THE
ASTROLOGICAL STATE OF THE UNION
September
13, 2008
While
political, this isn't about who's going to win any election. It's
about the United States as a country. That the national fate is affected
by who gets elected isn't argued; undoubtedly the choice of leaders
in any democracy influences what happens to that nation. But because
astrology can look at the nation as an entity, the 'state of the union'
is written in its chart - more specifically, the annual solar return
cast from a nation's natal chart. Thus, if you're interested in party
philosophy or presidents as people, candidates matter. But if your
concern is what happens in the course of a nation's growth and evolution,
that's not about the president (king, dictator or other head of state)
- that's the national chart.
With that said, there's a lot of argument about what the "true"
United States chart actually is. There are those who say it's the
Continental Congress chart, those who think it's the Revolutionary
War chart (beginning or end). And there's a whole group of 1776 charts,
since the signing of the Declaration of Independence didn't happen
on any single day. The most commonly used chart is a 1776 chart with
an Aquarian Void of Course (VOC) Moon. And this chart probably best
describes the elitist and isolationist nation originally founded.
But that's not the United States of today!
So
what happened? Where does that lead us? Answer: the Civil War. In
ceding, the confederate states initiated what should be characterized
as a 'national divorce.' And once the Confederacy had a capital, constitution
and its own legal tender, it's sensible to say that divorce was in
that moment finalized as a governing construct. That the north didn't
accept it? That's understandable: when a nation splits apart there's
a lot of turmoil - on both sides. And when looking at the world past
and present, it appears that such 'divorces' are often accepted (and
recognized, as the secession was) except when inside one's own nation!
In America, the result was what one might typify (ultimately) as a
political 'shotgun wedding' in which the parties were "remarried."
But once broken, a union is never the same - even when divorced partners
get back together, something's changedÉnot to sound trite,
but the innocence is gone. And so it is that the modern United States
still reflects and lives with issues raised by the Civil War: federal
versus states rights, human equality, racism, etc. That you think
them good or bad is not being argued - all that matters is that the
continuing everyday debate points to the importance of the Civil War,
and thus validates its end as the re-founding of a nation, that we
know as the modern United States.
In
accepting this idea, the United States becomes an Aries, not Cancerian
nation, as the date and place of reunification being April 9, 1865
- Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia with diligent research of eyewitness
reports yielding a time of 3:53 in the afternoon, although this may
be off by as much as 13 minutes. When tested astrologically against
later events however, the 3:53 pm chart functions well as the United
States chart, giving us the opportunity to 'picture' national issues
through looking at annual solar returns. So here are keynotes for
years 2008 through 2012 - a year interesting because of its association
with the Aztec and Mayan calendar systems as well as its being the
beginning of the next presidential election cycle.
National
Year 2008/2009: The economy is problematic and conflict exists as
to what the nation has done or should do/not do in this world. Foreign
nations are questioning whether the United States has lost the integrity
of its spiritual idealism, particularly in light of a national blindness
which promotes fundamental assertions while critiquing those held
by other nations. Within the national purview, this same question
is voiced as 'What is freedom?' Does each person get to define what
freedom means? What if that involves voluntary subservience? Where
(and how) does the morality of freedom intersect or conflict with
the legality of freedom? Does any person (or group) within a free
democracy have the right to limit the (moral or physical) freedom
of other groups which may not believe as it does?
This
question of 'rights' is echoed all over the return chart, promoting
discussions of health care, the moral limitations (if any) which should
exist in capitalism and the issue of 'quality control' at home and
abroad. Housing, immigration and debt become a critical topic as the
nation and its citizens wrestle with where rights become personal
desires.
Not
much is resolved due to a split in national will, but as the nation
becomes aware that the split at it's core is all about money and materialism,
the recognition takes hold that personal gratification - whether financial
or ethical - cannot be insisted on to the point of undermining vital
national necessities (such as infrastructure). To the degree that
politicians, pundits and groups insist upon substituting emotions
for hard facts and practical logic, mistrust grow on all sides and
power continues to be misused, creating job loses while seeding future
difficulties through compromise of education and overtaxing of civil,
military, transport and health systems. Hard choices will not be made
until fiscal and physical issues focus the nation on the fact that
freedom and individual personal rights come with a mandatory price
which is best measured in discipline and responsibility. National
functionality requires a sharing of power which requires the tolerance
of and willingness to listen to opposing, unpopular and radically
different points of view. Ultimately the reworking of the social consciousness
is on everyone's mind but much like in the story of the Emperor's
New Clothes, no one wants to be the first to say that the nation is
'buck naked.'
September
into October will center on the crafting of images. From mid-October
until mid-November, economics, taxes and 'costs' take center stage.
Come late November into mid-December, debt (personal and national),
education and immigration become into focus.
Beginning
at this mid-December point great shifts and upheavals are to be expected,
some of which will be outrageous, some of which are likely to be begrudged
allowances of the 'necessary' take place. This period lasts through
early January, ending just prior to Inauguration Day when the nation
readies itself to go to work and bite the bullet (small caliber only)
on subjects pitting idealism against realism. There is a 'learning
curve' implied which becomes oppressive as January turns into February,
but to the extent that people get past their fears of 'special interest'
thinking (which requires giving up their own 'special interest' thinking),
things will be hard for a time, then improve. World affairs come into
focus by early March, taking us to the end of this national solar
year.
National
Year 2009/2010: National responsibilities face off against the need
to react responsibly, leading to internal issues which pit domestic
priorities against international policies.
At
home, three subjects dominate the discussion: debt, education and
the balance between the marketplace as a place which generates profit,
jobs and income versus protections which must be in place and functional
for the marketplace to function safely and effectively. Morality versus
practicality are debated and a certain amount of hard feelings result
on all sides as nobody gets everything they want. Government is challenged
to deal with how it generates debt and relinquish some 'pet projects'
as the nation goes through a general 'belt tightening' with reductions
in services and discretionary pleasures all around. Potentials for
defaults both in the corporate and personal sector result from decline
in marketing and speculation. Overall, the nation and its population
goes through a testing of its values: "marriages" (of people
or interests) founded on true compatibility and a realistic expectations
will weather this period, but many who have entered into situations
based on idealized projections will fail.
Medical
concerns and discoveries are in focus, from which comes an increasing
awareness for the implementation of cost controls but perhaps more
importantly, the reintroduction of human values in the practice of
medicine and as a means of healing the sick and injured. Governmental
and national debate will be fervent with the question coming back
to the definition of national humanity: is idealism a selfish concept?
Does the 'valuing of human life' mean the same thing to all people?
On
the national/international level the choice is between "we know
better" attitudes versus "we're all in this together"
supporters. Both will be employed: the former will earn international
scorn and the latter will result in cooperation.
To
some extent this year is all about grappling with what happens once
your realize the idea isn't the reality and that hopes (or the best
of intentions) are no replacement for dedicated efforts made in the
recognition that life has limitations. Most of these questions come
back to the issue of proportion as the nation is asked to reconcile
its stated belief in equality against a day-to-day existence plainly
based on wealth, power and privilege.
National
Year 2010/2011: Changing the national direction and image is central
as health care and education come to the fore during a time when the
perception of religion shifts from a matter for debate to a subject
which is accepted as a universally private matter. Through questioning
the morality of motivation, the nation wrestles with discipline, charity
and oversights in child care and upbringing; that the children of
a nation are its future allows the nation to question the private
priorities of parents. As adjuncts to this conversation, questions
about the health of parents (inclusive of genetics, nutrition, lifestyle,
etc.) arise; as that which may be a choice for the parent is bequeathed
to the child, this raising inflammatory questions regarding rights
of children.
In
examining this, the nation comes to grips with difficulties it has
created (and thus inherited) through indulgence and 'turning a blind
eye' with regards to everything from processed food to the generational
legacy of child abuse as imposed on generations of adults who are
the products of their time. Parallels highlighting the needs of veterans
and retirees causes the United States to wrestle with greater implications
of its capitalist value system - namely that the equality of mankind
requires a raising of personal conscience regarding selfishness, greed
and surface values which do little to enhance the culture or the lives
of those living in said culture. This is an evolutionary step towards
a greater understanding not likely to come unto focus until the mid
2020's when society begins paying more attention to individual abilities
rather than societal molds one is expected to fit into. This reversal
of trends established in the 1940's and 1950's will in time lead to
a society enriched by no one being cast aside labeled as a 'misfit,'
and this is when people begin thinking in that direction.
As
part of the seeding of this shift, the slow but inexorable overall
world shift of power which is now under way challenges the United
States at its core. The rest of the world is moving towards interactions
based not directly on wealth, but on the fullest implications of the
term "family of mankind" which in this case speaks to the
international marketplace where any nation only thrives based on its
ability to participate in a cooperative climate rather than one ruled
by brute economics. It's a testy, tumultuous year, one which calls
for the letting go of some long held ideas about warfare and tools
of violence; the United States is likely to be accused of being a
perpetrator and propagator of the politics of isolationism when the
better way forward is to embody an acceptance that life is what it
is, not as we wish it would be. Structures of social, political and
health care funding are definitely being reworked; investing in one's
ability and learning to find your way through participation in groups,
movements and voluntary efforts rather than through training, appointment
or degree is coming to the fore.
National
Year 2011/2012: A chaotic national year in which attempts to assertively
advance the national cause are not well received, when health issues
(not merely health care) dominate and when many scandals pointing
to misappropriations of money, power and bias come to light. Connected
to this are multiple institutional failures, some of which are brought
about by corrections, some of which are the product of the aforementioned
misappropriations - and all of which promote reflection on just what
one can expect to achieve, expect of any nation or think of as something
which is "always" going to be there.
Domestically,
this leads to a test of 'national ego'. Situations arise in which
avoidance becomes impossible and intrinsic proof as to the fallibility
but intrinsic value of humanity become apparent, leading to a destruction
of the old from which comes a rebirth of national values, spirit and
effort. There is no decimation described here, although the necessity
to give up 'old ways' is implicit. To whatever degree the nation (or
its inhabitants) have clung to a belief in invincibility, now they
get the message that each person has the responsibility to live up
to their abilities and to make a contribution through those abilities,
striking a balance between expectations and lifestyle (i.e., give
and take).
The
credit and lending systems are in a transitional phase leading to
patience and faith in the long term procedures being required. Weathering
this period depends less on accumulated wealth than it does on connectivity
and the ability to pitch in and link with others rather than focusing
on 'me and mine' first, last and always. It will be very easy to point
fingers this year - at companies, the government, and elected officials,
but that is not the answer, as the real answer lies in recognizing
that nearly a hundred years of building personal fortresses (financial,
familial, spiritual, intellectual, etc.) must be undone. Those who
can make the shift by relinquishing their 'death hold' on a preconceived
'way of life' and 'hierarchy of understanding' will do fine; those
whose egos are dearly entrenched in preconceptions will suffer bruises
and disillusion on the way to learning that life can be different
and may indeed be better for having changed so radically.
Read
More from Boots:
The
Blessings of the Sun in this season of Passover, Good Friday and
Easter (posted April 6, 2009)
2012: The End Of The World?
(posted March 26, 2009)
Ages Patriarchal, Matriarchal, and Religious (posted February 24,
2009)
Madoff: Web of Need and
Greed (posted January 27, 2009)
MetaphysicYear End Musings
(posted
December 27, 2008)
Election
vs Inauguration
World
Economics and the Federal Reserve
Pluto in Capricorn
The Fixed Signs
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