The Sun

The Sun is obviously the principal planet in any horoscope, and the Sun sign of a mundane
chart will convey much of the essential character of the state or nation, or other
organization. It may indicate the supreme authority in the nation- the sovereign body and
the leader, the king, queen, president or prime minister. Thus the Sun can represent both
the effective political leader and the symbolic head of state. It can also show the way in
which a nation expresses itself, the myths and images which it projects and the way in
which foreigners view the. nation. We have the examples of the UK and the Soviet Union,
both with Sun in Capricorn and both very conservative countries. The United States, with
its Sun in Cancer first rebelled against Capricorn England, and then selected Capricorn
Russia as its principal world enemy. Thus we can see how global conflicts can be founded
on the inability of a Cancer nation to accept its Capricorn opposite, and vice versa. The
United States, with its Sun conjunct Jupiter, is obsessed with an ideology of 'freedom' and
has a constitution based on clearly defined rights, whereas the chart for Communist
Russia (as distinct from the Soviet Union) has its Sun in Scorpio, a position indicating
adherence to a rigid State religion and semi-deified national leaders.

The Moon
The Moon is that on which the Sun, the authority in the State, depends. It is the masses,
the common people, and the population as a whole. In particular it rules women in the
nation, both in terms of individuals and in terms of the collective's attitude to its female
nature and to its women members. In general it represents popular opinion, popular and
mass ideologies. The chart for the Polish trade union, Solidarity, shows the Moon as a
singleton, the only planet below the horizon, at 23° 26' Taurus, opposing Uranus at 21° 57'
Scorpio and Poland's natal Sun at 21° 13' Scorpio. This dramatically emphasized Moon
represents the popular, mass appeal of Solidarity. In the Israeli chart the Moon is in Leo,
indicating the dominant national philosophy of Zionism, and in the UK the Moon is in the
tenth house, representing the institution of parliamentary democracy. In Cancer in the UK
chart the Moon also represents the power of English nationalism.

Mercury
Individuals in a State must communicate with each other, and Mercury represents the
means by which they do so. All communication by rail, air, sea, road, post, speech and
writing are ruled by Mercury. It represents society's nervous and intellectual systems and
all their manifestations through education, literature, postal communications, intellectual
movements and trends, schools, and trade. The State authorities have to disseminate
their messages to the people, and political speeches and announcements, as well as
media events, correlate with Mercury transits. In the chart for Tudor England, Mercury
was in Leo, bringing the great age of English literature and William Shakespeare. For the
French Third Republic, Mercury was in Libra, bringing the wave of culture and cafe society
pioneered by the Impressionists, the Existentialists and others. In Communist China
Mercury is also in Libra, and Chinese art, dance and acrobatics are noted for their delicate
grace and beauty.

Venus
Each planet may be seen as representing a function which helps bind the nation into a
State (see Chapter 4). The Sun represents allegiance to a common authority and heritage,
the Moon represents the unity of mass opinion. Mercury the necessity of communication,
and Venus all those things which make it pleasant for people to stay together. Venusian
things enable the State to function without repression. Venus represents the arts,
harmony, entertainment and social pleasures. It brings peace, although through its
passionate nature it also has associations with war. It rules fashion, glamour, artists, 'bon
viveurs' and the 'feminine' archetype. As such it also has particular associations with the
women of a country. Through the association of Venus with Taurus there are links with a
nation's resources, its financial institutions, bankers, farming and farmers. In this
connection we may also link Venus to its natural metal, copper, in a country's economy.
Nazi Germany had Venus in Capricorn, an interesting reflection | of the ideology of 'joy
through work' which the government 1 attempted to use to inspire the people without
the use of fear. One of the first countries occupied by the Nazi government was \
Czechoslovakia, and the occupation was accomplished while Venus at 11 ° 6' Aquarius was
transiting the Nazi Sun at 10 ° 15/ Aquarius, an instance of the correlation of Venus with
an aggressive act. Charles Carter2 noted that when used in war, Venus represents victory.
Mars
Mars represents those forces which hold a State together or drive it apart in terms of
aggression. Many countries these days have Martian military governments, while even
those which have democratic governments use the threat or fear of war as a means to
control their populations. This fact is a commonly recognized part of all international
relations theory. At an archetypal level Mars also represents the collective need of a
nation or society to have enemies to express itself aggressively. It can also show what
helps a society to grow and to assert itself. It can act divisively and show internal violence
from criminal and anti-social acts, or from riots and rebellions. In the UK Mars is in the
eighth house and in Taurus, indicating expansion through a global economic empire. The
NATO alliance has Mars in Aries, appropriate for a military alliance, while Communist
Russia has its Mars in Virgo, indicating the ideology of aggression through international
workers revolution.

Jupiter
A society or nation also needs common values and belief systems if it is to hold together,
and these are ruled by Jupiter. We may see these as both a direct expression of the
collective unconscious, or as an aspect of political control as in a State religion. Sometimes
religion can be a liberating experience, but there is another side to it: Cicero believed that
religion saved spending money on police by keeping people well behaved. Thus Jupiter
represents the law, both as a means to ensure justice and a means to control the
population; and it represents religion, both as a deep experience and as a function of
state control. It also represents the monarchy, and its meaning overlaps with the Sun in its
rulership of the highest authority in the (land. In a more institutional sense it actually
represents the courts, churches, charities. It represents the higher mind- universities,
publishing, philosophy, philanthropy and a nation's sense of well-being. It has links with
national wealth and hence with prosperity, ; wealth, the rich, banks and the financial life
of a society. It also represents larger than life images, and in the USA, Jupiter in Cancer
represents 'Uncle Sam', while in the UK Jupiter in Leo has brought the emotions of 'Rule
Britannia'.

Saturn
Liz Greene has called Saturn the membrane which separates the : personal unconscious
from the collective unconscious. In a State it represents the institutions which distinguish
order from chaos. Saturn, more than any other planet, represents the State and its
institutions and, collectively, the amount of freedom a society permits or denies itself.
Institutionally Saturn represents the legal system, the permanent civil service, and all
conservative and restraining bodies. It may also represent the repressive and controlling
forces in a State, for example, the police. Saturn shows a nation's attitude to law and
order, hierarchies, taboos and old practices. It shows reactionary forces and the fear
which resists change. It governs authority and tradition. The American Saturn in Libra
indicates the precise and somewhat rigid checks and balances of the American
constitution, while the UK Saturn opposed to Venus speaks of the emotional inhibition
which is so important to English national discipline.

Uranus
Uranus, more than any other planet, has characteristics derived from its association with
mundane affairs. Its discovery occurred within the same period of time covered by the
agrarian and industrial revolutions in England, and the American and French revolutions.
Uranus is therefore linked to all revolutions and innovations in society, the need of a
collective to permit or deny itself change, and upheaval at all levels in a nation. It rules
political revolutions, economic change, strikes, political dissidents, wars (where these
represent a breakdown of order), reforms, heavy industry, new technology, and all those
who promote such ideas and events. China and Russia both have Uranus squared the Sun
and both those societies have undergone tumultuous change. The UK has Uranus conjunct
the ascendant, representing the industrial and constitutional innovation of the nineteenth
century. The Second World War started as Uranus in Taurus passed over the ascendant of
Nazi Germany, bringing a collapse of the old order and stability. Uranus is also associated
with uranium, and hence ' with nuclear energy, and the first atom bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima with Uranus exactly conjunct the MC.

Neptune
Neptune is associated more than any other planet with subversion, perhaps because of its
rulership of ideals and links with the 'ideal society'. Hence it rules socialism, and all new
visions and dreams of the perfect society, and the people who promote such dreams. It
represents the need of a collective to be perfect, but it can also rule delusions and
therefore disillusion, glamour, the arts, fashion, a nation's self-image and the image
presented to others. It rules oil and occurs by transit in the charts of those countries
which have discovered oil or is released by the transit of another planet over natal
Neptune. Because of its associations with confusion and delusion Neptune can also rule
war, and in this respect shows very strongly in the chart of Fascist Italy, where the main
motive for war was national glory, and where the main result was confusion. Neptune also
rules scandals, the results of confusion and deception.

Pluto
Pluto represents all things which are hidden and secretive in a society. Perhaps we could
say that it rules the shadow of the collective. From the trivial level of sewerage workers,
pot-holers and archaeologists, we can move to the more sinister level of the secret police,
organized crime, and all self-destructive impulses. It rules what Jung called psychotic
outbreaks in the collective unconscious. Nazi Germany had Pluto conjunct the 1C, while
the horrific events in Uganda in the 1970s under Idi Amin occurred while Pluto was
transiting the Sun. Pluto in general represents the principle of rebirth as well as death, so
we may speculate as to whether in the long run it is beneficial for societies to experience
traumas such as these. Perhaps, if we return to the analogy of the body politic, Pluto
represents that healing principle which forces the collective, as an organic whole, to
experience violent phases of self-healing, in order to become well again.
THE HOUSES AND SIGNS

The houses in mundane astrology may be interpreted on a number of levels. They may be
taken as representing the spiritual development of a society, they may be interpreted as
the manifestation of the collective unconscious or they may be seen as direct indicators of
precise and day-to-day political events. They may also be seen dynamically as
representing the evolution of the collective unconscious or political processes and
relationships within the State. Whilst the following interpretations will have permanent
significance in the interpretation of a national and other group charts, the same basic
meanings are also traditionally attached to the houses in any ingress, lunation, or cycle
chart and can be valuable in locating the area of life which will be most affected by that
cycle. If activity m a particular house in a cycle chart is supported by parallel activity in the
nation or group's natal chart greater weight can be placed on the such indications. As in
natal astrology the angles, the MC and AS, of a national or group chart are always
particularly sensitive to transits. Thus the 1982 Falklands War was almost perfectly timed
by the repeat transits of Mars to the UK Ascendant and Saturn to the 1066 seventh house.
Intermediate cusps can however also be strikingly sensitive (though, as in natal astrology,
which system is most appropriate for which kinds of approach is still an open question!).
For example Uranus was almost exactly on the UK's Placidus/Topocentric third house cusp
when the government announced 1982 as 'Information Technology Year', and against all
the odds the UK rapidly became the largest per capita of microprocessors in the world,
ahead of even the USA and a national or cyclical chart the MC/AS midpoint should be
inserted, in addition to the house cusps, since this is always highly sensitive to transits and
directions and, if will often say something important about the way in which puts its ideals
and aspirations (MC) to work in the world The UK has SA in LE exactly -0- this mid-point.
which speaks reams 'Imperial Power', British 'stiff upper lip', class consciousness,
monarchist convictions. It is notable that Uranus stationed this MC/AS with an orb of 1 °
17' on 28 August 1939, and was -90- to this point at the time of Dunkirk, Britain' s' glory
(LE) following notes on the houses are specifically focused towards charts but the same
basic principles will hold good if one the chart of a company or even a group of nations, as
the British Commonwealth, the EEC, NATO, the Warsaw etc. The important thing is to get
to the root idea behind each phase in this mundane cycle. Thus the third house for a
company has particular reference to internal communications, and traditionally' difficult'
aspects involving this house can indicate poor employer-employee relationships. The
eighth house in a company chart is particularly indicative of outside investment and the
stock and share holders. For a group of nations the MC will represent their common
interests and shared ideals and the 1C their ability to find 'common ground'. For example
the EEC came into force with an MC of29GE so that it can come as no surprise that with
Neptune -180- this point during late 1983 and much soul searching and refocusing as its
apparently solid foundations are found to be based upon miscalculations and self-
deception. From this we can also forecast with some degree of confidence that the whole
idea of the EEC will face further radical changes and restructuring of its foundations its
common goals and group interests during January/February 1988 as both Saturn and
Uranus pass over the 1C of this chart. Such transits to major group charts naturally have
their repercussions within the nations that comprise the group.

The first house

The first house is obviously of crucial importance and is said to represent the nation as a
whole. The sign on the first-house cusp may represent the myths of a nation, its image
and self-image, national characteristics and, to an extent, the nature of the State. In terms
of the evolution of the State we could perhaps take this house as representing the original
society which existed before the State was formed. Nazi Germany had Taurus rising, and
the myth which emerged was one which denigrated the intellect and glorified physical
action. The image of the Nazi state was of the 'monolithic' solid organization. Taking its
cue from the conservatism of Taurus, much of the Nazi myth was based on an image of
the past. Communist Russia has Virgo rising- the myth of the 'workers' state'; the United
States, in the 'Sibley' chart (see Chapter 15), has Sagittarius rising — the myth of freedom
and the wide open spaces; while the UK has Libra rising — the myth of 'fair play'. Any
planet in the first house will, of course, be important. Poland ; has Mars rising in
Capricorn. During its sixty-year history this country . has known two periods of internal
military rule and has continually had to struggle against foreign domination. Saudi Arabia
has Saturn rising, with the Sun and Jupiter in Capricorn, and both the image and the
reality of this country is one of great conservatism and fabulous, wealth. The Saudi's
southerly neighbour. South Yemen, has Pluto and Uranus rising in Virgo, and is the only
Arab state to wholeheartedly adopt a revolutionary Marxist philosophy. The chart' for the
Republic of Egypt has Venus rising, and one of the great aim's) of President Nasser, the
Republic's major leader, was to make country the diplomatic leader of the Arab world.
Thus the first house may manifest through different levels, in some cases indicating the
image of a country, and in others showing actual physical conditions

The second house

Every society has to survive, and so must start producing food other materials. The second
house represents the manner in this is done. It shows banks, financial resources, material
wealth, the economy, the national product. It may also show security and insecurity in the
collective and hence attitudes to material financial resources. At a deeper level this house
will show of a society's values, what they 'hold dear', and possibly the of people the
nation holds in high esteem and the attitude national heritage.

The third house

If an economy is to grow, and different pans of a society to work together, then they must
communicate and trade. This house rules roads, railways, telephones, schools, postal
services, newspapers, computer terminals, television, literature, freedom of speech and
all official announcements. If a society is to hold together then it needs a common
language and a unified education system. The third house reflects this need and how far it
is expressed by a society. The third house also represents neighbouring countries, and
hence has an influence over foreign affairs.
The fourth house
As people originally settled, they did so in families, clans and km groups. The fourth house
represents the transition from the nomadic tradition, perhaps represented by the third
house, to the first settled communities. Communities settled around land and agricultural
needs and were ruled by their royal, military and religious leaders. This house represents
the foundation or base of society and its deep rooted traditions. It represents the
'common people', the opposition to the government, the ideologies of the mass of the
people and of the opposition. This house may be particularly appropriate to nationalism-
the ideology which represents love of the land and socialism, the common ideology of
opposition in western countries. The fourth house also rules the land, agriculture and all
produce of the land. The latter are seen as the products of Cancer in its 'mother' '
archetype. It is interesting therefore that recent research has emphasized the historical
role of women in the early development of agriculture.

The fifth house

Once a society is soundly organized and can ensure survival, it can create. The fifth house
therefore represents all pleasures, enjoyment, entertainments, theatres, cinemas, sports
and social functions. This may have a large influence on certain national characteristics,
perhaps for example, the 'coldness' of the Anglo-Saxons and the 'warmth' of the Latinos.
The house also rules children and the birth rate, and is said to be particularly linked to
'high society'. Speculation in all comes under this house and there is thus a link with the
economy through financial speculation.

The sixth house

The sixth house rules service, and therefore rules workers, the employed classes and their
political institutions such as socialist parties and trades unions, soldiers, armies and
national defence. The' public servant', i.e., the civil service, is particularly ruled by this
house. Through its connection with health, the sixth house also rules public health, health
workers and the health of a society on whatever level we wish to consider it.

The seventh house

The seventh house rules relations with other societies and countries. These relationships
often stem from sixth-house concerns, i.e., the fruits of productive labour which need to
be sold to foreign countries. This house therefore rules all foreign relations, treaties,
alliances, wars, and all related aspects of national affairs. In psychological terms this
house is often very revealing about what we project on to our enemies, and find difficult
to see in ourselves. Thus China, who has constantly heckled the ' paper tigers' of the West
for its 'war-mongering' has both Mars and Pluto in the seventh, positions which Tibet,
Korea, India, and Vietnam might interpret rather differently!

The eighth house

The eighth house represents the financial relations which are often so important to
seventh-house affairs. All international finance, multinational and transnational
corporations are ailed by this house. Issues involving foreign investment in the nation
come under this house. The result of seventh-house activity is often death, and the eighth
house rules death, public mortality, death duties and all the other arrangements which
surround death. We may also see it as the house of national death, rebirth and renewal
on a more psychological or spiritual level.

The ninth house

Eighth-house financial relations require long-distance travel and a network of laws. This
house is therefore connected to foreign relations and all long-distance communication,
especially shipping. The ninth house rulership of religion, and all belief systems, follows in
a natural sequence from the eighth-house rulership of death. It rules philosophy and may
show what type of philosophy or religion a society chooses for itself, or whether there are
likely to be conflicts in this area. In order to function as a state a society needs belief
systems, taboos and commonly-accepted values and morals to guarantee public order
This house also shares with the third the rulership of publishing and education (though it
refers especially to higher education). The law and legal system also have a particular
affinity with this house.

The tenth house

Standing at the top of the whole structure of society is the government. This house rules
that government and the particular ruling class who constitute the government, whether
royal family, aristocracy landed oligarchy, traditional chieftains or party managers. The
tenth house also rules national prestige and is an indication of how a society will be seen
by its neighbours. As in the individual, the MC indicates the ideals which a society seeks to
attain and consciously cultivates.

The eleventh house

The government needs institutions in order to govern, and the eleventh house rules these
institutions. It rules the legislature especially in the UK, the elected House of Commons
(the House of Lords is non-elective) the civil service (in the same administration) and local
government. It has relevance to foreign affairs where it rules countries with more distant
connections, and is said to relate to friendly nations. As the eleventh house we may also
consider that it relates to a society's collective long-term hopes, wishes, ambitions . and
ideals.

The twelfth house

This house rules all that remains wholly or partly hidden. In terms of institutions this
represents hospitals, monasteries boarding schools, prisons and all places where people
go voluntarily or otherwise, to be alone. In terms of ideology this house rules anything
which is subversive of the established order and the sponsors of subversion- secret and
underground societies and parties. The occult and mystical aspects of philosophy and
religion are also ruled by the twelfth house.