Lately, a lot of people have asked for an astrological analysis of the upcoming presidential election. Admittedly, this is partly my own doing, since in my last posting I promised to address the election whenever I posted next. Now it’s time to fulfill that commitment and attempt to unravel November’s election astrology.
As usual, I want to clarify from the outset that I am using Vedic astrology, not Western astrology (although the transits I’ll discuss in this post are roughly the same in Western astrology).
There’s a lot I want to say in this article, so let’s dive right in…!
The Good News and the Bad News
First the bad news:
To predict the winner of an election, we need accurate birth charts for every viable candidate. Without all the birth charts, it is difficult to discern which candidate is most likely to win. While we do have a pretty accurate birth chart for Donald Trump, there is much uncertainty about Hillary Clinton’s birth time. This unfortunately will make any prediction of the election’s outcome highly speculative.
(I’m not going to look at Gary Johnson’s chart, because his polling numbers are too low to make him a viable candidate this year.)
Now the good news: I fortunately have a solution to the problem: I’ll present all the predictions and info that I do feel confident about, and then let all of you piece the rest of the election puzzle together for yourselves. My goal is to bring you to a place where you could feel pretty confident about your own best guess.
Tackling Trump
Let’s start with Trump…
Trump’s chart conveys a flurry of activity over the next year. Those of you who have read either of my last two blog posts (about the recent astrological challenges to Leo, Scorpio and Taurus) will be interested to know that Trump has many of his key planets in Leo, Scorpio and Taurus. His Moon is in Scorpio with Ketu (the South Node), his Sun is in Taurus with Rahu (the North Node), and his Mars is in Leo, as is his ascendant.
In short, this is one of the most astrologically intense times of Trump’s life.
As I mentioned in my post last May, Jupiter was providing a “safety rail” for Leos throughout the summer. But, in mid-August this changed, and Jupiter has not been protecting Leo since then. Being Leo rising myself, I had several health issues suddenly arise once Jupiter left Leo (nothing too serious), so I’ve experienced life with and without Jupiter’s safety rail firsthand.
You may therefore be wondering, “Has Trump, being Leo rising too, likewise lost the safety rail of Jupiter lately?”
In a word, no, he hasn’t. Jupiter, now in Virgo, is still aspecting Trump’s Sun and Rahu in Taurus. This still provides much protection for Trump, as his Sun rules his ascendant, and Rahu is the ruler of his current planetary period. In other words, Jupiter affects Trump’s chart in roughly the same way from Virgo as it does from Leo. Notice how Trump hasn’t really lost any ground since Jupiter shifted from Leo to Virgo in mid August. In fact, by most polls, Trump has slightly narrowed the gap with Clinton since then.
One still might ask, “Is Jupiter protecting Trump as much when Jupiter is in Trump’s ascendant (in Leo), compared to when it’s in Virgo, trining his Sun and Rahu?” Well, in Vedic astrology, Jupiter is generally believed to trine with the same strength as it has when it conjuncts, which would mean that Trump is presently getting about the same level of protection from Jupiter in Virgo as he was from Jupiter in Leo. Again, we don’t see much difference in Trump’s performance with Jupiter being in either sign, so I think it’s safe to assume that Jupiter is still protecting Trump from going over the edge.
Trump’s Lucky Stars
But, Jupiter is not just protecting Trump—it’s promoting him too. I must admit that when I first glimpsed Trump’s chart, I even thought, “Oh my gosh, he’s going to win.” I’ll first explain why I had that knee-jerk reaction, and then I’ll also explain why we should take my reflex response with a sizable grain of salt too.
Never underestimate the benevolence of Jupiter
What immediately caught my eye about Trump’s chart is that he is entering his Jupiter Maha Dasa within a few days of the November election. Maha dasas are major planetary periods, and Jupiter’s maha dasa lasts 16 years. It is no coincidence that this major milestone in Trump’s life appears right at election time.
The trick is to decipher what major transition this Jupiter milestone is marking in Trump’s life.
We need not focus too much on whether Trump’s Jupiter period technically starts before or after the election. The start date of a maha dasa should be treated as approximate, since a slight variance in the accuracy of the birth time can move the beginning of a maha dasa forward or backward by as much as a few weeks. In fact, if we were to adjust Trump’s recorded birth time by just 90 seconds, then the Jupiter period actually would begin on the day of the election. Because birth is more of a process than a moment, recorded birth times are imprecise by nature.
So, we should think of the election as coinciding with the beginning of Trump’s Jupiter period, meaning that the election marks a major turning point in his life.
The starting of Trump’s Jupiter period, right around the election, has much to say about how Trump will fare in November and beyond. Since Jupiter is well known as the “King of the Benefics,” it’s proper to think that Jupiter will do something good for Trump (a more fine-grained analysis of Jupiter’s effects would involve a consideration of Jupiter’s rulerships, which I don’t have time to cover in this article).
Another factor in Trump’s favor is that Jupiter, by transit, will be aspecting Trump’s natal Jupiter around the election. This is a second indicator that Jupiter is prepared to do something good for Trump at that time.
The question is, “What is good for Trump around election time?”
Yes, Jupiter is extremely generous in astrology, but what would count as “generous” to Trump this Fall? The answer to that question represents half of the key to predicting the election (I’ll get to the second half of the key in a moment).
One obvious possibility is that Jupiter’s generosity would give Trump the victory in the election. Yet, if winning is not as good for Trump as losing would be, then he won’t win.
If you think you know whether winning or losing is better for Trump, then you may make your own election prediction accordingly.
Some people claim that Trump doesn’t really want to win the election, and that he launched his candidacy as a way to boost his television currency. If this is true, then Jupiter’s gift to Trump could well be a loss in the November election, and a simultaneous boost in his television career and ratings (or some other boon).
If you think you know whether Trump would prefer to win or lose, then you may make your own election prediction accordingly.
The Other Half of the Story: Trump’s Unlucky Stars in November
The benevolence of Jupiter is only half of the story, though, and this is why we need to take my “Trump is going to win” with a big grain of salt. The second half of the key to predicting the election emerges from the malevolent effects of the malefic planets.
To win the election, Trump has to get through a heavy barrage of malevolent astrological influences in November.
Malefic planets are often accompanied by unpleasant experiences or “bad luck.” Trump has all of the malefics aspecting his ascendant on Election Day, and the eight days leading up to it.
In fact, on Election Day itself, Mars is almost exactly aspecting Trump’s ascendant degree (via Mars’ lesser-known 8th house aspect), which shows an escalation of fiery energy for Trump as Election Day approaches. Mars is like a blowtorch. It’s hot and pointy, meaning that it can burn and inflame, pierce and prod, etc. Mars leads to everything from fights and conflicts to burns and infections. Trump’s world will be increasingly “Mars-flavored” as November unfolds.
And that’s just Mars.
The combination of all the malefic planets aspecting Trump’s ascendant indicates immense personal struggle for Trump, severe challenges to his self-image, and enormous strain on his body’s physical resources. Overall, this malefic ensemble represents an environment of overwhelming stress and withering hostility.
That kind of environment is not good for winning an election (but it doesn’t mean that Trump will lose).
While we naturally would expect every viable presidential candidate to experience severe challenges during Election Week, Trump’s astrology indicates that Saturn, Mars, and Rahu will be working in concert against him in November. In other words, if an astrologer were tasked with the job of generating the best astrological transits to make a candidate lose an election, it would be hard to find a more defeating combination of transits than what Trump will be experiencing the week before election. The only way these transits could be worse is if they were aspecting his ascendant and key planets to a tighter degree.
Suffice it to say that Trump will be swimming against a strong current in November.
Trump’s Election Week: “Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures”
Saturn and Mars aspecting Trump’s ascendant shows intense internal frustration, while Rahu’s presence in Leo (very near his ascendant degree) shows skewed judgment and an even greater willingness in Trump to “pull out the stops” (i.e. to operate outside the envelope of accepted ethics and ordinary limits of conduct). The week before the election, Trump is likely to recklessly adopt the creed, “desperate times call for desperate measures.”
I can’t imagine that Trump will look very dignified and presidential in the week before the election. He is likely to look more like an all-out street fighter that week. There should be some measure of disgrace and condemnation associated with his conduct in those days as well (and in subsequent months), although it’s hard to predict if it will be directly related to that week’s behavior or to some skeleton in Trump’s closet that surfaces in the beginning of November. It could even be both.
All this, however, doesn’t mean that Trump will lose in November; it just means that he will be in an extremely desperate struggle to save the ship in the last week of his campaign.
Post-Election Astrological Clues
It’s worth noting that if we look past the election towards the inauguration, one might think that Trump’s astrology suspiciously fits that of a president-elect preparing to take office (I’ll let you judge for yourself if this astrology is just coincidental…)
First, there is the initial buoyancy of Trump’s Jupiter return (especially powerful during a Jupiter Maha Dasa) building for several weeks immediately after the election. If he doesn’t win the election, then he’ll still be jubilant about some other kind of boost to his image and sense of self.
Then, Saturn unloads an intense seriousness and sense of responsibility onto Trump in the second half of December and first 3 weeks of January, immediately after his Jupiter return. The heaviness of Saturn bears down on Trump with Saturn conjuncting his moon, immediately followed by Saturn opposing his sun. Since Trump’s sun and moon are each conjunct one of the nodes (see my article on eclipses), Saturn’s influence on his moon and sun is likely to draw out the emotional and psychological instability that the nodes have given him since birth. In short, Trump is going to be extremely disturbed and worried in the month preceding the Inauguration (i.e. he’ll be “freaking out”).
It’s easy to imagine that this indicates Trump will be nursing an election defeat at that time. Yet, this may be too simplistic of an interpretation, since it doesn’t explain the jubilation from Jupiter indicated in Trump’s chart in November and early December, mentioned above.
If Trump wins the election, he’s likely to become very unnerved and overwhelmed about actually becoming the president in the month before his inauguration.
About a week and a half either side of New Year’s Eve, Saturn is conjunct Trump’s moon. I don’t know where Trump lives now, but if moving to the White House would represent a restriction or “minimization” of his residential environment, then Saturn on his moon could indicate that he is bemoaning taking up residence there right around New Year’s (on the other hand, if Trump doesn’t win the election, this transit will just indicate some other worry or woe for him).
Next, Saturn is almost exactly opposite Trump’s sun on Inauguration Day (the exact opposition is on January 24, roughly when the reality of the responsibility of the presidency would really be sinking in), while Mars is exactly squaring his sun the night before. This Mars-Saturn combo shows that Trump will be feeling an intense sense of personal burden and responsibility right then, as someone takes office in the White House. If Trump isn’t the one taking office, then he’ll probably be having a hernia over his rival’s inauguration—and if he is the one taking office, then he’ll be having a hernia over his own inauguration!
If you think you know Trump well enough to know whether one of these inauguration scenarios would cause him a “hernia,” while the other scenario wouldn’t, then you may be able to make your own election prediction accordingly.
Another majorly significant astrological coincidence is the fact that Rahu is less than 3° from Trump’s ascendant on Inauguration Day (and still applying towards his ascendant degree). While Rahu is considered a malefic, it is also well known for its role in catapulting people into extreme fame and glory. It is also associated with adopting new identities or frames of reference that one never would have believed were possible before Rahu took the stage. If Trump isn’t becoming president next year, then he likely will be reinventing himself centerstage on some eccentric platform.
If you know any substantial details about how Trump would parlay an election defeat into some eccentric and grandiose new image, then you might have reason to expect him to lose the election (I don’t have any such information).
Between the dawning of Trump’s Jupiter period, his Jupiter return, Rahu’s slow transit over his ascendant degree (through next Spring), and Saturn aspecting his sun and moon, Trump has some major astrology that very suspiciously mirrors the kind of life events that a winning presidential candidate would experience.
Coincidence? It’s hard to say without the other candidate’s chart in clear view. In any event, the year following the election will be quite a wild ride for Trump.
Clinton’s Chart: A Tale of Two Ascendants (Or More)
Moving now to Hillary Clinton’s chart, the problem is that her birth information has not been made public, at least not to my knowledge. By some reports, she was born at about 8am, while by other reports she was born around 8pm. Unfortunately, there’s quite a difference between the two charts corresponding to those birth times. And, for all we know, Clinton could have been born at another time altogether.
With the 8am chart, Clinton is Libra rising with her moon in very late Aquarius. However, with the 8pm chart, Clinton is Gemini rising with her moon in Pisces. At the moment, I don’t know enough about Clinton to have a strong sense of which chart suits her better (but if I had to pick between these two right now, I’d pick the 8pm chart).
The 8am chart doesn’t show the kind of drama you would expect to see in a presidential candidate at election time. Frankly, Bernie Sanders chart shows a lot more action around the election and inauguration than Hillary’s 8am chart. In the 8am chart, we can see astrological justification for Clinton’s nomination in July, but we don’t see an indication of the suspicions and disgrace that immediately followed that nomination (about the DNC chairman sabotaging Bernie Sanders’ campaign in favor of Clinton’s). The 8pm chart, however, does provide astrological justification for that suspicion and disgrace (with Mars’ 8th house aspect to Clinton’s ascendant degree in late July).
Meanwhile, the 8pm chart has Clinton currently in a Jupiter sub-period of a Moon Maha Dasa (a 10-year period), with Jupiter opposing the moon recently by transit (early-mid September). This Moon-Jupiter period and coinciding Jupiter transit are more reflective of a presidential campaign. However, the transit of Jupiter opposite the moon in the first half of this month should have been good for Clinton’s popularity. To my knowledge, if her popularity changed at all in the first half of September, it dropped.
Then again, I’m no political pundit, so it’s possible that Jupiter did help Clinton’s public image then (maybe she got a big endorsement or donation then).
In any case, if Clinton was born at 8pm, then her astrology does give her a reasonable chance of winning the election.
Moreover, with Gemini rising, Clinton would have Saturn opposite her ascendant starting immediately after the Inauguration, and lasting for 2 1/2 years. Following that, she would have a Saturn opposition for another 2 1/2 years. In other words, a chart with Gemini rising would show a greater burden of responsibility upon Clinton, right as the presidential term begins next year.
Bottom line: if you’re rooting for Clinton, your best hope is that she is Gemini rising.
Reading Hillary’s Prospects Through Bill
Another way to attempt to unravel the election astrology is to look at Bill Clinton’s chart. Bill’s chart does show favorable astrology during election week, when Jupiter conjuncts his Venus by transit. This is usually a happy and heart opening transit. However, this transit peaks four days before the election.
Nevertheless, Bill has what I will call a “virtual” Jupiter return on February 5 (about two weeks after the inauguration), when Jupiter very nearly conjuncts his Jupiter (at 0° Libra) before going retrograde at 29° of Virgo. For Virgo rising, a Jupiter return amounts to Jupiter conjunct the 4th house Lord, and thus can indicate a change of residence. Jupiter’s conjunction with Bill’s Venus, mentioned a moment ago, can similarly indicate a change of residence—because the 4th house in general is the house of “homes,” and Bill’s Venus rules the 4th house from his Maha Dasa Lord (Saturn).
A third and final indicator of a potential move in Bill’s life is represented by Saturn’s transit into Sagittarius, which begins on January 26, 2017. Saturn’s transit through Sagittarius— which is Bill’s 4th house—is particularly interesting in this case, because Saturn in the 4th house, like Saturn aspecting the moon, can indicate a return to a prior residence. Of course, the White House is one of Bill’s prior residences.
Coincidence? I’ll have to let you decide for yourself!
Conclusion
Unfortunately, this election doesn’t lend itself to a neat and tidy astrological analysis. We have some clues about both Trump’s and Clinton’s prospects, but they only lead us towards a prediction, rather than landing us squarely on a clear favorite. Since we don’t have Clinton’s actual birth time, any discussion about her prospects of winning amount to mere musings. But with any luck, you’ll now feel ready to make a pretty good guess about the election’s outcome yourselves.
I will post a comprehensive election update if any events occur that provide more clues into the candidates’ astrology, or if I have any subsequent insights that make me feel more confident about one of the candidate’s chances.
And as always…
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I am too afraid to read this, BoVish! I need to you to hold my hand!!