When they say they we want our America back,
our America back,
our America back,
when they say they we want our America back,
well what the fuck do they mean?

Jill Sobule “America Back”

The comment that one is “proud to be” a certain nationality has always struck me as an odd statement. You had no choice in the matter (to most beliefs) so what else could you be? You don’t often hear “I’m proud to be human,” possibly because we are all human and the animals amongst us do not care,

Cultural identity seems to be tied to self-worth which of course is important but will always be threatened because culture is like water – it moves and changes continually. As Jill Sobule sings (full video below), when Americans say they want our country back, what do they mean?

The culture from 100 BC when the Adenas were building mounds? The culture from the 1400s when tribes roamed freely in search of food and shelter? The culture from 1776 when slaves tilled the fields and we split from the British? The culture of the Industrial Revolution and factory work? The culture of the World Wars? The 1950s? The 1960s? The 1980s?

Which culture do they want back?

The Cult in Culture

While working in a bank many years back, a senior leader said he wanted the corporate culture to be like “a cult.” (Good luck with that, dude, I thought to myself). Then I realized that “cult” was part of the word “culture.” Only then did I see that a cult was simply a sub-culture struggling for dominance.

The characteristics of a cult are often found in culture with the predominant characteristic being that you are born into the culture – it surrounds you and you can’t get out (called “milieu control” in cult psychology). When you are finally able to physically remove yourself (assuming no political barriers), you have already internalized the culture from language to food. It’s inside of you – there’s no getting it out.

In times past, you might spend your life not seeing another culture. Today’s technology has broken the barriers of physical space so culture now flows beyond natural boundaries.

In wanting “America back,” I would analyze it simply to mean that they want the cult back. The cult could be from any time or place of comfort, but would be limited and finite, as culture never is. Cults often implode through this very containment of energy. Culture, in contrast, is always evolving.

Uranus in Taurus

The astrology you ask, where is the astrology?

Uranus is currently finishing up its transit of Aries and will next year begin to step into the sign of Taurus. Aries is fire and self assertion (in case you haven’t noticed). Taurus, in contrast, is fixed earth.

The energy symbolized by Uranus is the energy of inspiration, awareness and enlightenment. It’s often of a sudden nature, like inspiration itself.

Is Uranus good or bad? I’m often asked in readings.

Like all energies, it’s neither. If you suddenly realize that your spouse is cheating, you might think it bad. But the awareness is important to your growth and development. Scientists and artists of all sorts tend to like Uranus inspiration when that idea coalesces or appears in the mind’s eye. Uranus is breakthrough. Discovering a cure for a disease would be the mark of Uranus, even if it took years in the coming. Uranus can be preceded by much work; it’s not divine intervention but the moment of happening.

When in Taurus, this Uranus awareness will come through things related to earth energy – the earth itself, home, objects, work settings and money. Earth is dense so the energy of Uranus may feel shocking as it takes a lot to make earth change. The strike must be more intense.

In another fascinating twist, some of our famous cult leaders were born in the sign of Taurus. Taurus is a fixed sign as are Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Fixed signs are focused and determined so are best at leading; you’ll find fixed signs as leaders in many countries. Taurus may be good at cult leadership because the boundaries are firm, something that provides comfort for an earth sign.

Do you own your culture?

Wanting “America back” is a possessive statement, as though someone has stolen something that is mine. Yet culture is not an object; it’s a fleeting state. It involves all the individuals participating at a given time.

If we think we own our culture, Uranus in Taurus should change that. Uranus will probably shake up both boundaries and cultures. A rise in cults may occur in reaction to this change. Cults in the age of Uranus in Taurus will probably build physical boundaries between themselves and others.

It doesn’t seem possible to own or possess culture any more than you can own or possess the fantastic time you had at last night’s party.

In America (The United States of America, that is), the tribes that lived on this land in 1492 didn’t own the land. The entire concept of owning the land was incomprehensible. The American culture that arose based itself on ownership of land and people. Fast forward 200+ years and now companies own genetic code. Ownership is expanding.

Do we own our culture? I think not, but Americans may try to own it as we’ve tried to own since our founding. It will be interesting to watch this desire for ownership as the energy of Uranus creates shocks and shifts to all we find stable.