U.S. & Venezuela:  On the Path to War?

By Alex Miller

On 10 December 2025, the Trump administration upped its ante in the brewing conflict with Venezuela, when US Coast Guard forces seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean, ostensibly to disrupt illicit sales of sanctioned oil from both Venezuela and Iran.  Tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated in the wake of US strikes on alleged drug-runner boats which began in September, and this latest move nudges the nations closer to outright armed conflict.

The Sun (18 Sagittarius) conjoined both Venus (12 Sagittarius) and Mars (26 Sagittarius) suggests a spotlight (Sun) on conflict (Mars) over products of intrinsic value (Venus), and with this grouping opposed (180 degrees) both the US Mars (20 Gemini) and Trump’s birth Sun (22 Gemini), the saber-rattling (US Mars) from the US Commander-in-Chief (Trump Sun) has reached new heights.  An exact opposition from Mercury (28 Scorpio) to Uranus (28 Taurus) when Donald Trump revealed the seizure forms a T-Square (1) with Trump’s natal Ascendant (29 Leo), signaling the announcement (Mercury) of a volatile, controversial provocation (Uranus), perhaps designed to enhance Trump’s public image (Ascendant), which has been declining among his base in the wake of continued economic stress powered in part by his tariff regime.

Asteroids supply details of the event, and point to a potential for increased conflict in the not-too-distant future.  With asteroids Washingtonia (18 Leo, representing the US capital) and Caracas (13 Aquarius, representing the Venezuelan capital) opposed (indicating antagonism), and asteroids Venezuela (4 Gemini) and America (2 Virgo) in square (90 degrees, indicating stress and conflict), the stage is set for continued tensions between the two nations and their governments.

Delving even deeper, the cosmos provides the fine print details.  The oil tanker’s name is Skipper, and a pairing of asteroids Skip (15 Virgo, for “Skipper”) and Oileus (14 Virgo, for “oil”) is squared the Sun, pulling further focus to the incident.  As well, asteroid Shipka (3 Aquarius, for “ship”) conjoins Pluto (2 Aquarius), ruling criminality, with Venezuela terming the seizure an act of international piracy. 

Apparent changes of direction in the sky by key points have heralded the ramp-up of tensions and fundamental alterations in how the two countries relate.  A station (2) of asteroid Caracas came just two days after the initial US strike on Venezuelan shipping on September 2, while the tanker seizure was preceded by asteroid Washingtonia’s station four days prior.

There is cause for concern that the struggle will escalate to armed conflict, in the upcoming conjunction of the Sun with Mars, ruling war, due on January 9^th.  At that time, the conjoined points (at 19 Capricorn) will closely oppose Jupiter (20 Cancer), which tends to inflate, increase, and exacerbate whatever it touches, and also rules foreign relations.  At the time, asteroids Venezuela (0 Gemini) and America (2 Virgo) will still be squared, continuing the tensions between them, and while asteroid Caracas (27 Aquarius) will have moved off its opposition to Washingtonia (then retrograded back to 15 Leo), it is simultaneously involved in a precise square with asteroid Bellona (27 Scorpio), named for the Roman goddess of war.  This double whammy from celestial markers of combat could prod the simmering conflict into all-out military action.

Notes: (1) A T-Square is a dynamic pattern composed of two or more planets in opposition (180 degrees), each squared (90 degrees) a third.  It represents stress and conflict, with the fulcrum point (at the square) offering a possibility of resolution.

(2) Stations are periods when, from our perspective on Earth, a planet appears to slow its movement, come to a standstill, and reverse course.  This is an optical illusion created by the triangulation between the sun, Earth, and any third celestial body; astrologically, it represents a focusing of the energies associated with that point, and often coincides with major life events or a radical recalibration of how that point has functioned previously.

Sources:  reporting from Reuters and Axios; chart data from serennu.com; graphic image by author

Title Image Credit:  drawn by ChatGPT