Skip to main content

A Look Back at Nixon’s Infamous Monetary Decision

 


A half century ago one of the most disastrous monetary decisions in U.S. history was committed by Richard Nixon.  In a television address, the president declared that the nation would no longer redeem internationally dollars for gold.  Since the dollar was the world’s reserve currency, Nixon’s closing of the “Gold Window” put the world on an irredeemable paper monetary standard.

The ramifications of the act continue to this very day.  America’s current financial mess, budget deficits, the reoccurring booms and busts, the decline of living standards (particularly the middle class), all have their genesis with Nixon’s infamous decision in August, 1971. https://antoniusaquinas.com/2021/08/09/a-look-back-at-nixons-infamous-monetary-decision/

 

The unilateral change in policy  was made on 15 August 1971.  On that day, the Federal Reserve shut its "gold window," meaning foreign governments could no longer trade gold for dollars at the fixed rate of $35 an ounce. The Bretton Woods system officially ended and the dollar became fully "fiat currency," backed by nothing but the promise of the federal government.


A horoscope  for the 20 August 1971 solar eclipse  drawn for Washington DC can help explain the cosmic forces at work. The eclipse is conjunct Venus and square Jupiter-Neptune.

As always configurations aligned with the angles are the ones to look at first. Here we have a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction on the MC opposite Saturn.

Venus is the planet connected  to money. And astrologers link expansive Jupiter and deceitful Neptune to ponzi schemes. Together they produce a combination of over-confidence, short-sightedness, and an absolute conviction that one is either right and/or would not get caught. It is a well known aspect associated with over-extension followed by collapse or bankruptcy especially if it is aspected by Saturn – the planet we associate with reality checks.

Saturn is about to station [6aq] on the Ascendant [6aq] of the eclipse chart. The Ascendant or the First House marks a significant transition from the last  house of the previous cycle (12th house) to the first house of a new phase that is about to begin.  

This is the end of a cycle, and  the beginning of a new one. lt is tempting to fall into despair over the "failures" that seem to haunt you now. During this time you are more likely to feel guilty and to brood about yourinadequacies. Recognize that this is the time to clear away leftovers from the past and to make ready for a new start. You will feel pressures for tremendous changes both in the direction of your life and in the manner of proceeding in that direction. Heed these pressures, for they are the first signs of the new order that is about to begin in your life. Robert Hand 


Comments