Mars Rising: Trump's Iran Nuclear Crossroads

The irony writes itself: even as mediators whisper that a nuclear deal with Iran hangs within reach, the machinery of conflict grinds forward. Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018 claiming it could never prevent an Iranian bomb, now contemplates military action against the very nation a new agreement might restrain. The planetary configurations of early 2026 suggest this tension between diplomacy and force is not merely political theate

To understand where we are, we must trace the arc of American-Iranian relations through the lens of mundane astrology—the ancient practice of reading collective destinies in celestial movements. What emerges is a story of Mars, the planet of conflict, assertion, and war, making its presence felt at every critical juncture. And at the center stands Trump himself, a man whose natal chart carries Mars in a position of extraordinary prominence, now facing transits that seem to demand expression.

Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946, at 10:54 AM in Jamaica, Queens, New York. The birth time, confirmed through official records and extensively analyzed by astrological researchers, yields a chart with Mars positioned at 26 degrees Leo, conjunct the Ascendant—the eastern horizon point that represents how one meets the world. This is not a quiet Mars. In Leo, the warrior planet wears a crown, demanding recognition, refusing to be ignored. Rising on the Ascendant, it becomes the face presented to others, the first impression, the opening statement of a life.

Those who follow astrological analysis have long noted this placement in Trump's chart. Mars rising suggests a person who leads with assertion, who perceives challenges as personal tests of strength, whose instinct in any confrontation is to strike first. The Leo placement adds theatrical flair—a need for the conflict itself to be witnessed, celebrated, remembered. Throughout his presidency and beyond, observers have seen this pattern play out in real time.

The current sky tells us something significant: Mars is now moving through Aquarius at 28 degrees, preparing to station direct after a retrograde period that began in Cancer. This placement forms a tense aspect to Trump's natal Mars. The square between Aquarius and Leo creates friction between the old king and the new order, between personal will and collective demands. When Mars moves to station direct in mid-March 2026, it will carry the accumulated pressure of months of apparent backward motion—a pressure that seeks release.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was finalized on July 14, 2015, in Vienna, after years of painstaking negotiations. The Sun at 22 degrees Cancer, conjunct the North Node, suggested a moment of collective destiny—a choice point for the international community. Under its terms, Iran agreed to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and cease operating two-thirds of its centrifuges. Catherine Ashton, the European Union's chief diplomat, captured the aspiration of that moment: "With courage, political will, mutual respect and leadership, we delivered on what the world was hoping for: a shared commitment to peace and to join hands in order to make our world safer."

The deal's signature came under Saturn in Scorpio—a placement associated with deep transformation through confrontation with shadow. The nuclear question had haunted international relations for decades. Here was an attempt to bring that shadow into the light of verification and compliance.

But Trump saw it differently. On May 8, 2018, he announced American withdrawal from the agreement, declaring: "It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement." He specifically criticized the Obama administration's $1.7 billion debt clearance to Iran as part of his rationale. Uranus at 29 degrees Aries—the final degree of the first sign, a point of critical culmination—marked the moment. Uranus governs sudden breaks, revolutions, the overturning of established orders. At the very end of Aries, it suggested a decisive, perhaps reckless, severing of ties.

The pattern that followed reads like a textbook case of Mars energy seeking outlets. On January 3, 2020, Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, major general of Iran's Quds Force, at Baghdad International Airport. The Pentagon stated Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members. Trump's words after the strike carried the unmistakable imprint of Mars in Leo: "Under my leadership, America's policy is unambiguous: To terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American, we will find you; we will eliminate you."

Yet the astrology of that moment reveals complexity. Saturn and Pluto had just completed their conjunction in Capricorn—a configuration associated with the concentration of power, the reckoning with consequences, the weight of history pressing down on present decisions. Mars was in Sagittarius, firing from distance, the archer's sign. The strike demonstrated capability but also revealed limits. Iran retaliated. The region held its breath. Full-scale war did not materialize.

Then came June 2025. Iran and Israel traded missile strikes for twelve days. Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025, saw US forces damage Iranian nuclear facilities. The long-simmering conflict had entered a new phase. And yet, even here, restraint operated. Trump, according to some reports, stymied John Bolton's more hawkish efforts to topple Iranian leadership entirely. The Mars in Leo wants victory, yes, but it also wants to control the narrative—to be the one who decides when and how force is applied.

Now we stand in February 2026, and the sky carries portents. Mars stationed retrograde in December 2025 at 17 degrees Cancer and will station direct in mid-March at approximately 5 degrees Cancer. Cancer is the sign of homeland, roots, protective instincts, the nation as family. Mars retrograde in this sign suggests a period of reconsidering how we defend what we love, what we're willing to fight for, what wounds we carry from past conflicts. When Mars stations direct, the energy that has been turning inward bursts outward.

Simultaneously, Saturn and Neptune are converging toward a conjunction at 0 degrees Aries, exact on April 12, 2026. This is a rare configuration. Saturn represents structure, authority, consequence, the hard edges of reality. Neptune dissolves boundaries, introduces ambiguity, governs both spiritual ideals and delusional thinking. Together at the very beginning of Aries—the sign of initiation, of the self asserting itself into existence—they suggest a new cycle beginning in how collective dreams meet material constraints. The ideal of a nuclear-free Middle East, the fantasy of decisive military solutions, the hope for diplomatic breakthroughs—all face the test of what is actually possible.

The current sky on February 28, 2026, shows Jupiter at 15 degrees Cancer, amplifying the themes of homeland and protection that Mars retrograde has been stirring. Mercury at 22 degrees Pisces suggests communication filled with nuance, perhaps ambiguity—fitting for a moment when mediators claim a deal is close while military preparations continue. Neptune at 1 degree Aries has just crossed into the sign of new beginnings, bringing its fog to fresh initiatives.

What makes this moment particularly charged is the interaction between Trump's personal chart and the current transits. His natal Mars at 26 degrees Leo receives a square from transiting Mars in Aquarius. Squares create tension that demands action. The Aquarius-Leo axis speaks to the conflict between individual authority and collective governance, between the king and the people, between unilateral action and coalition-building.

His natal Jupiter at 17 degrees Libra—the planet of expansion, meaning, and justice in the sign of partnership and balance—receives attention from transiting Jupiter in Cancer. This suggests questions about what constitutes fair dealing, whether agreements can be trusted, whether partners have honored their obligations. Trump's entire critique of the JCPOA centered on his belief that Iran had violated its spirit if not its letter, and that the deal itself was fundamentally unbalanced.

The Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0 Aries falls in a tense aspect to Trump's natal Sun at 22 Gemini. Saturn presses with demands for accountability, for results, for the manifestation of promises made. Neptune clouds the picture with uncertainty about what is real and what is illusion. Is a new deal truly possible? Are Iranian intentions genuine? Can military action achieve what diplomacy cannot? These questions refuse simple answers.

Perhaps the cruelest irony of this moment lies in the timing. Mediators suggest a nuclear deal is close. The diplomatic machinery that Trump dismissed as inadequate in 2018 has continued to grind, producing the possibility of a new agreement that might address some of his stated concerns. Yet the Mars energy in his chart and in the sky seems to demand action before that possibility can materialize.

Mundane astrologers have identified 2026 as a critical year involving Mars-Saturn configurations and eclipses, with some predicting what they term "global chaos" windows. The language is dramatic, perhaps overly so, but the underlying observation holds: when Mars and Saturn interact strongly, the themes of conflict and consequence, assertion and limitation, tend to play out in collective events.

The Mars retrograde period that ends in mid-March 2026 has been one of reconsideration. Strategies have been reviewed. Options have been weighed. The retrograde motion often corresponds with delays, reversals, returns to previous battlegrounds. When the planet stations direct, the time for reconsideration ends. Action becomes not just possible but necessary.

Every generation believes it faces unprecedented challenges. The astrologer knows better. The planets move in cycles, and their patterns echo across centuries. Saturn-Neptune conjunctions have historically coincided with periods when collective dreams meet hard realities—the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the social upheavals of 1917, the religious wars of the Reformation era. Each time, what people believed possible encountered what actually was.

The Iran nuclear question carries similar weight. The dream of a Middle East free from nuclear proliferation meets the reality of regional rivalries, historical grievances, and the intractable logic of deterrence. The dream of decisive military action meets the reality of asymmetric warfare, proxy forces, and the law of unintended consequences. The dream of a diplomatic solution meets the reality of domestic politics, institutional distrust, and the erosion of international frameworks.

Trump stands at the intersection of these dreams and realities, his natal chart a map of the tensions he embodies. Mars rising demands action, assertion, the proving of strength. Jupiter in Libra asks for balance, partnership, the appearance of fairness. The current transits activate both, demanding choices.

Astrology can illuminate patterns, but it cannot predict specific outcomes with certainty. The Mars square to Trump's natal Mars suggests conflict, assertion, the need to prove oneself. It does not tell us whether that conflict takes the form of military strikes, diplomatic hardball, or something else entirely. The Saturn-Neptune conjunction suggests a collision between dreams and reality. It does not tell us which dreams survive the collision.

What we can say is that this moment carries the signatures of previous turning points. The Uranus at 29 Aries that marked Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 has moved into Taurus, the sign of resources and values. The Saturn-Pluto conjunction that accompanied the Soleimani strike has separated, with Pluto now in Aquarius and Saturn approaching Neptune. The configurations have shifted, but the underlying questions remain.

A deal is said to be close. Military options are said to be on the table. Mars prepares to station direct. Saturn and Neptune prepare to conjoin. The old patterns of assertion and consequence, dream and reality, individual will and collective fate, spin toward another collision.

Mars retrograde periods typically correspond with delays, reversals, and the reconsideration of strategies. In Cancer, the sign associated with homeland, family, and protective instincts, this retrograde has emphasized questions about what nations are willing to fight for, what wounds they carry from past conflicts, and how they define the boundaries of what they will defend. When Mars stations direct in mid-March 2026, the energy that has been internalized will seek outward expression.

Saturn-Neptune conjunctions occur approximately every 36 years and historically correspond with periods when collective dreams and ideals meet hard material constraints. Saturn governs structure, authority, and consequence; Neptune governs vision, illusion, and dissolution. At 0 degrees Aries—the very beginning of the zodiac—this conjunction suggests a new cycle beginning in how humanity navigates the tension between what it hopes for and what it can actually achieve. For nuclear negotiations and military planning alike, this configuration demands that idealistic projections confront realistic limitations.

Trump's Mars at 26 degrees Leo conjunct his Ascendant places the warrior planet in a position of maximum visibility and influence. Mars in Leo asserts itself dramatically, with a need for recognition and an instinct for theatrical confrontation. Rising on the Ascendant, this Mars becomes the face he presents to the world—the first impression, the opening move in any negotiation. Current transits from Mars in Aquarius square this natal placement, creating tension between personal assertion and collective demands, between the will to act unilaterally and the pressure to consider broader coalitions.

Astrology illuminates patterns and tendencies, but it cannot predict specific outcomes with certainty. The current configurations—Mars retrograde stationing direct, Saturn conjoining Neptune, the activation of Trump's natal Mars—suggest a period of heightened tension, the pressure for decisive action, and the collision of idealistic projections with material constraints. Whether this results in military conflict, diplomatic breakthrough, or some combination depends on human choices made within these archetypal frameworks. The stars incline; they do not compel.

The weeks ahead will reveal whether the diplomatic path remains viable or whether the Mars energy demanding expression finds its outlet in conflict. The mediators say a deal is close. The military preparations say otherwise. Somewhere in the space between those truths, history waits to be written.