The USA, WikiLeaks and the Future

I am a personal astrologer, I specialize in reading charts for people. But every now and then something very interesting about an event or about the politics of a nation comes to my attention. This is one such case. I will make some quick passing comments about the USA and recent events, particularly the “WikiLeaks Scandal” which exposed the nefariousness of government secrets. I will maybe even offer some quick suggestions about the likely near future of the United States of America based on what I see in the passing course of briefly writing this blog post.

The Power and Wealth of the USA

First, lets say that America was “born” at 17:57 on July 4th of 1776, in Philadelphia – because this is the time and place when America officially declared her existence as a separate nation.

This creates, in the natural sidereal zodiac with natural whole-sign houses, a “birth chart” for the USA where the expansive and moralistic Sagittarius rises under a very direct and strong aspect from the independent, maverick, ambitious, and military planet: Mars.

A whole plethora of special alignments for political power form in this chart. These alignments are “Power Combinations”, a.k.a. raja-yogas - resulting from a mutual link occuring between lords of trines and angles (aka. “konas and kendras”).

1. 1/4L Jupiter + 9L Sun
2. 1/4L Jupiter + 5L Mars

Then rotate the chart to the Moon’s perspective (an imperative practice when assessing alignments), and note that the above combinations are particularly powerful ones because they recur from the Moon’s vantage point.

• The Sun is lord of the moon’s seventh house and Venus is lord of the moon’s ninth house. Their conjunction thus forms a Power Combination.
• Mars is lord of the Moon’s tenth house, so his conjunction with Venus (9L) forms yet another Power Combination
• Venus is herself a One-Planet Power Combination in this context because she is a single planet who owns both an angle and a trine. Her participation on Power Combinations therefore amplifies their potency.

These are the obvious links formed by conjunction. You must also look for links formed by mutual exchange among signs and nakshatras (which is not present in the USA chart), and those formed by mutual aspect.

Aspects have been completely oversimplified and destroyed by “Vedic astrologers” who have not even comprehended their most fundamental book on the topic: the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Using a genuine Vedic aspect system (which is beyond scope to define here, unfortunately) each one of the four planets in stellium in the seventh house of this chart is in mutual aspect with Saturn in the tenth house of the chart (who is a significant source of political power all on his own, having a very high True Dignity – vimshopaka scores it as 15 – and a very high Sixfold Strength – shadbala scores it at 175%).

• Mars and Saturn link via mutual aspect with 60% efficiency
• Venus and Saturn link with 65-80% efficiency
• Jupiter and Saturn link with 85% efficiency
• Sun and Saturn link with 75-100% efficiency

From the vantage of the Ascendant these mutual aspects indicate a very wealthy country because the combination of the lords of the houses of wealth (2 and 11) with the lords of trines form Wealth Combinations (dhana yoga). Saturn and Venus own the two wealth houses for the United States, while Jupiter, Mars and the Sun own all three trine houses. Thus the United States of America has every possible wealth combination in the links formed between the Saturn and the four planets in the seventh house!

From the vantage point of the Moon these same mutual aspects form Power Combinations and Wealth Combinations, intensifying the potency held by these mutual aspects to create the most powerful and wealthy country in modern times at least.

WikiLeaks and Current Events

America has been going through rough times for the past few years – particularly as the nodes, Rahu and Ketu, have transited through an “opposite nodal return” and then into the first house / seventh house axis – during which time the draining, sudden and secret Ketu transits each of the four planets in the seventh house of the USA “birth” chart.

The USA is currently in the Mars era of her 120-year planetary cycles. Mars involves himself in Power and Wealth combinations in the US chart, as I illustrated above. But also the combination formed in the mutual aspect between Mars and Saturn creates poverty, recession and depression because Mars owns the house of financial loss and Saturn owns the house of financial gain. Saturn has greater Sixfold Strength than Mars, so the United States is not a poor country. But the fantastic wealth of this nation is punctuated by troubling periods of significant depressions, recessions and downturns whenever Mars and Saturn transit or cycle in ways which give Mars the upper hand on Saturn.

For example, during the beginning of Mars era (mid 2005 – mid 2007) the country enjoyed a huge boom of prosperity especially connected to real estate speculations (Mars, owner of the speculative house [5] and planet of real estate). But when the Saturn cycle within the Mars era began in mid 2007 there was a drastic, dramatic crash and all sorts of financial hell broke lose.

The presence of “natal” Ketu in the US’ house of wealth encourages whatever downturns occur in US economy to be particularly dramatic, sudden, and severe.

It is also instructive to note that real estate speculations was the main precipitator of the current financial crash – and that Mars / Saturn combinations (in whose Era/Cycle the collapse began) are well known classical indicators of real-estate in every school of astrology.

Currently the USA is just towards the end of the Ketu cycle of her Mars era. Ketu is the planet of secrets and hidden things. Ketu / Mars combinations are well known, well documented causes of sudden calamity. An unprecedented number of classified government secrets of a most repulsive sort were suddenly exposed to the global public by a website and agency called WikiLeaks. This occured exactly as Ketu applied her transit to the US’ Jupiter – ruler of the first house of the US chart and Mars applied his 100% aspect to the US Ascendant itself!

Ketu is a planet I personally admire deeply. I love how the US government and associated outlets react by saying, “How can Wikileaks expose so many national secrets!!! That is treason!!!” This is very indicative of the Sun (governments) reaction to Ketu – and currently the Sun transits Ketu’s counterpart Rahu in the US chart.

Allow me to give voice to the thoughts Ketu itself holds. It asks the Sun, “You blame me for revealing such horrible secrets!? But who blames you for keeping such horrible secrets!?“

Indeed that is Ketus role, and Ketu often fulfills its role flawlessly.

The Future

Real predictions as would be made by great astrologers of old would require a lot more time than I am able to give (I am already way beyond what I expected to give to this post!), and probably a lot more expertise than I currently have. But I will offer you a few quick thoughts of mine. Take them with a grain of salt.

Relatively soon, Rahu will begin his long 18 year era. Coincidentally this happens at the end of 2011, right around the popular “2012″ date. I think we will need to wait for that time to start to see any real end to the prolonged and protracted wars that the Mars era involved us in. We may have to wait until Venus has a significant turn in the Rahu era. Perhaps when Jupiter transits the US Venus during that era – which could be in the Summer of 2013.

The Rahu era is going to reinvent the United States.

Reinvention is an exciting process but one of many mistakes and regrets. The positions the US takes at the beginning of the Rahu era she will adopt the polar opposite of by the end of the era, around 2029. And it is only in the following Jupiter era – the 16 years after 2029 – that the reinvented USA will be able to regain significant footing and once again become stable and positive in a significant and overall manner.

In the near term… I expect major bumps in the road to occur each time Ketu transits a seventh house planet. And I expect also that when Saturn enters the first degree of sidereal Libra in August of 2012 America will make move to try to assert her power and dominance in the world in a heavy handed and aggressive way.

May the Supreme Godhead help us all open ourselves
to true wisdom and love.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

Symbols and Glyphs of Astrology

I am a huge fan of the glyphs developed in the West to represent the signs and planets. The essential meaning of every planet and sign is encoded into these fascinating symbols.

Glyphs for the Planets

Each planet’s glyph is made of the same primary symbols: a circle and a cross.

The circle is symbolic of life. The top of the circle is your original self, the bottom of the circle is your material identity. Life is a cyclic process of the original self transforming into a material being and then returning to a truer understanding of itself.

The cross is the symbol of effort. “We all have our crosses to bear.” The specific location of the cross on the circle reveals a lot about the meaning of a planets glyph.

There are two secondary symbols used in the glyphs: the half-circle and the arrow.

The half-circle is symbolic of evolution and development. The exact type of half-circle used in a specific glyph reveals a lot about it’s exact symbolism for that planet.

The arrow is simply a blurred cross, distorted due to the energy of the arrow’s movement. Only Mars has the energy to transform the cross of effort  into the arrow of ambition.

☉The Sun’s glyph is a circle with a dot in the middle. The circle is life. The dot in the middle of the circle is symbolic of the fact that the Sun is the center of all things in life. The center of life is your identity – the core of your conscious awareness.

☽The Moon’s glyph looks a lot like the moon, which is handy. It is the only glyph without a complete circle in it. Instead the left side of the circle has folded over or reflected to the right so that there are two half circles linked together on the right, making the characteristic crescent moon shape. Why? The Moon is your emotional self, a tricky reflection that creates and satisfies feelings of incompleteness which arise from our interest in a world of dualities.

The half-circle represents evolution. The Moon (emotions) allows evolution in both directions – towards the true self and away from it.

☿Mercury’s glyph is a circle with a cross at the bottom and a half circle at the top. The cross at the bottom shows that Mercury facilitates the effort for the true self to become a real manifestation in the material world. The half circle at the top is unique to Mercury. It shows that he alone can truly facilitate the evolution towards the higher self. This glyph encapsulates in a single symbol the fact that Mercury is your intelligence, which creates the ability to communicate as well as understand.

♀Venus’ glyph is like Mercury’s, without the half circle at the top. She gives you a physical body replete with fascinating senses through which you can truly experience the wonderful manifest world in your life.

♂Mars’ glyph is a circle with an arrow (a distorted cross) at an odd angle towards the top of the circle. This symbolizes that Mars is your energy. He is the passion and ambition which prods you to going off in your own unique direction with your own angle on life.

♃Jupiter’s glyph is a cross supporting the right side of a half circle. The right side of the circle represents evolution towards a deeper understanding of life. Jupiter is supportive of this effort. He encourages it and rewards it and provides the systems of religion, philosophy, and law which do the same.

♄Saturn’s glyph is a cross to which the right side of the circle is affixed and bound. The evolution towards a deeper understanding of life is nailed to the inescapable realities which Saturn generates: death, old age, decay and misery. We evolve by coming to grips with these realities.

☊Rahu’s glyph has no cross. In fact only the five real planets have crosses and represent effort. The Sun, Moon and the two nodes Rahu and Ketu are not literally planets. Their glyphs contain no crosses. They manifest their nature without any effort or evolution required.

Rahu and Ketu are the only planets to contain two complete circles. Their glyphs consist of these two circles joined by the arc of a half circle. The two circles represent two different lives, two different worlds. Rahu’s arc connects the two – bridging the present to the future, creating the ability and need to move upward and outward, and causing the possibility of nearly instantaneous change and movement.

☋Ketu’s glyph is identical to Rahu’s except that Ketu connects the two circles with a downward arc, while Rahu does so with an upward arc. This glyph symbolizes Ketu’s essential nature as a like between the present and the past, the ability and need to move inward and downward with the possibility of nearly instantaneous change and movement in those directions.

Sign Glyphs

♈Aries is the beginning of the zodiac – where the one (at the bottom) splits and becomes many (at the top). This symbolizes the tremendous energy and ambition of life itself.

♉In Taurus the energy forms a stable unit (a circle) which is like a womb for the new energy of life. The circular womb will cause things to grow and develop upwards (the half circle at the top).

♊ Gemini is the sign in which the incubated energy of creation is born and becomes a distinctly separate being. The many created at the beginning by Aries have developed by the support of taurus, and now become a second being, a truly individual self capable of its own experiences and ideas.

♋ In Cancer there are two circles attempting to connect. The new being of Gemini finds that she wishes to integrate her new self with her former self. Therefore Cancer is a place where energy directs inwards and emotions are examined rather privately.

♌ Leo begins a new cycle of evolution – the evolution to understand our own powers. A newly integrated single circle moves sets out with a new identity.

♍Virgo‘s glyph like taurus, creates circles. The three lines of the “m” represent the three layers of the world. The last line of the “m” weaves around itself, creating circular environments. In Virgo the newfound personal power of Leo enters these circles and attempts to more deeply and practically understand and express itself.

♎ Libra‘s glyph evokes both a balance and an equal sign. It shows a balance of desire to work equally with the world as well as on it. In Libra we attempt to achieve the delicate balance between our own personal strength and the personal strengths possessed by the other people in the world, to whom we relate.

♏ In Scorpio we complete the mastery of our own powers. Thus an arrow develops at the end of the three lines – the three layers of the world. This shows that we and now ready to move to a new stage and apply our newly understood personal power on a higher level.

♐Sagittarius’ glyph shows the arrow which appeared in Scorpio moving beyond the line of the “new level” of operation. Thus, in this sign we begin to truly explore the various ways in which we can develop ourselves on higher levels.

♑Capricorn’s glyph, like Taurus and Virgo before it, possesses circles. The straight lines from Sagittarius resolve into curves which create circles. This glyph shows that the new levels we discovered in Sagittarius can now enter a safe “womb” and incubate here to become more deeply and stably realized.

♒ The glyph of Aquarius, like Gemini and Libra before it, is dominated by two lines. These lines are wavy, showing that Capricorn’s effort to evolve a deeper understanding of life are now vibrant with power and potential.

♓ Pisces‘ glyph is two half circles bound together by a line. In Pisces we reach the end of one cycle of evolution. The new levels we discovered in Sagittarius, developed in Capricorn and expressed in Aquarius are now ready in Pisces to bear their final, deepest fruit: the ability to transfer us to an entirely new cycle of evolution. One of the half circles is the end of the old cycle. The line is Pisces effort to transport us to the other half circle, the beginning of a new cycle of evolution.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved

KETU – the Inward Compulsion

Like Rahu, Ketu is the source of

Transformation

Anti-Authority

Radicalism

Compulsions

Chaos

& Polarity

But while Rahu’s transformative chaos is focused forward and outward, Ketu’s focus is backward and inward.

The Past

The Underground and Inner Space

THE OTHER HALF OF RAHU

Ketu and Rahu are two halves of the same entity, the same planet. And so they share many of the same fundamental traits for the same reasons.

They both create the force of change and transformation. Ketu’s transformations though, are more instantaneous and sudden than Rahu’s. They occur when something from your inaccessible subconscious past suddenly bursts  fully formed, into your conscious awareness and shocks you into an abrupt change.

Under Rahu, for example, you change your lifestyle dramatically because you see a better future for yourself. But Ketu causes you to suddenly understand or “remember” something about yourself which makes you abruptly change your outlook and direction.

~ * ~ * ~

Rahu and Ketu are both anti-authoritarian but Rahu is more of a social revolutionary while Ketu is more of a private, personal non-conformist.

Che Guevara, for example, is a product of Rahu whereas Ketu creates the “goth” figure dressed in torn black clothes glaring out from the corner dressed in amulets etc. The person who changes the world to match themselves is Rahu. The person who refuses to change themselves to match the world is Ketu. Yes, they are two sides of the same coin – just like Rahu and Ketu are two halves of the same entity.

Ketu and Rahu are both radicals but you could perhaps say that Rahu is a radical liberal while Ketu is a radical conservative. If you have ever dealt closely with either type of person, you know they are really quite similar in the end. They both want abrupt and drastic changes, but the radical liberal wants those changes because they want to build a better future. The radical conservative wants similar changes, because they want to return to a better past.

~ * ~ * ~

Rahu and Ketu both create chaos in the wake of their changes and transformations. But Rahu’s chaos mainly affects the external conditions of your life, while Ketu’s chaos affects your inner being. They are both polar. But Rahu’s polarity is visible, while Ketu’s polarity takes you through the emotional and psychic extremes.

Rahu will change you from rich to poor and poor to rich. Ketu will not affect your external situation as much as he will change you from happy to sad and sad to happy, etc. Rahu is the person whose world is falling apart or radically transforming around them. Ketu is the one whose world is fine, but whose insides are in radical turmoil.

~ * ~ * ~

Rahu and Ketu both compulsive and untamable in every way. Ketu however will create more deep seated and private compulsion, while Rahu will make exaggerated public displays.

The person who must shout his opinions to the world and force people to hear what he has to say is the one driven by Rahu. On the other hand, the shy person who compels your curiosity and intrigue is Ketu. The person who is compelled to change the world is driven by Rahu. The person who is compelled to change himself, driven by Ketu.

To make a real change you need both halves of Rahu and Ketu. You can not truly change the world without changing yourself, and you cannot truly change your inner self without changing your outer behavior.

THE PAST

Like Rahu, Ketu has no mass. It does not take up space, and is therefore not subject to the normal rules of space/time. Rahu and Ketu can therefore transcend the boundaries of space and time. While Rahu moves outward and forward towards the future, Ketu moves inward and backward towards the past.

Ketu connects the present to the past. Rahu shows the direction you are supposed to evolve towards in your future. Ketu shows what you have already mastered and evolved beyond.

The difficult thing is that our minds are, in comparison to our souls at least, quite small. We are consciously aware of only a tiny fraction of our past. Ketu holds on to all the past that our conscious mind cannot directly access. These unknown memories compel you to know certain things, need certain things, hate certain things, etc. You do not know why you know it. You can not explain why you are so talented in some area. You do not know why you feel so strongly attracted to or repulsed by something. Only Ketu remembers the ancient past mysteriously affecting every aspect of your present.

Those who have Ketu powerful in their horoscope can see directly into the past. They have greater access to the things previously mastered in their past lives. For example, a child who sits at a piano and composes a symphony while still 5 years old is gifted by Ketu to access his or her masteries accomplished over previous lifetimes. Ketu is the force creating prodigies.

Ketu creates mind-readers and oracles who can see the past with clarity. But Ketu also creates the scientists and researchers who dig into the earth and uncover the record of her geological and cultural past. Archeologists and geologists, for example, spring from Ketu.

THE UNDERWORLD & INNER SPACE

Ketu is not about the sky and outer space, but about what is buried beneath,  inner space. Ketu does not want to know the outer layer of anything, it wants to get directly to the central core. Ketu is the power to get to the core of anything.

Therefore Ketu goes not up into space, but down into the Earth; into the underworld. It is said in most cultures that the underworld is populated by mystical serpents, snakes, and dragons. All cultures depict Ketu and Rahu as a serpent or dragon. Ketu is the master of the underworld, akin to Pluto of Greek mythology. He is the serpent who knows the hidden secrets of your primordial past.

All persons obsessed with the underworld and with secrets have strong Ketu in their horoscope. Ketu is the master of such things, and thus is the planet who can grant knowledge of secrets, ordinary and divine.

Anyone who digs into the earth is driven by Ketu. All things which come out of the earth have something to do with Ketu, especially oil and products made from it like films, plastics, petroleum, etc.

Ketu is the compulsion to get to the core of things. What is really at the core of all things?

The Sun is the center of everything. The Sun is consciousness, the “soul.”

Ketu takes human beings on a journey through inner space, to find their own cores, their own souls. Rahu makes people love the idea of journeying in spaceships to other planets – but Ketu makes you passionate about the idea of traveling through trance into the inner space of your own being. That is why Ketu is the master of drugs. And it is also why Ketu is the master of those who attain spiritual liberation as a result of meditation and renunciation. Ketu pulls your thoughts away from the surface world and down deep inside yourself. A blessed Ketu will take you all the way to the spiritual emancipation of knowing your own soul directly. But a hampered Ketu may not be able to take you past the fantasy realms and delusory escapism of intoxication.

Ketu is the greatest force of depression, because it drains our interest in normal, superficial life – which is the most readily available source of pleasure for human beings. Those who fearlessly tread Ketu’s path discover unlimited bliss and are not depressed about losing the shallow and superficial pleasures of the world. From Ketu they acquire a blessing more profound than any other planet could bestow. But those who hesitate and resist Ketu’s pull are torn apart and become lost in a confusing haze of depression – ever aching to return to the comforts of the superficial world.

SUMMARY

Ketu is the irresistible call of the unknown past, generating the compulsion to revolt against the superficial world by withdrawing into the inner space of your own self.

- Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com

© 2010 Vic DiCara, All Rights Reserved