When my cat saw that President Trump’s Communications Director, Chief of Staff, Chief Strategist and Attorney General were all being publicly humiliated in an effort to push them out of their roles, she asked why anyone would work for Trump since eventually this pattern occurs.

I said I didn’t know.

My cat asked if these people were drawn to abusive relationships and had delusions that their experiences would be better than others’ experiences because they were somehow special.

I said I didn’t know.

My cat asked if these people were going to get some therapy so they could learn to identify and avoid sociopaths in the future.

I said I didn’t know.

With obvious irritation, my cat asked if I could at least look at their horoscopes for some insight on why these individuals would walk into a self-destructing mine field, even by political standards.

I said I could do that.

Humiliation

My cat and I have been learning much about humiliation in the past six months. As we’ve read in Psychology Today:

Embarrassment, shame, guilt, and humiliation all imply the existence of value systems. Whereas shame and guilt are primarily the outcome of self-appraisal, embarrassment and humiliation are primarily the outcome of appraisal by one or several others, even if only in thought or imagination. (See my article on embarrassment, shame, and guilt here.)

One important respect in which humiliation differs from embarrassment is that, whereas we bring embarrassment upon ourselves, humiliation is something that is brought upon us by others. Tommy confides to his teacher that he has not done his homework. He feels embarrassment. The teacher reveals this to the whole class. Now he feels even greater embarrassment. The teacher makes him sit facing into a corner, provoking the laughter of his classmates. This time, he feels humiliation. Had the teacher quietly given Tommy an F grade, he would have felt not humiliated but offended. Offense is primarily cognitive, to do with clashing beliefs and values, whereas humiliation is much more visceral and existential.

Which sign suffers most under humiliation?

Each sign may have its own tolerance of humiliation, much like we have varying levels of tolerance for pain. Fire signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) for example, are outgoing so if you ask them spontaneously to speak at a large public gathering, they might respond well. Ask a practical, planning earth sign (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn) to to do the same and they may never speak to you again.

Call out an air sign (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius) for not following the rules and you might find that they deliberately rebelled to prove a point. Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces) are extremely sensitive and would respond emotionally to humiliation but may also be more prone to guilt and internalize it.

Our sight, hearing and analytical intelligence are quantifiable and can be easily compared to our fellow men. Comparing our tolerance for love, hatred, pain and humiliation aren’t quantifiable. We can only feel our own level of these emotions and observe others to try to understand what they feel.

All the President’s Humiliated Men

Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist, has recently been criticized in vulgar fashion by the new White House Communications Director. Bannon is a fiery guy with sun in Sagittarius and moon/Pluto conjunct in Leo. Fire is strong, bold and resilient. Mars, the active principle, is in detriment (bad placement) in Libra which may make Bannon contain some of his aggressive instincts.

Saturn has been transiting Sagittarius which puts the brakes on some of Sagittarius’ natural instinct to wander and explore. Saturn also is a reality check on one’s lofty ideals. If you claim to be a teetotaler, for example, and take a nip of brandy under this transit, Saturn will make sure to catch you.

Saturn in Sagittarius also happens to be transiting President Trump’s moon which leads me to believe that humiliation of Bannon is simply a pass-it-on humiliation that Trump himself feels. Fire signs don’t usually accept this kind of treatment so I could image Bannon taking the Sagittarius path away from the situation.

Reince Priebus, former Chief of Staff, with sun in Pisces and moon in Taurus, was also in the criticism lobbed by the new White House Communications Director. A Taurus moon is a nice placement to have for calm, steady reaction. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and most prone sacrifice itself or inadvertently become the scapegoat. Priebus chose not to be a scapegoat.

In a blog from April 2016, I described Priebus’ Gemini problem. He was warned and yet decided to walk into it . . . astrologers always help where they can. Priebus’ natal Saturn in Gemini is tied up in the President’s natal sun/Uranus opposition to the moon. That he lasted six months is a feat of Pisces adaptability.

Jeff Sessions, Attorney General, who has been the subject of critical tweets from the president, has sun and moon in Capricorn. Capricorn loves, loves being authority but hates humiliation as its highest goal is respect. This is the situation of the monkey who grabs food from a cage but the food is too large to fit through the holes so does the monkey let go or hold on forever?

Pluto the great destroyer and transformer is transiting Capricorn. If Sessions is pushed out, it will be particularly ugly and may involve accusations of a Plutonian nature such as underworld connections, illegal activity or abuse of power.

Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary, who left when the new Communications Director was hired, has sun and Pluto in Virgo, which is highly controlling in an obsessive-compulsive way. Spicer’s moon is in Scorpio which has a strong ego and is not known for suffering fools gladly. Saturn is in Gemini as is Priebus’ which is conjunct the president’s sun. A person’s Saturn on your natal sun feels heavy, like they are always making the rules and trying to control you. Trump probably dislikes Spicer because he’s viewed as ruining the fun.

In addition, Virgo is a mutable sign (as are Gemini, Sagittarius and Pisces). Saturn transiting Sagittarius is making a square and all of that knocks up against the President’s sun/Uranus moon opposition. In other words, it’s all conflict. Like Priebus, Spicer’s ability to stay for an entire six months reflects the a Herculean task which may have been aided by his Virgo sun which can take some abuse. His Virgo sun probably developed a migraine which never ended due to external pressure and internal self-criticism, a Virgo trait.

Anthony Scaramucci

After discussing the various ways Trump’s men are humiliated, the cat asked if the new Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci would be humiliated.

I said I didn’t know.

She said it was inevitable and asked what his humiliation might look like.

I said I’d look.

Scaramucci has sun in Capricorn, moon in Libra and Jupiter in Aries, which forms a T-square. Squares can be frustration but moon in Libra isn’t known for the abusive language used by Scaramucci. It’s usually much more diplomatic. Jupiter in Aries would have natural self-assurance but square Capricorn creates a demanding personality.

Possibly Scaramucci is trying to prove his worth by saying, “I don’t have a poetic, wishy-washing, relationship-oriented Libra moon that strongly desires to be popular. I’ll prove it.”

Saturn and Venus are conjunct in Aquarius in his chart suggesting great difficulties connecting and feelings of rejection by the group. Scaramucci’s behavior might be responding by saying, “I’ll reject you before you reject me.” This can be common with Capricorn as well.

What humiliation is in store for a man who’s clearly come out of the gate with fighting fire with fire?

Pluto is transiting Capricorn and recently crossed Scaramucci’s sun. Pluto is retrograde (moving backwards) but won’t actually cross his sun again. It will, however, make a long trek to his natal Mars and form exact conjunction around 2021.

Will Scaramucci last until 2021?

Like Sessions, Scaramucci’s humiliation will involve Pluto, which is very powerful and intense. Add Mars and you get a very nasty and violent combination. If (or should I say “when?”) Scaramucci goes, it will be very nasty.

Since Scaramucci clearly knows the rules of the Humiliation Game, he may fight his way through the gauntlet. This brings to mind Scorpio imagery, which is ruled by Pluto and the defensive tactic of biting one’s own tail in defense.