the bigger picture and next week's election ...

crystal ball by heroinx-x

Astrology can be a tool for prediction, but not a very good one. It is a language of archetypes and patterns. Our chart isn't fate or destiny - it's really a blueprint of our God given potential!

(astrology recognizes free will as the central axis of any chart - some things we have to meet up with, how we handle them is always up to us)

Astrology looks at what has happened in the past when planets and points were in similar spaces and rubbing against each other in similar ways to see what we experienced then. Then it hypothesizes and imagines what those energies could bring to current situations.

And, of course, the experience and intuition (and bias - we all see what we are looking for to a large degree) of the astrologer play an important role.

As an armchair astrologer I am not going to wade into prediction - but it might help to put the election into a bigger framework.

Think about it this way. This election is an epic battle between two warriors. Either of these warriors could win or they couldn't be in the ring. There is no future set in stone for any of us. Either of these warriors can take us on the next leg of our collective journey, too.

Let's not get caught up in thinking one of the two of them is going to destroy us (or save us - that's up to us) - the road we are on is the road we are on.

We have been on this road since 2008 when Pluto moved into Capricorn and really we have been on this road since the last time Pluto was in Capricorn and our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence.

The United States is four years from its exact Pluto return (Pluto the planet of karma and transformation will be back in the exact position it was in when the Declaration of Independence was signed) and four years is a blink of the eye to Pluto. The unethical and corroded structures of Capricorn (government, big business, banking) are transforming.

One of the most active planets these past few months has been Eris (dwarf planet). Eris is Mars' trouble making sister - she is the outsider. Aided by Uranus, planet of revolution and 'anything can happen' they have been turning things upside down (not just in the U.S.!).

And as we move from the Age of Pisces (patriarchy) to the Age of Aquarius (equality) the conservative/liberal split is strongly emphasized. We are polarized with a father based mindset or a mother based mindset. Whichever one we most connect to, the other side looks nuts. They just don't make any sense to us, but the truth is, it's literally the ways our brains are wired (see the studies of George Lakoff).

Both sides have wonderful gifts and both sides have their problems.

Let's take a peek at the warrior's charts.

Clinton's chart (which like Hillary herself is somewhat hidden since her birth time is unknown) shows she is an intense person leading an intense life. It's a BIG chart. She is undoubtedly reliable and steady and will see things through. But with multiple planets in Scorpio, what we see is not always what we get.

She is predictable but there is a lot going on behind the scenes she doesn't show us.

She has a compassionate Moon that gets overshadowed by her Scorpio Sun (I bet her mother who she has a strong spiritual connection to was overshadowed by her father). She has a past life victim/scapegoat story and needs to be careful taking advice from men or subjugating herself to male energy. She will fight for what she thinks is right, for what she wants and for her own survival.

She is manipulative and cunning. And if we see this as always a bad thing - we have probably never won a game of Monopoly.

Life is complicated. Clinton is complicated. She was born with Saturn conjunct Pluto and Mars which is a very powerful and ambitious combination (with an ability to survive almost anything and almost a death wish). She moves in a ruthless world. She fits in.

With all the scandals (and yes, some and maybe many are fabrications and exaggerations) she has weathered, it is amazing she could be the next President of the United States. Think about it - we had a candidate who yahoo'd or yodeled or whatever you would call it (does anyone remember Howard Dean's Presidential run?) and was practically run out of town.

How is this woman still standing (maybe in much the same way all women are still standing)?

Love her or hate her (and with all this Scorpio energy she will engender strong reactions) she is mirroring the feminine shadow energy we need to see right now. Some will see a manipulative witch and some will see a woman who does what she has to do to get things done - both will be right.

Now, let's take a peek at Trump's chart.

He actually published his birth certificate online when he was claiming Obama wasn't born in the United States, so we know it is 100% accurate..

His Sun is in Gemini. His Moon is in Sagittarius. Geminis are clever and good with words. They are fast thinking and often funny. They can say one thing to one person and something else to someone else - they are changeable. Sagittarius is the sign of the adventurer. It's the sign of big beliefs and BIG (or I should say bigly) EVERYTHING.

They are opposite each other in his chart so we know he was born on a Full Moon. He has the North Node conjunct his Sun so we know he was born on a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse. He has Uranus, the planet of 'anything can happen', the future, rebelliousness and genius conjunct his Sun and North Node - this is a pretty big deal. Yes, I'd say his chart is bigly.

With Trump's chart what we see is what we get. Stuff isn't hidden but things are always in flux. Lies aren't always lies (although with a Gemini Sun, yes, there are definitely lies and exaggeration) as much as they are the way he previously thought or operated that he is done with. He used to do this and now he does that. He used to think this way and now he thinks that way. He used to say this and now he says that.

Uranus conjunct his Sun and North Node makes him a human lightning bolt ... and you know how we never know where lightning will strike! He carries that electricity we feel in the air right before a storm.

So, yes, he was born to do something big and his energy is totally unpredictable. No one can know what he will do, even Trump himself. When he says he will not be controlled by big money (or foreign countries) I actually believe him. He cannot be controlled - even by the people who elect him though. If someone thinks they know what he will do, they are mistaken.

Remember eclipses bring things to light and eclipse things out - this is his destiny. Could he eclipse out corruption as some people believe? Yes. Could he eclipse out the important stuff we really need as other people believe? Yes.

Trump's lunar eclipse is closely aligned with the United States' Mars.

His Sun (life force) conjunct the United States' Mars (initiative, anger, courage, war) is one reason so many people see him as powerful and energetic and capable of leading the country. It also explains the "anger at authority" and "fear about security" he "shines a light on".

Having his Sun conjunct the United States' Mars at a lunar eclipse (Full Moon) means his Moon is opposing this same Mars. The Moon represents emotional, feminine, maternal, nurturing energy. The Moon rules Cancer and the United States has the Sun in Cancer. This is where his woman problems come in and his troubled relationship with feminine energy.

Love him or hate him he is mirroring the masculine shadow energy we need to see right now. Some will see a bullying narcissist and some will see a powerful, energetic man who does what he has to do to get things done - both will be right.

No one is just one thing and these two are just people after all - even though they are both working with some strong archetypal energy and showing us their shadows.

There are things we can do to have an impact on how all this plays out. I don't mean the election results but how this journey we are on plays out.

And I am not talking about telling other people how to vote. Everyone has made up their mind - although maybe not - looking at election day maybe people get up thinking they will vote one way and then end up voting the other way!

We can watch our language. This election has a lot to do with truth. We spent the entire year dealing with the Saturn/Neptune square of dreams vs reality. It is very hard to know what is real right now.

We can see how the media and 24 hour news cycle is a big problem and draining our energy.

There is a totally different energetic signature when we say "the truth is being revealed" than when we say "lies are being revealed". Can you feel that?

There is nothing happening in the collective that isn't happening within us, too. What is our own truth - specifically an event in our own personal life we are being challenged by now?

Somewhere here there is a truth we don't want to look at. This isn't a time for judgement. This is a time for every one of us to move closer to a truth that is pressing against our paradigm and needing to break free.

Can we get to a place of observation and objectiveness within ourselves where we can ask - what is the truth needing to be exposed? Also women need to hold a clear space without apology. If this sentence resonates with you there is a reason.

Election Day could be a nail biter. We start the day with a Void Moon! 

Void Moons are not good times to launch things and I take this seriously because the Moon needs to be aspecting something else to get results. With the Moon by itself we would just dream our life away!

When we start things during a Void Moon the saying goes "nothing will come of it". I have found this to be true over and over again. Then late in the afternoon EST, the Moon moves into Pisces. 

(the Sun will be in Scorpio and the Moon will be in Pisces which is Clinton's chart - this election is really all about her and what she stands for in the mind of each individual voter)

Maybe one of our warriors will look like they are doing well early in the day but then things will flip around.

Or maybe whoever pulls out a win has something happen after the election and "nothing comes of it" (the win).

Or maybe there is a recount needed after election day or someone contests the results - I guess this is the most likely scenario. There are multiple possibilities.

The Moon in Pisces is drifting energy. Stuff can slip right through our fingers ...

More on this in next week's forecast. Have a nice weekend everyone - relax! xo