2025 Presidential Inauguration

[ecosophia]

Despite a flurry of other commitments, I've finished delineating the chart for next Monday's second inauguration of Donald Trump, and posted it as a free public post to my SubscribeStar and Patreon accounts:

SubscribeStar (scroll down a bit)

Patreon

Any of my readers who were expecting Trump's second term to usher in a golden age will be just as disappointed as those who eagerly await the total collapse of the country over the next four years. Trump returns to the White House in a time of tremendous challenges, and he will have to contend with the inertia of a fossilized system and considerable resistance from various sources. The chart suggests some improvement in the condition of working class Americans will take place, and certain other abuses will likely be rectified, but it's going to be a turbulent time domestically and abroad. As wags are saying, only in America can a convicted felon who's driven a garbage truck and flipped burgers at McDonalds hope to rise to the presidency; what remains to be seen is whether Trump can carry out enough of the vitally necessary changes in this nation's affairs to stave off the really ugly future the bad decisions of the last half century have piled up ahead of us.

In the meantime, the stars have given us a snapshot of conditions for the next four years. Hang on to your hats -- it promises to be a wild ride.

Update 20 January 2025:  Trump has now been inaugurated. He put his hand on the Bible at 12:02 PM Eastern time; it takes four minutes on average to shift house cusps one degree, so the chart delineated here will need no revision.

Comments

[brenainn]

Reading it now! I've been waiting, well, four years for this chart. One line caused a question to form in my mind, and if it is too MM-like, I can just ask it then. But,"[t]his chart will be active from the time of inauguration until the completion of Trump’s second term, whether it ends by the inauguration of his successor or by death or incapacity before that time."

The word "incapacity" is what I'm interested in here. I remember some folks calling for Joe Biden to be "removed" from office under the terms of the 25th Amendment. But that is not, strictly speaking, what that does. An incapacitated president remains in office, and his "successor" is only acting president. Would that actually result in a need for a new chart? I seem to recall one MM where you mentioned nations can give themselves a new birthday, so to speak, under better astrological forces, by declaring a new constitution (kind of like the differences between the current "Fifth French Republic" and the previous fourth republic).

[ecosophia]

That's a good question. If there's a swearing-in ceremony, that restarts the clock, but since the 25th Amendment has never been used, I'm far from sure anyone knows how it would be handled. I probably should have written "death or resignation"...

[brenainn]

As far as I know, there's no swearing-in ceremony for an acting president. A little known fact is that the 25th Amendment was twice invoked by George W. Bush. On June 29, 2002, and again on July 21, 2007, Bush explicitly invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment as he was undergoing colonoscopies, and Cheney was officially the Acting President of the United States for a couple hours each time. Biden-Harris did as well for Biden's colonoscopy on November 19, 2021. In fact, I can still recall reading about each invocation at the time (I'm odd like that; US presidential history is one of my favorite subjects). Not much to go on, but no swearing-in was done, nor, I suspect, would it be for a long-term incapacitation. So, I suppose that answers the question?

[brenainn]

Finished it! Whew, the next four years should be interesting! Your interpretation for the 10th House was especially interesting to me, for I have a growing sense that President Trump will die in office. The how of it I don't have a sense of. Is there anything in the chart that might indicate the potential manner (assuming, of course, that the chart is indicating his death in office, and not incapacitation or something else)? That is, assassination, heart attack, etc.?

[brenainn]

I'm wondering if a limited line-item veto might be one realistic possibility, given what the chart is indicating about institutional change and a possible weakening of the legislative branch of government? That is, the proposal to allow the president to veto specific allocations of funding within a bill. Being able to veto certain parts of the budget and other spending bills would 1) greatly enhance the power of the executive while 2) decreasing the power of the Congress.

Re: The 25th Amendment

[(Anonymous)]

So far we've had four instances since 1900 of an incapacitated president holding office:

• Woodrow Wilson after his stroke on October 2, 1919
  
• Franklin Roosevelt in his latter years
  
• Ronald Reagan (second term)
  
• Joe Biden (full term)

The fact that the latter two presidents were after The 25th Amendment supposedly took effect shows how weak that amendment is…even as it has proven useful for when The President needs surgery (again, President Reagan, this time in 1985 during colon cancer surgery). Probably the closest the 25th Amendment came to usefulness when intended was the sudden removal of Biden from the ballot.

In a way, the past two cases of Presidential incapacitation have proven how great powers are able to stay great – by inertia and bureaucratic procedures. Imagine if Russia had had its 1950's military (or Britain actually embraced carriers in the mid-thirties, before Japan and The United States).

– Donald C. Hargraves

Re: The 25th Amendment

[brenainn]

Joe Biden's situation, in particular, is interesting for this purpose. He was clearly never truly in charge, yet JMG's chart for his inauguration was fairly accurate overall. It does seem rather clear, then, that whoever is officially the occupant of the office is the determining factor for these charts. I wonder, though, what a chart might look like for Wilson's wife (who, it appears, ran the White House after his stroke; the vice president considered declaring himself acting president but lacking a clear procedure, he feared the action could cause civil war), Truman on his inauguration as vice president, and so forth.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not excited about indications of drought, but "A scandal involving women or children will become a serious threat to rich and famous people" has me checking my popcorn supplies.

[brenainn]

That part makes me wonder if we won't finally know who went to Epstein's island to rape sex slaves. Or who did what at P. Diddy's parties.

[(Anonymous)]

Kier Starmer already has the Pakistani pedophile rape gangs abusing women and children scandal threatening his hold to power.

[ecosophia]

Yes, but he's not affected by the US inauguration chart...

How far back?

[(Anonymous)]

My own reading tells me that our bad decisions go back about 100 years. Fifty years would only take us to Nixon/Ford. Sixty years would be LBJ. Trump will, without doubt, be hard-pressed. If he can get us disentangled from Ukraine, that would be very worthwhile. If he could get us disentangled from that other lobby, that would be stupendous.

[illyria2001]

No matter what happens, it's bound to be amusing. Personally, I can't wait to see if Vance invokes the 25th amendment if Trump ventures too far out of corporate control

[ecosophian]

A mediocre chart is better than the terrible chart of Biden's inauguration. I am excited about the next four years!

I noticed something interesting: "This chart suggests a significant role for grassroots responses coordinated via the internet." I live near Western North Carolina, and the word around here is that FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene was quite lacking. Most of the assistance came from volunteers they say, so grassroots efforts are already being put into action.

[claire_58]

Hi Ecosophian,
Do you know of anywhere we can get accurate information on what is happening in Western North Carolina?
Thanks,
EKC

[ecosophian]

I'd recommend looking up videos on YouTube, there are many interviews with survivors of Hurricane Helene.
I think one of the videos is titled "Where is FEMA?" You can start there and draw your own conclusions.

[claire_58]

Thanks.

Inaugural Questions

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Could you please expand a bit on this point: Nor is this necessarily the definitive chart; we cannot be sure of the exact time of Trump’s inauguration until he puts his hand on the Bible. Since several planets are very close to the house cusps in this chart, a few minutes one way or another could make a significant difference.

I am curious:

1) Doesn't Trump become President at exactly noon, regardless of the exact swearing-in ceremony time? In that case, why wouldn't everything be based around that 12:00pm time?

2) Even if Trump must be actually sworn in to become President, why would the correct time involve his placing his hand on the Bible instead of his finishing his oath? (I realize that there isn't a huge difference between beginning and end times here--I just don't understand why it is the beginning rather than the end that serves as the reference point)

3) I remember that there was a bit of a fumble in Obama's swearing in, and so he re-took the office the next day or so. In that case, which time should be used as the reference?


Most of this is irrelevant to your overall reading, of course--it just made me curious

Thanks, as always!

Re: Inaugural Questions

[ecosophia]

1) Because it doesn't appear to work that way. No, we don't know why -- nobody's been able to get grant money for the necessary studies.

2) No doubt it would be possible to obsess about this, and work our way to some kind of mathematical mean point between beginning and end of the oath. Since it takes 4 minutes on average for a degree to pass the ascendant, and it would take a variation of several degrees to make a difference, the (ahem) figure of speech I used might be considered adequate by some.

3) It might be interesting to cast a chart for each time, and see which one fits the events of that term more closely.

Re: Inaugural Questions

[(Anonymous)]

We actually have a data point for #3: a reader posted a chart for Joe Biden based on his swearing-in taking place at 11:20 rather than noon. You can review it at https://voxcaelorum.dreamwidth.org/618.html

[(Anonymous)]

Oh--one more question:

Mercury is also placed in this house. Since this is also the house of space travel, the planet of science and technology in it suggests significant national expenditures on a space program

Why would this suggest significant national expenditures on a space program in particular instead of significant expenditure in some other science/technology (e.g. nuclear fusion energy or AI or quantum mechanics or whatever it is that gets the markets excited these days...)?

As an aside, I really love the tag "hail to the orange julius" :)

[ecosophia]

Astrological delineation is a mix of strict rules, educated guesses, and raw intuition. Since Elon Musk is closely allied to Trump, I stand by my prediction.

[ecosophian]

Also, a question! Which date could they potentially (hypothetically) move the presidential inauguration day to in order to produce more favorable astrological circumstances?

[ecosophia]

For best results, it should be placed in early April, so the Sun is exalted in Aries.

[(Anonymous)]

Per a quick google search, Washington was inaugurated on April 30, then all subsequent presidents until FDR were inaugurated on March 4 (except when it fell on a Sunday and they used March 5 instead). The date was changed to January 20 (January 21 if it fell on a Sunday) in 1933.

Is March 4 a more auspicious date than January 20? Was Washington's April 30 date a wise choice? (You've suggested that the founding fathers knew a thing or two about astrological timing.) And would the change in 1933 qualify as some sort of Plutonian influenced decision, and if so, any thoughts as to why it played out that way?

Also, does location in relation to the capitol matter? I never really thought about it before, but Nancy Reagan was a follower of astrology, and the location of the inauguration was changed starting with Reagan from East to West side of capitol, where it has been ever since. Ihe internet says it was for space and crowd control reasons, but would where the oath is taken in relation to the building make any difference?

[mr_nobody1967]

I wonder what the effect would be of moving up the date of the inauguration by one week, placing the Sun in late Capricorn? That, at least, seems like a placement that would be conducive to getting things done (perhaps I'm wrong, my understanding of astrology is limited to the very rudimentary basics).

[(Anonymous)]

As wags are saying, only in America can a convicted felon who's driven a garbage truck and flipped burgers at McDonalds hope to rise to the presidency;



Not only that, but he also beat two women--one a former first lady and the other a vice-president!

New Religiosity

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Does the chart have anything to say about the new religiosity in the US?

Re: New Religiosity

[ecosophia]

Not as far as I can tell. Since we have a legal separation of church and state in this country, presidential inaugurations don't have much religious impact.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you JMG.

"Since the second inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt in 1937, during whose first term the date was changed, the Sun has always been in his detriment in Aquarius at the time of the inauguration—a detail which may have much to do with the troubled state of the executive branch since then."

I slapped myself in the forehead. Of course! Sun is going to be in Aquarius from the middle of January to the middle of February.

When we look back at Sun's position during presidential inaugurations, we see some interesting patterns. During George Washington's first inauguration the Sun was in Aries (April 30), and then for the ones from 1793 to 1933 in Pisces (March 4 usually, March 5 a few times).

I don't know why the people who made the 20th amendment decided to fix January 20 as the date. It would have been easy to set the date a couple of days earlier and have the Sun present on Capricorn.

[ecosophia]

That would definitely be an improvement.

[(Anonymous)]

The inauguration being on January 20 may be Plutonian influence?

[(Anonymous)]

If January 20th is such a sour day astrologically to have an inauguration, what would be a better alternative calendar day?
July 4th?

- Frank K

[ecosophia]

Nah, you want it at a time when the Sun isn't debilitated. Amusingly enough, April Fool's Day would be very auspicious, since the Sun is exalted in Aries from March 22 to April 22.

[(Anonymous)]

I've read your book on Pluto and find it persuasive. Nevertheless, I've learned to pay attention to Pluto as ignoring one of his transits in my own chart proved disastrous.

With that said: The conjunction of Pluto to the Sun with both opposed by Mars looks very much like one guy (Pluto) holding another guy (Sun) from behind while his friend (Mars) sticks a knife in....

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you. I'm grateful that there will probably be no hot war with Russia or Iran.

Get the Led out !

[moops25]

Hi JMG,
Just had to pass comment on your awesome choice of song. One of Zep’s greatest. Let’s just hope Levee’s lyrics aren’t foretelling the years ahead ….. “Cryin’ won’t help ya, prayin’ won’t do ya no good.”

Cheers,
Steve

[boccaderlupo]

I suspect the "true believers" in the Orange One will be as disappointed as the "true believers" who believed Obama would usher in a postracial paradise that would deliver justice, economic and otherwise. The game, as ever, remains the same.

Look forward to the read.

Axé

[lunchboxbike]

Could state governments step up to do some of what the federal government fails to do in this term? This looks like an opportunity for state politicians who want more power.

[(Anonymous)]

Sun semisquare Venus warns of disputes with other countries and economic problems, especially afflicting the entertainment sector of the economy.


Very interesting in terms of U.S. culture / entertainment & 'arts' having a bit of a choke-hold on the world for many decades.
Then there are the recent fires in L.A. and then there are the revelations (beginning with Shirley Temple) of the weirdness
around Hollywood that might be shot through the heart with an arrow.