The Stars and the Stripes: An Astrological Exploration of the United States

“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”-James Baldwin

While I’m not necessarily patriotic nor anti-American — though I am on the verge — I appreciate Baldwin’s sentiments. As someone born in the United States and has lived in other countries and experienced different ways of doing things, I feel both protective and dubious. I want to believe we as a country can evolve and create new systems and structures that work for everyone. And yet, the progress often feels slow and hopeless and I have started to doubt the country’s capacity to keep up with the evolving world.

When I feel frustrated or annoyed with a person I often find myself looking at their natal chart in attempts to appreciate their complexity or understand our co-created dynamic. And right now, my biggest disappointment and fear sits with this country I call home. So in this time of mixed emotion…and transition….I turn to the tool I know best for insight and perhaps optimism of a country I both dislike and love — astrology.

Just like people have birth charts, locations have them too, created at the moment they become recognized as a city or country. Beyond horoscopes for individuals, astrology can also…