This is the fourth of five specially related articles covering the elections. As events unfold there may be an additional article when it seems appropriate to comment in the coming year. Because I am addressing Trump’s appointees, this article is rather long at eight pages. My apologies.

By this time it should be very obvious to everyone what the nature of Donald Trump’s cabinet is and what his orientation is going to be as president. Here I am not going to write in great detail about each appointee’s personality because that would perhaps be tedious to everyone. What is more interesting is the theme of the general group he has selected, what we can expect from them, and what the opportunities are for future, for us individually, and for us as a people.

Like most kings throughout history, Trump has a special affection for warriors and especially for the military with its particular ways of operating. Even though we live in a democracy, sort of, the military has never been and never will be a democracy.  The military is based on an entirely different system, a chain of command that demands total obedience and a highly organized top down process. This is why it appeals to kings because they are usually at the top of this vast pecking order and there is nothing more that they like than obedience, loyalty or fealty, and the opportunity to run the show, in other words complete control of the empire that they enjoy building to suit their own values.

Remember, however, that not all kings share the same values. While they are similar in the basics of how their personalities run, they may display a range of values. There is a huge difference between an infant soul king gang leader or mobster, a baby soul king religious tyrant, a young soul king conquering the world, a benevolent mature soul king seeing to the people’s welfare, and an old soul king like John Muir, looking after the natural environment. As we have seen, Donald Trump displays the young soul set of values, he who ends up with the most toys wins.

Now it is no secret that Trump admires Putin. Putin is a warrior with a goal of discrimination and is absolutely ruthless in his management of his minions. He does not place people into positions of power who can manipulate him, rather it is he who is the grand manipulator. People die with regularity around Putin. His enemies are dispatched simply and quickly. Anyone who dares to oppose him is destroyed through social media or more directly through assassination. It is interesting that as Trump’s star rises, so does his loyal follower’s opinion of Putin and Russia. What dad likes, we like. This is the ten year old approach to life.  If you want to see where we are chillingly headed, you need look no further than Putin and his autocratic ways. Trump and Putin are cut from the same cloth however Putin is more experienced and smarter.  After all he used to be head of the KGB and de facto, still is, even though it is now called something else. Putin is also way more focused and cold.

He does not have tantrums whereas as Trump cares about what people say and think about him and gets his feelings hurt.

Because he is a king and dominant, Trump, like Putin wants to appoint minions that he can dictate to and delegate jobs to.  Because he is basically insecure, he wants to appoint people who are very simple and narrow focused with their own set of values and who will advise him about what to ruthlessly do. He figures that generals are good for that. He wants them to advise him, inform him, and then he gets to decide what to do like any executive CEO type. However because he is insecure, he may hesitate to reject their opinions when they advocate something dangerous.

By now many people are perceiving Trump’s true nature and are trying to figure out the strategy for either surviving his reign, heading him off at the pass, or getting as close to him as possible to gain influence and or acceptance. There is a massive jockeying for power at this time and already many people in the political arena are afraid of currying his disfavor and are tip-toeing around him. They know that with a few tweets he can destroy them or set the dogs on them in a most horrific way. When he attacks someone his loyal followers pile onto them via social media and threaten them and their families. About this he is silent which basically means tacit approval. He already has his henchmen at work and he does not have to accept any responsibility for what they do. In gangland these are called thugs, in Germany they were called brown shirts.

Interestingly enough most political commentators seemed resigned to say that we are entering a new era where maybe everything is changing. Perhaps there will no longer be a separation of a president’s business interests and the presidency. Perhaps he does not have to disclose any personal taxes paid or private business interests after all. Perhaps there will be an era where all environmental protections are dismantled by the president. Perhaps the president’s family will play a major role in his presidency and the old paradigm of avoiding nepotism is over. Perhaps the president can live wherever he pleases and the white house is a relic of the past. In other words there is very little resistance to whatever Donald Trump wants to do. The country is basically just rolling over on its back and letting Trump have his way with it. This passivity will come back to haunt the country in not so long.

Already Donald Trumps choices for his inner circle and his cabinet demonstrate that he is assembling a wrecking crew. Just about every member of his closest advisors and of his proposed cabinet is hostile to the very department that they are responsible for. As a set of people they are hostile to the government itself, mostly having been on the record for dismantling the systems they are supposed to protect. This is no news anymore. They are people who espouse eco destructive opinions and  have clearly stated they favor dismantling Americans safety nets, and are truly foxes being set up to guard the henhouses.

Donald Trump has already had a chance to make some good choices and bring the nation together after a bruising campaign and he has not done that. He is behaving as some people have feared. So even though Donald Trump appears to be unpredictable, that is only true of him in the moment. Once the nation gets to know him better, he may actually be quite predictable, and not in the way many would want.

For example like most young souls, Donald Trump does not greatly value anything that cannot be sold or that is not a commodity. Everything has to fit into a business model. In this model National Parks are anathema, they don’t make money, they are losers? Why not privatize them and turn them into businesses? That is really the world he knows.

Now before reading this list and the comments here understand that each of these personalities has an immortal essence and that each one of them is slowly on their way to enlightenment. Every one of them will grow up and end up a master sooner or later, just not in this lifetime. Realize that for the time being they are in 3D reality where their personalities are expressing their inexperience and their ignorance through very limited personality awareness. We all learn through our mistakes. On the other hand their being young souls does not give them the right to destroy the country. They are children. Should the children be running the family? No. That is what parents are for, that is what the older souls are for.

The cast of characters

I find it interesting that Donald Trump considered several kings for his cabinet but in the end dispensed with almost all of them, at least so far. By turns, Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Palin, and Mitt Romney came and went. When it comes down to it, kings just don’t want the competition from another king. Of the three, Mitt Romney would have been the most competent.

Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson; Young king with dominance and an obstacle of arrogance; A definite rival who may not heed Trump’s wishes; Loaded with completely compromising personal business agendas; Absolutely ruthless and part of the wrecking crew.

Attorney General: Jeff Sessions; 7th level baby soul server with dominance. Not unlike Richard Nixon in his values system. This man is incapable of escaping his extremely closed mindedness. The only asset he has is his loyalty to Trump which allows him to play with the big boys. He simply will not be able to avoid stepping in shit. Like all baby souls he has no sophistication and is unable to see his own fear levels. He is totally transparent and will be caught for his missteps; A fox guarding the henhouse and part of the wrecking crew.

Chief strategist: Stephen K. Bannon; He is a 7th level young soul sage with a goal of dominance, extremely articulate and sharp like most sages. He can sell snow to a snowman. He has an attitude of cynic causing many people to see him as a kind of brooding man with a chip on his shoulder and a dark outlook. He likes to stimulate fear in others about how bad it all is. Sometimes he slides to realist but this is usually heavily colored by a touch of cynicism. He was an important factor behind Trumps extremely negative campaigning strategy. Has been associated with domestic violence. He is the Darth Vader figure. Shouls be considered extremely dangerous and part of the wrecking crew.

National Security Advisor: Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn: Young soul warrior with dominance and aggression sliding to perseverance and quite stubborn. Wrecking crew.

Mike Pompeo: Head of CIA. Young soul sage with power mode, someone who must be watched to make sure he does not overstep his bounds. He is quite interested in his own empire building.

Ben Carson MD: Secretary of Housing. 7th level baby server. The only black person in the cabinet selected for a lower status position. He is the token black. He has never held government office and does not want to.

Defense Secretary: Gen. James Mattis: Believe it or not he is actually an early level mature warrior with a goal of growth and obstacle of stubbornness. He may say some foolish things but he actually can put his feet in other people’s shoes and he is not a total extremist.  A rare voice of reason in the darkness.

Commerce Secretary: Wilbur Ross. Classic young soul warrior in dominance with an obstacles of arrogance and greed. He is loyal to Trump so he got the position. He is absolutely ruthless in his analytical approach to business. He does not care who gets hurt as long as he makes his money. He takes no prisoners. Will hand the country over to robber barons and corporations. Wrecking crew.

Transportation Secretary: Elaine Chow:  Young warrior with power mode. Reasonably competent to rebuild the countries infrastructure if she can get the budget passed to do so. This is unlikely with the tea party strength in congress.

Tom Price MD: Health and Human services secretary: 7th level baby soul server with obstacle of arrogance. He is extremely controlling.. He is not the type to ask others how they want to be served.  On the contrary he believes that he knows best how to serve everyone else. He really believes that he is helping people when he considers dismantling all the health safety nets of millions of Americans; A fox guarding the henhouse and part of the wrecking crew.

Ambassador to United Nations: Governor Nicki Haley: She is an early 1st level mature soul scholar, an idealist with a goal of acceptance. She is capable of putting her feet in other peoples’ shoes and, actually makes eye contact, and is able to establish a connection with other people. One of Trump’s better choices for an influential position; Hopefully she won’t get munched by the wolf pack around her.

Secretary of the Treasury: Steve Minuchin. Young soul scholar in dominance, obstacle of arrogance, and very similar in approach to Wilbur Ross. They are peas in a pod regarding their values. Charged with Trump’s desire to rewrite the tax code to favor corporations and the wealthy. Has some liberal viewpoints but under Trump another fox in the henhouse and part of the wrecking crew.

Education Secretary: Betsy De Vos. Young Soul Sage, goal of acceptance, idealist, obstacle of greed, with a conservative Christian agenda. She is persuasive, smart, and charming. Like so many young souls she makes it appear that she has student’s and teacher’s best interests in mind, but there is a hidden agenda to gut or dismantle the public education system in favor of private and charter schools favoring the conservative Evangelical agenda; A fox guarding the henhouse. Wrecking crew.

Secretary of the Interior: Ryan Zinke; Young warrior, dominance, perseverance, cynic, and obstacle of arrogance. Completely out of touch with the spirit of the environment; A fox guarding the henhouse. Wrecking crew.

Department of Energy: Rick Perry; Young sage with gift of gab although has been know to open mouth and insert foot rather often; Obstacle of Greed; A cat with nine lives. Amazing how he keeps showing up after startling displays of poor judgment. Now to be in charge of USA nuclear arsenal. Really? Proposed gutting the Department of Energy. Another Fox guarding the henhouse.  Wrecking crew.

Secretary of Labor: Andrew F. Puzder; Young warrior. Basically in charge of dismantling regulations protecting labor. Another Fox guarding the henhouse. Wrecking crew.

Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon; Young warrior with aggression mode. Know little about her.

Head of Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt; Young Warrior with goal of discrimination. Sued the EPA numerous times as attorney general of Oklahoma. Works hand in glove with big oil interests. Charged with dismantling the EPA by Trump. Fox in the henhouse and a chief member of the wrecking crew.

Secretary of Homeland Security: John F. Kelly; Young warrior, retired general in charge of immigration and borders. Charged with draconian Trump immigration and border agendas. Another member of the wrecking crew.

White House Counsel: Donald F. McGahn II; Young warrior in dominance. Pushed to deregulate campaign election laws to allow no limits on donations so that big money can buy candidates. Advisor to Trump in his legal matters and business empire. A fox in the henhouse and an old hand at being part of the wrecking crew.

Mike Pence: Vice president. 7th level baby soul priest. Already discussed. Tea Party favorite and could end up as president in the long run.

Totals:

Action roles: 9 young soul warriors; 1 mature soul warrior; 1 young soul king = total 11

Expression roles: 4 young soul sages; 0 creative artisans= total 4

Inspiration roles: 3 baby soul servers; 1 baby soul priest=total 4

Assimilation roles: 1 x 7th level young soul scholar; 1 x 1st level mature scholar=total 2.

Clearly the cabinet and advisory group is completely dominated by action oriented warriors plus 1 king in addition to Trump who makes 12 altogether.

There are 4 young sages, all with the gift of the silver tongue, talkers and sales oriented types.

All four of the inspirational types are baby souls, extremely rigid and controlling. They are inspired zealots.

Only two neutral types with deeply conservative orientations. Not so neutral after all.

What does this mean? The cabinet has a dearth of mature and older souls, only two and barely so both being at the first levels. There is basically no one to protect the interests and values of the 51% percent older souls in the population. This cabinet represents the 49% younger soul population of America, the ones who want to turn the clock back and want to reduce the power of government to protect the environment, regulate corporations and banks from abusive policies, and provide safety net programs for the poor and disenfranchised. They are heavily weighted on the side of young dominant warriors, narrow focused action oriented individuals oriented to following kings’ commands. They are the nuts and bolts of the wrecking crew.

They are selected to take apart the federal government and its programs. They are refighting the civil war with the goal to win this time. They have a strong conservative Christian agenda that sees women as second class citizens, and as property that can be abused as necessary. They will replace the federal government with a weak rubber stamp group of yes men who allow the corporations to dominate and run the economy as they see fit.  Everything will be for sale. The wealthy will become impossibly dominant and controlling of everything. The class system will be restored to its former glory with royalty, serfs, and slaves.

At this time Americans have three choices. 1. They can willingly give up their freedoms and become willing adoring subjects of the new young king who will walk upon their backs to achieve new riches. 2. They can passively be martyred as they go about their business of shopping and entertainment, not caring who dominates and controls them. 3. They can feel motivated by outrage and concern for their extraordinary country to mobilize all efforts to resist the destruction of their last freedoms. They can pour into the streets as they have done before to protest any policies they strongly disagree with, all forms of corruption, and all efforts to coerce the population into giving up their dreams of justice and fair play. They can fight for mother earth, for nature, and for sustainable lifestyles. Which is it going to be? You decide.

This wrecking crew has a powerful purpose. To wake us up. So deep has become our slumber that we could even sleep through this, or not. This wrecking crew is so ruthless, so radical that it will be difficult to nap as they go about their grim business. To give them any un-resisted opportunities is to dig the grave of the United States as it could be. The 250 year Pluto circuit around our sun is about to be completed in eight more years, 2024. Hardly any nation states make it through a Pluto cycle except for Rome and a couple of others. Is this the end of an era starting in 1776 or is it a crisis point allowing us a course correction?  Again, you decide.

JOSÉ STEVENS

José Stevens PhD is an international lecturer, corporate team builder and organizational coach, consultant and trainer. A psychologist, licensed clinical social worker and author of more than twenty books and numerous articles, he is also co-editor for A Journal of Contemporary Shamanism and a board member of the Society for Shamanic Practitioners. He is the founder, with his wife Lena, of the Power Path School of Shamanism and The Center for Shamanic Education and Exchange, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating youth in indigenous cultures. He has completed a ten-year apprenticeship with a Huichol Maracame in Mexico and has studied with the Shipibos of the Amazon and the Paqos of the Andes for the last thirty years.

Go to: www.thepowerpath.com