Astrological Notes

With Mars and the Sun exactly square Saturn in Aquarius and opposite Uranus in Taurus, frustration is palpable. Everyone, including me, is hungry for outcomes with the Capitol insurgents and the infrastructure package in Congress. But as historian Heather Cox Richardson noted, it is not unusual for Congress to take some time to negotiate a compromise bill. What is unusual is the negotiation is not taking place between parties, it is within the Democratic party itself. The Republicans will not even discuss the bill. Even though the bill is wildly popular with Americans, the GOP only hears the voice of their base.

There is a lot going on in the US Chart that reflects our current realities, so let us review (a good thing to do during this waning moon phase) where we are, where we have been, where we might go.

Countries have charts. The US Sibley Chart has Neptune in Virgo in the 9th house, difficulty in accepting the "other". We see it in our view of immigrants, transgendered people, gay people - anyone who differs from a mythical norm. Transiting Neptune in Pisces is directly opposite the natal Neptune in Virgo. The last time this happened was during the lead up to the Civil War. The progressed Sun represents the evolved sense of identity. The United States has a progressed Sun conjunct transiting Neptune in Pisces and opposing the natal Neptune in Virgo. We have the divided population that led to the Civil war in the 19th century as well as a question of identity. Who are we? Who shall we be?

Adding to this question of identity - Chiron (the wound) is transiting Aries, the sign of identity. This question becomes more acute as transiting Chiron in Aries approaches a conjunction with the natal Sibley Chiron in Aries. We have almost come full circle to a Chiron return, so the question is - who are we and who will we be? A democracy? Rugged individualists? People who share with those who need help? An autocracy? Our identity, as any modern observer can see, is up for grabs.

Lastly, we have Pluto coming near to the end of its transit of Capricorn. Pluto has been in Capricorn since the great recession of 2008. As Pluto has transited this sign, we've seen a new view of the power of the patriarchy arise as well as a rising tide of fascism and autocracy. Pluto is about to complete its first return to its natal place at 27 degrees Capricorn in the Sibley chart. This is a first for us.

When Pluto had a half return in Cancer, it was during the 1930's. We saw the Great Depression, an eerie reminder when we had the 2008 crash. Importantly, there was a debate as the Depression loomed, and hardships hit American families hard - families that had no safety net. Hoover's administration felt that business knew best and the government had a limited role to play. The government, Hoover felt, had no obligation to ease the hardships of tax payers - that should be a function of the market. Franklin Delano Roosevelt felt differently. Lately, we have seen GOP efforts to return the helm to those who "know best" - business - and to dismantle the social safety net, calling it "socialist".

Despite the WPC, CC and the like, the Depression dragged on. The Wall Street Journal wondered, in print, if only a dictator could bring the country out of the depression. As WW II loomed, an isolationist faction strengthened. Trump did not invent the phrase, America First. That originated at the time of the Pluto half return when fascism and isolationism was on the rise.

Pluto's position at the founding of the country was 27 degrees Capricorn. In a very short time, transiting Pluto will return to that place. It will happen in the 2nd house, a house of finances and possessions, among other things. What happens now will contain echoes of that founding transit of Pluto.

What took place in 1776 was a declaration of identity. A king was declared a tyrant. A government which gave an unprecedented amount of power to the people (white men, anyway - which was revolutionary for its time) was established after a violent struggle. A financial system was developed (thank you, Alexander Hamilton) to establish commerce and credit, taxes and the enforcement of taxation.

Of course, although this government depended on the "consent of the governed", some people had no say at all - minorities, the enslaved, women. The echoes of their voiceless concerns have echoed during the current Pluto transit. There was a great amount of discussion over who had a right to be a voter - those that had slaves and benefited from them economically - wanted to keep the status quo. And that legacy of racism would lead to civil war during the next century. After the Civil War, there was an attempt to allow some equality to freed black men, but that was quickly reversed by nearly a century of Jim Crow laws.

There was also, at the founding of our country, a great debate over state rights and federal rights. Should the federal government have the right to create laws for the entire country as a whole or were we a collection of states that had their own governing rights?

Minority rights, the right to vote and the question of state rights vs. federal rights have never been resolved. The coming Pluto return brings forward the legacy of those issues for resolution. Who will we be?