Chart of the United States

The State of the Union — Continued

Last week I started to talk about the progressed chart of the United States because my acupuncturist asked me, “What in the world is going on with the U.S. right now?”

One really fascinating placement is our progressed Chiron, our wound issue, is in the 1st house in Sagittarius. Chiron is where we carry a wound so deep that we don’t want to go near it – it is like a nagging pain we don’t want to aggravate. With Chiron in Sagittarius in our first house – the house of who we are it is a good time to come to reckoning with our spiritual truth. I happen to think this is the last hurrah of hard right spiritual forces in our political arena. Yes, it might be wishful thinking but this Chrionic wound issue will soon be in the 12th house – and while it will be even stronger it will once again be “underground.” The 12th house is the hidden house – the first house is the house of how we project in the world.

Chiron is loosely opposed to Mars in Gemini in the 7th – as these two pull away and Chiron recedes into the 12th house – the vocal, vigilant and some cases violent hard “religious right” should have their power weakened. However, don’t for one minute think they will go gentle into that good night.

I tend to be a pessimist when it comes to the future of this country. However, I am happy to see that Sun and Venus are transiting the 8th house – that is actually a good sign for us. Sun and Venus in the house of power and personal transformation are transiting over our progressed ascendant and our North Node. Venus was the goddess of beauty and love but she also dealt with money. We forget how much of an influence Venus has on money. (Mercury is the flow of money – Venus is the personal gaining of money.) Hopefully, President Obama will hang strong and force Congress to make some good long term financial decisions.

The stars are working in our favor – that doesn’t mean we won’t still screw it up! Perhaps if more people call and crash a few websites on the House they will come to their senses.

The Progressed Chart of the United States – What in the World is Going On With Us?

My wonderful acupuncturist, Kate, asked me a question that I frankly wish I had thought of. “What is going on with the progressed chart of the United States?” Eek – after I thought for a second, I replied, “I don’t know but I think I am afraid to look.”

Well, life is all about conquering of fears so I finally looked. What I did was a triwheel – with the birth chart of the United States (the moment the Declaration of Independence was signed) in the middle, the progressed chart of the U.S.next and a current transit chart on the outside. A progressed chart shows the movement of the planets from the time of the birth chart to now. The final transit chart is just showing where the stars and planets are now.

There is so much here that I think it is going to be two blog entries – if not, you may all start snoring. The first thing that grabs me is that progressed South Node is conjunct progressed Pluto in the 9th in the cusp of the 10th house. The 9th house is the house indicates where we go out into the world and search for our larger truths, the 10th house is career and social status – and the house of government.

Any individual who has this combination – progressed South Node and Pluto in conjunction – will be facing a time where past karma must be addressed – and where they must change because of it. Is there much of a stretch to think of past karma coming up with us now? Race relations, hideous debts built by people who now must get our “budget in order” — these are a few issues coming to a head now. We didn’t have to get our budget in order when the GOP destroyed the economy – now it is high priority for them! I think it is hysterical that this conjunction is happening in the house of higher truth. I have a feeling the truth will come out during this whole mess and that is the truth that some people will do anything even destroy the country to make sure a black man won’t win re-election. Sad but true, no?

To make this more interesting, this combination is over the natal Neptune of the U.S. Our natal Neptune is in Virgo in the 9th. Neptune is where we can rise to spiritual awareness and brilliance – but it is also where, when we are in shadow, is where illusion takes over. Happily America is known to come to people’s aid -with food and care (very Virgo) when countries are in trouble. However, we are also in illusion about our place in the world and have a hard time reconciling some of the negative things we have done with our foreign policy. So we swerve from savior to illusionary super power because of our Neptune 9.

Our standing in the world will be effected by this Pluto/South Node – karma issue. This goes beyond the economic catastrophe that will be loosed on the world if we default – it is a matter of how much of a banana republic we appear if we allow a handful of ideologues to NOT face their past accurately and live in Neptunian illusion.

Pluto demands change – if you don’t head Pluto’s call you are headed to a big downfall.

More later……

Green Mountains and Taurus

www.arlenew.com

Hello from Vermont – up here for Thanksgiving with some family and friends. We are spending the week cooking at an inn here. Should be very “New Englandy”. Of course, I had to take a minute to look up the chart of Vermont. You know I love Maine because as a Scorpio Sun/Pisces Moon I need the water but the politics of Vermont is much closer to my heart than lovely Maine!

Made a state on March 4, 1791 Vermont is by Sun Sign a Pisces. Figures – it is full of touchy feely people dedicated to live and let live and go connect with the Universe in the Green Mountains. What is really interesting is the stellium (more than 5 planets) in the 9th house. Remember, the 9th vibrates to Sagittarius – the archer seeking truth – his personal truth. Vermont has Venus, Pallas Athena, Mars the Sun and Moon all there in Pisces. Can you see the desire to balance male and female – Venus and Mars with the androgynous queen Pallas in between them? There is also the union of male Sun energy and female Moon energy. Vermont, the only state to have Socialist Member of Congress is one of our most progressive, most forward thinking States. It was the first to pass a host of anti discrimination laws and is the leader of environmental legislation.

In the 10th house, the house of our social status – how we are perceived by the world. On the cusp of Vermont’s tenth is Taurus. Ruled by Venus, Taurus is the Bull who sits calmly in the beautiful pasture. Well guess what the nickname is for Vermont? Right – the Green Mountain State. I love this stuff! Vesta, the burning hearts desire, Ceres, the symbol of Mother Earth and Saturn, the planet that gives form and structure, are all in Aries, the leader, in the 10th. They take their preservation of Vermont’s beauty very seriously here.

The influence of the Universe is all around us. To be able to connect to it – in every setting at every season is a wonderful gift. It is one I will be thankful for this Thanksgiving among other things.

Have a wonderful holiday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

Happy Birthday America. What? You thought a country can’t have a birth chart? Well, I have to admit some of them are hard to find. Some countries that have been around since before dust was invented have no real known birth time. I mean, when did Egypt become Egypt for goodness sakes? However, our chart – that of the USA – is easy because we had a defined time when people signed a document saying – we are now a nation. Those founding fathers were so organized.

The ascendant, rising sign, of America – our outward personality feature – is Sagittarius. Makes sense – Sag. is the explorer and expansionist sign. It is the sign that keeps reaching and growing. The downside of Sagittarius is not knowing when to stop speculating or taking risks that are too large and cannot be sustained. We have seen this in economics as well as warfare.

Sagittarius is the sign of spirituality – and we are often called a religious nation. It also makes us prone to the shadow element and that is the dances we do periodically with religious fundamentalists. Does it surprise anyone that when Pluto was in Sagittarius for the last 15 years we saw the rise of the religious right and the president who was wedded to them?

The ruler of our Ascendant, Jupiter, is the 7th house – the house of “the other” and is in conjunction with the Sun and Venus. So we expand to the other and make ourselves known in the world. Venus helps us spread our art and music….our greatest export are movies. Mars is also in the 7th house – and so our warrior strength is also spread around – remember the 7th house deals with other people on rather intimate levels.

Uranus, the quirky changeable guy, is also in our 7th house. We are the nation that comes to the aid of others, yet dropped the atomic bomb – twice. We are based on the great ideas of the Constitution but do things like Iraq and Vietnam. Get the picture?

It always cracks me up that we have Virgo on the Midheaven (career and social status) and Vesta, the burning heart’s desire and ruler of Virgo in Virgo’s 6th house – the house of work and health. Think of it – Virgo vibrates to the 6th house, and is ruled by Vesta. We have Virgo in the house of career – Virgo is all about precise work – being the worker bee – getting the job done. Vesta is in the 6th house – so our burning heart’s desire is to work! Gee, have we been the country of the worker? Are we known to be workaholics-italics? Did we invent the phrase “work ethic”? Too bad this astrology stuff is all hokum.

Neptune is also on the Mid Heaven. Neptune gives a person their spirituality but when it comes to the physical side of things Neptune creates illusion and delusion. So again, we have that very prominent spiritual aspect that we present to the world. However, how many times do we perceive ourselves in a totally different way than others do? To many Americans we are always the good guys with the white hats. We are shocked when we realize that in many parts of the world we are considered aggressors. We just can’t see it. Growing up in North Jersey, the NY Yankees were gods to me. When I go back there I always laugh at the level of Yankee mania. It was stunned when I left the area to learn that the Yankees are hated by the other teams. Remember the play, “Damn Yankees?” Well it is a bit like that – we can’t believe others see is in a different light than we perceive ourselves.

Now I am not really sure if a country can have a “past life” but take a look at our South Node. It is in Aquarius in the 2nd house – the house of self worth. Our North Node is in Leo the nightly lion in the house of power in the 8th house. I am not sure the purists would like this but I think a case could be made that this shows the change in the land that became America from a more Aquarian Native American society to the world dominating Lion American Nation. I am not one to buy into the idyllic concept that Native American society was utopia but you have to admit that they existed in a more laid back – less driven society than the white men who destroyed them. Their idea of what made a person worthy and ours is vastly different and while there were many inter-tribal wars, the concept of being a world military leader was not in their modes of operation.

Our Moon is in Aquarius – ruled by Uranus – the quirky guy. So we are rather touchy people. With the Moon conjunct Athena, the goddess of war AND healing (versatile lass) so again we are emotionally attached to this warrior and good guy image. Our Moon is also attached to Ceres, the ancient symbol of Mother Earth. Mother Earth – abundance – the breadbasket of the world — get it? These images are at our emotional core.

It is funny, our Chronic wound issue, is in Aries in the 5th house – the house of creativity. We are known for work and growth and movement. Do we give a lot of credence to creativity? Not so much – we fear we are not powerfully creative people – we are the worker bees. 🙂

Of course, my buddy Pluto was in Capricorn at the time of our birth – and because it is so slow moving it is just NOW returning to Capricorn again. Reread my entry on Pluto being the changer and Capricorn being the ruler of authority figures. Sadly, we also saw the French Revolution at this time and it was an example of changing authority run amuck.

So there you go America – this is who we are – one big confusing mass of work, growth, meddlesomeness and change that you just have to love. I know I do. Happy Birthday to us all!