The Historical Foundations
For tropical astrologers, in 2022, the U.S. went through its first Pluto Return, when Pluto returned to the exact degree, minute and second that it was on July 1 through July 4, 1776 (Independence). For sidereal astrologers, who also use precessed calculations for planetary returns, the U.S. Pluto Return doesn’t occur until 2025. Historically, Pluto Returns in the charts of other countries have brought significant social, political and economic changes, restructuring the governments and lives of the citizenry. Astrologers have been forecasting for years now that the U.S. is due for such a restructuring and transformation of its democratic institutions, although there’s never been a clear description of what a post-Pluto Return America will look like. One thing everyone seems to agree on, it will be a crisis. It’s my assertion, we can get a fairly accurate sense of the future, if we take into account the coming U.S. Uranus Return and Pluto in Aquarius passing over the U.S. South Node.

This article will be an attempt to present possible (but not necessarily probable) post-Pluto Return scenarios in the mid to late 2020s, starting with the assumption that the Pluto Return, itself, was just a prelude to a potential, approaching crisis. In order to get such a glimpse into the future, it’s important to re-examine the past, especially those periods of time when the U.S. went through existential crises, i.e., the Civil War and World War II, and the astrology of those events. There is a clear astrological pattern with these previous crises that repeats itself between 2024 and 2027, namely a third Uranus Return as transiting Pluto is in hard aspect to the U.S. Nodes and Neptune sits at the end of Pisces about to enter Aries. These transits were in effect for the Civil War and WWII, although for WWII Neptune was in the last degrees of Virgo. Thus, it’s logical to assume a third such existential crisis is likely on the horizon as these same transits visit us again.

In order to do this sort of astro-historical analysis, charts for the United States need to be used and we have to examine and explain the history behind them. But there are different charts that map different events in the process of becoming independent, declaring independence, agreeing to a perpetual union of the states, and establishing a constitutional government. In regards to independence, I will use here only documented dates and times from the writings of John Adams. When it comes to ‘perpetual union’, it’s less certain, because in the documentation for that agreement, it only states ‘in the morning’. However, we do have example schedules for the various colonial and early state governments as well as the Continental Congress and they are fairly uniform. There was always a 09:00am start with an hour provided for prayer, old business and setting the agenda for the day. New business usually began at 10:00am. Lunch began at 12:00pm, at which time they also reset the clocks, because they were using Local Apparent Solar Time (LAT) and not LMT. They returned about 2pm and broke for dinner at 5pm. If it was necessary, they returned at 7pm. Such a schedule was the common practice for all of the colonies. So, when an agreement was reached ‘in the morning’, we can assume with some certainty it was between 10:00am and 12:00pm LAT. In the case of Perpetual Union, Maryland was the last state needed to ratify it, and it was an agenda item that morning. Thus, we can assume the vote occurred after 10:00am LAT and before 11:00am, most likely around 10:30am. In working with this chart, that time, although approximate, seems accurate. Transits and progressions to certain historical events highlight the chart appropriately for the event. I’m going to leave the US Government/Constitution chart for another time and focus just on the July 1st and July 4th charts. I won’t be dealing with Sibly because it is a-historical and doesn’t deserve the attention.

In order to see clearly the astrology of the Civil War and World War II as the two existential crises in U.S. history (other than the War of 1812, but most historians now view that war as the final chapter in the Revolution that began in 1775), the following charts will be the focus: The vote for independence, the approval of Jefferson’s edits to the Declaration, the agreement to print and publish the Declaration, and the Perpetual Union Agreement.

The vote for independence, July 1, 1776, 07:03pm LAT –

Adams’ stated date and time for the first majority vote for independence was 07:00pm, but I’m using a couple minutes after to allow for the motion to pass and take the vote.

The historical background for this vote on July 1, 1776 was the introduction of the Lee Resolution to the Continental Congress on Jun 7, 1776. The colonies had been at war with Britain since the previous June, 1775, and a number of colonies were agitating for some official position on independence. Richard Lee from Virginia wrote a resolution to separate from Britain with a litany of complaints and reasons why it was necessary. The Congress, however, after reading the Resolution, found it much too provocative in its attacks on the British Parliament, concluding it would be treasonous to vote for independence using the reasons given in the Lee Resolution as it was written. There was a motion made to vote for or against independence based on the Lee Resolution on June 7, 1776, but the motion wasn’t carried and it was agreed, instead, to postpone the vote for independence until July 1, 1776. In the meantime, Thomas Jefferson, together with a small committee, was tasked with re-writing the Lee Resolution to make it less provocative, less treasonous and more palatable to both the Colonists and the British.

July 1st in Congress started as a normal day, but it would not end that way. They began, as usual, with prayers, reviewing old business and setting the agenda and calendar for the day. 10:00am was the start time for debate on the question of independence. The Sun was at 10 Cancer and it was just a half hour before the Full Moon (10:30am) at 10 Capricorn t-square Saturn at 14 Libra. The debate lasted nine hours until the Moon exactly squared Saturn, and Hancock called for the end to debate and a vote. I can’t help but see the symbolism here with a Full Moon in Capricorn t-square Saturn, and there’s a move to separate the colonies from the Mother Country, which they then did just after Moon’s exact square to Saturn. According to John Adams, the motion to take the vote was made at 07:00pm, the vote was taken and was confirmed a couple minutes later, 9 yes, 2 no, and 2 abstentions. The motion had passed. The colonies were effectively independent. The Moon was at 15CAP15, Saturn at 14LIB43.

It wasn’t a satisfying vote for Adams. He was anticipating a unanimous yes. But Mercury was retrograde, so it became necessary to review what had happened and deal with the dissatisfactions. Delaware was forced to abstain, because they were missing a key pro-independent delegate who wouldn’t be able to arrive until the next day. South Carolina, who had voted no, made a motion to allow Delaware to change its abstention to yes when the delegate arrived. The motion carried and passed.

John Adams described his reaction to this turn of events as ‘optimistic’. He was very transparent about wanting unanimity for public relations purposes. Once they had agreed to allow Delaware to change its vote the next day, Adams got together with John Dickinson, head of the Pennsylvania delegation, who had voted no, to lobby him to change their vote to yes as well. Dickinson told his delegation they could do as they pleased, since the vote for independence had already passed and changing their vote would not change the outcome. Dickinson then left Philadelphia for Pittsburgh and didn’t return for the July 4th or July 8th events. The vote, as recorded on July 2nd, was 12 yes, but NY still abstained.

No one is really all that clear about the events of July 1 and July 2, 1776. We can probably thank Mercury Retrograde for that. Some historians don’t want to accept that the vote on July 1st was a binding vote. Many accept John Adams’ wish that July 2nd was the actual day of ‘independence’. But there are just as many who say the vote on the evening of July 1st was the moment the colonies separated from Britain. Changing some votes from no and abstentions to yes the next day did nothing to change the outcome of the July 1st vote. From an astrological point of view, there is an argument for using the time the vote was officially recorded and that was sometime on July 2nd, but we really don’t know when. John Adams makes it sound like the July 2nd actions all took place before Noon, but there’s room for doubt. It depends on when the Delaware delegate arrived and there is some evidence it might not have been until around 04:00pm. There just isn’t enough solid proof. If we go with sometime around 04:00pm, we’re looking at the Moon just past conjunction with Pluto at 27+ Capricorn, and about 27 Scorpio Rising—food for thought.

Now it was Thomas Jefferson’s turn to take center stage with his re-write of the Lee Resolution. The Congress reviewed his editing twice, rejected it, demanding more edits, particularly in his criticism of the British Parliament. Finally, on the morning of July 4th, 1776, again according to Adams, after an hour of review that began at 10:00am, they approved the latest version of what Jefferson now called the Declaration of Independence.

The approval of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 11:00 am LAT —

Adams stated the time for approving Jefferson’s edits to the Declaration of Independence began at 11:00am. Based on his language and description, it sounds like they ended the review/discussion at 11:00am. The last degree of Virgo was on the Ascendant. We don’t know if he rounded off the time and it was a couple minutes before or a couple minutes after 11:00. Astrologer, Ronald Howland, using ACG and Local Space lines involving Uranus, estimates 10:55am. Adams describes the moment as one of satisfaction that the Declaration wasn’t going to be perceived as treasonous. The language criticizing Parliament had been completely removed, and what criticism remained was aimed at the King. A motion was made to approve the document, they took the vote for approval, after which the approval was recorded in the congressional record. We don’t know, however, exactly when they voted, or when the approval was recorded—whether it was right at 11:00 am or a little later in the hour. Did they record the vote then, too, or did they wait until after lunch when they presented the document to the whole Congress and then Hancock recorded it? That’s still an open question.

The problem I have with this 11:00am time is, it really doesn’t work as a base or radix chart with important events throughout U.S. history. It’s off. Yet, admittedly, in certain important historical events, the last couple degrees of Mutable figure prominently. (The Civil War, for example, with Neptune at 29 Virgo.) We have no reason to doubt Adams’ narrative of the event, but it’s likely that they weren’t rushed to take that approval vote and record the results right at 11:00. Doing a chart for every four minutes during the eleventh hour of the morning, 11:24 am LAT yields consistent, astro-logical results with important historical events over time, from the War of 1812 to 9/11. But there’s no historical evidence for that minute. It remains pure speculation, and based on the historical record, we really have to use 11:00am with 29 Virgo on the Ascendant.

The important thing to realize here, though, is the Colonies were already de facto independent on July 4th, and approving the language in the Declaration of Independence and agreeing to print, publish and distribute it were more proforma procedural votes than related specifically to ‘independence’. Jefferson even says in his memoirs that the Declaration of Independence was the public relations document that laid out the philosophical and political reasons for why they had voted to separate from Britain. Its approval was not the legislative or legal moment the Colonies made the decision for independence. In my view, however, it was the moment the Congress laid out the mission statement for the new, independent country. Thus, its approval was a pivotal, important moment in the process from July 1 to July 8. It represents the political and philosophical ideals that underlie the U.S.’s democratic institutions. But what it doesn’t do is map the moment of ‘independence’.

The vote to print, publish and distribute the Declaration July 4, 1776, 02:17 pm LAT.

We know they all returned from lunch at 2:00pm to continue the agenda. And we know from eyewitness accounts that one thing related to independence, for sure, was the agreement to print and publish the Declaration. However, both Jefferson and Hancock, in their memoirs, say the adoption of the Declaration occurred that afternoon. But we really don’t know what they meant by that, because Adams was clear that the approval of Jefferson’s final edits to the document occurred beginning at 11:00am and he doesn’t speak of its ‘adoption’ later. Did Jefferson mean they recorded the approval of the Declaration in the Congressional Record or was he referring to the risky agreement to print and publish it? It’s a question, because we DO know that they agreed to print, publish and distribute the Declaration between 02:00-02:30pm.

There is a problem in all this for those who use the 02:21pm time in LMT. That time in LMT, which wasn’t used in the 18th century, has 8+ Scorpio on the Ascendant. But in the actual time used, LAT, it’s 9+ Scorpio at 02:21pm. To get 8+ Scorpio on the Ascendant, the time would have to be about 02:17pm LAT. For those who really like the 8+ Scorpio on the Ascendant, like I do, it’s difficult to reconcile. 02:21pm is important for people, because it’s the time on the clock tower on the dollar bill and there’s some research to indicate that the reason for that time is based in the historical record on July 4th. There is a lot of mythology around the Fourth of July and this 02:21pm time may be just that—mythology. However, strictly from the astrology, I hold to the 8+ deg Scorpio on the Ascendent, so I use 02:17pm LAT (which produces the same degree on the Ascendant as the 02:21pm LMT). The reader will see my reasons when we look at the astrology of the two existential crises in American history.

But why is it important that they agreed to print, publish and distribute the Declaration? Again, we have to go back to the memoirs of the eyewitnesses. It was one thing to vote for independence and approve the language in the Declaration of Independence, it was another thing to incite the colonists by publishing it. In many ways, the vote to print/publish was the moment of no-return for the Congress. If the British Parliament were able to level any charges of treason, it would be for inciting the colonists as British subjects by publishing the Declaration of Independence. This concern was raised in Adams’, Jefferson’s and Hancock’s memoirs. The argument for printing and publishing, however, was in their sense of assurance that they were NOT any longer British subjects; they were de facto independent. They would refuse to accept any charges of treason.

This is an important position that astrologers need to consider. The risky agreement to print and publish was made primarily because they considered themselves ‘independent’ and there was, therefore, no legal basis for the Parliament to level charges of treason. So, although this was a pivotal moment—a moment of no return—it wasn’t the moment of ‘independence’. In fact, no actions taken on July 4th were specifically related to a decision to be independent from Britain. The congressional theme for the day was to explain the philosophical and political reasons for why they had separated from Britain in such a way as to avoid charges of treason.

In Hancock’s memoirs, he said the approval of the Declaration happened in the afternoon and he signed the broadside (template for printing) for the Declaration in the ‘late afternoon’. As with Jefferson, we don’t know what Hancock means by ‘approval’ and we have to parce the meaning of ‘afternoon and late afternoon’. As it turns out, the word ‘evening’ was not the most commonly used word in the 18th century American colonies for after sunset. Evening was either ‘late afternoon’ or ‘afternoon late’. So, there is no disagreement here with Adams’ narrative that they voted in the 2:00pm hour to print/publish; Hancock called in Mr. Dunlap, the official printer, and gave him the task about 2:30pm; it took him more than five hours to complete the broadside. This was the ‘afternoon’. Congress adjourned around 05:00pm for dinner, as usual. They returned from dinner at 7:00pm, so we can figure that the printer brought it back for approval and Hancock’s signature a bit more than five hours later, sometime after 07:30pm, probably closer to 08:00pm. That is Hancock’s ‘late afternoon’.

We still don’t know what Jefferson and Hancock meant by using the phrase ‘approval of the Declaration…’, though. It very well could be that they are referring to the moment they recorded the acceptance of the language and edits. We know that approval was put into the congressional record, but there’s no time for it. One thing is certain, it had to be before they agreed to print and publish it—so either sometime after 11:00am and before Noon, or in the few minutes after 02:00pm and before the decision to print and publish. Perhaps it was at 11:24am LAT and that’s why the chart for that moment seems to work so well across time.

I’m of the opinion, Hancock’s signing of the Declaration’s broadside that evening was a proforma event. They were already de facto independent, and the approval of the edits for the Declaration of Independence had already been put in the Congressional record. The above time line also makes the Sibly-Rudhyar charts historically impossible, in that they had already left for dinner by 05:00pm and returned at 7:00pm. There was no action taken related to independence or the Declaration after 02:30 pm and before 07:30pm on July 4th.

Once the Founders voted for independence, approved the language in the Declaration of Independence and agreed to print and publish it, they set July 8, 1776 at high noon LAT as the first public announcement to the colonies, Britain and the world, to explain what they had done and why. The next step was to create a viable form of government for the thirteen colonies, the first of which was known as the Articles of Confederation, initially presented and passed in November 1777, but not ratified until March 1, 1781. But in order to create this government, they had to have all the colonies agree to their union. It required a separate agreement called the Perpetual Union Agreement.

The language in the agreement was drafted sometime in 1777, but as with the Articles, the Perpetual Union Agreement also needed ratification. That wasn’t accomplished until February 1781.

The Perpetual Union Agreement, Feb 2, 1781, Annapolis MD, 10:30am LAT.

This is something many astrologers don’t even know exists, but it’s a critical piece of the picture in the process from voting for independence to becoming the United States. When they voted for independence and published the Declaration of Independence, they were 13 separate, independent colonies, not a unified country with 13 states. In the 1777 work to develop a form of government for the 13 independent colonies, they proposed the idea of a ‘united states’ under one government, but that required an agreement among all the colonies to do that. So, the Perpetual Union Agreement was proposed; it passed Congress, but the individual colonies needed to ratify it. Maryland was the last colony needed to ratify Perpetual Union, at which time it went into effect. The agreement was then attached to the Articles of Confederation when they were ratified a month later on March 1, 1781 and, although not specifically named in the new Constitution drafted in 1787 and in effect in 1789, historians say it is still in effect. The assumed proof that Perpetual Union is still in effect is in the preamble to the Constitution with the phrase ‘…in order to make a more perfect Union…’. So, it is, in my opinion, an extremely important moment in U.S. history, without which there would be no United States, and although it was wrapped into both the Articles of Confederation and the new effective Constitution of 1789, it is a stand-alone agreement that is still the basis for the Union of states. As such, it seems to me to be the important chart to examine for the Civil War.

The Confederacy, however, believed and promoted the idea that the Perpetual Union Agreement was nullified with the new Constitution that went in to effect on March 4, 1789, and that they had every legal and constitutional right to secede from the Union. They also then believed that it was not a ‘civil war’ between the North and South, but a ‘War of Northern Aggression’. That argument and that point of view were destroyed with the defeat of the Confederacy and President Lincoln’s successful defense of the Union. However, you still hear echoes of the Confederate position on this, even today. There is a sense in the country that, since Trump, another civil war is possible. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent wish for red and blue states to file for ‘divorce’, is an example of this echo from the Confederacy. But such a thing would be blatantly unconstitutional and a violation of the Perpetual Union Agreement.

Now let’s go into the issue of the existential crises the U.S. has had to face, the astrology of these events, and the ultimate topic of this article, a possible third great existential crisis.

Previous Existential Crises: Civil War
The astrological signature for American existential crises seems to be the Uranus Return in Gemini at the same time Pluto transits in hard aspect to the Nodes in the Independence charts, whether for July 1st, 2nd or 4th. Both crises began with Uranus at the end of Taurus. Let’s look at the Civil War with the various charts, and then especially with the Perpetual Union Agreement.

I think we have to keep in mind what each of these charts is mapping. The chart for July 1st is mapping independence. The charts for July 4th are mapping the mission statement for the new country in terms of its political and philosophical ideals. When it comes to the Civil War, I’m not sure the chart for independence is where we should be looking for astrological reasons for the war, beyond the obvious Uranus Return and Pluto square the Nodes. Nonetheless, there are bound to be important progressions, arcs and transits that give us some insight into the astrology of the war. Perhaps the approval of the Declaration of Independence and/or the agreement to print and publish it might yield even better information, since the Declaration deals specifically with the reasons for establishing a new nation based on Enlightenment political principles–principles which the Confederacy ultimately rejected and violated. And certainly, the Perpetual Union Agreement would be a good candidate chart to look for the astrology of the Civil War.

There were a couple of very important events prior to the outbreak of violence at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. First, the election itself in early November, when Lincoln won. As soon as the Electoral College confirmed his win in December, South Carolina began debating secession. They voted about 03:30pm on December 20, 1860 to secede from the Union. Thereafter, Southern state after Southern state followed suit and seceded until early February when the Confederacy was formally founded. The transits for December 20th did, in fact, unexpectedly light up the July 1st chart in a serious way. At the time of secession, the Ascendant was 8 Gemini conjunct both transiting and radix Uranus in Gemini in the foundation charts for the U.S. Mercury was in opposition at 8 Sagittarius conjunct the Descendant. Pluto was at 7 Taurus Retrograde square the US radix Nodes at 6 Leo/Aquarius. Transiting Moon was at 5 Aries square the July 1st Ascendant. Mars was at 19 Pisces square radix Mars at 19 Gemini. Saturn was at 9 Virgo square Uranus at 9 Gemini, and of course square radix Uranus at 8 Gemini.

The first American existential crisis had begun and it threatened the very existence of the Union. Since this occurred around the time of the Uranus Return, the situation and condition of Uranus in the radix chart need to be considered. I think the most important aspect in the July 1st chart is Uranus at the midpoint of the Sun/Nodes. In my opinion, this makes the country vulnerable to rightwing radicalism. In the 19th century it was the confederate mentality against the Union and it flared up at the Uranus Return when Pluto was also in hard aspect to the Nodes. (It happened again in the 1930s-early 40s, Uranus Return, Pluto conjunct the N. Node, with the rise of fascism and radical rightwing populism in the U.S., only to be reined in after Japan attacked the U.S. That will be discussed at length later in the article.)

There is more information to glean from the progressions and solar and ascendant arcs, but the transits alone are enough to emphasize in the July 1st chart. The July 4th chart for the approval of Jefferson’s edits in the Declaration is also revealing.

The first thing that came to my attention was transiting Sun conjunct the IC in Sagittarius and square the Ascendant, indicating a serious low point for that year highlighting foundational beliefs about the nature, character and purpose of the U.S. Transiting moon is opposing the progressed Sun, so there was a segment of the population in opposition to the stated purpose of the Declaration of Independence. Neptune is conjunct the progressed Moon at 26 Pisces and opposing progressed Neptune revealing the highly idealized, chauvinistic nature of South Carolina’s legislature, and by extension, of the whole South. Of course, the outer planet transits will cover the same ground here as in the July 1st chart. Saturn and Uranus are in square here as well; the Uranus Return is in effect and Pluto is square the Nodes. The war started in April as Neptune crossed the Descendant at 28-29 Pisces and Mars at 6 Gemini sextiled the radix N. Node and was moving into conjunction with Uranus, but the existential crisis began with South Carolina’s secession breaking the Perpetual Union agreement.

Here’s the afternoon chart for July 4th with 8 Scorpio rising with the transits for South Carolina’s secession. Obviously not much is going to change from the earlier chart, although Pluto is within a degree of conjoining the Descendant, and will be at 8 Taurus conjunct the Descendant in April when hostilities begin. Jupiter is closer in opposition to the radix Moon in this chart. With transiting Moon at 5 Aries, it will square radix Jupiter in all the charts for the first week of July 1776, but only in the July 1st chart does the Moon square an angle.

The most intriguing thing about this chart with the transits for South Carolina’s secession is the role of Pluto. Not only is Pluto conjunct the Descendant of the radix chart, but Pluto is conjunct the IC of the Solar Arc chart (below). Pluto at the Descendant clearly had a destructive effect on the relationships between the states. In the Solar Arcs, Pluto on the IC indicates a serious crisis with the fundamental Enlightenment principles inherent in the Declaration of Independence—the very foundation of the mission statement for the country was being challenged. Interestingly enough, Uranus in this chart is again at the midpoint of Sun/Nodes within a degree (+59 min).

The next chart to look at is the Perpetual Union chart. It’s fascinating, that it, too, has 8+ fixed on the Ascendant—8 Taurus. I would assume a chart for any kind of agreement that remains in effect in perpetuity would have a strong ‘fixed’ quality. Perpetual Union is no exception.

It’s also interesting that its Venus at 14 Capricorn is conjunct the Moon in the July 1st chart—a nice combination that shows the affinity of the people to the idea of union. The unfortunate planetary placement in this chart, though, is Pluto in Aquarius square the Ascendant. And, of course, when transiting Pluto crossed the Ascendant at 8 Taurus in 1861, the Union fell apart with the founding of the Confederacy, at least temporarily, until in the post-war period, when the Confederate states re-entered the Union. Let’s take a look at Perpetual Union and South Carolina’s secession.

Transiting Moon at 5 Aries is in the 12th/4th Quadrant in opposition to Neptune. The secession certainly set off a period of total chaos and confusion in the country. The transiting Mercury/Uranus/Asc t-square Saturn was also creating a grand cross with the Solar Arc Saturn at about 7 Pisces. So, the very structural components of the agreement were being dismantled. Let’s examine the Solar Arc chart with Perpetual Union (below). You’ll see the radix Moon/Jupiter opposition has reached the Sun. And then the Part of Fortune reached the Descendant. So, in spite of the fixed nature of Moon in Taurus opposing Jupiter in Scorpio, when, by Solar Arc, Jupiter conjoined the Sun and the Moon opposed it, the agreement fell apart.

All three of the 1776 charts are valid and reliable for what they map. The events occurred; we have the documentation, and we can see that all three have something to tell us about the Civil War either through the lens of ‘independence’, itself, or through the lens of the stated mission and political/philosophical ideals in the Declaration. I see no reason to argue that one is more important than the others, except to say, all the events related to the establishment of the new country flow from the moment the Founders first voted for independence. The Perpetual Union chart is equally important when it comes to issues of domestic politics that either enhance or threaten the cohesion of the states. So, it is also a chart I think astrologers should keep an eye on.

Now let’s take a look at the second existential crisis during the second Uranus Return and Pluto conjunct the North Node in Leo: World War II.

The Second Existential Crisis: World War II
Although we most often see the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 as the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II, in fact there were two previous events that made it clear to F. D. Roosevelt and to Congress that it was just a matter of time before the U.S. would have to declare war, either against Germany or Japan. The first event was when the German U-Boot 69 sank the USS Robin Moor off the coast of Brazil on May 21, 1941 at 05:25am local time. The second event was in the early morning of December 7, 1941. At 06:37am the USS Ward sank a Japanese midget submarine near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. It was the first shot fired in the attack on Pearl Harbor that morning. I encourage the readers here to take note of these events and chart them. But December 7th is still the day we’re going to work with here. Let’s look at the sinking of the Japanese midget submarine with the July 1st chart.

The first thing that comes into view is the Moon at 27 Cancer in opposition to radix Pluto. Then, Mars at 15 Aries square radix Moon and opposing Saturn. Transiting Jupiter is conjunct radix Mars. And then, of course, Pluto is conjunct the N. Node with Venus near the S. Node in Aquarius. Later that morning a few minutes before 08:00am local time, the bombs began falling on the ships in the harbor.

Below is the chart for 07:55am when the attack began. The only difference in the two charts for Pearl Harbor is the degree of the angles and the Moon. The chart for Japan’s attack on the fleet is pretty stunning, though. Mars conjunct the IC, Sun opposing Jupiter, Saturn approaching conjunction with Uranus, and Venus approaching opposition to Pluto. And the chart reflects the July 1st independence wheel with its 4 Capricorn rising and Libra MC.

In the secondary progressions for the July 1st chart (shown below), you’ll see progressed Pluto conjunct the S. Node on the Descendant. The progressed Moon at almost 5 Aquarius is opposed by transiting Pluto. And then transiting Neptune is conjunct progressed Mars, but there’s a progressed Mars/Neptune conjunction as well. The Moon in a mundane chart most often represents the people, and you can see that, as the news reached the public that afternoon, the Moon was crossing into Leo square progressed Saturn and opposing transiting Venus. At the same time, transiting Mars/IC were square the July 1st Moon in Capricorn and opposing Saturn. This was a grievous event that hurt the body-politic deeply. It would lead to a declaration of war against Japan the next day, December 8th, at 12:39pm EST.

Remembering that the Full Moon/Saturn square in the July 1st chart at 15 Cap-14 Libra was the key aspect in the colonies separating from the Mother Country, transiting Mars/IC at 15 Aries in square and opposition to Moon/Saturn was a direct assault on that independence, given the other transits and progressions also in play. Among the progressions in play were the Moon and Pluto in the progressed 1st quadrant repeating the radix Moon and Pluto in the 1st. And it’s hard not to see that the angles of the attack on Pearl Harbor also repeat the angles in the July 1st chart. From that astrological perspective, the attack on the U.S. in 1941 was, indeed, an existential threat to the country’s independent existence and way of life, which is the fundamental significance of the July 1st map of the vote for independence.

Using the 11:02 am July 4th chart, Neptune conjunct the radix Ascendant is the first thing that stands out. Transiting Moon is just past opposition to Pluto, Pluto is near the North Node, transiting Mars opposes Saturn, the transiting MC is conjunct Saturn, and transiting Saturn is square the Moon. The ideological framework for the American constitutional democracy was attacked, and once again, as with the July 1st chart, there’s a Moon-Mars-Saturn grouping between the radix chart and the transits. There is additional and corroborative information in this chart that the attack on Pearl Harbor deeply hurt and aggrieved the American people and was a direct assault on the U.S. as a liberal democracy by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Now let’s discuss the July 4th Scorpio rising chart for what Adams said was the agreement to print and publish the Declaration of Independence. The transits to the radix are basically the same as with the 11:02am 29 Virgo rising chart, other than there’s only one direct, close aspect to the angles, namely Mars is trine the MC. Pluto is widely square the Ascendant, but in my work, 3 degrees is a bit wide given the gravity of the event. However, when we also consider the Ascendant Arc Pluto for December 7, 1941, it was at 7Leo42, in square to the Asc/Dsc, less than a degree from exactitude, that changes one’s perspective on the less than exact Pluto transit. I’m inclined to see that -3 degrees transiting Pluto square to the Asc/Dsc as effective. It was also about one degree from conjoining the 6+ Leo N. Node.

Since we are assuming Pluto in hard aspect to the Nodes is one part of the signature for an existential crisis, adding both transiting and Ascendant Arc Pluto in square to the Asc/Dsc, I think we have the astrological basis for this chart indicating just such a crisis. Here is the tri-wheel with the Scorpio rising chart, the Ascendant Arc planets and the transits for Pearl Harbor.

Beyond the approaching Uranus Return and Pluto in hard aspect to the Nodes, there is another fascinating echo here from the Civil War in the above 11:02am July 4th chart. Namely, WWII had Neptune conjunct the Ascendant in the last degree of Virgo. If you remember, the Civil War had Neptune at 28 Pisces conjunct the Descendant in this chart. In thinking about that, using the Virgo rising July 4th chart, both the Civil War and WWII had a strong Neptune influence. Yet, in the Scorpio rising chart we see the influence of Pluto rather than Neptune. Perhaps we can deduce from that a way to characterize the foundational natures of the Virgo rising chart and the Scorpio rising chart as expressions of the purpose of the Declaration of Independence, namely, to explain the philosophical and political reasons for independence.

A Third Existential Crisis?
The overall general planetary patterns for the Civil War and World War II, i.e., Pluto/Nodes, Uranus at the end of Taurus moving toward its Return in Gemini, and Neptune at the end of either Pisces or Virgo, will repeat again beginning in 2024 for the first time since 1941. Knowing the astrology of the two previous existential crises for the United States, it is hard not to conclude there will be a third such crisis as Uranus in Taurus trines the U.S. Pluto, Pluto in Aquarius approaches conjunction with the South Node, and Neptune returns to the last degrees of Pisces then moves into Aries conjunct Saturn.

Although we’ll see the beginning of these transits already in the Spring of 2024, because of retrogradation, the outer planets involved only ‘inch’ forward to the truly critical degrees in early 2026. In late January 2026, there will be a conjunction of the Sun, Mars and Pluto in early Aquarius, near the U.S. South Node, Uranus at 27 Taurus, Neptune at 29 Pisces (along with Saturn at 28 Pisces approaching their conjunction). And then on February 17, 2026, there will be a partial solar eclipse at 28+ Aquarius square Uranus at 27+ Taurus. The exact Saturn/Neptune conjunction at 0Aries45 will occur 3 days later on February 20th, 2026, 11:50am EST.

If there is to be an existential crisis similar to the Civil War and/or World War II, I’m concerned about early 2026. However, Pluto will stay within orb (2 deg.) of the U.S. South Node in Aquarius through mid-2028. In the interim, we’ll also experience the U.S. Uranus Return at 8+Gemini. In all three charts for July 1 and July 4, 1776, Uranus returns three times between July 2027 and May 2028. In all three of the Uranus Return charts for 2027, Pluto is at 6 Aquarius conjunct the US South Node. So, it doesn’t really matter which chart we use, July 1st, 07:03pm, July 4th, 11:02am, or July 4th, 02:17pm (all in LAT). Their Uranus Returns all happen within days of each other between July 2027 and May 2028 at the same time Pluto conjuncts the South Node in each chart.

The question, of course, is, will it be a domestic crisis like the Civil War or an international crisis like World War II? It could be both, if we consider what’s happening now domestically and internationally. We know the history of Pluto in early Taurus and Pluto in early Leo. When Pluto was in early Scorpio, beginning in 1984, Reagan flipped Cold War foreign policy on its head, abandoning the Containment Policy, the Domino Theory, Spheres of Influence, and Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). He proposed instead the ‘Strategic Defense Initiative’, often called ‘Star Wars’. Between 1984 and 1987, as Pluto in Scorpio squared the US Nodes in Leo/Aquarius, the tension between the Soviet Union and the U.S. once again reached crisis proportions. We were getting as close to nuclear war with the Russians as we were at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Gorbachev, however, became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 and he recognized right away that they could not afford to compete against SDI. He didn’t know, of course, that SDI was still in very preliminary developmental stages and the US didn’t have the technology or the know-how to develop the types of weapons systems proposed in SDI. Full implementation was estimated to be decades in the future. That was top secret information and the Russians didn’t know SDI wouldn’t be a threat to them in the short term. Gorbachev then implemented his Perestroika and Glasnost policies, seeing no future for the economy or Russia’s continued level of world power without structural changes in their system. Their war in Afghanistan was failing and they would have to withdraw by the end of the 1980s. So, although Pluto in Scorpio square the US Nodes was stressful, it broke in favor of the U.S.

It seems like every time Pluto squares or conjuncts the U.S. Nodes, there is a crisis, after which the U.S. comes out stronger with more power and influence than before. In the 1940s when Pluto conjoined the North Node, yes, the country was in a fight for its life, but it also propelled the U.S. into the position of being only one of two world powers left standing, and therefore the leading democracy in the world. With Pluto squaring the Nodes from Scorpio in the 1980s, the pressure on the Soviet system, the other post-war power, ultimately brought the Soviet Union down at the time of the next Saturn/Neptune conjunction, ending the Cold War, with the U.S. in the most powerful position.

Now we will experience our second period of time with Pluto in Aquarius (the first time was in the late 1770s through the 1790s, when the US won the Revolutionary War and created the first modern democratic system in the world). Sure, together with the Uranus Return, and Neptune at the end of Pisces moving into Aries, we are probably on the precipice of a major existential crisis both from within and outside the country. What form it will take, we can only guess. However, given what’s happening with Russia, there is a resonance with the 1980s. I suspect, Russia will create more problems over the next few years until the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in 2027, when it’s most likely the Putin Regime will ultimately fail and Russia will once again have to recreate itself, as they’ve done at each Saturn/Neptune conjunction going back to the mid-19th century.

As for a domestic crisis in the U.S., we are probably already there. That will likely only get more stressful, too, until there is a major international crisis with Russia (and/or China), at which time, I expect even the die hard undemocratic, authoritarian MAGAts and DeSantian fascists will fall in line to defend the country. This weird conservative culture war against democratic principles and civil rights (called ‘woke’ by the Right to insult people who support democracy and civil rights) is reminiscent of the fascist and Nazi movement in the U.S. in the late 1930s and their pro-fascist, anti-democratic rhetoric. Many prominent Americans were promoting fascism and Nazism, including Charles Lindberg, Henry Ford and radio-evangelist Father Coughlin, who had millions of listeners. Once the war started in Europe, though, with Germany’s invasion of Poland, these conservative culture warriors were forced off the air and their activities limited. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, that more or less ended the fascist movement in the U.S. Any public support for Nazism, fascism or Japanese Imperialism became ‘seditious’ and illegal. I have a feeling the same will happen to Fox News talking heads and others of their ilk, the Steve Bannons in the country, et al, if Russia should move against a NATO country or use a tactical nuclear weapon. For national defense purposes, the kind of autocratic, undemocratic nonsense and pro-Russian propaganda spouted by the likes of Tucker Carlson, will be quickly quashed.

The difference in our domestic politics now, compared to the 1930s, is the rise of right-wing domestic terrorism, which, I admit, could completely change the dynamic as we go through the transits, 2024-2027. I’m cautiously optimistic, such terrorism, too, will be ‘handled’ effectively in the near future. Whatever crisis the country faces over the next four years, if history is our guide, the U.S. will struggle, but will eventually come through it all stronger and more powerful than before.