It comes as no small surprise to psychologists,

We are shaped by our experiences

psychiatrists, counselors and healers that what we go through in youth has a profound bearing on what we do in life. A child whose parents struggled through the depression strives to hold a job, another whose father went through bankruptcy must make money. An abused child develops a habitual tendency developing ways to avoid commiting to relationships, etc. The parallels go on and on. With astrology one has a chance to see the pattern and observe how it played out both in youth and as an adult.

  The same celestial laws that apply to individuals also work for the personality and soul of a nation. The United States of America was 'born' on the 4th of July, 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As a nation, we have two hard aspects which have framed a powerful portion of the national psyche; an applying Solar square to Saturn, and an applying Martial square to Neptune. Since both the Sun and Mars are 'Fire Lords' (they rule over Leo and Aries, two fire signs), our 'light' was nearly extinguished very early in this country's history, and the resulting impact left a reverberating psychological scar in its wake; one that scared the woolies out of the founding fathers.

  By progression, these two natal aspects became exact in the winter of 1777-1778. This means that their power built to a celestial crescendo and 'crystallized' in the events which took place. Washington was encamped with what was left of his troops in Valley Forge. The end of 1777 saw a series of defeats by an experienced British army, including a surprised and undefended night time attack immediately after the loss at Germantown. His troops were encamped at Valley Forge from December 17, 1777 to June 18, 1778. While his fighting force had numbered some 11,000 men late in the season, he reflected on events shortly after arriving at their winter encampment.

  "We have this day no less than 2,873 men, unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked,"

he stated on December 23, 1777. There were severe shortages of food, clothing and moral. There were epidemics of Small Pox and typhus. The officers deserted in such numbers that he was afraid that he would be left with the troops only. This belies the many 'air-brushed' images of the young nation's forces bearing it all "without a murmur." Paintings generally show uniformed soldiers wrapped in blankets. What blankets? They ate a mixture of flour and water called 'Fire Cakes.' Limbs froze, turned black and had to be amputated. Even the Earth seemed to conspire against them. Mount Misery was part of the defensive perimeter they used to help fortify their precarious position.

  Then as today, war left behind a mountain of debt.

Valley Forge

This fledgling nation had borrowed heavily overseas in order to sustain the war. Unfortunately the Articles of Confederation lacked taxing authority for the Federal Government, part of the reason Philadelphia had not better supplied the troops at Valley Forge. After much debate twelve years into our history, the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Constitution, giving the government the power to tax individual states. This helped create a stronger central administration, but ran against the grain of what we had waged the war against; taxation by a strong central authority. More than a few felt a strong aversion to embracing what so many had fought and died to prevent.

  Each of these contributing factors- the winter at Valley Forge and the seemingly insurmountable national war debt- played into yet another side of our nation's soul. This country's Pluto in Capricorn (mountain of debt) found in the second house ($) of the natal chart. In a mortal struggle we had twice almost met our end, both physically and financially. This primordial fear of extermination propelled us to put into place corporate safeguards to ensure we had the resources to survive when backed against reality's wall.

  As Pluto enters Capricorn in 2008 we will again revisit some of these themes, of how our physical and financial fears have molded this country's psyche, regardless of the cost. We will examine how these issues from our youth have played out into the nation's adulthood (to be cont).