Happy 250th Birthday, USA… Or Is It?

(Part 1 of an Extended Series)

Is it happy? Or is it even its 250th birthday? I’d argue it’s neither!

I don’t think the “happiness” issue is much of a question at all these days. Perhaps 30% of us (if that) currently could say we are in a state of happiness (per the polls). So we will just focus on the birthday itself. Is the USA indeed about to turn 250 years old on July 4, 2026?

Of the accepted USA “birth charts” out there, the July 4, 1776 chart is considered the standard. This is the date and time (rectified, by renowned humanistic and transpersonal astrologer Dane Rudhyar) that the Declaration of Independence was issued in Philadelphia (see chart below) and is widely celebrated as the nation’s birthday.

The standard USA birth chart by Dane Rudhyar.

This July 4th chart shows the USA as a Cancer Sun, Aquarius Moon, and a Sagittarius rising, with a prominent Cancer stellium in the 7th house.

Yet, as a mother myself, I know something about the details of when a child is considered “born,” and when it is conceived. I believe that this chart shows when the USA was conceived, not when it was born.

When is a child - or a nation - truly born?

Let’s presume that the birth of either a child or a nation are based on the same criteria, even if they go by different descriptions. There is the conception of the child, but it must be seen through to the birth for the child to be declared “alive.” This can take 9-10 long months of growth, waiting, and enduring on the part of the mother.

However, the moment a child is born into this world is considered monumental, especially in astrological terms. A child’s birth is recognized and time stamped only after its body is fully separated from its mother and its sex and status (has taken a breath, is living, or not) are noted. Not when the mother is ready and pushing, not when the head crowns, not when half the body is out, not when most of it is out, not when the father passes out — the birth officially occurs once the baby is fully separated from her mother.

The Declaration of Independence was an important moment declaring the intention of the USA-to-be — but not the birth. The birth did not occur until the “child,” which was the American Colonies, was fully separated from her “mother,” which was England, and this did not occur until the Revolutionary War ended and the Treaty of Paris was both signed and ratified by both parties, signalling the beginning of new life separated from her mother.

This took place on the morning of April 9, 1784, when the Treaty of Paris was ratified in full by the English King in London, England, making final and complete the severance of the colonies into their own nation. They were not wholly independent of the mother country before this action took place. The War for Independence lasted just over eight years, from April 19, 1775 until September 3, 1783 (we could call this period the “gestation period”), when the signing of the Treaty of Paris took place (which we could call the “beginning of labor”). However, that Treaty was not legal and binding until it was ratified by both the Americans (occurred on January 14, 1784 in Annapolis, Maryland — “half the body has emerged”) and the English, which took place on April 9, 1784* (“the full body has emerged from the mother’s body”). This is the date I am using.

There is no time of this royal signing event available, that I can find anyway, so I have rectified it against the already-rectified July 4, 1776 chart**. And the result is astounding.

Open your mind as we discover a whole new way to look at the good-ole’ US-of-A.

Gene Wilder in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” 1971. A “world of pure imagination.”
(“Traveling in the world of my creation, what we'll see will defy explanation!”)

(Disclaimer: I am in no way negating the July 4, 1776 chart, or proclaiming mine to be the only worthy chart, or insisting that my chart is perfect, right, or correct. This is just my own way of viewing the nation’s birth date and chart and I am well aware of the ongoing controversy regarding this nation’s date of birth, time, and continuing evolution through multiple important dates in its relatively short timeline of existence. Please see the “Ongoing Controversy” section below, as well as the Footnotes.)

The USA is an Aries!

In this chart, the USA is an Aries Sun, Sagittarius Moon, and Aries Rising.

My version of the USA natal chart, dated April 9, 1784 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and is associated with being first-born, the first to arrive, and paradoxically, also the youngest — the baby of the zodiac. The reason for this is because the arrangement of the signs corresponds with both the seasons of the year (Aries aligns with the Spring Equinox, the beginning of the new seasonal year when the cosmic wheel turns and things are born anew) and with the seasons of individual life. We are born into the world as a separate individual (Aries), we grow through toddlerhood and discover our body (Taurus), learning to speak and explore (Gemini), to discover our feelings and attachments (Cancer), to step into our sense of self and project our personalities (Leo), to discern between good and bad (Virgo), to partner with others and learn how to cooperate successfully (Libra), to learn about sex and death (Scorpio), to develop a philosophy and determine what our beliefs are through exploring the world at large (Sagittarius), to become mature and develop self-discipline and sober responsibility (Capricorn), to innovate and learn to prioritize the collective instead of just ourselves (Aquarius), and to surrender our egos entirely to the Divine (Pisces).

From my previous article, Neptune in Aries: Use the Force, on the nature of Aries:

“Aries is the God of War and is ruled by the planet Mars, which is associated with war, aggression, masculinity, drive, determination, passion, competition, ferocity, enthusiasm, confidence, fearlessness, anger, impulsivity, strength, energy, force, quick starts and quick finishes, leadership, conflict, combativeness, self-centeredness, impetuousness, immaturity, being headstrong, rash, rage, ego, adventurousness, and independence.”

Aries energy is the emergence of Spring after Winter; it is the first green sprout pushing its way out of cold, hard ground; it is fighting for life, full of the inevitability and confidence of its arrival. It cannot lose, and it knows it. It is the first born child.

Chart Interpretation Synopsis

As a multiple Aries (Sun, Mercury, Ascendant, and significant 1st house placements), with an out of bounds Sagittarius Moon, an out of bounds Gemini Mars as its chart ruler, and an out of bounds Pluto in revolutionary Aquarius, the USA came to life in the world full of ambition, brightness, intelligence, innovation, and pioneering, independent spirit. It willfully and authentically walks to the cutting edge without blinking. It pushes boundaries. It is a trailblazer. It welcomes (and often instigates with a sharp tongue) debates and is not against using intelligence and information as a weapon, competitively asserting its self-proclaimed dominance and power over others with gathered information data. It projects youthful, fresh, energetic joviality and unsophisticated curiosity, yet is often unaware it also can appear boastful and arrogant. It tends to be brash, confident, loud, and feels entitled to be the leader in all situations. Others may resent it not because it actually is very good at what it does, but because it is so shameless and proud and utterly lacking in humility.

There is a strong spiritual manifestation and inspiration energy here that may produce innovations in religion, perhaps a new religion (or religions) entirely. A zealous nature that is infectious to others is present, and it may manifest in combative behaviors, even in imposing religious beliefs upon others in forceful ways.

There are indications of repeated unconscious self-sabotage due to difficulty reconciling emotional reactivity with rational discernment and sober ambition. There is a wild bucking horse inside that charges the gate relentlessly, only to find that when it is freed, it does not know how to exist outside of the pen. There may be indignation, rebellion against authority, and defiant boldness that drives it toward independence — and it does have what it takes to be utterly independent — yet it must strive to do so without burning bridges behind it. Learning to win graciously — balancing youthful, intuitive intelligence with responsible maturity and discernment, interdependence with others, while removing ego completely from the picture and acting toward the collective good — is the key.

The USA is a bold fire nation. A willful child confidently staking its claim
in the world without fear of consequence.

The USA Is Still A Child

This nation is a relatively new entity that has experienced rapid growth and extensive change in a relatively short amount of time. We have had so many iterations we’ve cycled through so far and it feels like we are still becoming. It seems to me that the Revolutionary War and its fallout — our Independence — is still unfolding. We are a nation still struggling to be born into a complete entity. Indeed, in the context of nations, 250 years is not that long of a time — France, for example, has been in existence as a distinct nation for over 1000 years.

We have a lot of unfinished business to take care of, and some extremely heavy karma to clear. We have not been completely honest, had integrity, nor acted with the best intentions toward all of our fellow citizens, and definitely not toward those who have wished to become citizens, nor especially toward those who were here before European colonists arrived and the enslaved people forced to come with them, upon whose exploited backs so much was carried and built. We have a lot of work to do to uphold the ideals (such as “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”) that were set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

That this time coincides with the nation’s Pluto Return — in my chart, the Pluto Return will be exact on March 17, 2030, but is in effect now and building; more on this in Part 2 and continuing through the series - as Pluto takes approximately 248 years to orbit the Sun, is exceedingly fitting. Pluto governs sex, birth, death, and rebirth — transformation — and we are finding ourselves in a deep period of transformation now. It’s painful, messy, and we will never be the same after this, just like a mother transitioning in childbirth. We are growing into something that I can only hope is a more evolved and mature version of how we started. This is an ongoing event.

The Ongoing Chart Controversy

There is ample debate and controversy on the USA birth chart already. At least 15 different birth charts exist on astro.com for the USA Birth Chart. The most widely used one is the Sibley chart (so named after an 18th Century British astrologer), cast for July 4, 1776, at 5:10 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, though there are multiple other iterations with arguments for their veracity, including the date of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, and the date of the English general’s surrender to George Washington’s army which effectively ended the war, battle-wise.

Still, the July 4th chart stubbornly hangs on as the most preferred version, and has been painstakingly and thoroughly analyzed by multiple astrologers over many decades, including Rudhyar’s above, who altered the birth time by a mere 3 minutes from the Sibley chart, changing nothing significant. As mentioned, this chart shows the USA with a Cancer Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Sagittarius rising. I do agree that these planetary energies are alive in the ethos of the USA and they definitely show up in the April 9, 1784 chart, just in a different configuration.

Below are the astrological energies of the two charts (July 4, 1776 and April 9, 1784) listed in a side by side comparison table:

Side by side comparison of the July 4th, 1776 chart and the April 9, 1784 chart.

It is very interesting to me that the nation — no matter which chart we look at here — has the same Mars!
July 4th chart: Mars at 21°23’ Gemini. April 9th chart: Mars at 18°11’ Gemini. And both are out of bounds! Plus so many other similarities and significant conjunctions.
They are fraternal twins!

Coming Next, in Part 2: The Deeper Analysis of the April 9, 1784 Chart

The next segment of this series, Happy 250th Birthday, USA… Or Is It?, Part 2, will include:

Comprehensive chart interpretation for the April 9, 1784 USA birth chart
Segmented write-ups of each planetary placement
Important and notable aspects and aspect patterns (Out of Bounds planets and Magic Wands and Thor’s Hammers, oh my!), and
Crucial incoming transits that are super relevant to the times we are living in, like the nation’s Pluto Return, Uranus Return, and Neptune Opposition (though these may end up with their own dedicated series pages as this thing rolls on).

There may be four or more parts to this series; eventually I will discuss how we can best move forward as a nation.

Click through the navigation links below, or check the Table of Contents for this and further updates as they are released.

Psyche in the Underworld, Paul Alfred de Curzon, 1859.

Footnotes:

*The Treaty of Paris was drafted on November 30, 1782, and signed at the Hôtel d'York at present-day 56 Rue Jacob in Paris on September 3, 1783, by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley. The Congress of the Confederation, operating as the legislative body of the newly established United States, ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Old Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House. Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the other parties involved, the first reaching France in March 1784. British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784, and the ratified versions were exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783). I consider the May 12, 1784 date to be akin to “creating the birth certificate” and not the date and time of birth, however. So I continue to use the April 9, 1784 date for my chart as the date of “birth.”

Annapolis, Maryland, the acting USA capital city at that time, is where the child was when it was born; London, England just happens to be where the mother was during the “birth.” We have to stretch our imaginations a bit to imagine a woman birthing a child across state lines here, but the effect is the same. The child is born where the child lands upon birth. If it happened to land in a different state or even time zone than the mother, then that would be where it was born.

** Rectifications are imperfect. They are based upon analysis of pertinent events in the life of the chart holder and upon “look and feel” as well as upon intuitive pings the astrologer (and sometimes the chart holder or native, if available) receives. They are, in other words, educated guesses. Proceeding from this supposition, we will move forward in the open minded and curious exploratory spirit of the scientific method, utilizing observation, questioning, forming hypotheses, testing, analyzing, and concluding to form our thesis presented here.

Thanks to Carrie Ann Baade for her generous feedback and willingness to review, despite her heavy workload. Meow!

Thanks to Mark Lingham for inspiring the idea years ago, though with the focus on a different date (date of English army’s surrender to George Washington at Yorktown) at that time. We had the right idea, but the baby hadn’t yet been fully cooked.