USA - Theoretical - The Next Two Decades If The Timeline Continued

4 July 1776 11:00 am LMT Philadelphia, PA

2003 to 2005: Setbacks & High Risk.

Two major transits will be in play from now till the end of 2005. One is Saturn, harbinger of delays, setbacks, losses and separation which will produce a sober facing up to reality from mid June 2003 onwards. It progresses round a series of aspects to the US’s cardinal T square (Pluto opp. Mercury, Sun square Saturn) from June 2003 until mid 2005, which will be a discouraging time. This year it first conjuncts Venus (June 20th to 26th) making the US feel unloved and unappreciated,; then conjuncts Jupiter July 13th to 20th which will put a damper on exuberance, pull down over optimism and may involve financial cutbacks. Saturn then is conjunct the US National Sun from October 10th to November 10th (repeating June 2004) which will involve cutting away from certain aspects of past policy, of grasping nettles, facing the bottom line. It can also accompany the loss of a father figure. Into 2004, Saturn is conjunct Mercury, which requires cool assessments of facts and can be depressing. It then opposes Pluto from October 2004 to June 2005, which will produce a sense of being stuck by circumstances beyond personal control. Saturn is hardly a singing and dancing transit but it will bring structure, order, trim excesses and produce a more mature outlook.

The other major transit will be Pluto opposing Mars from mid January 2004 to late February, repeating late April to early June, mid November to mid December 2004, early August to late September 2005. Pluto opposing Mars brings a ruthlessness into play, usually accompanied by violence and feelings of intense frustration or impotence. There will at least be major divergences of opinion, involving extremely high feelings, intensely heated debates with no easy outcome or agreement. And it will also inevitably be a risky time. Pluto also squares Neptune from late February 2004 on and off till November 2005. Pluto square Neptune will be highly disorientating, with heightened worries, a sea fog of confusion, with old beliefs and certainties being dissolved. It can sometimes accompany major natural disasters such as earthquakes, though Pluto Neptune is also associated with nuclear or bio-chemical events and high profile scandals, sexual and financial. [Ironically enough Pluto in transit was in major aspect in 2003 to Mars and Neptune on the Saddam Hussein Regime chart, when it collapsed.] In 2004 and 2005 as well, Neptune will trine Saturn. This will bring a dual effect. A more humanitarian approach will emerge, seeking to ground ideals of a fairer society and world in more tangible form. But Neptune will also undermine Saturn’s rigid grasp on authority. It will be a time of worry, perhaps undermining the justice system, and many of America’s most cherished notions of rightness.

Minor Cheer
Uranus will trine Venus in 2003 resulting in moments of relief of tension; trine Jupiter in 2004 with lucky breaks; and trine the Sun in 2006 & 2007 bringing a change of heart and direction. Expansive, confident Jupiter will also counteract some of Saturn’s more depressive tendencies moving into Libra in September 2004 staying for a year and lifting the cardinal t square.

2007 & 2008: Neptune dissolves; Uranus provokes
Neptune trines the USA’s aggressively outspoken Mars in 2007 and 08 which will induce some feelings of panic and failure. Assertive plans will not work as hoped. This is a spiritual transit, not ego boosting – a time of redefining values. In 2008 Uranus trines Mars bringing a crisis of confidence in national identity with the risk of impulsive macho gestures to boost self esteem. Uranus also opposes Neptune which will bring anxiety, irrational certainties, bad judgement calls and obstinacy. It is sometimes a signifier of earthquakes. Neptune is also conjunct the USA Moon in 2008 & 2009 which will bring emotional confusion.

The Real Test: Pluto in Capricorn: 2008 to 2024
Pluto, planet of transformation, deconstruction and reconstruction will move into Capricorn, sign of established government and money making enterprises, to stay till 2024. It will trigger the American chart’s cardinal T square from 2009 opposing Venus, Jupiter, the Sun and squaring Saturn through the following seven years. It may start with an optimistic push for success or power as the over confident Pluto Jupiter affect kicks in. But following behind will be a dismantling of old structures, a reducing to ashes to clear the ground for the phoenix to arise. Though it will not be a fast process. Pluto has not been in Capricorn since the 18th century when the American War of Independence occurred, so the USA is coming full circle, in some sense back to where it began. Sometimes these major influences bring low what rose to prominence on the previous cycle. The Ottoman Empire grew to greatness under Suleiman the Magnificent when Pluto was in Capricorn in 1515 to 1530, as he took over Arabia, captured Belgrade and attacked Vienna. Next time round for Pluto in Cap. in 1768, the Ottoman Empire lost Crimea, the effective end of the great empire which Suleiman created outside the Middle East.

Challenges Come in Threes
To add to the challenges running into the first half of the next decade, Saturn will also be in Libra from late 2009 to 2011, squaring Pluto in the heavens, suggesting major wars out in the world. [See Saturn Pluto below]. It also transits round the USA’s cardinal planets in these years, bringing strain, cutback and losses. Then in 2011, disruptive Uranus moves into Aries to pick up the cardinal square to Pluto, though it will have been in orb for three to four years previously. This brings upheavals, revolutions, violence, freedom fighters, an unsettling of the established order. [The Uranus Pluto conjunction of the mid 60s saw the Vietnam War at its height with anti-government US Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War demos.] 2014 sees Pluto opposing the USA Sun (until 2016) and Uranus in square to it (until 2015). This will be a time of tremendous ferment, chaos, perhaps anarchy, as old structures and authorities are swept away or violently opposed. By 2017 it will be time to pick up the pieces and start the process of assembling a new order, different governmental and justice systems, a reshaped economy. These major transits will also affect other Cardinal countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Saudi Arabia amongst others.

USA NATIONAL CHART
A highly emotional chart with four planets in Cancer describes an ambitious nation, focussed on family values, essentially self absorbed, with highly developed protective and defensive attitudes. Cancer is a complex sign which is acutely sensitive to criticism, fearful of ridicule, but not good at self analysis. It can exhibit great strength one moment and the vulnerability of a child the next. Expansive, confident Jupiter in Cancer close to sugary-sweet Venus hints at a surface sociability, a maudlin sentimentality and a definite tendency to over indulgence in food. But what belies this apple-pie facade is a toughly bleak square from Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn here is fair minded about justice but tends to be too exacting, leading often to false ambitions and over commitment of resources with subsequent failures. Pluto in Capricorn opposing Mercury and the Sun is controlling, power hungry, vengeful, intolerant in discussions. A primary drive is to transform the world according to the USA’s needs. The over bearing qualities here intimidate or annoy others, making co-operation difficult if not impossible. It’s the approach which says ‘If you do what I want, and I do what I want, then I’ll be happy’. It also hints at a government where a good deal of behind-the-scenes power broking goes on, not all of it savoury. The Saturn Pluto square gives great resourcefulness and resilience in times of crisis, but makes deep level change very difficult. A detached Aquarian Moon trines outspoken Mars in Gemini reflecting a nation often riven by heated internal dispute and violence. Independent Uranus close to Mars points to a forceful need to defend personal freedom of speech and an explosive reaction to any hint of outside interference. Mars in square to Neptune brings a love of publicity, the showbiz glitz, but also an underlying fear of lack of machismo. This is a chart riddled with contradictions.

Saturn Pluto: SEPTEMBER 11 & the Iraq Invasion : The formidably dark Saturn Pluto opposition gathering storm clouds since June 2001, hit its first aspect to the Sun (Virgo) in the first week in September 2001. On its last aspect to the Sun (Pisces) in March 2003, the Anglo-American Iraq Invasion was launched. Since the link between Saddam Hussein and Al Quaida is at best extremely tenuous, the Iraq Attack could be seen as a sign of America’s need to regain power/status/self esteem, having been catastrophically disempowered by the attack on its heartland (Pluto opposition to Cancer planets). The show of might was more important than the target. Though Pluto, as ever complex, no doubt saw other advantages in gaining control of oil and forcing a shift in the Middle East balance of power. Saturn Pluto usually associated with war, siege-like conditions and major deprivation creates a very black mood. It will not return now until 2010. Past major Saturn Pluto aspects have been around during the following: The siege of Srebrenica, FBI Waco Siege; Tutsi Genocide; Sabra Chatila Camp Massacres; The Watergate Scandal; the Yom Kippur War. Also around on September 11 was the retrograde transit of Uranus trine the USA Mars - an explosive planetary combination. It hit the exact aspect from September 7th 2001 lasting for five weeks until mid October. As indicated in my previous predictions input last year, this led to a mood of national insecurity and a warlike stance. Uranus was also conjunct the Aquarian Moon on the US chart in 2001 & 2002, creating major emotional upsets. And the Cancerian Sun, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury conjunction in the US chart was under substantial challenge from the July 2001 Solar Eclipse which held sway until December. Neptune also opposed the Moon's North Node in the US chart at 6 degrees Leo from late August 2001, which would tend to undermine national arrogance, and damage its image as the world's most powerful country. It struck at the soul of America. The Sagittarian eclipses in December 2001 & 2002 also fell exactly opposite the warlike Mars in the US chart, leading to outbursts of anger and retaliation.


The Columbia shuttle disaster
with 7 astronauts lost on re-entry on February 1 2003 occurred when Saturn was in square to Neptune in the USA chart (from late January to late March, 2003) bringing with it a mood of national panic and paranoia, a disorientating feeling that national stability was being undermined. Jupiter was also sitting exactly on the Moon/Moon’s Node mid point, which is only disaster prone when over confidence has become a problem. The Node is a point in destiny, the Moon is the sign of what comforts the nation.