The Ascendant of the 2011 U.S. solar return chart is 2°50’ Libra, which is closely conjunct the Sibly 10th-house cusp (1°03’ Libra). On September 17th, the first day of the Occupy Wall Street protest, transiting Venus was at 3° Libra conjunct the solar return Ascendant, the Sibly 10th-house cusp, and in a t-square to transiting Uranus/Pluto, which are angular in the solar chart. Venus is associated with banking and money matters.
Note also that the Midheaven of the solar return is 3°13’ Cancer, conjunct natal Venus at 3°06’ Cancer.
I wrote earlier that the Ascendant of the solar return conjunct the Sibly 10th-house cusp “places this year’s very clear emphasis on actions of the government itself, and on the nation’s self-image and role, as well as responsibility and reputation, in the wider world.” Among the calls from the people in the streets: “The whole world is watching.”
Also in the 2011 solar return, Juno, the asteroid associated with balanced power and sensitivity to those who are disempowered, is conjunct the U.S. natal Neptune in Virgo, which squares Mars in Gemini.
The Sun on the 17th, the first day of the occupation, was at 24° Virgo, just past the U.S. Neptune (22°25’ Virgo) and the U.S. solar return Juno.
The solar return Juno, at 23°44’ Virgo, was the last of her three conjunctions to the U.S. Neptune that began in December 2010.
The U.S. horoscope has Mars at 21º Gemini in the 7th house, square Neptune at 22º Virgo, sign of its detriment. I wrote in an earlier blog: “As a nation, we have a collective storyline that includes both nebulous (or ill-defined) actions or motivations, and a susceptibility to propaganda or seduction, side-by-side with a guileless belief in altruistic action.”
Much of the media has reported that the “occupation” has begun with ill-defined or nebulous aims, but those who relate to general feelings of outrage at corporate malfeasance have no trouble relating to the mood of the protestors. (1) (I read several commentators on blogs suggesting a succinct key theme for the occupation: “We want our f…… money back!” How’s that for Venus square Pluto and opposite Uranus?)
The New Moon on September 27th was at 4°00’ Libra conjunct the solar return Ascendant, further triggering that chart, as well as being square Pluto and opposite Uranus. We know the early degrees of the cardinals are highly sensitive now; Uranus stationed retrograde on July 9 at 4°33’Aries. Pluto went direct on September 16 at 4°53’ Capricorn.
The first quarter Moon today is at 10°33’ Capricorn, with the Sun at 10° Libra, conjunct Saturn of the solar return chart. In spite of 700 arrests over the weekend, this morning’s news reports the growing protests in other cities. I’m hoping Saturn suggests a further solidarity and organizing, and not increased repression by the police.
Transiting Mercury was at 15° Virgo on the first day of the Occupy Wall Street protest on September 17th. The mainstream media began writing about the event on Monday, September 19th, by which time Mercury the messenger, in its place of rulership in Virgo, had passed through 17°09’ Virgo, the degree of the three generational marking Uranus-Pluto conjunctions between October 1965 and June 1966. Each of those conjunctions occurred between 16°-17° Virgo (Thanks to Gary Caton for bringing this to my attention.)
Footnotes:
(1) See Another Occupation Without An Exit Strategy?
(2) “September 19 (Day 3) – the stock market opens on Wall Street for regular business. Many major news sources begin to publish articles on the occupation, and Occupy Wall Street caught some mainstream media attention across a wide variety of sources.”
Wikipedia
Some other astrological bloggers:
Leo Knighton Tallarico’s site, Perspectives from the Sky has a new entry, Occupy Wall Street, Hope in America
Jude Cowell’s Stars Over Washington has a video, Wall Streeters mock Occupy Wall Street marchers with champagne toasts
Eric Francis has great photos at Down on Wall Street
Theodore White’s thorough new entry at Global Astrology includes Signs of Uranus Square Pluto: Americans Occupy Wall Street
Some other (non-astrological) commentators:
Virgo Activist Van Jones (born on September 20, 1968 with Uranus and Pluto conjunct the Sun) is co-writer of Wall Street Protest: Which Side Are You On?
Chris Hedges, an eloquent and influential journalist and early supporter of the occupation, writes The Best Among Us.
The Guardian: Occupy Wall Street rediscovers the radical imagination
“The young people protesting in Wall Street and beyond reject this vain economic order. They have come to reclaim the future”
A US Autumn Responding to Arab Spring by Princeton University professor Cornel West