Pluto Returns for America’s Birthday
In astrology, countries have natal charts too. July 4th, 1776 is our nation’s birthday. Happy Birthday America! Although there are a few different ideas out there as far as the date and time, most astrologers assume that the United States was born in Philadelphia at 5:10pm when the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress. It was later signed by all official parties on August 2nd. If you want to read more about this history, National Geographic has a great article about it.
This year, Pluto is crashing the party with Molotov cocktails as he sits in the same degree as when the United States was born. Pluto completes his off-kilter orbit around the sun every 248 years. Because Pluto moves so slowly and retrogrades often, Pluto transits rake back and forth on an aspect in a way that can be experienced for up to 5 years. Humans don’t live long enough to see their Pluto return, but countries do - and it often presents a time of major upheaval and transition if not outright political dissolution. The U.S. began this Pluto return in 2019 and will continue to experience this aspect through 2024.
Looking at the United States chart, you can see that this nation was born with the potential to be great. Our natal Pluto is in the powerful 27th degree of work-hard Capricorn opposite a passionate and communicative Mercury in the 24th degree of Cancer. For more than two hundred years, the United States was the voice of freedom and courage in the world.
After nearly two and a half centuries, corruption, greed and the desire for control have clogged the arteries of our great nation, and it is apparent where we have deviated from the concepts that founded this country. Pluto acts with slow, white-hot heat to find impurities, bring them to the surface, and burn them up in the walls of its crucible. One can easily see the shape of the crucible in the symbol for Pluto below. It is this force that seeks to purify and transform, through the process of death and rebirth.
Pluto’s crucible symbol
The United States has experienced Pluto squares and oppositions in the past, both of which brought financial turbulence. The Pluto square of the early 1980s produced a disruptive economic recession and the Great Depression was at its worst in 1933-1934 when we were heading into an opposition from the transiting Pluto (though it was likely spurred by a square from Uranus in 1929 that may have precipitated the stock market crash that preceded the depression.)
I really don’t like to write about doom and gloom in my astrological reports and I’m not trying to say that everything is going down the drain here. Dread is not very productive and I’d rather focus on the potential for positive outcomes. However, it is highly possible that the turbulence already occurring in our financial systems will continue. The good news is that if you look back at history, the height of the financial melt downs occurred in the years prior to the exact conjunction. I am hoping this means that the worst is over in regards to inflation, supply chain issues, and financial uncertainly, etc. For reference, the times of the exact Pluto return conjunction for the U.S. are as follows:
February 3, 2022 - March 2, 2022
June 21, 2022 - August 3, 2022
December 9, 2022 - January 10, 2023
September 19, 2023 - October 31st, 2023
Having experienced a number of Pluto squares myself, I can attest that these slow transits often have their greatest impact prior to reaching their exact degree. If you let go of the impurities that Pluto targets early, it makes the process a bit easier, but the pressure stays on and doesn’t take kindly to backslides. Pluto hones in on anything that does not maintain integrity. At the end of the rugged path that it puts before you is mastery and true power. If one cannot get away from one’s Plutonian low-side that often presents themes of overt dominance, control, manipulation, and subversion, then the entire transit can be very tumultuous and can end in destruction.
History has a wide array of stories associated with a national Pluto returns. Both France (1821) and Russia (1953) saw the death of their revered dictators Napoleon and Stalin during a Pluto return. In its most recent Pluto return, Great Britain lost much of its world power after the Suez Crisis of 1956 with a failed attempt to gain control of Egypt’s newly nationalized Suez Canal in alliance with Israel and France. The War of the Roses in the 1460’s and the Wars of Spanish Succession were also tied to British Pluto returns.
A less violent Pluto return for England includes the rise in prominence of Parliament in the year 1217 and again in 1710. Similarly, Switzerland simply joined the Council of Europe with its opportunity for transformation in the 1960s.
On the more violent side was the Roman Empire’s Pluto return in the years 216-222 when every emperor of the Severan dynasty was assassinated or murdered. The Roman empire ended with the revolt and deposition of their last emperor in 476, shortly after their second Pluto return in 461-467.
Because America was founded on principles that did not seek to control individuals, but rather supported just the opposite in its freedom-based principles, I believe that we have a good chance of making it through this trying time changed, but on our feet. As protests rage on regarding personal freedoms, it is a time to truly contemplate what components of our country’s foundation we want to live on into our next incarnation, along with the components that we want to let burn up in the fire.
In 2024 Uranus will trine the U.S. natal Pluto and if we stay on the high side, I think that this could open the door for new ideas and new renditions of how we can continue to be a leader in the world.
A fast but furious transit is also happening June 24th-July 8th. Right now, Mars in Taurus is square both the transiting Pluto and the U.S. natal Pluto. Insert the planet of war into this Plutonian dynamic and things get messy fast. Both locally and nationally, there has been an uptick in murders and shootings. Luckily, this is not a long lasting transit, but we will see it again in May of 2023 when Mars and Jupiter have a T-square with Pluto and form a grand cross with the Nodes. Although I plan to stay inside as much as possible during these times, others will likely feel the urge to be active in the streets. Choose your own adventure with this intense energy.
For the next year, the North Node continues to be emphasized, first with a visit from Uranus and later from Jupiter. We can run and we can hide, but change is on the horizon and many things simply aren’t going to be the same on the other side of the coming year. August 1st, 2022 both Mars and Uranus will find exact conjunction with the North Node in the 18th degree of Taurus that stands to ground us in surprising and humbling ways. In May of 2023 Jupiter’s expansiveness will lean on the North Node and bring us quickly to the next chapters on our path. The future is coming in fast.
My recommendation for Americans during this time is to maintain their personal integrity, avoid unnecessary vitriol, engage in national politics only where it is productive, and don’t get too embroiled in inflammatory news cycles. Our nation is going to need our support in the years to come. For now, let’s return to barbecuing, parading, attending fireworks, and all the other ways that we love to celebrate America on her birthday. Happy Fourth of July, and may the year ahead bring our nation a galvanizing strength that brings us into a powerful next cycle that is filled with courage and goodness.