Thomas Canfield
One of the difficulties in making predictions, particularly for the past four years, has been trying to understand planetary roles in the bizarre events taking place. For example, at the beginning of June, Mars was approaching a conjunction with Neptune. Mars rules the military and violent actions. Neptune rules spirituality and mystical events. Who would interpret such a combination to mean that the President of the United States would have protesters sprayed and beaten in front of the White House so that he could walk across the street to be photographed holding a Bible? Mars and Neptune could be interpreted as a “holy war”, but no one expected it would manifest in such a localized manner.
In a similar way, during the Spring, there was a Chiron opposition to Juno. Chiron is the wounded healer, and ruler of health matters as well as higher wisdom. Juno is the asteroid of marriage, but also rules things gained by marriage, such as money, social standing, and political connections. For most of the Spring, there was been a battle between doctors and politicians regarding the opening of the economy during a pandemic. The medical strategy has been for people to lay low until the pandemic slows down. The political strategy has been to get businesses to open up to revive the economy. Human life versus Money? Chiron seems interested in saving life, and Juno appears to be self-serving. Using Dr. Johnson’s line, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”, the Juno supporters are claiming liberties are being stepped on, and people should not be forced to wear masks. The Juno argument took a bit of a beating around the time of the July New Moon, when Mars was conjunct Chiron, and the increase of virus cases made it necessary to enforce restrictions.
The July New Moon was also in opposition to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, as well as squaring Eris. This became a time when traditional rules of engagement were broken down, and darker, more sinister methods of control were put into place. It was when black vans suddenly appeared on the streets of Portland, OR, and citizens were pulled off the street and taken to undisclosed locations. The actions were meant to discourage street protesters. It had an opposite effect and brought out more protesters, some armed with leaf blowers to blow away the tear gas. Again, would people look at such an opposition from the Ninth to the Third House and declare it to be a violation of the rule of law?
So, in looking ahead to the election, one may have to consider that traditional interpretations may not cover the odd circumstances. What we have learned in the past 20 years is that the votes cast in November do not completely resolve the election. Twice in the past 20 years the winner of the popular vote has been rejected by the machinations of the Electoral College. Once they announce their vote in December, the final tally of the popular vote becomes null and void. The results of the Electoral College are usually rubber-stamped by Congress to insure a swift transition of power. However, what if the results were not as they seem to be?
On Dec. 14, about the time the Electoral College result is released, there is a Solar Eclipse, and the aspects of the eclipse chart make interesting contacts with the natal chart of a certain DJT. (Eclipse chart inside, DJT chart outside. This is because the eclipse is a trans-personal event and its potential may go far beyond how it aspects an individual.) The eclipse and Mercury will be conjunct his DJT’s natal Moon, sextile his Jupiter, and trine his Mars and Ascendant. There might be some promising indications of good news. His natal Part of Fortune is conjunct the Part of Fortune of the eclipse chart. On the down side, the eclipse will be opposing the natal Sun, transiting Juno and Venus will be squaring his Mars and Ascendant, and Pluto will continue an opposition to his Venus and Saturn, with a square from transiting Neptune and Vesta hitting his Uranus, North Node, and Sun in Gemini. If may be a time of worry over change, and the fears may be more illusionary than real.
DJT has Juno, Chiron, and Jupiter conjunct in Libra, and these bodies are trine his Ceres in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini. His view of bringing people together is by having everyone do as he says, but not as he does. With Jupiter, the leader, conjunct Chiron and Juno, he thinks his medical and political statements are the best, and the whole pandemic would be ended if people used his remedies. With Pluto sextile the planets in Libra, as well as opposing Ceres, his reason for being is tied up with power and control. He can play “Big Daddy”, as long as people emphasize the word “Big.” To suggest any other size would be considered a personal insult, which should be punished by public humiliation.
Standing alone, the eclipse chart does not look bad for political change. Venus is conjunct Juno, and that will help relieve tensions over political upheavals. Venus and Juno are sextile Saturn and Jupiter just as they are heading into Aquarius, and that will add to the feeling that change is in the offing. However, Venus and Juno are squaring the Part for Fortune, and things may not go as they should. Mars is moving to a conjunction with Eris, and the threat of violent outbreaks could be lingering in the background. Mars and Eris are squaring Pluto, and a life-threatening situation cannot be ruled out if certain persons regard political change as an existential threat and then the wrong decisions are made.
DJT will have Pluto opposing his natal Venus-Saturn conjunction, along with the square from Mars and Eris. It may be a time when his self-control and sense of worth are deeply threatened. Transiting Chiron will be opposing his natal Neptune, and his inability to accept facts may lead to conspiracy theories and delusions of persecution. Transiting Pallas trine his Neptune may try to talk some sense into him. However, the things to watch for are the aspects to his Natal Mars and Ascendant. The eclipse and Mercury are trine Mars/Ascendant and may inspire him to action which he thinks is needed for his own political survival. Transiting Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter are quincunx his Mars/Ascendant, representing another threat by imminent change. With the eclipse and Mercury conjunct his natal Moon and South Node, his entire emotional well-being may be wrapped up in taking necessary steps for his own political career. With the eclipse and Mercury squaring Neptune, he could make up a fanciful story that he was doing it for “the good of the country.” Transiting Neptune squaring his natal Uranus, Moon, Nodes, and Sun would make anyone see through the delusion, but the threat to DJT would make any effort by him seem plausible.
The first option inspired by Neptune’s conspiracy theories, is to reject the entire election process. If DJT says the absentee ballots are “fake votes”, and that they will not be counted, then that would turn the electoral process into turmoil. State and city authorities usually determine which votes will be counted, but it is possible (as seen in the case of Bush versus Gore 2000) that federal authorities could step in to stop the vote counting. Another possibility would be to invalidate the tally of electronic voting booths, claiming they have been hacked. There could also be a large number of lawsuits regarding the suppression of voting and the limiting of the number of polling places, though these might not be resolved until far after the election.
If DJT does not accept the “fake votes”, it will cast a pall over the voting process. Even if the correct vote is counted and presented to Congress, there would be a situation of an obstinate leader refusing to leave the seat of power. In the eclipse chart, with Mars conjunct Eris, trine the Mars/Ascendant of DJT, there could be a more sinister outcome. We have seen the use of black vans in Portland, OR to carry off citizens from the streets. What if black vans were suddenly to round up the members of the Electoral College, take them to undisclosed locations, and then the next day it was announced that DJT had received the greatest Electoral Vote in history? Farfetched? Well, so was DJT supporting a doctor who was warning people about the seed of demons causing illness. It may be a time when the wildest predictions are the ones to watch out for.