Theoretically, if astrology is effective, it should surely not be difficult to predict an election result between two candidates. But there is no one astrological technique that can be relied upon. What works for one election, may not work for another. It’s the odd anomaly that reveals the winner. You have to be able to read the prevailing winds to see which of the candidate’s sails are going to be filled. You will also have to fight confirmation bias. For example, I predicted Hillary Clinton would win in 2016 despite the obvious signs that Trump would – his MC progressed entering Leo and his Sun progressed conjoining his Ascendant. I refused to see the astrological evidence before my own eyes.
Winner Clues
For the 2008 election that Obama won, the one of the tells was the fact that his natal Jupiter was at 0.51 Aquarius, which is the degree the Sun is always on at the inauguration – but in January 2009 the Sun was also conjunct transit Jupiter. For Biden in 2020, there was one subtle and irrefutable tell – his progressed Mercury moved stationary direct at 24 Capricorn, exactly opposite his Ascendant ruler Jupiter at 24 Cancer (on the USA Mercury). Also his IC progressed conjoined Saturn in 7th House. (Not much of a malefic influence there, except for the opposition.)
Transits and Horary
Transits are unreliable but they still fill sails. For example Tony Blair won a landslide election with Pluto transit on his Descendant. Horary charts for elections are extremely tricky. They show what is going on, but they do not seem to point reliably to a winner. For example, the 2020 election chart showed Mercury exactly stationary at 25.54 Libra square Saturn, and this reflected the fact that the result was delayed for days as postal votes were counted. But other influences in this chart were ambiguous as regards the winner.
Interpreting the Inauguration Chart
Inauguration charts – for January 20th at noon – will not normally reveal the winner either. There will always be Taurus Ascendant and the Sun will always be on the Midheaven. However, inauguration charts will often reveal a lot about the course of events during the presidential period. The January 2021 inauguration showed an exact Mars-Uranus conjunction in the 12th house, which amply reflects the attempts made to sabotage the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency by Trump-dominated Republicans.
The other key factor about the 2021 Inauguration was that the epoch-making Jupiter-Saturn conjunction had just taken place at 0 Aquarius so the Inauguration Sun conjoined this. Apart from indicating an aging but wise President, this Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 0 degrees was a clear indication that there would be a new President – as a new epoch was beginning – and that the candidate that won in 2016 would be ejected in 2020 – which I did predict in 2015. (Note 1)
The 2025 Inauguration
There is a factor in the Inauguration Chart for January 2025 that is stunning. At the November 2024 election Pluto is at 29.47 Capricorn (opposite Mars 0.26 Leo, which soon turns retrograde) and by the following January Pluto will be at 1.41 Aquarius, conjoining the inauguration Sun. So, Pluto is on the 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction – the first in an Air sign in 800 years – and the conjunction with the Sun is likely to reflect something important about the coming presidential period.
HOROSCOPE: Inauguration: Jan 20th 2025, 12.00 Washington DC
The Pluto Return in the US Chart
Developments in the USA over the last few years reflect a sense of crisis evoked by the return of Pluto to its natal position – 27.32 Aquarius – for the first time in nearly 250 years. At the time of the Declaration of Independence (1776), the war with King George was still going on, and the English would not be defeated for several more years, during which Pluto transited into Aquarius. This is the exact phase we are in leading up to the 2024 election.
The Candidates
Logically, the next election will be between Biden and Trump once again. Logically, Trump will lose, because his trials and extremism will have alienated independent voters. MAGA Republicans are not numerous enough to create a win. Astrologically, the picture is more muddy. Many things can happen. The Republican party could dump Trump, which would leave Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley as the obvious candidates. An Independent candidate like Robert Kennedy Jnr. could siphon off votes, though whether this would affect Democrats more than Republicans is a moot point.
And then there can be “senior” moments, as exhibited by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Age 81) who went embarrassingly blank during a press conference. Biden does not exactly inspire confidence. A recent quote: “Let me say two words: Made in America” springs to mind. Trump is so incoherent it is impossible to know whether he has senior moments: “Biden will plunge the world into World War II” is a tasty example. Trump exudes vigour, whilst Biden exudes languor, and this could be a factor up to the election. Generally however, both these candidates are aging beyond their capacity to govern effectively.
Nikki Haley
Of the two alternative Republican candidates, Nikki Haley would prevail over DeSantis, and her horoscope is very interesting. Her birth time is currently unknown, and if she was born before evening, her Sun would be in Capricorn and Moon in Pisces. However, if she has born after 9.30 pm her Sun would be at 0 Aquarius – on Inauguration Sun – and her Moon would be at 0 Aries. This is interesting because in 2024-2025 Pluto will be on her Sun, and a little later Saturn and Neptune move from Pisces to Aries and to conjoin her Moon.
Nikki Haley: January 20th 1972. Suggested late evening time. Bamberg SC
As she has Indian roots – her parents are Sikh – this could actually reflect the Sun-Pluto conjunction at the Inauguration, as this favours non-white candidates. (Obama was President when Pluto opposed the US Sun). Haley is incredibly powerful and resilient – nobody will get the better of her in a power battle. Her Sun trines Saturn in Taurus (which conjoins the Saturn of the Republican party) and Pluto in Virgo within 2 degrees, so it is easy to imagine how intense her life will be and how empowered she will be at the end of 2024.
Everything in her horoscope is strong. Mars is dignified in Aries, and opposing Uranus, so she will be aggressive and unpredictable in foreign relations. Jupiter is dignified at 26 Sagittarius on the Galactic Centre, so she is destined for greatness and significance on the world stage. (She was US ambassador to the UN for two years during the Trump administration). Mercury is at 13 Capricorn opposition US Sun. Her Venus is exalted in Pisces exactly square Neptune, so there must be some softness and compassion. Somewhere. She is in favour of some limitations on abortion, and aggressively supports Israel and Ukraine. She would definitely be a conservative hardliner, but within the bounds of reason. She announced her candidacy on February 14th 2023 when transiting Saturn (conjoined by the Sun) was exactly on US Moon at 27 Aquarius. Good timing.
There is a scenario where the Republican Party recognizes the threat of extinction if they support Trump, whereby Haley becomes the candidate, and she could become the woman of the moment. There are connections between her chart and the US chart, with the most significant being the conjunction of her Moon with the US IC at 1 degree Aries – which is of course the degree of the epoch-making Saturn-Neptune conjunction, which pretty much kicks in during the summer of 2025. This conjunction is sextile Pluto, and Uranus which enters Gemini. That is a massive activation of her Sun, Saturn and Pluto grand trine and of her Moon. Still, without a birth time, this is guesswork.
As regards DeSantis, his chart is weakened by Mars in detriment in Libra and Venus likewise in Scorpio. He has a strong Mercury-Saturn conjunction in Virgo, so there is administrative talent but little more. He would not be able to stand up to Haley.
The Republican Party
In an earlier article (Note 2) using the 1854 horoscope for the Republican Party as reference, I pointed out that the election of Trump coincided with a second Uranus return and first Neptune return in the Republican chart, which reflects the dissolution taking place in the Republican Party and a Party at odds with itself. Trump’s Moon in Sagittarius is within 1 degree of the Republican Moon, which goes a long way to explain his appeal with the Republican base.
In the years since the Republican Party was formed, Saturn has progressed into Gemini squaring Neptune. It’s a long term aspect, but at the 2024 election, their progressed Sun is at 14 Virgo with Neptune at 14 Pisces and progressed Saturn at 15 Gemini. This suggests that it is unlikely that the Republicans will have a credible candidate who can win the 2024 election, and that there will be a period of decline and confusion.
Kamala Harris
There is a chance, then, that Trump will be replaced by Haley, because, as Haley says: “The American people are not going to vote for a convicted criminal”. But will Biden make it unscathed to the election? If for reasons of health he doesn’t, then Kamala Harris would take his place as a candidate and face other Democratic challengers. She became vice-president when her Sun progressed conjoined her Descendant – appropriate for the partnership with Biden. Harris has a very dynamic chart (note 3) with Saturn well-aspected and at 28 Aquarius on the US Moon. This may be too heavy for her to be popular with the American people, but she cannot be ruled out. Her Sun progressed is at 28 Sagittarius at the election, sextile Saturn and trine the Moon, so she will surely still be in the picture. With Jupiter on her Ascendant at this time, and Uranus transit on her Jupiter, it seems a serendipitous time for her.
Biden and the Democrats
The safe assumption is that it will be a Biden-Trump rematch, so are there any indications of who will prevail? Biden has Saturn transiting his IC for months up to the election, which could mean the country is skeptical of a weary 82-year old continuing at the White House. In contrast to that, however, his progressed Venus will move to trine natal Mars a year after the election. His Ascendant progressed at 28.34 Aquarius will be on US Moon and square his natal Venus at 28.33 Scorpio. That is reasonably favorable.
Joe Biden: November 20th 1942. 8.30 a.m. Scranton. PA
In the lead up to the election, transit Uranus will oppose his Sun-Venus conjunction, and this could just show the hectic pace of the campaign. This is a very stressful influence, but it likely indicates that he is the Democratic candidate, striving for media attention and crisscrossing the country.
Curiously, his progressed Ascendant moves from Aquarius to 0 Pisces in late 2025. The good thing about the Ascendant change is that it sextiles his natal Moon, exalted at 0 Taurus, which could show renewed popularity. But it also indicates a disruptive lifestyle change, not least because it conjoins the South Node and squares progressed Uranus (then later natal Uranus) during the course of a possible second term. If he does get elected, a sudden event may remove him from power. He will also experience a Uranus return, with Uranus conjoining his Descendant in 2026. Furthermore, if you progress the 1776 US Midheaven, it conjoins the radix Uranus in 2026, just as the Sun progressed squares US Mars, so there are a number of indications of radical change in the middle of the next presidency.
Trump and MAGA
Trump commands an unshakeable base of loyal supporters – slightly under 50% of Republicans. He has channeled the very real grievances of low-wage Americans submerged in a drug epidemic and forgotten by Washington. They hate what they see as privileged East and West Coast woke folk, and Trump weaponizes this like a latter-day Mussolini. His horoscope – with a blood moon eclipse channeling Uranus from the 10th to the 4th House – is like a lightning bolt dividing America.
Donald Trump: June 14th 1946. 10.54 a.m. Jamaica, NY
Many people from Trump’s administration have warned about the dangers Trump poses to the USA. Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, put it like this:
“He is a consummate narcissist. And he constantly engages in reckless conduct. … He will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country’s interests. Our country can’t, you know, can’t be a therapy session for you know, a troubled man like this.”
At the time of writing (exactly one year before the 2024 election), Trump’s progressed Ascendant has just entered Scorpio, in two months to be followed by progressed Moon. Now mired in court cases this could be the beginning of a darker period for him. At the election his progressed Venus is square Saturn and progressed Moon in Scorpio is square Pluto. Uranus transit conjoins his MC at 24.21 Taurus in June and November 2024 and March 2025. That’s a very radical influence, and could show a number of unpredictable events taking place, like an election surprise or another attempt to encourage insurrection.
The 2024 Election Chart
On election day, Venus is at 22.30 Sagittarius opposite Jupiter 20 Gemini, and this is right on Trump’s Sun-Moon opposition. This seems like a favorable influence, but the Moon-Venus opposite Jupiter could easily show a female Republican candidate with foreign roots like Nikki Haley.
US Election: November 5th 2024, 7 a.m. Washington DC
If you cast the Election Chart for when the polls open officially at 7 a.m. then the Sun is in Scorpio on the Ascendant, as it is on all elections. This favors the incumbent who in most cases wins.. Trump was the first incumbent President to be defeated since George W H. Bush. He might want to call himself a loser. In November 2024 Saturn in Pisces trines the Sun, and this looks favorable for Biden. The Moon conjoins the Venus-Jupiter opposition but is exactly square Neptune, which may show unjustified euphoria on the part of the challenger. The results will only come in when the Moon enters Capricorn, where it moves in sextile to Saturn and to the Sun. This might indicate a subdued atmosphere, favorable to the incumbent. Results will not be delayed like in 2020, but Uranus in the 7th house square MC-IC could indicate Trumpian disruption.
In 2020 Mars was retrograde making three squares to Pluto, which illustrated the conspiracy theories about the “Big Steal” and the actual conspiracy to overthrow the election result. As Mars was in Aries, the potential for violence was ever-present. This time Mars has just gone out of Cancer and into Leo, which for a Mars-ruled Scorpio like Biden might just indicate him going from a weak position to a strong one on Election Day. Mars opposes Pluto two days before the election, then goes retrograde to make two more oppositions on January 5th (oops) and April 26th. Mars will be on US Mercury at the Inauguration, and activates the US Mercury-Pluto opposition, so we can definitely expect more claims of election conspiracy.
All in all, with the advantage of incumbency, Biden will win because of his Ascendant progressed on US Moon and square his Venus, with the added advantage of Saturn in trine to Election Sun and his Scorpio planets. He may however not complete his 4-year period. If Trump runs, the transit of Uranus over his MC will be dangerous, and if by chance he wins, then the Sun-Pluto conjunction at the Inauguration will augur dictatorship. If Nikki Haley runs, she will do well, and it is the best chance the Republican Party will have for a winner.
The Next Presidential Period
Whatever the result of the 2024 election, America and the world are entering a new and unpredictable period. Everything is changing. From 2025-2026 the 36-year cycle of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction starts once again, spelling the dissolution of the Russian government, as it has always historically done. Uranus moves from Taurus to Gemini, ending a period of economic ups and downs, and because of the seven trines to Pluto in the second half of the 2020’s a dramatic period of electrification and infrastructure transformation revolutionizes energy and travel, just as AI will revolutionize social structures and education. In China, the movement of Pluto over China’s Moon and Ascendant will destabilize the population and Xi Jinping.
The USA is approaching its third Uranus return since Independence. The last one heralded the New Deal. The one before than took place during the American Civil War. Cool heads need to prevail in America during the next Presidential period to maintain stability.
Adrian Ross Duncan
17th November 2023
1. See article about the Clinton-Trump election: https://www.astrowow.com/blog/45th-president-united-states/
2. See article about Republican Party: https://www.astrowow.com/blog/landslide/
3. Kamala Harris: October 20th 1964. 9.28 p.m. Oakland, CA