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Election 2016: Vice Presidents

One of the Vice Presidential candidates will have a major life change as a result of the November 8, 2016 Presidential election. Which of their birth charts indicates who will more likely be in office next year?

Indiana Governor Mike Pence was born on June 7, 1959 in Columbus, Indiana. We are limited in that no birth time is available for him. Like his running mate Donald Trump, he has the Sun and Mercury in Gemini and Mars in Leo.

Pence’s Sun and Mercury have progressed into attention-loving Leo, with both conjoining his natal Uranus. This shows his sudden elevation to candidacy and a national platform. Progressed Venus in Virgo is beginning to leave a square to his Sun (nearly a degree past).

Mike also has some very good transits on Election Day. Transiting Uranus will nearly exactly sextile natal Mercury, echoing the progressed aspects. This could indicate a new administrative position. Transiting Jupiter conjoins his North Node and will soon trine his Sun. However transiting Saturn will oppose his Sun exactly just a little over a week after the election. This is not great for career. While Jupiter facilitates the Sun’s development this fall, Saturn limits it. To my mind, Saturn is stronger as it’s slower-moving.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was born on February 26, 1958 at 7:59 AM, in St. Paul, Minnesota according to his birth certificate and Astrodatabank. His Sun and Mercury in Pisces are the same sign as Hillary Clinton’s Moon.

Kaine’s secondary progressed Sun in Taurus is less than 2 degrees from sextiling his natal Sun, but is over 2 degrees from sextiling natal Mercury in Pisces. This sets up a midpoint situation with the sextile (very similar to Pence’s progressed Sun and Mercury to natal Uranus). Kaine’s progressed Mars is less than a degree and a half from opposing natal Pluto.

Tim’s progressed Midheaven at 0 Pisces 24 is just a hair over one degree of trining natal Jupiter – showing success with the public since Jupiter is in his 7^th house. His progressed Ascendant at 28 Gemini 16 is past opposing his natal Saturn and approaches a trine to natal Jupiter and a sextile to Pluto (close to trining the PMC as well). The early (PMC) and late (P Asc) degrees are sign-changers, in keeping with important life developments.

Without Pence’s birth time, however, we can’t compare progressions of the Midheaven and Ascendant. The remaining progressed aspects are certainly no better or worse for either candidate.

Tim Kaine’s transits, though, are quite striking. He has Mars exalted in the sign of Capricorn in his 10^th house of career in his birth chart, one of his most elevated planets. Mars also rules his Aries Ascendant. This gives him a steady drive towards status and recognition throughout his life. Capricorn relates to time and is appropriate for reaching a high office at a mature age. While natal Mars doesn’t have close major aspects, it has flowing quintiles to Kaine’s Neptune in the 7^th house of the public.

Transiting Pluto has been conjoining Tim Kaine’s Mars throughout 2016 and will be within a degree of Mars on Election Day (similar to the energies of Progressed Mars opposing natal Pluto). This shows a slow and steady transformation in his career. He is leaving his past behind somehow and moving into new territory.

Perhaps even more importantly, Tim Kaine will experience his second Saturn return in January 2017, when he would take office. The Saturn return often represents the next step in career development, building on past experience, or moving into a new phase of life. All would be appropriate for the Vice Presidential office.

These quick assessments confirm that Clinton and Kaine will win the election. But since Saturn figures strongly in both candidate’s transits, let’s look back and see what they were doing in 1987 – when Saturn was also at 15 Sagittarius, as it will be at the time of the election.

Mike Pence graduated from law school in 1986 and went into private practice. In late 1987, he decided to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and won the Republication Nomination the following year (his father had died shortly before that). Pence lost the subsequent election against his Democratic competitor. He was very young and inexperienced in politics, but the repeat of Saturn’s cycle suggests that his Vice Presidential candidacy in 2016 may be premature.

Tim Kaine was a young civil rights lawyer in 1987. He represented a convicted murderer on death row who was brain damaged and borderline retarded, and attempted to keep him from the electric chair. The man was executed on July 12, 1987. However that year Kaine also became a director of a law firm and began teaching legal ethics part-time at the University of Richmond.

We can see that he began new positions, as his running mate Hillary Clinton did at her previous Saturn cycle as well. The Saturn cycle confirms once again that the Democrats will win the 2016 election.

Election 2016: Saturn Transits

Saturn is such a reliable indicator of career developments that we should consider it as an important part of assessing the presidential race. Saturn’s cycle of approximately 28-29 years also correlates nicely with our lifespan. Looking back to previous cycles can be very helpful in forecasting.

This technique worked extremely well with Bernie Sanders and the Democratic nomination, since he had actually run for office in both of his previous cycles and lost.

On Election Day, November 8, 2016, Saturn will be at about 15 Sagittarius. It stationed at that point from July to September of 1987. What was happening for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at that point in time?

Trump, already a billionaire at age 41, had paid for a full-page New York Times ad (costing nearly $100,000) in August, critiquing U.S. foreign policy (Ronald Reagan was then in office). This was followed by a Newsweek cover story on September 28, 1987, where he stated, “I’m not running for president… but if I did… I’d win.”

At that time, Trump had numerous conflicts with NYC Mayor Ed Koch, reminiscent of his difficulties with some Republican authority figures today.

In October of 1987, Donald attracted a large audience at a Rotary Club meeting in Hampton, New Hampshire. His speech was recently characterized by Politico.com as his “First Campaign Speech.” It was isolationist in tone, and he received an extremely enthusiastic response.

It’s fascinating that he’s doing very much the same thing on a much larger scale in 2016. Yet he hadn’t run for office and wasn’t appointed to any office.

In 1987, Hillary Clinton had recently helped her husband to win another term as Governor of Arkansas. In September, he announced that he wouldn’t be running for president in the coming election.

That year, Hillary was elected Chair of the Children’s Defense Fund and New World Foundation. She and Bill Clinton received the National Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. In addition, she became Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women. (Unfortunately, the sources don’t report exactly when these events occurred.)

However, Hillary was involved with her husband’s career in 1987 and he continues to be involved with hers. She was in public life and won notable elections or appointments at her previous Saturn cycle. Is this enough of a parallel to the presidential election today? I think so. The cycle suggests she’ll win again when Saturn returns to the same place in November.

Election 2016 – Progressions IV

Hillary Clinton’s progressions to the U.S. progressed chart more specifically suggest connecting with the public and attaining higher office than Trump’s.

The U.S. progressed Saturn falls at 3 Scorpio in the 10^th house of leadership and position, less than a degree from Hillary’s natal Sun. This aspect will be in effect for many years. For example, in January of 2020, it has turned retrograde and is actually closer to conjoining Hillary’s Sun, an argument that she’ll not only win this election but perhaps also stay in office for two terms.

Clinton’s progressed Moon is in Libra in the U.S. progressed 9^th house, approaching a conjunction with the U.S. Progressed Mars. It also closely squares the U.S. progressed Jupiter in Cancer in the 7^th house on election day. These confirm both her popularity as well as her lack of wholehearted acceptance with voters . (Her progressed Moon will travel through the U.S. progressed 10^th and 11^th houses over the next four years.)

Clinton’s progressed Sun, Mercury and Ascendant all fall into the U.S. progressed 1^st house, showing a joining of interests. The U.S. P. Ascendant falls in her natal 2^nd house, with the U.S. P. Midheaven in her 11^th. Both reflect fixed influences, and the U.S. MC in her 11^th suggests a joining of interests to me. To my mind, these are both more prominent than the country’s current connection to Trump’s natal 3^rd and 5^th.

Most important is that Hillary’s progressed Midheaven is in the U.S. progressed 11^th house (doubling the influence of the U.S. P. MC also in her 11^th). This indicates shared goals and a shared interest in the community at this point in time. In addition, Hillary’s progressed MC is about 20 minutes from trining the U.S. progressed Jupiter in the 7^th house. This is very significant, showing her career direction as connecting with a position before the public in a big way.

While Hillary Clinton may have fewer progressed connections with the U.S. progressed chart than Donald Trump, I feel that hers are more descriptive of a win in November. I’m already feeling that she will win the election. Of the techniques we’ve looked at so far – Solar Returns, Progressed Declination, Solar Arcs, Progressions, and Progressed to U.S. Progressed, Trump has only come out ahead in Progressed Declination, which to my mind indicates publicity rather than definitive success.

If we look at the tri-wheel of the progressed charts of the U.S., Clinton and Trump, it’s interesting to see the influences piling up in air signs in 2016. The U.S., Trump and Clinton all have progressed planets in Libra in the U.S. progressed 9^th house. The two candidates’ progressed Uranus and Neptunes are in Gemini and Libra, with the progressed U.S. Uranus is also in Gemini. (In December the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction moves into Aquarius – mutating into air signs.)

But to further complicate things, Raymond Merriman has recently announced that Marc Penfield has a new documented birth time for Hillary Clinton, which he’ll discuss at the ISAR International Symposium on October 16. Since so many of these calculations are tied to her birth time, it could make a big difference.

I’ll look at Transits for both of the candidates next.

Election 2016: Progressions III – to U.S.

To forecast the outcome of a political election, some Astrologers look at the candidates’ comparative aspects to the U.S. chart to see what their connections to the country are. This is a good thought, but some candidates, like Hillary Clinton, have longstanding relationships with the country, and this technique doesn’t narrow it down to a particular time. We might do the candidates’ progressed aspects to the U.S. chart, which would reveal the point in time that affiliations between the two would likely occur. But I prefer to compare progressed to progressed aspects, which tell us more about each candidate’s connection to the U.S. flow of history as well.

Donald Trump’s progressed Ascendant in late Libra falls right on the U.S. progressed Midheaven (less than 2 degrees past), and his progressed Jupiter, though an extremely slow influence, is a little over a degree from conjoining the U.S. PMC, a close tie. This shows him going toward high government office. However the U.S. PMC falls in his 3^rd house and the U.S. P. Asc. in his 5^th. While both might be more fortunate than not, they are not the strongest of houses.

Donald’s progressed Ascendant and MC in late and early degrees indicate a significant period of change in his life: leaving one type of career and entering a new phase in self-expression, which would be appropriate for a newbie to political office.

His progressed Ascendant is over 2-1/2 degrees from squaring the U.S. progressed Pluto in Capricorn. At the same time, his progressed Midheaven in early Leo is leaving a square to Pr. U.S. Pluto (less than a degree and a half past). Due to midpoint influences, this creates a dynamic T-square. We can see his slogan of “making America great again” in these transformative aspects to Pluto, yet the nature of Pluto signifies more of a crash and burn relationship to me. And with the U.S. Pluto in Capricorn, party authorities are already reshaping Trump’s message and testing his depth, not the other way around.

Donald Trump’s progressed Moon in Cancer approaches a conjunction with the U.S. progressed North Node on Election Day. By the Inauguration, it will be around half a degree of conjoining it. (His progressed Moon also squares the U.S. progressed Venus at the same time.) The Nodes may indicate a sense of destiny playing out. And Trump’s P. Moon and U.S. P. N. Node also line up with his own natal Saturn. These are all significant, however the progressed Moon moves quickly, progressed Nodes are extremely slow, and to my mind, natal Saturn in Cancer is just not great (see my earlier analysis of this progression).

Perhaps more important, Donald Trump’s progressed Venus in Libra conjoins the U.S. Mars in its P. 9^th house. However it will be less than a degree from the conjunction until at least mid-2017, which seems a little late to apply specifically to the election the previous November.

Progressing the Ascendant and Midheaven, especially for questionable times like the U.S.A., adds an additional margin of error. The above charts are what seem to work for me. I use Evangeline Adams’ Gemini rising U.S. chart.

Election 2016: Progressions II

Hillary Clinton’s progressions are much more dynamic and significant than Donald Trump’s, but once again we have to ask whether they specifically indicate success or a new position.

Clinton’s progressed Moon is in Libra in her 11^th house (based on an 8:02 AM birth time) and is nearly exactly sextile Mars on election day, 11/8/16. In addition, transiting Jupiter will conjoin the progressed Moon and sextile natal Mars within about a week. The combination signifies an expanded connection with the public and is excellent for her.

The progressed Moon is leaving a conjunction with Clinton’s Neptune, which highlights the continuing scandals as well as her ill health not long before the election. I feel that approaching aspects are stronger, and Neptune can be confusing, but it, too, may also add to her resonance with the public.

Progressed Mars conjoins her 10^th house cusp, which is a powerful indicator of initiatives in her career. A focal point of Hillary’s chart is Mercury in Scorpio closely conjunct her Ascendant, with Venus in Scorpio also conjunct Mercury from the 12^th house. Progressed Mars has passed a quintile aspect to her Venus, is still about 2 degrees from a quintile to her Mercury, and is over 2 degrees from aspecting her Ascendant. However P. Mars remains very close to quintile the midpoint of her Mercury-Venus-Ascendant as they combine influences.

In a notable repetition of influences, Hillary’s Solar Arc Uranus conjoins her Midheaven and progressed Mars, while also activating the quintile pattern to her natal Scorpio planets. Uranus conjunct Mars in the 10th is a wild influence concerning status and position. Uranus, though, is not reliable, and there may be more surprising ups and downs for Hillary before November 8^th.

The quintile aspect (72 degrees) isn’t the most commonly used, but most astrologers agree that it’s a harmonious and flowing aspect that facilitates events. This fifth harmonic aspect relates to the 5^th house and the Sun, and both may point toward luck and success. (Quintiles are common, but I do feel they’re a little stronger than sextiles as they’re a smaller division of the circle.)

Clinton’s progressed MC at about 15 Scorpio has just squared her natal Pluto in the 9th, and is a little over a degree from conjoining her Venus. More importantly, however, it’s also falling within the zone of the quintile from progressed Mars. Despite repeated questions of influence or legality (Pluto in the 9^th), she continues to be popular.

Venus rules Hillary’s 7^th house, relating to the public, and her progressed Venus is less than a degree from trining natal Neptune in the 11^th, allowing her to gain ideological support from a broad audience.

Hillary Clinton’s progressed Sun and Mercury in Capricorn are each less than a degree past squaring Neptune. These aspects highlight her loss of credibility, continuing insinuations of scandals, and ill health. However it does seem to me that she is coming away from these Neptunian situations, since they are departing aspects.

I use secondary progressions by true Solar Arc, and other methods will change these aspects. I would not have the confidence to calculate them so exactly by hand, and we therefore must rely on our calculation programs. And of course, Hillary’s birth time is in question, and I’ve focused a lot on aspects to her 10^th house and Ascendant. However, I still believe that her progressions are much more powerful than Donald Trump’s, and that they more accurately point toward winning a new position.

Scorecard: Solar Returns – Clinton. Progressed Moon’s Declination – Trump. Solar Arcs – Clinton. Progressions – Clinton.

I’ll look at transits to each of the candidate’s charts in my next post.

Election 2016 – Progressions

Progressions are a significant part of astrological forecasting. For the Presidential election, I’ll look at the closest progressed aspects within a degree of natal planets and points on Election Day. Do they suggest victory or a new position? What is their nature and strength?

As we saw in the Solar Arc Directions, Donald Trump’s progressed Sun conjoins his Ascendant, which is powerful testimony to his ability to promote himself. The Sun is also quintile Uranus in his 10^th house of status. This is his most important aspect suggesting success or a new direction for his career. However it’s 21’ past exact. While aspects theoretically should be exact for significant life events, we all know that reality is more flexible.

Trump’s progressed Ascendant in Libra is in his 3^rd house, very close to sextiling his natal Mars conjunct his 1^st. This reiterates the themes of self-development, self-promotion and communications, especially as Mars rules his 9^th house.

Perhaps one of Donald’s strongest progressions is his Moon in its own sign of Cancer, just under a degree of conjoining natal Saturn in his 11^th house (exact on 12/2/16). This combination certainly suggests a leadership position and responsiveness from the public, especially since his Saturn rules his 6^th and 7^th houses. But Saturn is in its detriment in Cancer. I’m therefore not sure if it suggests a win. The Moon, however, also sextiles the Midheaven on 12/16, though it’s about a degree and a half from exact on Election Day.

Progressed Mars in Libra in his 2^nd house squares Mercury in his 11^th. Trump has been focused on talking about his values, with a lot of verbal sparring. This combination also shows his engagement with the community (11th). Once again, though, it’s past exactitude – by about 19’ (it was exact in May of 2016).

Progressed Jupiter square Saturn is a much closer aspect, (8’ past), but since Jupiter is a slower-moving planet it’s progressions are extremely slow. Trump’s Jupiter in transit moved about 10’ a day, so the progression was closer to exact about a year ago. More importantly, however, this progression accentuates his natal Jupiter square Saturn and is also activated by the progressed Moon.

Donald Trump’s progressed MC conjoins his 12^th house cusp with no aspects. He is tending toward behind-the-scenes situations, as political positions do, but with no engagement with the rest of his chart, it’s symbolism isn’t more specific.

Trump has a number of close progressions, though some of the most significant are either not especially close or are past exactitude. Self-development is reiterated, but I don’t know if this suggests success. The progressed Moon is one of the most important, but gives a somewhat mixed message as it conjoins Saturn.

(I’ve been very exacting with the progressed degrees. But note that the fastest progressions – the Ascendant and Midheaven in particular, and also the Moon – may not be exact due to inexact birth times or calculation issues. )

I’ll look at Hillary Clinton’s progressions next time so we can see whose are more significant.

Election 2016 – Solar Arcs

Let’s look at the Solar Arc directed planets for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to see who has more powerful directions on Election Day, November 8, 2016. (I use these simply as a kind of progression and not with midpoint pictures.)

Donald Trump’s directed MC, relating to career and status, is conjunct his 12^th house, with no major aspects to planets in his birth chart. His directed Ascendant is in his 3^rd house, just past conjoining directed Mars (a high point for assertive communications). It approaches a trine to his Mercury in the 11^th, but it’s a little over a degree and a half away.

Trump’s directed Sun opposite Moon, as well as his Nodes, straddle his Ascendant-Descendant axis. This is strong testimony of coming before the public and gaining much attention, and is very consistent with his campaign. Yet the South Node conjoining his 7^th house cusp, which relates to the public, suggests a lack of support for a major position in the material world.

Directed Mercury from the 1^st approaches a square to Uranus in his natal 10^th house. The issues of communication and career excitement are brought up. But this aspect, too, is over a degree and a half from exact on election day. I’m not sure whether the more radical changes in his career that are indicated by Uranus will occur from mid to late 2017 or earlier. These are the closest aspects.

Hillary Clinton’s directions are stronger. However we must remember that her birth time is not certain, which makes aspects involving the Ascendant and Midheaven questionable. (I use her 8:02 AM chart.)

Hillary’s natal Moon square Uranus directs to angular houses, making it more prominent. Directed Uranus is less than half of a degree from conjoining her MC, and her directed Moon is in her 7^th house. This combination shows both her support from women, as well as the fact that she’s breaking new ground as the first female presidential candidate from a major party. To my mind, this is a very important direction.

Hillary’s directed MC falls in her 12^th house, only about 7 degrees from conjoining her Ascendant. Given the orb I use, I feel that it’s already activating her Ascendant, which is significant. It’s also just a degree from conjoining her Venus, showing the possibility of much support from behind the scenes. (Venus also rules her 6^th house of service, her 7^th of the public and partnerships and the 11^th relating to the community.)

Solar Arc Neptune is nearly exactly trine her natal Saturn in the 9^th, allowing her to reach a wide audience with her message. Similarly, her directed Jupiter in her 3^rd house is within a degree of trining her Neptune in the 11^th house, giving her a strong resonance with the community (11^th) for her ideas (the 3^rd house and Jupiter). (Directed Mercury, also in her 3^rd, has passed a sextile to her natal Jupiter, but is less than a degree away, also supporting her message.)

Hillary has more close Solar Arc directions for election day than Donald. She wins this round of astrological consideration. So far we have Solar returns going to Clinton, the progressed Moon in declination to Trump and now Solar Arcs to Hillary.

I’ll look at secondary progressions for each candidate next.

Election 2016 – Progressed Declination II

Like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton’s Moon also progresses Out of Bounds in declination. The peaks and troughs of her cycle are very telling as well.

Clinton’s most recent peak, from about ages 61 to 64, included her first presidential run and the much of her term as Secretary of State. These life changing events represent a peak in terms of public exposure and career developments. In keeping with the nature of the Moon, both her presidential campaign as well as her role as Secretary involved much travel and therefore an unsettled domestic situation. In addition, while she was focused on public service throughout the Moon’s OOB phase, her goals and position certainly changed during this time.

On the Moon’s previous progression OOB in the north, (at about ages 34 to 37 or 1981 to 1984), Hillary was in the middle of her first term as First Lady of Arkansas and had just given birth to her daughter Chelsea. Once again, the changeability of the Moon is clear: her husband lost the Governor’s office for the subsequent term and was re-elected while Hillary’s Moon was still OOB.

The trough in Hillary’s progressed Moon cycle found her in the White House with her National Health Reform program abandoned in 1994 (around age 47). Her husband was also having an affair with Monica Lewinsky at that time.

As Hillary again runs for President, her progressed Moon is on the downslope (heading south). This is not as strong a position as Donald Trump – she’s spent much more on advertising than Trump, for example, having to work harder for the publicity that Trump is naturally attracting in his OOB Moon phase.

Election 2016: Progressed Declination

I’ve studied declination quite a bit, and find that it adds an extra dimension to astrology. It can also be used in forecasting, and I particularly like to look at the progressed Moon’s cycle in declination. This cycle is especially telling when it reaches its peaks and troughs, which are apt to be significant in terms of career, domestic events and public exposure.

See this article for a basic description of the progressed Moon in declination and how it works.

For certain individuals, the Moon may also progress Out of Bounds in declination (OOB or beyond most planets’ usual limits on the ecliptic), at regular intervals. When the Moon progresses OOB, we can expect an even greater period of change in the home life, career and public exposure. I’ve come to think of it as a time that maximizes publicity. In addition, it can also create a turning point in life. A writer, for example, may secure a reputation with a great review, or a professional might join a prestigious firm when the progressed Moon goes OOB. This can set the stage for a successful career, and they may be able to coast on that high point for quite a number of years.

Interestingly enough, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have Moons that progress OOB in declination! Let’s look at the progressed Moon in both of their charts to see how it might influence the Presidential election.

We don’t need astrology to tell us that Donald Trump is getting a tremendous amount of publicity – he’s on the evening news every night. His Moon progresses OOB in the north from approximately ages 68-70 and he recently turned 70, so he’s just past the maximum in his progressed declination cycle. Trump is a terrific example of this cycle at work – he’s getting even more than his usual publicity and his career is going in a new direction. In addition to his presidential hopes, after 15 years with “The Apprentice,” he parted ways with NBC last year (2015).

In looking toward the future, it always pays to look back. The last time Donald’s progressed Moon reached OOB and maximum north declination was from about ages 41-43 (1987-1989). At that time he bought the the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. At over $1 billion, after a very public take-over battle with Merv Griffin, the Taj claimed to be the largest casino in the world. It opened in 1990 but went through a bankruptcy soon after. The NY Times recently called the casino a “protracted failure,” despite making money for Trump.

It was also in 1988, near the peak of his declination cycle, that Donald Trump first explored the idea of running for president.

But since the Moon by its nature is changeable and the cycle itself represents a period of change, it can also be characterized as an unstable period to a certain extent. Perhaps there was more drama than substance surrounding Trump’s activities at this time.

So what about the Presidential election? We can say that the progressed Moon in declination represents a high point in Trump’s career and will continue to give him a great amount of publicity through early 2017. His natal Sun-Moon opposition (not only a full Moon but a total lunar eclipse at his birth) also ensures drama and some ups and downs in life, especially since they’re in mutable signs. But as of this writing his exposure is also shining a light on his lack of experience in the world of national and international politics. Does publicity + career development = the presidency?

I’ll look at Hillary Clinton’s progressed Moon in declination in the next post.

Election 2016 – Solar Returns

The Presidential election this fall is a major contest and the outcome can be determined astrologically. To do it, we need to consider a wide variety of techniques. In this post I’ll look at the Solar Returns for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

The contest has changed recently, since Trump has a new Solar Return that began on his birthday in June. Trump was in NYC for a campaign rally on June 13, 2016 (the exact time of the return may fall on the day before the calendar birth date), and I’ll assume he was also in NY that morning, when his Sun returned to its natal place. At this writing, many reporters suggest that he’s become more controversial in recent months.

Trump has won support by being a political outsider, but as the Republican presidential candidate, he has alienated party leaders. A Latino judge who Trump criticized recently ruled that the fraud suit against Trump University would go to trial. These events show issues with authority figures, and Trump has Uranus conjunct the Midheaven this year. It forms a stressful yod with the Sun conjunct Venus in the 11^th house and Mars in Scorpio in the 4^th, a combative pattern.

The T-square of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune is very close in Trump’s Solar Return, indicating his controversies involving minorities and immigrants (afflicted Jupiter).

Hillary Clinton is closer to the end of her Solar Return year, which also fell a day before her birthday, when she attended a private event in NYC. Questions of Clinton’s trustworthiness continue to dog her, her e-mail scandal seems to have a life of its own, and she has flip-flopped on a number of issues. Her Solar features Neptune conjunct the Midheaven, showing a questionable reputation. While Neptune squares Saturn in the Return, it also has some excellent aspects, forming a grand trine with the Cancer Ascendant and the Sun in Scorpio in the 5^th house. Neptune also sextiles Pluto in her 7^th, which might ease the public’s skepticism of her somewhat.

Hillary’s 10^th house of status and position ends up being more favorable than Donald’s.

The Ascendant is a significant point as well, representing the candidate. Trump has the Moon in the 3^rd closely sextiling his Solar Ascendant in Leo (the same sign rising in his birth chart). Hillary also has favorable quintile aspects between the Ascendant and the benefics Venus and Jupiter in her 4^th house, in addition to the grand trine involving her Solar Ascendant. While the Ascendant is also inconjunct Saturn, highlighting her emotional reserve and keeping many from warming up to her, the flowing aspects add more weight. Hillary’s Ascendant also ends up being more favorable than Trump’s.

Angularity adds power to planets and both candidates have angular planets in their Solar Returns: Trump has Uranus conjoining the Midheaven and Mars in the 4^th house; Clinton has Venus, Mars and Jupiter conjunct in her Solar 4^th house, Neptune on the Midheaven and Pluto in the 7^th. Hillary’s Solar Return is more powerful with more angular planets.

I always like to consider essential dignity as well. In his Return, Trump has Mercury in Gemini and Mars in Scorpio, strong in their ruling signs, but Mercury opposes Mars and Mars is also the focal point of the yod. While Clinton has Venus in its fall in Virgo, it forms a mutual reception with Mercury in Libra (each other’s ruling signs), and disposes of the rest of the planets. Mercury, though, is part of a T-square with the Moon, Uranus and Pluto. Neither candidate appears much stronger through essential dignity.

But Hillary Clinton’s Solar Return ends up being more favorable overall, with a better aspected Midheaven and Ascendant and more angular planets. There’s much more we could say about the Solar Returns, and this is only one part of the analysis we need to do to forecast the outcome of the election.

Note: I use relocated SR charts in the Tropical zodiac and do not correct for precession.

Karen Christino

Astrologer and Writer