US progressed Sun

The Decline of the American Empire

decline of america

Last week I wrote about the Sibley chart that I and most other astrologers use for the United States as a preface for this series since this is the chart I am using to track the change of fortune for the US.  The Sibley chart shows Sagittarius rising, with the Sun in Cancer in a wide conjunction to Jupiter in the seventh house of alliances and open enemies.

Since I mentioned writing this article, the US debt was downgraded for the first time in American history by the Standard & Poor rating index.  (Let’s ignore for the time being the irony of the fact that it was errors in the methodology of S&P’s and other rating agencies that got us into this mess with the subprime mortgage debacle.)

I’ll save an exhaustive analysis of the Sibley chart for another post, but it’s important to note a few things before discussing the situation today. The Sagittarius ascendant in the US chart reflects the expansive tendency of the American empire which is probably the single thing that will be its undoing.  Like other empires before it, the expansion of the national identity (Sagittarius ascendant) through ideas like “Manifest Destiny” which inspired pioneers to trek across the undeveloped terrain and do battle with the native peoples and Mexicans and Canadians who were already living on the land.

This relentless push for expansion tends to weaken the underpinnings of a nation, as we can see in the history of the Roman, the Russian and the British empires, the great empires of our age. During the period from 1995 to 2008, when Pluto transited through Sagittarius bringing globalized governments and corporations, it appeared to some that the expansion of […]

Share this article...
By |2016-10-08T11:05:06-04:00August 8th, 2011|Favorite posts, Politics|5 Comments

Part II: The US Progressed Sun in Aquarius

this article was originally posted in 2007 but was lost in the archives. You can find Part I here

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 […]

Share this article...
By |2018-11-19T21:45:11-05:00September 4th, 2007|Uncategorized|1 Comment