Now, we jump a good number of years to 1861, when on the 12th of April at 04:30 in the morning, the first military attack of the Civil War commenced. This must be regarded as the second most significant event in US history to this day, after the formation of the nation in 1776. There is a number of transits to the horoscope of the USA at this moment, the most important being:
- A near to exact conjunction between transit and natal Uranus, the first Uranus return, in the 9th house and Gemini, signalling a revolution which does in its ideas and concept have a similarity to the moment when the Declaration of Independence was passed. Certainly there is a similarity: the Confederates sought by war to separate themselves from the US national government.
- A very near to exact opposition between transit Venus in the 7th house and Saturn in the first, showing how the development of the USA in those days into something of a bilateral union of the north and the south, is in irreparable conflict with the US governing body and national identity. This partial split of the nation into two, though, is astrologically marked as a creative development, which would be beneficial - if it were acceptable.
- Transit Pluto in the 8th house is in square with the moon node in the 11th house - thereby also with its 180 degree counterpart in the 5th house. The 8th house being that of death and disaster, this is an indication of the bloodshed to follow, and the interruption this causes on the continued building and development of the nation. A country at war, simply. Note that this aspect reappears every 250 years, approximately - not more often than that.
- Transit Saturn in retrograde, in the 12th house, is in a near to exact sextile with Venus in the 10th house, indicating that the pain and loss of order during the war, will still be beneficial to the nation as a whole in the long run - a reformed nation is forming, even during the war.
- A trine between transit Mercury in the 6th house and natal Mercury in the 10th, tells us that there are constructive processes for the development of the nation initiated with the war - a search for a new, better working order of the USA.
When the Civil War ended, by General Lee surrendering on the 9th of April 1865, there was also several transit aspects, although not to the extent seen at the time of the war's beginning. The most important ones are:
- Transit Pluto has moved from the above mentioned square to the moon node, into a sextile with the sun in the 10th house. Pluto still in the 8th house, signalling drama and costly turns of fate, is here in a milder position with the sextile than with the square, so the peace shows to be prosperous, although costly.
- Transit Mars is in conjunction with Jupiter in the 10th house, again showing that the drastic and definite events of the day bring good fortune to the nation, a success which will open numerous possibilities and start a very constructive period.
- A very near to exact square between transit Saturn in retrograde in the 1st house and Pluto in the 4th, signifies continued domestic unrest, because of a problematic official attitude adopted - in spite of opposition and protests. The heads of the nation are provocative in their victory, so that the defeated south will be alienated and agitated for a long time. The aspect hints that the nation has indeed been on the verge of breaking into two.
- Transit Neptune in the 7th house is in trine with the moon node of the 11th house, thereby also in sextile with its counterpart in the 5th. This indicates that daring and imaginative solutions for cooperation between the north and the south will show very rewarding, starting a process pleasing to the whole nation and beyond it. This is where a sort of new USA makes the pain of the war fade away at length.
The most outstanding consequence of the Civil War was that slavery was put to an end by the 13th Amendment, approved on the 18th of December 1865. The most significant transits of this moment are:
- Transit retrograde Uranus is positioned in between MC and Venus of the US horoscope, in its 10th house, forming a tight conjunction with them both. This is certainly a significant position, marking clearly that something of a new era commences, bringing a most positive development to the nation - but the retrograde warns that the change will have a difficult time at first, taking longer in many respects, than first anticipated, even to the point of risking to be completely undone. Still, the change does, after some obstacles, get underway.
- Transit Neptune in trine with the moon node of the 11th house, just as at the end of the war, again marks the positive, inspired initiatives tying opposite groups together by time, making all prosper.
- A square between transit Mars in the 3rd house and Saturn in the 1st, shows that the decision on the Amendment is not without a heated debate, where the opposition worries about what it will lead to at length, whereas the ruling bodies of the nation are firm as to the importance of this stand in politics, and succeeding in convincing even the opposition of this - making the outcome of the debate a stronger, more unified USA, sticking more firmly to its principles.
Cosmos of the Ancients
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