Trump: A Man Overshadowed by Shadows
by Jude Cowell
The partial horoscope you see below centers on the 12th house of Donald J. Trump born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York. Assuming that his birth time of 10:54 am edt is accurate, we find a Leo cusp making the Sun ruler of his 12th house with karmic Pluto and warrior Mars posited there in the house of the Unconscious. In a different house system, there may even be a bit of the Moon there as well through the last degree/s of Cancer, so I'll include that just in case and you can see what you think of its potentials. Of course, mundanely speaking, the 12th is also the house (department) of Politics, Self-Undoing, Karma, Behind-the-Scenes, and Large Institutions.
So now, if we all hold hands and tip toe, it may be safe to take a ginger step even deeper into the 12th house of the secretive Donald Trump by considering the 12th house influence of the Sun and Moon along with his Mars and Pluto posited there; and please note that all of these planetary energies are often displaced onto other people via Trump's transparent attempts to deflect accusations away from his nibs himself:
In his book Houses of the Horoscope: An introduction, Alan Oken names the micro-cosmic 12th the "I Am the Universe" house and says that it is "the custodian of the truth" which contains both hidden treasures and weaknesses. Plus, Oken notes that the 12th house is the place of hospitals, prisons, monasteries, dungeons, and insane asylums. One assumes that the US Congress must be included along with zoos. And since primal Pluto is the planet of Psychology, we should also note that Trump's natal Pluto in prideful Leo is unaspected and thus its influence is detached from the rest of his psyche and cannot moderate other components of his nature--neither can Pluto regenerate them. So manipulative wealth-hoarder Pluto, an 'ivory tower' isolationist, stands alone in Trump's Unconscious and suggests that he is a man "overshadowed by shadows" (Tierney), a condition which renders him consciously unaware of his most primal urges, desires, and motivations, and therefore leaves his darker nature intact and in charge.
Distorted by years of repression, Pluto in 12th house denotes intense passions, primal fears, and obsessions that for Donald Trump are unevolved because his Pluto is unaspected and detached from his other planets. He may often feel that his ego will be overpowered by others unless he fights 'tooth and nail' for he must win at any cost just to survive. Compulsively he tries one defense then another in an effort to defend himself from attack even though the gained relief may be only temporary and such 'solutions' usually lead to bigger problems later on. Is Trump a bearer of our Collective Shadow? Pluto in 12th says so, and reveals the presence of demonic forces of the unresolved 'sewage' of mankind. Tragically, this supports the theory now being heard in our public discourse that we Americans have the president we deserve.
That his natal Pluto has no regenerative function with his other planets says that shadowy facets of his personality are never confronted in meaningful ways, therefore, Trump is as he has been and will be. "Let Trump be Trump," say his fans. But unfortunately this gives Underworld Pluto even more power to sabotage and manipulate in dark and hate-filled ways.
As for Pluto (or Scorpio) associated with the 12th house, a famous bard said it best for he 'enjoyed' such a placement himself: "Hell is empty! And all the devils are here." - William Shakespeare.
And this American suggests that many of them have infiltrated Washington DC, led by Donald Trump.
Of course, poor self esteem tends to inspire self-defeating behaviors and spark the images of martyrdom playing in his head as he reacts to current criticism as if his (shaming) parents are on his case. For on an unconscious level, they are--and these are life-and-death matters to Mr. Trump whose fight for survival goes on via the difficult situations that he himself creates from a deep-seated sense of guilt for being born. And this solar placement indicates feelings of being 'squashed' by his father who probably treated Donald's existence as insignificant. Note that Trump's natal Saturn (father; authority figures; restriction) in detriment in Moon-ruled, shell-building Cancer (mother; family; self-protection) supports this with tendencies toward difficult family contacts, depressing conditions within the family, emotional hypersensitivity, lack of personal security, neurotic reactions, materialism, and weight gain (Sakoian).
Moon and the 12th house: Maybe?
With very early degrees of Leo on the 12th cusp in the Placidus System, a possible Lunar association with the Unconscious 12th house in a different house system suggests a very private person though you'd hardly know this from Trump's long-held desire to be in the public spotlight. Actually, I've wondered of late how he could possibly have expected that gaining the White House with its resulting brighter spotlight would keep hidden certain of his actions and relationships secret. Oh well, that's another of the many paradoxes of Donald Trump and of course, the Moon is associated with publicity, good and bad! As for a possible 12th house Lunar influence, it indicates that feelings are often blocked and he tends to seek refuge in habitual activities performed automatically. One thinks of buckets of fried chicken eaten in bed as he watches TV personalities who support rather than criticize him. "Be strong, don't cry!" may have been heard from mother back in the day and any dependency on others probably frightens him on an emotional level.
And so it seems that little Donald may have been forced to care for himself in various ways due to an unavailable or distant mother and thus has learned substitution behaviors and activities for the nurturing he did not receive (his natal Moon conjunct the Saturnian South Node speaks to early separation from or rejection by mother--or the fear of it, resulting in rejection issues that may include feelings of physical inadequacy).
It has been reported that Mr. Trump spends hours with his mirror every morning tending to his personal toilette which includes a hair routine and Moon influencing 12th house denotes one who is compulsive about maintaining his caring-for-self rituals. To me, he favors someone who cuts their own hair because he doesn't trust anyone else to do it his way!
Now on a more positive note, Moon associated with the 12th house reveals a person with exceptional intuitive ability ('reading people') which is very useful in Politics and in public relations as he uses rhetoric to sway the masses ('the public' - also represented by the Moon). In fact, he used this ability to read public sentiment and got himself elected with it through reading emotional undercurrents. This intuitive ability is the primary reason I include a 12th house Moon here, that and Trump's deep emotional need for constant publicity and his issues with women.
Yet also, Mr. Trump seems to be confused over his relationship to women and has distorted ideas about them and about motherhood. Multiple homes and restlessness are suggested here due to a fear of 'settling down' and a deep distrust of others is also shown by a 12th house Lunar placement--distrust which was probably engendered by early emotional insecurities and strains.
Mars in 12th House: Anger Issues
Besides having Pleiadean stars of rage and passion at his Taurus Midheaven, motivational Mars, planet of action and energy, is in 12th house indicating that secret plots and hidden enemies are involved in his life and much work is carried on behind the scenes (including the hiring of 'private eyes'). Unconscious anger can be misdirected or displaced onto others while secret relationships, compulsive romantic affairs, and/or unacknowledged infatuations and fantasies may be prevalent. Passive-aggressive behavior and acts of revenge are implied as are hidden fears and paranoia--often concerning secrets or scandals which may become public and embarrass or humiliate. This "plumb the depths of the psyche" placement of Mars would be advantageous except for the non-involvement of his detached Pluto mentioned above. Still, Donald Trump is capable of plumbing the depths of other people's psyches although he keeps this handy skill as hidden as possible while using it to avenge himself against those he considers his 'enemies' (real or imagined). Note that the indications of the Moon possibly associated with his 12th house concurs via her intuitive ability.
Mars in 12th house also describes Trump's temper tantrums and enraged overreactions to outside events that don't go his way and to people who get in his way, and yes, again this placement points toward parental complexes instilled in Donald during childhood and adolescence when he probably heard such things as, Be a Man! or, You have no right to be angry! Of course, with his Mars rising in egotistical Leo, plus, the chaotic behavior of his natal Uranus in duplicitous Gemini, we know that angry is exactly what he was and is almost constantly. Yet 12th house Mars prefers to avoid open conflict, thus his squishy way of firing people such as former FBI Director James Comey--because Trump fears being challenged and feels inadequate to successfully defend himself. This placement also indicates one who sends others out to defend and/or speak for him, such as his old pal Rudy Guiliani and press secretary Sarah Sanders (often kept 'out of the loop' so that lies can be told with a more-or-less straight face).
As for acts of revenge, Donald Trump was apparently born with royal Regulus rising, a star with a caution to avoid taking revenge, otherwise all that has been gained will be taken away. This caution isn't proving to be one the retaliating Mr. Trump seems able to observe and we'll see at some point whether its dire warning comes to pass. After all, it's a natural law that what goes up must come down.
Now without going into too much detail, we should mention that a 12th house Mars also indicates a potential for sexual trauma in childhood leading to sexuality issues aggravated by the Be a Man! damage he may have internalized. In other words, his aggressive desire nature was squelched but has run rampant every chance it got. Now I have previously stated that the recent 'raid' of Dr. Bornstein's office of Trump's medical records came once the doctor publicly mentioned that Trump takes a hair loss drug, Propecia, with its known side effect of causing impotence, a 12th house fear of lusty Mars. His rising 12th house Mars in romantic, proud Leo must have been enraged by this anti-macho disclosure!
Plus, the Martian placement also suggests that Trump may suffer from disturbing nightmares (is this why he's said to sleep very little?) which range from aggression to acts of violence (undoubtedly intensified by his 12th house Pluto, planet of rape and the Underworld). He certainly has suggested that acts of violence be committed by others during Campaign 2016 and has identified with them himself from the bully pulpit of the White House.
Still, Mr. Trump may not consciously know what he wants until his desires are frustrated and he may be disappointed once he achieves them. That this may include his long-held obsession with occupying the Oval Office I shall leave up to you to decide.
