The past week has brought about some stunning reversals in the unfolding drama of the U.S. political scene. I’ve moved most of my political writing to sound bytes on Twitter/X and AstroNotes on Substack but the events of this week seem like a bigger picture situation that deserve a more permanent place on the blog.

On Sunday July 21st there was a Full Moon at the 29th degree of Capricorn. This was the second Full Moon in Capricorn, something that is often called a “Blue Moon” because it is a relatively rare occurrence (usually there is one Full and one New Moon in a month). In any case, the 29th degree has particular significance: As I wrote in my weekly forecast from the week before this Full Moon, “The 29th degree is a potent symbol of finality. A planet is nearly done with the energies of one sign, but there is still some room to grow and create change. There’s nowhere to go from the 29th degree, and for that reason there is a sense of fate, an almost desperate need to complete something which has lingered.”

Capricorn is the sign of senescence – the aging process which develops maturity and then a breakdown of physical processes. It is associated with the process of time and the urgency to build something lasting before  the clock strikes a final time. Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008, breaking apart structures of finance and consolidating power and money in the hands of a few after the expansive bubbles of the Pluto in Sagittarius period (1995-2008). But Pluto is nearing the end of its Capricorn journey – it is still in Aquarius but will soon retrograde back into Capricorn for one last sweep.

This Full Moon at 29º Capricorn accentuated this final reckoning. Just a few hours after the lunation at 6:17 am EDT the Moon slipped into Aquarius and conjoined Pluto and that afternoon President Biden announced that he was quitting the presidential race and endorsing Kamala Harris. This was not a shock, but the timing could not have been more astrologically spectacular.

What is particularly interesting from an astrological point of view is that all three of the people involved (Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris) have planets in very tight alignments to this Full Moon (and the one in August, but more on that later). Because Neptune is at 29º Pisces it too was involved in the astrological connections.

  • Joe Biden’s Sun/Venus conjunction was trined by Neptune and the Sun, with a harmonious sextile from the Moon. His natal Jupiter was also harmoniously affected and transits to and from Jupiter are often associated with opportunity and a letting go or release. In addition, transiting Mars hit his natal Uranus to prime his personality for a radical change. (charts here)
  • Kamala Harris deserves a post of her own (you can read my post from 2020 here) but she was also dramatically affected since she was born under a Full Moon in an exact square alignment to the July Full Moon. In addition, the lunation formed a trine to HER Jupiter, opening up the door for a new opportunity. (charts here)
  • Donald J. Trump was also born under a Full Moon, a lunar eclipse of great magnitude. The July Full Moon made an awkward quincunx (150º angle) to his Mars/ascendant conjunction which creates tension with no easy way to release it (unlike a square which forces a crisis and resolution). Trump is no stranger to astrological problems which sometimes seem to make him stronger in the face of adversity. But at some point the ability to fight is weakened, and transiting Saturn is in a tense square to his natal eclipse. (charts here)
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has three planets in Capricorn very tightly conjunct the North Node of fate and his chart is also strongly affected by this Full Moon. There is a sense of destiny here, with Pluto having transited all of his Capricorn planets over the past few years and now being released into his seventh house of partnership. With his Leo ascendant Kennedy can sometimes be blind to the circumstances that surround him and with Chiron at the top of the chart in stressful aspect to many planets, his own emotional balance is a big part of his story. (At the time of this writing it looks like Harris is taking up all of the oxygen and RFK’s candidacy may begin to run out of gas.) (charts here)

Astrological predictions of elections are not as easy as one might thing. Astrologers often make the mistake of thinking that challenging planetary events mean a candidate won’t win, and that harmonious events support victory but this is not the case. Individuals with weak astrological charts and personalities that do not bear up well under stress do not usually become presidential candidates, and often it is the stress which makes them stronger. We can see this with Joe Biden who has multiple Scorpio placements and a history of fighting back against adversity. Trump’s Mars/ascendant conjunction and natal eclipse gives him the sheer force of will to continue even when victory seems far away.

Harris’s chart is different – she doesn’t have the sheer force of personality that the other candidates have. But that North Node conjunct the ascendant and trine the Sun signifies the power of destiny to power through challenges.

I’ll be writing more about all of this as things unfold. The next Full Moon on August 19th will hit all of these candidates’ charts in similar ways but more importantly, the Full Moon itself will exactly conjoin the U.S. Moon.

The mood of the country was very dark under the U.S. Pluto return 2020-2024, and Trump was the perfect candidate to bring out the nascent darkness of the nation. With the Pluto return just finishing up and Pluto moving into Aquarius for a new beginning, and Trump’s dark message has not adapted for the new energetic climate. The United States Sibly chart which is most often used by astrologers has optimistic Sagittarius on the ascendant, and it appears likely that Americans will choose a more positive candidate in November.

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