Predictions for USA in 2019

 A 2005 book on the US 'working poor' 

The coming year, 2019, is likely to be more memorable and difficult than any year in recent memory. Some major developments are likely to take place, as discussed below. It should be noted that predictions of major events in the past have had a high degree of accuracy, due the efficacy of the Systems' Approach and the veracity of the 20° Cancer rising SAMVA USA chart.

In March 2012, the Indian astrologer and author, V. K. Choudhry issued the following warning about world wide difficulty in 2019.

"Though it is far away, yet it is always better to know the difficult prolonged transit afflictions in advance. The period between May, 2019, to October, 2019, is likely to be very difficult. It is likely to be a time of incidence of far reaching economic reversal. Many parts of the world will be vulnerable to natural calamities in the form of earthquakes of high intensity, storms, nuclear catastrophe, international military operations, tsunami type problems, threat of a pandemic situation, political problems, disasters, etc. etc. It may be a type of war-like situation for some countries. Large number of fatalities are likely. Those countries will be more vulnerable whose ascending degree is between 23 to 19."

For the USA, the conjunction of Ketu and Saturn transiting the sign Sagittarius, takes place in the malefic sixth house of the SAMVA USA chart, when the Sun-Saturn period is operating. These planets became conjunct in 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis pushed the world to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. The Saturn major period, which imbued the national life with the 'death-like' fears of the "Cold war" was operating. At that time, the conjunction took place in the sign Capricorn in the benefic 7th house, where it was conjunct Mercury, a planet in good strength in the chart. Fortunately, the nuclear stand-off did not lead to a nuclear conflagration, which would have resulted in mass fatalities of an unknown scale.

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS
The planetary period and transits suggest pronounced challenges in the coming year. The problems will be more with Saturn as 8th lord of obstacles and endings becoming conjunct functional malefic Ketu on top of natal Venus, ruling the 4th house of communal harmony, in the 6th house of conflict. This suggests a major upheaval in the communal harmony of the USA, which may involve ordinary Americans, not least the working poor, rejecting the yoke of corporate exploitation, political corruption and media disinformation. People may rally in defense of a weakened President, beleaguered by political machinations in Congress.

Democrats hate Trump's guts

A likely scenario for the expression of this conflictual and disturbing energy would be the political conflict over the revolutionary policies of President Trump. Indeed, while his opponents focus on Trump's flaws as a human being, the main objection is to his policies to help ordinary Americans at the expense of the powerful globalised corporations. "Establishment" politicians are willing tools in this plot. Indeed, after cooperating to pass traditional Republican policies, like tax cuts and deregulation, they abandoned the President before reforming trade and immigration had been accomplished. After being denied the Presidency at the ballot box in 2016, the Democrats appear intent on wresting back control of the political domain in 2020, possibly by seeking to impeach a President they perceive as "lawless" or "out of control". Such a course of action would be likely to prompt a violent reaction among Trump's voters.

Other scenarios are possible and the development could involve a natural disaster, a major industrial or pollution accident, a deadly illness, a terrorist attack on US soil or a sudden outbreak of war with heavy involvement of the USA. What seems beyond doubt is that whatever the event, it will likely result in mass deaths and death-like experiences, and be of a quantum that shocks the national psyche. The peak intensity is expected from May to October 2019. Below is an elaboration of individual aspects, sometimes overlapping, with commentary of likely influences.

MAJOR ACTORS IN PLANETARY CABINET
In 2019, the planets Saturn and Ketu will be in Sagittarius and the sixth house, where they will become conjunct Venus in the SAMVA USA chart. The prediction highlights the emphasis of the Systems' Approach on the influence of the 'invisible' moon's nodes, Rahu and Ketu, especially when stationary, hovering over a given degree for up to three months at a time. Before the transits are examined in detail, let us first consider the planets, signs and houses involved and what indications they represent. A major challenge of any prediction is to signal the most likely indications to be triggered - as the discussion of the above scenarios indicates. Indeed, each planet, sign and house has many possible, albeit logically consistent indications. This is also known as multivalence, a special feature of astrology. It means that each element may find expression through several indications that have an affinity through a shared nature. The following indications will likely be involved in the coming events. 

Saturn (Shani)

Saturn is the indicator of the "leader of the low castes, and civil servants, jobs requiring hard work with less remuneration, leadership of workers, trying to acquire positions in government, dealing with labour and labour oriented industry, oil drilling and refining, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, construction, earth moving/road construction, labourers and employment. It also rules low technology industry and mining." In the 20° Cancer rising SAMVA USA chart, Saturn is ruler of the eighth house, which has to do with "beliefs of the masses, red-tape actions, speed of execution of works, easy gains, delays and obstructions, accidents, fatal accidents, epidemics, gold and precious stones, legacies, capital gains, floods, earthquakes, cyclones, storms, etc. The close afflictions to the eighth house or its lord by the most malefic planet or slow moving planets from the malefic houses or the weakness and affliction of its lord indicate significant setbacks for the country including its territorial integrity and resources."

Ketu

Ketu is the indicator of "natural calamities, violent actions or events, fears and accidents. It also rules the poor and isolated. It gives rise to spiritual/religious services and institutions."
Saturn conjunct Ketu
The conjunction of Saturn and Ketu may bring about the loss of structure. As Saturn is 8th lord, the conjunction can bring sudden explosive developments with death like experiences.
Transit Saturn and Ketu conjunct natal Venus
The transit conjunction with Venus can result in violent, deadly and chaotic developments that disturb the comforts of life. As Venus is 4th lord, the sudden death like experiences are likely to disturb the communal harmony.

Venus (Shukra)

Venus indicates "material comforts, women’s power, worldly knowledge and pursuits, creativity, art and rich tastes, ministers, knowledge of life saving drugs, financial administration, entertainment, painting, music, architecture, decorative arts, entertainers, models, textiles, advertising, legal, teaching, hotels, aviation, medicines, medical research, design, fashion and luxurious items, hotels, women folk, cinema industry, arts and leisure industry.  It acts as the significator for the seventh house." Venus rules the 4th house whose indications include "nation's natural resources, agriculture, mines, minerals, landed properties, peace, general and political stability, natural calamities, educational institutions, law and order, housing and communal harmony."

The scene in 2019 will be dominated by the sign Sagittarius and the sixth house. Importantly, since Saturn, as 8th lord of obstacles and endings, entered this sign and the sixth house in January 2017, a week after Trump took office, the Democrats have become increasingly "obstructionist" concerning the passage of laws by the Trump administration. 

Sagittarius

Sagittarius is a fiery sign and the moolatrikona sign ruled by Jupiter, the significator of fortune and knowledge. The sign indicates expansiveness, generosity, optimism, pleasantness, ambition, studiousness and judiciousness. This sign is linked to legal, financial, healing and ministerial professions. The sign denotes that motion unites with application. Excesses lead to weaknesses and breakdown. In the 20° Cancer rising SAMVA USA chart, Sagittarius falls into the sixth house, a malefic house. Sixth house rules "public amity, relations with neighbors, general health of the public, political stability, financial solvency of the nation, management of debts, litigations, judicial functioning, communal harmony in the country and labor relations. The close natal/transit afflictions to the sixth house or its lord by the most malefic planet or slow moving planets from the malefic houses indicate fatal accidents involving large number of deaths, debts and setback from conflict." When a planet is in a malefic house, it's indications become weak due to being involved in enemity, health issues or disputes. However, it also gains some positive influences associated with this sign, Sagittarius.

TIMELINE OF ASTROLOGICAL INFLUENCES

Below are listed the main period and transit events as the year progresses, with an interpretation. As some of the transits overlap, this may add to the complexity and intensity.

• January 2, 2019: Transit 2nd lord Sun becomes exactly conjunct transit 8th lord Saturn at 17° 15‘ Sagittarius and 6th house MEP of the 20° Cancer rising SAMVA USA chart, under aspect of natal Rahu at 17° 47‘ Aries and 10th house MEP.

This aspect brings manipulation and possibly death-like experiences for the President. Fortunately, transit Saturn is not stationary. In the horoscope of Donald Trump, weakness and strain are seen as the year opens. The obstacles brought by the political opposition, the Democratic majority of the House and remaining "establishment" politicians in the Republican Party, will reach another peak in terms of negative political pressure on the President. 

• February 21, 2019: The Sun – Saturn period begins in the SAMVA USA chart.

The Sun-Saturn period in the SAMVA USA chart (February 21, 2019 - February 3, 2020) will see more involvement of ordinary working people, including the millions of working poor, in national affairs, as was the case in the Venus-Saturn period (Febuary 15, 2009-April 16, 2012) when the Tea Party movement (2009-2012) and the Occupy Wall Street (2011-2012) protests took place. In the Venus major period, the communal harmony was upset by the growing inequality and struggle of dealing with a financial crisis and deep recession. In the Sun major period, the focus is on cementing the 'high octane' economic reforms to reduce inequality and restore moral integrity of the country as introduced in the Presidential campaign and applied as government policy after the election of Donald Trump. As a challenging aspect to transit Saturn, as 8th lord of obstacles and endings, is seen in the 6th house of political opposition in the SAMVA USA chart, likely there will be a major rupture in the national peace in 2019. Saturn as 8th lord also rules easy gains.  It is strong in the chart. Hence, the economy should do reasonably well during its period, as was the case in the Venus-Saturn period. However, as it is transiting a bad house under malefic influences and harming Venus as 4th lord, this suggests significant negative events that disrupt the good going associated with this period.

• February 21, 2019: Transit 6th lord Jupiter becomes exactly conjunct natal 8th lord Saturn at 26° 46‘ Scorpio and 5th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from February 14 to March 1.

This aspect has in the past brought violent events, mass deaths. It is likely to do so again, as the Jupiter and Saturn sub-periods are operating in succession in that time frame.

• March 23, 2019 - October 30, 2019: Transit 8th lord Saturn at 25 03‘ Sagittarius and 6th house (of the SAMVA USA chart) becomes conjunct transit retrograde Ketu at 00° 03‘ Capricorn and 7th house.

This is a malefic combination taking place in a bad house in the SAMVA USA chart. Importantly, the conjunction will take place in conjunction with Venus as 4th lord of communal harmony in the chart. The last time such a conjunction took place in conjunction with a natal planet in the horoscope, was in the fall of 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis took place. As the conjunction was in a good house and involved a reasonably strong planet, 3rd lord Mercury in the 7th house, no major setback was seen. The USA, however, negotiated to backtrack on its earlier installation of nuclear tipped missiles in Turkey in the following year. The oil market is likely to experience disruption during this long standing transit affliction of Saturn.

• March 24, 2019 - September 19, 2020: Transit Rahu enters (30°) Gemini and 12th house and transit Ketu enters (30°) Sagittarius and 6th house.

When the moon's nodes enter malefic houses, their maleficence increases, especially when afflicting in transit. This is especially so when the transit nodal axis becomes conjunct transit 8th lord Saturn also in Sagittarius and 6th house, and when the nodes become stationary conjunct Venus as 4th lord in the 6th house in the summer of 2019, or when the nodes become stationary at 15° Gemini and Sagittarius in aspect with the nodes in the SAMVA USA chart at 18° Aries and Libra.

• March 26, 2019 - June 5, 2019: transit 8th lord Saturn becomes stationary at 26° 24‘ Sagittarius (+/- 1°) and 6th house. 

Whenever a slow moving malefic planet like 8th lord Saturn becomes stationary, any transit afflictions become more difficult, such as the exact conjunction with transit Ketu from April 19 to May 7, 2019. Also, fast moving planets moving into the aspect of such a planet may trigger significant events, such as in the first half of April, when transit 1st lord Moon, 3rd lord Mercury and 4th lord Venus move into the last decant of Aquarius and the 8th house.

• April 30, 2019: Transit Ketu becomes exactly conjunct transit stationary 8th lord Saturn at 26° 24´ Sagittarius and 6th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from April 20 to May 6. 

As described above, this transit conjunction is likely to bring the first in a series of setbacks to the indications of Saturn as 8th lord. It will likely also be a difficult time for people experiencing separation or isolation in the national life.

• May 20, 2019 – August 29, 2019: Transit Ketu becomes stationary at 23° 30‘ Sagittarius and 6th house MEP, conjunct natal 4th lord Venus at 23° 50‘ Sagittarius and 6th house MEP.  

• June 3, 2019: Transit Ketu becomes exactly conjunct natal 4th lord Venus at 23° 50‘ Sagittarius and 6th house MEP.  The conjunction is within 1° orb from May 17, 2019  to August 19, 2019.

This transit station will be especially difficult for the communal harmony, as it arouses earlier sentiments of social isolation and separation, of an ethnic, racial, religious or life-style nature, producing potentially sudden and explosive events. All the indications of Venus are seen to come under grave pressure. Natural calamities, housing problems and financial setbacks for the country are possible.

• May 30, 2019: Transit 6th lord Jupiter becomes exactly conjunct natal 8th lord Saturn at 26° 46‘ Scorpio and 5th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from May 22 to June 6.

This transit is again seen to create scope for violent events, involving mass deaths, in the national life, more so when transit Saturn, the sub-period lord, is also afflicted. 

• May 8 - June 29, 2019: Transit 10th lord Mars passes through Gemini and the 12th house. In early June, transit Mars passes through the aspect of natal Ketu at 18° in the SAMVA USA chart.
• June 2 - 20, 2019: Transit 3rd lord Mercury passes through Gemini and the 12th house. It passes through difficult aspects from June 11 - 17.
• June 16 - July 16, 2019: Transit 2nd lord Sun passes through Gemini and 12th house. It passes through difficult aspects in the first half of July.

In general, transits through the 12th house, involve the indications of the planet with losses. When involved in stationary transit afflictions, a fast moving planet may trigger significant events. In the past the transit of Mars and 3rd lord Mercury in this house, including afflicting aspects to them, have been associated with loss of confidence among investors. 

• June 29, 2019: Transit 8th lord Saturn becomes exactly conjunct natal 4th lord Venus at 23° 50‘ Sagittarius and 6th house MEP.  The conjunction is within 1° orb from June 15, 2019  to July 13, 2019.
• July 4, 2019: Transit 8th lord Saturn becomes exactly conjunct transit stationary Ketu at 23° 30' Sagittarius and 6th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from June 20 to July 16.
• July 10, 2019: Transit 2nd lord Sun becomes exactly conjunct transit stationary Rahu at 23° 30' Gemini and the 12th house, in opposition to transit 8th lord Saturn.

During this time, there is a clear and present danger of violence and sudden explosive events resulting in mass deaths. War like conditions could be expected. The President is likely to come under phenomenal pressure as transit Sun goes over the nodal axis and into the opposition aspect of transit Saturn.

• July 17, 2019 – September 6, 2019: Transit 6th lord Jupiter becomes stationary at 20° 23‘ Scorpio (+ 1°) and 5th house MEP.

This transit brings conflictual energy to the 5th house indications of young people, speculation, creativity, entertainment and management, with influences on the 9th house of the judiciary, foreign things and luck, 11th house of friends, income and goals, and 1st house of self.

• August 14, 2019 – October 23, 2019 : Transit 8th lord Saturn becomes stationary at 19° 47‘ Sagittarius (+/- 1°) and 6th house MEP.

This aspect brings obstacles and endings, including death-like experiences to the 6th house of conflict, health, and communal harmony. Saturn aspects the 8th house, bringing such influences to  this house, as well as the 12th house of losses and foreign wars, and 3rd house of communication and transportation.

• September 28, 2019: Transit Ketu becomes exactly conjunct transit stationary 8th lord Saturn at 19° 51´ Sagittarius and 6th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from September 17 to October 7.

During this contact, there is further scope for sudden violent events that result in mass deaths. War like conditions could be expected at this time as well.

• October 18, 2019: Transit 6th lord Jupiter becomes exactly conjunct natal 8th lord Saturn at 26° 46‘ Scorpio and 5th house. The conjunction is within 1° orb from October 13 to October 24.

The third and final passage of transit Jupiter over Saturn is the last difficult transit event of this momentously difficult year, possibly bringing some civic violent event.

ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL SITUATION
Six years ago, when the article "The Summer of 2019" was written, Obama had just been re-elected for his second term as President. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was implementing her "Smart Power" foreign policy, shortly after the Benghazi attack, while preparing to run for Obama's job in 2016. Following the financial crisis, the economy was recovering at a sluggish pace, now termed "secular stagnation". However, for the Democrats the economy (Saturn) was not the main issue, but identity politics (Ketu). The Democrats were focused on gaining votes by appealing to issues like equal rights for isolated or mistreated people. Even the rights of illegal immigrants became equal to or greater than the rights of American citizens. The primarily christian and white American cultural identity of the 20th century gave way to a new broader identity, including other races, ethnicities, religious beliefs or life styles. What the Democrats overlooked, however, was the widening gap between rich and poor, especially in the christian, white heartland. This was a glaring omission following the Occupy Wall Street protests of late 2011.

Working to protect American workers

In 2016, as had earlier been predicted, there was a shift, with an emphasis on resolving the social inequities and restoring a sense of American vigor in the national life. Donald Trump appeared on the scene and began to respond to that call. One by one, he  eviscerated his opponents, and was elected President. His revolutionary platform was to offer a vision of how to fix America's many problems. He wanted to shore up the depleted military,  boost infrastructure spending, boost employment, close the border to illegal immigration, fix America's broken inner cities,and last but not least, save the middle class, that had slowly been sinking into poverty. Indeed, the free trade policy, the unlimited inflow of immigrants and tax policies favouring corporations had created a poverty and economic hardship for over one hundred million American families. American workers had been pushed into steadily worse paying jobs, while corporate profits skyrocketed. Trump's campaign and election came as a rude awakening to the US elites as well as to the relatively better off bi-coastal urban dwellers. Trump's protectionist policies will stifle the profits of the globalised corporations. However, it will begin to create much needed higher paying jobs for American workers (Saturn). Nevertheless, the corporate-owned media outlets, like CNN, Washington Post, NBC, New York Times, began to try to outdo one another in efforts aimed at discrediting the new President, primarily based on his failure to address identity issues (Ketu). The focus was on his perceived flaws as a human being, rather than on the policies he got elected to implement.

However, the situation is more complicated. Trump is under investigation for having crossed the line of political campaign laws by having asked at his rally for "Russia to publish" emails hacked on Hillary Clinton's private email server, itself a scandal for Clinton during the campaign. Trump's campaign may also have worked to get dirt on Clinton through Wikileaks, which may in turn have received hacked information from Russia. As the new year opens, the Mueller investigation may soon deliver its findings of illegalities by Trump's campaign, and possibly release new dirt on Trump. It may be enough to start impeachment proceedings in Congress. Certainly, many Democrats are angry at Trump for having attracted a large part of their voting base, which they had taken for granted but effectively ignored. This is because the Democrats, by focusing on identity politics (of those suffering from isolation and separation), forgot about ordinary American workers, so-called 'blue collar' voters, concerned about their livelihood (Saturn). It shocked the Democrats that Trump not only identified the problem but effectively addressed it in his campaign, as well as appealing to their yearning for self-respect through 'American greatness', earning him the Presidency.

In 2019, the battle between those focused on identity (Ketu) and those emphasizing the economy (Saturn), will come into stark relief as Saturn and Ketu become conjunct in Sagittarius and the 6th house, on top of the weakest planet in the horoscope, Venus as 4th lord, ruling the land, natural resources and communal harmony. The Democrats accuse Trump and his supporters of being racists, bigots, imbeciles, etc.. In turn, Trump supporters consider Democrats as being un-American and un-patriotic.

As the Sun major period is operating, the re-invigoration of the USA is a major trend influence, but the sequence of malefic sub-periods of Rahu, Jupiter and Saturn from June 2017, may bring setbacks if the transits are adverse enough. An example is the floods in Texas and hurricanes in Florida in August and September 2017, which reduced economic growth that year. As the Sun-Mercury period runs from February 2020 and the difficult transits will have ended by November 2019, the setbacks foreseen in the coming year, will likely be overcome as these adverse transit and period influences end.