INTRODUCTION:

Predicting the outcome of an election is a tempting exercise, but nearly always results in failure.  In 2016 astrologers everywhere attempted to predict whether Clinton or Trump would win the November US Presidential election.  You can geek out here and read the article and comments breaking down results by whether the astrologer followed the tropical or sidereal zodiac, was US-based or international etc., but the important takeaway is that of the 90 predictions collected in the article, 62.1% predicted a Clinton win and 37.9% predicted a Trump win. This wasn’t far off from Gallup’s polling which gave Clinton a 51% chance over 32% for Trump.

After the election some astrologers attempted to blame the incorrect predictions on faulty birth data, but the fact is that in this kind of prediction there are so many factors.  The individual candidates, their personalities and their planetary cycles affecting them at the time of the election.  Whether or not they connect with the People as reflected in the chart for the United States.  Which chart for the United States is used (most astrologers, myself included, use the chart from July 4 1776 but there are several others).  The mood of the People on election day.  Planetary conditions for the US chart and how the candidates fit into those conditions. Let’s take a look at these.

ELECTION DAY PLANETARY EVENTS:  This year we have some significant events that signify the need for change:

Chiron return.  A return of Chiron (wounding and healing) to its position in a natal chart occurs every 50-52 years so it’s not as unusual as a Pluto return; the last Chiron return in the U.S. occurred in 1974-1975 which coincides with Nixon’s resignation and a general lack of trust in government. Under that influence there was a huge influx of new faces into Congress as Americans sought a change. Chiron will be within minutes of an exact return to its place in the U.S. chart on Election Day, and this need to find hope and healing will likely take precedence over a campaign of vengeance.

Transiting Pluto trine the U.S. Midheaven. Another sign of a desired transformation is the harmonious trine from Pluto to the U.S. Midheaven, signifying the government. After many years of Pluto transits to the U.S. chart (Pluto conjunct U.S. ascendant in 2000-2001, Pluto opposite U.S. Venus, Jupiter and Sun 2009-2013, and U.S. Pluto return 2022-2024) the country is ready to emerge from darkness.

Pluto entering Aquarius. On Election Day Pluto has stationed direct at the last degree of Capricorn and there is a sense of moving forward as we transition into Aquarius. Capricorn is the old guard; the rules that create order in society and traditions which keep the past alive. Aquarius brings innovation and reasoned thinking rather than reactive conservatism; there is a focus on the needs of the collective and the betterment of society rather than the more self-oriented position of Capricorn’s desire to master the material world.

Challenging Mars transits. Aggression and competitive instincts will be amplified (transiting Jupiter is in a tight conjunction that day to the U.S. Mars), and the astrological energies that week will be somewhat chaotic and aggressive anyway (transiting Mars, newly in Leo,  will have just opposed U.S. Pluto and transiting Pluto). The opposition from Mars to Pluto will continue into 2025 because of Mars turning retrograde, and the second phase of the cycle occurs on January 3rd which is just before the election is certified on January 6th. This all suggests a potential repeat of the unrest that occurred after the 2021 election.

THE CANDIDATES:

In predicting elections, astrologers tend to look at the different candidates to see who has the “best” transits, assuming that good things happen under Jupiter and bad things under Saturn, but planetary conditions are not good predictors of future events.  Saturn transits can create tests and challenges, but they don’t necessary mean a loss; in fact they often coincide with the most successful periods of life in which hard work results in great benefits.  Jupiter transits can indicate good fortune, but they don’t necessarily mean a win as complacency sometimes leads to lost opportunities.

I prefer to look at the relationship between the candidate’s charts and the U.S. (Sibly) chart and how well that fits into current planetary conditions and macrocosmic .

Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris is a symbol of the New America. A biracial woman, she is the first candidate to break both the color and gender barriers and fits into the narrative of change of the Pluto’s transition into Aquarius. Her Sun trines the U.S. Moon, suggesting a natural empathy. Her Midheaven (point of vocation) is in a tight trine to the U.S. Venus/Jupiter conjunction, another very favorable synastric aspect. Her Sun is in a square aspect to U.S. Pluto and both have been affected by the U.S. Pluto return. This seems to me to be very favorable for her win even though a square aspect typically denotes a conflict between two charts; in this case she represents the end of the Pluto return and the transformational process.

Donald Trump. Donald Trump symbolizes the Capricornian archetype: A successful builder and businessman for many decades, he favors the trappings of wealth over the needs of the Aquarian collective. In this way he fit very well into the narrative of the Pluto return, with U.S. Pluto in the second house of money, but less well into the Aquarian archetype. His Mars/Ascendant conjunction opposes the Moon in the U.S. chart which explains the way he has successfully tapped into a collective rage in certain parts of U.S. society.

CONCLUSION: It looks to me as though Harris will prevail in the election based on the astrological mood of the country and the macrocosm of planetary alignments and phases. A flurry of conflict is likely to continue after the election and into 2025 – especially since Neptune will enter Aries just before the third phase of the Mars/Pluto conflict cycle. The themes of violence and the splintering of U.S. society are, in my mind, part of the evolution of the nation as we come out of the legacies of slavery and begin to live with the realities of a post-racial world.

Astrology teaches us that there is a natural order to human existence. We are not simply living in a chaotic whirlwind of disconnected events; we are part of an ecology that shifts and evolves through time. Good things happen and bad things happen, and we are in a prism of experiences that we all see differently. Nothing is permanent, and for every action there is likely to be an equal and opposite reaction until we find the balance in the center.

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