THE PROGRESSED SUN IN THE US CHART

Part I: 1945-1975

The progressed chart shows the evolution of the individual - although the natal chart, or birthchart, remains the same the progressed chart describes life changes that occur as we age and grow. The progressed Sun changes signs every 30 years, and the US Progressed Sun had been in Aquarius since April of 1975 following a stint in Capricorn. (Chart used is the US Sibley chart.)

The passage of the US Capricorn progressed Sun, from November 1945 through April 1975, beginning with the end of World War II and initiating a nationwide building period that expanded middle-class affluence throughout the country (unless you were African-American, but that's another story). The GI bill made housing affordable for more and more families, and communities of tract housing such as Levittown sprang up across the country, beginning the suburban sprawl that would ultimately increase our dependence on automobiles and foreign oil.

This building boom continued throughout the Capricorn period, resulting in the US producing most of the planet's steel, oil and automobiles. The British Prime Minister Edward Heath said that the US enjoyed "the greatest prosperity the world has ever known." As a result, there was an unprecedented degree of loyalty to the government (a Capricornian structure) that had presided over this prosperity.

All was not rosy, however; not all Americans shared in this abundance. The Capricorn period also brought about pressure from minorities desiring to share in the economic growth and the tragedy of the Vietnam war as the paternalism of the Capricorn influence drove the US to become the World Protector.

Just as we would expect with the progressed Sun in Capricorn - the sign of building, hard work, discipine and achievement; in Capricorn our nose goes directly to the grindstone and we seek symbols of our new status. But this period also saw the more difficult aspects of Capricorn: the burdens of growth, disappointment in the new system. In the mid to late 1950s, when the US progressed Sun opposed the Sun in the US chart, the seams of the new system were beginning to unravel as it became obvious that the achievements which some enjoyed were not available to all. This time marked the birth of the civil rights movement.

The Cold War was born under the influence of the Capricorn progressed Sun which resists inflammatory behavior and prefers instead to build monuments and defense structures of protection rather than act aggressively as a more fiery sign would do. Although this period marked several wars (most notably the Korean War and the Vietnam War), these wars were sold as wars of protection rather than aggression, and this period marked one of the biggest buildups of defense spending in American history.

Part II: The US Progressed Sun in Aquarius

The US progressed Sun left Capricorn for Aquarius in April of 1975. The Capricorn period in the US witnessed a huge post-war building boom and rise of social and economic status for many Americans, both Capricornian attributes. It also marked a more paternalistic relationship with the rest of the world as the US began to take on the role of world protector (Capricorn's ruler Saturn represents the dynamic of the father).

Usually when the progressed Sun moves from one sign to another there is a major shift since the adjoining signs are so different from each other in element and quality. This is less true of the shift from Capricorn to Aquarius, due to their mutual rulership by Saturn. In Aquarius the Saturnine duty and discipline takes place in the mental realm whereas Capricorn is a sign of action. Aquarius has an ancient ruler (Saturn) and a modern ruler (Uranus), and there is always a pull between these two influences. Uranus seeks to break apart the old structures that Saturn has built and create something new and this is the Aquarian challenge. In Aquarius the strong sense of responsibility that is Saturn's gift combines with a need for change, creating the famous Aquarian urge for social justice and equality.

As the US progressed Sun shifted into Aquarius, the last soldiers were airlifted out of Vietnam which marked the end of military involvement in that nation. The Watergate scandal had just ended with the conviction of four Nixon administration officials. As Jimmy Carter says, there was a malaise in the country as could be expected under a dual Saturn rulership.

The Uranus rulership is associated with technology, and the first computers were developed in the US when the P Sun shifted into Aquarius. The first supercomputer was designed in 1976, and both Microsoft and Apple had their beginnings in that year. And although the Uranus/Pluto conjunction in the mid-1960s had fanned the revolutionary flames of social justice, by the mid-1970s there was a growing nationwide acceptance of equal rights for women and minorities. 1975 was designated Year of the Woman, and Time Magazine chose American Women for their person of the year. Critic Elizabeth Janeway wrote: "The sky above us lifts, the light pours in. No maps exist for this enlarged world. We must make them as we explore." This last image is particularly Aquarian - a completely new dimension of life's experience.

Meanwhile, the bigoted individual in the form of Archie Bunker became a target for derision in the TV show "All in the Family" as cultural norms begin to shift to a larger culture of acceptance and

The rebelliousness inherent in social revolution created some casualties, however; divorce rates soared as individuals struggled to find themselves (an Aquarian ideal) in the hedonism of the 1970s. Hippie culture, originally a revolutionary act itself in the 1960s, became a marketable commodity as more and more Americans attempted to break out of the Capricorn box and live their own authentic life in accordance with the more Aquarian urge. That revolutionary fervor was reflected too in the rise of punk and heavy metal which loudly proclaimed the death of the status quo (more Aquarius).

In Hollywood technology and cultural transformation merged in the beginning of the Star Wars empire which hit the theaters in 1977. Aquarius urges us to reach beyond the limits of our ordinary life and experience a more multidimensional life, and Star Wars provided a vehicle for everyone to take that ride.

Social attitudes continue to ease throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with more and more acceptance of the rights of individuals of all types. Certainly there was a backlash against this growing tolerance with the rise of hate groups, but overall the need for "political correctness" grew in importance. Music was revolutionized by technology with the introduction of MTV and electronic music with radically new instruments and sounds. Later, in the 1990s, hip hop and rap music created another social revolution.

All of these trends continued to grow through the 1980s and 1990s, culminating at the end of the Aquarian period in 2004 when the progressed US Sun entered Pisces.

PART III: The Next 30 Years

The Sun of the US astrological chart progressed into Pisces on the exact day of the 2004 Presidential election. We saw in Part I and Part II how the progressed US Sun has brought major shifts in the attitudes and circumstances of the United States culture, and I expect this cycle to be no different.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac: it is the sign where we long to transcend the boundaries of ordinary reality and attain an experience of the beyond. For the devout this takes the form of a longing for god; for the atheist the transcendent experience may come through music. Some, such as Richard Dawkins, spend their whole lives fighting against the transcendent impulse within them. The darker expression of the Pisces impulse brings us into a state of confusion and delusion when reality becomes blurred and undefined. It is easier to look back and assign astrological significance than to predict the future, but let's see what we could see under the Pisces influence.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, the US nation was united and strong in their resolve to battle the forces of darkness, but by the time the 2004 elections came about Americans were beginning to have doubts and that national resolve began to splinter. Just after the election Colin Powell resigned, the first chink in the Bush administration to fall. Pisces tends to obscure the truth, and suddenly the world appeared far less black and white.

The United States has become much more culturally diverse over the past 50 years, and under the Pisces influence racial identification will become much less defined and specific. We are already seeing this with the candidacy of Barack Obama, who is not white, not a black descendant of slaves - he defies categorization. There is a Muslim member of congress, and Latinos are gaining a foothold in the power and economic structures of the country. This trend towards a blurred national identity will continue under Pisces.

Pisces rules endings, and as the US entered its influence the Terry Schiavo case opened up a new debate on end-of-life issues. Sacrifice and redemption is associated with Pisces and Neptune, and controversies over birth and death will bring changes in the way our society looks at these transitions.

A true experience of the divine is what Pisces offers, and the movement out of dogmatic theology into a more authentic and transcendent experience will continue to be more and more important for Americans. Psychic experiences will become ever more accepted, as we are seeing even now in our major media. The television show "Medium" premiered in January of 2005, just after the US progressed Sun moved into Pisces, and was the first of many such shows that came afterwards. The darker side of Pisces could lead some into a well of confusion and deception, however, as the yearning for the divine can combine with the urge for self-sacrifice and atonement that we also find under Pisces and encourages some to leave their discrimination behind.

The sacrificial urge can also be expressed in a higher form through benevolent compassion and nonviolence as prescribed in the Buddhist religions, and we will likely to see a spread of these congregations throughout the US. Pisces bestows empathy and a desire to understand the plights of others which could lead to increased understanding between various social and religious groups. This growing empathy could lead to a greater sensitivity to environmental issues as well, and perhaps the urge for martyrdom and redemption will encourage the kind of conservation that can help preserve the earth's resources.

Music is associated with Pisces, and I would expect new forms of music to enter popular culture in the US. Fantasy films are likely to become even more popular for adults as well as children; eight out of the ten top grossing films in 2005 were fantasy films.

The next 30 years could mark a weakening of US global power. Pisces is not a sign of action or strength, and it can be difficult to achieve enough focus and energy under the Pisces influence to be able to effect real change. In addition, the US progressed Mars turned retrograde back in the summer of 2006 which many astrologers believe to be the end of US global domination. It will be difficult for Americans to unite behind a common purpose under the Pisces influence and we are likely to see a fragmentation in the government, particularly with transiting Pluto entering Capricorn and then squaring Uranus in Aries in 2010-2013.

The cycle of the zodiac marks a natural evolution and progression, and each transition is equally important and the next 30 years will bring a crucial phase for the evolution of the United States. Only time will tell exactly how that will manifest!!