Born as the U.S.A.
Second of a Three-Part Series
By Kailasa Candra dasa
“I do not know why I am attached to your country, but I strongly believe that if the American boys and girls would accept this philosophy, it would render the greatest service to the rest of the world.”
–Letter to Dayananda, May 1, 1969
“God has marked the American people as His chosen nation to finally lead in the regeneration of the world. This is the divine mission of America, and it holds for us all the profit, all the glory, all the happiness possible to man.”
–U. S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge, 1900
Occult Synchronicity
The capital of the United States is named after this country’s first president. From the mundane perspective, he was inarguably the most important man of the second half of the Eighteenth Century. A Deist and also an occultist in the Masonic line (as were other founders), George Washington created a illustrious legacy for himself as a victorious general, landholder, husband, statesman, president and founder of a nation. The demigods arranged for occult synchronicity when he left the scene, and it is difficult to dismiss it as mere coincidence: George Washington died on the last day of the Eighteenth Century, in the last hour of its last day, i.e., just a few minutes before the dawn of the new century.
Similarly, the next two presidents of America, both instrumental to the country’s founding (Jefferson was author of the Declaration of Independence and also a vegetarian), were intense and bitter rivals during their political lifetimes. They had markedly different visions of where they wanted the country to go. In later life, after being inimical during the tenures of their respective presidencies, they softened their attitudes toward each other; near the end, they regularly exchanged friendly letters. Again, the demigods arranged for their respective passages: Both died on the same day (in completely different locales), on the fourth of July.
Transcendental Relevancy
These are simply two indicators that this country had esoteric underpinnings from its very conception on March 1, 1781, at noon in Philadelphia. For example, the exalted planet in the chart (the Moon) is in the sign of Venus. We look to the lord of the sign of the Moon to discover the pulse of the horoscope. Venus is in the eighth, the chief occult house, also meaning interest in all kinds of spiritualism. Indeed, Venus in Capricorn sometimes indicates mastery in occult sciences, and Mars in Scorpio generally points towards esotericism, as well.
We shall be analyzing the chart of the United States of America in this section, after having conclusively determined the date, time, and place of the country’s birth in Part One. As a reminder, although most of Parts One and Two deal with universal, occult, or mundane considerations, this will upgrade in Part Three. We shall there tie in all that we have learned in these two sections in order to understand how this knowledge relates to the Krishna consciousness movement–particularly to its successful (or otherwise) propagation in the United States.
We shall also, in no small measure, devote Part Three to the discussion of the fabricated, so-called “ISKCON,” and how its unauthorized method of (allegedly) spreading Krishna consciousness cannot possibly be effective in America. As such, these preliminarily delineations are best not dismissed as merely mundane; their transcendental relevancy will be established, and this can produce advancement in buddhi-yoga.
Maximus Americus
“What Rome was to the ancient world, what Great Britain has been to the modern world, America is to be for the world of tomorrow.”
–Walter Lippmann, 1945
Your author will herein attempt to educate his readers in some sidereal understandings by specifically explaining astrological factors. The chart of America has many strengths to it. Nevertheless, it has weaknesses also, and one glaring danger. However, some of these would be missed in a cursory reading, so we shall try not to miss them.
When a qualified sidereal astrologer looks at a chart, he generally targets the ascendant (or lagna), particularly if there is a planet (or planets) there. Then, he moves to the lord of the ascendant, and simultaneously notices if there are any exalted planets in the horoscope. He checks out the lagna, to see if it is one (of six) that creates a yogakaraka. Then, if he has the requisite skill to do so, he attempts to spot the presence of any raja-yogas (the United States has two of them, both based on aspect).
From this kind of initial analysis, he will generally be able to ascertain the most important planet in the horoscope. This horoscope of the United States is unique in that its overview does not readily reveal the most important planet. That is because the chart has a configuration very infrequently found: It has an ultimate depositor.
This requires a brief delineation for some readers, as beginning siderealists are usually not aware of the principle of the depositor. In order for there to be an ultimate depositor in a chart, there must be one planet, and one planet only, in his own sign. That condition is met here. If another planet—and we are speaking of the seven major planets only—is found in that same sign, then the chances for an ultimate depositor increase.
Both conditions are present in this chart. The depositor of the United States of America is Mars, and he is the most important planet in it. He is in his own sign of Scorpio, conjunct benefic Jupiter; Jupiter is in the sign of Mars and under his influence. Saturn and Mercury are both in signs ruled by Jupiter, so they are under Jupiter’s influence, who is under Mars. Venus and Sun are in signs ruled by Saturn, who is in Jupiter’s sign, who is in the sign of Mars. You should understand the principle by now.
The Moon is in the sign of Venus, and he is only indirectly under this rule, being three lordships removed: Venus is in Saturn’s sign, who is in Jupiter’s sign, who is in the sign of Mars. The martial planet is the ultimate depositor in the chart. However, the Moon, being exalted, actually has almost as much influence as does Mars; they form the auspicious but materialistic Candra-mangala yoga, as well.
Mercury, lord of lagna, is in the outermost third of combustion; he is weakened to some extent by that but is still three signs away from Sun in the navamsha sub-chart. Mercury has little power in this janma-kundali, but he gets some prominence as lord of lagna in a kendra. He would have been the most important planet had he not been partially combust and in a sign inimical to him. If Moon’s exaltation had been in a quadrant and not the twelfth, he would have been the important planet.
Mars being the depositor makes total sense, as the military in this country is influential in almost every facet of life. Mars brings in a kind of Roman style to government, judicial arrangement, and the military, with a sporting atmosphere of competition found everywhere in American.
Yearning for Democratic Freedom
America is a unique country, and its horoscope is indicative of that. The democratic element running through the country is indicated in more than one planetary combination. Moon is the planet of the masses, and his exaltation in a cadent house indicates a yearning for democratic freedom on the part of most citizens. Sun in Aquarius amplifies this tendency to help humanity in general and Americans in particular. When this planet of the chart’s ego (the Sun) is in that particular sign, humanitarian service, combined with a desire to uplift all the citizens through constant reform of society, will be especially noticeable.
Indeed, four of the seven major planets are in cadent houses: This indicates a desire for freedom from dogmatic shibboleths. Americans treasure their freedoms; they do not want to be controlled by hidden factions pulling the strings from behind executive facades. With Jupiter in a cadent house conjunct Mars, the intrinsic American tendency to violently rebel against any such arrangement is ascertained. American government may be encouraged by its citizens to push the spread of democracy internationally, but this country’s people do not want to be controlled by that government, and that’s why they elect their own representatives.
Americans want freedom to enjoy material life; they do not want to be ruled by some kind of aristocracy, monarchy, military junta, plutocracy, oligarchy, or communist dictatorship. They particularly do not want to be ruled by a quasi-theocratic power from behind the throne. That this is not the definition of real freedom, that it is not mukti, is not the point; their yearning for independence, along with a pragmatic and political implementation of that desire, does qualify as relative freedom.
Americans will very often misuse their well-earned freedoms, of course, but that does not mean that they are willing to give them up without a fight. Still, the liberal democracy now functioning, despite being most materialistic, also affords significant freedom to those Americans seeking actual liberation than in any other country on the face of the earth. This country gives them that opportunity, and, in return, its citizens expect their own relative freedoms not be unduly undermined.
A Question of Balance
Although charitable and service-oriented, America is a materialistic country. Moon, at peak exaltation in the nakshatra of Krittika, is in a constellation strongly oriented toward material enjoyment. A malefic in the ninth in junma-kundali does not augur any kind of great national piety. Venus in Capricorn indicates questionable acts for material gain, Jupiter in Scorpio indicates a vindictive and overpowering nature, and Moon in Krittika demonstrates a powerful appetite for temporary enjoyment, with an ambition to fulfill all kinds of physical desires.
Notice also that all of the duhsthanas or negative houses are occupied by planets: Two are in the sixth, and one each is in eight and twelve. This means that four of the major planets are in duhsthanas–not a harbinger of a religious country, despite propaganda to the contrary. Nevertheless, there is an element of fairness and live-and-let-live intrinsic to America, and over seventy percent of its citizens profess belief in a Supreme Being. The original founders, as aforementioned, were theists, although Deism is not the most evolved understanding of the presence of the Supreme Controller throughout His material creation.
Americans, nonetheless, still have some tendency to act in the higher mode. The country is charitable, as per Sun in Aquarius, an exalted Moon in the twelfth (especially as the lord of the second house), the lord of the tenth in the sixth, and the lord of the twelfth in the eighth. On the whole, most Americans want to be good citizens also, as indicated by Moon in exaltation and the lord of the fourth in the tenth.
Generally, they enjoy serving their fellow man. This is astrologically indicated in many places, such as Sun in Aquarius in the ninth, Moon in Taurus, Mercury in Pisces (neecha-bhanga, i.e., the debilitation nullified being in the tenth from lagna), and the lord of the sixth in his own sign (in the house of service). The lord of the eleventh in the sixth also indicates the service attitude, i.e., Americans usually enjoy serving each other.
Straw Dogs
“You get born; you take shit. You become a child; you take more shit. You reach adolescence; you take even more shit. You work your way up in the world; you take less shit, and then you reach a level where you don’t take any shit at all. Welcome to the layer cake.”
—Layer Cake
Americans believe in the principle of upward mobility; they are averse to any kind of caste system (so-called bona fide or otherwise). All men are not created equal, and any objective analysis recognizes this. Americans, however, like to think that all men have an equal opportunity to go as far as their diligence and hard work will carry them.
They do not like the idea of being straw dogs, completely and always manipulated by fate alone; they believe in determined action. They look at fellow Americans who have achieved material success, and they think that they can get there. When the lord of the first is in the tenth, a person or country will have strong self-esteem, be ambitious, and generally will be successful in its work, both individually and collectively. Some Americans will even take advantage of promotion opportunities created by indulgence in sexual relations, indicated by the lord of the third in the ninth.
Moon in the sign of Taurus makes this country pragmatic, and that same Moon in Krittika is an ambitious position; the Sun in the ninth buttresses such ambition. Jupiter in Scorpio indicates the propensity for hard work, and Mars also there means strong determination.
Americans are energetic, as indicated by Mars in Scorpio: They fight fire with fire. Indeed, there are no better firefighters or fire-fighting equipment in the world than that which is found in this country (and probably more municipal blazes and wildfires here, as well). Americans want to move up. They usually work hard, and they want to escape from any and all lower levels conducive to continuous harassment.
The American Dream
Although this country has been formed by non-Vedic imagination, it is still where Srila Prabhupada began his movement in the mid-Sixties. The ascendant of America is Gemini, also known as Mithuna. This is the sexual sign in the zodiac, and both sex and imagination (indicated when Mercury is in Pisces) are predominant. Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness can also, for many Americans, be interpreted to mean sex life, sexual liberty, and the pursuit of orgasm. Spreading Krishna consciousness in such a country will undoubtedly be difficult, but conspiring from behind the scenes to take it over surreptitiously, to force it to accept some kind of so-called Krishna consciousness, is a most abominable strategy.
The lagna being Gemini, with its lord prominent (but not powerful) in the tenth, indicates an endless stream of binaries; this country is constantly in conflict, and the dialectic never ceases. Americans complain about it, but, at the same time, they like the competition. Gemini-based systems (or nations) operate in conflict, and the American mode of campaigning and competing in both politics and commerce is vintage Mercury.
Mars further makes for a seemingly endless stream of argument and criticism; this is the American way. It has been so since the founding of the republic. Moon in Taurus means its denizens will mostly be good citizens, but they will also be angry and stubborn. Sun in the ninth also makes them rash, and, as such, they easily overreact. Mars in the sixth means that they like to debate the contentious issues, and the lord of lagna in the tenth means that this country has produced, and will continue to produce, outstanding debaters and orators. Jupiter accompanying Mars means that Americans are a quarrelsome people.
The Moon, the only exalted planet (at peak exaltation), indicates all twelfth house affairs. The Moon is the planet of the masses, the planet of the people, the power of the people—and that’s what democracy is supposed to be all about. Gemini ascendants are generally not dreamy individuals (or nations), but, when Mercury is partially combust in his sign of debilitation, they can become so. Especially this is the case when Moon, the father of Mercury, is exalted in the twelfth–the house of sleeping, dreaming, and sexual orgasm (all interrelated).
Americans live for and believe in the goals that they set for themselves, although these goals are rarely if ever transcendental. They want to live the American dream, and they consider giving it up to be tantamount to death. In the beginning, they are eligible for karma-yoga only, and the need for yogic endeavor must be explained to them in such a way that their intelligences (karaka, Mercury), as well as their minds and imaginations (karaka, Moon) are completely satisfied.
Prime Binary or Achilles Heel
“The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations, in extending our commercial relations, is to have with them as little connection as possible . . . It is our true policy to steer clear of foreign alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”
–President Washington’s Farewell Address, September, 1796
As a Gemini ascendant with its lord in a mixed sign, America has always been, and will always be, a study in contrasts and internal conflicts between uncountable binaries. Does this also carry over to the sidereal chart of the country itself? It does. Of the seven major planets, five work in a quasi-harmonious way, one is mixed, and one works against all of the others–to the ultimate detriment of the nation, I might add.
The planet that is mixed happens to be its strongest: The Sun. This having been a daytime inauguration, Sun, as the primary day planet, receives strength. He is almost at full dig-bala (directional strength), and he is exalted in the navamsha chart. He is always first amongst all of the others (naisargika-bala). However, he is in Aquarius here, ruled by Saturn. Over and above that, Saturn gives his particular (full) third-house aspect to the solar globe, neutralizing the Sun’s independence. The Sun works to achieve mostly different ends through mostly different means than does Saturn, but he cannot work against Saturn here.
Saturn is a great malefic in this chart. He is intrinsically the most malefic of the seven major planets, and, for a Gemini ascendant, his lordship of the eighth maintains that status. He does harm to the chart, with the small exception of bringing some ninth house affairs to a fruition every now and then. That amounts to an astro-subterfuge, however, because Saturn is the Achilles Heel of this birth chart.
The other five major planets function in a different rhythm and cumulatively form a binary against what Saturn is trying to form, and therein is discovered the astro-duality. In sheer numbers, they should prevail against him, particularly since Mars is amongst them. However, such a premature conclusion cannot be affirmed as a pre-destined future, because Saturn is the second-most powerful planet in this horoscope. Just as importantly, he is the most prominent planet in the chart.
Using the proven ayanamsha of eighteen degrees and fifty-five minutes of sidereal arc for the year 1781, Saturn is located in the first degree of Sagittarius in the seventh; that being in a quadrant, he automatically receives prominence. Indeed, he is more prominent that the other planet in a kendra, viz., Mercury, who is in an inimical sign and partially combust. Saturn receives almost full dig-bala, and he is vargottama in the hora, dreshkana, and dvadashamsha sub-charts. He is also lord of the month, affording him further strength in shad-bala.
Saturn works against the otherwise intrinsic yearning for freedom that is present throughout the rest of the chart, as his placement in Sagittarius steers the country toward massive organizations and bureaucracies. His emphases therein are solely on wealth and political power. His situation in the seventh inclines the country toward illegal and surreptitious activity, based upon employment arrangements relating to foreign activity. He is cold, diplomatic, ruthless, and disreputable in his objectives.
As lord of the eighth in the seventh, he leads the country into doubtful alliances and partnerships. As lord of the ninth in the seventh, he is materialistic in all ways, contemptuous of occult considerations, and tries to accumulate wealth via his foreign connections–all based on desire for consolidation of power, his kind of power. A close friend, Rahu (north node of the Moon) is in the eleventh, and this demoniac planet assists Saturn. Rahu is known to act similar to Saturn; this is an established sidereal fact. Rahu in the eleventh is conducive to complete illusion and material enjoyment, especially through casual connections.
The weak point of any chart is often the eighth house, but such is not the case here. Venus, as lord of the fifth, is a benefic in the eighth, and his pulse is in tune with what America has stood for and is meant to stand for, now and in the future. Venus protects the eighth making it good, at least as far as occult realization is concerned.
The weak point in this chart is Saturn, lord of the eighth, in Sagittarius in the seventh. Although he will work to undermine the progressive goals of America through foreign alliances, that work will not function in an orthodox manner. In actuality, Saturn will make foreign connections and then import them into the bloodstream of this country. He can do this, to no small extent, because he fully aspects lagna and puts his malefic three-quarters aspect on the weak lord of the ascendant in the tenth. As aforementioned, he neutralizes the Sun in the ninth, who would otherwise be inclined to work against him.
America needs to awaken from the illusion of the Saturn-Rahu axis, and the chief representative of Rahu’s covering potency in the post-modern world is the fabricated, so-called “ISKCON.” Ostensibly, this organization appears to be Vaishnava, but, in actuality, it is not; it is Hindu. America does not require any kind of neo-Hinduism to be injected into its national fabric, but that’s exactly what this particular foreign alliance is surreptitiously bringing about at this time. It virtually goes unnoticed, of course, but we shall be making further efforts to reverse that.
To Be Continued
Go to Part One