Transcript of Radio Show: The History of the USA, Progressed New Moons, and the Periods of Development in the USA chart
(If you wish to listen to the show instead, here is the link on BlogTalk or Apple Podcasts)
I thought that we would continue our look at the history of the USA, by examining how the series of Progressed New Moons in the USA chart provides a framework for understanding its historical unfoldment. I, and many Astrologers, have found that the series of Progressed New Moons in an individual’s chart is quite illustrative of the structure for that person’s life, and we will find the same is true with regards to a nation’s chart as well.
Our show last time focused upon the critical role of Neptune’s position in the USA Chart (along with Pluto and Uranus), and its cyclic movement through the heavens in its 170-year journey around the sun (and through the USA’s chart), illuminates some of the critical moments in our history. More especially, Neptune highlights the critical juncture we find ourselves in today (which resembles or carries resonances with the 1850’s and 1860’s). What we will see is that the progressed Sun/Moon cycle also shows how important our moment today is as well.
A New Moon in a chart is like the planting of a seed that unfolds over the next 29 years. It is one of the elements that can help us understand what is propelling the Spiritual development of that entity, in this case a Nation. The Sign of the New Moon will be one key to its interpretation, along with the House in which it occurs. We will also find illuminating the halfway point of any Lunar cycle when the Moon and the Sun are opposite to one another, which is the Full Moon, and should be seen as a moment of Revelation or climax of that Sun/Moon cycle.
Though many historical events occur in each period, my intention here is to observe the development of the USA with regards to its foundational purpose, that we were to be a nation based upon the principle of equality and justice for all, as we stated to the world in our Declaration of Independence,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”.
That promise of equality, of founding a covenant community based upon the spiritual truth that we support each person’s right to free self-determination, was broken at our birth, and it is still to be realized fully to this very day. This is the story of America, as it is for all human and spiritual progress; we are imperfect, and we must strive every day to become what we are meant to be, loving one another as we love ourselves and all this Creation too.
1787
The first New Moon for the USA was in 1787 at 24 degrees of Cancer in the 8th house. Cancer is the sign of the Declaration of Independence and is astrologically the sign of our Roots and Foundations, of where we come from. 1787 was the year when the Constitutional Convention began, coming to an agreement to form the country into a constitutional-representative republic. But more than half of the delegates to the convention were slave owners, and our constitution specifically enshrined the right to own black people. In 1789, George Washington, also a slave owner, became the first President of the United States. (And we cannot forget, that out of the first 12 Presidents, only 2 did not own slaves).
The Full Moon in 1802 was in Aquarius, which is where the Moon is in the USA natal chart. In 1804 New Jersey becomes the last northern state to abolish slavery. And, in 1808, the importation of slaves into the United States is made illegal (but from then until 1860, more than 250,000 slaves are smuggled into the US). The American Story, the arduous and painfilled path we are on towards a true democracy and the fulfillment of our stated ideal of equality was set in place and remains to this day.
1816
The second New Moon was in 1816 at 22 degrees of Leo in the 8th house. The sign of Leo is about leadership, it rules self-affirmation by self-expression, courage, and leadership. This period began with the preservation of the USA as a separate nation after the defeat of England’s attempt to take back its former colonies in the War of 1812. The northern border for the USA was fixed between Canada in an agreement with the United Kingdom, and the official US flag is adopted, with 13 bars & stripes and a field of stars. The Missouri compromise was adopted allowing for it to be admitted as a state with slavery but barring any future slave states west of the Mississippi, and in 1830 Congress approves the Indian Removal Act to relocate all Native peoples who live east of the Mississippi river.
The Full Moon of 1831 begins with Nat Turner’s slave revolt in which 57 whites are killed (and he is captured and hanged), and with the infamous “Trail of Tears”, the forced resettlement of the Cherokee Nation over the course of six years. This is also when the territory of Texas begins its attempt to break free of Mexico and declare independence, and it remains a contested region between Texans and Mexico until the Mexican War of 1846.
1846
The third New Moon was in 1846 at 21 degrees of Virgo in the 9th house. Virgo is the sign that governs the principal of Order and Organization, of the drive to greater Wholeness. This period encompassed the dramatic expansion of the territory of the USA through the War with Mexico and the seizure of the lands that would become the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and California. The principal reason for the War with Mexico, was Mexico’s attempt to reassert control over Texas and ban slavery in the territory. Texas slave owners rebelled, and the USA joined in the cause of liberating Texas from Mexican control and influence, and by this intervention preserving slavery in Texas. But the cause against slavery was mounting throughout the country, and this period brought about the climax in this struggle over whether slavery would continue or be ended.
It is quite remarkable to note that the Full Moon for this cycle occurred in 1861, when the Civil War commenced. Of course, we can note that this is the same period in which the transits to the USA chart had both Pluto square to Pluto, and the passage of Neptune opposite Neptune and square to Mars that we are witnessing in 2021 again, and that we will experience our very first Pluto return in 2022. The energy-forms of our Civil War are echoing around us once again.
1876
The fourth New Moon was in 1876 at 20 degrees of Libra in the 10th house. Libra is the sign that governs the experience of Relationship, which to me is the field of energies forming our experiences with one another. The struggle for freedom and equality that was achieved after the Civil War was broken as the Reconstruction of the Southern States ended during this New Moon. This turning away from justice happened with the disputed election of 1876 which was resolved when Republicans came to an agreement with Democrats. The Republicans would take the Presidency, but with the understanding that Federal enforcement of Reconstruction would end. What followed was the systematic exclusion of black voices and voters in the South, which continued until the 1960’s. This was also the year that the US ordered all native peoples onto reservations leading to the War with the Sioux and the Battle of Little Big Horn.
The climax of this cycle was the Full Moon in 1890, and the Massacre at Wounded Knee becomes the last and most tragic act in the Wars against the Native peoples, ending the US Military campaigns against Native Americans. This period is also when the industrial growth of the country leads to the rise of what will be come be called the “Gilded Age”, with tycoons and major monopolies rising to power in the US economy and influence over the political world. This concentration of power led to the rising chorus of progressive reformers seeking to both address economic injustice and corrupt political systems.
1905
The fifth New Moon was in 1905 at 20 degrees of Scorpio in the 11th house. Scorpio governs the principal of Union, of Joint Ventures and the Power of Alchemy. In this period, Teddy Roosevelt began his second term and the Progressive movement, that had begun in the late 1800s continued to make strides in reigning in the excesses of the Gilded Age and Monopolies, as reformers attempted to create a more equitable economic and political order. Among the reforms, this period sees the enactment of a National Income Tax and the direct election of Senators.
The Full Moon of this period is in 1920 and begins with women securing the right to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment, which is the greatest expansion of the right to vote in the USA ever. This advancement is followed in 1924 when Native Americans are designated Citizens of the USA and become eligible to vote as well. Of course, by the end of the 1920’s the country and the entire world descends into the abyss of the Great Depression.
1935
The sixth New Moon was in 1935 at 20 degrees of Sagittarius in the 1st house. Sagittarius is the holder of Truth, of how we understand and know ourselves and our world and embody these in our conduct and laws and practices. FDR took office in March of 1933, but it was in 1935 that the Social Security Act was passed, forever changing the relationship of the people of the USA and their government. World War II leads to the greatest collective effort by the US government as America becomes the “Arsenal of Democracy” and with the Allied Powers defeats Fascism in Germany and Japan in 1945.
The Full Moon in 1949 begins with Harry Truman having been elected to the Presidency, and the post-World War II era begins with the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and nuclear arms race commencing and continuing under Eisenhower. The panic over the threat of communism leads to a series of violations of civil rights during the 1950’s and 60’s. But this period equally witnesses the rising struggle for civil rights in the South and the North. Among the advances are a series of Supreme Court rulings like Brown vs Board of Education. That ruling declared that segregation, the policy of “separate but equal”, violated the 14th Amendment, the very Amendment which was part of the abolition of Slavery, and had been ratified after the Civil War in 1868, and which guarantees that all persons born in the USA to be citizens and requiring equal protection under the law.
1965
The seventh New Moon was in 1965 at 20 degrees of Capricorn in the 2nd house. Capricorn governs the principal of Responsibility and the Institutional Order. The struggle for racial justice and equality from the end of World War II leads to the passage of several laws, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. If we are to have a democracy, then each citizen must be allowed to vote, but the awful truth had been that since failure of Reconstruction in the 1870’s almost the entire black population of the Southern States had never voted, because they were prevented from doing so. Many historians agree that this is when we might observe that the promise of Democracy and equal rights was being made possible in the USA for the first time in our history. Unfortunately, the reaction of those who do not want equality and justice for all Americans would begin their coordinated efforts to overturn this progress.
After the Full Moon of 1979, and the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, we were led by a President who declared that the real problem with the USA was our very own government, and part of the solution was to reduce the power of the federal government’s protection of minority rights. His administration enacts a series of conservative policies that are directed towards reversing the more equitable division of economic and political progress that had been achieved by both parties since the days of FDR in the 1930’s. What was the result? Just look at the trendlines for economic growth for the USA from the 1940’s to 1980, and then from 1980 to today, and you will note the growing inequality of income and wealth that began in 1980 and has led to the wealth gap and crushing economic inequalities of today. This result was seeded by the policies implemented during this period that began in the 1980’s. We have now in the 2020’s the most unequal distribution of wealth that we have ever had. The progress that we had made, of a more equitable growth for most Americans from 1940 to 1980 has been completely undone and reversed from 1980 until now. And this is no accident, policies were pursued, tax laws were changed, and programs ended so that the very few would benefit from the wealth that we all help to create.
1994
The eighth New Moon was in 1994 at 20 degrees of Aquarius in the 2nd house. Aquarius holds the dreams of Humanity, that one day we will indeed be brothers and sisters who live with justice and equality. But in 1994, arising from the backlash against the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the political division of the country shifted dramatically, with a generational move from democratic to republican control of the southern and western states, which finally led to the House of Representatives being led by a Republican majority for the first time in 40 years in 1994. Their stated agenda was to continue the dismantling of the power and authority of the central government, with the purpose being the elimination of social programs that addressed poverty and discrimination. The continuing and unsustainable warping of income and wealth distribution accelerated leading to the second great economic crisis in US history in 2008.
The Full Moon of 2008 arrived as the Republican policies to cut taxes, remove regulations, and gut safety programs creates the conditions for the Second Great Depression in US History, leading to the surprising election of the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama. But once in office, the leadership in the Republican party declares that their sole mission is to make certain that Obama’s programs are thwarted. Nevertheless, he is reelected but is only able to implement his reforms through mostly executive actions, which can be undone by a following President. Then in 2016, Donald Trump is elected to office with the stated purpose of doing everything he can to reverse all of Obama’s reforms and advances. The continuing erosion of equity and justice in the US, and the mounting loss of faith in the system of self-government during his four years, leads to his defeat in 2020 and the election of Joe Biden, a centrist democratic now reborn as a reformer and healer for the nation. But Trump and his allies refuse to concede and promote an alternate story of a stolen election. This lie provokes an insurrectionist mob to attempt to stop the certification of the election on January 6, 2021. The images of rioters storming the capitol, carries echoes of another perilous period that holds similar Astrological conditions to our own, the late 1850’s and 1860’s.
This nation is divided into two broadly and radically different ideas of the story of America, and as Abraham Lincoln stated, “a house divided against itself cannot stand…” One way or another, our divisions within ourselves and between one another will be resolved.
Which brings us to our next new moon…
2024
The ninth and next New Moon for the USA will be in 2024 at 20 degrees of Pisces in the 3rd house. Pisces holds the final lesson and ultimate gift of Spirit, as it is the vehicle of our Imagination, the source of our potential to be and become whatever we dream to be. But it also holds our greatest challenge, the necessity that we overcome our fears if we are to become what we will be, if we are to build a better world. This is the story of Humanity found at the core of Pisces, that we are here to acknowledge that we made what we are, by what we dream and what we fear, and we quite simply must choose between thriving by faith or suffering in fear.
If we choose Faith, that we believe in ourselves and in one another, then we will remain on the Path of Love and the Way of Hope. We will look for the ways in which we can reach into the hearts of one another and see that we are brothers and sisters, knowing that not even one of us can ever be truly fulfilled until we all are free to be our very best too.
It seems quite significant to me, given where we find ourselves today, that we will have this New Moon during our next presidential election of 2024, and I am certain that we will see our time as the moment in which “Love and Understanding” was restored within us and between us, because the myriad challenges we have created for ourselves can only be resolved by helping one another.
The promise of America has never been met, but over the last 250 years many courageous and loving souls have moved us closer to Lincoln’s plea to listen to “the angels of our better nature”. We can be among those who brought us that much closer to our ideals of Equality and Justice for all, if we remain faithful to our ideals, if we are guided by our open minds, and if we act through our forgiving and Loving hearts.
Let it be so…
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