US Solar return

Happy (?) Birthday USA, 2022 edition

art by Linda Mears

Every history has a beginning, a crescendo, a crisis, and then either a breakdown or a breakthrough. This is true for individuals, and it’s also true for countries. The story of the United States is a fascinating one, especially through the astrological lens.

Before we can understand the current situation we have to understand how we got here. Back in 2009 I wrote:

The United States is at an astrological crossroads.  The US progressed Mars turned retrograde last year, and is searching for a new direction.  Pluto, god of transformation, has been challenging the US Midheaven, the point of public perception.  The qualities that gave the US its power over the past 400 years will not work for the next 400, and the nation will have to adapt.  Economic systems are changing and becoming much more tenuous and fluid as they go global.  Traditional social systems are weakening and require a new way of looking at the way humans form families and cultural groups.  As a people we must become more lithe and limber so that we can adapt to the changing collective, or we will not survive the 21st century.  This is not a time to look back and long for the conservative values of the 1950s – those days are over.  There is a new day dawning, and we will have to be ready for it.

Apparently we are not ready for it, and the return of Pluto to its place in the U.S. chart is drawing attention to the deep fissures that divide the country. But let’s take a birthday look at the chart of the United States and see what is in store for us […]

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By |2022-07-07T07:38:04-04:00July 3rd, 2022|Politics|9 Comments
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The 2020 Solar Return of the US – aka Happy July 4th

us-solar-return We celebrate July 4th as the birthday of the United States, and most astrologers use the Sibly chart for the astrological symbology of the United States (here’s why I use it).  I thought it might be a good time to look at the current astrological forces affecting the United States right now in the midst of a global pandemic. Please note: In writing posts which may have a political bent I try to be as neutral as possible and simply report on the astrology.  However, occasionally my bias may seep through.  I have no wish to censor the comments, but any comments that serve no purpose other than to inflame WILL be deleted. 

As you may know if you’ve been reading this blog, or other articles about the astrology of the US, we are heading into a return of Pluto to its position in the US chart.  Pluto, being the Lord of the Underworld and all, is not a gentle giant.  He has a powerful impact through destruction of the darkness which eventually allows for illumination.  But in the process, we sometimes must go through that Dark Night of the Soul before we can get to the light.

A bit of history

America’s Plutonic journey began back in 2000-2001 when Pluto transited the ascendant in the Sibly chart.  On August 6th, the day that  a report warning of an impending attack by Al Qaeda was presented to President George W Bush, Saturn in Gemini (tests and challenges) formed an exact square to Pluto in exact alignment with the US ascendant at 12 degrees Sagittarius.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Not long after that in 2006, the US progressed Mars (aggression, […]

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By |2020-07-04T16:30:09-04:00July 4th, 2020|Politics|4 Comments
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Happy birthday USA! 2019 edition and look ahead to 2020

On July 4th we celebrate the birthday of the United States of America, and as astrologers we celebrate the Solar Return – the time when the Sun in the sky returns to its place in the astrological chart.  This country is at a pivotal point right now, and the astrological factors can tell us a great deal about where we are and what is coming.

I’ve been writing a lot about the return of Pluto to its place in the US chart which will occur in the next few years.  Pluto returns are very rare since they happen only every 248 years and very few governments last through their Pluto returns, although there are exceptions such as the Roman Empire.  Pluto transits tend to dredge up the darkness from the psyche so that it can be exposed to light and ideally dispelled, and we have seen this dark underbelly of the American psyche emerge over the past few years.  This is the clear influence of Pluto, which has been transiting sensitive points in the US chart since 2008.

We have an important election coming up in 2020, and the candidates will be decided in the Spring of 2020 so this is an important 12-month period for American politics.  Saturn, planet of tests and challenges, will join up with Pluto in early 2020 and the two will be hammering the US Pluto in January and February next year. However, this year there is also a harmonious trine from Saturn to the US Midheaven – the government and reputation of the country – which ought to at least help the reputation of the US among world nations.

The Solar Return chart is a snapshot of the year ahead and […]

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By |2019-07-04T08:14:01-04:00July 4th, 2019|Politics|11 Comments
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Happy Birthday USA 2018 edition

Like human beings, nations and entities also have astrological charts and a look at the planetary cycles affecting nations can tell us a great deal about what is in store.  Personal request from me: Political posts can generate nastiness.  Please keep all comments productive and astrological. 

Pluto

Geeky astrological detail:  I use the Sibley chart for the US and here’s why.)  One of the most critical astrological events coming up for the United States is the return of Pluto to its placement in the natal chart for the country, something we call the “Pluto Return.”  Pluto returns are very rare since they happen only every 248 years and very few governments last through their Pluto returns, although there are exceptions such as the Roman Empire.   Pluto cycles of all kinds tend to be associated with destruction and regeneration, and I don’t think there is any doubt that we are seeing the unraveling of the American structures of government.  This unraveling began during the economic collapse when Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008, followed by the turmoil of the challenging Uranus/Pluto square between 2010 and 2017 and has affected the global system as a whole, but this Pluto return will be America’s alone.

One interesting fact about Pluto in the US chart is that 1957 was a pivotal point for America’s Pluto (geeky astrological detail: Pluto is retrograde in the US chart and progressed Pluto re-aligned with natal Pluto in 1957).  1957 marked the enactment of the Civil Rights Act which began the transformation (Pluto) of the integration of African Americans into mainstream American society.  (This was also the year that the Soviet Union launched their Sputnik, beginning the space race, and the beginning of the […]

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By |2019-11-30T02:21:51-05:00July 6th, 2018|Politics|14 Comments
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Solar Return for the US, July 2011

Fourth of July astrologyAny person, place or event with a date of origination has an astrological chart. Humans have birthdates, companies have incorporation dates, and countries have their own dates of origination (we call this “mundane” astrology). Mundane charts are not always easy to define since we must accurately pinpoint the exact ti