The study of historical trend influences in a mundane horoscope is a difficult but potentially rewarding undertaking. Any authentic chart should reveal the past, present and future influences of the entity involved. It is always a challenge to discern major historical trends, the more so when going far back in time. In the investigation we must separate historical events associated with the important sub-period and transit influences. If successful, the insights may serve as a guide to what to expect in future periods. Let us therefore examine what the SAMVA USA horoscope reveals about the historical trend influences during major planetary periods. Knowledge of the Systems' Approach (SA) to vedic astrology is helpful for a good understanding of this article. Our story begins with the birth of the USA.
Sun major period (April 19, 1776-April 19, 1782) - Victory in war over self-determination
Moon major period (April 19, 1782-April 19, 1792) - Governing documents & fame
As the Moon period opened, the new country was in tatters from the war but peace was finally at hand. Moon is 1st lord of self in the chart. It is exalted at 7° 19‘ Taurus in the 11th
house and thus very strong. This means the people of the USA have a strong sense of self linked to ideals and plans for the future. Jupiter as 6th lord of conflict at 4° 25‘ Scorpio and the 5th
house is in mutual opposition aspect with the Moon. This gives the USA a fighting
spirit, a war-like nature, such that it never backs down from a challenge. Mars
as 10th lord of government, laws and foreign trade is located at 10° 10‘
Scorpio and 5th house. Mars is also in mutual aspect with the Moon giving the
country its fame and remarkable founding documents, which were created in the
Moon major period. Indeed, while the original compact for the creation of the country was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual
Union, as a governing document
it was too limited for the exigencies of the new nation. During the Moon
period, plans were made to rewrite it, resulting in the creation of the US
Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Along with the Declaration of Independence, these documents represented the identity of the new country. Indeed, with Cancer rising, the USA is a royal nation with a caring nature. The Federalists, who wanted a strong national government won the debate and got what they wanted. On taking office in 1789 President Washington nominated New York lawyer Alexander Hamilton to the office of Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton wanted a strong national government with financial credibility. Hamilton proposed the ambitious Hamiltonian economic program that involved assumption of the state debts incurred during the American Revolution, creating a national debt and the means to pay it off, and setting up a national bank.
As the Moon period opened, the new country was in tatters from the war but peace was finally at hand. Moon is 1st lord of self in the chart. It is exalted at 7° 19‘ Taurus in the 11th
house and thus very strong. This means the people of the USA have a strong sense of self linked to ideals and plans for the future. Jupiter as 6th lord of conflict at 4° 25‘ Scorpio and the 5th
house is in mutual opposition aspect with the Moon. This gives the USA a fighting
spirit, a war-like nature, such that it never backs down from a challenge. Mars
as 10th lord of government, laws and foreign trade is located at 10° 10‘
Scorpio and 5th house. Mars is also in mutual aspect with the Moon giving the
country its fame and remarkable founding documents, which were created in the
Moon major period. Indeed, while the original compact for the creation of the country was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual
Union, as a governing document
it was too limited for the exigencies of the new nation. During the Moon
period, plans were made to rewrite it, resulting in the creation of the US
Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Along with the Declaration of Independence, these documents represented the identity of the new country. Indeed, with Cancer rising, the USA is a royal nation with a caring nature. The Federalists, who wanted a strong national government won the debate and got what they wanted. On taking office in 1789 President Washington nominated New York lawyer Alexander Hamilton to the office of Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton wanted a strong national government with financial credibility. Hamilton proposed the ambitious Hamiltonian economic program that involved assumption of the state debts incurred during the American Revolution, creating a national debt and the means to pay it off, and setting up a national bank.
Mars major period (April 19, 1792- April 19, 1799) - Strong federalist government
Mars as 10th lord is
placed in its own sign Scorpio in the 5th house of creativity and management.
Due to the favourable influence of the Moon, the USA defines itself through its
laws and government. In this period, the fame of the new nation USA
spread far and wide, not least due to its revolutionary form of government and
democratic rights. Remember, this was while Europe was rife with turmoil associated with the French
revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which pitted the new French republican order against
the established monarchies of e.g. Britain, Netherlands and Belgium. From the adoption of the US Constitution in 1889, the
Federalists gained a majority in national elections and held
the reins of government throughout the 1790s. An elitist party, they had a strong base
in the nation's cities and in New England. Many of the founding fathers,
including George Washington, George Hamilton and John Adams, belonged to this
party. The political opponents of the Federalists, the
Democratic-Republicans, were more populist, with their electoral base in the
rural South. They were led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The
Republicans denounced most of the Federalist policies, especially the national bank and
the interpretation of the US Constitution that suggested implied powers for a
national government. They vehemently attacked the Jay Treaty as a sell-out of
republican values to the British monarchy. In 1894, George Washington led the US Army to quell the Whiskey Rebellion, a violent protest against the imposition of a tax on whiskey.
Rahu major period (April 19, 1799- April 19, 1817) - War over foreign trade
In 1800, the Democratic-Republican party won a hard-fought election, with.Thomas Jefferson becoming President. The Federalist party lost support and did not manage a return to power. Even if the party recovered some strength through intense opposition to the War of 1812, it vanished after the war. Jefferson's first major achievement was to sign the Louisiana purchase in 1803, which doubled the US territory. This event, however, “opened up the country to foreign conflict as many nations strove to achieve dominance in the affairs of North America.“[1]. An internal challenge to the government was also experienced, with the “Aaron Burr conspiracy. This was an unsuccesslful attempt by a former vice president and settlers from the southwest frontier to attack Texas and secede from the Union. Manipulation concerning the land was therefore seen. As the new century opened, problems with foreign trade mounted. In the early 1800s, France had control of the European continent and Britain held mastery of the seas, but the two were hostile to one another during the Napoleonic wars. Americans remained neutral during the Napoleonic wars in order for U.S. ships to transport safely needed supplies to the country and manufactured and agricultural goods to Europe. America was pulled into the manipulations of these two powers when the British and French began interfering with US trade prior to the war. “Britain and France, at war with one another, each tried to use the United States as a pawn with which to harm the other.“[2] The British navy vessels also stopped and hijacked men on US vessels to serve on their ships. The Cheasapeake incident in 1807 almost started a war. Form 1808 to 1811, several thousand US citizens were impressed onto British ships. These events led to the War of 1812, where the USA challenged Britain on the high seas over its trade and tariff policies (the taxes levied on imported goods). The influence of Rahu on the 10th house indications of foreign trade were these highlighted. Confusion was also rampant. While representatives of the US government met with their British counterparts in Ghent, Belgium and signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, the hostilities between the U.S. and Great Britain continued as news of the peace treaty came with delay. In January 1815, General Andrew Jackson led his troops against the British army just outside of New Orleans and defeated them in the final conflict, the Battle of New Orleans. The War of 1812 saw US foreign trade all but cease, with US exports declining from $61 million in 1811 to $7 million in 1814. Government revenues from import duties also collapsed. In 1815, much like at the end of the revolutionary war in 1783, the government was deeply in debt having to pay for an expensive war. President Jefferson took measures to cut down the size of the federal government, including closing the First National Bank of the United States in 1811. With no national bank to help the government issue debt and manage its revenues, the government could neither borrow money nor make payments very easily. The mistaken policy of Jefferson to eliminate the national bank is consistent with what we would expect from Rahu's influence on the 10th house.
Jupiter major period (April 19, 1817 – April 19, 1832) - Banking & Era of Good Feeling
Jupiter is the general indicator of optimism and expansion. However, as 6th lord, Jupiter also rules over conflict. As Jupiter is well placed and strong in the 5th house of creativity and management, its indications should prosper. Importantly, Jupiter is in mutual aspect with an
exalted Moon as 1st lord of self in Taurus and 11th house of ideals. The influence of these placements is to give the Americans a "war like" nature, in so far as they rarely back down from a challenge.The aspect of the Moon also strengthens the financial wherewithal of the country, as well as supporting the health and resolution of conflicts. While the aspect of Rahu on the 6th house is harmful to Venus, it is not harmful to Jupiter or the indications of the house, due to Jupiter's natal strength. Finally, one important mundane astrology indication of Jupiter is banking.
Interestingly, following the War of 1812, the "Era of Good Feeling" is considered to have reigned from 1817 to 1832, during the Jupiter period. This is consistent with the nature of the planet Jupiter. A unique American identity emerged after the the victory over the British and it was attended by a surge of American nationalism. Indeed, the Era of Good Feeling is consistent with the influence of Moon on Jupiter, which reinforced the identity of Americans as a people after successfully and righteously resolving a dispute with the greatest sea-power of the day. The developments in the Jupiter period were thus also consistent with the aspect of the Moon on the planet.
After the closure of the First Bank of the United States in
March 1811, President Madison ultimately became convinced of the need to sign a bill
establishing the Second Bank of the United States on April 10, 1816. It opened
for business in January 1817. Moreover, the national events now began to revolve around banking, consistent with what we would expect during this period. Only two years later, the Panic of 1819, often described as the
"first major financial crisis in the USA," broke out. It was part of a worldwide crisis, but in the USA, its roots were traced to the operations of the Second Bank of the United States. The bank
had extended a large number of loans shortly after it opened. But as an
increasing trade deficit led to an outflow of specie, the bank had to reign in
its lending. The credit contraction led, in turn, to
bankruptcies. "Foreclosures, bank failures, a drop in real estate prices, and a
slump in agriculture and manufacturing ensued.“ The country recovered from this banking crisis, but the national bank began to be viewed with suspicion by many. In 1818, the USA engaged in the first Seminole War, a part of a sustained effort to gain the lands of these proud people. A major area of conflict had emerged in the 1810s over slavery. The “Compromise of 1820“ was struck to preserve national unity over this unjust issue. A tenuous peace on this score remained until the 1850s.
Saturn major period (April 19, 1832 – April 19, 1852) - Suffering & gain of territories
The importance of banking took a back seat in national affairs in the major period of Saturn as the Second Bank of the United States was abolished after the election of President Jackson in 1832. He saw his win as “proof” that people wanted him to get rid of the Second Bank. Shortly after the election, Jackson ordered that federal deposits be removed from the national bank and put into state banks. Supporters of the Second Bank were unable to muster a two-thirds majority to override Jackson’s veto. More damaging still, the removal of federal deposits resulted not only in a reduction in the bank’s size but also in its ability to influence the nation’s currency and credit. Then, in April 1834, the House of Representatives voted not to re-charter the bank and also confirmed that federal deposits should remain in the state banks. All of these factors, coupled with Jackson’s determination to do away with the bank and the widespread defeat of the bank-favorable Whig party in the congressional elections held in the spring of 1834, heralded the bank’s ultimate fate. While government sponsored banking was important in the Jupiter period, it became far less important in the Saturn period.
One advance in the Saturn period was the widespread use of whale oil in lamps, adding illumination to households and businesses across the continent. The growing demand for this oil caused a boom in the whaling industry. A dark side of it was that half the crews were lost at sea, due to the dangers of whaling. The importance of dangerous economic activities is consistent with the Saturn period.
During this period, the US acquired ever more territories in the 1830s and 1840s, as the frontier was pushed out. Squatters and speculators began the land rush in the 1830s, especially in the South. The concept of Manifest Destiny became popular and supported this effort, including in motivating the Mexican-American War in the 1840s. Gold was also discovered in California in 1848 and a veritable gold rush ensued. The gain of huge new territories, like Texas and Oregon, and the discovery of large quantities of gold is consistent with the nature of Saturn as 8th lord of easy gains in the SAMVA USA horoscope and its aspect on 2nd lord Sun, ruling authority and wealth.
Another feature of this period was the growing conflict over slavery. In the south the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1794 had revolutionised the cotton industry. The importance of slaves for cotton growing and picking increased their value. At the same time, manufacturing of cotton fabrics and clothes in the North was based on free men earning wages for their labour. During the Saturn period, cotton farming expanded rapidly as the nation's boundaries were pushed further South and West. Over time, the practice of slavery in the South also became more brutal, including the tearing families apart, including separating children from their parents and the rape of young slave women. The flight of slaves from captivity in the South to cities in the North increased in the Saturn period, even if the national laws allowed for their forcible capture and return. While the Compromise of 1820 held the issue of slavery from national politics until the 1850s, its repugnant moral aspect was growing in the collective awareness of the North. Another difficult development was the Indian Removal Act of 1830. It legalised the forcible removal of native peoples like the Cherokees, Seminoles, Choctaws and Creeks from their ancient homelands in the South and their resettlement in the West. The 'Trail of Tears' is the name given to such removals from 1831-1838, as they were attended by deaths and suffering of thousands of native peoples. Slavery, indian removals and indian wars introduced death-like experiences to huge numbers of peoples in the USA, which consistent with the Saturn period.
Mercury major period (April 19, 1852 – April 19, 1869) - Technology & abolition of slavery
As the 1850s dawned, major social, political and economic changes began to take place. Mercury rules the 3rd house of enterprise, communication, transportation and high tech activities. It is placed in the 7th house of others and foreign relations. The powerful Sun, as 2nd lord of wealth, status and relations with neighbors, as well as being the planet of spiritual development and discrimination, aspects the 7th house. This lends added importance to this house and the indications of Mercury. The Mercury period has been associated with the expansion of human rights in US history. It has also heralded technological breakthroughs, notably in the fields of transportation and communication. In 1852 a bestselling book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" reinforced the plight of slaves in northern minds and the slavery issue began to dominate the politics, but with both sides becoming more retrenched. In 1857, the Supreme Court reached its misguided Scott Dredd decision, finding that colored people were not covered by the rights granted in the U.S. Constitution. In 1859, the attack of John Brown on the federal arms depot in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, with the aim to free slaves, resulted in the death of his 5 sons and his execution afterwards by the southerners. All of these events set the stage for war. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and his taking power in March 1861 was met with southern states seceeding from the Union. Despite his efforts to placate the south, the Civil War broke out in April 1861. While the human rights struggle is explained by Mercury's period, it does not explain the violence and vehemence of the war that lasted for four years. The sub-periods and transits are required to explain this feature of the national affairs - and they do, as has been shown in earlier articles.
The Civil War brought out the role of technology, communications and logistics in the national affairs. The supplies and troops of the Union forces were moved rapidly by trains on the Norths 35,000 mile rail network. The telegraph and morse code, which had been invented in 1844, came into full use along the rail network, to enable the Northern forces to transmit brief messages concerning information and decisions. This was the equivalent to a neural network of the body collective. Battlefield medecin improved and the number of new patents doubled during the war, including in new arms. War photography also transformed the newspaper industry, which boomed. The improved coordination and the manufacturing might of the North secured victory. In 1865, peace was finally at hand and all the slaves were freed, a major human rights achievement. All of these developments are consistent with the Mercury major period.
After the war, Northern leaders agreed that victory required more than the end of fighting. It had to encompass the two war goals: secession had to be repudiated and all forms of slavery had to be eliminated. During the Reconstruction period of 1865–1877, federal law provided civil rights protection in the South for freedmen, the African Americans who had formerly been slaves. The reconstruction was also an effort to solve the issues caused by reunion, specifically the legal status of the 11 breakaway states and their governance.
Ketu major period (April 19, 1869 – April 19, 1876) - Reconstruction
The South's white leaders, who held power in the immediate postwar era before the vote was granted to the freedmen, renounced secession and slavery, but not white supremacy. People who had previously held power were angered in 1867 when new elections were held and new Republican lawmakers were elected by a coalition of white Unionists, freedmen and northerners who had settled in the South. The removal from power of the former leaders and the enhanced role of freedmen in daily governance of life in the South angered many whites. This experience is consistent with the separative nature of Ketu. The economy suffered a number of unusual setbacks following a period of post-Civil War economic over-expansion, including the Black Friday panic of 1869, the Chicago fire of 1871, the outbreak of equine influenza in 1872, and demonetization of silver in 1873. The last setback caused a financial panic and an economic downturn. Relations with indians were quite poor between 1869 and 1876, when there were 200 pitched battles between indians
and the U.S. Calvary, including the Red River War of 1874 and 1875 and the defeat of General Custer at Little Big Horn, Montana in 1876 by Sioux and Cheyenne indian. These developments are also quite consistent with the influence of Ketu in the horoscope.
Venus major period (April 19, 1876 – April 19, 1896) - Gilded Age
Venus is the 4th lord of communal harmony, real estate and natural resources. It is the weakest planet in the SAMVA USA horoscope, being badly placed in the 6th house while its own 4th house is afflicted by Ketu and Rahu while its house of placement is afflicted by Rahu. These influences suggest plenty of disturbances and setbacks for domestic harmony, notably linked to wars and inequality. Real estate and natural resources are also expected to experience setbacks during Venus periods.
As the period opened, Jim Crow laws were being enacted. These were state and local laws in the United States that mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy. In 1890, a "separate but equal" status was granted to African Americans.
There was a lot of expansion that took place in the US economy from the mid 1870s based on the newly industrialized economy of the Second Industrial Revolution. A "Gilded Age" is considered to have taken place as the wealthiest segment of American society reaped the greatest benefits during the recovery from the Panic of 1873 and until the mid 1890s. The economic growth was further fueled by a period of wealth transfer that catalyzed dramatic social changes. It created for the first time a class of the super-rich "captains of industry", the "Robber Barons" whose network of business, social and family connections ruled a largely White Anglo-Saxon Protestant social world. The inequalities resulted in the rise of the Populist Party in 1891 and anti-trust laws, such as the Sherman Act, aimed at curtailing large monopolies.
References
[1] James Schouler (1913). “History of the United States of America: 1817-1831: Era of good feeling.“
Another feature of this period was the growing conflict over slavery. In the south the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1794 had revolutionised the cotton industry. The importance of slaves for cotton growing and picking increased their value. At the same time, manufacturing of cotton fabrics and clothes in the North was based on free men earning wages for their labour. During the Saturn period, cotton farming expanded rapidly as the nation's boundaries were pushed further South and West. Over time, the practice of slavery in the South also became more brutal, including the tearing families apart, including separating children from their parents and the rape of young slave women. The flight of slaves from captivity in the South to cities in the North increased in the Saturn period, even if the national laws allowed for their forcible capture and return. While the Compromise of 1820 held the issue of slavery from national politics until the 1850s, its repugnant moral aspect was growing in the collective awareness of the North. Another difficult development was the Indian Removal Act of 1830. It legalised the forcible removal of native peoples like the Cherokees, Seminoles, Choctaws and Creeks from their ancient homelands in the South and their resettlement in the West. The 'Trail of Tears' is the name given to such removals from 1831-1838, as they were attended by deaths and suffering of thousands of native peoples. Slavery, indian removals and indian wars introduced death-like experiences to huge numbers of peoples in the USA, which consistent with the Saturn period.
Mercury major period (April 19, 1852 – April 19, 1869) - Technology & abolition of slavery
As the 1850s dawned, major social, political and economic changes began to take place. Mercury rules the 3rd house of enterprise, communication, transportation and high tech activities. It is placed in the 7th house of others and foreign relations. The powerful Sun, as 2nd lord of wealth, status and relations with neighbors, as well as being the planet of spiritual development and discrimination, aspects the 7th house. This lends added importance to this house and the indications of Mercury. The Mercury period has been associated with the expansion of human rights in US history. It has also heralded technological breakthroughs, notably in the fields of transportation and communication. In 1852 a bestselling book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" reinforced the plight of slaves in northern minds and the slavery issue began to dominate the politics, but with both sides becoming more retrenched. In 1857, the Supreme Court reached its misguided Scott Dredd decision, finding that colored people were not covered by the rights granted in the U.S. Constitution. In 1859, the attack of John Brown on the federal arms depot in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, with the aim to free slaves, resulted in the death of his 5 sons and his execution afterwards by the southerners. All of these events set the stage for war. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and his taking power in March 1861 was met with southern states seceeding from the Union. Despite his efforts to placate the south, the Civil War broke out in April 1861. While the human rights struggle is explained by Mercury's period, it does not explain the violence and vehemence of the war that lasted for four years. The sub-periods and transits are required to explain this feature of the national affairs - and they do, as has been shown in earlier articles.The Civil War brought out the role of technology, communications and logistics in the national affairs. The supplies and troops of the Union forces were moved rapidly by trains on the Norths 35,000 mile rail network. The telegraph and morse code, which had been invented in 1844, came into full use along the rail network, to enable the Northern forces to transmit brief messages concerning information and decisions. This was the equivalent to a neural network of the body collective. Battlefield medecin improved and the number of new patents doubled during the war, including in new arms. War photography also transformed the newspaper industry, which boomed. The improved coordination and the manufacturing might of the North secured victory. In 1865, peace was finally at hand and all the slaves were freed, a major human rights achievement. All of these developments are consistent with the Mercury major period.
After the war, Northern leaders agreed that victory required more than the end of fighting. It had to encompass the two war goals: secession had to be repudiated and all forms of slavery had to be eliminated. During the Reconstruction period of 1865–1877, federal law provided civil rights protection in the South for freedmen, the African Americans who had formerly been slaves. The reconstruction was also an effort to solve the issues caused by reunion, specifically the legal status of the 11 breakaway states and their governance.
Ketu major period (April 19, 1869 – April 19, 1876) - Reconstruction
Venus major period (April 19, 1876 – April 19, 1896) - Gilded Age
As the period opened, Jim Crow laws were being enacted. These were state and local laws in the United States that mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy. In 1890, a "separate but equal" status was granted to African Americans.
There was a lot of expansion that took place in the US economy from the mid 1870s based on the newly industrialized economy of the Second Industrial Revolution. A "Gilded Age" is considered to have taken place as the wealthiest segment of American society reaped the greatest benefits during the recovery from the Panic of 1873 and until the mid 1890s. The economic growth was further fueled by a period of wealth transfer that catalyzed dramatic social changes. It created for the first time a class of the super-rich "captains of industry", the "Robber Barons" whose network of business, social and family connections ruled a largely White Anglo-Saxon Protestant social world. The inequalities resulted in the rise of the Populist Party in 1891 and anti-trust laws, such as the Sherman Act, aimed at curtailing large monopolies.
References
[1] James Schouler (1913). “History of the United States of America: 1817-1831: Era of good feeling.“
[2] Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelpia (2010). The Second Bank of the United States: A chapter in the History of Central Banking. December.
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/economic-education/second-bank.pdf
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/economic-education/second-bank.pdf
