Much has been made by the Right of the discovery of several documents with classified markings in Joe Biden’s possession, dating from his time as Vice President in the Obama administration, ecstatically drawing equivalency with Donald Trump’s ongoing document difficulties. While any breach of security of this nature is a serious matter, the two cases couldn’t be more different.
Donald Trump willfully absconded with more than 300 documents, later denied his possession of them, refused requests and ignored a subpoena for their return, then sued (unsuccessfully) to get them back when the FBI executed a lawful search and removed them from their Mar-a-Lago storage closet. None of Trump’s other residences have been searched.
Joe Biden’s possession of less than two dozen documents was apparently inadvertent, if sloppy; the National Archives was notified immediately upon their discovery and they were returned the next day, after which voluntary searches were pursued at other Biden offices and his residence, which turned up a handful of additional documents, duly surrendered.
That said, the nuances of these cases are unlikely to penetrate to most Americans, giving Republicans free reign to indulge in as much “whataboutism” as they like, leaving a distinct aura of “they all do it” behind. Politically, the discovery and the subsequent mismanagement of the White House’s delayed disclosure of it to the public couldn’t come at a worse time, just as the Justice Department ramps up its investigations into Trump’s more egregious offences, which could include criminal changes. One shouldn’t affect the other, but that’s in a perfect world in which we do not reside.
That both men violated the Presidential Records Act of 1978 seems clear, and exposure to criminal prosecution will likely come down to intent. From what we know, Trump is guilty of this, Biden is not. The PRA mandates that any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA (the National Archives and Records Administration) at the end of the administration. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Special Counsels to investigate both incidents.
I have earlier dealt with various aspects of the Trump documents saga, from the initial reporting on his mishandling of official records while in office last winter, to the FBI search last summer. In those articles, I used asteroids Records, Page, Forman (for “forms”) and Memoria (for “memos”) to illustrate the celestial connection, and we’ll continue with those going forward. Mercury is of course the planetary energy most associated with documents.
As an astrologer, it’s the juxtaposition of these stories, within months of each other, that raises eyebrows. Surely something must be going on with the US chart, but what?
First step is to check the placements of the above asteroids in the Independence Day chart, and that’s fairly instructive. With natal Mercury at 24 Cancer opposed natal Pluto at 27 Capricorn, there’s definitely the potential for criminality (Pluto) in matters related to documents (Mercury), and a T-Square with asteroid America at 27 Libra makes this of national concern. With America is natal asteroid Forman at 28 Libra, doubling down on the theme of forms and documents. Oddly, asteroid House is here, too, at 25 Libra – perhaps a presentiment, almost a quarter millennium earlier, that these document infractions would be tangled up in private residences, with classified material found at the homes of both Trump and Biden.
Then, too, natal asteroid Page at 5 Gemini conjoins natal Uranus at 8 Gemini, suggesting some level of controversy (Uranus) related to official documents. Both conjoin the 12 Gemini Descendant, adding angular force and emphasis. Natal asteroid Memoria at 6 Pisces is embedded at station, turning retrograde two days after the signing, and a square to Uranus reiterates the sense that unorthodox or unconventional (both Uranus) handling of documents (Page, Memoria) could be controversial.
Natal asteroid Records, perhaps the most germane of the lot (appearing as it does in the title of the Presidential Records Act, being violated, and the National Archives and Records Administration, charged with preventing such violations), rests in seeming isolation at 16 Taurus, but a trine to natal Neptune at 22 Virgo indicates that there could be connections with secrecy, espionage, perhaps even leading to imprisonment, all Neptune concerns.
So we have a cosmic set-up for the importance of documents to the national life, but why is this flaring right now? Why are two presidents under investigation for violations of the PRA at the same time?
The answer would seem to be, Pluto and eclipses. Now back at its natal degree of 27 Capricorn, in addition to undergoing its critical Return phase, Pluto is further raking the US over the coals by its concomitant square to natal America. And from its retrograde station in April 2022 at 28 Capricorn, Pluto was exactly squared Forman, raising the issue of criminal acts regarding the nation’s official papers.
Pluto’s role is to scour deep, probing past surface appearances to reveal the hidden truths of a situation and expose them to the light of day. It illuminates motivations, scandal, abuses, misuse of power or authority, all with a view toward cleansing and releasing toxins that have built up in a system. So Pluto square America/Forman is bringing to light lapses and loopholes in the US policies regarding official documents, and asking for an overhaul or fix to procedures.
And this could take awhile; Pluto won’t be done with the exact square to Forman until the fall of 2023. In the meantime, two Solar Eclipses are focused on the nation’s Forman as well.
The Solar Eclipse of October 25, 2022 at 2 Scorpio fell within orb of Forman, and the subsequent Solar Eclipse of 19 April 2023 will conjoin it even more closely, just a degree away at 29 Libra. This could be a critical time for resolution of these issues, either via criminal prosecution or the enacting of further legislation, protocols or safeguards designed to prevent such lapses in future.
The timing squares with events on the ground as well; eclipses are most active within three months before or after their occurrence, when often a circumstance will arise which is symbolic of their meaning. The FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and the Biden White House’s confession of his infraction came roughly equidistant to the October 25th eclipse, one two and half months before, the other two and a half months after.
Also in that interim eclipse period came perhaps the most impactful celestial jolt, namely the Lunar Eclipse on 8 November 2022, Election Day, which at 16 Taurus fell exactly on the US natal asteroid Records! This energized the role of the Presidential Records Act and the National Archives and Record Administration in the national psyche to an advanced degree. A repeat performance in this region occurs May 5, 2023, with another Lunar Eclipse at 14 Scorpio, opposing Records, again affording a prime opportunity for further developments in this arena. Not only that, but transit Uranus has been crisscrossing natal Records all year, infusing it with controversy and highlighting nonconformist behaviors related to national documents.
Having set the stage, let’s take a look at the particulars of key dates in the Biden documents saga. The initial cache was discovered on 2 November 2022 when a lawyer was packing up documents from the Penn Biden Center in Washington DC and noticed one with classified markings. NARA was notified the same day, who retrieved the documents on the 3rd and notified its inspector general, who referred the matter to the Justice Department on November 4th. On November 14, 2022, AG Garland assigned U.S. Attorney John Lausch to conduct an initial investigation and on January 5, 2023, Lausch advised Garland that a Special Counsel was warranted. The situation became public knowledge on January 9, 2023, when the White House confirmed a report by CBS News that classified material had been found. On January 12, Garland announced he was appointing a Special Counsel to investigate “possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records,” and named Robert Hur to oversee the investigation.
On November 2, 2022, asteroid Records at 9 Libra was exactly squared by asteroid Icarus at 9 Capricorn, emblematic of rash, reckless acts heedless of the consequences. This seems more than appropriate to the circumstances, with classified material usually contained within folders that are clearly printed with vibrant red and yellow markings, and specific classifications marked at the top and bottom of each page of the document. In short, they’re not easy to miss, and retention indicates sloppy procedures at a minimum, a reckless disregard for the rules or criminal intent at maximum. Confirming the connection to Biden and national security concerns are asteroids America and Bida (our celestial referent for Joseph Biden) at 1 and 3 Libra, conjoined Records, and asteroid Jose (a Spanish form of “Joseph”) at 0 Cap, conjunct Icarus.
Asteroid Josephina (a feminine variant) at 27 Cancer opposes Pluto at 26 Capricorn, setting up the potential for criminal charges or scandal, while asteroid Josefa (another feminine form) at 22 Leo opposes both Saturn at 18 Aquarius and Damocles at 25, suggesting a looming threat (Damocles) and the possibility of penalties enacted (Saturn) for Joe Biden (Josefa).
The Sun (illumination, spotlighting) at 10 Scorpio conjoins Mercury (documents) at 6 Scorpio, Forman (“forms”) at 11 Scorpio, and asteroid Washingtonia (for DC, the locale of the initial set) at 18 Scorpio, all of which opposes Uranus at 17 Taurus, which is itself conjunct the US Records at 16 Taurus, sparking the new controversy (Uranus).
The cosmic situation deteriorates further for Biden by the time we reach the January 9, 2023 disclosure. Asteroid Jose is now exactly conjunct Pluto at 27 Capricorn, and exactly squared asteroid Records at 27 Libra, focusing on the circumstances with laser-like precision. Still accompanying Records are America and Bida at 20 and 25 Libra, and opposing Pluto/Jose for a T-Square is Josephina, now at 22 Cancer. A Grand Cross formed with TNO Eris at 23 Aries indicates squabbling, division and strife regarding the matter.
The Sun at 18 Capricorn is just entering the zone of this T-Square, and would continue to move forward, providing more illumination of the facts as further disclosures were made through the week, and a Special Counsel appointed. More to the point, with the Sun is an exact Mercury retrograde conjunction with asteroid Karma at 14 Capricorn. This suggests a focus (Sun) on the need to review and revisit (retrograde) former acts and decisions (Karma) relating to documents (Mercury), with possible consequences to follow (Karma again).
An opposition from Memoria conjunct Mars at 3 and 8 Gemini to Forman conjunct Washingtonia at 9 and 10 Sagittarius prefigures the fights (Mars) which will undoubtedly ensue in the capital (Washingtonia) over the use and misuse of official documents (Memoria, Forman).
Natally, Joe Biden has asteroid Forman at 29 Libra, just one degree off the nation’s own, so what affects one, affects the other, and both are caught up in the Solar Eclipse sequences of 2022/23. As well, natal Page at 11 Scorpio opposes the US Records and is activated by both Lunar Eclipses during the period, while natal asteroid Records at 21 Cancer is at station, indicating an outsized importance for documents in Joe Biden’s life story.
Natally, Donald Trump has asteroid Page at 2 Cancer conjunct Mercury at 8 Cancer and opposed Washingtonia at 4 Capricorn, perhaps the source of his stubborn insistence that these documents are somehow “his,” and not the property of the nation (Washingtonia). Asteroid Memoria at 6 Leo conjoins Pluto at 10 Leo, suggesting potential for criminal activity related to documents (which Trump certainly has in spades, regardless of the outcome here, given his tax and insurance frauds), while asteroid Records at 18 Aries squares asteroid Nemesis at 16 Cancer, a sign of ruin or destruction, often self-created.
As a simple, self-evident matter, an open-and-shut case, the legal position against Trump for improper use and possession of classified material and obstruction of justice has always been the surest route to successful prosecution and comeuppance for the former president.
Or it was, until the Biden situation muddied the waters….
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 .
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