CHART USA (Pt. 6): Solar return 2010/2011

Once a nation gets used to something it's a little hard to break the habit. The United States is used to celebrating it's national birthday on July 4th. But according to the USA(ppomattox) chart...

April 9, 1865 (3:53pm/LMT) - Appomattox Court House, VA

The Civil War ends, the United States is again united as one nation.

 ...the birthday or maybe re-birthing day for the US should fall on April 9th. And maybe that's just what US citizens should call it - Rebirthing Day, sticking with July 4th as Independence Day.

And if this is the chart for the modern US of A, then we should be able to see images of the yearly doings in every solar return which rolls around.

Don't know what a 'solar return' is? Well, basically it's the 'birthday' thing. Every year when the Sun returns to the degree and minute it was at when you were born - or in this case, where it was when Lee surrendered to Grant there in that farmhouse in Virginia - we cast another chart.

Your natal chart (the chart above for the US) doesn't 'go away' or anything - that natal chart is the metaphysical 'map' of time/space you are and which unfolds through your life, over the course of that life.

But the solar return chart gives us a picture of what will happen that "birthday" year - from one birthday to the next. In your story book life, each solar return tells the tale of one chapter.

So here's the 2010/2011 solar return for Chart USA....

Chart USA(ppomattox) Solar Return 2010  

As always, we start with the Sun - the will and 'life force' of it all. Remembering the 'interactive' qualities of the US Sun and that its native position in the 8th house is all about what the nation choose to risk/invest itself (and its values) in replete with the balance of power and exposure which goes with, to see this Sun now positioned with Eris (discord) just under the 7th house cusp is a very clear picture of the US causing discord and experiencing discord in this world.

Eris being a slow moving dwarf planet with an orbital period of 557.438 years, it's obviously been on this US Sun for some time.

How long? Well, laying aside the question of 'coming into aspect orbs' (meaning how long before it actually hits the US Sun does it begin to affect the US Sun), the date of exactitude to the Appomattox Sun was June 4, 2001. Considering this is Eris and that close works in the case of nuclear blasts and distant dwarf planets (and in some senses those two things being related), it's interesting to note that on June 5th, Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston, causing great damage and initiating what has been a string of troubles along the Gulf coast.

On the 7th of June, President GW Bush signed into law the now-famous 'Bush Tax Cuts' which in combination with the Iraq war not having been built into the US budget served to decrease federal income while vastly increasing outflow. The result is today's huge deficit, and it could even be argued that this destabilization of income/expenses at the governmental level contributed  to the entire borrow/invest rondo which come 2008 not only threw the American but the world economy into a tizzy, bankrupting entire nations.

Lastly, on June 11 of 2001, home-grown terrorist Timothy McVeigh was executed.

These things are emblematic of what has gone on since - discord financial/fiscal, issues with terrorists and terrorism and natural disasters, particularly along the US Gulf coast. Mind you, this is not saying that nobody else had any problems - the floods and famines elsewhere are terrible and painful reminders of how ill-managed human life is and how powerful the forces of nature really are. But in the United States, as Eris hit the US Appomattox Sun, these theme erupted.

And they are again with us in 2010. We have the BP Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. From that has come an entire slew of economic woes specifically to the whole of the Gulf coast region given the fall-off in fishing and vacation dollars. The US has moved its core fighting efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan and things are deadly there - as at home the question of security has oozed back towards the immigration debate in all its many-headed hydra-like distressing glory.

The way solar returns work, what we do is track the movement of the Sun from house to house. So as the year began on April 9, the Sun hit the 7th house cusp on April 13th. From there until May 11th the Sun traversed the 7th house, a house colored by this Sun/Eris Aries Descendant in a 3rd decan degree.

This 3rd decan degree would indicate that the subject matter had to do with things which had been done and what came of that. Or maybe more pointedly in the sense of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, what flowed from that.

 Fire fighting vessels attempting to put out flames 

erupting from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout

April 20th, the date and time of said disaster had the Sun at 0 Taurus, directly opposite Kassandra - symbol of those truths which are never believed until it's just too late.

On May 1st, as the Sun stood at 11 Taurus conjunct solar return Venus, the Times Square Bombing attempt was made.

New York's Times Square on a normal busy evening

But wait, you say...isn't Venus supposed to be all good and then some?

Not necessarily. Venus can only bring us what we have earned; in the Appomattox USA chart it stands in a 3rd decan Taurus degree and the 9th house. The 9th is nothing if not  emblematic of foreigners. Thus this 3rd decan national Venus is very much about what others (foreigners especially) think of or 'see' as US (Taurus) values.

Given that this is the 9th house, a house well known for its dogmatic and education-versus-indoctrination (propagandist) nature, the US will always trumpet its moral and fiscal values. And others will react to same. It's just part of the national charm. And construct!

Also to remember here also when we look at something like this bombing attempt: this is a cosmic-karmic world stage we are looking at here, so we are not looking at individual people and their individual motives. We are looking at the broad sweep of themes as they rise and evolve throughout time.

That this bombing attempt failed (was only an attempt) is interestingly noted in this return chart by Polyhymnia (muse of happiness) and Phaethon (headstrong haste) standing with Venus.

And so we proceed. By the time eyes turned to the G-8 and G-20 Summits in Canada, the Sun was in the return's 9th house - of things foreign. So President Obama does that 9th house thing and travels abroad to get more (9th house) 'educated' on what others think and are doing in their own countries. The time span here being June 25 through 27, the Sun was at 3, 4 and 5 Cancer - conjuncting first Kalypso, then Atlantis/Sphinx. 

An informal shot of world leaders at the 

G-8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario (Canada)

As it conjuncted Kalypso it opposed Ceres, an interesting combination seeing that Ceres is the 'good steward' called upon to think long term, not just for the moment and Kalypso is the lesson that love has to be about the other person, not just yourself and that sometimes that means you have to make a sacrifice.

Apparently not in Obama's case, considering that the national chart shows him acting on the basis of Atlantis-Sphinx.

The Sphinx part is easy - we all know the Sphinx either as the passive 'wait all things out' symbol from the sands of Egypt or the riddling sphinx which queries Orpheus - a warning against many things, most of which Orpheus would end up doing.

 Oedipus and Sphinx by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

And yet...the astrological Sphinx is an interesting symbol. On one hand it seems to be yet another one of the smattering of orbiting rocks which point out what we may be prone to...well, stumbling over. Or stubbing our toes on to be sure! Sometimes its to our undoing, and sometimes it's just a lesson in how blind we can surely be.

Fortunately, with the bruising side of this lesson comes also a suggestion that if we wait, if we persevere, we can stand the test of time. Yes, even if some army does blow our nose off (a whole other kind of blowing the nose, for sure!).

 Egypt's Sphinx of Giza

As a symbol, Atlantis is a bit more complicated - for many reasons. We all know the 'idyllic civilization' version of this tale, certainly. But our tendency is to linger on the ideal part and forget that in the end, that fabled land of Atlantis sinks away, never to be heard from (or apparently found) ever again.

For those who find this version of the 'Atlantis concept' a bit hard to grasp on a personal level, there is another version of the story. This one is told as a folktale and starts with a person on the fringe of a troubled town (society) being asked to 'give up all hope' that things will get better for them or anyone else given their resources and what they're doing - or even just seeing.

The answer presented is that they should risk all through an apparent sacrificing of their own life. Will this person leave the land they love and long to live happily ever after in and walk into the ocean - where of course no human can breathe?

This is a metaphor for those moments in life where we have to walk away from the thing known and loved and which we want to fix, but can't. In the story, the person does as asked, walked into the water and lo - is not only able to breathe but finds they fit right into this new world. And they are welcome. And their life in immeasurably bettered for not having held onto what didn't work. (here's a link to the folktale in question)

In Obama's case, the whole matter was made a little tougher by this Sphinx/Atlantis being positioned in the exact same degree as the US natal Cancer Mars. That's one feisty 10th house Mars, telling us the man was sitting on a hot seat with hands, feet and back held to separate fires. He had to represent US interests, despite those interests being under fractious fire at home. The President had to face a world which (let's face it) loves the US just a little less than it's irritated with it.

With all this standing in opposition to Charybdis in the vocal/idea-driven 3rd house there was nothing for Obama to do but keep talking, keep discussing and keep shaking hands. And - oh yes - get home to Washington. He had no answers for the G-8 and G-20 and even if he had some, they hadn't been approved back home. So what's a President to do?

Skipping forward to current date, the Sun stands today at 25 Leo - putting it in the 10th house of the solar chart and 12 house of the natal chart. Things are tough and getting touchier. US citizens - and the world are far more likely to hear bad than good, especially coming out of Washington.

There has been one recent point of note: when on August 8th, California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage was struck down by Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court for Northern California, the Sun conjoined Child (at 13 Leo) in the return chart. That said, asteroid Child is positioned atop a 13 Leo Kassandra in the natal chart speaks to the aura of disbelief about the whole matter as yet; everyone in the US expects this matter to eventually end up in front of the Supreme Court and they're probably right.

Cassandra by Evelyn de Morgan. Considering that

the Greek prophetess by this name (being she for whom the

asteroid Kassandra is also named)...that she knew the truth

but was never believed, this may be a portrait of her pulling

her hair out in exasperation!

With the national Sun/Eris ruling Leo at the Descendant, this is going to be an issue which is put out there and hotly debated. This year, the question of children (Child) is going to be part of that discussion - as is the sense of national immaturity being displayed on the national stage.

(Don't ask me, I just report on these things.)

All such issues plus those of social functionality and the economy come back into high focus once the Sun rolls into the solar 11th house come August 22nd.

By September 21st things calm but only on the surface. Serious things are going on in the background and with Saturn opposing Uranus pointing by sign rulership back towards May, matters concerning BP, the Gulf, oil in general and energy as an entire matter come back up for discussion. Expect 'costs' to be discussed across the board during the period between September 21st and October 29th, when issues shift back towards questions of national security and US presence/influence around the globe.

As of November 13 the nation is highly involved in its internal affairs and how to do what needs doing. This looks like a lot of factious discussion about budgets, in the US Congress and with regards to various programs and departments. Stand by with your pork barrels, waste collectors and budget-slashing knives.

Between December 14 and January 16 there is much talk but not much gets done. National welfare is on the table and some sort of charitable need appears which gains attention. This evolves into a health-system/system overhaul discussion and operational dissection beginning in January and extending on to about the 18 of February, replete with many ugly moments and societal gasps of disgust, dismay and disavowing of responsibility...which is probably the problem to begin with. Those who won't take responsibility to begin with (or along the way) are those who stand horrified by what results.

Granting that what horrifies one person seems like 'yeah, well, what did you expect?' to others, this may be a time for sensitive Americans go get on their standing shoes so they can be properly horrified and attempt to run away yet again. Which yes, they will - don't think otherwise. This solar return is not a chart about America fixing it's problems - America is at the moment still grappling with the idea of admitting serious problems actually exist. And that yes, it could be the cause of some of them either through its tolerance (but isn't tolerance good? Not always!) and position as a wealthy world power - which has bred sloth, indolence, crime, debt and greed to the umpteenth degree.

It's an amazing country America - so gallantly able to do wrong and yet so totally capable of turning itself around and putting things to right. The issue which divides this, as previously discussed, is motivation. The US cannot do what it does for its own good. It has to do the right thing because that is the right thing, regardless. Only then does the nation truly prosper.

A tricky business in a time when people have grown so used to measuring success by personal pleasures.

To finish up here...at February 18th the nation enters a period of work obligation typified by its own desire to get out of its own doghouse, said period lasting until the national re-birthday rolls around.

Then we get a whole new solar chart with a whole new set of parameters, challenges, achievements and 'takes' on ongoing problems.

In the meantime, considering that there's a native influence of Juno in the mix here, during this lengthy February-to-early-April stretch we are likely to see those who feel compelled and those who know how to lead both seeing problems.

And yes, a few will see those problems through their sticking points, while others will just complain and (Eris/Sun) disrupt. This isn't any cotton candy period, but we will see the US facing up to its dirty problems (and possibly a few dirty little secrets) not merely with gusto, but in many ways with a sense of national charity and national service.

But still...scrubbing the national cosmic floor with a fingernail brush is darn hard work. Maybe the nation can learn to whistle while it works?

One last note here: Eris will not complete its conjunction effect with regards to the USA(ppomattox) Sun until June of 2023. Those who yearn for easier times will have to hold on at least until then.

And yet, even then things aren't likely to be peaceful; the United States as pictured in the Appomattox chart is not ever going to be totally tranquil. Why? Because the nation as a whole is too dynamic. It's born to evolve!

So let's just look on the bright side here...as someone I once dated put it to me, you are many things - boring is not one of them. That's probably pretty close to what the United States is as a national entity, too.


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