Engaged Astrology

Hi All!

I hope you all are having a good experience with the Jupiter exalted transit. I have found it to be positive but a bit floaty (Jupiter rules the Ether!) and strangely hectic. Hard to stay grounded!

This month there aren’t any major new transits (I posted about Exalted Jupiter in Cancer last month, and Saturn in Pisces a while back when that started). There are some interesting conjunctions and other events that I’ll mention towards the bottom, but I thought I’d spend some time considering our big USA birthday this July and what it might say about our future from an astrological perspective.

First there is a fair amount of disagreement among astrologers about the birth time of USA because nobody knows exactly what time the Declaration of Independence was voted on or signed. The trend has been to use a time later in the afternoon which was when the Founding Fathers emerged from the chambers with the fully executed document. Though this chart is extremely interesting, the Scorpio ascendant has never rung true for such a loud, in-your-face country as the USA.

There is newer evidence that the Declaration was actually signed just after 2pm. President Gerald Ford declared that 2pm should be the official time to celebrate the 4th of July. And there is a famous illustration on $100 bills that shows the clock-tower on Independence Hall, and the time is just after 2:20pm. Several astrologers I respect have started to use 2:21pm as the birth time of the country, for multiple reasons, and I think it makes a lot of sense.

This time gives the chart a Libra ascendant, with the ruling planet Venus in the 9th house. Business-oriented Libra makes sense for this country and Venus in the 9th literally says “Business is our religion” which, though that’s a superficial reading, is definitely part of the American DNA: a place that encourages business in all forms (or used to). Venus has quite a bit of company in the 9th house — Sun, Venus and Mars are there as well. The 9th house is the house of Dharma (meaning, purpose) and it tracks that the US should share its dharma — its very purpose — with so many disparate parties, in the same way it shares its lands with people from every corner of the globe. This is the very definition of a “melting pot”. There is the passion and commerce of Venus, the idealism and religiosity of Jupiter, the power and exceptionalism of the Sun, and the muscle and hard work (and violence) of Mars. Together, in the 9th house, the effect is a tremendous creative urge which is then channeled through the lord of the 9th house, Mercury, which is in the 10th house of karma/ action. In other words, the USA has the capacity to channel high creativity into actual action — to be able to manifest it in the world. I don’t need to list all the things that were invented here — the light bulb, cars, telephones, computers, smartphones, AI, etc … The list is long and, we hope, still growing.

Indeed, one of the big questions is whether we have lost our mojo, whether the brain drain of recent years, or other factors, will somehow hobble the US in terms of creative productivity. We’ll get to this in a moment, but this very question is prepared for in the US chart, with Rahu in the 10th house along with Mercury. Rahu is an eclipse point and, though it amplifies the energy and drive of the 10th house, also gives it an almost existential instability. Mercury, money, rises and falls dramatically. And suddenly — in a trauma-fantasy most Americans seem to share (or most that I know…) — the party could end. This fragility, and the potential for catastrophe, are built into this chart.

Rahu in the 10th house puts Ketu (the other eclipse node) opposite in the 4th house of heart and home — an odd place for a chart that represents our “homeland”. In fact, because it “cancels out” anything it contacts, Ketu in the 4th could kind of be read as “homelessness” — or worse, “heartlessness”. This is a tough placement for sure and one that could lead to crazy extremes, or betrayals. As Americans gird themselves against a deep sense of groundlessness, they tend towards accumulation in a way that can become brutal, or extreme. Capitalism, after all, is a pretty “heartless” philosophy.

But there are, thankfully, checks and balances. Moon in Aquarius is charitable and, in the 5th house, future-oriented. Its nakshatra, Dhanistha, emphasizes wealth creation as well, but like its symbol, the drum, it craves stability and order. If provoked, this nakshatra, which is ruled by Mars, can become violent. But overwhelmingly this is a moon that wants to protect us.

The 5th house is also this chart’s Arudha Lagna, which is how the world sees or witnesses the native (the US). Having moon there creates charisma that only the moon can inspire. It could be seen as the “shining city on the hill” where the hill is the sign Aquarius, which always represents mountains and higher altitudes. From there, our moon beckons to the world, and the world has responded. People have seemed attracted to this country, like moths to a flame; or dancers to a beat.

“We the people” are in this chart too — represented by everyman Saturn which is in the 12th house of internationalism and long distances. I have written about this Saturn before, specifically about how it connects to George Washington and the US Revolution. Revolution always comes from Saturn and in the 12th house it is very much the people who decide the “fate” of the chart, and the country. A recipe for democracy.

Saturn is the Atma Karaka of the chart as well, representing its past lives. In the past, Saturn Atma Karaka would represent a passive population, one that did not stand up for its rights. But in this incarnation — in this chart — it must. Though it will face constant challenges, it will always be driven by an urge for freedom, and through this liberty, in the 12th house, enlightenment.

I love how accurately this chart describes the basic realities of our country. The question is, how will it age?

One of the classic features of the Hindu/ Vedic relationship to time is that there are different scales of time depending on what “realm” you inhabit. In “Deva-kāla” (“divine time”) there is the idea that one day in Human time equals one year for the Devas.

अहोरात्रं तु देवानां वर्षं प्रविभागतः
ahorātraṃ tu devānāṃ varṣaṃ pravibhāgataḥ

“A year of mortals is a day and a night of the gods.”

~ From the Manusmriti (1.67)

As is so often the case, this idea can be directly applied to astrology. Using a method of progression known as “Lagna Pravesh” we can look at how a chart changes over time from God’s perspective. The basic method is to progress a natal chart one day for every year into the future we are interested in studying. Since the Sun moves one degree per day, we can use it to measure the progression with a great degree of accuracy over long periods of time. Since the Sun also rules government and major institutions and their leaders, this method works well for nations.

In the case of the US chart and its 250th birthday, we progress Sun 250 degrees (while keeping the same ascendant). The result is as follows:

This chart definitely captures our current national mood.

Saturn has progressed into the Libra Ascendant, where it is also currently retrograde. So our GDP has slowed and there is a “regressive” — or even depressive — sense to things so often associated with Saturn rising. Saturn rising is also known as an “Marana Karaka Sthana” placement, meaning that the planet acts as though it is dying in this position — and this is even worse when retrograde. Using the logic of the original chart, in which Saturn represents the people and their revolution, we could say that the people are currently too under-empowered.

In addition, the ascendant lord, Venus, has progressed to the 7th house, which is the “maraka”, or “death place”, for Libra rising. Here Venus receives the depressive aspect of Saturn as well as the aggressive and warlike aspect of Mars — and the 7th house is Aries, which offers Venus little support or grounding.

So our ascendant is on thin ice and, indeed, this feels like an existential moment for our country.

What is protecting us? Moon, which protected us so well in the original chart, is now in the 7th house (as well as Venus). This is a “movie-star” placement, people will be obsessed with looking at us, and judging us, and we will be obsessed by their attention. But there is something kind of vapid about this placement — “Look at me!” it says. I can’t help but think of the dissolution of our public sphere (ruled by Moon), where media has become driven by clickbait and split into camps; there is little evidence that reaching a consensus is even possible in these times. Moon, also aspected by Saturn and Mars, can do little to help us beyond the bling, and could also become overwhelmed and depressed. I believe this says a lot about our current time.

Moon and Venus together in the 7th house, which also represents business dealings, can also create a kind of craving — perhaps reflected by our stubborn inflation.

Meanwhile, and crucially, Sun has progressed to the 6th house — the house of enemy — so our leadership can’t help us too much either, in fact it might be acting against our interests. This is not a patriotic placement, and the empty grounds of the Great American State Fair illustrate the disconnect there seems to be between Americans and their leaders (around the corner there were very busy protests).

Mars has progressed to the 12th house. Instead of calling to the people of the world, as was the case at the time of our birth, with Saturn in the 12th, now there are literal walls and obstacles between us and the rest of the world. This is an “isolationist”, fairly lonely, placement. Mars is also retrograde which means that, in terms of foreign relations, we may be moving backwards.

Jupiter is still in the 9th house, as it was at the time of our birth. This is a wonderful place for Jupiter to be — the “Guru” sits happily in the temple. The indication is that we still have a large reservoir of wisdom in this country, but it cannot currently make much difference, with Saturn blocking its influence on the Libra ascendant, and Sun unable to lead in a meaningful way.

Overall, this progressed USA 250 chart is not one of a happy camper.

By way of comparison, I also created a progressed chart for our 200th birthday in 1976 which was, by all accounts, a much more optimistic moment. Jimmy Carter was elected president, Apple Computer was founded, and “Rocky” won Best Picture at the Oscars. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit” were at the top of the charts in ‘76.

There was a “Parivartana”, lordship exchange, between Saturn in the ascendant and Venus in the 5th, so LOVE was in the air. With Venus switching to the ascendant, this was very patriotic setup; and Saturn in the 5th made the people feel safe. Moon was in a much more optimistic place than it is this year — with Jupiter in the 9th — so there was a sense of expansion, success, and celebration. The Sun, our leadership, was in the 4th where, though there are always impediments, it had a much better chance of meaningful action than its current progression, in the evil 6th house. The 4th house is the house of mother, so the people knew that the Sun would take care of them.

One thing to note: Jupiter was retrograde at this moment in our history. Retro Jupiter carries the wisdom of Jupiter but darkens it and makes it less effective. It is important that in these progressed charts, Jupiter has been retrograde until just last year. That means that this year it is in the process of turning around.

And that is very good news…

Jupiter beginning to move forward means that, as it gains speed, there should be a return to optimism and positivity. With each passing year Jupiter will do a better job of protecting us from its placement in the 9th house, and the “wisdom factor” I mentioned as lacking earlier, will steadily grow. This starts now. The next generation of Americans will see Jupiter progress to an exalted position in the 10th house of the USA chart… and once again the US will be concerned with doing GOOD on the world stage.

The problem of Venus being in the deadly 7th house aspected by Saturn and Mars will get solved more quickly. In 15 years Venus will move into its own sign of Taurus, away from the negative drishtis (aspects) of Mars and Saturn, which will be MUCH better for the state of our country. It’s true that Venus will then be in the USA’s 8th house, which indicates that there will still be a lot of healing to be done, but the existential threat will be much diminished.

This transit, out of the 7th house, will happen even sooner for the Moon, which moves faster than Venus. It comes in 2028! In the progressed chart, moon becomes exalted in Taurus which indicates that we will be emerging from our existential danger zone — but, as with Venus, because it’s in the 8th house, there will still be a lot of healing to be done.

Looking briefly at the dasha (phase) of the USA chart, we entered the dreaded Rahu maha dasha in 2015 (just as the Trumps descended on the golden escalator…) and it doesn’t end until 2035, which basically substantiates the timing above. Interestingly one of the hallmarks of the Rahu maha dasha is that a major mistake is usually made towards the beginning of it, that the rest of the phase is spent dealing with. So, we have 10-15 years left.

The timing of the progressed chart indicates that this year and next year are a dangerous low point for our country with very few positive planets and a lot of troubled ones.

Luckily, as I mentioned, Jupiter in the 9th will be gaining strength for us and I believe that “God” will soon bless America again — as our most American of mantras requests. Currently, while Venus and Moon are in the 7th House, we must especially look to women to guide us out of this. With their help, Jupiter’s faith, and the populism and hard work given to us by Saturn in the 1st, we WILL get through this. We can’t forget that, despite its other problems, Saturn is exalted in this ascendant. We the People HAVE the power — we must just take it back.

We can call our current experience another Great American “Close Call”. There have been so many. Besides the craziness of the Revolutionary War that birthed us, the Civil War almost ended us, as did the Depression; we almost turned Nazi before we entered World War II, and the Vietnam War almost tore the country apart, as did Watergate. Ours is a history of Close Calls.

In all the charts I’ve mentioned, we can see the Rahu-Ketu axis dividing the chart, slicing it in half, from 4th house to 10th. This means the ascendant is at a right angle to this axis, showing that it is caught in a kind of karmic struggle between dark and light. Saturn is in the ascendant as an added challenge — to make sure that there is no cheating.

But of course there will be cheating!

I am reminded of a line in the great William Burroughs poem “A Thanksgiving Prayer”:

Thanks for a country

Where nobody is allowed to mind their own business.

The last line of that poem blows me away as well. Once again, Burroughs is addressing America:

Thanks for the last and greatest betrayal

Of the last and greatest of human dreams.

Talk about American exceptionalism! Even our betrayals are special!

I agree that much has been betrayed, but I disagree that it will be the last time it happens! Because the “greatest of human dreams” can survive it. Jupiter and Saturn have held steady for us for 250 years, and will continue to for at least another 250.

The suggestion in our astrology is that we are in a state of both greatness and betrayal simultaneously — and continuously.

I mentioned Venus and Moon above, and how the questions they ask (particularly of women!) may alter our chances on our 250th birthday. Both of them undergo some interesting moments this month as well.

On the 4th of July Venus is actually in the process of changing signs from Cancer to Leo. Because Cancer is a water sign, and Leo a fire sign, their cusp is considered particularly volatile. This area is called a “Gandanta”, which translates to some kind of “hole”, and I always think of it as a kind of scary whirlpool with a hole in the middle. So this is a bewildering few days for Venus and a weird nimmita (omen) for the USA’s birthday (USA has Venus rising, as shown earlier). Be careful with Venus ruled things, particularly relationships. There could be runaway emotions and/ or venting. Keep an eye on money and watch out for scams. Finally, keep an eye on your immune system. Venus rules our immune systems and might not be able to offer us much protection around this moment in time.

Then, after it gets into Leo, on July 10th, Venus becomes conjunct with its arch-enemy Ketu. Simultaneously, on the same day, Mars conjuncts Moon in Taurus. This is a lot of fire burning out our most watery planets and this could be one of the most volatile days of the month. Water is what we need to connect to one another, and when overheated, these connections can evaporate and mistakes can be made. Be very careful with those you love, and even those you don’t, and guard against sparks flying. If there is something important in a relationship that you feel you need to correct, please wait a few days to do so. Moms may feel challenged by their children. Workers may feel challenged by their bosses. Lovers may feel challenged by their partners. Take a bath, go for a swim, drink a lovely (non-alcoholic) beverage!

By July 14th things should be much better. Moon enters Cancer where it quickly conjuncts exalted Jupiter. This is a “Guru Chandal Yoga” that filters the wisdom of Jupiter through Moon, which represents our minds, which is the perfect place for that wisdom! So if you were tempted by the fiery bluster of the Moon/ Venus situations mentioned above, you should be able to “rise above” by mid-month. It should be possible to patch things up and even derive meaningful insights from any earlier-in-the-month transgressions.

Don’t wait too long to do this though, because on July 16th Sun enters Cancer, and by the 26th will be exactly conjunct, and combusting, Jupiter. Even though it is exalted, we can’t ignore the “burn-out” that Sun can create on the planet that rules intelligence and memory. Expect, somewhere in your life, for there to be some kind of dopey, ill-informed, or shortsighted situation; or a difficult decision around this time. And in the news our very solar administration could make a call that is somehow separated from intelligence (Jupiter). This situation will only last for a few days on either side of July 26th, then Jupiter should regain its strength and get back to the good things its doing. It will remain exalted for another five months or so.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Master Vedic Astrologer Sat Siri Khalsa, who taught me the Lagna Pravesh (progression) technique.

To paraphrase another wonderful Vedic Astro, Barbara Pijan, due to “fluctuations in the energy field”, I have been too busy to film another piece this month, but have one planned and will do so soon.

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Happy 250th America!!

Sending love,

Jesse