In the last issue I introduced Ixion as being a passionate lawless energy that works in a similar way to Pluto, and we looked at the myth and the orbital characteristics and then at the dwarf planet's action in a chart I know well, my own. If you missed that article and you’d like to check it out, you can find it here. Today we’ll look at Ixion in Donald Trump’s chart.
Just to quickly recap the astrological meaning of Ixion, he represents a passionate lawless energy which, when positively placed, indicates an ability to bend the rules to get things done, and to learn from experience. And when negatively placed he encourages us to try and get what we want without regard for others, or for norms, and to waste any second chances we may receive.
House Placement
Not surprisingly, given his many run-ins with the law around finances, Trump has Ixion in the second house of material resources.
He inherited his money from his father, allegedly without paying the appropriate taxes, and he is notorious for bankrupting businesses and walking away with large amounts of money and tax benefits, while not paying the bills or the contractors working for him.
Trump University, which we’ll look at in more detail in a moment, was the subject of three lawsuits alleging it defrauded students through misleading marketing practices and engaged in aggressive sales tactics. Despite saying he’d never settle, Trump eventually paid 25 million dollars to settle all three lawsuits.
Aspects
Trump’s Ixion is in a T square, opposite Eris, the planet of consciousness through discord, in the 8th House of deals and collective resources and square Mercury, the planet of ideas and communication, in the 11th House of collective consciousness.
Eris is a bit of a spiritual trickster, in an evolved individual she’s a spiritual truth teller, however in the chart of an unconscious person she can encourage greed and a materialistic superficial approach to life. She does this to reveal that side of ourselves to our conscious selves and so provoke spiritual growth.
So greed and materialism in the house of deals, opposite wilful lawlessness in the house of resources, both in stressful relationships with his ability to communicate with the collective consciousness… So any story that serves the moment will do.
His Ixion is also sextile Pluto, the planet of power, in the 12th House of institutions and in a stressful sesquiquadrate with his MC, showing the tension between his lawless resource tendencies and his role in society, which has of course resulted in the Meuller Investigation and his Impeachment, both of which we’ll look at in more detail.
Trump University
Trump University ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010. After multiple lawsuits it is now defunct. It was a con from the start. Wikipedia tells us:
It was not an accredited university. It conducted three- and five-day seminars, often labeled “retreats", and used high-pressure tactics to sell these to its customers. It did not confer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students. An article in the National Review described the organization as a "massive scam".
When the Trump Uni LLC was formed on the 25th October 2004 he had the benefit of transiting Neptune in the 6th House of service trine his natal Ixion, and transiting Saturn in the 11th House of collective consciousness in a potential-filled quintile.
However, sounding a note of warning of the stresses to come, transiting Ixion was in a fateful inconjunct with his natal Mercury in the 11th, and in a stressful sesquiquadrate with his Saturn, also in the 11th, and also sesquiquadrate his Sedna in the 9th House of higher education.
Sedna in the 9th at the unconscious level can manifest as a blind spot to our own ignorance, a sort of blind faith, or spiritual arrogance, where we tune out all information which doesn’t support our view. And there are hints that it can indicate tendencies toward Narcissistic Personality Disorder because of the social nature and intense focus of the life mission. Essentially, the unevolved native can’t see past themselves.
Sedna is always trying to get us on the spiritual path however, sending us crises we can do nothing but ‘let go of and transcend’, so the sesquiquadrate from transiting Ixion as the university was formed tells us that the lawless nature of the venture will create such a crisis for Trump.
When the so called university was launched on the 23rd of May 2005 he had transiting Jupiter in the 2nd, conjunct his natal Ixion, transiting Uranus in the 7th in a fated inconjunct and transiting Pluto in the 4th in a quintile. So the venture offered an expansion of his wilful lawlessness with unpredictable stresses in one to one relationships and a potential for the use of high pressure force in the home. This was emphasised by transiting Ixion trining his natal Pluto at the same time.
A class action was filed on the 18th October 2013, alleging misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics, when transiting Uranus was opposite his natal Ixion and transiting Ixion was also opposite his natal Uranus.
Trump tried to stop the action, but a court ruling allowed it to proceed on the 24th October 2014 when transiting Pluto was square his natal Ixion and transiting Ixion was conjunct his natal South Node.
And finally a Judge granted the class action disclosure request on 27th May 2016, when transiting Neptune was inconjunct his natal Ixion and transiting Ixion was tightly opposite his natal Sun.
And then nine days after winning the election, under the influence of transiting Jupiter conjunct his natal Ixion and transiting Ixion again tightly opposite his natal Sun, he agreed to settle the class action and pay 25 million to former students who had taken the action to recover their fees, claIming the university was fraudulent.
Presidential Campaign
Trump launched his campaign on the 16th June 2015 when he had Neptune first transiting inconjunct his natal Ixion, so his vision was in a fateful relationship with his wilful lawless tendencies, and at the same time he had Ixion transiting conjunct his natal Moon and opposite his North Node, again reinforcing the fateful lawless nature of the announcement.
The notorious Trump Tower meeting between three senior members of the Trump campaign and a Russian lawyer claiming to be working for the Russian government and offering dirt on Hillary Clinton, took place on 9th June 2016.
At the time of the meeting, Trump had retrograde Saturn transiting sextile his natal Ixion, a transit which continued until the election, as Saturn stationed and then turned direct. He also had transiting Ixion opposite his Sun and quintile his natal Ixion.
The Saturn transit talks about his outreach for support in underhand ways during the campaign, through the spreading of conspiracy theories, aggressive use of social media and facilitating the Russian interference.
He called publicly for Russia to help with Clinton emails on 27th July, as retrograde Neptune was transiting closely inconjunct his natal Ixion. This was the aspect that started as he launched his campaign and this is the second of three exact hits. So his vision is here again in a fateful relationship with his wilful lawless tendencies, but because of the retrograde nature of Neptune, his vision was cloudy and misguided.
He also had transiting Ixion opposing his natal Orcus at this time. Orcus is another Plutino to do with ‘delving down and speaking out’. In his myth he takes people who break their word into the underworld. Trump has his natal Orcus conjunct his natal Sun, which is what gives him license to lie constantly… he’s already in the underworld, so has nothing to lose by breaking his word.
Oppositions always bring a challenge however and the opposition from transiting Ixion here suggests his lawless behaviour in this instance - it’s illegal to call for foreign interference in a US election campaign - might force him to face up to things that he would prefer to remain hidden.
On election day he had transiting Jupiter conjunct his natal Ixion and transiting Ixion tightly opposite his natal Sun. He was unleashed, as we’ve seen since then. Transiting Ixion was also trine his Sedna, the planet of spiritual-destiny-through-transcendent-crises, and in a potential filled quintile to his natal Ixion.
As I said before, Sedna in the 9th House of belief at the unconscious level can manifest as blind spots and narcissistic tendencies. So we see from the trine from transiting Ixion to his Sedna on election day that his lawless tendencies as president would encourage a crisis of transcendence and I suggest this is what we have been witnessing for the past three years.
The unconscious approach to the crises Sedna sends us is either to ignore them, or to try and solve them. Neither approach works in the long term, but Trumps writhing over the past few years is his attempt to do one or both of these.
If you know the myth of Sedna, when thrown in the water, she grabs hold of the boat, but then the axe comes down on her fingers, forcing her to transcend to godhood... However to date I would suggest Trump is still nursing his wounds and juggling his remaining fingers, rather than growing in consciousness through the experience. On his inauguration he had Ixion transiting exactly in a fateful inconjunct to his MC and Saturn transiting in a potential-filled quintile to his natal Ixion… New structure providing him with new lawless resource and money opportunities.
Mueller Investigation
The investigation was launched on the 17th May 2017, when Ixion was again transiting exactly inconjunct his MC and sesquiquadrate Pluto. It seemed during the investigation that the eventual report would be very damning and few amongst Trumps detractors could understand how he managed to call it an acquittal... but he was blessed, because when the report was presented on the 22nd March 2019, he had Jupiter transiting quintile his natal Ixion and Ixion transiting quintile his natal Jupiter. Quintiles represent opportunities, they have the characteristics of both the trine and opposition, so they talk about the awareness of problems and also of finding the solutions for them... Despite the proof of Russian collusion and multiple cases of obstruction of justice, he was able to claim he was vindicated because he was aided and abetted at the highest levels of the Justice Department in the suppression of the report.
Impeachment
The Ukraine story broke on 25th July 2019 and the inquiry stage of Trump's impeachment lasted from September to November 2019.
The dire nature of the experience is told by transiting Ixion being in a fateful inconjunct with both his Venus-conjunct-Saturn in the 11th House, and also his MC throughout this entire period. At the same time, transiting North Node was square his natal Ixion.
He also had transiting Ixion tine his natal Mars in the 12th throughout this period and exactly during the impeachment hearings in the House from the 4th to 18th December.
The articles were submitted to the Senate on January 16, 2020, initiating the trial when transiting Jupiter was square his natal Ixion in the 2nd, and transiting Ixion was semi-square his natal Ceres in the 6th House.
Republican senators rejected attempts to introduce subpoenas on January 21 while arranging for trial procedures, and then on January 31 after a debate. And Trump was acquitted on the 5th February 2020 as transiting Ixion was again quintile his natal Jupiter, trine his Ascendent and quintile his MC... He got away with it again!
Burning Wheel
So we see the Trump story is very Ixion influenced, yet we know from the myth that although initially he gets away with his crimes, he is eventually - if he remains at the unconscious level - bound to a burning wheel and sent spinning through space for all eternity. And unfortunately Trump appears to have remained doggedly at the unconscious level, wasting second chances and not learning from experience, until very late in life... So I guess now we are waiting for him to be bound to the burning wheel and sent spinning… And we just need to hope that the US is not that wheel, and that the whole country doesn’t need to go up in flames to satisfy his destiny.