The Fall of the East Wing
Here is an old image of the place in question, decorated for Christmas in 2018. Image was from the White House courtesy of Wikimedia commons but seems to have vanished from their archive
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From East Wing Magazine
“If the West Wing is the mind of the nation, then the East Wing is the heart.”
— Betty Ford
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It was bad enough when they paved over the Rose Garden, but the destruction of the East Wing of the White House by a wrecking crew is just too sad. It started on the morning of 22 October just after Neptune slid back into Pisces for a final few months of its 15 year tour. The great gassy planet joined Saturn also at the end of Pisces. These two have been close to conjunct most of the year, but they will only conjoin exactly in February 2026 at 0° Aries.
That’s the same conjunction that took place when the Berlin Wall came down. Saturn is structure, order, stone. Neptune is dissolving, dissolution. This demolition is likely as consequential.
Back then in 1989, the planets were in Capricorn, Saturn’s own sign, where it is particularly strong. The Berlin Wall was a symbol, of course, but also a real boundary, ruled, as all borders are, by Saturn himself. Nevertheless, Neptune, in shape of a wave of idealism and faith in the future, overcame Saturn.
Now, Neptune is in its own sign, Pisces, and therefore even stronger than in 1989, and Saturn is rather weak in the fishy world. Next year, the actual conjunction will be in Aries, a sign which neither planet rules — nor feels especially comfortable in: it will be a whole new world. And it will fall exactly on the root point of the chart of the United States, the foundations.
The East Wing
Although the East Wing is a later addition at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the official address of the White House, its destruction is deeply symbolic. The White House itself was completed on 1 November 1800, but the Wing was added in 1902 and then developed further, during World War II, to conceal a bunker. It is traditionally the office space for the First Lady and her staff.
It’s notable that so far during Trump’s short period in office this time around, he has chosen to eviscerate or simply tear down, the two areas of the White House — the Rose Garden and the East Wing — associated with women, hospitality and graciousness — leadership through diplomacy. This destruction was on the day that the Sun reached 29° Libra, one of Venus’s signs, and just after the New Moon, the dark of the Moon there. There was also a triple conjunction of Lilith, in her most vengeful mood one suspects, Mercury (minions), and action planet Mars in deepest Scorpio.
Mercury will retrograde back to this very same degree in November and station there — one suspects some degree of regret. But clearly it will be too late.
The End of the Cycles
Neptune and Saturn are at the very end of the Zodiac now. Neptune will be sitting at 29° Pisces until the end of January, completing a 160-odd year cycle through all the signs. This is an ending. The end of an era. The end of a particular span of time, which saw, among other things, the United States rise through the chaos of a fratricidal civil war to global hegemon.
Saturn too, is at the end of cycle, which began back in the mid-90s, when the world looked very different. The former Soviet bloc had fragmented and the wolves were picking through the rubble; Central Asia and Eastern Europe were emerging with new borders, escaping the Soviet yoke. Although not all the new states were holding elections, if looked as if the idea of democracy had won, specifically capitalist democracy.
It’s worth noting that Ceres, an asteroid that seems to resonate with democracy itself, was present both at the razing of the Berlin Wall and at this moment. In 1989, she was opposite the wall, in Cancer, the sign of home, tribe and family — and this was a moment of the reunification of Germany, one tribe, and of most of Europe. She was also in the USA’s own Sun sign.
But this time, she is hovering in Aries, just over the finish line from Neptune, waiting for his return in February, but still just a few degrees from the conjunction she made with Neptune back in May at 1° Aries. Currently she is retrograde, but she will go direct on 21 November at 2° Aries.
There is no doubt that, around the globe, democracy, as a system, is under sustained attack right now, and the demolition of the East Wing is symbolic of that. The White House is the great seat of global democracy. It represents in stone and plaster, the promise to the American people of representative government, of just governance. That may all be an illusion, a Neptunian illusion, but as a symbol, it held great meaning. To destroy a part of it, is, of course, illegal, but it is also a direct challenge to public opinion. If you can swallow this, you will take anything.
The destruction of American institutions since January has been shocking — the department of education, USAID, the State Department, the handiwork of Elon Musk’s minions, the department of health, and on and on.
A structure (Saturn) dissolved (Neptune). Furthermore, the demolition ignored all the laws and rules (Saturn again) in place that protect historic buildings. It’s literally illegal. Here is the Ceaușescu approach to planning. Neptune is about belief, faith, ideology, religious blindness, fog, mist, confusion. So a tidal wave of chaos has swept away a building. Neptune is also scandal, the swamp, so this demolition may cause a huge scandal or maybe it has emerged out of scandal. Is a ballroom a good use of $250m of taxpayers’ money?
The wreckers have reduced a harmonious, balanced Neo-classical building to a chaotic rubble. Neptune and Saturn are finishing off some business in Pisces, but when they meet in Aries, will they build something worthwhile in this place? Or will it be the start of the creation of a new mythology?
What a great article, Christina! I have been staying in Aix-en-Provence for the last 10 days and watching this horror (and others) unfold from afar with great sadness. While visiting here, I see daily the gift of historic preservation and healthy cultural traditions. It’s been, in fact, a relief to be away from the energy of the USA right now, but also heartbreaking to realize how quickly the illusion we held dear has been smashed. People are showing up to protest, but there is just so much chaos coming all at once, that they are forced to focus on the most critical issues. However, this ruination of the East Wing breaks the law and our hearts.
I am going to savor our last few days in France as deeply as I can because the next year (at least) in the USA feels really dicey. Thanks again for such a great analysis of the times we are living through. You always are so astute and thoughtful in how you analyze these complex times we’re in.
Enjoy yourself now. The times are worrying which means paying attention to the beautiful things is even more important..
Someone posted on social media
“As a survivor of narcissistic abuse I am telling you this is a response to the No Kings protest.”
and I can believe that. Such a sad image of the US
Yes.
I realize you suffer from TDS. I experience some of the same animosity towards Starmer.
But to correct couple of items. No taxpayer funds will pay for the wing’s demolition/development. Trump is fund raising for the project. He has promised to cover personally whatever private funds don’t cover.
As for the destruction of institutions…These instituions were already floundering when the department of education allowed/demanded that boys be allowed to use the girls’ facilities: showers, bathrooms, locker rooms, sports teams. USAID…many cases $$$s supported NGOs instead of the people they were supposed to help.
I used to be knee jerk Trump hater the last time around. This time I got a good look at the lies I’d been told in my bubble and changed my mind. There are a lot of people like me, especially women who have been longtime feminists who are seeing our hard won rights being gleefully given away by young women.
Leila, you missed the whole point of the article. I realize you suffer from ADS and that clouds your ability to see the whole picture astrologically or even have empathy. You cannot trust Trump to tell the truth about anything. United States government paid for the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall using U.S. taxpayer money. The government of Mexico did not pay for any portion of the wall, despite President Donald Trump’s repeated campaign promises that it would. Rationalizing away using a liars assertions doesn’t help your argument. Good luck and hope you come to terms with Starmer too.
Excellent article, Christina. You have tapped into the zeitgeist of this moment historically with your astrological analysis. It’s given me confidence with my interruptions and thoughts. Thank you for sharing. Much appreciated.
Shrug. Don’t attack me personally please. Engage with the ideas.