations into his conduct, motivations, and finances. Trump threatened a total lack of legislative action so long as the investigations continue, then proceeded to the Rose Garden for an open-air airing of his grievances before the press.

The President’s latest meltdown in an ongoing series was well timed celestially, as May 22 was the very day that his cosmic referent, asteroid Troemper, came to its station, turning retrograde in the company of Saturn and Pluto, a combination focused on exacting punishments and penalties (Saturn) for criminal acts (Pluto). Adding fuel to the fire was Troemper’s exact conjunction with the USA’s natal Pluto at 27 Capricorn, highlighting the fast-developing power struggle between the executive and legislative branches, as Trump attempts to stonewall Congress by ignoring or undermining their legitimate oversight role, constitutionally mandated.

It’s been a bad week (again) for the administration, with several judicial smack-downs of Trump’s obstructionist ways, in refusing to turn over documents or allow White House personnel to appear before Congress. That same day U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos rejected a request by Trump and other family members to block subpoenas issued by Democrats on the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees for Deutsche Bank and Capital One. The requested documents include tax returns, evidence of suspicious activity and any internal communications regarding Trump and his ties to foreign individuals or businesses.

Just two days prior, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta upheld a congressional subpoena seeking President Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting firm, arguing that Congress is well within its rights to investigate potential illegal behavior by a president—even without launching a formal impeachment inquiry. Judge Mehta took the extra step of denying the president’s request for a stay pending appeal, stating that the likelihood of his ruling being overturned by the higher court was remote.

Trump had also instructed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to refuse to turn over his tax returns to Congress despite a clear provision in law mandating this disclosure, citing a supposed lack of legislative purpose for the request. But The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that a draft IRS memo written last fall concluded that the Treasury Secretary’s “obligation to disclose return and return information would not be affected by the failure of a tax writing committee” to give a reason for the request. The “only basis [for] the agency’s refusal to comply with a committee’s subpoena would be the invocation of the doctrine of executive privilege.” A blindsided Mnuchin, supposedly unaware of the memo’s existence before the Post story, backpedaled on an immediate response while the matter is looked into.

The putative spur to Trump’s hissy fit and subsequent Rose Garden diatribe was the revelation earlier that day that Speaker Pelosi had accused Trump of being “engaged in a cover-up” of his possibly illegal behaviors. But the suggestion that this show of pique wasn’t planned was belied by the fact that no chair for the President had been set in the meeting room, clearly signaling he did not intend to remain long, and the erection of previously printed placards in the Rose Garden venue, proclaiming that he had been cleared by the Mueller investigation.

Trump and AG William Barr have been falsely asserting that the Mueller Report establishes the President’s innocence, both on collision (which was an issue not investigated by Mueller, who states only that he cannot prove a criminal “conspiracy”, but chronicles some 140 instances of suspicious contacts between Trump Campaign officials and Russia) and obstruction (for which Mueller specially states he cannot exonerate the President, then details ten incidents which may qualify as obstruction).

During his “unplanned” Rose Garden temper tantrum, Trump continued to whitewash his record and laud his own character, comically stating that he is “the most transparent President ever” (he is the only presidential candidate since Nixon not to release his tax returns; he refused to speak with Mueller in person for his investigation; he has instructed his staff not to cooperate with congressional subpoenas for documents, nor to allow any to testify); that he doesn’t “do cover-ups” (despite being an unindicted co-conspirator in the hush money payoff to Stormy Daniels two weeks before the 2016 election, to conceal her story of their affair); and complaining that the Democrats keep raising the specter of “the I-word” (would that be Incompetence? or Imbecility?).

Even as Donald Trump melted down outside the White House, his celestial referent came to a grinding halt and reversed motion, heading into a three-month retrograde period symbolizing going back over old ground, repositioning, entrenchment, and reversal. Troemper is spending most of the year in the company of Saturn and Pluto, a pair of fellow travelers not inclined to take his guff lightly, or to give him a pass when he oversteps his bounds. Chafing at the restrictions, limitations, and criticism of Saturn, terrified by the potential for utter destruction and annihilation posed by Pluto, Trump finds himself yet again in an untenable position. And the details of the chart for the day of Troemper’s station well portray the dilemma he faces.

Like any eclipse, return, or station chart, Troemper’s retrograde can be read as emblematic, not just of the day itself, but of the ensuing period, until the next station occurs in September. The energies continue to be modified by the ongoing movements of the bodies involved, but the framework of the station chart itself (or eclipse or return chart) remains until replaced by the next recurrence of the cycle. In this case, Troemper is unusual in that it won’t break ranks from Saturn and Pluto throughout the period. Despite Troemper’s much faster average orbital speed (3.63 years as opposed to 30 for Saturn and 248 for Pluto), with all three bodies slowing for their respective stations, it’s essentially a dead heat for months.

So we can be certain that the stresses and strains of Saturn and Pluto with Troemper will continue, as Trump feels the walls closing in and his forward momentum halted. Pluto can be a morass, an unscalable pit; Saturn constricts and sets boundaries—neither can be reasoned with, cajoled or subverted. If we take a step both back and forward, the symbolism of this grouping is quite stunning, and quite literal.

In and of itself, Saturn/Pluto can convey the image of a corrupt (Pluto) president (Saturn), a power play (Pluto) in government (Saturn), and the destruction (Pluto) of societal rules and norms (Saturn); all of which apply in one way or another to the present situation. But this general description is given cosmic specificity and endorsement by asteroid Troemper’s extended conjunction with them, identifying Donald Trump as the executive in question.

This grouping, but particularly Saturn at 20 Capricorn, is squared by asteroid Requiem at 20 Libra. Requiem is named for the funeral mass for the dead, and functions well as a death indicator. But it also represents major change or loss in general, as well as adding a sense of special commemoration, possibly even celebration, to a passing, transformation or alteration. It could conceivably refer to the end of Trump’s presidency.

The venue for the infrastructure meeting-that-wasn’t is perfectly portrayed by asteroid Whitehouse at 22 Gemini, which connects to asteroids for all the major players on the day. Troemper is in inconjunct to Whitehouse, an aspect denoting a need for adjustment, while asteroid Nancy (for Speaker Pelosi) conjoins it from 26 Gemini. It may be Trump’s house, but it’s Nancy’s playing field. Asteroid Schommer (closest to Leader Schumer) at 24 Aquarius is trine Whitehouse, putting Schumer on the scene as well; the close trine to Nancy shows the easy, supportive alliance between them.

Whitehouse/Nancy is conjoined by asteroid Lachesis, exactly conjunct Whitehouse. Lachesis is named for the Greek Fate who determines the span of life, and she functions as an emblem of ending or termination, as well as the setting of limits. With Requiem/Saturn and now Whitehouse/Lachesis, there is a recurrent theme of the ending of a presidency. Nancy here suggests that the Speaker has a role to play in this.

Schommer is conjoined by Damocles and asteroid Achilles, at 28 and 27 Aquarius. Damocles represents the doom hanging overhead, while Achilles points up flaws, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Again, Schumer has the chance to personify these energies via his celestial counterpart Schommer, and Pelosi is right there to back him up, in the trine from Nancy.

Whitehouse is also opposed by Jupiter and asteroid Rosa, at 21 and 18 Sagittarius. Rosa confirms the Rose Garden as the particular part of the White House in use, while Jupiter confirms the political nature of the statements made there. Jupiter of course also implies bluster, hyperbole and overreach, and for those who are into minor aspects, note that it’s exactly decile (36 degrees) to Troemper, perhaps prompting his overreaction.

And it “just so happens” that Whitehouse/Lachesis is also exactly conjunct Donald Trump’s natal Sun, with Jupiter exactly conjunct his natal Moon! Talk about taking things personally!

In a cosmic pile-on, that Whitehouse-Jupiter opposition becomes a T-Square with Neptune conjoined asteroid Karma at 18 and 17 Pisces. Neptune squared Whitehouse suggests some confusion of focus, debilitation, and lack of drive or will, as well as practiced deception, duplicity or misdirection.

Karma here indicates a fated quality to the event or timeframe, a period of coming to account for prior deeds. Jupiter acts to inflate these energies and adds politics to the mix, also elevating the judiciary to a position of prime importance in the struggle at hand. Opposed Whitehouse, judicial rulings are likely to be antagonistic to the Oval Office’s agenda.

Several other patterns and pairings should be noted. May 22 was also the day of the Sun’s annual conjunction with asteroid Washingtonia, representing the nation’s capital and the federal government generally. Conjunct the Sun at 1 Gemini, this is the focus of the period—how does government function when one branch has gone berserk? Does the constitutional framework the Founders left us have the chops to deal with an executive run amok, or do new curbs to presidential power need to be enacted for the future? An increasingly lawless administration highlights these questions. Sun/Washingtonia is joined by Mercury at 3 Gemini, bringing the press and media into focus for the time as well.

These bodies square asteroids Bilk and Osiris at 0 and 3 Virgo, with asteroid America running ahead a bit at 10. Osiris is yet another death or change indicator; paired with Bilk, it could refer to an end to matters of fraud or deception, particularly of a financial nature, but also in relation to the country at large with both Washingtonia and America connected to them.

Bilk’s square to the Sun puts suspect financial dealings in the spotlight, while Osiris squared Washingtonia is the third indicator in this chart of a major end or termination of a political/governmental nature. America is widely squared Washingtonia, suggesting continued stress between the nation’s people and their government.

Uranus and Venus conjoin from 4 and 9 Taurus, in trine to America, indicative of a shock to the country’s values, or a shattering of norms of decency and social convention. This could also refer to a rebellion or uprising (Uranus) among women (Venus), an awakening (Uranus also) of their principles, morals and ethics (all Venus). When Troemper comes to its direct station at 11 Capricorn in September, it will fill in a Grand Trine with these points, once again personalizing these energies to the President.

Mars and asteroid Nemesis conjoin at 4 and 9 Cancer, in a pairing which is exactly sextile that of Uranus and Venus. The insinuation is that the conflicts (Mars) inherent in the period will prove a defeat or ruin (Nemesis) for someone, as yet to be determined. Asteroid Nancy at 26 Gemini is within orb of Mars, perhaps signaling Pelosi as the leader (Mars) of the fight (also Mars). Mars and Nemesis also straddle The Donald’s natal Mercury at 8 Cancer; his angry (Mars), unhinged (Uranus in sextile) rhetoric (Mercury) could prove his downfall (Nemesis).

Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy summer!

Alex Miller

Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .