I’ve been trying to work out over the past few weeks how all this American debt crisis was going to pan out. Finally late last night the lawmakers in the Republican lead House of Representatives and Democratic Senate finally thrashed out some sort of deal, raising the already sky high debt ceiling in the US another $2.4 trillion dollars to an almighty $14.3 trillion. In return, the US government deficit will be cut by the same amount over a 10 year period in a plan to be cut by a unified Republican and Democratic committee. By finally biting the bullet, but delaying the deep cuts that the US does need, somebody somewhere is going to pay a heavy price and the people are going to get rather upset by it all.
The outer planets always have a major effect on National Charts, but because they move so slowly, you don’t see the results of what have been going on for some considerable time, effectively until the damage has firmly been done and a crisis point comes along. This is especially true of Neptune, who I feel is the real culprit for the financial crisis which has been going on. From 1992 Neptune has been transiting through the US second house, the house of money and national finance. Neptune in the second gives one artificial financial optimism, a false sense of security as danger and financial meltdown lurks around the corner. Neptune here is so deceptive, allowing illegal or wholly inappropriate practises to go on while covering up the truth. The first signs of Neptune’s rather nasty effects came with the dot com crash. At the time Neptune was making it’s way through the early stages of the 2nd house, Uranus, the planet of technology, also entered the 2nd in 1995 for a 6-7 year stay. In that time, dot com investment was on a free for all surge until finally in 2000 the market peaked. As Uranus ended it’s stay in the 2nd house finally exiting in Feb 2002, the markets crashed wiping off in total $5 trillion from the value of US companies. Admittedly the 9/11 attack did not help matters, but the jitters in the markets had started way before that incident.
In 1997, as transiting Neptune conjunct the US natal Pluto in the 2nd house that the present crisis started to form. Now 14 years on, you can see it so clearly. Excessive (Pluto) dodgy dealing and false optimism (Neptune) in the housing market (2nd house of personal possessions). The US house prices and speculation on them went out of control – the dot.com bubble, the housing bubble – bubbles are so Neptunian in form, they float away looking all pretty and perfect, then suddenly “bang” they burst, and reality really hits home.
That bang in the US chart was created by transiting Pluto which entered administrative Capricorn in October 2008 (I use the US Sibly chart with a free and easy expansive Sagittarius ascendant). In life when you make a mess, you need the dustman (or garbage man for my American readers) to come along to clean things up. In astrology, we have Pluto to do that job. When Neptune makes a proper mess of things, Pluto comes along afterwards, chucks away what is rotten and not needed and then cleans up so that one can start afresh. Pluto restricts, destroys & reforms everything in it’s path, creating space for new growth to form.
Back to recent history. Pluto entering in Capricorn from the first house began to square the US Midheaven at 1 Libra, oppose the US Venus at 3 Cancer and to have an immediate effect. The US national reputation went through the floor and the effect on Venus was devastating. Venus more than any planet is associated with possessions and personal money; the US Venus sits in the 7th house of dealings with other countries and that Venus squares the US Midheaven – there is a inherent link. We can say for sure that the state of the US finances affects not only the national reputation of the country as a whole, but also affects the world around the US too. The old saying goes that when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. As Pluto moved closer and closer to natal Venus, the financial crisis deepened, culminating in early 2009 as Pluto hit 3 Capricorn when the full extent of the housing crash was exposed. That contagion spread not only through the US, but through the world too. It is interesting also to note that the crash was caused by speculation on the housing market and the exposure of the dirty dealings due to the influence of Pluto. Speculation is seen through Jupiter, Sagittarius and also the 5th house and Venus through Taurus just rules the cusp of the 5th house. Venus is itself conjunct Jupiter on the natal chart and with a Sagittarian ascendant, an inextricable link and weakness in the US natal chart between financial problems and speculation. These problems have happened before and it will happen again.
Now, if the people of America think that the problems are now over, they’d better think again. The budget agreement was passed as transiting Saturn (which rules the US financial 2nd house with Capricorn on the cusp) was exactly sextile to the US ascendant. A plan (Saturn) to restrict the growth of the US (Sagittarius on Ascendant) and in so doing cut the debt (Capricorn on cusp of 2nd). Transiting Saturn is going to conjunct it’s own position towards the end of next month, which I fear will bring even more gloomy financial news to the fore, and to top this Pluto has not yet done with it’s opposition to natal Jupiter. Jupiter as we know rules the US chart and by November Pluto will be making it’s last pass over 5:56 Capricorn in exactly opposing it. At that time, the cuts plan will be implemented and they will be brutal. Pluto does not do half measures. These cuts are going to hurt and with Uranus having recently entered the 4th house of opposition, watch out for disputes and action on a scale not seen in the US for a long time. The free market rebels (Uranus) to the administration and those in charge will be out in force. Uranus is going to cause a lot of discontent.
Moving back to Pluto, she will then move on to approach her next target, to oppose the US Sun in 2014. The Sun represents the President of the United States – now that’s a interesting subject for a future post!!!