AMERICA'S PLACE IN THE WORLD

My telephone line is still broken, earliest repair date 10th Dec. I gave them an earful after they said it would be 15th Dec – “You wouldn’t treat a big company like this, I’m going to complain to the regulator,” etc etc, and it seems to have done something. A friend used to work in public relations for a big company, and their policy was to block and bullshit anyone who complained, but if the customer took it further they immediately gave them everything they asked for! So I always think it’s worth a little bit of threatening to take the complaint higher and that you’ll tell the local paper etc. But I’m not one of those awful people who spends their time fighting big companies, councils etc. I’m willing to accept a certain amount of unfairness for the sake of a quiet life.

So I’m now posting my blogs down at the local library. Even then I got there to find the library hadn’t opened, when I returned I found I didn’t have the right ID to re-activate my membership (it’s just a Somerset LIBRARY, for Christ’s sake), and when I returned again their computer system was down and they couldn’t do it! I reckon Mercury must still be secretly retrograde, and the real rulers of the world – who are of course 14ft bloodsucking lizards, according to David Icke – aren’t telling us.

Anyway, I’ve heard twice recently that Americans who go abroad are being given a booklet by their government that tells them how they should behave around foreigners. I haven’t got Internet access to get further details, but it does suggest humility, a remarkable quality in a nation that has been the most powerful on earth for the last 100 years.

And we have George W Bush to thank for this development. I don’t expect Americans to thank him for it, but he has done the US a great service in giving the country a practical demonstration, via Iraq, of the limits of its power.

It is interesting in this respect to look at the US Progressed Chart. Transits and Progressions help us see the changes and phases a birth chart is going through over time. Transits occur when a planet in the sky makes a significant angle with a birth planet, and they last anything from a few hours to a few years. They reveal particular transformations (particularly when the slower moving outer planets are involved). Progressions can be much longer lasting, and point to particular phases that an individual or a country is going through.

In 1996, the US Progressed Saturn started to go backwards (retrograde), for the first time in its history, and will continue to do so until the year 2136. Saturn concerns one’s place and standing in the world, and in this respect the US had been on an upward arc since its inception in 1776. It is 10 years since the retrograde started, but 10 years is a short time for this progressed planet. The progression seems to be becoming apparent now, as the US has been brought low by Iraq.

Another progression we need to consider is the US progressed Mars, which went retrograde for the first time in its history this year (2006). It reflects the military (Mars) setback of Iraq. Between them, these 2 planets indicate a long-term limitation on the US militarily and economically and politically. It suggests that the US is no longer the superpower it once was, and will not bounce back. The US had a similar setback after Vietnam – it lost the war, and the limits to its ability to fight Communism became clear. But the US bounced back, and ultimately won the Cold War.

The astrology indicates, however, that the present setback is permanent. The US will not bounce back and triumph in the War on Terror and in the Middle East generally. Iraq has been compared to Vietnam, and there is a similarity, but this setback is much more serious. But, as I said earlier, I think this is good for America.

In 1974, the US Progressed Sun left Capricorn and entered Aquarius, as a profound crisis of government (Capricorn) was occurring over Watergate and the Nixon resignation. 30 Years later, in 2004, the US Prog Sun left Aquarius, as its mission to promote Democracy (Aquarius) in the Middle East began to fail. In 2003, Prog Sun was conjunct retrograde Prog Mercury, eclipsing the US’s ability to use the mind and rationality – an accurate description of the way the US went to war in Iraq.

But the US Prog Sun leaving Aquarius in 2004 also means it has been entering Pisces, a much more yielding, feminine sign. This combines well with the Prog Mars and Saturn going retrograde, suggesting a genuine softening in the nation as it comes to realise the limits of its power.

Which I think will be very good for the world as a whole. The main challenge in the US natal chart is Sun Square to Saturn (see earlier eponymous blog), and while this aspect reflects a drive to achieve a lot in measurable terms, the achievement also tends to be an expression of an inner insecurity. This is America all over. Retrograde Prog Saturn may well help the US begin to understand why it is so driven, why everyone feels they have to work so hard, why there is such a culture of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.