It has been stated in the past that the United States and the UK have a special relationship. The first most well-known reference to said relation was uttered in a speech by Winston Churchill in 1946, but there has been reference to the same since the 19th century. Many of us have heard the term ‘six degrees of separation’, referring to how we are all related to one another after some fashion by a string of six relations or acquaintances. There is an astrological measure that also refers to six degrees of separation between the US and UK, which is the subject of this post, among other measures. And there is one factor in particular, in evidence now, that is tracking both nations very closely, and which will signify very significant changes to come in both nations.
The particular condition we notice at the moment that is common between the US and the UK is a widespread mistrust by the people of their respective governments, deep questioning about the continued need for COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, and even the necessity for them in the first place. And the majority of people in both nations are appalled – perhaps not too strong a word – with the leaders of their governments, speaking here of Trump and Boris Johnson. The same applies to the houses of Congress and Parliament. In short, people feel as though they are being had.
Expanding on the last statement, preceding, when we take a closer look at what is happening in the news cycles of both the US and the UK we notice quite a bit of Plutonian goings-on. We get the sense that we are being managed and that our collective will is being subverted or ignored. We also know that governments are not listening to the needs of the people. What we see in both nations, specifically in the directions for them, are solar arc directions to the Midheavens of both, taken as an isolated factor. There are other considerations, of course, but the focus in this post will be on Pluto, as such directions are in effect at very significant changes in life.
For the US, Pluto is directed now to a conjunction with the Midheaven (below, bigger):
And for the UK, the direction of Pluto will be a square to its Midheaven from its 1st house, starting in just over two months (below, bigger):
It is unusual to see two nations tracking the same solar arc from a planet to the same axis – in this case the Meridian axis.
In relation to directions, it is worth noting that the effect of a conjunction, square or opposition by a planet or angle makes no difference as to the effect. They simply activate the point to which the direction occurs. The same is true of directions by semisquares and sesquisquares. With this in mind, what we are seeing with both the US and the UK with their respective directions of Pluto are ‘life milestones’ for both nations. From recent articles about the United States, we know these come around at just about every 90 years. What we have, then, is a reflection of the actions of Pluto on both nations that we were seeing around 1930. We have already looked at what that meant for the US.
Looking at the UK, the last time Pluto was within orb of the UK MC was in late 1926, and there was an ongoing general strike by coal miners, and the UK was under martial law as a result. The strike was ended about the time Pluto reached 1° of orb. Stanley Baldwin was the PM, and a Conservative, like we see today. Following on that, for the year proceeding to the exact conjunction, Britain sent troops to China, 1,000 people a week were dying from a flu epidemic, the Irish Free State (then a part of the Commonwealth) was pronounced an independent nation, free of the UK. Also, the Labour Party voted in favour of nationalizing the coal industry.
What we note with the preceding paragraph are the echoes we are hearing today with the Johnson administration:
- A conservative PM
- A nation in the midst of an epidemic
- Problems with China
- Problems with labor, as in workers, not the Party
- Rumblings of another vote for Scottish independence (In other words, of another split in the Union)
What we see are the actions of Pluto on what the Meridian axis rules – the sitting government, national prestige, infrastructure, opposition to the government, land, the people and so forth.
Was there something similar in the UK in 1836, when there was another square by solar arc of Pluto to the UK MC? That brings us to the next consideration with solar arcs – the house in which the solar arc takes place matters. In 1836 Pluto by direction was in the UK’s 7th house, dealing with the letter of the law:
- The last hangings for minor offenses were carried out
- The Marriage Act, the Tithe Commutation Act, the Irish Constabulary Act, arson attacks in protest of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 started, and the “Prisoner’s Counsel” Act were passed. These were significant changes to the rule of law in the UK.
- There were large rail projects completed
There was a conservative government then, too (Whig). This time around, the direction is from the 1st house. Thus, matters such as the general public, the public mood, body politic, general condition and inhabitants of a country, partners and associates of public enemies, public health, interior affairs, and national traits and habits will all be affected in the UK.
Now, as it is trending, the UK will leave the EU with a hard Brexit on New Year’s Day 2021. It would appear the Conservatives and oligarchs in the UK will finally get their wish. Have a look at the chart with directions and transits, below (bigger):
The first thing of notice is that the solar arc of Pluto will have just come within its degree of orb squaring the Meridian axis, showing the change in the government’s status and its break with the EU. The litigious and strained nature of the negotiations has been shown by the direction of Mars to the UK Mercury. The directed Vertex will be square the UK Saturn, showing the prospects for the future, which will not be bright, given it is squaring Saturn. Free trade deals with the US, for instance, will not favor the UK much and will probably be predatory. The House of Lords has just rejected a food standards bill, which would lower UK food standards, in anticipation. Saturn also represents the public in the UK chart and infrastructure and the public eye will be fixed upon what the government does, or does not do. Transiting Uranus is quincunx the UK Ascendant, showing the confused changes the hard Brexit will bring. And transiting Saturn is across from the UK’s Jupiter, showing restrictions and austerity, at least for a time. But all is not lost.
The Great Conjunction at the end of this year will be trine the UK Uranus, showing a change in the tide of things. And to Uranus, that usually means in favour of more humanistic and progressive policies. That conjunction sets a trend, though, and may not be in evidence for several years. But the seeds for change will definitely be planted at Brexit. The Great Conjunction is also across from the UK Jupiter, highlighting local commerce and communications, which will likewise also come under close examination then. Then lastly, transiting Neptune will trine the UK Moon, which represents both the public and the government in the UK’s case. Perhaps someone of real vision will step forward and sort the mess out, because at the moment that’s exactly what they have in the UK – a right royal mess.
For the US, the emphasis will be much like what we saw for the UK in 1926/27 – changes in the nature of the state itself, problems with labor (as in workers) or perhaps the resurgence of labor movements in opposition to government policy, and a conservative government. In the case of the US, no matter who wins the election this year, the government will be conservative, either ultra-conservative/reactionary or leaning more centrist, but still conservative.
The upshot of these indicators is for a restive time next year in both the US and the UK. In the negative, we can look for more social discord between factions, more unrest, probable violence (Pluto rules mass movements and mob psychology), calamities in both nations (there were significant disasters in those periods for both nations in the past), the continuation of the epidemic and active subversion of public trust in institutions and between parties.
In the positive, 2021 will begin movements that will counter what the status quo had sought to implement over the past decades, since 1975, when Pluto was in the approaching semisquare to its current directed position. The major theme since that time has been the current economic model that has brought creeping ruin to the middle classes in both nations and has seen its industries moved offshore in the name of globalization. What we face in the US and UK now, and across much of the Western world, is increasing (unnecessary) austerity, with subsequent propaganda via the media that we do not have the means to support things like Medicare, Social Security, the NHS, public housing and so forth. Actually, we do have the means to support such programs, but it would mean progressive wealth taxes, cuts in military spending, bailing out main street instead of Wall Street or the City of London and a real changing of the guard in Congress/Parliament. It would mean, in other words, the people will have to make themselves heard in the halls of power. Thus, we have the emergence of the following:
2021 for the US and UK is going to be ‘epic’. The evolving situation has been described thus:
This is “end game” for the governing oligarchy. This is their Götterdämmerung, their Armageddon. In the death throes of their 400-year-long reign, they will impose a desperate economic, financial and social reorganization which the World Economic Forum calls the “Great Reset.”
Those death throes, just described, were indicated by the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in Capricorn back in January. That was the start, and then the pandemic and the lockdowns started, the latter being unnecessary, as outlined in the Taurus letter this year, “In an ideal world”. What is really at stake, and which the oligarchs are seeking desperately to preserve, are institutions such as offshore tax havens (Pluto rules secrecy, as well as does Neptune), mass surveillance, the military-industrial complex, secretive organizations such as the CIA, MI6 and so on, and huge monopolistic interests, such as the media, pharmaceutical and Big Agro industries in the US and UK.
For the UK, the outcome of the Brexit vote and the election landslide for the Conservatives will show the true colors of what is taking place there. It will not be pretty or easy. The British need a media overhaul as well as the US. But as with all Plutonian situations, after the burning ground has past and the dust has settled the preceding chaos brings with it possibilities to advance the public good. We saw this in the US with the election of FDR and his policies in the ‘30s and afterward.
We may see a return of similar social policies as those of FDR in both the US and the UK, but it will mean that the systems in both nations, as they are, will need to be broken down to some extent and rebuilt along sounder foundations. Pluto can lead to dystopia or regeneration. In the end, it is always a positive influence, even though the processes it can bring with it may seem initially terrible and destructive. The depth of the destruction is directly related to how crystallized institutions within a nation have become.
Astrologically and through their shared history, the US and the UK are joined at the hip in many ways. Their Suns are opposed by an orb of just over 3° and their personalities mirror each other psychologically in many ways. And the Ascendant of the UK is separated by 6° from the MC of the US. Both the solar oppositions and the angular conjunction are powerful attractors and mold the destinies of both nations in a synergistic fashion. And currently those two nations are the bastions of merchant banking and neoliberal capitalism. They are the two nations that started in all, with Reagan and Thatcher, and then Clinton and Blair. This year will mark a significant change in their relationship, and both nations are seeing themselves distanced from Continental Europe, by choice and by missteps.
A study of the synastry and relationship dynamics between the US and the UK would be a fascinating study through time, but far too much to engage here. Their synastry grid is shown below, though (bigger):
There are a few points worth noting regarding their synastry. Firstly, there are strong legacy links, marked by the mutual Moon/Saturn hard aspects (square and opposition), separated by 4° of orb by aspect. Their Saturns are linked in an exact septile, an unusual aspect that is indicated in ‘other realities’. Briefly mentioned here, “Septiles give an interest in and ability to comprehend realities other than the norm…” We might say that both nations are currently living through a sort of alternate reality, but not in the best sense of the term.
There are also strong connections between the US and UK respective Vertex axes, also suggesting other realities. Such connections are often seen in very significant relationships. There is a point to this: Given that the economies of both nations are, shall we say, shaky and show no signs of making quick recoveries, and given that Asian economies are making quick recoveries, there is something about the ‘special relationship’ that will play a leading role in the geo-economic shifts that are taking place right now. When we say ‘significant role’ that means other than a leading role in a positive sense.
The policies of both the UK and the US have been a direct factor in the decay of relations with the East, and also with the Continent. Both nations have ‘their people’ embedded in each other’s governments. This is not to say the prevailing trends over the past decades cannot be turned around. In fact, they can, but it would take a large overhaul of the types of organizations and the people populating them that directly affect government policies, as in think tanks and lobby groups, for instance.
It is not by accident that the UK has split off from mainland Europe, nor that the US is seeing fit to alienate its old European partners. Together the US and UK (if the UK survives in its present form) will likely maintain their own economic relations, although somewhat altered capacities. But what they are trying to preserve at the moment is the financial capitalism that dominates their respective systems. And, there are cultural reasons as to why this would be the case.
What appears to be slowly taking shape is the formation of an economic and cultural bloc involving the Northern European nations, inclusive of the UK, and the US. Those nations share similar cultures and histories, and the US was primarily colonized in its early days by those European nations. So, when we talk about ‘degrees of separation’, there is both an astrological and a cultural dimension to that. ‘White America’ in particular can trace its ancestry to one or more of those nations.
The aforementioned bloc will be separate from the Eastern nations, which will include Russia and Eastern Europe, in all likelihood, with differing economies. The Southern European states are also looking increasingly eastward and could well form another bloc, as there is also a cultural divide between northern and southern Europe – think ‘Club Med’ and ‘Frugal Four’ states. That formation would take several decades to form, in my estimation, but the outlines are clear enough if one has been following developments regarding East-West relations in recent years.
In closing, 2021 will be a make-or-break year for the dominance of Western nations over the world’s economy, with a decided lessening of influence by the US and UK over matters in Asia. The solar arc of Pluto to their Meridian axes ensures there will be life-changing events taking place in those two nations, and as a result, in the so-called ‘special relationship’. Both nations will be too involved with domestic matters to be much of an influence all’estero, at least physically and militarily considered. 2020 and 2021 will be seen in the future as the years that marked the end of Western dominance and the rise of the East into prominence. And in that vein, the ‘special relationship’ is contributing its own special brand of diplomacy and policy to that process.
Featured pic from the New York Post