Dear friends,
Once again, I hope this finds you all safe and dry. It’s pretty rough out there, and you’re all in my prayers.
Several people have asked me whether the current spate of natural disasters is in any way tied to astrology — and of course, my answer is a resounding yes. Let’s begin by looking at America’s natal chart, which is currently receiving a challenging transit to the natal Moon that, in turn, affects four Cancer (Moon-ruled) planets.
The natal chart that most astrologers use for the United States is known as the Sibley chart; it’s the moment when the Declaration of Independence was signed, stating the intent to form a new country, at 5:10 PM on July 4th, 1776 in Philadelphia. (I discussed the Sibley chart in my article on America’s Solar Return earlier this summer.)
As you can see from the image below, it is a highly Cancerian chart. There are four planets in Cancer, in the Seventh House of Libra. The Sun, Mercury, and Venus — three out of the five personal planets — all fall in the sign of the crab; Jupiter, a fourth planet in Cancer, is the ruler of the Ascendant — how we relate to the world; while two more planets (Mars and Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Virgo) answer to Mercury retrograde in Cancer, and another (Saturn in Libra) answers to Venus in Cancer.
The Moon rules, co-rules, or is directly responsible for eight planets and all twelve houses. What this means, essentially, is that we need to check the Moon FIRST when assessing the health and well being of the US chart, since the Moon rules all these Cancer planets.
America’s natal Moon is at 27 degrees Aquarius, and she’s currently receiving a visit from the South Node of Fate, now at 24 Aquarius. The South Node indicates loss and transformation, karma that we’re finished with and need to let go of. Throughout this summer, many of us — whether from water, air, fire, or earth (perhaps in the form of territorial disputes) — are letting go of ideals, situations, and possessions connected with the Moon (nurturance, home, our family, and the past) and perhaps (because it is SUCH a Cancerian chart) with our identity itself.
The Sun and Moon during the most recent Eclipse on August 21st fell at 28 Leo, in a tight opposition to the US natal Moon. This Eclipse illuminated for many people major changes they needed to make in their life, and also put extra pressure on the ongoing Moon-South Node transit, bringing to a head and releasing what was roiling below the surface before, and stirring up deep emotional (Moon) issues, beyond what we’d normally feel or encounter.
Eclipses always mean a fated loss. Then, they herald a new beginning.
We saw huge devastation with Hurricane Harvey, and it seems that Irma will be at least as bad. Because there are FOUR planets in Cancer in the US natal chart, I am (reluctantly) expecting two more hurricanes, for a total of four, to strike here, before the Eclipse-aftermath period wraps up on September 18th (when Venus triggers the Solar Eclipse point). I would not be surprised if both Jose and Katia, currently swirling in the Atlantic, made landfall in the US, shortly after Irma does.
If you’re going to be anywhere NEAR the path of these storms, please take appropriate precautions, and be sure to download the walkie-talkie app Zello.
Let’s look at where the first storm hit.
The city of Houston was founded on August 28, 1836; so when Harvey first struck Texas, on August 26, 2017, it was just two days before the city’s birthday. In astrology, the period right before the Solar Return is considered a “low ebb” in the life force of the chart — a moment of special vulnerability. (Incidentally, this is why many people die just before their birthday. If you’re going, that’s a good time.)
Furthermore, the most recent Eclipse on August 21st made some challenging aspects to the Houston natal chart — for instance, we have the transiting South Node hitting Houston’s natal Eris, at exactly 24 degrees Aquarius.
When looking at the Solar Chart for the city (that is, Houston’s birthday, cast for high noon), we find that the transformative transiting Nodes fall in the Third and Ninth Houses: indicating a loss of local neighborhoods (South Node in the Third) and a reevaluation of overseas commerce and related beliefs (North Node in the Ninth). Houston is, after all, both a port city and an exceptionally spread-out city, built on a flood plane (which may have contributed to the flooding).
As my old biology teacher Dr. Bohner used to say, if you build in a flood plane, you’re going to get flooded. That’s what they’re for.
If we pull up the Solar Arc and Secondary Progressed charts for the city of Houston, we get even more information about what’s going on. I mean, how often do you run into an all-Pluto T-square?
Because the city is old — older than humans get to be — we have Pluto actually squaring ITSELF. Houston’s natal Pluto at 15 degrees Aries, along with its Solar Arc Pluto at 17 Libra, and transiting Pluto at 17 Cap, all unite to form a tight cardinal T-square — which shoots its excess energy into the Cancer-ruled Eighth House of swamps, marshes, death, and rebirth, as well as into the US chart’s Cancer planets.
This is why Texas and Texas’s vision is such a big part of the national identity.
In the Solar Arc chart for Houston, we find Uranus at 4 degrees Virgo, exactly opposite Houston’s natal Uranus at 2 degrees Pisces. These degrees tie in tightly to the recent Eclipse chart, squaring the Eclipse chart’s Ascendant at 4 degrees Sagittarius.
Both the Solar Arc Uranus and Solar Arc Imum Coeili (i.e. the bottom of the chart, the cusp between the Third and Fourth Houses) are conjunct Houston’s natal Sun and Midheaven (i.e. the top of the chart, the cusp between the Ninth and Tenth Houses) at 5 Virgo.
The end is coming to the beginning, and the beginning is facing the end. In the coming months and years, we will see a Houston redefined and redesigned, as it emerges from this incredible Pluto transit and transformation.
That’s all for now, everybody. But keep your eyes peeled for another update within the next few days, looking at Hurricane Irma and wherever it makes landfall in the US.
Be safe!
Big hugs,
Anne
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Natal Chart of the USA (Declaration of Independence)
Chart cast for 5:10 PM on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Solar Eclipse of August 2017
August 21, 2017 in Washington, DC, 2:30 PM Eastern US Time
Natal Chart of the City of Houston (Founding)
Chart cast for 12:00 PM on August 28, 1836, in Houston, Texas
