50 years ago what were regarded as state sanctioned killings of four students at Kent State University rattled the USA right up to the White House. The students were protesting Nixon’s surreptitious expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos and there had been damage to property by fringe activists in the days before. The Republican governor described the protestors as ‘brownshirts’ or communists and called in the National Guard, who for reasons that were never explained opened fire on unarmed students who had no idea the guns were loaded.
Nixon did reverse out of Cambodia six weeks later, Congress later curbed a president’s right to make war without oversight, and the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. So there were a few positives born out of a national shock and shame. It brought to an end a decade that started in hope with JFK, aspired to improve civil rights and ban unjust wars, and ended in a conservative backlash. The Republican governor was re-elected for another two terms.
It happened on 4 May 1970 at 12.24pm, Kent, Ohio when there was a Sun Saturn conjunction in Taurus and a passionate and excitable Venus Mars in Gemini trine Uranus. The chart itself isn’t too interesting though the previous Solar Eclipse located to Kent is. It had the Psices New Moon exactly on the Midheaven, making it a critical location; with an emotionally intense Venus opposition Pluto; and an equally excitable and unstable Jupiter opposition Saturn Mars in Taurus – Saturn Mars being associated traditionally with the military and assassinations. The previous Lunar Eclipse had Mars in Aries conjunct the IC (and square the USA 1776 Pluto opposition Mercury). Planets on the axis in eclipse charts indicates these are crisis regions.
The USA 1776 chart at the time significantly had its Solar Arc Sun opposition the USA Mercury tugging on that fanatical, power-hungry Mercury opposition Pluto which is being sparked up at the moment and for the next three years by tr Pluto in square. The Solar Arc Uranus was exactly opposition the USA Mars for an inflammatory, tinderbox mood.
All countries have their horror moments but the USA does appear to have more than most for what is supposedly a democracy.
Additional thought – the Inauguration chart for January 2021 assuming it isn’t delayed – has a hair-raising Uranus Mars in Taurus square Saturn Jupiter – which might well point to violent protests met with retaliating violence.