Shock and Awe

Trump said he wanted to create shock and awe during his first days in office. That tactic corresponds to the planet Uranus’ mythology: God of Lightning and Earthquakes.  We are in a very Uranian time. We just had the new moon in Aquarius, a sign ruled by Uranus, on January 29. The New Moon was followed the next day with a Uranus station - a point at which the planet nearly stands still preparing to turn an about face from retrograde motion to direct motion. A station is a very powerful moment for any planet, and certainly magnifies the Uranian moment we are living.

Hitler employed the tactic of shock and awe as he rolled through Czechoslovakia and Poland.  A quick defeat by overwhelming force is used to cause a physical and psychological impact that leaves the enemy unable to respond. And many of us do feel overwhelmed and many are in despair about how to stop our government from being dismantled - with the help of a non-elected oligarch, Elon Musk.

Also, near the Uranian station, Deep Seek's astonishing advances in AI for a fraction of the cost spent here in the US.  Uranus is very much about the future of technological advances. Deep Seek produced a better product and used an open source code.

But back to the Trump administration:

After the midair airline crash (Uranus is an air sign) last week, the Consoler-in- Chief did not convey sympathy for the 67 people who died.  Without any evidence, he quickly blamed previous Democratic administrations for "not hiring the best and brightest people."  He said that DEI policies were responsible for the midair crash between two white pilots. He is apparently purging all DEI policies he can, with some companies (Target, I am looking at you) agreeing to voluntarily stop the programs.  Others, like Costco, are not.  And Pete Hegseth, the erstwhile former Fox host, is compelling the military to do the same.

On the day after his inauguration, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resigned after intense pressure from Trump crony Elon Musk (who was upset that the FAA had fined his company SpaceX for violating rules around rocket launches). Now, Musk is regulating the regulators - by purchasing an election.

I won't recap all the Trump news - I had 28 pages of notes - after a dozen days in office! But I must comment on one ominous fact- Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, and his six techie bros, age 19-26, have control over the US Department of the Treasury - the payor on all government programs including, Social Security, Medicare, etc.  He has the personal data the government has collected on us, as well as data on his competitors.  He has grown rich on government contracts, now he has control over his competitors.  Neither he or his "team"have security clearance or training in paying the government bills.  National security and Intelligence is at risk. This is a very clear signal that, rather than make life better for MAGA and his followers, Trump is ready to burn down the government.

Congress could stop this.  It will not. It is no accident that this is happening at a time when the United States of America is experiencing a Uranian revolution in conservative institutions (Taurus) and when the country is experiencing Pluto entering the sign of Democracy, Aquarius (ruled by Uranus).  Pluto in Capricorn brought up our shadow side - authoritarianism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia.  Pluto in Capricorn was the breakdown phase.  Eventually, I hope, Aquarius will be the breakthrough phase.  But it takes time.  There is a mad King in the White House, and his minions in Congress, or those who bought him the election, are not going to back down.  At a time of the country's Pluto return and soon, a Uranus return, we have an eerie recreation of the power problems that led to our Revolution.

My long term hope is that the madness will become so obvious that it will override concern about the price of eggs.  That people will once again see freedom and democracy as a cause worth championing.  Neptune goes into Aries on March 30.  Saturn follows suit in May.  Jupiter is now moving in direct, unfettered motion, and will enter Cancer (the sun sign of the US) in June.  In July, Uranus, after such a disastrous run in Taurus, will move into Gemini.  The astrological weather is changing. 

I am in shock and awe, but not without hope. Do not let shock and awe make you hopeless, either.