The Historical Basis of Helen Boyd's USA Chart

[Gary Noel]

In a letter addressed to William Tudor dated July 6, 1775, congressional delegate John Adams wrote, “We have spent this WHOLE DAY (emphasis mine) in debating paragraph by paragraph, a Manifesto as some call it, or a Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of our taking up Arms.” Several years ago, I told Kenneth Irving about this letter and we both agreed that if Congress spent the entire day debating the Declaration on Taking Arms (DOTA), the Boyd chart for 11 a.m. LMT is probably inaccurate. After DOTA was approved, Congress had only one more item to dispose of, a resolution that a letter be prepared thanking certain political leaders in London for their support. That means if DOTA was adopted at 11 in the morning, the congressional session for that day ended before noon and that would have been highly unusual. Ken posted my comments on his Planet Lines website where they stayed for several years. The website is no more.

After my article America’s Unknown Horoscope appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of The Mountain Astrologer, Wain Farrants, the editor of a book called The Clockwise House System, sent me an email. He thought it appropriate that a USA chart should have Scorpio rising but thought 4:56 p.m. LAT (Local Apparent Time) worked better than the 5:25 p.m. LAT time I was using. Wayne Turner told me that 4:52 p.m. LMT worked better for him. No matter which of the three times is applied, they all have a sound historical basis, something I believe is lacking in the Boyd chart.

The Farrants and Turner charts are worth considering. A few years ago Wayne Turner gave his reasons for using a 4:52 p.m. chart on the solunars website at: https://www.solunars.com/viewtopic.php? ... boyd#p5814

Research by Arthur Blackwell has shown that Philadelphia was on LAT in the 18th century and probably switched to LMT sometime prior to 1838. I think most siderealists are aware of this but use LMT because that’s the default time zone in astrology software.

Why July 6, 1775? The fiery rhetoric in DOTA, written primarily by John Dickinson, is essentially a declaration of war and according to Samuel Adams, it was not the Declaration of Independence or even the July 2 Resolution of Independence that made America an independent nation. It was the war. On April 3, 1776, he wrote the following to Dr. Samuel Cooper: “Is not America already independent? Can nations at war be said to be dependent either upon the other?” The author of the Declaration of Independence agreed with Samuel Adams. In his notes concerning the Congressional debates of June 8 and June 10 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “That the question was not whether by a declaration of independence we should make ourselves what we are not; but whether we should declare a fact which already exists.”

[SteveS]

Thanks Noel, I will later do some Sidereal Astrology event work with the alternative times other than 11:00 AM and see what appears. If Jim has time maybe he can work on these alternative times with the Boyd Chart. He works much faster than me.

[Jim Eshelman]

I probably won't do any work on this. I've always been accepting of the Boyd chart as an interesting secondary chart with specialized value (narrowed mostly to war activities), thinking, "Firebrace saw value in it, there must be some value." I have her original book somewhere in storage and haven't read it since it first came out around 1980.

I'm not sure what events I'd test except the obvious ones that were used to develop that chart in the first place, or what techniques I'd use (return charts are irregular with national charts, but transits and progressions would probably be the better move).

Anyway... current project is getting a catalogue of all "live" astrological factor in every Capsolar in U.S. history compiled, I'm still at least a year behind on reinvestigation of Sidereal Sun and Moon interpretations, and I have a fabulous U.S. chart that matches both national character and national events. I don't see it a good investment spend more than flitting attention on the Boyd chart.

[SteveS]

I understand Jim. I have already accepted Boyd's Chart as a highly possible valid timed chart--but only for declarations of War (mainly WW11) involving our government. This was proved to me with Q progression in one of the 1941 quarter SSR charts which I have already posted about. I am always open to other proven timed Boyd Charts and when have time will try to test and prove a better timed Boyd Chart with Noel's above posted times-- compared with what I have accepted with my personal research on Boyd's Chart with WW11. It is rarely seem a declaration of a major military World War by US government in US history.

[Jim Eshelman]

I recommend paying more attention to July 4, 1776, 12:14:42 PM LMT, Philadelphia, PA(naturally relocated to Washington as appropriate). Even for war, try these for transits and progressions:

PEARL HARBOR
t Saturn -45- r Jupiter 18'
t Mars -90- r Sun 08'
t Sun -45- r Pluto 23'
-----------------------------
t Sun -90- p Moon 37'
(Add Uranus on SNQ MC)

2001 AFGHAN WAR
t Pluto -135- r Mercury 39'
t Uranus -135- r Venus 08'
t Saturn -135- r Pluto 50'
t Mars -180- r Sun 30', sq. r Asc 05'
t Mercury -90- r Mercury 05, -135- r Uranus 27'
-----------------------------------
p Moon -45- r Sun 05', -135- t Mars 21'
Add Uranus on SNQ Zenith)

2003 IRAQ WAR
(Notice how this was a war of opportunism, unlike the others)
t Uranus -135- r Sun 48'
t Jupiter -45- r Mars 59'
t Mars -180- r Jupiter 36'
t Venus -135- r Venus 10'
---------------------------------
p Moon -120- p Mars 37' (t Moon conj. p Mars 41')

U.S. ENTERS WW I
t Uranus -135- r Jupiter 14'
t Mars -90- r Jupiter 41'
t Mercury -45- r Uranus 55'
t Sun -180- r Saturn 25; on r Dsc 51'

ARMISTICE ENDING WW I
t Neptune -45- r Neptune 05'
t Uranus -135- r Jupiter 56'
t Jupiter -0- r Sun 36', -90- r Asc 12'
----------------------------------------
p Moon -180- p Mercury 27'
-- This squares t Moon-Venus sq. in the hour, minutes from p Moon
-- also trine-sextile into natal Sun within a few minutes
t Mercury -0- p. Sun 40'
(Add Q Asc op. Pluto)

D-DAY
t Jupiter -45- r Venus 58'
t Mars -45- r Mars 06'
t Mercury -45- r Jupiter 59'
t Sun -135- r Pluto 26'
-------------------------------
t Neptune -90- p Sun 43'

[SteveS]

I will definitely agree with the Sun-Mars combo's but the rest I can't relate to war. I have got to see Mars involved Big Time. But we all see what we see with our own experiences with Sidereal Astrology. My problem, I have not experienced as much Sidereal Astrology as you--no one has.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

I will definitely agree with the Sun-Mars combo's but the rest I can't relate to war. I have got to see Mars involved Big Time.

Where don't you see Mars involved "Big Time" in the war charts?
It's not in the Armistice chart but of course it shouldn't be.

[Jim Eshelman]

The two Mars-Jupiter incidents are different from Mars-Sun and Mars-Mars. Iraq was a war of greed and opportunism. Similarly, America only entered WW I after thecLusitania, when our commercial shipping lanes were endangered.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

Yes, and Mars was involved "Big Time" in my opinion, whether it was Sun, Mars or Jupiter it was involved with.

[SteveS]

OK guys, I will leave to your expert experience for the correct symbolism for any kind major wars. For now, I will go with Sun-Mars as the major combo for a major world war, based on my limited experience with research. All i am saying: I believe there cannot be a major world war without a Sun Mars signature with important Sidereal Astrology charts, but I have not really studied World War 1 charts, only World War 11 charts.

[Jim Eshelman]

Remember that WW I had been going on a while before we got involved. Germany was foolish messing with our ships and went one step too far, {nassed} us off, and got taken down rather quickly.

With a national chart, we mostly expect to see the collective psyche of the nation rather than movements by the government etc. I think the WW I transits show the immediate tone of the people, fired up, nationalistic pride flaring, heroic spirit, etc.

[Jim Eshelman]

Here are some more:

FALL OF SAIGON
(national embarrassment + peace)
t Neptune -135- r Mercury 50', -180- r Uranus 27'
t Uranus -90- r Pluto 16'
t Sun -45- r Mars 10'
-------------------------------
p Moon -0- r Uranus 09', -45- r Mercury 13'. -90- p Venus (33')
t Neptune -180- p Moon 36'. -90- p Venus 03'

HIROSHIMA
(The transit to the angles is quite striking for this one.)
t Neptune -90- r Venus 51'
t Saturn -0- r MC 18'

VJ DAY
t Pluto -45- r Neptune 57'
t Neptune -90- r Venus 02'
t Mercury -45- r Jupiter 48'
t Moon -0- r Sun 26', -90- r Asc 50'
---------------------------------------
t Jupiter sq. p Sun 28'

9/11
t Pluto -135- r Mercury 12', -180- r Uranus 35'
t Uranus -135- r Venus 51'
t Saturn -135- r Pluto 57'
t Jupiter 135- r Moon 45'
-----------------------------------------
p Moon -120- r Pluto 17', -120- p Neptune 47', -90- p Sun 39', -45- r Sun 52'

[SteveS]

When I discovered Sidereal Daily Quotidian charting (my favorite) and isolated acute aspected planets partile the Q angles, I knew I was working with a very close accurate timed radical chart. If my memory is serving me correctly this morning, the Q work I have done with a quarter ingress 1941 Boyd Chart-- showed a Sun Mars combo on the Q Day USA declared war against Japan & Germany with the 11:00 AM Boyd Chart. Until someone can show me another timed Boyd Chart showing Q Mars on a Q angle, I will stay married to the 11:00 AM Boyd Chart for declaration of major wars.