Below is an essay I submitted to the NCGR Mid Hudson Valley in response to their call for predictions as to who would win the 2020 election. It was submitted October 11, 2020. It is an innovative analysis that includes predictions, a horary chart, a comparison chart with Donald Trump’s natal chart and the horary chart, and Trump’s natal chart with his secondary progressed planets. I was one of the winners and will be presenting this essay in December!
Winner of popular vote, Electoral College, and certified by the courts i.e. if the election is contested: Joe Biden
The USA: The mood of the U.S. populace and Donald Trump has reached a polarized climax but by October 20, 2020, this mood begins to subside, leading to a general collective feeling of calmness that values reason above all else. Biden begins to substantially embody and aid in this effort, either through significant actions or speeches, around November 16, 2020.
Donald Trump: He has a chance to transform his mind in a profound, spiritual way and integrate the personal points in his chart (Sun, Moon, and Ascendant) through his progressed ascendant moving into Scorpio in the third house and his progressed part of fortune already being there, but this is a free will move he has to make. Otherwise, he moves into a dark, negative psychological space.
On the morning of August 15, just after the sun had risen, I sat on the roof of my apartment building, a former Masonic temple, and beheld Venus conjunct the Moon. The Sun had not yet obscured them, and after some time, I descended back to my dwelling on the ground floor, three stories below. Shortly thereafter, I opened my e-mail and found a message from the NCGR Mid-Hudson Upstate Chapter advertising a call for submissions for a Presidential Election Challenge. My initial reaction was one of revulsion. I thought, “how many astrologers are trying to predict the election? Didn’t the majority of astrologers get it wrong last time? Is predicting the outcome of the U.S. presidential race the best use of any astrologer, professional or amateur’s, time?” The passions aroused within me soon quelled as I slowly read and began to understand the nature of the contest which stated that “correctly predicting the winner of the 2020 election is NOT the entire point of the challenge. Utilizing astrological writing skills, presenting findings using critical thinking and predictive techniques, to present your logic in coming to your conclusion, is the important factor.” Given this, and the higher angels of reason prevailing, I came to realize that a golden opportunity had announced itself to explore not only the nature of the U.S. 2020 Presidential election, but the nature of the NCGR contest itself, which might yield insights into the practice of astrology, prediction, and how astrology might best move forward as a field. The NCGR Mid-Hudson Upstate Chapter and its stakeholders, the contest, the presidential election, and even I were offering the dramatic materials to construct a demonstration of how one can gain personal, subjective insights through astrological inquiries. As the late astrologer Richard Idemon once said, “when you don’t invite the Gods into your life, they show up uninvited, and they bring a poisoned gift.” (Booth)
The brief story told in the first paragraph is not superfluous but rather critical to the understanding of the contest, the presidential election, Donald Trump, the NCGR and its stakeholders, and the U.S. populace. I don’t believe one can ever become disentangled from chart analysis, even at our most objective. This is best exemplified by the practice of horary astrology, the type of astrology that seeks to answer a specific, pressing, personal question where the astrologer is always taken into account. Straight away, I had elected to look at the 2020 election through a different lens than simply analyzing Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the American Chart, etc. The first chart I erected (chart 1 below) was the moment I understood the question the NCGR was asking. It was NOT necessarily about a prediction. I believe this was further amplified by the fact that not only did I choose to begin the contest with a horary chart, but I also had an intimate visual and even spiritual connection with the sky just moments before I cast the chart. As I move through this analysis, consider your own natal connections to these charts and how you might be connected to them. Some pertinent questions provoked are: what is the nature of the NCGR Contest? What is the nature of the presidential election? Who’s who in these charts? And what might we learn from this analysis beyond a prediction? Choosing one of the charts as a horary chart makes a potentially radical move in that it emphasizes a moment that can yield insight as opposed to strictly working in the Ptolemaic framework of the moment of birth e.g. an American Chart and that natal charts of the candidates. Why make this move? First, it offers the chance to involve more people as opposed to just looking at natal and mundane charts, resulting in a more holistic astrological process where we the astrologers are involved, and second, it might be a crazy enough venture that just might work. From now on the first chart will be referred to as chart 1 or the horary chart.
But before I jump into the analysis, there are a variety of considerations before judgment in horary astrology, including how to erect the chart (should it be cast for the moment the astrologer understands the question or the moment it was asked by the querent?), the state of the astrologer, and whether the question is valid (Louis pgs. 12-14, 51). This gets to whether the chart is radical or fit for consideration and judgment. The question at hand should seem obvious—who will win the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election? However, sometimes the apparent question in a horary chart is in fact not the one being asked (Cornelius 374). With this in mind, I cast the chart right after I had come downstairs “from the heavens” and settled into my abode. Since I was not asking the question of any astrologer, I pulled up the chart on my computer as a reflection of the moment. With Virgo on the ascendant, I would be signified by Mercury. Mercury finds himself in the 12th house combust the Sun and not a strong position. Furthermore, the Sun is dignified in his domicile of Leo. Literally and metaphorically, this made sense as I had fallen from the 11th (I was up on the roof top with Venus and the Moon) and had descended, like Mercury, into the 12th house where I had bound myself to this situation. There is a case to be made that I was not fit to judge this question or situation (Louis pg. 67) (remember my initial, emotional response to the question). But 12th house matters can also offer the chance of liberation from bondage (Louis pg. 146). That matter seemed to be much more about my own mental state than the question of the contest at all. Being signified by Mercury, beyond a cursory elucidation of my 12th house location of my home, a Masonic Temple, how can Mercury (I) be further described? An example from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel The Sirens of Titan offers a clue:
“The planet Mercury sings like a crystal goblet. It sings all the time.
One side of Mercury faces the sun. That side has always faced the sun. That side is a sea of white hot dust.
The other side faces the nothingness of space eternal. That side has always faced the nothingness of space eternal. That side is a forest of giant blue-white crystals, aching cold.
It is the tension between the hot hemisphere of day-without-end and the cold hemisphere of night-without-end that makes Mercury sing.
There are creatures in the deep caves of Mercury…
The creatures cling to the singing walls of their caves” (Vonnegut 187)
This sounds quite like me and the situation I was facing—going downstairs into the 12th house (my apartment in the temple), faced with the confusion and strictures of Mercury in the 12th house being combust the Sun.
So there I was, not necessarily fit to judge this situation, as I had also felt this of other astrologers and astrology in general, and perhaps I was projecting my feelings about myself onto other astrologers (Me as Mercury quincunx and needing adjustment with Neptune in Pisces in the 7th house of the astrologer(s) and the astrological collective). However, I might be right that astrologers might be confused or deluded as Neptune (Cornelius 54) and astrology might be fallen as the Sky God Uranus is fallen in Taurus in the 9th house of astrology. Also, it seems apparent that the NCGR Contest is signified as Jupiter, a planet associated with prophecy in the 5th house of elections and contests. Jupiter is also fallen as I suspected with the contest itself and other such contests, including the U.S. Presidential Election, as Jupiter classically disposes Neptune in Pisces in the 7th house of astrologers. However, there might be a promise of redemption as Jupiter sextiles Neptune, planet of redemption (Greene), possibly indicating a resurrection from this fall. Also, Jupiter is applying to a trine with Uranus, showing that even if two are fallen, they can help each other up.
So who is who in the chart? I think Biden is Saturn Retrograde as he is the oldest person in the presidential race. Saturn Retrograde is not necessarily a good omen, and Saturn in his domicile of Capricorn means it can perform its normative, often times negative functions. However, Saturn being retrograde means the affairs for Biden are unstable and will have to be reviewed. Also, Saturn being in the 5th house is not the worst place to be as the fifth house is a classically a positive house with Venus finding her joy there. I think the Sun is Trump, as he is ever the dramatist and showman, and the Sun rules his birth chart natally, which I will be exploring later in the essay. If Trump is the Sun, then this comports with Biden being Saturn as Biden’s house would be the sixth house of Aquarius, the opposite sign to Leo and the house of open enemies when derived houses are considered (12 to 6 in the horary chart, but Trump 1 to Biden 7). Both men seem not to be benefited by their current lots, no pun intended, as Trump is in the 12th house and Biden is in the 5th house, which is his 12thfrom his 1st, again considering derived houses. There’s a lot of 12th house going around in the chart, for Trump, Biden, and me! The 12th house is undoing and imprisonment, but offers the chance for liberation (Louis 146). So the question is, liberation from what? Maybe the election!
But leaving all of this 12th house talk aside for now, perhaps the brightest spot in the chart is the 11th house of professional associations, the NCGR! I witnessed you, NCGR, that morning, the Moon in her home in Cancer with Venus, both rising together, with the part of fortune. So what are you, and we, to do? The Moon is applying to an opposition to a fallen Jupiter, so the Moon in her domicile of Cancer is clearly in the driver’s seat. How do we feel about the presidential election and the electing of this contest itself? Maybe instead of asking the presidential prediction question, we should appreciate what is beautiful about this collection of astrologers, and astrology, and that we come together at all to do astrology. What do we wish for, in elections or otherwise? Perhaps astrology should be more Moon/Venus in Cancer than Jupiter/Pluto in Capricorn, emphasizing feel and emotion. In this essay, citing a work of literature and feeling a divine moment rather than only rendering a prediction. This is not to emphasize solely the feminine, as Venus the morning star was classically signified as more of a warrior goddess, what I saw that morning. And after all, Urania, the muse of astronomy and astrology, as they were one and the same at the time, was part of the larger pantheon of the Muses and the humanities. The ancient astrologers were poets. Moreover, the Moon will be applying to a sextile and disposing a fallen Uranus, hinting that the promise of astrology is perhaps less scientific and Uranian than we’d like it to be. We have good fortune with this if we make the move, as the part of fortune trines Neptune (the astrologers and astrological collective), emphasizing that we, the NCGR astrologers, should help the larger astrological community make a Neptunian move (Cornelius 75-76) and not always have to predict a right, objective outcome in sequential order for mundane events like presidential elections. This was already implied by the intent of the contest that the point is not to predict the winner of the 2020 election. This has ramifications for me personally, as a Yod is formed pointing to Mercury (me) with Neptune and Jupiter/Pluto applying in quincunx aspect. Maybe it’s God telling me to let go about having to be “right” in the context of an objective prediction. Though human progress marches on, there is so much beyond our senses and ability to predict. Prediction, like politics, can turn into a contact sport, and devolves into a kind of bathos. At the end of the day, though, the end of the matter is the contest, as Jupiter rules the 4th house. Fittingly, the south node, exalted in Sagittarius is there. What is our karmic past from which we must push beyond? Sagittarius is associated with philosophy and prophecy, but the north node in Gemini in the 10th house seems to indicate that publicly, we must move out of the cave and maybe have a little bit of fun and play with these charts! Sure, these are big issues like elections and predictions, but what do we elect for ourselves, and what is the practical, fun, Gemini application? Mercury, lord of the 10th, risks becoming lost in the 12th house, overshadowed by the Sun embodied in President Trump. However, it is the casting of this shadow that allows for the mystery of this chart to unfold into consciousness, and peer off into eternity, as Kurt Vonnegut writes. Mercury combust the Sun might not be such a bad thing if we play our cards right.
It is impossible not to address the U.S. Presidential Election without looking at President Trump’s natal chart. Interestingly the Sun rules his natal chart and he is the Sun in the horary chart. So I thought to do a composite chart between the horary and natal chart, to mesh the moment in question with Trump’s moment of birth (Chart 2). How can one moment, announced, like Idemon said, lead to insights of a human of Trump, ourselves, and the election? That is what I will answer. Interestingly, many of the planets in both charts fall in the same houses. His vertex, a calculated point of fated encounters, is conjunct the horary chart’s Pluto, planet of implosions and transformations in the fifth house of elections. What has he elected for himself, what have we elected for ourselves, what will happen with the election itself, what tower, as the tower is the tarot card associated with implosion and transformation, will crumble like its planetary equivalent, Pluto? Fate beckons, and we, and Donald, might “step into it” as Jupiter and Pluto will be transiting over that degree in the coming months. It appears that our hopes and wishes stand a better chance than his as his and our 11th house in Cancer contain a peregrine Mercury and debilitated Saturn whereas we have the beautiful Venus and Moon that emanates softly yet powerfully (think of the morning star) over the 11th. In Donald’s natal chart, Mercury is the lord of the 11th house whereas in the horary chart of the NCGR, the Moon and mood of the group rules the 11th house. It is really something to consider—what hopes and wishes have been blocked for Donald? In his natal chart, as I said, Mercury rules the 11th house, and this seems to have energized his career as he has so many strong planets in Gemini in the powerful, angular 10th house. Most of us would say that his hopes have come true, but that Saturn might have us think otherwise. Yet what do we hope for ourselves? What bound me initially in the 12th house that also binds Trump in the 12th house as exemplified through his natal Pluto and Mars, and ascendant conjunct Regulus, the fixed star of massive successes but massive falls (Robson 195). Trump has had his ups and downs, but regardless, the old saying goes that it’s lonely on top. Calling Dr. Freud, but maybe Donald wants love whereas most of his life has been about monetary gains, career, and status, for better and worse, as signified by Neptune and Jupiter in his natal 2nd house, ruled by Venus in the 11th (money hopes) but disposed by a Moon conjunct the south node in the fourth house of family and the end of the matter. Thus the never ending cycle of hopes, friends, wishes, money, career, and family, as shown by that loop of planetary dispositors continues unabated.
Trump’s secondary progressions can also clue us into what might be going on with him, and with us. The day that I cast the horary chart, his progressed Sun was just moving into a one degree orb of the ascendant of the horary chart. This is extraordinary and seems to indicate that Donald’s secondary progressed Sun, how a day in the life is a year, could illuminate, but again, overshadow this whole enterprise of this astrological inquiry. This is further buttressed by the fact that his progressed Sun seems critical to the correlation of events in his life through astrology. These novel reasons are why the third chart I chose is his progressed chart, keeping in mind its interesting relation to the original horary chart.
Natally, when his progressed sun conjoined his natal ascendant also conjoined by fixed star Regulus on the ascendant, he accepted the nomination of the Republican party for presidency of the United States. The run up to this were the few days during the convention, and it tracks almost exactly. Soon thereafter in August, his progressed Sun moved into Virgo, a huge shift from Leo, the sign of entertainment, to Virgo, the sign of service. This marked a change in status from hotel and entertainment magnate to setting the wheels in motion to become the most famous public servant of them all. The horary chart might be a kind of momentary articulation of Trump’s progressed chart, as the ascendant is in close aspect to his progressed Sun which I have articulated is an important factor in his chart both for timing, by the fact that it rules his natal chart, and that it is his significator in the horary chart.
But where are we now? Horary charts are different in that they emphasize specific moments, not just natal charts and transits to them, which has been the dominant conception of astrology since Ptolemy. As I said, Donald’s progressed Sun had just entered a one degree orb with the ascendant of the horary chart, indicating that Donald’s progression in life has to do with the horary chart, and us. If we’re going to make a prediction we’re going to want to do it with clear heads, hearts, and emotions. To achieve this, I suggest we employ a technique that finds its origins with Ivy-Goldstein Jacobson and was later developed by Derek Appleby and the Company of Astrologers called mutual reception by degree (Hyde). Mutual reception by degree holds that an astrologer can “switch” two planets in mutual reception to their original degrees in alternate signs, if it is warranted. In Donald Trump’s chart, the progressed Mercury and Sun find themselves in mutual reception, the Sun being in Virgo and Mercury being in Leo. That means we could put the Sun at four degrees Leo, its original degree in Virgo, and Mercury at seventeen Virgo, its original degree in Leo. Why do this? The Moon is the signifier of the people and the Moon being in the first house means the people are emotionally tied up with Donald, down to a physical level as the Moon is an ancient signifier of the body, situated in Donald’s 1st house of self. Love him or hate him, this is certainly the case in which we find ourselves. There is no escaping the emotions of the populace and the emotions of Donald mirroring each other in a massive, unprecedented way. Conceiving of the horary chart as a momentary, “progressed” chart of Donald, his progressed Sun potentially blinds the whole enterprise, and me as well, when we consider the “natal” Sun in the horary 12th house that combusts me, Mercury. Adding Mercury into the blend by mutual reception by degree adds an elemental of reason previously unavailable to the people, and maybe even Donald. It also places the Sun in a more comfortable position in Leo. This takes Donald back to 1989 when he made the cover of Time Magazine, had reached somewhat of a pinnacle that expanded beyond real estate, morphed into an entertainment persona, and made his infamous comments about the Central Park Five. By remembering the past, and how it all began, we can begin to imagine a new future. With so much Neptunian and 12th house activity in this chart, we’d better not forget imagination, especially if we’re going make a prediction. Another reason to make this move is the switched, progressed Mercury and the Moon will square Trump’s natal Uranus. Uranus is the unexpected trickster, so a strong Mercury in Virgo that blends reason with the emotion of the Moon will dispose the disruptive Uranus, hopefully allowing calmer minds to prevail even as we make this imaginative move. Remember that my initial state of mind was not great. Hopefully this effort towards reason applies to me as well.
But what about Joe Biden? Interestingly Donald’s progressed Moon will be moving into a conjunction with Biden’s natal midheaven a couple of weeks after the election using a tight, one degree orb. This election really is about Donald, as indicated by the progressed Sun that really dominates the whole tone of the horary chart, Donald’s natal chart, and even Trump’s physicality, emotion, and the people. Biden’s career is potentially illuminated through Trump’s progressed Moon. I think in this case, Biden, and the election itself, including our election challenge, offers a chance to have a counterpoint to Trump, one way or another, and allow for the kind of analysis that can come only when there are other options than the one incumbent president. Also of interest is Joe Biden’s north node conjunct Donald’s ascendant. It seems like Biden’s karmic path is tied up with Trump. One month after the election Donald Trump’s progressed ascendant moves into Scorpio in the 3rdhouse. I don’t think this helps his state of mind unless his mind transforms in a powerful way that is the hallmark of Scorpio. His progressed part of fortune is in the third house, so these two aspects in the 3rd house offers him a chance for mental change and integration, as the part of fortune is about the integration of ascendant, Sun, and Moon. Personally, my part of fortune conjoins the natal ascendant of the horary chart within two degrees, and my midheaven conjoins Donald’s ascendant and Biden’s north node, seeming to indicate that I have an intimate connection with these charts. How might you be related to these charts and any other charts that come before you? And how might you approach astrology with a clear, imaginative mind? That, as I’ve hopefully demonstrated, is a good way to approach our dear art of astrology.
Chart 1: Presidential Election Challenge Horary Chart, the moment I received NCGR e-mail notification about contest
