CHAPTER SIX:
A Chart for the Beginning
of the Federal Government - 5

We have already seen how the inclusion of Neptune in the Declaration of Independence chart affected the pattern of that chart, bringing the Moon into a powerfully emphasized position in opposition to the grouping of all other planets. This refers to the consciousness of the people and to the nation as a whole. The chart for the Federal Government deals more strictly with governmental issues and the organization of national patterns of activity at the administrative level. In terms of what I have said above, it is interesting to note that the progressed Moon of this Federal Government chart reached the Ascendant — the 28th degree of Scorpio — when Thomas Jefferson became President. This led to the Louisiana Purchase, significant not only in terms of the continent-wide growth of the United States, but also as a precedent in the personal use of presidential power. The progressed Sun was then in trine to the Ascendant and the symbol for the degree of the Ascendant is quite significant: "The King of the Fairies approaching his domain. The capacity in man to recognize and pay homage to an integrating Principle at the core of all existence — a symbol of inner allegiance to a Center in all fields of organization."
      The symbol for the Moon's degree is also particularly revealing because this Moon makes a series of important aspects and is emphasized by the presence of its South Node nearby: "A Revolutionary magazine asking for action." In a chart referring to the ability of a Government, the Moon should signify the Government's ability to adjust to changing conditions and to meet emergencies, but it also refers traditionally to "the common people" and their reactions to what is happening. In the seventh House this Moon again stresses all matters of interpersonal and international relationships. It lacks nine degrees to form an exact square with the Saturn-Sun conjunction; 1789 plus nine years gives us 1798, the year in which the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed as a result of panicky official circles' revulsion against the French Revolution. Nine degrees also separate Saturn from Mercury, the ruler of the sign Gemini, in which the Moon is located.
      A seven-degree arc between Venus and Mars may be significant in relation to Washington's Farewell Address (September 17, 1796), which laid the foundation for American isolationism. When Neptune was discovered, its trine to Venus and Mars introduced a new factor in the organizational patterns of the nation — a factor that can be related to the gold rush and the start of the westward expansion which has gone on ever since, making California now the most populous State.
      The square of Neptune to Jupiter — both retrograde — evokes the possibility of governmental corruption and glamorous but unsubstantial financial deals. Since the eighth House deals with experiences that refer to the practical results of interpersonal relationships, contracts and partnership — thus to the business world — the presence of Jupiter and Uranus in that house may be interpreted as relating to the influence of business over governmental processes, especially because of the harmonious trine of Saturn, Sun and Mercury to Jupiter, symbol of the power of wealth. On the other hand, the Moon forms an exact semisquare (45-degree angle) — a tense, withal dynamic aspect — to Jupiter. This can refer to the struggle of the common people against the power of big business, but also to the dynamic effect of business procedures and opportunities upon the people and the lower levels of governmental activities.