(28 October 2020)
The campaign has now entered its final week ahead of next Tuesday's
election. The national polls suggest President Donald Trump is
trailing Democrat nominee Joe Biden by about 7 points. However, some
key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Florida are much closer races
and keep open the possibility of a 2016-style come from behind win by
Trump. Therefore, if he can eke out narrow wins in these states as he
did in 2016, he could still end up losing the popular vote by 3 or 4
points and remain president. That scenario still seems unlikely since
Biden's lead is larger than Hillary Clinton's was, but as we know,
polls are not always right.
From an astrological perspective, the planets still don't favour Trump
next week. As I have noted previously, the election night transits look
worse for Trump than for Biden. Mercury will station direct on
Election Day while in an exact square aspect with Saturn. This is a
very difficult combination that suggests a range of negative situations
including disappointment, confusion, deception, disruption and
frustration. At a general level, it suggests the election will not go
smoothly. This isn't a very bold prediction, given all of the
controversy about mailed ballots and Trump's public declaration to
contest the results if he doesn't like the outcome.
Trump's problem is that the Mercury-Saturn square occurs at a pivotal
point in his horoscope. It forms another square alignment with his
Venus-Saturn conjunction in early Cancer. Square aspects are often
difficult and coincide with unwanted situations. And Saturn's double
involvement here indicates a stressful and unfavourable period for Trump
next week. To put it plainly: this is not an alignment one usually
sees in a winning candidate's chart.
Other transits are also unhelpful for Trump's re-election. Rahu (North
Lunar Node) is conjunct its natal position and suggests major changes
afoot. Mars (21 Pisces) forms an exact 135 degree alignment with
Trump's Ascendant (6 Leo). This is indicative of conflict and anger.
Mars is due to station direct at 21 Pisces in mid-November and is one
reason why Trump is more likely to have fewer votes than Biden on Nov 3
and why is likely to contest the results. Mars is the planet of war,
of course, and Trump will likely go to war with the Democrats over this
election.
But as I have also noted before, Trump's chart does improve somewhat
later in November and in December as Jupiter aligns with his Midheaven
(unequal 10th house cusp) at 1 Taurus. This suggests that post-election
developments may be more positive for him, perhaps reflecting legal
successes if he contests the outcome. I would think he gets some good
news on the week following the election (Nov 9-13) as Venus conjoins his
Jupiter.
As I've said before, I still think Biden's chart is better in early
January when Congress meets to count the Electoral College votes. For
this reason, I think he is more likely to become president on January
20, 2021. But I admit I don't feel too strongly about it, partially
because it is now unclear exactly when the election will be decided.
Weekly Market Forecast
US stocks fell more than 3% today as Germany and France announced Covid
lockdowns to deal with the second wave of the pandemic. The recent
decline seems to reflect the bearish influence of the Venus transit of
Virgo, its sign of debilitation. Venus entered sidereal Virgo on
October 23 and will leave that sign of November 16. This suggests that
stocks are more likely to struggle during that four-week period. That
said, it does not mean that the market will fall throughout the
transit, but rather it will be marked by declines at different points
during the transit.
With market uncertainty likely to rise with next week's election, it
seems quite possible that stocks could fall further. The Mercury-Saturn
alignment on Election Day is a bearish combination in any event so no
matter who ends up winning, market sentiment is likely to suffer.
While Mercury-Saturn squares are bearish, this particular one may be
especially bearish since Mercury will end its retrograde cycle on
November 3 and return to direct motion. This direct station means that
Mercury will remain within Saturn's bearish influence for several days,
instead of the usual one.
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