In recent years, Americans and observers worldwide have been captivated by the turmoil within the United States (US) concerning its intense partisan politics. At the same time, media pundits have failed to adequately explain the nature and causes of the political power struggle that continues to challenge the principles of democracy.

Astrologers, however, understand the uniqueness of our times when noting several dynamic aspects¹ that have been activating the potentials of the July 4, 1776 birth chart of the United States. The aspects are the April 5, 2017, US progressed Mercury station that synchronized with the commencement of the Trump administration, the present transit of Pluto now well within the parameters of its 248-year pilgrimage-return to its natal degree, and the progressed Moon aspects from 2021 to 2024.

THE UNITED STATES HOROSCOPE

The horoscope of a nation carries great weight in comparison with the chart of an individual, because of its broad reference to the masses, and by its symbolism contributes to a comprehensive understanding of an entire culture. This enduring effect brings with it the responsibility to create a national horoscope with a favorable resonance between the promise of guiding “stars” and the goals of the society in the making. A fortuitous date, time, and place should be chosen with the best planetary configurations that will support the collective’s desired ideals and objectives. During the establishment of the United States, some of the Founding Fathers were Freemasons and involved with metaphysics, yet it is unknown if their practices included the use of astrology, and if so, whether Electional horoscopy was used in the choice of the inaugural time for the Declaration of Independence. Whether the union was formed with a consideration of celestial factors or by chance, the planetary patterning on July 4, 1776, contained the seeds that would determine the nation’s destiny.

The origin of American thought took its cues from Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, whose thinkers believed they could “create better societies and better people.” Intellectuals from both continents traveled between the old and new worlds during America’s mounting revolution. In his pamphlet, Common Sense,² published six months prior to the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine proclaimed, “The birthday of a new world is at hand.”  The Englishman’s philosophy played an important role in creating the new paradigm that clarified the benefits of a republic versus monarchy. His widely distributed writings helped prod-to-arms the tattered soldier on the colonial battlefield, and when reaching the common citizen, gave them reason to rally to the revolution in lockstep with the Founders’ intent to form a union based on the protection of human rights through democratic elections and legislation.

The most revealing astrological factor defining the stark transition from monarchy to an emerging democracy was Mercury in station-retrograde at the time of America’s establishment. The station nurtured the extraordinary mental activity required of its leaders for the development of an American ethos and for laying the ground for inestimable levels of achievement to be reached by its free and aspiring populace.

Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson, who incidentally had a transit of Pluto passing over his natal Uranus in 1776, was tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence. This was simply a Mercurial function, and with his eloquent narrative style, he definitively explained, point by point, the causes that provoked the Patriot colonists to revolt and engage in battle against the Loyalists to Great Britain’s King George III. Jefferson’s writings introduced what he considered to be “an expression of the American mind.” Not born of originality nor a derivative of established thought, the American perspective, he explained in later years, simply reflected the needs of the time.³

The inner ponderings of America’s Founders materialized objectively with the Second Continental Congress’s approval of the Declaration of Independence at 1:52 am⁴ on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With this decision, the colonists officially severed ties with the British Crown to reach their goal of establishing separate yet united states in accordance with the heavenly configurations of the moment. Dr. Marc Edmund Jones, in his Mundane Perspectives in Astrology,⁵ based his US chart’s time on the popular use of Gemini rising by several notable astrologers of his day, and by the authorization of the American Federation of Astrologers. With a bit of rectification Jones settled on a 3 Gemini 34 ascendant.

BIRTHING A NATION UNDER A MERCURY STATION

In the segment on Collective Nativities in Mundane Perspectives, Jones designates Mercury in his US chart diagram as stationary-retrograde. However, the ephemeris for 1776 shows the station to be exact on June 28, just days before the announcement of independence in early July. Planetary stations, whether in transit or progression, point to a crescendo in the development of events that facilitates a psychological shift in perspective resulting in a dramatic transformation of existential affairs. Jones explains the virtual phenomenon in his Scope of Astrological Prediction as a pivotal period demanding “a critical regrasp of experience.” ⁶ Unlike transit stations, which need to aspect a natal planet by conjunction or opposition to be effective for chart interpretation, a progressed station need not make an aspect with a birth planet, and is often associated with events somewhat in advance or some time after their pause to change direction.

Progressed Mercury’s station corresponds to a most outstanding terrestrial event in the summer of 1776, bringing the need for a regrasp of experience through the power struggle known as the American Revolutionary War. The Stamp Act of 1765, along with “taxation without representation” in the British parliament, helped drive the revolution with a passion for independence and the willingness to fight to the death for it. There on the battlefield, a war of political perspectives was fought, resulting in a total reorientation in governing. The turning of perspectives is mirrored in celestial terms in the change of direction of progressed Mercury.

The Sabian symbols⁷ rank among the more insightful techniques of natal analysis. Their narratives penetrate deep within the psyche of an individual or group entity and can lay bare any chart’s innermost essence. Mercury’s rulership of both spoken and written word makes it the appropriate planet to represent the Declaration of Independence and the minds of those who formed American ideals. Natal Mercury at 24 Cancer 18 in the US chart occupies the Sabian symbol of A dark shadow or mantle thrown suddenly over the right shoulder.

This is a symbol of the irrevocability of man’s obligation to the reality of which he is a part, with the emphasis on his capacities of leadership as a revelation of racial stewardship on the more personal or spiritual side. Self-expres­sion here is a release of his inner potentialities, and it becomes both an individual gratification and an expanding responsibility to all other individuals making up the social complex. The keyword is DESTINY. When positive, the degree is some dramatic manifestation of genius vital to the general welfare of man, and when negative, a tendency to unwarranted presumption if not outright megalomania.

After the Declaration of Independence was approved, the new democracy was then set to elect its own leaders and define its own future. The positive description of the symbol suggests that America’s role models truly embody the values and principles that inspire their fellow citizens. A free society’s champions stand as a light in the world, but when hypocrisy and self-aggrandizement take hold, they can spoil lofty intentions and reflect the symbol’s negative expression.

PROGRESSED MERCURY STATIONS

Including its initial station in 1776, progressed Mercury stationed six times in the nation’s history, pinpointing specific years when a critical change in the country’s direction could be expected. The most recent turning point was progressed Mercury stationing direct on April 5, 2017. Given its broad time allowance, the station corresponded with the 2016 presidential elections that catapulted the first private citizen into the seat of the highest office in the land. The station also refers to the intense reactions and adjustments endured by the citizenry as a result of the former president’s political inexperience.

Progressed Mercury stationed at 20 Aquarius 02 in the Sabian symbol of A woman disappointed and disillusioned. Astoundingly, the symbol reflects Hillary Clinton’s failure to capture the White House and the emotional fallout from what to her was an unexpected election result. The former Secretary of State under the Obama administration won the popular vote but was disappointed by her loss to Donald Trump when the latter acquired the necessary electoral votes to win the presidency. This “upset” again proves the power of a station to turn the country in an unexpected direction.

For comparison, the previous Mercury station retrograde on May 1, 1995, at 4 Pisces 57 corresponded with the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. It was the second deadliest domestic terrorist attack in US history and called for a reexamination of the nation’s safeguards that resulted in the implementation of tighter national security measures.

Also correlating with the same station retrograde was the O.J. Simpson murder trial where the jury found the defendant not guilty by virtue of reasonable doubt on October 2, 1995. The progressed station was buttressed during the concluding days of the lengthy trial by transit Mercury midway through its retrograde phase. Both the progressed and transit retrogrades left the minds of the jurors in doubt because of the mishandling and possible planting of evidence. The station stirred the Goldman and Brown families to reject the decision in the criminal case and to go on to reverse the outcome by winning a civil suit in the process of their regrasp of the situation.

NATAL MERCURY STATION OPPOSITE PLUTO

The significance of the natal Mercury station is greatly increased by its relationship with Pluto as together they form the singular opposition in the horoscope, although Pluto’s existence was unknown at the time of the nation’s establishment. Considering Mercury’s stationary status, its polarization with Pluto, and both being the only retrograde in the chart, further distinguishes this opposition as the chart’s signature aspect. This complex opposition represents a sharp public focus on the recognition and resolution of conflicting political points of view. Planets in opposition find balance through cooperation and compromise at their best or form antagonistic factions at their worst.

Mercury and Pluto are traditionally known as the planets of the individual and collective mind, respectively. Mercury gives rise to personal perspectives that when accepted by the masses become cultural belief systems ultimately identified by Pluto. Mercury’s mundane keyword Propaganda,⁸ defines how various narratives have contributed to the molding and programming of American minds and attitudes, with Pluto “cementing” these concepts in the collective unconscious. These natal planets, pitted against one another, indicate perpetual conflict that can lead to outright war over differing ideologies, or when positive, indicate an awareness of how opposites can complement each other in a free society.

The Revolutionary War was the initial, physical manifestation of the Mercury-Pluto opposition that set the precedent for the nation’s subsequent enmities. They are recorded in history as the War of 1812, the Civil War, the country’s involvement in the two world wars of the early and mid-1900s, the Korean and Vietnam Wars of the 1950s and 60s, the war in Iraq, and more recently, military operations in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen. Armed and unarmed conflicts can clearly be seen operating in today’s polarized political climate as transit Pluto opposes natal Mercury on the way to its natal destination.

THE PLUTO RETURN AND ITS SABIAN SYMBOL

To best understand the meaning of the Pluto Return, it is helpful to take under consideration its position in the natal chart and the aspects it makes within the entire network of configurations. Pluto figures prominently in its inaugural layout because of the major role it plays in the structure of the signature aspect, and for its participation in the chart’s viable T Cross with Saturn in potential Point Focus. The square from Saturn to Mercury is just within the required ten-degree orb in natal analysis, however, its square with Pluto is several degrees beyond normal allowance. By disregarding the slight orb inconsistency, and with the recognition of the advantages of a Focal Determinator⁹ in the chart, the squaring planets can be “brought into orb” in consciousness, to activate a Point Focus planet for a release of the tensions the opposition naturally creates. Saturn in planetary parlance is the refining factor, but when falling short of its highest objectives, the planet is notorious for producing fear, failure, and disappointment. The benefit of Saturn in Point Focus is that social and political issues can be taken seriously and responsibly whether or not they can or will be resolved.

Transiting Pluto advances only a few degrees throughout an entire year. It is slow and prodding and in this way the pressure to transform becomes unrelenting. The response from individuals or collectives to a penetrating Pluto transit varies between the extremes of unyielding resistance against imminent change, or the more conciliatory acceptance and surrender to the opportunity for growth. Aspects to and from Pluto illuminate long-standing problems that are pending acknowledgment and renewal, both in individual and collective horoscopes.

The completion of Pluto’s cycle in the US chart occurs when its transit reaches 27 Capricorn 34 to once again occupy the Sabian symbol degree of A large aviary. With its retrograde phases, it will profoundly activate the symbol’s characteristics three times in its epic Return.

This is a symbol of the ramifying differentiation of interest to be found in the many areas of normal life, and of man’s gift for bringing anyone special line of effort to the immediate services of any other. His widespread aspiration is encompassed in the overall realization by which he has organized himself, and his everyday problems have their solution in his breadth of resources. His administration of human potentialities on this social level is his self-fulfillment. The keyword is COMMUNITY. When positive, the degree is exceptional success in making all personal concerns a matter of common welfare, and when negative, loss of all character in sheer officiousness.

Mercury’s Sabian symbol focuses on the leadership of select luminaries as they fulfill their responsibility to society. Pluto’s symbol by contrast, shifts the focus from individuals with exemplary stature to that of the group dynamic as defined by its symbol’s keyword, Community. The positive expression of the symbol points to the common citizen’s participation in, and concern for, the collective of which it is a part. In its negative expression, it is egotistic domination rather than cooperative interaction among peers. Mercury and Pluto, in opposition aspect, create an interconnection of factors for good or for ill.

TRANSIT PLUTO STATIONS 2017 – 2020

The orb allowance for transits to natal planets depends upon the astrologer’s preference, based on their perception of the commencing undercurrents of an event’s association with the specific transits. Because Pluto moves only a few degrees per year, multiple events can be linked with its aspects at any time. To avoid open-ended possibilities, the following list is limited to the Pluto stations opposite natal Mercury during the early years of the Pluto Return. Transit Pluto’s widest orb is approximately seven degrees to natal Mercury, and in the approach to its natal position, it is no more than ten. Several events, correlating to the aspects, identify serious issues facing Americans and are those where the station calls for radical transformation. Jupiter and Saturn’s aspects are also listed as they interrelate with Pluto, prior to the start of their forthcoming 30-year cycle known as the Great Conjunction.

Pluto SR, 19 Cap 24, April 21, 2017 — In a resurgence of the #metoo movement, Fox News confirmed on April 19 that they terminated the contract of TV host and journalist Bill O’Reilly, after allegations of sexual harassment.

Pluto SD, 16 Cap 51, September 29, 2017 — Widespread media coverage on October 5 announced sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Accusations and firings among government officials and high-profile media and Hollywood personalities followed.

Pluto SR, 21 Cap 17, April 23, 2018 — The US Department of Justice launched its “Zero Tolerance” policy on May 7, resulting in the separation of children from their parents or legal guardians at the US-Mexico border as the method authorized by the Trump administration to deter ongoing mass immigration.

Pluto SD, 18 Cap 45, October 1, 2018 — The station corresponded with the murder and dismemberment of the Saudi dissident and The Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Pluto SR, 23 Cap 09, April 25, 2019 — The US Department of Justice released the 448-page Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, (AKA, The Mueller Report) on April 18. On April 25, Biden announced his candidacy for president in the 2020 elections.

Pluto SD, 20 Cap 38, October 3, 2019 — On October 5, Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign team announced that he had a heart attack. On October 12, Kevin McAleenan stepped down from his position as acting US Homeland Security Chief.

Saturn exact conjunct T. Pluto at 22 Cap 47, and within 1:44 of orb in opposition to N. Mercury, January 12, 2020 — The initial announcement of Covid_19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) was on December 31, 2019. The first US Covid_19 case was confirmed on January 20, 2020.

Pluto exact opposite N. Mercury, 24 Cap 29, March 11, 2020 — Corresponded with the first nationwide Covid_19 lockdown and stay-at-home order. A national emergency was called on March 13, closing shops, restaurants, schools and universities, and sports and entertainment establishments.

Pluto SR, 25 Cap 00, April 26, 2020 — Local governments reopened businesses on April 26 but cautioned a “safer at home” approach as the spread of Covid_19 continued.

Jupiter SR, 27 Cap 14 conjunct N. Pluto, May 15, 2020 — Black Lives Matter (BLM) resurged in protest of police brutality in connection with the murder of George Floyd on May 25.

Pluto SD opposite N. Mercury, 22 Cap 29, Oct. 5, 2020 — Trump returned to the White House on Oct 5 after three days of exceptional medical treatment for Covid_19 at Walter Reed Military Hospital. He resumed his bid for a second term in office.

Jupiter conjunct T. Pluto opposite Biden’s N. Jupiter, November 10, 2020 – Candidate Joe Biden was projected to win the 2020 presidential election.

PROGRESSED MOON CONJUNCT TRANSIT PLUTO

The US Pluto Return has received a great deal of attention among astrologers, however, there is a unique series of progressed Moon aspects accompanying the Return that may have escaped notice. These lunar aspects magnify the already impactful Pluto cycle that everyone is watching. The progressed Moon begins with a conjunction to transit Pluto, and four months later conjuncts natal Pluto. The Lunar Return culminates in 2022, and the Progressed New Moon in 2024 promises Americans a fresh start in support of Pluto’s commencement of its second 248-year cycle.

As the year 2021 approached, so too did the US progressed Moon approach its conjunction with transit Pluto. The progressed Moon arriving at 23 Capricorn 58 joined forces with Pluto transiting at 24 Capricorn 23, aligning both dynamic aspects in direct opposition to natal Mercury. It was January 6, 2021, that fateful day that called for astrological indications that could match in strength the ominous events that were about to occur at the US Capitol.

The following is a list of events that took place in January 2021 amidst a threatening political atmosphere. Pluto’s powers of persuasion, linked with the progressed Moon’s propensity for amplification, created heightened tensions between political parties. They brought about a philosophical and emotional confrontation that speaks to the need for a dramatic modification of attitudes and perspectives among political rivals.

P. Moon 23 Cap 58 + T. Pluto 24 Cap 23, opposite N. Mercury, January 6, 2021

Democrats won the January 6 Georgia Senate election runoffs, putting their party in control of both the legislative and executive branches of government.

Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol Building at 2:11 pm with the intent to reverse election results. Rioters penetrated the floor of the House of Representatives and private offices. The insurrection resulted in the death of five individuals with 138 injured.

Congress officially declared President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election after completing the final count of Electors’ votes.

P. Moon 24 Cap 13 + T. Pluto 24 Cap 35, opposite N. Mercury, January 13, 2021

The US House of Representatives impeached former President Trump for inciting an insurrection.

Twitter permanently canceled the @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account with other social media platforms following suit.

P. Moon 24 Cap 29 (Exact to the minute) + T. Pluto 24 Cap 49, opposite N. Mercury, January 20, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden took the Oath of Office¹⁰ on inauguration day to become the 46th President of the United States. Kamala Harris was the first woman, and the first person of color, to be sworn into the high office of the Vice Presidency.

From the beginning of Trump’s term in office in 2017, the country’s attention was riveted on his iconoclastic objectives, and with the backing of supporters in the White House, his impulsive natal Uranus-Sun conjunction could act without restraint. Four years hence, the awkward and conflict-ridden transfer of power to the Biden administration was the result of the same provocative aspects that occurred on January 6. These same aspects also simultaneously opposed the former president’s natal Saturn at 23 Cancer 49 and natal Venus at 25 Cancer 44, marking the end of his four-year term in office.

Biden, on the other hand, received support from the US progressed Moon and Transit Pluto as they were joined by his own progressed Mercury stationing direct at 25 Capricorn 55 on December 23, 2019, just one year prior to the 2020 presidential elections, and still within orb of effectiveness. The three dynamic aspects together were in direct opposition to Biden’s natal Jupiter at 25 Cancer 08. Blessed with the good fortune from his Greater Benefic, Biden was awarded the presidency. Winning both the popular and electoral votes catapulted him into the high office vacated by his less fortunate and resistant predecessor. The personal, critical regrasp for Biden, indicated by his progressed stationary Mercury, was the requirement to leave behind his private life to enter public service once again. This was the indicator of the fulfillment of his long-desired goal to become President of the United States. Most likely, Biden made the decision to enter the political arena at the exact Mercury station in 2019, which was supported by his third and final Progressed New Moon, exact on May 5, 2019. The seed was then planted for auspicious and fortunate results to come in late 2020.

Despite Biden’s win, however, there was mounting controversy over the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. The agitating rhetoric from the former president and his political supporters provoked angst among his radical followers that reached its peak with their attack on the nation’s Capitol Building on January 6, 2020. The mob of militant, far-right extremists was intent on overturning what the Department of Justice and other reliable authorities claimed was a free-and-fair election. The country’s Plutonian, and normally suppressed shadows, rose from the depths into the light of day for all to witness, with the help of the synchronous and striking aspects on the precise day of the insurrection.

History repeats itself in acts as well as in astrological indications. On August 24, 1814, well into the War of 1812, invading British Red Coats marched into Washington and set fire to the Capitol as transit Saturn opposed natal Mercury within 37 minutes of arc. On January 6, it was predominantly the “red and orange hats” that stormed and defiled the Capitol, causing fatalities and trauma to those within the compound,  and resulting in the shock of observers both nationally and worldwide.

The powerful synergy of aspects on January 6 unearthed a violence that shook the Capitol and the Republic to its foundation. However, the hunted members of Congress, who first fled in fear, courageously recaptured their purpose, and certified the Electors’ votes after resuming their joint session that lasted from 8:00 pm that evening to 3:00 am the following morning. Although postponed several hours, Congress’s constitutional responsibilities ultimately prevailed, and the Plutonian phoenix rose again from the ashes.

The planetary aspects on January 20 were much the same as they were fourteen days prior. Amid these aspects, President-elect Joe Biden took the Oath of Office to become the 46th President of the United States. What brings him to that point, as with all US elected officials, is the function of Mercury as the decision-maker and celestial vehicle for each citizen’s voice to be heard and vote to be counted in the election of political leaders and representatives. Transit Pluto, set off the natal Mercury-Pluto opposition on its way to its Return and sparked an extremely contentious presidential election.

PROGRESSED MOON CONJUNCT NATAL PLUTO

Moon 27 Capricorn 34 conjunct N. Pluto (Exact) April 13, 2021

Noting the uniqueness of the emotionally packed Moon acting in concert with Pluto in 2021 and beyond gives a broader understanding of how progressions and transits functioning simultaneously produce a greater impact on events than when they lack synchronization.

The second pairing of the dynamic aspects came on April 13, 2021, when the progressed Moon made an exact conjunction with natal Pluto at 27 Capricorn 34. The conjunction is linked with the trial of former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who was charged with the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd. Progressed Moon aspects have a two-month duration with their exact aspect falling in the middle of the eight weeks. The trial commenced on March 29, well within the first four weeks of the progressed Moon aspect to natal Pluto.

On April 13, at the aspect’s peak moment, the prosecution rested its case. Closing arguments came on April 19, with the verdict swiftly announced the following day at 1:44 pm. The jury found the defendant guilty of all charges, which were second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The results of the trial undoubtedly became a milestone on the long road to “liberty and justice for all,” as Vice President Kamala Harris pointed out in her public remarks following the jury’s decision. The public outcry before, during, and after the trial, clearly brings to life Pluto’s Sabian symbol message and its keyword Community, as an encouragement for civilian participation in solving longstanding racial issues.

Although the vast majority of policing in America is reliable and sincere, there was an escalation in the number of police shootings of Black Americans during the progressed Moon’s conjunction to natal Pluto. Several incidents occurred during the Chauvin trial, in fact, just as the guilty verdict was about to be read, police in Ohio shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant, a Black teenager who was swinging a knife in a confrontation. Among the cluster of both mass and police shootings across America, and just two days before the Moon’s exact aspect, police shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright. The shooting was during a traffic stop only a few miles from the courthouse where the Chauvin trial was taking place. The officer responsible for the shooting claimed to be confused between her gun and her taser. Pluto represents the power of police and military forces and includes the need to reform the policies and practices that fall short of their highest expectations.

PROGRESSED MOON – TRANSIT PLUTO STATION

Moon 28 Capricorn 34 conjunct N. Pluto (Leave) May 9, 2021

Pluto SR, April 28, 2021 – 26 Capricorn 48

The “big lie” has become a big quandary. Pluto’s spectrum of meaning ranges from outright deception to plain fact. Just four days before the progressed Moon finalized its conjunction with natal Pluto, another significant event related to the aspect was reported in the news. On May 5, Republican Representative Liz Cheney wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post, that stated, “The Republican Party is at a turning point, and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution.” Cheney is consistent in her conviction that the 2020 elections were legitimate, and because of her persistence, she was voted out of her leadership role in the House of Representatives on May 12 by her own party. Cheney’s reference to a “turning point” facing the Republican Party echoes the meaning of Pluto’s station retrograde on April 28, when the planet was only 46 minutes from its exact Return. The GOP is experiencing the direct effects of Pluto’s demand for reevaluating the Party’s relationship to reality and facts. Truth comes from the lips and the pen, and Representative Cheney will likely continue to use both methods to promote her cause. Whether her exemplary dedication to truth and the Constitution sways her colleagues in Congress to do likewise is a matter to be revealed in time. False claims questioning the legitimacy of the vote can threaten the core of democracy. The problems of one party become those of the other since they are so inextricably entwined.

PLUTO RETURN – PROGRESSED MOON

The first two progressed lunar aspects have been completed with the following two set for the fall of 2022 and 2024. Three of the four lunar aspects coordinate with Pluto stations, one in April 2021, and the remainder during the Lunar Return and Progressed New Moon.

Listed below are Pluto transits in opposition to natal Mercury, its stationary periods, the Lunar Return and Progressed New Moon, and the dates of the exact Pluto Return in chronological order.

T. Pluto opposite N. Mercury (Exact), September 10, 2021 – 24 Capricorn 29

Corresponding to this transit in opposition to natal Mercury are the August 26 suicide bombings that interrupted the exodus of American troops and others from the 20-year war in Afghanistan. The bombings that took place near the Hamid Karzai International Airport killed over 100 people including 13 US Marines. Terrorist attacks can be traced back to Pluto, especially when the transit is on its way to station on or opposite a natal planet as it does so on October 7, in approach to its first exact conjunction with its natal placement during the Pluto Return.

T. Pluto SD, October 7, 2021 (24 Capricorn 19)
T. Pluto opposite N. Mercury (Exact), November 2, 2021 (24 Capricorn 29)
EXACT PLUTO RETURN, February 22, 2022 (27 Capricorn 34)
Pluto SR, April 30, 2022 (28 Capricorn 36)
EXACT PLUTO RETURN, July 11, 2022 (27 Capricorn 34)
Progressed Lunar Return, September 26, 2022 (18 Aquarius 02)
T. Pluto SD, October 9, 2022 (26 Capricorn 07)
EXACT PLUTO RETURN, December 29, 2022 (27 Capricorn 34)
T. Pluto SR, May 2, 2023 (Ingress 0 Aquarius 22)
FINAL PLUTO RETURN SD, October 11, 2023 (27 Capricorn 54)
Pluto SR, May 3, 2024 (2 Aquarius 06)
Pluto SD, October 12, 2024 (29 Capricorn 39)
Progressed New Moon, November 10, 2024 (19 Pisces 26)

The unique and simultaneous activity between the US progressed Moon and transit Pluto involves the once-in-thirty-year US Lunar Return set to culminate on September 26, 2022, at 18 Aquarius 02. The Moon’s return to its natal position acts in unison with transit Pluto’s station-direct on Oct 9, 2022. The station occurs at 26 Capricorn 07, only one and a half degrees from Pluto’s natal location. These dynamic aspects take place just weeks ahead of the US midterm elections when candidates are in the heat of their campaigns and in anticipation of election results expected on or about November 8, 2022. Among the broad scope of possibilities in governmental affairs and elections is the usual reshuffling of the composition and control of Congress, assuring change going forward in the Biden administration.

The final synchronicity between the dynamic aspects during the years of the Pluto Return occurs near the completion of the Pluto cycle. The paired aspects consist of the ninth Progressed New Moon in US history due on November 10, 2024, at 19 Pisces 26, together with the Pluto station-direct on October 12, 2024, at 29 Capricorn 39. Just two degrees beyond its natal point, it is the last time Pluto will station close to its natal degree during its first Return. The station is linked with the New Moon because it occurs just one month prior to when the progressed Moon catches up with the progressed Sun.

A New Moon in secondary progressions is effective for approximately three years, with a year and a half of influence on either side of the exact aspect. Typical of Progressed New Moons, circumstances before and after will be subject to considerable adjustments to the extent that individuals or nations must reexamine and relinquish their hold on past patterns of behavior, attitudes, and involvements, and instead look forward to a yet unknown but hopeful future. The US Progressed New Moon occurs just five days after the US general elections in late 2024 when either Biden will be reelected, or a new president will take the country forward into the light that follows the darkness experienced at the heart of change and all New Moons.

Throughout the Pluto Return, issues of voter suppression, immigration reform, racial inequity, police accountability, women’s rights, gun reform, healthcare, and the economy will likely be addressed or stalled among the usual diametrically opposed members of Congress. These topics and more are Pluto’s target because they aim at what Americans have yet to adequately resolve although they have been faced with them for decades if not centuries.

The 2017 progressed Mercury station relates to the time and commencement of the US Pluto Return and is significant because it partners with Pluto in the formation of the chart’s vital balancing represented by its only opposition aspect. Transit Pluto and the progressed Moon focus their aspects on the Mercury-Pluto opposition to impressively tell the story of the completion of America’s first Pluto cycle. The outstanding signature aspect will continuously present formidable challenges that offer opportunities to better establish justice, equality, and inclusiveness in the nation that was created and beholden upon these lofty ideals. The United States’ 21st century Pluto Return, mirroring the revolutionary spirit of 1776, now encourages a remaking of America closer to the core principles the Founders envisioned for a true democracy.

“And may we lead not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example” ¹¹

– President, Joe Biden

 

References and Note

1. Dynamic aspects refer to transits and progressions.
2. Thomas Paine, Common Sense, quote pg. 68. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Common_Sense/-NXd9GXOh-sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
3. Jefferson’s letter to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825, https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/declaration-independence-expression-american-mind
4. The time used to calculate the chart of the United States varies depending on the astrologer’s preference.
5. Mundane Perspectives in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones, Sabian Publishing Society, Stanwood Washington, 1975, Chart diagram, pg. 358.
6. The Scope of Astrological Prediction, Marc Edmund Jones, Sabian Publishing Society, Stanwood Washington, 1969, pg. 49.
7. Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones, Aurora Press, 1993.
8. Mundane Perspectives in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones, Sabian Publishing Society, Stanwood Washington, 1975, Mercury keyword, pg. 366.
9. The Essentials of Astrological Analysis, Marc Edmund Jones, Stanwood, Washington, 1970, Determination by T Cross pg. 193.
10. The Oath of Office is traditionally taken at noon in accordance with the 20th Amendment of the US Constitution.
11. Excerpt from President Biden’s January 20, 2021, inaugural speech.

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