America's Natal Chart

The prospect of being able to predict national or global events with astrology is obviously tantalizing, but in practice Mundane Astrology (the astrology of global events) is complex and fraught with points of ambiguity that make it a particularly challenging branch of the stellar science. For one thing, deciding on the actual moment when a nation or country is born is far more difficult than doing the same for a human individual. Even when there is a particular day that stands out as the birth of a nation (and such days are often clearly identifiable) the actual time of that day when the “birth” occurs is less easy to pinpoint, as such births are typically manifested as human ceremonies that may take some hours to perform. It is furthermore not always clear which city or town to use as the location of the event. There are often various options in these respects, and it takes keen and intuitive judgement from an astrologer to discern the crucial moment.

The possibility of predicting accurately is much greater when a chart proves it's sensitivity and relevance to the entity it represents, and this is something one normally gauges retrospectively.

The 4th of July 1776, as the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was certainly a day of huge significance for America, and most astrologers agree in seeing in this event, on this date, the birthing of a nation. The question is, what is the birth time? Some great astrological minds have applied themselves to this question, and there are some widely divergent views.

I consider the finer points of this debate way out of my league, although I do find it intriguing. Just take a peek at the following essay by Edward Kohout to catch a glimpse of how complicated this question can get:
http://cura.free.fr/xxv/22sibly.html

Some years ago I encountered a chart for America in a Mountain Astrologer Magazine that placed the Ascendant at 12 degrees Sagittarius (apparently Dane Rhudhyar rectified the Ascendant to 13 Sagittarius). When the Twin Towers incident occurred and I couldn't help but notice that the Saturn/Pluto Opposition that had become exact just a short time before that occurred right on the horizon of this natal chart for America (and I still marvel at the way Saturn in Gemini translates as “Twin Towers”)!!

Well, I don't have an essay to write about this. I simply wish to point out that now, during September 2008, Transiting Saturn has moved 90 degrees since the September 2001 incident and is lately Square America's Ascendant, if this 12-13 degrees Sagittarius Ascendant for America is correct. America is once again in tatters. Hurricane Ike has created huge devastation, and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers has caused financial markets to plummet to the lowest levels “since the September 2001 terror attacks”.