Besides some pernicious regulatory rollbacks and several unenlightened judicial appointments, the first year in the reign of Disgraceful Donnie brought us mostly his obnoxious and inappropriate verbiage, bragging about himself and imperiously attacking any who didn’t bow down to his greatness. But now that we are well into year two, the defiler of the Oval Office has thrown off whatever minimal shackles might have held him back. He has gotten increasingly comfortable and ever more daring in exercising his presidential prerogatives. Not even his top advisors have a say in restraining his impulses anymore, and subordinates are vulnerable to his vicious rage attacks or even loss of employment if they offer less than worshipful praise and wholehearted support. Even worse, his short-sighted narcissism and self-serving compulsions are now bleeding unhindered into substantial policies – economic, environmental, and foreign – and the extensive damage is piling up at an alarming rate.

Indeed, the momentum of his recklessness in both policy and behavior is now spiraling out of control. The recent tax cuts for the rich (and another one is planned in the near future) are hollowing out the Treasury, leaving little for the rainy-day fund we will clearly need for the next downturn. For those not blinded or simply cowed by Trump’s snake oil bluster, the mounting inflation induced by his tariffs and the short-sighted melting of the economy’s regulatory glue into gold can only signal some form of disaster down the road. Moreover, conducting foreign policy by gratuitous insult and impulsive pandering is also likely to result in a major calamity. With thoughtless abandon, Trump insults allies at random moments and even brags about lying to a foreign leader. Again with little thought or plan, he has increased the stature of North Korea’s dictator by agreeing to meet, while cravenly standing down in the face of multi-layered Russian aggression against the US.   The full story of his Manchurian presidency is yet to be told.

In the meantime, the last remaining adults in the administration are either being jettisoned (Tillerson and possibly McMaster) or co-opted (Kelly). Bringing Mini-Trump Mike Pompeo into the State Department will only fan the flames of Trump’s already dangerous belligerent instincts. And the rumor that anti-UN war-monger John Bolton might replace H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor is nothing short of horrifying. If that nightmare comes to pass, expect a foreign policy with one setting: aggression. Diplomacy will become the lost art of the last Century.

As I have mentioned in previous writing, Trump is currently under a Uranus transit trine to his natal Mars/solar arc progressed Uranus (26Leo47). This transit runs from February 26 through March 19 and is intensifying Despicable Donnie’s already robust tendency for impulsive combativeness, impervious to the demands or concerns of others. During this period, we have seen him agree, with no previous planning or discussion, to meet with Kim Jong Un in the near future; precipitously fire Rex Tillerson by tweet; and randomly and unexpectedly put forth draconian tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, potentially sparking a trade war and a tsunami of economic dislocation. We can clearly see the combination of the sudden, unexpected and anti-traditional heedlessness of Uranus combined with the aggression and impatience of Mars. The only good news is that this particularly potent activation of the solar arc Uranus/Mars progression is over in a few days (March 19). The bad news is that this progression, which intensifies his generally impulsive and pugnacious attitude, will continue to wax in strength through July 1. It can be triggered by other, briefer transits, although none will be as long lasting or dangerous as the current three-week Uranus trine.

As of March 20, the 2018 Spring Equinox chart will go into effect, describing conditions for the coming year. Drawn for Washington, DC, and therefore specifically impacting the US, the Spring chart has Saturn (8Capricorn29) exactly conjunct the Descendant (8Capricorn20). By transit, Saturn will remain in that position through May 20, and will be further intensified by transits from the Sun, Mars, and Mercury from March 28 through April 5.

Essentially, Saturn conjunct the Descendant suggests trouble with partners, allies, and known adversaries. During the entire Saturn station from March 20 through May 20, we may see burdensome and stressful interactions and challenges, causing upset and sorrow in the US. Certainly, one possibility would be the harsh unfolding of an escalating trade war due to Trump’s ill-conceived tariff action. Expanding trouble with Russia is another possibility. Again, March 28 through April 5 is likely to be particularly difficult.

The current Saturn station is also opposite Trump’s Mercury (8Cancer52), as well as well as conjunct the Sun (8Capricorn28) in the chart of our new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo (12/30/63).  Both men will be feeling the strain of these unfolding and challenging events through mid-May.

And finally, the more combative stance of the US on the world stage also shows up in the US chart with the transit of Pluto quincunx US Mars from February 22 through April 24, likely further set off by some aggressive action with the Mars/Pluto conjunction on April 25 to 26.  The current posture on tariffs may be seen in connection with this transit.

Of greater concern is the return of this Pluto transit quincunx US Mars (21Gemini23) in 2019. We will see this energy again during much of January 2019, but more significantly from June 24 to August 5, 2019, when it will be greatly intensified by the concurrent transit of Uranus semisquare US Mars from June 15 to September 9. We can expect extremely belligerent and militant action coming from the US during that period (late June to early September 2019) with likely extremely negative consequences for the country in response. This difficult period shows up clearly by the stationing transit of Saturn square US Saturn (August through October 2019) and the progression of US Moon square natal US Saturn (14Libra48) from mid-August to mid-September 2019. These configurations point to a time of decreasing reputation and power on the world stage (US 10^th house Saturn), as well as a general time of sorrow and loss in the US (Moon/Saturn).  Whatever it is that unfolds during that period, it will be remembered as the result of a manipulated and seduced populace allowing an unhinged tin pot dictator squatting rights in the Oval Office, with a flaccid Congress unwilling or unable to restrain him.

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