(11 Nov 2020)
Despite Joe Biden's widening lead in the vote count, President Donald
Trump has yet to concede to his Democratic opponent in the US
election. Instead, Trump has claimed that Biden has benefited from
voter fraud in several hotly contested states. To this end, the
Department of Justice this week launched investigations into apparent
irregularities in the vote which could form the basis of a formal legal
challenge to the results. Since Biden's lead is less than 1% in
several states, it is possible that state outcomes could be reversed if
significant fraud is uncovered and illegal votes are removed from the
tally.
Trump's refusal to concede isn't surprising, since he already stated
that he would not accept a loss in the election. While the media and
many world leaders have already recognized Joe Biden as the winner and
President-Elect, there has not yet been a formal announcement by the
overseeing office of the GSA. Given the recounts now underway and
possible legal challenges, formal announcement of the winner and
certification of the results may take several more days at least.
Trump's shift to offense this week following last week's apparent defeat
was in keeping with my expectations. In last week's post, I thought
that Trump was likely to enjoy some kind of boost
from the Venus transit to his natal Jupiter (24 Virgo). Not only did
Attorney-General William Barr announce the electoral fraud
investigation, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke in
support of Trump's right to verify the results before committing to
any transition process with the incoming Biden administration. As a
reflection of Trump's shift to offense, the political betting market
Predictit.org saw a small, but marked, move towards his re-election
from a low a 8% last week to 18% today.
I still think Joe Biden is likely to be the next president, but the
planets suggests that Trump will not go quietly. Previously, I
suggested that Trump's fortunes would rise further next week as Jupiter
entered Capricorn (Nov 19-20) and would align with his 10th house cusp
representing status and success. And as if to offer confirmation, Joe
Biden's chart showed an affliction to his 12th house Mars towards the
end of next week.
Just to round out the analysis this week, we can take a look at the natal chart of the US and the chart of the would-be vice-president, Kamala Harris. As I outlined in a previous post, this year's post-election planetary alignments have a similarity to the post-election patterns of the contested 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. One of the main similarities was the placement of Saturn. In 2000, Saturn was closely aspecting the USA's natal Mercury at 3 Cancer by 3rd house aspect. This year, Saturn (3 Capricorn) will exactly oppose Mercury over the next two weeks or so. Saturn's affliction to Mercury here symbolizes frustration, disruption and distortion, especially as they pertain to the election. Elections are associated with Mercury,as it is the planet that rules matters of rational calculation.
The Saturn-Mercury alignment will be in special focus late next week, perhaps around the time that Venus and the Sun also align at 3 degrees of their respective signs. This could represent a significant development related to the election results and Trump's attempt to overturn the results. As an added layer of affliction in the chart, transiting Mars will align with the natal Sun and Saturn which suggests conflict and strife. Interestingly, this is also the day that Jupiter enters Capricorn which could give Trump a boost.
Another perspective on this disputed election result is seen in the
chart of Kamala Harris, the Democratic VP nominee. Saturn is also front
and center in her chart at this time as it aligns exactly with her Sun
(4 Libra) and Moon (4 Aries). The Saturn influence is usually
negative and suggests some kind of burden or setback, especially when
in hard aspect as it is here.
Sometimes, the Saturn influence can translate into a greater sense of
responsibility which may not be unwanted or even difficult. Therefore,
it is not impossible that this alignment could formally give her and
Biden the election victory. But this more benign Saturn scenario seems
less probable. While Harris' chart is still quite strong overall at
this time, a temporary setback of some kind is quite possible. In the
zero-sum game of politics, it would seem that negatives for Harris (and
Biden) could turn into positives for Trump, and vice-versa. Let's see
how Trump's legal challenges unfold.
Weekly Market Forecast
Stocks have continued to their post-election rally this week, especially
after Monday's Pfizer vaccine news. While I thought we might have
seen more volatility in this post-election period, I nonetheless
expected some upside around Thursday's Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. This
bullish pairing takes place once a year and is usually positive for
sentiment in the days leading up to its conjunction. The days
following the conjunction is usually less reliably bullish, however,
although the bullish effects can sometimes linger.
This year the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction could have a lingering bullish
influence since it will also form an alignment with the Sun and Venus
that lasts into early next week. Monday is also noteworthy as Venus
leaves Virgo and enters the sign of Libra. Venus sign changes are often
bullish so there is some prospect for further upside, at least into
early next week.
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