Aries Ingress - What 2014 has in store for the U.S.

In the 2014 Aries Ingress there may be some difficulty times for U.S. and it's people.  NYC is the location for this Aries Ingress because it was there where our first president George Washington was inaugurated in Federal Hall, New York City.

There is a cardinal sign rising which indicates that this Ingress chart may only be in effect for the first three months (March - June) until the Sun enters (ingresses into) Cancer on June 21st 2014.

What can we expect?  With Cancer rising, the sign of the US chart's Sun (12 deg Cancer) falls in the 12th house of the Aries Ingress chart.  This may indicate that the President and other authority figures for the government will be working behind-the-scenes from March thru June of this year. The 12th house is a weak cadent house so even though there is an exalted Jupiter signifying the president there, doing a good job, his efforts are criticized, unappreciated, and/or ineffective.

An exalted Jupiter is optimistic and works towards a peaceful conclusion.  It strives for the best answer for everyone or all countries.  Unfortunately, this benevolent influence is weakly placed in the chart and prevents it from coming out and providing the tranquility that peaceful international relations that most people would hope for.

The Ascendant and Moon rule the people.  The Moon is fallen in Scorpio in the 5th house approaching Saturn.  This shows that people in the U.S. are not happy, may be suspicious and prone to conspiracy theories and people will be forced to submit to authority especially in areas ruled by Saturn (foreign countries, banking, taxes, insurance, and international travel.)  

Scorpio, ruled by Mars and Pluto signifies death, transformation and financial issues.  Intense fighting,  conspiracy theories and extreme changes may be more prevalent in peoples lives in next few months.  (This is reiterated by the upcoming Grand Cross in April 2014 which is expected to cause terrorism, revolts and other massive events which affect not only the U.S. but everyone in the world to a greater or lesser extent. Read Leslie Hale's article about the Grand Cross for more information.)

Saturn is severe and can be oppressive.  People in the U.S. will feel depressed and restrained and have real concerns for their safety at home and abroad.   Terrorist activities like the Boston Bombing,  Russia invading the Ukraine and the missing Malaysia flight MH370 that disappeared on March 8th are on everyone's minds.  (Leslie Hale and I discussed the country of Malaysia's chart and compared MH370 to other plane crash charts in our Astrology Podcast on March 14th.)

The Moon, which indicates the public is approaching a conjunction with Saturn which rules the houses of open enemies, death, and foreign places/international travel.  This conjunction takes place in the sign of death and transformation.  This shows that we can expect more deaths within the US and internationally in the coming months.

The combination of the first house ruler aspecting the 7th house ruler (enemies) may result in the country takings steps that lead to the direction of another war in the future.  Russia has recently moved troops into neighboring Ukraine.   President Obama has been using financial/trading sanctions in reaction to President Putin's military maneuvers.

Vice President Biden, who was in Warsaw on Tuesday meeting with regional leaders about the situation in Ukraine, called Russia's actions in Crimea a "land grab" and vowed that the U.S. commitment to NATO allies in the region was "ironclad."

Biden also suggested more sanctions against Russian could be coming soon.

"It's a simple fact that Russia's political and economic isolation will only increase if it continues down its current path and it will, in fact, see additional sanctions by the United States and the EU," Biden said.

Venus signifies money and in the 8th house, money from trade with other countries.  The effects of these sanctions will be felt strongly by Russia and there will be repercussions for the U.S. as Venus moves to approach a trine to Mars and square to Saturn on the same day, which is an unusual and powerful celestial alignment coming up. 

This will result in some tense negotiations between Russia and U.S. coming up over these sanctions and it may not be as effective as hoped for.  Venus rules the 11th house of U.S. allies (NATO) who will who will step up and intervene, siding with Russia more at times, since Venus in Aquarius is ruled by Saturn (r-7th open enemies.)

Mars rules the derivative house of the friends of open enemies, so there will be a lot of interactions between the U.S. allies (Venus) and Russia's allies (Mars) soon.  Venus square Saturn from the 8th house of death (Saturn being the traditional ruler of death) shows mortality, possibly referring to Ukrainians who want to be independent of Russia and more aligned with the western nations or U.S. allies.

In the U.S. this  also concerns schools and children, there have been many college campus shootings and the elementary school -Sandy Hook shooting in the past couple of years.  The Moon in Scorpio in the 5th with Saturn also indicates that children may be negatively affected by upcoming events.  The Boston bombers were very young as well, so there may be some violence by young people during this time.

Mars represents surgeons, military, fights, violence, accidents, attacks, and fires.  It is powerfully placed in an angular house, 'feral' in that it does not make any applying aspects.  This indicates that violence could 'run away' with the chart, not influenced or stopped by anyone.  

In addition to this, Mars is at the same degree as the volatile lunar eclipse on April 15th (the day after Pluto stations retrograde) shows a distinct possibility of something erupting around April 15th, which could require military action.

Mars is placed in the angular 4th house which gives it prominence for the next few months along with Sun/Uranus in the angular 10th house - leaders or congress revolting, breaking apart, doing the unexpected along with the President.   These may be the most prominent influence for the next few months if not the whole year.

The fourth house is the land, the US territory, cities, etc.  It also represents real estate and how it may fluctuate, the weather, crops, public buildings, parks, and the opposition to the government.

Mars is intercepted in the fourth house so it's influence may be contained and isolated.  There may be isolated events that happen or potential events that may be subdued for now.

Opposition parties to the current administration are ruled by Mercury fallen in Pisces in the 9th, focusing on foreign relations and legal agendas like Roe vs. Wade.
Mercury trines Jupiter (the president) which shows that for the most part, the opposition parties are too weak (Mercury in Pisces) to  oppose Obama signified by Jupiter exalted in Cancer.  The trine of Mercury to Jupiter shows them working together more this year and opposition giving in to the president.

The descendant represents diplomatic relations for the U.S.   Other countries are signified by Saturn in Scorpio.  They are fixed in their agendas and unlikely to be persuaded to change their agendas.  Some countries may be oppressive and concerned with economic issues.  Everyone is struggling in a recession in varying degrees.

The mutual reception between Saturn in Scorpio and Mars in Libra shows that some foreign countries or groups may be helping to incite or cause more violence and fighting which may reach U.S. lands - Mars in 4th. 

There is also a mutual reception between Saturn in Scorpio (foreign powers) and Pluto in Capricorn (entertainment, birth rate, education, schools, and derivative allies of an open enemy) as Pluto (which can be read in the angular 7th house) opposes Jupiter.   This shows an organized and subversive methods of opposing President Obama through manipulation from these areas.

On a positive note, the malefics are down low in the chart while benefics are elevated.  Also the angular Mars in detriment, Sun and Uranus are intercepted, they may not come out as prominently as they normally would in angular houses.  This could result in a  relatively quiet few month within the U.S.

The Sun is most powerful (although intercepted) ruling the houses of banks, revenue and commercial affairs.  There may be some significant improvements in these areas in the next few months which may not be felt right away.

The next few months will result in unprecedented events around the world which the U.S. will be affected by but not necessarily too involved at this time.  People will pessimistic and may become more concerned with international affairs which will become a challenge for all leaders.

Obama may perform admirably however he may not receive any recognition for his efforts during this time.  There will be much confusion and nebulousness with courts of law, religious groups, foreign trade, and publicity with Mercury and Neptune in the 9th house.  Increased misinformation and propaganda is also possible in these areas. One prominent example in the news is the Meredith Kercher murder trials which are ongoing in Italy and have resulted in a huge PR effort by the defendants.

The mystery of the lost Malaysian plane, confusion in international travel and fears in the airline industry is also shown by the Mercury conjunct Neptune in the 9th house.  These issues will be one of many that puts pressure on the population (Moon conj Saturn) and leads to more worries and stricter regulations as safety remains a major concern throughout 2014.