During a recent interview I was asked why I chose the title Not Your Ancestors' Civil War for my recent articles exploring the astrology of the 1850s and 1860s. I honestly hadn't put a great deal of thought into it, the title came to me while pondering what to call the first article and I just went with it. But after considering the question I came to a deeper understanding of its meaning.

The title is meant to evoke the striking correlations between the astrology of the Civil War with today, while stating upfront that the 2020s is not the 1860s. Themes in astrology repeat themselves but events are rarely directly repeated. As Mark Twain famously said, history does not repeat itself but it often rhymes. The history of the 1850s and 1860s is rhymed by the 2020s, but we are not entering into an all-out repetition of the past.

Back then, the country had to go to war to smash the entrenched slaveholding elite. Today, that old white supremacy demon that lurks beneath the national consciousness has reared up again and taken power at the very seat of executive leadership. But, even though there are clear astrological similarities between then and now, that does not mean war is inevitable in the 2020s.

In this final chapter of the series, I will explore how the astrological and historical aspects of today compare and contrast with the 1860s, and why these aspects can inspire hopeful courage to face down the fears that threaten to swamp over us as we witness the breakdown of our society, and also of our innocence.

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Part 3: A New Reconstruction

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise—with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

— Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, December 1st 1862

Many of the major players of the Civil War period, including both Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln, Generals Lee and Grant, and artists and activists like Julia Ward Howe, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Walt Whitman, were born during a square alignment between Neptune and Pluto. This was the tumultuous early 19th century period, the time of the Napoleonic Wars that devastated and transformed Europe, forcing (Pluto) a new vision (Neptune) for European society, including its relationship with America. It was also the heart of the Romantic Era, when artists gave expression to their deep, soulful longings (Pluto) in vivid, sweeping imagery (Neptune). The power of this challenging and cathartic planetary combination was stamped on the souls of nearly all who participated in the demolition of the American slave industry.

We could say that a transformation of the country's ideals was fated to be fought by this particular generation. Whether the art of Whitman, the activism of Howe, the bravery of Tubman, or the strategic brilliance of Grant, those we remember today, driven by a profound archetypal tension that would not allow retreat, gave their fullest engagement to the cause.

Today the picture is a bit different. Nearly everyone alive today was born during the Neptune-Pluto sextile that began in 1939 and will continue until about 2040. This multi-generational alignment, so long in duration due to the eccentric nature of each planet's orbit, carries a more harmonious tone, conciliatory in nature in contrast to the square's conflictual nature. Whereas the shadow expression of the square is the relentless enforcement of a cruel minority's vision onto everyone else, the shadow of the sextile is apathy against action, or passivity in the face of a clear danger.

The participants of the Civil War were brought to a brink that forced a resolution, and today we are reaching a similar fevered pitch. But instead of the inner stress of the Neptune-Pluto square demanding destructive collapse, the sextile alignment suggests a smoother ride if we can transform apathy into poetic, moral, and spiritual insight that inspires us to work around the direct confrontation of war. Like a martial arts master, or a masterful preacher, if we can neutralize the energy of the enemy instead of fighting it head-on then we stand a good chance of victory through disarmament rather than by violent force.

Another significant alignment shared between most of us in the 2020s and nearly every living adult during the Civil War involves Chiron and Uranus. These planets were in a square alignment for 35 years during the early 1800s, an uncommonly long duration for a Chiron-Uranus square. The next time these planets were in such a long-term alignment was when they formed an opposition from 1952-1988, meaning that any of us born during that period carries that particular planetary alignment.

As I've explored earlier, Uranus is associated with emancipation and rebellion, while Chiron represents the wounded healer archetype. Chiron teaches us that our wounds offer wisdom, make us more human, and reveal our deeper gifts. When Chiron and Uranus are aligned, the wounds of oppression awaken us to the gift of psychological freedom. Once we have achieved sufficient inner liberation from fear, the tables of power turn.

Like in the 1860s for those born with the square alignment, there is a collective awakening of the Chiron-Uranus opposition occurring today as we are challenged to secure inner freedom while living in a society that is gradually crumbling. The call to action will begin to ring by the time Saturn and Neptune enter Aries together in February. Until then, we must continue shoring up our spiritual resources while interrogating our fears, addictions, or other unconscious resistance to our own power so that when the time comes to act we are ready for the call. Kindness to ourselves while making space for our grief is an essential part of the process.

The collective tension reaches its peak as we enter 2026. Alignments into February suggest a burst of energy that looks like a doubling down of authoritarian force in the face of an upswell of popular resistance. The Uranus station at 27º Taurus, squaring the Moon of the U.S. chart, from late December to early March, suggests the people have had enough and are ready to fight back. It could be a time where the quiet planning of resistance that has been building up these past months starts to emerge as action. It could be a time of fear as a sense of breakdown intensifies, while also a time of hope as the figurative battle lines are drawn, the reality of who stands on which side of truth or lie, of moral or depraved, and of past or future, is clarified.

Despite the intensity of the next few months, differences in the astrological picture today versus the mid 19th century can buoy our hopes. Take for instance the astrological trigger that kicked off the Civil War: Mars and Uranus in square alignment to Saturn. This is a volatile and chaotic planetary combo, suggesting a violent breakdown of social order. Not only is that alignment nowhere in sight today, we've actually already lived through it—on January 6th, 2021. We are now entering a more supportive sextile alignment of Saturn and Uranus that suggests a restructuring of what has fallen down.

Surrounding and underlying everything today is the ongoing trine/sextile alignment of outer planets that implies a profound transformation of our global civilization. The so-called "cradle" alignment of July 2026 punctuates the possibility of what Andre Barbault referred to as an unprecedented solidarity among the peoples of the world.

Looking further ahead to 2032, an encouraging transit is the conjunction of Saturn and Uranus at 27º Gemini. American history is strongly linked to the Saturn-Uranus cycle and the conjunctions tend to indicate strong economic and/or political renewal after a crisis. Moreover, this conjunction is at a trine to America's Aquarius Moon, suggesting the American people are feeling their needs supported by whatever is emerging.

Fundamentally, the United States' birth chart evokes a pattern of cyclical and progressive reconstruction. The trines between Neptune and Pluto, and between Saturn and Uranus, are astrological testament to America's struggles and triumphs in transforming what it means to be a free and functional society. Like the abolitionists of the 1860s, the labor movement of the 1890s, and the civil rights activists of the 1960s, none of the work we do today is wasted. The work isn't easy, but help is on the way as the current darkness calls forth a helpful new lightCarl Jung on psychic balance. We will come back stronger, and again "disenthrall ourselves," remaking our nation in the light of its noblest ideals.

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