Venezuela having a 2022 Solar Return!

September 22, 2022: Happy Autumn, Y'all!

Not much commentary today, just a bi-wheel, below, of Venezuela's 1830 Horoscope (12:00 pm LMT - via N. Campion chart #386) surrounded by the country's Solar Return 2022 Horoscope which perfected last evening (their time) at 11:48 pm AST. Venezuela is now 192 years old!

Blog Note: Inadvertently, you see penned on the 2022 South Node rising which is incorrect. Rising should be the Solar Return Descendant (26Sag00) but since the 1830 chart is set for noon, this doesn't matter a whole lot since chart angles are iffy.

However, major transits are in process and that's transit Pluto Rx @26Cap16 having hit 1830 Neptune (erosion of power, or, the illusion of power) and still within orb (although waning) while Pluto has also squared 1830 Mercury @24Lib52 (increasing the determination to succeed). And of course, mundane Sun = leadership so the governing elite of the country may soon turn up in the news:

Historical Cycles Rhyme with Eclipse Cycles

Venezuela's Solar Eclipse Saros Series during which the country's independence became final is the 13 North with themes of: 'ambitious group projects that require the breaking of a previous bond' (with Spain), 'then success follows' (paraphrasing B. Brady).

Now you may remember that the initial manifestation in the 13 North Series (like a family of lunations) occurred on August 14, 1776 @21Leo52 and is the eclipse that I consider to be the actual Prenatal Solar Eclipse of America's founding since within two weeks of the eclipse, the Declaration of Independence was finally and completely signed in full on August 2, 1776. To me this shows a cosmic time link via 13 North between American independence and that of Venezuela!

Now here's some current news concerning Venezuela: the fugitive "Fat Leonard" has been apprehended! And this reminds me of Mango Mussolini's legal troubles made more real yesterday by NY AG Letitia James filing civil charges and passing on a couple of criminal referrals to the IRS and the DOJ. It's almost as if the wide-girthed Donald has been apprehended!

The Star-Studded Founding of America

Binary star Sirius A and B; artwork; NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

April 24, 2022 Announcement:

For the curious seeker, in-depth information is now published concerning intriguing topics via Occursion Media On the DC Obelisk - Part II. Fixed stars such as Mercurial Procyon (before the dog), royal Aldebaran (The Watcher of the East; a martial star; The Follower), Sirius (the dog star; The Scorcher; the mundane becomes sacred), plus, Freemasonry, the Golden Mean, and various starry alignments of significance are included in the post - no, they are explained in the post.

Readers interested in delving into the origins of America (esoterically, historically, even mathematically) through the utilization of an astrological lens are invited to have a peek and consider cosmic synchronicities and more.

Additionally, we should note that Part III is on the drafting table as well.

America's initial Mars-Uranus Cycle began in June 1776

Mars-Uranus: Rebellion, Attack, Great Energy, Danger, Urge For Freedom, Struggle for Survival, Strife, Radical Military Movements, Test of Nerves

by Jude Cowell

As you know, Inauguration Day 2021 featured a combustible Mars-Uranus Conjunction in Taurus (@6Tau44). And perhaps you remember that the entire violence-promoting Tr*mp "regime" was cosmically imprinted during its first Solar Eclipse by a Mars-Uranus Conjunction in Mars-ruled Aries (@21Aries+). Therefore, a consideration of America's initial Mars-Uranus Cycle, which began with their conjunction on June 15, 1776, may be informative.

Plus, a list of the Historical Events of June 1776 mentions June 15, 1776 as the day that the Delaware General Assembly voted to suspend government under the British Crown, aka, Delaware Separation Day. Other events of June 1776 include: Richard Henry Lee's introduction to the Continental Congress of the Lee Resolution seconded by John Adams, and leading to the Declaration of Independence (June 7th); Continental Congress appoints the Committee of Five (June 11th) including Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration; and Continental soldier and one of George Washington's trusted bodyguards, Thomas Hickey, is hanged for mutiny and sedition (June 28th).

Now perhaps we can agree that the "wild" January 6, 2021 assault on the US Congress, an attempted coup of the US government by Tr*mp's "MAGA Mob", is a cosmic echo of the sedition of 1776 against General Washington with its 'suspend government' vibes, and both time frames contain disruptive influences, forceful energies, violent acts, and the tremendous tension of a Mars-Uranus kind. The tension? To hold together or to separate: traditional government of The Establishment vs radical government by upstarts. Well these days, the radical upstarts of 1776 look a lot like the traditionalists of 2021. Meanwhile, radical upstarts in 2021 are trying to use again these forceful energies to take control.

America's Mars-Uranus Cycle Begins

June 15, 1776: Mars Conjunct Uranus @7Gem51:35 at 3:43 am LMT (Philadelphia, PA); rising is 11 Gem27: "12 Gemini" = "A Black Slave Girl Demands Her Rights From Her Mistress" - seems appropriate for America then and now, yes? Below is the Mars-Uranus Conjunction Horoscope of 1776, a planetary pair of energies excellent for fighting a Revolution but not an appropriate use of such explosive energies for those, such as yours truly, who are determined to keep an established Republic intact:

The disruptive conjunction's Sabian Symbol is interesting: "8 Gemini" "Around a Closed-Down Factory, Strikers Mill Defiantly" - PROTEST (Jones). We're pretty good at that, yes? (See upper right, highlighted in red.) You'll find more details penned on the chart such as (lower right) a Note on the chart's Sun-Moon midpoint @19Gem51 which will be stimulated on June 10, 2021 by a Solar Eclipse (19Gem47) in the 5 North Saros Series of 'prophetic dreams, visions, insights from the unconscious' (paraphrasing Brday's Predictive Astrology). #ad

Why, even this chart's Syzygy Moon (last lunation prior) @12Sag07 has a 5 South Solar Eclipse approaching on December 4, 2021 @12Sag22!

Eclipses across the Gemini-Sagittarius axis ('Mercury-Jupiter') suggests a karmic need to deal with issues involving communications, honesty and truth, logical approaches to problems, and moral and ethical concepts. Karmic progress is possible if false optimism, fake choices, scattering of energies, misplaced idealism, and misguided beliefs are avoided.

Tragically for America, on January 6th a certain misguided belief promoted by the former guy, aka, 'the big lie', was not avoided but was used to allegedly justify seditionist acts under the influence of Mars-Uranus.

A Question about American Utopianism

Of Rosy Glows, Dragons Fought, and Thomas Jefferson

by Jude Cowell

St. George and the red cross are emblems used by many countries, regions, organizations, and entities through the centuries, including medieval times. Today the modern 'Red Cross' organization is a well known example of its use as a symbol or logo and the 'rosy cross' of 'Rosicrucianism' represents a secret organization that favors a mythical beast that is seldom if ever glimpsed by non-members. More details here.

Yes, the Banner of St. George was notable (and one supposes inspiring) at the Battle of Agincourt and yet my current fuss is this: precisely why is a flag or banner with a red cross on a white field prominently displayed in the following painting of a tableaux of Thomas Jefferson's presentation to Congress of the completed Declaration of Independence? You see the red cross floating over Jefferson's head so is this a wordless message revealed via symbol? For one thing, Jefferson's effects after his death (on July 4, 1826) included a Rosicrucian decoder intended to read and write secret messages. And yet it was Great Britain where Rosicrucianism became uppermost, with Templar Freemasonry sprouting and growing wildly in the New World of America (though some say the two brotherhoods united at some point).

Here are details on John Trumbull's famous painting, above, of the moment Thomas Jefferson presented the first draft of the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, on June 28, 1776. Last I heard, the 12' x 18' masterpiece hangs in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. Standing with Mr. Jefferson are John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin.

Now as you know, Mr. Jefferson was a quiet man who whispered and stuttered when he spoke, and keeping secrets was a natural inclination for such a man particularly when involvement in certain activities could forfeit you your fortune and your life. Perhaps wisely, Jefferson never admitted actual membership in any secret society that I know of but we can surmise his knowledge of principles, plus, Monticello sported paintings of the three men whose intellect he admired most: Bacon, Newton, and Locke.

So I confess that there are times when the idea of an alleged "Book of Secrets" that's said to be for very few eyes suggests to me that whatever American secrets there be are totally different from what we've been propagandized through the centuries to believe about our Platonian, Utopian nation, the only country ever founded upon an ideal. From capstones, hollowed out crevices in cornerstones, and whatever is secreted under DC's Ellipse, to that infamous "Book", We the People surely must have stunning revelations ahead of us if Bacon's Vision is ever fully revealed. We may not like it but there it is.

Now with the recently denied potential of electing the first woman president, I had speculated that if such a thing happened, it could be symbolized by flipping over America's Great Seal in order to bring the more esoteric, unconscious symbols on the reverse more fully into our conscious minds. You know--the 13-step 'pyramid of power' which relates symbolically to the Midheaven degree and sign (on or about 26 Capricorn these days) in America's inaugural horoscopes (January 20th noon Capitol Building) -- the area of the Zodiac where Pluto in Capricorn now creeps. Plus, a late Capricorn MC places US natal Pluto Rx there as well along with America's progressed Pluto at 29 Capricorn, a critical or crisis 29th degree (as is 26 Cap). On Inauguration Day/s, our opposing Mercury Rx at IC echoes, along with sneaky Pluto at MC, the whisper of a nation of secrets, spies, hidden rulers, and a veiled mission.

And since Pluto was discovered in 1930, let's go ahead and say that when Freemason President Franklin Roosevelt had Inauguration Day changed from early March to January 20th (March 1933 to January 1937), he knew exactly what he was doing and what would eventually happen: transit Pluto in Capricorn ('the dictator') would hit the highest, most visible spot in US inaugural horoscopes, the Midheaven, the point of Goals and Aspirations...the pinnacle of worldly power, we might call it...and this would symbolically signify a display (MC) of might and Empire (Pluto in Cap) meant to be seen worldwide across the globe and denote Saturnian control (Capricorn) of the Earth itself.

How quirky that someone has selected a braggart nationalist like Mr. Trump to implement the final stages of Global Government when that's just the kind of thing he campaigned against! Perhaps he's only intended to corral Americans into place while continuing the destruction of the US Constitution that stands in the way of open borders and worldwide corporatism...they've already dispensed with the Constitution in the realms of habeas corpus, preemptive war, and brutal suppression of peaceful protest.

So here is another question: wonder if the Utopian society the Founding Fathers envisioned bares any resemblance at all to the crap government that anarchists have been busy downgrading America to? Because with Trump losing the popular vote on November 8th, consent of the governed is totally missing as is 'a mandate' for president-elect Trump and his austere sidekick, the boo-worthy Mr. Pence of Indiana.

Wikimedia page of the top image {Public domain} of St. George on his steed surrounded by 'rosy crosses'.

What Does the Constitution Say? - Organic Laws of the USA - video

Now here's a very interesting interview to publish here on Independence Day 2015 concerning America's founding, its government, and laws:

#FederalGovernment #USConstitution #DeclarationofIndependence #StatesRights #UShistory #OrganicLaws

Astro-Notes on the Declaration of Independence

Astro-Notes on the Declaration of Independence

by Jude Cowell

If you study the natal horoscope of the United States of America you know that there are several versions of it set for various hours and dates. July 4, 1776 is the date shown on the Declaration of Independence and the Founders seem to have promoted that date as America's 'birthday'. Plus, as everyone knows, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both passed away exactly 50 years later on July 4, 1826--such synchronicity! So *Chiron with its 50-year orbit!

In fact, we can read Mr. Jefferson's newspaper obituary online if we wish. It gives the time of Jefferson's death as 12:50 pm LMT and asserts that this is during the same hour that the Declaration of Independence was agreed upon. Or ratified. Whatever. On July 4, 1776.

Beginning in mid-August 1776, the Declaration of Independence was published in British newspapers (letting the cat out of the bag) and was understandably met with rebuttals and criticism. British officials in North America had sent along copies of our 'break-up letter' and the message was not taken in good part, shall we say.

Actually it's the timing of the publishing in Britain that interests me tonight for it tallies well with a certain Solar Eclipse which manifested on August 14, 1776 in the 13 North Saros Series (13N.) The themes are descriptive of a relationship break-up as you may agree: 'large ambitious group projects that require a separation or the breaking of an existing bond which then leads to joint achievement" (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology.)

Leo-Leo: a Double-Fire "Larger Than Life" Combination

And that's what manifested under the rays of the 13 North Solar Eclipse--suitably this was the initial eclipse in the series (as America was 'new' and 'first') and fell upon 21Leo52 with 'scribe' Mercury (documents; signings) @9Leo52, Venus @22Leo46, Mars @18Can13 (touchy emotions!), Jupiter @14Can40, authoritative Saturn @17Lib12, Uranus @10Gem33, Neptune @23Vir28, Pluto Rx @26Cap38, and North Node @5Leo28.

As you see, some planets remain in the signs they were in on July 4, 1776 with these exceptions: Sun, Moon, Mercury (not Rx as on July 4, 1776--the Declaration was mainly signed on August 2, 1776 with Mercury direct), Venus, and Mars. Yet because the fuller signing took place on August 2, 1776--within two weeks of the 13N eclipse--I allege that 13N influenced the signing of the Declaration as well as its publishing in Britain.

Basically, the bromance was over. For a while...

Recent years in which 13N has occurred are: 1902, 1920, 1938, 1956, 1974, 1992, 2011, and will next manifest in 2029. The Series will end on September 12, 3020.

*US natal Chiron @21Aries = "A Pugilist Entering the Ring" and with Chiron returning to natal degree near the day of the two Founders' deaths, we see that two of our top 'pugilists' of our Revolution years had left the ring of life.

Jan 18, 2012: Internet Blackout v SOPA (w We the People's Moon)

Note: Stars Over Washington will not be published on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, in solidarity with the Internet Blackout movement. Twitter, Wikipedia, Google, and other sites will participate in the Blackout; see SOPA details below...

Washington Mall DC January 18, 2012: Occupy Congress! Plus, SOPA and Tracking We the People's Aquarian Moon

by Jude Cowell


How encouraged I am that thousands of Americans (and hopefully no police department 'plants' embedded with protesters with a mission to cause trouble and discredit peaceful Occupiers) are occupying the US Congress and elsewhere today thanks to travesties of SCOTUS justice like Citizens United!

If I had a chance, I'd join them in my former city of residence and add my voice to the throng of citizens no longer under the illusion that certain anti-government operatives, who now act as members of Congress, have no intention of upholding official oaths taken to dutifully carry out the functions of their various offices in allegiance to the sovereign nation they serve and on behalf of the constituency they allegedly answer to.

January 18, 2012: Blackout Day! Save the Internet, Beat Back Corporate Raptors!

Today you can hear all about SOPA and the fight against censorship of the Internet in its current disguise as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) which the US Senate is to vote upon on January 24, 2012 by visiting progressive broadcaster Thom Hartmann.

Thom and his skillful, plucky staff broadcast today using two laptops and a camera due to a plumbing leak above their regular studio in Washington DC. Kudos all around! (And it couldn't have been sabotage, of course! In DC? Pshaw!)

Yes, this draconian corporate ploy to take-over the Internet will, among many other things, throttle free speech online and continue the transnational drive to commercialize, privatize, and destroy all institutions and functions of our society that are meant to protect the Common Good--here, by censoring what is or isn't published or accessible on the Internet.

Is corporate censorship and re-directs the types of experiences you want as you go about your business online, fellow Americans? Many of our favorite blogs may simply go pouf! forever with nary a trace. A challenging stand-off is clearly upon us in the current form of SOPA v We the People.

Now I have groused in the past about how America was founded upon a corporate structure model (monarchistic Old World/British financial system), perhaps unfairly for it's true that what was necessary in the 1770s may not be precisely what is needed now unless it is done with integrity.

Astrologically we might look at US natal South Node (of the Moon, We the People), a point denoting past behaviors, some of which no longer work in present circumstances and so must be ID'd as 'neurotic'. The negative side of Aquarius? Detachment, cold feelings, an overly rational approach, and other such things as we've seen recently demonstrated during the 2012 Republican debates--often, by booing audiences!

But SN also denotes inherited talents or weaknesses--every case is individual, so the humanitarian sign of Aquarius, with its edgy, super-rational sides of Science, Objectivism, and Futurism, contains America's natal Moon if we use July 4, 1776 as our nation's day of founding. An Aquarian SN shows a need for us to use past ideals and visions to develop ourselves and to act independently on our own behalves in the here and now. (Enter Occupy Wall Street and Move To Amend!)

As you know, America's birthday was promoted by our founding fathers as 'July 4, 1776' even though few signatures were affixed upon the Declaration of Independence on that date. One assumes participants had to consider protecting their own hides from British arrest, after all! And I guess that the other signers of the DoI on August 2, 1776 pretty much tidied things up. Typical to our nature in 2012, what we now honor as our "Freedom Documents" were not universally admired in Philadelphia or in the country at the time though it's easy to forget that now through the rosy glow cast upon our nation's founding through decades past...America was founded upon "an Ideal", "an Idea", or "a vision", as they say.

A 'shining city on a hill' with a global 'mission', that's us.


Here Come Saturn, Uranus, and Plato

Naturally, for astrologers the American Ideal can bring up the planetary duo of Saturn (form) and Uranus (Ideal) and Plato's Ideal Form upon which America was founded--Uranian genius needs a container (Saturn) or it will never manifest in the world and may spill to the ground. Happily, on July 4, 1776, Saturn and Uranus were in beneficial trine (120 degr) to one another from Gemini to Libra, mental Air signs, which describes an ease of pouring by the founders!

A Saturn/Uranus trine tends to project into the future with an excitement about accomplishments and prospects of all tomorrows; a lack of arrogance is shown, and sharing resources, knowledge, and lessons learned from experience are seen to be of benefit to future generations. Measured risks are preferred to iffy speculations, and ideals are based on solid foundations; optimism about the future and high values and ethical standards are upheld (paraphrasing Rob Pelletier.)

And so our Uranian mission in the New World to establish an 'experiment' of an ideal society where brotherhood, equality, liberty, independence, and all other noble ideals of The Enlightenment are held high--'of-by-for' The People--makes me interested in how a horoscope for America's founding would look if the Moon--We the People--were placed at the chart's highest point: the WHY?, or Goal/Aspiration Point of any chart, the Midheaven (MC) which is the most visible and public spot in any horoscope.

Before we do this, I'll use a handy feature in my SolarFire software that animates a horoscope as if it's a clock so that all planets rise, culminate, set, conjunct Angles--however they will on a certain date of a 24-hour period. This gives us a range of degrees for each planet though of course many of them change positions very little if at all.

Not so, the fast-sailing Moon...

The range of the Moon's degrees on July 4, 1776 Philadelphia, PA along with the first and last Sabian Symbols which relate directly to the American people's reigning needs of our Aquarian Moon are:

Earliest: 12:00 am LMT Moon 16AQ49 '17AQ" = "A Watchdog Standing Guard, Protecting His Master and His Possessions"..."Keynote: The development of the capacity to protect oneself and to safeguard one's individual rights under complex social pressures."

"The more creative the person, the greater his or her NEED FOR PROTECTION."

Latest 11:59 pm LMT Moon 1Pis16 "2Pis" = "A Squirrel Hiding From Hunters"..."Keynote: The individual's need both to ensure his future subsistence and to protect himself from aggressive social elements."

"The need for SELF-PROTECTION and caution is ever present."

(An Astrological Mandala, Rudhyar.)

Amazing how both symbols' explanations favor closely in the self-protection department!


Government Of-By-For We the People...really?

An interesting horoscope forms with Moon at MC (18AQ21) if we wish to consider a natal chart for Government of-by-for We The People. On July 4, 1776, Luna reached MC in Philadelphia (according to my Astrology software which may be off a bit due to earthquakes, Moon wobbles, two centuries passing, etc) but it's tallying in for Moon conj MC at 2:33:45 am LMT, with ASC 12Gem22 and a rising Uranus (8Gem53), America's totem planet of freedom, revolution, and such, so it's an ability to cope with anything picture when Uranus rises (as FDR has natally.)

This puts the explosive Mars/Uranus duo rising at 2:42 am LMT on that date, so that it conjoined the Ascendant and created a mdpt picture of its own: Mars/Uranus = ASC: upsetting events; arrest (as mentioned above); physical injury; excitable people; committing acts of violence. (Ebertin.)

The fact that Moon at MC occurs only after 2:00 am is a potential if the story of Thomas Jefferson lifting the first copy of the Declaration of Independence from Dunlap's printing press at such a late hour is true. Well, copies had to be made at some point for the public and for a public reading--they didn't just appear on paper as if by magic!

A difficult Fist of God pattern between our national Sun/Saturn square (within orb all that day) pointing toward the very Moon of which we speak--indicates that We the People have a sacred duty to perform which includes difficult, complex energies. Have we performed them before? Of course, but as with History repeating and similar societal issues continuing to come up again and again for resolution, our duty remains in 2012 if we wish to participate in this, our democratic, high-minded 'experiment' of republicanism, which we still like to call, America.

(Midpoint picture--any, all, or none may apply: 'Sun/Saturn = Moon: emotional depression from organic disturbances; fear; feeling inferior; inhibitions; separation from females; bereavement'; the Sun/Saturn combo relates to: suppression, karma (Saturn is a 'karmic' planet that can bring manifestation of what was sown), decisiveness and determination, and to the ability to maintain one's position in life. -Ebertin.)

That last can describe US leadership and its determination to stay on top once a powerful pinnacle has been attained.

Well, here's the symbol for a Government of-by-for We the People when The People's Moon is placed where it should be: at the Goal/Aspiration/WHY? Point of America's natal horoscope though the symbol's application in the New Millennium has gone beyond a more provincial or personal meaning when we think of corporate toxins with which our cells have been drenched in honor of bottom lines and profit-taking globalists and the company shareholders who adore them:

Moon/MC '19AQ' = "A Forest Fire Is Being Subdued By the Use of Water, Chemicals, and Sheer Muscular Energy"..."Keynote: The skill and courage necessary to bring under control the destructive potential of carelessness of karmic 'visitations'."

"There is a need for total mobilization of energy and a deep sense of INDOMITABILITY."

Isn't that what We the People with our Aquarian streak intuitively know--that together as One Voice, we are Indomitable and can change the totalitarian direction being forced upon our country by anarchists who infiltrate the Halls of US Power yet refuse to govern the nation, and if they do, they do it badly--against the Common Good by which We the People must sink or swim as a nation and a people.


~:~

Want a view of yet another US natal horoscope that may be worth a peek? How about America's Sygygy Moon of July 1, 1776 with Moon in Saturn-ruled Capricorn opposite Sun in Cancer?



Moon Shining Across a Lake, a pencil drawing imported from Secret Moon Art; (c) 2012 by the artist.

Thomas Jefferson and the karmic Solar Eclipse July 1, 2011

If you've had a chance to read my column on the karmic Solar Eclipse of July 1, 2011 @ 9Can12, then I don't have to tell you that the eclipse manifests snugly between America's natal Sun and Jupiter - actually precisely upon our national Sun/Jupiter midpoint.

The importance of the July 1st Solar Eclipse 'hit' to or triggering of the expansive point of Sun/Jupiter relates closely to financial and spending matters, material loss, and to issues of striving for more power and control, recognition, and/or to conflicts caused by arrogance, pretentiousness, or lawlessness.

Perhaps a crook or two will be outed by the light of the July 1, 2011 eclipse, the first to launch in a new Saros Series. Often an eclipse 'acts' early and you probably heard that a fugitive mob boss from Boston was arrested just today in California after 16 years of giving the FBI the slip.


Historical Horoscopes Alive!

There is another triggering of historical importance because the July 1st eclipse conjoins *Thomas Jefferson's natal Neptune/Chiron conjunction @ 9Can26 and 9Can37 respectively, in 6th house of Military and Police Service, Health, Daily Lives, and Work (Employment.)

Now the eclipse (Sun/Moon) forms a midpoint picture with Mr. Jefferson's nebulous, spiritually oriented Neptune (made more **sacred by Chiron's ministrations):

Sun/Moon = Neptune: illusions and deceptions; becoming easily upset; inner discontent; realizing the importance of thinking through plans and ideas; dreaming of options for redirecting plans; delusions about what can be done and how hard people will work to accomplish it; misunderstandings in relationship.

Solar Eclipses are of course oppositions of the Sun (consciousness) and Moon (unconscious) and in general denote relationship and/or awareness issues.

To the extent that our third president Thomas Jefferson may be taken as an archetypal symbol of America and the US government, I surmise that the midpoint picture formed synchronistically by the July 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse is instructive concerning the pertinent issues of our day.

And perhaps the Sun/Moon midpoint itself should be considered more specifically in the realms of Politics and Business. From Michael Munkasey's book Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets, we find potentials that are up-to-the-minute on several levels including to raise or not to raise the US debt ceiling and war making decisions of President Obama:

Thesis: the international reputation of the country; how the will of the people is is applied (or not! jc) to taking the country into new or important directions; reading the attitude of the people when creating internal policy.

Antithesis: a loss of face in international politics (leaving Afghanistan? debt ceiling/default? jc); smears on the national reputation; pessimism flowing through the population or lawmakers (or both. jc)

You remember that the recent transiting Neptune/Chiron conjunction has mirrored disasters involving water such as regional flooding and levee breaches, BP's Deepwater Horizon Blow-Out of April 2010 which effectively sabotaged our Gulf Coast and its people, and which may have been an inspirational factor in this May 2011's World Will End prophecy with Chiron now in mystical, spiritual Pisces. And of course, 'water' is a stand-in for The Spirit in the Aquarian archetype of The Water Bearer, the sign in which the exact conjunction/s of Neptune and Chiron occurred last year.

Now what of such a close Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Watery Cancer in Jefferson's natal chart and psyche? Since it is about to be 'eclipsed' and highlighted on July 1, 2011, let's first take it apart including its apparent placement in Jefferson's 6th house (see below for his *birth data and the time I am using to set up his natal chart.)

Watery Neptune in Watery Cancer indicates a generation of folk with strong psychic ties to home, family, security, and the Earth (ecological interests.) Jefferson's love of home and family is well-known as are his regular rides across his lands with his daughter after his wife died and before, so naturally, his love of Monticello comes easily to mind.

Neptune in Moon-ruled Cancer denotes an emotionally sensitive and religious nature yet there is a still-ongoing debate as to Mr. Jefferson's religiosity (the Jefferson Bible; was he a Deist? an astrologer? etc) but these deep issues are beyond the scope of this column. However, his philosophical interests and talents are never in question.

Notable is the resonance between Neptune as the higher octave of Jupiter (the priest, guru, hierophant, philosopher) through their rulership of mystical Pisces, sign of Jefferson's natal Mercury. Thinking upon such inspired topics came easily to his highly idealistic nature; plus, Neptune in Cancer can also give mediumship or channeling abilities either from a higher or a lower plane.

His natal Neptune/Pluto trine indicates a response to the more positive side of the invisible realms but in modern times, we're stuck with a Neptune-Pluto septile (51 degrees 26 minutes), which is a fated, karmic 7th harmonic aspect.

Assuming that Neptune is posited in his natal 6th house, the placement emphasizes one whose work and service are done in a spiritual manner and/or for collective purposes. Yet with Neptune in detriment in 6th H, these issues will bring difficulties yet they had to be addressed for the sake of Jefferson's evolutionary progress (and America's, as it turned out.)

Many sacrifices are demanded by Neptune in 6th H, and we think of his desire to be home with his family instead of in Philadelphia attending and plying his penmanship of the Declaration of Independence at the Continental Congresses of 1775 and 1776. (The First Continental Congress was held in 1774 but Mr. Jefferson did not attend until 1775.)


Yet Jefferson's Sun in Aries Was Ambitious to Get On in the World

The red-haired young man arrived (unwigged yet Whiggish) in Philadelphia on June 20, 1775 with Neptune in Virgo (spiritual, devoted, and/or inspired work) snugged between Mars 18Vir55 and Saturn 2Lib18...hardworking Mars/Saturn = inspired Neptune: self-torment about identity (his fame and repute were yet to be established and his wordsmith genius known except by a few - he was a whippersnapper!); confusion; feeling threatened; pretenses or cover-ups about the state of preparedness.

But the whippersnapper did all right by us, didn't he? Perhaps that's because the difficult placement and conjunction of Neptune/Chiron were greatly eased by a natal trine to Pluto at Eagle Point, near Midheaven (Career, Aspirations, Public Status.) Plus, without difficult natal placements, one seldom bothers to stir oneself to make a sustained effort, does one?

Chiron in Cancer describes a "crisis over cultural roots and/or a crisis of personal protection" (Clow.) Cultural roots of the American experiment and personal protection reminds me of how America's Founders would have been strung up if their secret deliberations on independence from Britain had become known abroad.

In Cancer, Chiron tends to be tied to the past (a conflict for such a visionary futurist as Mr. Jefferson: home life v career ambitions), and reveals insecurity issues which are underscored by TJ's natal Moon out-of-bounds in Sagittarius which, when Moon is the only OOBs planet, points to one whose childhood connection with the mother was faulty or non-existent; a wounding (Chiron) from the mother (Cancer) is indicated as well, and TJ grew to have contempt for his mother and showed little, if any, regret at her passing. Jefferson had chaffed under her parentage after his father's death.

With Chiron in Cancer, a tough battle ensues to break Saturnian control (of his personal father/controlling mother and of colony-oppressing Great Britain!) and thus utilize the brilliance of Uranian genius, a task which he certainly managed to do. For his natal Uranus in Capricorn had a willing container in which to pour by way of Saturn's rulership of Capricorn, sign of Government. The inconjunct between natal Saturn and Uranus, though indicating crises and turning points, was better to have than no contact at all since the inconjunct (aka, quincunx) gave the creative ideas of Uranus a form (Saturn) in which to become practically realized on the earthly plane.

However, extreme consciousness of aims and objectives were necessary for the success of his Saturn/Uranus endeavors and he was nothing if not self-reflective while answering the call of service to the collective.

Another interesting factor to note in the 1743 horoscope of Thomas Jefferson is that the position of **Fixed Star SIRIUS, so intricately linked to America's natal horoscope and founding, closely conjoins his natal Neptune/Chiron conjunction by degree and thereby increases the conjunction's sacred nature.

In Astrology, the key phrases for SIRIUS (Alpha Canis Major; aka, the Dog Star, the Shining One, or, the Scorcher and relates to the annual flooding of the Nile River, and to gaining much more than was expected - Brady's Book of Fixed Stars) are: the mundane becoming sacred and the fire of immortality.

Few would disagree that Jefferson's work devoted to the founding of this country by penning the Declaration of Independence and through his service as Secretary of State, Ambassador to France, Vice President, then President (1801 - 1809), has garnered him an immortal name as well as high recognition in his day. Of course, founding the excellent University of Virginia in 1819 has increased his renown as well.

So! Will the July 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse @ 9Can12 relate to Mr. Jefferson, his era and its politics, or to the very founding of our nation? Independence Day 2011 soon follows, after all. Will UVA be in the news? Or will another dance-off protest occur at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC with strong-arming police arresting peaceful American citizens? (I suspect the freedom-loving Mr. Jefferson would be very ill-pleased and disapproving of such arrests, don't you?)

These and other related concerns may turn up soon on the US menu and in The Press whose freedom he eloquently championed and my hope is that if they do, you will give a small, perhaps fond, thought to the Sage of Monticello!

~:~

For further reading you may wish to follow a link to the Monticello website or perhaps check out Thomas Jefferson's Wiki page. Also of timely interest may be The Cultural Contradictions of the American Media which contains his famous quote concerning the continuance of a free press in America:

"The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it up to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter."

*Thomas Jefferson April 13, 1743 Shadwell, Virginia; birth time most often used: 1:53 am LMT though a day time birth may be a possibility; at 1:53 am: ASC 00AQ52, Sun 22Ari54, Moon 10Sag47; Neptune/Chiron conjunction in 6th house; 9th house Pluto at Eagle Point (15 Scorpio) conjoins MC; NN 18Tau57 conjoins IC 22Tau02...he'd rather have been contemplating and studying at home (Monticello), thanks.

Midpoint pictures: Tyl, Ebertin, Munkasey.

The Declaration of Independence as Corporate Document

Today I am pleased as can be to present a summation by my astro-friend Alex D'Atria on what the Declaration of Independence actually is and the relationship between America and Britain long before we Americans (and perhaps a few Brits, too) had been propagandized for decades on this noble experiment, we-the-people's America.

Experiment, yes. Noble? You decide.


The Declaration of Independence was the commemorative document making America a provisional government; it announced, declared that the Continental Congress had the authority and control to conduct trade and commerce for its own interests; the British Crown shareholders could no longer have a 'cut' in American business ventures without agreeing to new terms of business with the American principles.

The British Empire-Crown operated their business ventures with three types of agreements; the charter colony, the proprietary colony, and the royal colony.

British charters are partially analogous to corporations who have shareholders - owners who get dividends on their investment; in a way you could say the Declaration of Independence document was the first prospectus of The American Enterprise, a financial document defining the rights of individuals - owners severing their former 'contracts' consisting of the Proprietary Colony financial deals with the 'Crown.'

The pivotal event (pre-American revolution for the individuals who held Proprietary colonial agreements) happened when the British Crown converted the Proprietary colonial terms of business to the Royal Colony terms of business; the British Empire reversed itself and reclaimed the resources and assets formerly granted under Proprietary colony terms.

The British empire granted land and the resources therein to the party-principles holding the proprietary agreements similar to venture capitalists giving seed money and development phase money to a new enterprise. Then later when the enterprise had developed into a thriving business, the venture capitalists-British Empire took the developed business back pulling the rug out from under the business owners, so to speak.

The Treaty of Paris 1783 was the official formal closing of the American Revolutionary War. The Treaty was the official recognition by the British empire that the American colonies were a sovereign nation.

The Jamestown Virginia settlement 1607 was a charter colony; the charter, analogous to corporation, put up the capital for the new world settlers for transportation, supplies, seed money, living expenses, etc; the British and global capitalists were collective shareholders in the start-up Jamestown settlement venture.

Alex D'Atria

For further reading:

British colonization of the Americas

Treaty of Paris

Proprietary colony

Charter colony

Charter

Thirteen Colonies

~:~

Checking the date (without knowing the precise hour) for the signing of the Treaty of Paris we see that the Moon reached 00Sag00 at 10:58 am LMT (Paris, FR, Sep 3, 1783) which gives "The Halloween Jester" as the Moon's Sabian Symbol; at 11:00 am Moon 00Sag01 gives "1Sag": "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire."

Sun at 11:00 am is @ 10Vir45, with ASC 11Sco36, Mc 25Leo10; Hour of the Sun; Crescent phase 79degr16; Chiron 20Tau10 Rx; NN 18Pis42; Venus 24Lib27; Uranus 11Can02; Neptune 8Lib54.

There are a few interesting midpoint pictures which do not depend on an exact time, so here they are, and as usual with midpoint pictures it's an any~all-or none-may-apply affair, yet they may give us some flavorings of the day:

First, two T-Squares form these pictures - you'll notice the Saturn/Uranus opposition and the Mars/Neptune opposition:

Mars/Neptune = Uranus: changing energy levels; crisis.

Saturn/Uranus = Neptune: falsehood or malice caused by weakness; resolving oneself to the inevitable; abandonment of resistance; weakening strength; separation.

Saturn/Pluto = Jupiter: religious and social fanaticism; trouble with authority; adoption of the austere; trying to save what's left; self-sacrifice.

Venus/NN = Saturn: a renewed awakening to reality.

The following mdpt pictures depend on the hour because the fast-moving Moon and the transiting Midheaven are involved, but see what you think (and if you can find the precise time of the Treaty's signing, please let me know - with Freemasonry's Sacred Geometry available to them, you know they elected a particular and auspicious moment for the signing of such a document):

Moon/Mars = Pluto: one-sidedness; fanaticism; powerful opinionation; a demanding nature (that's string-puller Pluto @ 8AQ07 Rx...'9AQ' = "A Flag Turned into an Eagle.")

Dane Rudhyar gives the Keynote for '9AQ' as: 'The dynamic incorporation of new social values in individuals who exemplify the spiritual potential and greatest significance of these values.' He continues: 'The image has become a Power' (America - jc); 'the seer must become the doer; the impersonal is dynamized and brought into focus. We have here the ACTING OUT of the vision.' (An Astrological Mandala.)

And Sir Francis Bacon's 'vision' was (a globe-dominating, new-world-ordering) America.

Another lunar midpoint picture from 1783: in complete synchronicity with 2009's three conjunctions of the speculative, grandly designing pair, Jupiter and Neptune, meeting all through 2009 with the US natal Moon of we-the-people...

Jupiter/Neptune = Moon: becoming involved in speculation; wastefulness; instability; little sense of reality; losing oneself in plans; going with the wind; an emotional swoon.

At 11 am LMT, Mercury, planet of negotiations, contracts, signing documents and those who sign them, was @ 23Vir33 which sextiles US natal Mercury "25Can"...1783 Mercury @ "24Vir" = "Mary and Her White Lamb." Mercury made no applying aspects that day and thus is strenthened by its sign and degree, but had separated from SN 18Vir42 and was beyond a trine with Jupiter 22Cap59 Rx.

Transiting Jupiter approaches US natal Pluto 27Cap33 Rx, a time when success and resources increase. Jupiter-to-Pluto actually occurred 3x in 1783: Mar 23, July 20, and Nov 14...1783 was an important year for American expansionism with natal Pluto in n 2nd house of Money and Values (US Sibly chart.)

Plus, on June 1, 1783, tr Uranus conjoined US n Jupiter, a 'breakthrough' transit of independence and a period when we headed down a new path as our horizons expanded; lifestyle choices and political, religious, and economic affiliations were prime interests...keyword: growth.

There was a generational transit in effect, too: tr Neptune trine US n Uranus, planet of revolution: another 'breakthrough' transit when our blend of idealism and inspiration created fortunate circumstances for our fledgling nation.

Mars, planet of war, @ 14Ari34, was a participant in the T-Square as previously mentioned. Mars opposes US natal Saturn, a period when the authority of others is resented (!), and caution is needed to keep from provoking resentment in others; rules and regulations must be followed.

Jupiter opposed US natal Mercury 3x in 1783: March 4, Aug 17, and Oct 20, so the Treaty is in the midst of this drawn-out transit, a time when the true value of ideas or information may be misjudged and the sheer volume of info is confusing; impractical ideas, grandiose schemes, and a lack of attention to detail are probable.

Another factor that I personally find of much interest is that the signing of the Treaty of Paris occurred during a Mercury-to-US-natal-Neptune transit which indicates that the true meaning or accuracy of information is difficult to grasp and 'getting to the bottom of things' only results in more questions.

Ideas and information are understood in a mystical or spiritual sense.

Authoritative Saturn 5Cap59 Rx has an intriguing Sabian Symbol..."6Cap": "A Dark Archway with Ten Logs at the Bottom"...'archway' can relate to Freemason lodges of the Grand Arch, etc, and '10 logs' refers on some level to the 10 articles of the Treaty!

Now I have no idea if MP David Hartley, who signed on behalf of King George III, was a Freemason, Rosicrucian, or Illuminatist, but the US signers, Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay were Freemasons and perhaps more...John Jay was SCOTUS' Chief Justice from 1789 - 1795.

To close, here is a list of SCOTUSers who were Freemasons. Enjoy!

Declaration of Independence: fates of its signers

Do you know what happened to the signers of the Declaration of Independence who put themselves - their lives, futures, fortunes, loved ones - on the line to create this nation?

Lincoln on the Declaration of Independence

"I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from...the Declaration of Independence...that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence...I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it."

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th US President#

And I thought it was only his plan to reform the world banking system that did him in.