An Armchair Astrologer On How The Stars Could Change Trump's Presidency

If you've got that one friend who lives for astrology (it's me, I'm that friend), you've most likely already heard some panicky talk about "Mercury in retrograde" over the last month. It's a complicated, messy phenomenon occurring a few times a year that can hit just about everyone with communication, money, and travel troubles, among other things — and it finally ended (or "went direct") on Wednesday. Thank the stars. However, if nobody's immune to Mercury's shenanigans, this armchair astrologer has to know: Could the end of Mercury's retrograde change Donald Trump's presidency somehow?

Obviously it all depends on a whole bunch of factors — most important of all, of course, Trump's own decisions. However, based on his birth chart (specifically his sun, moon, and ascendant signs) and our working knowledge of his various personality quirks, a person with a good amount of free time on her hands (albeit, with no expertise) might be able to make a few educated guesses about what the blessed end of this retrograde — which is typically considered a good time for reflection and transformation for the better — could mean for both the president's future and the future of our country.

But, like, no pressure or anything.

The Basics

Buckle up for some basics. A "retrograde" refers to the times of year where a planet appears to be moving backward. If you combine that with Mercury's domain, it gives a clue that matters of communication are going to be messed with while on this funky path. The retrograde that just ended was in both Taurus and Aries — which meant that along with all the communicative chaos, it started out with some slow and stubborn vibes (like the bull that represents Taurus) and headed into an equally frustrating but more impulsive period (like the ram representing Aries).

While gazing into the abyss of POTUS, we're going to look at three important parts of his chart: his sun sign, moon sign, and ascendant sign. The sun is probably the one you know best (based on your birth date and month). The moon sign refers to where the moon was when you were born and typically represents your gooey inner self (which melds with your sun sign qualities to form your special blend of personality traits). Your ascendant sign refers to how you see yourself and portray yourself to others — and is also considered the mask you wear. For President Trump, his sun, moon and ascendant signs are Gemini, Sagittarius, and Leo, respectively.

But What The Heck Does That Say About Trump?

So at least astrologically, Trump's natal chart lineup would indicate a few traits. His sun and moon combo of Gemini and Sagittarius could easily manifest as a person prone to telling tall tales, who loves to be "in-the-know" and lives to hold court as the center of attention. While they are quick on their feet (and difficult to catch off guard), they can also be a bit less-analytical than most, fairly gullible, or just unreliable. His Leo ascendant (again, his outer mask and how he wants to be seen) hints at a proud, ego-oriented kind of person who is prone to hyping themselves up (maybe too far) and believing their own hype. Sound familiar?

During retrograde, a person with this profile — a proud, crafty, attention-seeker — probably had a bit of frustrating time. Trump, a Gemini (which are all about communication and ruled by Mercury) with his love of making "deals" at every turn, was probably not too thrilled by the slow-moving, calculated energy while in Taurus or the clumsy communication hiccups and speed-bumps encountered in Aries.

Retrogrades can often feel like a drag. So it's not a surprise that he experienced some setbacks and glacial movement with several of those so-called deals — particularly with conflicts over executive orders and budgetary matters in April.

So What About The Future?

As for the future? The last two weeks of a retrograde (called a "shadow") are supposed to be a time to ease out of all the chaos and reflect on what you might've learned and how you could change for the better. It's just as exhausting as it sounds.

However, in the last week, Trump's experience seemed even more #OnBrand for a Gemini slogging through the worst of Mercury's retrograde. Between his comments pertaining to the revived GOP healthcare bill that appeared to contradict its actual effects on people with preexisting conditions, his alternative history take on President Andrew Jackson's impact on the Civil War, or his late-night angry tweets about Hillary Clinton, communicating ideas with tact, precision and patience still seemed to evade him. Unfortunately, this hints that matters of reflection and beneficial transformation are not at the top of Trump's to-do list — at least not after this retrograde.

Whether you're a believer, skeptic, or one of us occupying that groovy space in between, it's certainly fun to think about how the stars might play into our current political drama — particularly for this amateur scholar of the (non-Ted-Cruz) Zodiac seeking to cope with the political and existential dread of 2017.