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The USA’s True Chart as Revealed with AstroCartographyDrs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis
Few professional groups revere our past like Astrologers, the pleasant result of having such a glorious history filled with numerous luminaries. The downside of this is that we often accept the pronouncements of past Astrologers, even when they do not align with our current knowledge. Consider the amazing astronomical advances that have informed our work since the first manned space flights in 1961. Not that many years ago, accurate forecasting required a couple of weeks at the library, studying the history of periods when the Planets had previously formed similar configurations to those on the horizon.
Today we go on the web and gather the materials in a fraction of the time. 20/20 hindsight is an important talent for Astrologers, because it allows us to look at previous Charts and see how they played out historically. A perfect example of this was the many Astrologers, us included, who miscalled the 2016 election. The Charts showed a woman, with connections and experience, dominating politics that year. Hillary did that, and the conclusions were so easy to reach that we neglected to look at the Charts for the ensuing years. They told a very different story. Hindsight can be comforting, in otherwise humbling situations.
The Sibley Chart for the United States of America is an example of subsequent Astrologers accepting the Chart timing because it came from a contemporary of the event. Ebenezer Sibley probably had a correspondent who sent the date to him in letters, written on rag hemp paper, with a quill pen, brought across the Atlantic in a sailing ship, that took a couple of months to arrive. Why didn’t his friend just send an email? Obviously, the tools at hand were different from today.
What didn’t Ebenezer have? A knowledge, with ephemerides, of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, a whole flock of Asteroids, Chiron, electric lighting, a computer, or at least a Smart Phone, with Astrological software, and two hundred and forty-four years of history to focus that wonderful hindsight on! Considering the ease and speed with which we do our work today, it is amazing what they accomplished. He also lacked two other important components; first, the widely accepted practice of calculating mundane, organization Charts for Noon time.
Why? Because large organizations are created by the collective actions and will of a group, within a supporting society. When those forces coalesce, the new organization stands there, totally revealing itself under the full, social light of the Noon day Sun. The second component was the technology to quickly calculate accurate Location Charts, most notably AstroCartography. Jim Lewis introduced this tool in 1978.
It is safe to say that, over the course of the 244 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the USA’s Chart has had enough time to reveal its personality. AstroCartography lends itself wonderfully to hindsight, because clients who have lived numerous locations can share the nature of their experiences there. This tool allows us to practice one of Astrology’s most charming skills, storytelling.
A mistake Astrologers often make is treating AstroCartography as separate from the Natal or Event Chart, interpreting the Planetary Lines as Archetypal expressions of that Planet. The Lines represent the Chart’s unique expression of the Planets, with the drama and stories seen in the dominance and dependence of the celestial relationships. For example, a powerfully placed Saturn in a Natal Chart may represent a better AstroCartography location for the Native than a weak and disconnected Jupiter Line. You need to know the Natal Chart to understand how that Planet’s story is told when it is laid down on the Earth.
Analyzing how well Sibley’s choice of a time describes the American experience from the event Chart is hard, because it is subject to interpretation. Astrologers are like that old joke about Italians, “What do you get when you put twelve Italians in a room? Thirteen opinions!”. Fortunately, the Location Astrology of a country can be verified simply by comparing it to a map. The major Planetary Lines are nodes of energy with a specific nature, and they will align with cities and population centers, which are also nodes of energy that express those personalities. When we look at the AstroCartography for the Sibley Chart those nodes do not align. They are not even close!
There are no major Traditional Planets over the Continental United States, which we would expect from a country that has come to such global prominence. Only a Neptune Midheaven Line, representing visibility in the social world, passes through central Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, areas of sparse populations. A Moon IC Line (representing a place of home) passes through western Kansas and Texas. Neither Line tells the story we would expect. Admittedly, the Planetary positions for any time on July 4th, 1776, would reveal much about the USA’s evolution, but even more than Natal Charts, Location Charts require accurate times.
If the Sibley Chart doesn’t describe the formation of the USA, what does it describe? It tells the story of John Hancock’s experience of the day. As the President of the Congress he was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. He is known for his BIG signature, which is described by the Chart’s Sagittarius Rising, under the domain of the Exalted Jupiter in Cancer. That also explains his infamous remark, which I will paraphrase; ‘See, aren’t I helpful, I’m signing extra big so that crazy King George doesn’t have get his glasses out to read my signature’.
That passive aggressive, ‘here’s your hat, what’s your hurry’, style of people management describes Jupiter in Cancer well. In contrast to many of the signers and attendees, after leaving the Continental Congress, John Hancock disappears from the history books. He went home and lived a successful life, just like Jupiter in Cancer decreed. The AstroCartography reflects his experience, because the Sun was over the Pacific, heading for the horizon, signaling the end of Mr. Hancock’s day on the world stage.
Graphic of Sibley chart and AstroCartogaphy.
When we use the Noon Time Chart for July 4th, 1776 in Philadelphia, the Planetary Lines and population centers across the continent align beautifully. The story and the people that make up the modern United States of America are drawn in big, broad stripes. It puts Libra at the Rising, with an Exalted Saturn, symbolizing the creation of a formal partnership. The Colonial representatives were adamant about maintaining their own Colony’s sovereignty. They demanded the right to leave the Union if events were not to their liking. They had no Navy, or Army, and were hemmed in by Spanish, French and English territories, all powerful, military sea powers. That Saturn in Libra was their shared protective wall. Having the newly discovered Uranus in Gemini Trine the Rising may have foretold a little fast talking, bait and switch. Because, while the delegates were promised the option of leaving the Union, President Lincoln denied the States that right, which led to the Civil War. The South called him a Tyrant for that, while the North hailed him as the savior of the Union. Then another Aquarian President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, used the War Powers Act of 1941 to create what has been called the ‘Imperial Presidency’. This was not the trip that the Colonies signed on for, but State’s Rights often emerge during a crisis.
USA Noon Chart and AstroCartography.
The AstroCartography for the Noon Time Chart shows a Lineup of Traditional Planets over the Americas. Going from east to west, a Mercury Midheaven Line, for business and transportation, is over the entrance to the Great Lakes, the key to much of the USA’s commercial success. A conservative, prestigious Saturn in Libra Ascending Line passes through Boston and Rhode Island, the location of the early ship building giants. Great ships are Ruled by Saturn.
As a Noon Chart the Sun MC runs through New York and Philadelphia and their obvious dominance continues. The Entrepreneurial, travel loving Jupiter MC Line, in Exalted Cancer, passes through Detroit, the ‘Motor City’. Jupiter in Cancer perfectly describes America’s love of cars, our ‘little traveling crab shell’ that is our home away from home. It continues through Florida, home of many entrepreneurial ventures and entertainments, and a popular place for the distant, second home.
Farther west the Venus in Cancer MC Line bisects the Great Lakes and some of America’s most verdant farmland. A Mars in Gemini MC Line crosses the heart of Texas, a perfect description for a place symbolized by the cowboy, on a horse with a gun. A Neptune in Virgo Ascending Line crossing that Mars in Gemini Midheaven Line, over Northern Texas and Oklahoma, reveals this area’s deep Neptunian connection to the petrochemical industries, that provide fuel for Mercurial transportation.
The Uranus in Gemini Midheaven Line passes through the heart of Utah, the home of the Latter Day Saints, America’s original, alternative and very Uranus community. They famously walked (Gemini) to Utah to establish their home. They send their young Missionaries (Uranus), well trained in foreign languages (Gemini), around the world (the 9th House) to talk with people.
The funniest part of the AstroCartography are Lines over California. This economic powerhouse with the largest population has no major Planetary Lines of any kind crossing its territory. Instead there is a tribe of Asteroids crisscrossing the sky. Most prominent is a Ceres in Pisces Descending Line, the Asteroid of agriculture. It traces through the Central Valley, America’s fruit orchard and vegetable garden. It is a basin created by an ancient sea (Pisces). A Pallas Athena in Aquarius Descending Line, describing technical skill melded with innovative technology, crosses Los Angeles.
Astraea at 5 degrees Virgo, has an Ascending Line that travels the length of the coast. In the California Chart for September 9, 1850, at Noon in Sacramento, Astraea leads the Sun at 2 degrees Virgo. In Mythology, Astraea was the last of the Goddesses to leave the Earth after the Golden Age, to become the stars of the Constellation Virgo. Now she leads the Sun of the Golden State.
While we realize that much of the country views California as the ‘land of fruit and nuts’, apt descriptions for the Asteroids, it is no lightweight. It is the fifth largest economy on the Planet and the third largest State in area. Unlike the other western States whose borders were drawn by Congress, the Californians drew their own to include the most valuable resources and features. The stories told by California’s AstroCartography as a sovereign State are equally fascinating, but we will leave that for another time.
Drs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis are the authors and astrologers of the Planetary Calendar series, published since 1949, as well as thirty plus other books on Astrology, Feng Shui, Natural Healing and Travel. They produce and host the TV show ‘Astrologers Chatting Over Wine’ where they discuss popular subjects in the media and politics, from a starry perspective. Their show and the Planetary Calendar can be found at www.SpaceAndTime.com. They live in Napa California.
© 2020 R & L DeAmicis