Since the infamous hijacking of the Ship of State in December 2000 by a band of extremist ideologues, the USS America has surged through uncharted and dangerous waters. Our current crew has taken us to realms unsought and to deeds anathema to our sense of justice and rectitude. It is the understandable fear of many that this nightmare will never end and that the America we once knew will disappear into the mist.
The movement of Pluto from the unconscious and hidden realms of the 12th house to the fully manifest reality of the 1st house in the US chart provides the best picture of what has occurred. Pluto in this position suggests a tremendous power struggle between those entrenched with authority or economic resources and the masses. It also implies a struggle for survival against an overwhelming, frightening, and secretive opponent, such as was experienced during 9/11 and its aftermath. Further characterizations of this transit include feelings of repression and fear in the general public, as well as subtle or manifest attempts at control and manipulation by the government. The Plutonian struggle can be an intensification of any polarity in the collective psyche and the resulting fierce struggle for dominance - materially, economically, politically, or psychologically.
In the US chart, Pluto sits in the second house where it describes a fanatical drive towards amassing wealth and a potential for greed run rampant. Unfortunately, this thread runs through the American experience and leads to an economic power elite that wields tremendous influence. With Pluto currently so domiant in its position near the US Ascendant, the immense power and machinations of the corporate world have been at the forefront of the present-day political scene. At the time of the November 2000 election, Pluto moved into a one-degree orb of the US Ascendant, crossing it three times over the following year, the last time during the dark days of September 2001. It remains well within 10 degrees of the US Ascendant at present, and will move out of that significant orb, for the most part, as of January 2005.
Besides the waning of the intensified Pluto energy after the next election, there are several other indicators of a significant shift in the mood and reality of the US experience at that time. The Inaugural chart of January 2005 is radically different from the one we are currently living under. In the Bush Inaugural chart, we find a description of the administration’s extremely aggressive and unilateral tendencies in the very harsh T square of Uranus, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. Furthermore, this administration’s rigid, conservative, and ideological proclivities are described in the first house Saturn, dispositor of the 9th house South Node in Capricorn. And finally, the ongoing fearful emotions of the populace and the general level of agitation can be seen in the Moon /Pluto conjunction which semisquares the Sun.
In stark contrast to this, we find the 2005 Inaugural has the Moon in the first house trine the Sun. This suggests a far greater flexibility than in the current administration, and a strong harmony between the leaders and the people. There are, however, suggestions in this chart of a wounded America struggling to find its place once again in the world. Chiron conjunct the Midheaven, likely exact by progression during the first year, suggests significant problems, including a possibly painful reentry into the community of nations. In addition, the US progressed Venus will be opposed to natal Saturn during all of 2005. Progressed Venus was square to natal Saturn during the difficult, depression-era years of 1930 and 1931. And progressed Venus was conjunct progressed Saturn in 1864, during a part of the devastation of the American Civil War. Together, the triggering of the Chiron/MC aspect and the progressed Venus opposition to Saturn imply a rocky first year for the next administration, perhaps due to overwhelming economic difficulties brought on by Junior Bush's grotesquely irresponsible fiscal policies. Nonetheless, the abrasiveness, the ideological self-righteousness, and the use of the American military as a vehicle for diplomacy will be thankfully absent as of January 2005. Instead, we will find a much more circumspect, careful and conscientious administration dealing step by step with a multitude of issues.
Another striking indication of a major shift for the country in November 2004 is the movement of the US progressed Sun into Pisces. It will have been in the 29th degree of Aquarius and void of course during the entire last year of the Bush administration. The implication here is that much of what is initiated by Bush in his last year will not reach fruition or will have an outcome totally different than the initially stated goal. The 29th degree, moreover, suggests the culmination of an energy that is about to wane, a bit like an overripe fruit. For thirty years the US progressed Sun has been in Aquarius, the sign of technological cutting-edge brilliance and ingenuity. As we reach the waning days of this progressed Sun position, we find our cutting-edge technology being utilized increasingly in American military prowess. It seems timely that we will be moving on to the next phase.
With the US Sun moving into Pisces for the next thirty years, an entirely new quality will begin to take hold by the end of 2004. At its best, Pisces brings great compassion and sensitivity, and a selfless concern for the suffering of others. With Neptune, its ruler, in the 9th house in the US chart, a Pisces Sun will be motivated by tremendous idealism. The gentle nature of Pisces, moreover, suggests the possibility that the warmongering radicalism of Bush the Younger will truly fade into memory by 2005, and that a new chapter in American history will begin, at least in part as a direct repudiation of the previous one.
But Pisces can also bring great difficulties, most notably a lack of clear thinking, confusion, and unfocused goals. Great idealism followed by disillusionment is also a possibility. The transits to and progressions of the US natal Neptune will help to indicate the timing of some of these trends.
Another extremely interesting indication of a major transition at the end of the Bush administration can be seen in the US tertiary progressed chart. Saturn (13 Capricorn), by tertiary progression, has currently come into one degree orb of opposition to the natal US Sun (13Cancer19) for the first time ever. This aspect began in February 2003 and will continue to intensify through October 2003. It will be followed quickly by tertiary progressed Saturn squaring natal Saturn (14Libra48) from February 2004 through early November 2004. These two back-to-back progressions suggest a 22-month period of increasing difficulty, burden, obstacles and loss for the country and the administration. Saturn is a strict taskmaster, insisting on curbs to all reckless, selfish, and arrogant behavior. Unjustified military adventures and irresponsible economic policies may well reap a painful harvest during this period. Major crises are especially likely in October 2003 and again in June 2004 when transiting Saturn crosses the US Sun and, additionally, triggers these progressions. Since the US Sun is symbolic of the US Chief Executive, the crises will fall most significantly on Bush’s shoulders.
As I have mentioned in previous articles and on my Timeline, there are numerous aspects that point to Bush’s demise in November 2004. By January 2005, a new beginning is likely that moves the country out of its unilateral and aggressive phase, and to a mood more in tune with the rest of the planet. But the early period for the new administration will be very difficult as it struggles to undo the multiplicity of damage done by the Bush Cabal - diplomatically, environmentally, and economically.
