Have you ever met a Gemini?
There’s double trouble there
As there’s two rolled into one
He’s an artful dissembler
But he’s always lots of fun
There’s a sparkle in his eye
Betraying intelligence and wit
With his brilliant repartee
And his fondness for a jest
Every host should have one
To give his party zest

(c) Anne Robertson 1987

Happy Birthday to all the Geminis who celebrate their birthdays between May 20 and June 20. Gemini is one of the three air signs along with Aquarius and Libra. Air is the element which refers to mental qualities. Gemini is one of the four mutable signs indicating the flexibility and changeable quality of Gemini. The others being Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. Gemini is the Latin word for twins which indicates their dual nature. The Gemini can be of two minds or is sometimes believed to have two or more personalities.

In Alan Oken’s book, ‘Alan Oken’s Complete Astrology’, he elaborates on the twin symbology. Among its many meanings, the glyph for Gemini symbolises the two pillars. In ancient times, the Twins were the guardians of the doorways and entrances. Pairs of gods can often be seen at the gates of Babylonian, Assyrian and Egyptian temples. They are often depicted as siblings. The Twin symbology also pervades Eastern mythology. In the ancient Indian epic the Mahabharata where there are two brothers, Sunda and Upsunda who are said to live together and are incapable of being slain by anyone unless they slay each other. In the Ramayana, Rama, the great Indian saint, also has a twin brother. Examples of twins also abound in the Old Testament but one myth about twins which is very significant is the Greek legend about Castor and Pollux because it links up with the constellation of Gemini of the same name.

The Significance of the Myth of Castor and Pollux

Castor and Pollux avenged the carrying off of their sister of Helen of Troy. Leda, the mother of Castor and Pollux, was seduced by Zeus/Jupiter, this time in the guise of a swan. From this union she gave birth to two eggs – from one came Helen and from the other came Castor and Pollux. There was some confusion and scandal about Castor’s real father, for he was mortal, while Pollux, on the other hand was an immortal, the true son of Zeus. Homer describes Castor as the tamer of horses, and Pollux is the immortal boxer, one who uses his hands and is fleet of foot, which typifies the Gemini. Castor is killed in battle, and Pollux, in great despair prays to his father to let him also die. Zeus responds by taking them both in the sky as the constellation of Castor and Pollux. Homer writes “They possess their life in turn, living one day and dying the next and they have gotten worship as gods”

The keynote for Gemini, esoterically, is: ‘I recognise my other self and in the waning of that self I grow and glow.’ Alice Bailey comments that it is an astronomical fact that the star, Castor, is waning in brilliancy, while Pollux, the immortal brother, is waxing in brightness and eclipsing his brother. Pollux represents the soul while his mortal brother represents the personality.

The Constellation of Gemini
Alice Bailey has the following to say about the constellation of Gemini: Gemini has in it two stars Castor and Pollux, the Twins. These personify two major groups of stars, the Seven Pleiades, and Seven Stars of the Great Bear, which are two constellations, in the north, around which our universe seems to revolve. She writes these two groups of stars the Pleiades and the Great Bear represent God, the macrocosm, whilst in Gemini, Castor and Pollux were regarded as symbols of man, the microcosm.
Alan Oken adds: The most notable asterisms are the two great stars which bear the names of the Twins, Castor and Pollux. Castor, befitting the nature of Gemini, is really two closely placed white stars which revolve around each other. This phenomenon is called as “binary system” by astronomers, as the two stars seem to revolve around a common centre of gravity. Pollux is somewhat brighter than his brother and is orange reddish in colour. These stars lie only four and half degrees from each other and between the  were long known as the sole representatives of the entire constellation. (They were called the “Mas-mas” or Twins by the ancient Assyrians.) In time the brothers grew and many more stars were added to complete their portraiture. The ecliptic divides the Twins at the middle; their heads (Castor and Pollux) are above and are posited between the left claw of the Crab and the whip of Auriga, the Charioteer. Their feet just touch the Milky Way, above the upraised arm of the great constellation of Orion, the Hunter. The Twins are usually depicted as bound together by each other’s arms.

Mercury the Ruler of Gemini – Mercury/Hermes in Mythology
We can gain insight into the Geminian nature by studying the myths of Mercury and his alter ego Hermes. Howard Sasportas, in the book ‘The Inner Planets’, co written with Liz Greene illuminates one on the role of Mercury. Mercury was conceived of an illicit union between Zeus, the King of the gods, and a mere mortal called Maia so he was born out of deceit. As the story goes he was already into great mischief even when he was still a baby in his cradle. He stole his older brother Apollo’s cattle, and by leading them out backwards made it appear as if the cattle were going in the opposite direction. When his older brother accused him of stealing his cattle he acted as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He also fashioned a lyre out of a tortoise. When he plays this instrument he charms Apollo out of his anger and he makes a deal with Apollo. In return for teaching him the lyre, Mercury must be allowed to share Apollo’s patronage of the cattle.

The resourceful bargaining qualities of the Gemini nature are mirrored in Mercury’s actions. Apollo agreed to this on the condition that his miscreant younger brother swore an oath. When Mercury complied Apollo made Mercury the patron of oaths and solemn pledges and he also bestowed upon him the gift of the caduceus, a magic wand with two snakes wrapped around it which becomes one of Hermes’ most famous symbol and is an emblem of the medical profession.

Mercury is Zeus’ personal messenger and is often used to rescue others from danger. He is also a magician and charms Cerberus, the ferocious three headed dog who guards the Underworld, so he can slip in and out of the Underworld unnoticed. He is a master of magic words and magic formulas in much the same way the Gemini can charm their way out of tricky situations with their gift of the gab. The derivation of the Greek word, ‘Hermes’, is he of the stone heap, a place where travellers would stop and talk, and eventually where commercial deals took place and magic and rituals were performed hence Mercury’s rulership over commerce, transport and short distance travel. Hermes was known as the god of crossroads, borders and transitions. There is also a figure in alchemy called Mercurius which represents both the transformer and the thing which needed to be transformed. To sum up then, the agility, versatility and ingenuity of Mercury, also known as quicksilver, is very evident in the Gemini individual.

Gemini Health and Anatomy
In the human body Gemini rules the bronchial tubes and lungs, the shoulders, arms, hands and fingers. Kali mur., the Gemini Salt, is essential for the formation of fibrin. Every tissue and organ of the body, with the exception of bone, contains fibrin. Man’s whole garment of flesh is built upon the foundation of filaments or fibres. There is an infinitely fine network of these tiny fibres, all branching off from one another, forming the framework, as it were, upon which the tissues are built. This includes also the skin, glands and nerves. Symptoms arising from lack of Kali mur. are catarrh, congestion of bronchial tubes, swollen glands, mumps, sore throats, enlarged rheumatic joints, and swollen tonsils, all children’s diseases where there are exudations through the skin, such as measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever, etc., for these are all disturbances of the fibrin. All cases of a very white tongue and sluggish liver and constipation, and all congestion and swellings need Kali mur. Geminis live on their nervous energy and most of their illnesses are of a nervous character. Therefore, it is vital that they learn to switch off their busy minds and relax. Plenty of sleep and proper breathing exercises would be very beneficial for them.

Gemini rules the colour yellow and also they responds well to the healing orange ray. The birthstone for Gemini is agate, the multi coloured stone and the metal is Mercury in keeping with their quicksilver personality. A homeopathic remedy beneficial for Gemini is Byronia used in the treatment of colds, flu and headaches. Healing aromatherapy oils which will help to promote calm for the excessive nervous energy of the Gemini include bergamot, lavender, lemongrass and lily of the valley. The healing musical note for Gemini is A. Diet for Gemini should include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables especially orange coloured foods such as oranges, peaches apricots, pink grapefruit, etc. which help decongest the lungs and prevent mucous. Mucous forming dairy products and salt should be avoided. Carrot juices and legumes such as lentils are also beneficial.

Gemini Hall of Fame
Mercury, the ruler of Gemini, has dominion over communication, writing, teaching, and short distance travel. Geminis are attracted to careers which utilise their great mental skills, wit and eloquence such as teaching, lecturing, politics, music, media, journalism, advertising, public relations, publishing, astrology, technology, finance and sales.

Famous Gemini writers include Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming, Thomas Hardy, Anne Frank, Colleen McCullough, Judith Wright, Salman Rushdie, M Scott Peck, Patrick White. Poets of note include W.B Yeats, Walt Whitman, Federico Garcia Lorca, Alexander Pope, Alexander Pushkin. Queen Victoria who wrote two best selling memoirs Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands was a famous Gemini.

Geminis who also express themselves through music and dance include Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Isaac Albeniz, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, and Isadora Duncan. Singers include Dean Martin, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Prince, Kanye West, Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morissette, Judy Garland, and Kylie Minogue.

Geminis are not only agile mentally but also physically as this impressive line up of champion tennis players confirms – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf and Anna Kournikova.

The Gemini charisma translates well onto stage and screen with such show business icons as Sir Laurence Olivier, Bob Hope, Clint Eastwood, Errol

Flynn, Rudolph Valentino, Joan Collins, Marilyn Monroe, Michael J. Fox, Isabella Rossellini, Kristen Scott Thomas, Hugh Dancy, Geoffrey Palmer, Christopher Lee, and Johnny Depp. Other Gemini actresses include Nicole Kidman, Jacki Weaver, Gia Carides, Pia Miranda and Anna Torv.

Geminis are also famous for their wit as expressed by the Gemini British comedian Russell Brand and American comic Amy Schumer

Media personalities include Elsa Maxwell, Hedda Hopper and Joan Rivers.

Politicians and political activists include John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Hubert Humphrey, Rudolph Giuliani, George Bush Senior, Benazir Bhutto, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Che Guevara. Another Gemini who has been in the spotlight in the last year is President Donald Trump. Richard Di Natale. the former leader of the Australian Greens is also a

Gemini as is Jeremy Corbyn the former Leader of the UK Labour Party.

The science of astrology has also attracted its share of Geminis including Lois M. Rodden, Grant Lewi, Alexander Ruperti and Francoise Gauquelin, the French woman statistician and psychologist, who along with her husband Michel, set out to disprove astrology but instead ended up being some of its strongest exponents.

The astronomer and best selling author Dava Sobel featuring prominently in the 2012 Sydney Writers’ Festival is also a Gemini.

Overview for Gemini for 2020
Saturn, known as the Lord of Karma, has moved out of your joint finances sector into your travel and higher education sector so you may have to put your plans on hold in these areas. Jupiter and Pluto have moved into your joint finance sector. Uranus, the planet of sudden change, continues its passage through your spirituality sector which could add an unpredictability to this area of your life. There is a line up of cosmic visitors in your sign in your first house of personality plus the karmic north node and a lunar appulse eclipse. The cosmic visitors include Venus, Hygeia and Vesta. The extended cycle of spiritual Neptune in your career sector encourages you to pursue your creative and spiritual aspirations.

Relationships
Your relationship sector is highlighted by the karmic south node and a lunar appulse eclipse which occurs on 6 June 2020.

Home and Family
Planetary visitors, Mercury and Venus will activate your domestic sector.  Mercury will  visit your domestic sector from 20 August 6 September facilitating communication with family members. Gentle Venus will grace your domestic sector with her presence from 3-28 October bringing harmony on the home front.

Creativity, Children and Romance
The focus will be on your romance and children sector with visits from Venus and Mercury. Venus will grace your romance and creativity sector from 28 October to 21 November which should bring pleasurable romantic encounters, enhance your personal creativity and relationships with your children. Your ruler, quicksilver Mercury, pays a visit there from 6 – 27 September affording you an opportunity to initiate conversations with your children and romantic partners while bringing a sense of fun to your relationships with children or affording you an opportunity to explore your inner child.

Career
 Neptune, the planet of spirituality, continues its passage through your 10th house of career. This cycle will emphasise the spiritual and creative side of your career. Your interactions with your colleagues will be motivated by altruism and sensitivity. You may be drawn toward pursuing a spiritual or artistic career. You may even experience confusion about what career to pursue. Ultimately, Neptune may beckon you toward a career of selfless service. Dynamic Mars also pays a visit to your career sector from 13 May to 28 June imbuing you with the energy to pursue your career goals.

Travel and Education
Planetary visitors to your travel and education sector include Saturn, Mercury and Venus. Serious Saturn will pay two visits to your travel and education sector first from 22 March to 2 July and then again from 17 December 2020. Saturn represents limitations and delays so there may have to put on hold those plans to travel overseas. Quicksilver Mercury pays two visits to your travel and education sector the first being from 17 January to 3 February and then again from 4 – 18 March activating this area of study and travel making it an ideal time to undertake a study tour. Gentle Venus will grace this sector from 20 December 2019 to 14 January making it an ideal time for a romantic getaway.

Finances
Your finance sector will be highlighted by two eclipses the first being a lunar appulse eclipse on 17 January and the second being a solar annular eclipse on 21 June 2020. Your debt and tax sector is activated two eclipses as well as Pluto and Jupiter. Pluto, the planet of transformation, continues it sojourn through your debt and taxes sector which would act as a catalyst for you to transform this area. With Jupiter travelling along with Pluto the energy here will be intensified. The first eclipse is a lunar appulse eclipse which occurs on 5 July and a solar total eclipse on 14 December.

Friends, Groups and Goals
Chiron, the wounded healer, continues its passage through your eleventh house of friends groups and goals. Gentle Venus pays a visit to your social sector from 8 February to 5 March bringing harmony to your friendships and opportunities for pleasurable socialising. Mercury will pay a visit to your social sector from 11-28 April facilitating communication and networking in your social circles.

Spirituality
Uranus, the great Awakener,  continues its passage through your 12th house of spirituality, karma and seclusion. This should give you inspiration for these areas of your life. Uranus rules technology so you may think of innovative ways to practise your spiritual activities such as yoga, martial arts, mediation or prayer in times of physical isolation. Gentle Venus pays a visit here from 5 – 25 March. Quicksilver Mercury pays a visit here from 28 April to 12 May. It is an ideal time to keep a dream journal. It is a time to protect your boundaries so that you can recharge your batteries and feel rejuvenated.

 

Full Moon in Scorpio followed by Saturn, Venus & Jupiter stationing retrograde
The Full Moon in Scorpio occurs on 7 May at 17 degrees Scorpio 20 at 8.45 pm. Scorpio Full Moons have the potential to stir powerful emotions and this one is no exception. Mercury opposes the Moon which makes conflict resolution possible if we are able to communicate our feelings effectively. Scorpio Full Moons always have a sting in the tail. With Pluto having recently stationed retrograde followed by Saturn, Venus and Jupiter stationing retrograde in the days after this Full Moon, this full Moon is especially crucial.

Saturn, the Lord of Karma, representing time focuses our attention on the passage of time, past, present and future. It may feel as if time has stopped and altered course. Saturn stations retrograde on 11 May at 1 degree Aquarius 57.

Venus, the goddess of love, is normally associated with love, creativity, sociability and finances but its retrograde phase marks a time of retreat. Venus stations retrograde on 13 May at 21 degrees Gemin 50.  In its retrograde phase we may become more discerning with whom we associate seeking out people whose values and opinions tally with our own. It will provide an opportunity to reassess your relationships as well as your finances. Venus is retrograde for 40 days, so social distancing restrictions may remain for some time to come, especially with Venus being squared by nebulous Neptune which could bring disappointments and social deprivation while the Venus Neptune trine will make some impatient for full speed ahead with social interactions. Rebellious Uranus is squaring cautious Saturn indicating two diametrically opposite energies vying for precedence. Interesting to relate the word quarantine originates from the Italian word ‘cuaranta’ meaning 40, referring to the period of 40 days when a ship that was suspected of carrying disease was kept in isolation.

Venus is joined by Vesta, goddess of hearth and home, as well as being tightly aligned with Hygeia, the goddess of healing,  putting the spotlight on health and
hygiene, especially during this global pandemic. Hygeia and Vesta unite with Venus on the 15th May, which is a critical time in this current global crisis.

Jupiter follows suit stationing retrograde on 15 May on 27 Capricorn 14. Jupiter, the king of the gods, has a reputation for dramatising events. There can be a tendency for people to overreact with this station of Jupiter taking unnecessary risks, so we can expect tensions to rise around this Full Moon.

New Moon in Gemini
The New Moon at 02 degrees Gemini 04 occurs on 23 May at 3.38 am AEST Sydney time. Gemini is one of the triplicity of air signs representing communication, short distance travel and our immediate environment. The New Moon is a time for setting our intentions which culminates at the Full Moon. As I acknowledge in my poem at the beginning of this post Gemini is a very sociable sign making them the life of the party with their wit. Surveys during these times of social isolation have shown that introverts have fared much better than their more extroverted sociable air signs such as Geminis and Librans. While introverts are using the time productively finding it much easier to adapt to these restrictions and have never been Geminis are climbing the
walls bursting to get back to their normal social interactions.
Currently there is a line up of planets and asteroids in Gemini Moon, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Hygeia, Vesta and including the North Node that has just shifted from Cancer into the mutable air sign. With this extra Gemini energy, people will become restless and find social isolation more difficult. On the positive side with online learning,  Zoom meetings for work, telehealth and family catch ups now having replaced face-to face contact, we can expect the explosion in online content to continue to flourish. New ways of connecting with one another and new social platforms are emerging as demand increases. COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst for us to dramatically transform the way we interact.

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson – The tale of two Geminis
There are two Geminis who have featured strongly in the news during this COVID-19 pandemic and that is President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson and more often than not for their missteps in their handling of the pandemic in their respective countries and in Boris Johnson’s case a near death experience.

In Johnson’s case he came in for a lot of criticism for not taking this pandemic seriously back in February, being seen shaking hands of COVID-19 infected patients in hospital. He also missed five COBRA crisis meetings choosing instead to take two weeks holiday with his partner Carrie Symonds. Originally his government also supported the herd immunity approach to the pandemic but when the projected numbers of fatalities were revealed, he quickly backtracked on that policy. Shortly after, on 27 March it was announced that he had contracted COVID-19.  Although visibly ill he remained running the government in isolation from his Downing Street residence until he became so ill he had to be rushed to St Thomas Hospital where he was admitted to ICU leaving the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, in charge while he fought for his life. He spent 3 nights in ICU and was finally discharged after seven nights in hospital and was then taken to his country retreat, Chequers, to rest and recuperate. UK government has been shambolic since the BREXIT vote in 2016.

It is interesting to note both the transits of the UK and those of Johnson during his health crisis. In the case of the UK chart 1 January 1801 0.00 am Westminster UK, transiting Pluto has been hovering over the UK Moon in Cancer in the 10th house so a very emotional time for the masses with the focus on stay at home orders. Transiting Chiron, the planetoid of wounding and healing, is also on the UK descendant. Transiting Uranus is approaching the UK Mars so there is likely to be some impatience and frustration expressed over the restrictions and the handling of the pandemic.

Boris Johnson’s transits when it was first announced on 27 March that he had contracted COVID-19 tell the story. Transiting Uranus was opposing his natal Moon in Scorpio and transiting Neptune was conjunct his natal Chiron in his 6th house of health and work and Neptune also squared his natal Mercury, the ruler of his Gemini Sun. Anatomically Gemini rules the lungs so there is a vulnerablity there with the coronavirus being a respiratory illness. With Johnson’s admission that the hospital staff were preparing for his demise, disruptive Uranus would have caused him great emotional upheaval as he literally fought for his life, coupled with Neptune on his Chiron, his immune system would have been severely compromised. Added to this his progressed Moon in Scorpio was conjuncting his natal Neptune. The prominent Neptune transits would have contributed towards clouding his judgment therefore incapable of acting decisively. Interestingly he has also just had a nodal return which indicates the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. Hopefully he will have learnt some salutary lessons from this near death experience.

In an article entitled Where did Britain go so wrong? in the SMH 4 May 2020, Bevan Shields scrutinises Boris Johnson’s response to COVID-19 and it is not very complimentary. He begins with the fact that Abdul Mahud Chowdhury, a 53 year old urologist died as a result of the lack of personal protective equipment PPE with his grieving son asking for answers and an apology. Mr Chowdhury’s complaints are echoed by a growing chorus of health experts. MPs, and citiizens who think that Britain’s response to the crisis has suffered from a series of deadly mistakes and miscalculations.

Shields claims the charges focus on four main areas: lack of PPE for healthcare workers, that Britain was too slow to implement a lockdown, that it bungled testing and that vulnerable care home residents were not properly protected. The number of cases attest to these charges. At the time of my writing this, in the UK there are now more than 219,183 cases with over 31,855 deaths, the highest official death toll in Europe. Dr Richard Horton, editor in chief of the Lancet medical journal is even more damning: “The handling of the COVID-19 crisis in the UK is the most serious science policy failure in a generation.” The government’s lack of testing policy was at odds with the WHO which urged countries to test, test test.

Instead of a lockdown Britons were urged to wash their hands and stay home for seven days if they had symptoms. Schools remained open, restaurants and bars traded as usual, and visitors were still allowed into care homes. Flights were still arriving from China even though Australia had banned them six weeks earlier. All public events were still allowed including a League match in Liverpool which drew a crowd of 52,000 about 3,000 of whom came form Madrid. More than 250,000 tickets were sold for the Cheltenham horse racing festival. Both events are being investigated by health officials who suspect they may have contributed to the rapid spread of the disease near the venues.

A former Australian high commissioner to Britain, Mike Rann, claims the that the earliest stages were handed negligently. describing it, ” A shambles of mixed messaging, poor organisation and a complacent attitude that what was happening in Italy wouldn’t happen here.” Professor Hunter said border closures in Australia and New Zealand stood in stark contrast to Britain, with briefly imposed restrictions on people flying in from Wuhan. Today the few passengers still arriving in Britain are under no obligation to self-isolate. Professor Hunter does not why the government did not follow good public health policy of closing the borders and having some sort of mandatory self-isolation. Home Secretary Priti Patel’s support of a ban on travellers who had been in hot spots was slapped down by Downing St.

The decision on March 12 to abandon mass testing meant the government could only guess who was infected with the virus. Just as the government mishandled the initial response to the pandemic, the UK government’s new coronavirus lockdown rules have caused widespread confusion with Johnson stating one policy only to be contradicted by his foreign secretary, Dominic Raab. Leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who are disputing Johnson’s conditionally easing of lockdown are remaining in lockdown and the Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer has also questioned Johnson’s strategy. At the time of writing this post the UK has 34, 796 deaths from coronavirus with 246, 406 cases.

Meanwhile Donald Trump, the other Gemini leader across the Atlantic, is presiding over another health catastrophe with over 90,694 deaths and more than 1.54 million cases. The virus is now stalking the White House with Vice president Pence’s own press secretary testing positive forcing three members of the coronavirus taskforce, Dr Anthony Fauci, Dr Stephen Hahn and Dr Robert Redfield into isolation. A valet for Trump, who had served the president food without wearing a mask, also recently tested positive.

Looking at US Sibley chart 4 July 1776, 5.10 pm Philadelphia US, it can be seen that US is heading toward its Pluto return which will occur in February 2022. This will occur in the US chart’s 2nd house of finance and values so we can expect a huge transformation in these areas. Transiting Neptune is also opposing US Neptune which would no doubt cause confusion and we can see this in the mixed messages emanating from the White House. Transiting Pluto is also currently opposing the US Mercury bringing to the fore intense communication and thought. Transiting Uranus is also square the US north node indicating upheaval in US direction and destiny epitomised by the disruption caused by the coronavirus global pandemic. Transiting Saturn will conjunct the US Pluto in August and November this year while at the same time the progressed Moon will conjunct US Pluto. It is interesting to note that the latest modelling of number of deaths now projects 147, 000 deaths, 10,000 more than first projected between May and August.

Like his US counterpart, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump was in denial about the severity of coronavirus from the very beginning. According to Vox, President Donald Trump’s failure to respond to the coronavirus pandemic didn’t begin with the administration’s inability to send out the millions of test kits and the protective medical gear for health care workers that experts say are needed to tackle the crisis. It didn’t start with Trump’s bungled messaging downplaying the crisis even as it’s worsened, nor with his mid-March insistence that social distancing measures could be lifted by Easter (he later backpedalled.) It began in April 2018 — more than a year and a half before the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease it causes, Covid-19. The Trump administration, with John Bolton newly at the helm of the White House National Security Council, began dismantling the team in charge of pandemic response, firing its leadership and disbanding the team in spring 2018.

The cuts, coupled with the administration’s repeated calls to cut the budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health agencies, made it clear that the Trump administration wasn’t prioritizing the federal government’s ability to respond to disease outbreaks.

In tweets Trump initially made comparisons of Covid-19 to the common flu. Trump also called concerns about the virus a Democrat “hoax.” He said on national television that, based on nothing more than a self-admitted “hunch,” the death rate of the disease is much lower than public health officials projected. Trump also rejected any accountability for the botched testing process: “I don’t take responsibility at all,” he said in March. This kind of downplaying has previously worked for Trump, who successfully, at least politically, fended off concerns about his handling of Hurricane Maria, the opioid epidemic, and a host of self-inflicted crises, from his travel ban to the crisis at the US-Mexico border.

But in the current pandemic, the approach has left the Trump administration unprepared for the challenge ahead, whether it’s in the failure in testing or the administration’s inability to calm the public and markets as the novel coronavirus spreads. And all of this can be traced back to the Trump administration’s decision in the spring of 2018 to deprioritize the federal government’s ability to respond to pandemics.

Looking at Trump’s transits explains his haphazard approach to the pandemic. Like his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, he is being afflicted by major Neptune transits. Neptune in its negative aspect contributes to confusion, delusion leading to ill judged decisions. In Boris Johnson’s case transiting Neptune is conjunct his natal Chiron as well as squaring his natal Mercury, the planet of the rational mind. In Trump’s case transiting Neptune in Pisces is forming a T square to Trump’s natal Sun in Gemini opposite his natal Moon in Sagittarius. In Johnson’s case the Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer has accused the response to the pandemic by the Johnson led Tory government as lacking clarity and reassurace, classic Neptunian traits. In a call leaked last week the former president Obama described the US government’s coronavirus response as, “an absolute chaotic disaster, “More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” Obama said during an online commencement address to graduates of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Saturday.

Another example of Neptunian energy that Trump has been displaying is evasiveness. In his lengthy, daily briefings, US President Donald Trump kept struggling to answer variations of a simple question: Why didn’t he warn Americans about COVID-19 or demand the introduction of social distancing across the United States in February or early March, when the coronavirus began running rampant here? If Trump’s in a good mood, he avoids the topic or pats himself on the back for announcing travel restrictions on China in January. If he’s not, he attacks or tries to belittle the questioner.

In the words of James Glenday, ABC North America correspondent, The confrontations resemble reality TV, the sort his staunchest supporters would cheer. But the bluff and bluster don’t hide the fact the White House still doesn’t have a consistent explanation for why it dropped the ball so badly early on — a failure which has contributed to the US becoming the epicentre of the pandemic.

The President needs new villains

With an election less than seven months away, Trump’s opponents smell blood and continue to promote social media videos attacking the Commander-in-Chief’s handling of the crisis. They feature clips of him suggesting the virus is a “hoax” or like “the flu”. Trump’s plans to run for a second term on a strong economy are in ruins and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, who is getting very little airtime, leads him in most polls. In a tweet-storm he suggested three Democratic-led states needed to be liberated, as though they were held by the enemy. US media reports state some of the demonstrations have been promoted on Facebook by pro-gun provocateurs and many comparisons have been made with the early days of the conservative Tea Party movement, which formed in part to protest government bailouts during the last financial crisis.

Governors critical of Trump’s inconsistency
 Many governors have seen their approval ratings soar during this crisis and several, including Republicans, have admonished Trump for his inconsistency. They’ve accused him of trying to stoke divisions and undermining the views of leading health officials.”I don’t think it’s helpful to encourage demonstrations and encourage people to go against the President’s own policy,” Republican Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan said.”It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Trump’s messages about China are also regularly mixed. In press conferences, he will often say he’s “not happy” with Beijing, then wax lyrical about doing a trade deal, before speaking in glowing terms about his friendship with President Xi Jinping.

Trump’s latest distraction – he reveals he is taking the hydroxychloroquine
The latest bombshell to come from the White House is that President Donald Trump on Monday made the surprising revelation that he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that his own government experts say is not suitable for fighting the novel coronavirus. Mr Trump, noting that he has tested negative for the virus and shows no symptoms, said he’d been taking the drug “for about a week and a half.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it’s “not a good idea” for Mr Trump to be taking the drug as a potential treatment for the coronavirus. “I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, which is morbidly obese, they say,” Ms Pelosi said during an appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” “So, I think that it’s not a good idea,” she added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump’s decision to take the drug “reckless.” “It gives people false hope, has people avoid real medical attention, and can actually cause them trouble. It is just dangerous what he did,” Senator Schumer said on MSNBC.

On CNN,  a leading cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol called out the White House physician for reportedly acceding to President Donald Trump’s request to be treated with the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine, which presents elevated risks for people with pre-existing heart conditions, like the president has.

Appearing on AC: 360, Topol noted to host Anderson Cooper that there have been no definitive studies confirming the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, and that it has known harmful side effects for someone with comorbidities like Trump’s. The doctor honed in on his criticism of Conley just minutes after the White House released a letter from him vaguely explaining this decision.

Mr Trump’s latest remarks came out of the blue, immediately grabbing headlines on a day when US deaths from COVID-19 topped 90,000 people – almost a third of the total world toll.

Sources
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