Politics, Mars and the Debates

 Planet Mars as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, 2001)

Oh, what a difference a week makes! In the blog about the Vice-Presidential debate, I said that the conversation between Biden and Ryan might be many things, but dull – that it would not be!

While that commentary might reflect the charts of Biden and Ryan, it was mostly based on Mars having moved into Sagittarius.

Both Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan have charts where the natal Ascendant is in Sagittarius. There wasn’t a chance that they weren’t going to both be set off.

At the time of the debate, Mars was at 3 Sagittarius. That would be inside Paul Ryan’s first house (and conjunct Echo) and atop Biden’s 3 Sagittarius Ascendant. Love or hate Biden or Ryan, it’s an interesting astrological lesson to see the difference between Mars/Ascendant versus Mars in the first house. Biden was downright feisty; Ryan was assertive. They both spoke quickly with a lot of palpable energy in their speech.

It was very Mars in Sagittarius.

In Joe Biden’s chart, Mars was not only conjunct the Ascendant but also his 12th house Scorpio Venus. And thus we felt his ‘connection’ to an ideal which embraces the masses. That there are many criticisms of Biden isn’t astonishing considering this Mars was also in opposition to his 2 Gemini Uranus – the signature of that which many refer to as Joe Biden as a 'loose cannon.'

 Joseph Biden

November 20, 1942 - 8:30 a.m. (EWT +4) - Scranton, PA

Is he? Some will have been blown out of the water by Biden, absolutely. Others no doubt find him a breath of fresh air.

How do voters feel about someone capable of being a 'loose cannon' as Vice President - the person who would be President if something was to happen to Barack Obama?

That's always the VP question to ask.

As for Paul Ryan, Mars conjuncting Echo at 3 Sagittarius (with Eros and Circe conjunct in one direction and  Neptune/Ascendant conjuncting from the other) we have a picture of someone who is going to 'Echo' someone else's statements no matter what. This quality - here heightened by Mars but native under any circumstance - comes to mind with regards to Paul Ryan's stated affinity for Ayn Rand (among others). He was called down (by some) for that as he will be called down (by some) for anything which isn't his own independent and original thought.

And here's the delineation chain there: the Jupiter which rules Paul Ryan's Neptune-Ascendant-Echo in Sagittarius is in Scorpio - about to be conjuncted by Saturn (which makes this election a serious issue for Congressman Ryan's career as a whole) and the 11th house of economics, social/societal systems and personal income. With Ryan's 11th house cusp set at 17 Libra, we have an emotional view of 11th house matters described by an Aquarian Libra exactly atop the 3rd house cusp: a perfect description of Paul Ryan as a.) self-professed numbers wonk and b.) someone who can in the same breath talk about ideals and realities in a way some find apt and others find completely non-coherent.

Another note on the Congressman's Jupiter: natally in opposition to a 5th (what I want) house Saturn/Sedna in early Taurus, Paul Ryan is not exactly what one would describe as flexible about his societal or economic attitudes.

With that 5th house having an Aries cusp, the 'good or bad' which comes out of it (including the Saturn/Sedna thing) will be ruled by a very (head)strong Aries Mars in the 4th house - a place where Mars represents repression, struggles and feuds within the Self, generally about trying to escape an in-built sense of limitation (which may or may not be real even to the Self, never mind others). Mars conjunct Chiron in the 4th defines a vulnerability to frustration. And with both in trine to a Leo Black Moon Lilith in the 8th, Congressman Ryan will forever find himself denied by people he thinks are being foolish and short-sighted - while those people think Paul Ryan is blind to the realities, needs and rights to personal preference that others have.

Is this a great choice for Vice President?

Going back to Echo - which we saw activated at the debate - Echo is one of those chart commodities which can be hugely useful or very deadly, depending on how it's used. It's great for 'reciting facts' while ignoring others, but particularly when combined with Neptune at the Ascendant the whole can come off as either inspirational or deceptive.

Echo is a 'servant of the gods' (Zeus and Hera) who when questioned by Hera keeps saying exactly what Zeus told her to say. Then comes the day when Hera finds out the truth. Echo is punished - not for obeying Zeus but for not being independent enough, which in Paul Ryan's chart is...(yes)...Echoed by the Congressman's Sedna/Jupiter signature.

 

 Paul Davis Ryan

January 29, 1970 - 2:37 a.m. (CST) - Janesville, WI

Conjunct the Sagittarian Ascendant, Paul Ryan will do well to learn from things but not 'Echo' them. Admittedly this is a difficult thing to do if you're running in the VP slot on a presidential ticket. But there may not be any other option which doesn't end up 'costing' more than the Congressman cares to pay.  

So where will Mars be when President Obama and Governor Romney meet up at their next debate on October 16th? Answer: 6 Sagittarius, a degree which is noted for its great emphasis on service and being ‘one among all’ where vanity doesn’t work worth squat.

As an interesting counterpoint (and further illumination) to writings on 6 Sagittarius as a degree, the Sabian Symbol which will color what we might call the ‘assertiveness factor’ at the next debate is as follows: CUPID KNOCKS AT THE DOOR OF A HUMAN HEART which comes with Marc Edmund Jones’ keynote of ‘A stirring-up of individual longings for romantic love.’

Putting aside the idea that this is a very ‘poetic’ sounding concept, if Cupid (son of Venus) is ‘knocking’ at the door of a human heart, what exactly does that say? Doesn’t that imply that the heart has not yet felt real love?

Cupid with a Butterfly (L'Amour au Papillon) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1888)

By extension, being that Cupid is the son of Venus, in this image would also be something which is connected to the (Venus) energy which attracts or repels that which we are aiming to accomplish.

And where will this Mars-at-6-Sagittarius fall in the charts of President Obama and Governor Romney on the appointed night of the debate?

For Romney, Mars will be in his 7th house – a house where Mars tends to act a bit subdued. On one hand this can be useful in the ‘conciliatory’ sense. On the other hand, this can be see (by some) as weakness.

In addition to being in Romney’s 7th house, by degree Mars will be conjuncting Hera, with Romney’s Hera being conjunct his South Node. Speaking off the political record, in a man’s chart this is generally the sign of a man who in a marriage likes a strong wife. Hera alone would be a bit bitchy; Hera conjunct South Node (again, in a man’s chart – though also in some lesbian charts) bespeaks someone who finds it (South Node) easy to do whatever the ruler of that Node describes for the partner.

 Mitt Romney

March 12, 1947 - 9:51 a.m. - Detroit, MI

In Romney’s case, the South Node is in Sagittarius, Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, and Romney’s Jupiter is in Scorpio and intercepted in the 6th house. Scorpio being the sign of investments and money and the 6th house being the sign of health, work, service, in one direction this gives us a good 'Jupiter description' of Mitt Romney worked hard in the (Scorpio) financial field to (6th house) provide for his wife, her vision for their life and her health. In the other direction, this is also a classic signature of a man with a submissive streak.

With Mars transiting Romney’s 7th house at the time of the next debate, the candidate may well focus on relationships and marriage (or partnerships) as a vehicle in life. There has been talk about Governor Romney’s need to appeal to women and we may hear or sense his trying to do just that.

(Just as a personal note here: as an unmarried person, sometimes watching politics feels like an exercise in tolerating being told you're invisible. I have news for them - I'm not!) 

Yet then again (back to the subject), with Sagittarius being the sign both on Romney’s 7th and 8th house, if he has a chance he may well also move into matters of foreign affairs, abortion/right to life concerns and the national debt.

Meanwhile, over in President Obama’s chart, Mars will be transiting the President’s 10th house – the house of career, government and leadership. This is a strong position for Mars. With Sagittarius as a sign on Obama’s 11th house, the economy and the income of the people (as distinct from the economy) are likely to be important as a focus in what he says.

Mars at 6 Sagittarius is past the opposition to Obama’s 4th house (of the people/nation) 3 Gemini Moon, but still in aspect. We can thus expect some distinctly opinionated statements from the President, and maybe even feel conviction bordering on heat.

 Barack Obama

August 4, 1961 - 7:24 p.m. - Honolulu, HI

Maybe. Obama is after all, a famously ‘no-drama’ guy. But with the November solar eclipse hitting his philosophic 12th house cusp, maybe that’s going to change. With the eclipse being at 21 Scorpio and thus in a 3rd decanate degree (between 20 and 29 of some sign) which automatically denotes external forces as the prompting factor, it just may be the moment when everyone sees a whole new side to President Obama.

Will people like it? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Mars at 6 Sagittarius is not only in opposition to Obama’s Moon but also conjunct Medusa and Antares. On a personal basis this is a self-focal loop which warns Obama not to get so focused on one thing that he misses the details in things going on around him. And that means he is prone to doing that, even though with this pairing being presented in Sagittarius the ruler is Jupiter and Obama’s Jupiter is strongly placed (in Aquarius and the 12th – a sign of his understanding of people and how to speak to them).

 Situated at/as the head of Scorpio, Antares represents our ability to maintain focus while not getting obsessed by things or feelings, the Self or the Other

As Jupiter makes rounds of the chart we learn. With Jupiter’s orbit being 11.86 years long, we probably can look at the history of both the President and the Governor and see them ‘gaining ground’ on who they want to be, step by step.

But the placements here are interesting: Obama’s Jupiter is in 12, where it learns to broaden its view with every round and Romney’s Jupiter is in the 6th house where it narrows, focuses and hones its single-minded effectiveness with every round. 

A last note here: the Sagittarian house in Obama’s chart – the 11th – is the house of society, the economy, personal income and social systems (physical and business). With Kallisto absolutely conjunct this house he is likely to be blamed for things he hasn’t done and condemned to living through a ‘bear of a time’ before he becomes known as a ‘star.’ With Klotho and Ras Alhague situated just before this 11th house cusp (close enough to affect it) we have him starting (Klotho) healing or starting harm – the two poles of the Ras Alhague effect. Since he didn’t ‘start’ the economic collapse it is unlikely that’s the manifestation of this effect. The famously named “Obamacare” program however? That would be something the President started, something which (with Sagittarius being ruled by Jupiter) points straight at his Aquarius Jupiter in 12…

And if you want to follow the chain of rulership from there, Aquarius is ruled first by Saturn (still in 12) and then by Uranus. President Obama’s Uranus is at 25 Leo conjunct Kassandra (nobody will believe him even when he speaks the truth), Industry/North Node (“this should work to create work,” perhaps?) and Regulus (success achieved if revenge is avoided).

But in the other direction (counting down through the degrees this Uranus is also conjunct Pelion (a mountain to climb) Europa (getting carried away) and Black Moon Lilith – the sign of denying society or having the society deny belief in your aims or understandings of the facts.

This whole last bowlful of commentary has little to do with Mars’ exact placement. But it does very much describe the election, so it seems worth noting.

I’m ready for the next debate.

How about you?
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February’s Leo Full Moon: Good Will Wanted

 Thomas Harriot at Syon Park drawing a map of the

Moon - courtesy of Rita Greer (2009)

The February Full Moon gets as astronomically perfected as it’s going to get at 8:35am (UT/+0) on February 18th.

Astrologically, this Full Moon stands at 29 Leo…and if you’re any fan of astrology, all I have to say to you is that anything in happening at 29 degrees of any sign to make your eyebrows go up!

Okay…panic not! Let’s just chat this through...

Leo is a sign of creativity. And we create because we want to…which is how Leo has come to be known as a sign all about what I want (or like) to do. That doesn’t unfortunately mean that everything we want to do turns out perfectly…! (I know. Big sigh…) But we wanted to do it and…and…and…

…Isn’t it somehow even MORE annoying when it was something you really, really wanted to do and it doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to?

Oh, grrrr! Don’t you just hate that?

Okay…so Leo is about creativity – the things we try, and which we would like to think we’re nice about when they don’t pan out (blind dating, anyone?) but which, if truth be told, we tend to whine a bit about…or maybe even more than a bit about…when they don’t go our way.

Full Moon of February 18, 2011

 at 3:35am (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel

Part of this whole issue – as a whole – is because Leo is a fire sign. Fire signs imagine and envision. Oh just THINK of how wonderful it could be if…!!! 

(I know. It’s that “if” which gets us.)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it yet two million times (gag…two million?) but the ability to see what things could be is great as motivation and deadly as expectation. That’s the whole dotted line distance between happy and unhappy in all fire signs, with none being so hard to wrestle to the finish line about this than Leo.

Why? Because Leo is the fixed fire sign. And take it from me – an astrologer related to Sun sign Leos, an astrologer who habitually has many Sun sign Leo friends…Leo, the sign of ‘I want’ really wants the world to be the way they think it should be.

And bless all that Leo energy – it’s what makes us try. And try again. We don’t quit just because the first blind date was a bust – we go on to find the love of our life. We don’t expect to learn how to play the piano in a day. If one of a group of children turns out to have watched The Bad Seed one too many times, that doesn’t make us give up on the other three kids. Heck – it doesn’t even make many of us us give up on the one kid!

And that’s the beautiful side of Leo. When Leo supports, when Leo looks for and to the possibility, Leo is the breath of summer sunshine, the balm on our hard times, the joy in ‘joy of life.’ 

It’s just that I expected this to be good and it isn’t! thing which gets us in Leo trouble. And since we all have Leo in our chart – we all have some chance of falling into this pothole from time to time!

Especially now. Any Leo Full Moon (of which there is one, every year!) tends to mark a day (or two) of heightened expectations. Those who can convert this into doing good or being supportive are generally on the high side of this tide. But to those who are going to join the ‘think wonderful and everything IS wonderful’ club - prepare for critique.

Or at least a dash of cold water (and watch out for the squirt guns!).

Just to top this event off, this year’s edition of the Leo Full Moon is at no less than twenty-nine degrees of Leo: Leo’s last degree and therefore the moment when Leo is at it’s most “urgent.”

For those who schedule a party for this moment, we hope it goes well. If it does, like as not it’ll go really well! But for many, the feeling of ‘urgency’ which comes with this moment will in disappointment because the natural tendency for their to be an emotional ‘high tide’ at the time of the Full Moon which here is symbolized by the Leo “I want” (perhaps somewhat over-idealized) yearning will put the “bar” above that level which is reasonable to expect will realistically happen.

Remember…a Full Moon is the Moon in full face against the Sun – they stand in opposition. So though the lunar feelings ‘highlight’ the day, in the end the gravity of life wins. What goes up…must come down. Gravity of emotion becomes gravity of the earthy, earthly Newtonian real life kind.

And...those are the basics of this moment.

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Beyond the basics lie the modifiers. One is that the critical, 29 Aquarius Sun stands conjunct Chiron. Is what we want actually possible?

Another is how the Moon of this figure stands exactly with Regulus, that famous Royal fixed star which promises success if and where and when we avoid the desire for vengeance and/or retribution.

Beyond that, we have an associated opposition composed of TNO Orcus at 2 Virgo in opposition to Circe at 2 Pisces. And let’s not underestimate the fact that Fomalhaut – another Royal fixed star – stands at 4 Pisces.

To tease this apart gently…all Trans Neptunian Objects (TNOs) represent precepts which we may know of all the time, but which in practical terms aren’t in play on an everyday basis.

As a specific in the many things which we might know but never focus on in everyday life, Orcus represents consequences. Envisioned as the god who greets one’s soul as you pass beyond life, Orcus represents that moment when we realize there is no going back, no chance of ‘unringing’ the bell, no chance of changing things already done or not doing something we did, even if we now realize it was a mistake.

In early Virgo, Orcus summons up all those lists of things we ‘should’ do, be it something simple like getting a check up…or maybe just keeping our mouth shut or being polite…or violating a rule or standard of behavior we knew we were breaking when we did it. Virgo representing all we need to do in life in order to maintain life, it’s not just the exercise or the job or workplace, but everything which keeps our world working – from the sewers to the civil servants, from the military to communication lines, computers and junctions.

With the Sun here in the technological and energy sign of Aquarius, there is in fact some emphasis on ‘what allows life to work,’ and with Orcus in Virgo (within orb to also be in opposition to the Sun) there is certainly good reason to contemplate real consequences to real actions.

With Neptune currently conjunct the Sun on one side, certain aspects of life and beliefs about what life is, should be, has been, could be, might be are dissolving. And while it’s fine to challenge or even bring down something you believe is truly wrong…with Sun/Neptune being a highly idealizing dynamic, the question is whether the realities of need have been thought through.

It’s one thing to say ‘that’s wrong.’ It’s another thing to not have a contingency or replacement plan ready to put into place. You may hate electric light bulbs – but what are you planning on using instead?

Chiron in this picture underscores a plaintive longing. But is it a fantasy being longed for? With Circe in this picture, we have to wonder whether we are tempted/lured into buying into some fantasy simply because current realities are so hard to think of as what we have to deal with at this moment.

Moon in Leo…we don’t want what reality is, we want what we want reality to be. 

So what is your reality?

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Considering goings on in the world, I thought it might be interesting to look at this Full Moon against a couple of charts.

First – that of Egypt.

In this chart, the Full Moon is conjunct Regulus and Deucalion, a combination which connotes mandatory morality - or the morality of mandates. This is the Leo end – this is the desire.

On the Aquarius (Sun) end we have Vesta – sacred service conjunct Chaldea and Kalypso. This is the sacred calling (Vesta) to be of service (Vesta) with a lot of work which needs doing (Chaldea) and the need to keep working at trying to be/do better (Chaldea/Vesta) not for your own sake, but for the sake of the greater society (Kalypso/Aquarius).

With both these signatures intercepted across the 5th house/11th house axis (Moon in 11, Sun in 5) there’s an added underscoring to that ‘don’t do just what you want,’ on the solar end which seems very much of the moment, considering Egypt’s long history of less than munificent leadership.

Sun intercepted here in 5 may also indicate a lot of hiding or hidden energies rather than the ‘service’ energetic which would be most positive.

One other note: with Moon in 11th (the house of societal income) this would point to not just the income of the people, but that of the country; not destroying that which provides Egypt with income (and) which is so special about Egypt is hopefully of note. The positive is for people to band together protecting this, the negative is for people to be so self involved as to think only of themselves.

Full Moons always portray a ‘balance’ of forces; keeping things ‘in balance’ is part of every Full Moon question.

How about the Obama Administration?

Here we have the native Moon at 29 Scorpio. Scorpio being the sign of all things emotional, interactive and often contentious, by now it would seem pretty evident that this administration has an emotionally-based relationship with its Congress and its citizenry, plus issues with financing, debt, investment markets and the whole financial panoply of Scorpio fiscal issues. That while the health care bill was going through we actually heard people talking about death panels…that’s plainly a Scorpio emblem. Scorpio is both conception and death (one form of which would be abortion)….so that this is an administration against which anybody would use a term like ‘death panels’ is emblematic of this Moon.

As, frankly, is its prosecution of war.

29 Scorpio is Scorpio at it’s most intense and urgent degree. So what is, is. This is what the administration gets and the ‘currency’ is testy, tense and combative. That Obama himself tends to take a moderate tone is very much the Pallas (wisdom) in opposition to the testiness. If he was more assertive would others back their tones down? Perhaps so – there’s only so much energy; that we don’t own, others own for us. With Kallisto and Byblis conjunct this Moon, the whole matter of ‘terrible subjects no one else wants to talk about’ has been made part of this administration. Byblis – in particular – says that there worst thing this administration can do is attempt to ‘justify’ or buck pass.

While we’re here, simply because it’s such a quirky thing, a comment on a repeated theme in the President’s speeches where he in essence says that he does not believe that America can’t work through its problems and be the nation it purports to be.

Conjunct wisdom (Pallas) as portrayed in the 1st house we have Scylla – an emblem of ‘clinging to’ or stubbornness or perseverance or being ‘stuck in’…PLUS Kassandra, the quintessential ‘I speak the truth but am not believed’ symbol of all time.

The good news: Kassandra always spoke the truth. The bad news: no one believed her until the truth became the truth.

This being an out-of-sign (and element) opposition, Pallas here is pictured as very thoughtful and well spoken, airy and intellectual. Yet the Scorpio Moon is the very hallmark of passion. As many have noted, President Obama is at his best and gets the best reaction when he is calm (airy) in the face of a very emotional (Scorpio) situation, or where he uses the precepts of intellectualism to touch people emotionally.

Considering I didn’t start out to write any of that, (it does sort of happen when one sits down to chat with friends!) along comes this Full Moon, and presto change-o, yeoucheroo…a mere (!!!) awkward administration Pallas/Moon opposition gets turned into a full fledged, bollox-worthy Grand Cross.

One with three positions at 29 degrees, no less.

If the administration plays its ‘cool and thoughtful’ card, appealing to emotions utilizing the positive Leo note, people may be inspired.

Most of all, by the thought that they can work through whatever needs to be done. That, in the end, is one of the great under-sung Aquarian issues: the need to work through the process but not get stuck in the process.

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Considering this is in the end, merely a Full Moon, we here come to a turning of the tide. Two, actually - considering that Pandora goes direct about two hours after the Full Moon.

That's a lot of things coming to light!

(And in case you missed it...look back a few posts - we talked about Pandora's station a couple of days ago.)

As with all things, this moment will pass and we will  into a next ‘phase’ of development. With Pandora now in direct motion, in the days ahead the inner provocations we have been trying to express and vent will be prompted by external means. Those who remember to be realistic and supportive will hopefully go on...and make great gains.

After all, the last thing in the box Pandora wasn't supposed to open is Hope.

But yes, we have to work to get there.

Just remember…no matter how big your dream is, life is bigger than anything you can possibly dream up. You may think you know it all – but you don’t!

And the good news there? That means you aren’t responsible for everything which happens.

But you are responsible for what you know - and what you are capable of knowing...and doing.

The glass half full?

photo credit: Derek Jensen (Dec. 2005) 

So yes, the glass is half full – but who among us will actually drink?

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CHART USA (Pt. 7): Transits and a Nation in Transit

A map of the United States and Terrirorites

One of the truly useful things about astrology is in the fact that from the time/space map which any natal chart is, we can then look at transits - prescribed angles being struck by celestial objects as they continue their orbital path around the Sun.

For those who wonder why this might be a valid consideration from a scientific point of view, the answer is fairly simple, if entirely metaphysical. Working from the concept that the entirety of Existence is energy (the 'E' in E=mc2'd), then we are each born as manifestations of energy - energy bundles, if you will (shades of kiddihood) - which are 'hallmarked' by the moment and position in that All of Existence-time/space in which we were born. And much like any other 'bundle' of energy, we would be reactive to harmonics as energy frequencies (time/space) marches on.

Those harmonics are created (physically and metaphysically) by the continuing movement and reorientation of time/space as a whole - in which celestial objects are a very convenient set of markers. They do not thus 'do' anything except what all celestial objects do: they move through space, they exude magnetic waves, they disrupt the general field of space-time by moving through it.

Astrology simply reads when those waves reach Earth. And for those who say 'yes, but astrology started back in Babylon' the answer to that would be yes. And obviously back in Babylon, people weren't all that up on Relativity and magnetic resonance and the like.

But we were still human. And one of the great things about human beings is their unceasing curiosity which, when coupled to the human power of observation often leads to great discoveries. (When we're in the mood to be observant, that is.) As it happens, people evidently started observing and correlating movement of celestial objects with things here on Earth back in Babylon. People probably would feel better about astrology if such observations had begun in modern times, but that's not the way it worked. Nor does astrology's origin in antiquity make it any less correct, as discussed in a different blog post touching on some correspondence I had with that most successful and open-minded of planet hunters at CalTech, Mike Brown (link).

In any case, despite the to-be-expected debates among astrologers about transit nuances (what, you think astrologers should debate less among themselves than  politicians, lawyers, clergy and doctors do? Why should we miss out on all the fun?)....despite that, transits remain an interesting and often dispassionately reassuring source of information.

How so reassuring? Well, one of the things about being an astrologer is that you tend to hear from people when they're having a really bad time. And when you're having a really bad time, that bad time is usually marked by a transit which has a beginning and ending date. By giving those dates to a client, I provide them with a sense of when they're going to see 'the light at the end of the tunnel.'

Not that the tunnel always lets out onto their land of milk and honey, mind you - but most people would rather be able to see what they are dealing with rather than stumble along in the dark.

So where are we with Chart USA when it comes to the big and wonderful world of transits?

 
Starting with the broadest of big brush strokes, the karmic and evolutionary powers of transformation (symbolized by Pluto) moved across the IC/Nadir (foundational bottom) degree of this chart in 2002. As discussed elsewhere in this series, the IC degree of the Appomattox chart (17 Sagittarius) is one which displays a native and innocent (rather purist) belief in God - or what one believes in, even if that is a belief in nothing.

That this time corresponds to when the United States began its recent, rapid and highly polarizing/polarized  radicalization with regards to religion(s) is notable. Given this idea, we can also say that this trend will continue until Pluto moves out of the 4th house that the IC serves as cusp to. That will not happen until 2019, so enjoy the debates. 

As of 2006, Pluto also opposed Uranus, a Uranus positioned in the governmental and most worldly house of the chart - the 10th house. For astrologers/readers who time a transit uptick when a major planet comes within the standard 5-degree conjunctive orb, that moves the date back to January of 2004, suggesting that domestic and foreign difficulties ranging from the war in Iraq to governmental disorganization when greeted with the ravages of Hurricane Katrina were part of a more karmic 'shakeup' of the nation.

Uranus - source: NASA

Uranus in the 10th asks a government not to be too rigid, points to the people's need not to allow their government to be too rigid, too inaccessible, too erratic, too detached from the national mood, or too polarized/polarizing in its politics.

By 2006, a lot of these challenges had become rather obvious. And with Uranus opposition Jupiter in the natal 4th, the division and divisiveness which began in the halls of government and all it was up to would then shift to the people, as Pluto moved on from 26 Sagittarius to 28 Sagittarius, conjuncting Jupiter.

Jupiter - source: NASA

As with all things astrological, there are pluses and minuses to everything. Depending on your politics, you saw the election of Barack Obama as either a big improvement or a wholesale detriment. Whatever it was on a purely political basis however, Obama's election (and the very serious bid Hillary Clinton made in that election) did represent a clear 'broadening' of the public view on presidential politics. With this being neither a  referendum on good or bad, it is wholly Jupiterian, since Jupiter represents 'expansion' and in the house of the people denoted the 'expanding' of the popular and populace point of view.

Currently, Pluto is in the process of opposing the national 5 Cancer Mars, a symbol fraught with disruptive energy when not used in a truly universal manner - the United States' 'We the People' credo. With this transit having ratcheted into full effect in May 2010 (and running through October of 2011) its 'orb effects' where witnessed as soon as Pluto entered Capricorn.

Interestingly, given Pluto's yearly retrograde patterns, Pluto first entered Capricorn in late January 2008, just after political caucusing had begun to greatly thin down the list of candidates. As Pluto turned direct during September in the midst of a crumbling economic situation, the nation prepared to head off to the polls in early November. Duly elected if not yet sworn in, Obama's team began taking over the reins of power as Pluto committed to its transit of Capricorn in late November and the GW Bush administration appeared to have all but left the field.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, symbol of populace and economics. With the Moon of this Chart USA also at 5 degrees, it is no wonder that the people and American government are entrenched in a debate of economics and citizens rights. From immigration to health care to national debt and so on, we can expect these heated debates to continue through October 2011, and the discussions involved therein not to be even half-way sorted out until December of 2013. 

With all of this noted however, one thing is good to know: given how the IC of any chart represents one of its biggest tests, Pluto's passage over this point tells us the United States is moving through its most internally volatile period to be seen in the roughly 150 years since the nation was re-birthed, rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of the Civil War. (Which is a very 8th house image and thus much in keeping with a national 8th house Sun!)

Yet there is no question that the US is really hard up. The Appomattox chart shows a natal Saturn in the 2nd house of talents, abilities, resources and the national coffer. This is clearly a 'what you earn you reap' symbol. Not only that, but natal Saturn sits in a grand trine with Uranus in 10 and Juno in the 6th house of employees, jobs, health, civil servants and the military.

A computer-generated image-map of Pluto - source: NASA

This means that when Pluto first started afflicting Uranus, it also began afflicting the whole Uranus-Saturn-Juno system. So we shouldn't be surprised to look back and track the roots of fiscal (Saturn) problems which entangle everything from military expenditures to health care to Wall Street, big oil and the rest of it back to that time. Saturn moved across the national Vesta (service) potently placed behind the Ascendant as the economy collapsed and rolled across that Ascendant on November 2nd, 2008 (a day before the Presidential election).

That would make the election a Saturn call for dealing with the public's economy, recalling pundits tossing around the slogan 'it's the economy, stupid!' Beyond that, it would also say that everybody would be highly disgruntled no matter who was President during the period Saturn was to transit the national 1st house. This having begun on Election Day 2008, it will continue until August 2014.

Currently, the whole of the nation is highly disgruntled and about to get even more so: with Pluto squaring the national Moon and opposition its willful (loudmouth) Mars by long-term transit, Saturn is also posed to square Mars on September 8th and conjunct the Moon on September 14th. (Those who are political junkies may also want to mark their calendars for September 27 and 28, when the Sun reaches 5 Libra, setting these transits off.)

Having moved into the national 6th house of health-work/jobs-service in May 2007, Neptune's continuing presence in this house until somewhat after 2050 suggests the United States is in a period of long term discussion and development of its own understanding of what the term 'universal' means. And what it doesn't or even can't mean to a nation. Nations have boundaries - Neptune doesn't.

 Neptune - source: NASA

This isn't an easy question, though in time the United States is likely to invest in tougher standards for citizenry and foreign aid. Why? Both reasons come down to the Mars/Ixion/Uranus sandwich in the national 10th house. For one, no nation can be in all places. Secondly, other nations don't think the way the United States does. The US is likely to get very sulky as it concludes (reluctantly) conclude that they don't get to play (Cancer) parent to the world (amidst grumbles about other nations acting like ungrateful Ixion children). Yet in the end, the nation will either pull itself back within its own boundaries or like the mythic Ixion, get roasted for sticking its nose into something totally and entirely none of its business.

It rather gets back to the boundary thing: like many parents, the US wants to protect the whole world. This is emblematic and symptomatic; parents are supposed to be models of behavior which children emulate - a nation which demonstrates war-like behaviors should not be surprised that the world and its own youth pay more attention to winning than the quality of life.

More rough waters are expected in the short run as Uranus moves through the early degrees of Aries, squaring the Cancer Mars and opposing the national  Moon.

We've already felt the entrees of these effects as Uranus hit Aries in late May 2010; considering this is Uranus in action, the center of the dispute is governmental, whether domestic or international. These transits will come into full force as of April 2012 and extend through February 2013, suggesting among other things that the next Presidential election cycle will make this last one look like afternoon tea in the Queen's most secure, demure study.

These being only the most sweeping of broad brush strokes we could go on endlessly, defining and refining transits to this chart for the United States as a modern nation forged and essentially reforged at the end of the Civil War. Just to note that the calamity most people know simply as 'Deepwater Horizon' was marked to the day by a Venus return to the Appomattox chart shows how accurate the chart is.

As this series started out, between all the intriguing explorations of the chart has remained the essential question: what is the real chart for the United States of America? Astrologers have been debating this one for at least the thirty years I've been involved in astrology and probably for more than that.

It seems pretty astonishing to this researcher that no one ever stepped back and took the time to think of the nation not in terms of where it started out (working forward), but as the nation it is today. Starting from today, working back through the tale of years, there is only one point at which the nation came apart. That's what defines a national chart - a nation which comes together and is forged from disparate parts.

During the time these blogs have been being posted, I've heard from astrologers protesting that the Union never accepted the Confederacy's breaking away. To my thinking, that simply doesn't matter. The Confederacy was enough of an entity to have its own legal tender, it's own government, its own standing army, its own constitution and other nations recognizing its existence (though granted, they dallied with whether they wanted to go public on that score.) What more can anyone ask? So what if the North didn't like it - that's why the war got fought.

 Cemetery at Shiloh National Military Park

 
Ask a hard core southerner whether the nation fractured. You'll get chapter and verse on how it did - and by some, why that was a very good idea. 

As a researcher, the feelings can't matter. What has to be accepted are the facts. In this case, the South ceded and created its own nation. The North invaded, conquered, and subdued its former territories.

The chart which came out of that was the chart erected for General Robert E. Lee's surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant in a little borrowed farm house in Appomattox, Virginia. The date was April 9, 1865 - the time (as near as we can make it) was 3:53 pm, which produces the following chart for the United States of America as the nation which exists today.

Chart USA 

April 9, 1865 - 3:53pm - Appomattox Court House, VA

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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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