CHART USA (Pt. Three): Delineating America

CHART USA

When delineating a chart, one of the first things to do is to just look at it. Is the Sun is above or below the horizon?

Here the Sun is above the horizon, which means this is the chart of a country which thinks before it acts.

Or maybe not. Given that the 20 Aries Sun of this chart is positioned in an Aries-ruled house with a second decanate/emotional degree of Aries on the cusp, that directs us to look at Mars - ruler of Aries.

And where is that Mars? Mars is sitting way up high in the chart - in the 10th house of government, governance and worldly/world opinion. That's a very public place, and in this position Mars would represent the national ego, the national drive to achieve, attitude of goings on in the government, how others see the US government and how well the nation as a whole and its citizens act in '8th house situations.'

At this level and because Mars is always an symbol of how you feel about getting things done (or having to do things), this makes the whole Mars/Sun relationship one about power: what one can do. Or, what one can demand, require or get because you have the ability to demand, require or throw your weight and power around. 

At the very least this makes the US (and its government and its people and its style of governance) assertive. Not always right, but assertive. And when it's not being assertive, that Cancer Mars suggests conflict - often internal to the government and often made public. With Mars in an early degree of Cancer, the indication is that this conflict is often about what people do. Or what the government wants to do - the 'wanting' part coming from Cancer being a water/emotional sign.

To have the national Sun and the house that Sun is placed in ruled by an emotional Mars in a sign its not known for always being either polite or patient in, that produces selfishness and some pretty childish behavior. Think, I'm taking my toys and going home! or maybe the ever unpopular if I can't have things my way I am going to stop you no matter how right you are simply because i wanna go first! 

Remind anyone of America's congress? Considering Pluto went station/retrograde at the oppositional point to this national Mars this past spring, 2010 and 2011 is likely to be rife with this behavior. But with that will come moments of stunning lucidity when the US government (and its people) begin getting that a nation cannot be run like a high school clique. Given how such transits work, there are likely to be some outstandingly bad moments, but once Pluto gets past this transit things should shift. Probably dramatically.

But that still leaves the United States with a dynamic and nationally egocentric Sun in an interactive house being ruled by a touchy, water sign (emotional) Mars in the public sector. So there's an instinct to think on a national level. There's also an instinctive emotionality which can undermine or thrown off rational conversation. The nation should work things through by thinking of things using intellect and facts. But emotions seem to often (if not always) get in the way.

 White Sands, New Mexico                                                                                           

While we're discussing this government/public profile 10th house, the very highest planet there ('highest' meaning its closest to the top of the chart) is Uranus. Positioned here, Uranus displays the genius of the modern United States as a nation of innovators and innovation, a nation which may be seen as somewhat erratic, but which is proud of its ability to tolerate dissent. And with this Uranus in communication-oriented Gemini, this is absolutely the mark of a free speaking nation.

Yet...there's another side of this (isn't there always?). With Uranus in the last ten degrees (3rd decanate) of Gemini - the 3rd decan being where you 'do' before you know whether something works, that says America makes plenty of mistakes. And that the nation (along with its citizens, institutions and products) is/are prone to sticking it's own free-speech foot in its mouth.

No wonder Americans believe so much in nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? And why it earns so much scorn on the international scene. This Mars-Uranus in the 10th is sort of a national blessing-as-curse: when the country is doing well, other countries are going to knock it. When America and its native elements act badly, everybody else does the big 'See? I told you so!'

Yet whatever else it is, Mars and Uranus at the top of this chart certainly tell us that the US of A will never go stagnant. The nation which came out of the Civil War, is a nation which has learned that when something doesn't work, you actually do have to try something different. Doesn't mean it won't hurt making the shift. And that there may not have to be a bloody struggle (physical, emotional, financial or governmental) in the process. But sometimes a nation and its people or its government or  its institutions just have to do what they truly have to do. Or what they're told to do. Or are responsible for doing in a manner considered ethical, even when that's terribly - even horribly inconvenient.

Therefore, though the US may have to learn things very, very hard way (as it did with learning slavery - formerly thought okay - is simply not tolerable), the good news is that this is a nation well-equipped to come out of the other end of such battles actually more clear on what national beliefs really are. The US born of the Civil War will at times need to learn its 8th house interactive values lessons through dire, hard times - like through war's death and deprivations. Or through economic collapse. Or through a giant oil blowout which endangers its coastlines.

But that's the chart. That's the way the US tends to learn. The same Cancer Mars, Aries Sun, Gemini Uranus which manifests as governmental bickering, free speech, standing up for the oppressed, a dynamic engine of innovation and discovery is also a magnet for karma in the form of giant problems when America gets petty, smug, stubborn or dug into bad behaviors, old points of view or resistant to change. So it has been and so it will always be: the 8th house Aries Sun of this modern Chart USA is just that kind of Sun.

And yet this self same Sun also speaks of a nation and national ability to not just learn from lessons, but capitalize and move on from them into a potent new phase. The US pretty much needs difficulty as a motivation. It just can't manipulate difficulties for that purpose. The US of this chart is destined to always be a world leader when it's just a hair's breadth behind the curve. Blissful secure serenity, in other words, is not this nation's friend.
 

Grand Tetons Park, Wyoming

With that much said, a next simple thing to do with any chart is to just look at where planets fall.

Most of the planets in this chart fall on the right (receptive-reactive) side of the chart, as opposed to on the left, directly pro-active side. This describes the United States (and its people) as being responsive to things which happen in this world. So we know the US will always offer to help in situations of international disaster.

This also tells us that Mars-Uranus in the 10th is about the instinct and need to always be reasonably prepared and to learn how to actually respond to a crisis and not get into an internal governmental dither about response when disasters happen.

 Sunset off Kona, Hawaii

Another form of this would be as we saw when thinking of the national reputation: when and where the US cuts back or becomes lax with regards to keeping up standards, those are exactly the resources which are going to be called for. It's a karmic thing - as if fate itself requires that the US remained focused on the realities of life instead of falling back on petulant bickering and infighting.

Yet for those who would suggest this is a call for the exercise of military might, that's not indicated by the chart. The 8th house Sun speaks to the ability to call on might, but not necessarily use of same - leading us back to that intellect-versus-emotion conversation. When there's good reason to fight, the US can fight the noble and ethical fight. But the US cannot campaign based on emotionalism or for manipulative (or political) gain. It's simply against the thoughtfully altruistic rules laid out by this chart.

And which pretty much echo the precepts of the nation's founding fathers, yes.  

Counting only astrological planets, five out of ten (half, in other words) are in one particular quadrant - the  upper right hand quadrant. Known in the horoscopic world as a chart's 3rd quadrant, this is where receptive/responsive (the right hand side of the chart) meets worldly (the 'above the horizon' upper half of the chart)...which means it's all about things public and interactive if responsive to information, circumstances, input, etc. 

This tells us that the US and all things American function most positively when being part of or 'in' the world, as the expression goes. It's not a hermit country - and if you live in America and are the hermiting type, you're bound to know that society thinks of you distinctly as the minority.

Another way of seeing this is through that old expression 'no man is an island' - which reiterates yet again why the United States is such a participant in world doings. Anywhere where you see a lot of planets in a chart is where the 'weight' of the chart (individual, corporate or national) is going to focus. With the US, that's in things worldly and interaction - small wonder America has such a tradition of power productivity,  power mongering, manufacturing and consumerism - replete with all the sector institutions which go along with all that.

A rather famous New York City street corner...

As an offshoot of same, with Sun, Pluto, Mercury and Venus all in this quadrant we have the signature of a place where not only does opportunity (Sun-Pluto-Mercury) abound, but it's expected  (Pluto-Mercury-Venus) that people should create (Sun-Mercury-Pluto) and take advantage (Venus-Pluto) of those  opportunities.

And when we leave Venus out of it, given that the other three are in the 8th house? Then we get a picture of the US as that nation which cannot help but be 8th house obsessive about everybody else's life (Sun) and what they're doing, saying or buying (Mercury) and all the scandals, sex and money wielding (Pluto). This triad in the 8th house so describes the US as a place particularly prone to valuing others in terms of bank account...and 'other assets.' With such weight in the 8th, America is absolutely obsessed with all things sexual, all people who are good at being bad and of course the US is a world leader in any PR being good PR - even when the news is totally despicable.

It's a country fascinated with being fascinated. But hey, that's part of the American charm. See it, marvel over it, talk about it, be grateful it's not you then go back for another helping, please. (Got any with whipped cream, maybe?)

And yet...this really isn't America's finest attribute. In fact, it ultimately doesn't even work. With the South Node in this rather 'loaded' 8th house, all the  obsessions (not to mention governmental bickering) destroy some, distracts from the reality of things and ultimately undermines a lot of real success. This North Node says it's easy to mistake acquisition for success; there's a national indoctrination of quality over quantity. Measuring people by such yardsticks is easy and prevalent in US culture, but not always productive either for the nation. 

According to this chart, the real 'answer' is Saturn/North Node: to contribute to the society in a manner in benefiting/being available to everyone benefits you. And that 'you' is America first and foremost. The USA cannot therefore remain secure in its internal national assessment unless it opts for actual quality, not simply a 'grand stand' as pictured by Venus (values) + Algol/Capulus (force of will being used for good versus  selfish reasons), replete with - since this is all positioned in the 'let me just broadcast this' 9th house - all the rhetoric, spin, media manipulation and advertising blitzes.

Sounds sort of like the history of America's politics, doesn't it? And well it should: a nation reflects its chart!

Given that the 9th house is also the house of law, religion and education, this also very much points to the strength of belief in and issues with same in the United States.

US Supreme Court Building (western facade)

Yet let's not forget - law is different from justice (the punishment or exoneration part), religion is not spiritualism and education is neither putting your smarts to good use or the job market.

Commerce as a source of jobs is 10th house - as is public justice. Since all 10th house matters carry with them a whiff of Saturn as Saturn rules Capricorn, native sign of the 10th, we look to Saturn in this chart and find it is in the 2nd house of values, resources and self worth. Conjunct the North Node, the US plainly knows what it should do.

But because this national 2nd house is delineated by an emotional degree of Libra, there's a whole Libra story here about what others think or will put up with/respond to. And with that Libra cusp being ruled by the 9th house Venus we're back in the world of special interests, who can yell most loudly, get the word out most effectively or 'buy off' (whether with money or otherwise) the competition.

And yet, the solution is also well implied here too. The solution to what may appear to be a devolution-prone  Mobius strip is a nation and a people who are willing to know better and in doing so, become dedicated to holding themselves as people and their government - and the government as an entity in its own right - to higher, cooler, less emotional standards.

A Mobius Strip: a one-sided piece of paper

(directions: cut a strip of paper. twist one end over once, then attach

to the other end. Put a pen on one spot and gently pull the paper

along so the pen makes a line without ever being lifted from the paper.

When you get back to the point where you started, you will find that

the pen has drawn a line on "both sides" of the paper. Voila - a piece of 

paper which you have just proved has only one side.

Remember...this is a chart which defines a nation which functions best when thinking rules the emotions - not vice-versa. Same goes for its people and other entities.

All this, and to think...we haven't even gotten to the Ascendant of this Chart USA.

Yes well...there's always tomorrow's blog.

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Can You Hear Me Now (Part 2): Them Nodes and That Plutino Tribe

In the 'Can You Hear Me Now? (Part 1)' post we covered planetary basics on how things work between charts. Having now heard from folks both on and off the blog (some prefer email and with me, s'all good so long as I know what you're liking, needing, wanting and yes, craving....!)

(Oh, go ahead - I DARE you!)

...Anyway, here is part two of that 'if X in your chart connects with Y' in their chart,' thang. And since we've already done most of the 'usuals,' in today's episode we're going to tie into things besides broad-stroke attributes.

Call them quirks and tendencies, maybe.

So let's start with something important and entirely basic: the lunar nodes. If your chart connects to their North Node, approach with caution as any unfamiliar move on your part may cause them to bristle like a porcupine. Nobody likes their North Node stuff though eventually we all either get cornered into doing it or (if we really, really resist) we manifest health issues which undermine what we've been doing instead, generally flattening our cosmic tires. 

Conversely, it's worth knowing where your North Node is and what sorts of things are associated with it so you recognizing a trend instead of going into thinking someone you just met is a total jerk because they seem to be all about what you don't want to deal with.

The real value to such connections is in recognizing that exactly those people who know how to get it done but who rub you all the wrong way are either telling you what you need to get hold of in yourself - or that they may be the very person who gets you where you really need to go.

And before you get all grizzly about this statement, this is sort of the cosmic 'eat your veggies and you get desert' chart signature. You like your South Node stuff. Heck, we ALL like our South Node stuff! And if you will just DO your North Node, as if by MAGIC you will get so much freakin' South Nodery that you just will be able to stand it. 

That's right - even with whipped cream and a cherry on top. 

The flip of this is as implied - when your chart connects with someone else's South Node, they may really, really like the interaction. They may feel you two click like canastas. And if there's a cross-connection between South Nodes, you may feel like  dancing a wild fandango. It may feel like the two of you could conquer the Earth and everything in it. 

But beware: if that connection is pulling either of you away from what you really should be doing in/with your life (veggies before dessert, people!) the relationship or the process or time involved in relating will eventually draw in big bad karmic juju in the form of external boggling or societal/social problems. The nodes (north or south) are always, always, always about our connections to others. But it doesn't have to be just one person - it can be a person and some social/societal institution like a marriage (do we have to be any more philanderingly specific here?). Or it could be a group. Or a company. Or a law (representing the society as a whole).

Bottom line, if you're not into tragic drama, careful with that South Node thing. It can blow up like the proverbial grenade unpinned - at which point you will be unpinned by something getting all unhinged - it's a given!

Moving on to one of the most popular of the asteroids...if your chart connects with someone else's Chiron, you can see what they can't see about themselves. Chiron represents a 'wound' we need to heal in ourselves, and everybody has one. Depending on what in your chart connects to their Chiron, you may want to help. Then again, you may see this as the perfect thing you could take advantage of, big time. 

The optimal thing is to be supportive - not smothering, but instructive in a 'giving suggestions' and 'give it a try - I'll be right here' sort of way. And to those who would take advantage...hey, what can I say? You have a Chiron too, and karma - she's a total, opulently powerful bitch.

These premises of course also work in reverse. When someone connects with your Chiron you may see in them the possibility of working through something you don't get how to do, or which you think of as a weakness. 

If they help you, you'll see them as a light in your life - a blessing of maximal proportions. 

And if they harm you...? Honey...there ain't no wrath like a Chiron harmed. Seeing that it's an attribute, bad connections to it are rarely fatal, though they can be highly debilitating to a life or personal lifestyle. But when someone stomps your Chiron, after all the ouching, yelling, crying and indignation comes to be a determination to show them up. To without doing a thing, live long enough and well enough to see their wretched pride walk them right off their own cliff. Will you cheer as they fall? Maybe, not. After all, there's nothing like having someone injure you on purpose to teach you how evil a thing that really is.

But no one says you won't watch, smiling as you sip champagne and toast those beautiful laws of cause/effect. 

Speaking of which, if your chart connects with someone's Ixion, plan on a certain lack of gratitude which can border on objectification. As a point in the chart, Ixion is pretty much entitlement/ingratitude, so whatever you're bringing to their Ixion is likely to be taken for granted. You can't fix this, so save your breath. Being the proverbial signature of 'needing to hit bottom' (and some people apparently really enjoy that kind of pain) Ixion only changes when people so undermine themselves that their whole world implodes. 

Of course, the bad news here is that you have an Ixion too. Which guarantees that you too occasionally act like the proverbial dung beetle (without so much as beetling your brow, yes...). How serious an issue this is with you or someone else? That we only know by your chart. But like all members of Club Plutino, the Ixion is all about what you value and how your values have led you to certain choices - said choices in this case being actions, and said actions leading to inevitable repercussions (insert: snippet of sound track from climax of horror movie).

If you're thinking all is up once you hit Ixion quadrant, you would be wrong. Next on the Plutino hit parade comes Orcus, Consequence Incarnate. 

With Ixion there's often a possibility of repenting and maybe changing one's ways, though Ixion does seem to have something to do with 'addictive behaviors' (mental, emotional, habitual and sometimes substance-connected), as well as the fairly universal habit of repeating childhood patterns.And since we all have parents (present or absent)...and we all have an Ixion in our chart...

Enuff said?

But if you thought Ixion was ouchy, Orcus as a symbol of 'dispassionate judgment' can be even harder. Why? Shouldn't judgment just be about owning up, making up, doing some sort of penance and being a better person after that? 

Well...if you're still breathing, yes. But Orcus is a god figure of 'judgement' which comes just after death. So with Orcus there is no going back. There are other figures of judgment and justice in astrology for the living...there's Jupiter/Saturn as a pair with  justice being the Jupiter side of things and the verdict/possible punishment being the Saturn bailiwick...there's even Rhadamanthus, symbol of mega-fairness when it comes to life issues. 

But whenever Orcus is triggered, it's simply all over. It's about some 'final consequence' resulting from something which simply cannot be changed. In life there may be shame, vindication or relief. With Orcus there's only acceptance - whether that involves ultimate peace or regret. 

And like all Plutinos, it's what we go through in the process of adjusting to the transformation (Pluto), the lack of proper regard (Ixion), or the finality of the thing (Orcus) which gets us. Plutinos being by definition objects the orbits of which are controlled by Neptune (denial of ego)....that pretty much make sense. Where Plutinos are concerned, we get humbled. We may start out strong and convinced and in command...but in the end we come face to face with either humbling shame (Ixion), humility in realizing we don't control everything (Pluto) or the recognition that we really, truly are just people - the definition of finite humanity symbolized by Orcus.  

So when your chart connects with someone's Orcus, they will in the end be forced to accept some attribute in you. They may not like it, but they will have to accept it. And when something in their chart connects with your Orcus, you may struggle, but you aren't going to change who or what they really are.

From Plutinos some some of our most powerful lessons. And when you meet someone who has a powerfully aspected Plutino or Neptune...especially when one or more of these symbols is positioned at an axis point (Ascendant, Descendant, Nadir/IC or Midheaven/MC) you know you are in the presence of someone whose whole life is wrapped up in these lessons.

And when that chart touches you, you become witness to their struggles - and in response, you will experience your own.

The last Plutino we're going to talk about here is Huya, a point which describes an attribute in you which you need to learn how to use use as a motivation. It may be something hurtful, it could be something positive. But whatever it is, it functions in a  'turn lemons into lemonade'  sort of way: you doing something worldly from which  everyone benefits - and because of which, you then benefit. (A full article on Huya will be being posted at Daykeeper Journal on July 1st - the link is in my blog's sidebar).

However your Huya connects with someone else's chart, that's a quality in you they  see as special or unique. When it's your chart and someone else's Huya, it's something special and unique you see in them.

The tricky bit here is the lemons/lemonade part, since nobody seems to know what to do with their Huya starting out. And even when we get what we could do, some of us won't like the idea that it isn't all about us.

You know...that Neptune/ego denial problem. 

There's also the idea that just because you can 'see' someone else's uniqueness...that's no guarantee you're going to like it! Someone else's Huya may be exactly what you think most creepy about them. And vice versa. 

And yet they may take that very attribute and turn it into something wickedly wonderful. For all you know, it could become their ticket to bliss - however they define bliss providing there's something in the equation about giving other people something they value and feel empowered by. 

Preferably lots of people. The bigger the audience and the more sincere your effort, the more substantial, gratifying and empowering that lemonade stand ends up ends up being.

All of this brings us to a really tough part in the big search for the 'right people' and how to fulfill our own dreams. What we like may be worthless to the world. What we don't understand, dislike or think totally worthless in someone else's hands may make them blithely happy and fabulously rich. 

The thing or person we click with can be our heart's desire or our personal undoing. 

It's all about the ego, people...and that's not just so much Huya. Letting go of ego as a diet mainstay and relegating it to the position of tool in the tool box is apparently really our ticket to satisfaction.

Oh, fiddle-dee-dee. Right?

[fade to black].
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