Right now about half the voters in America want Donald Trump to win the November 2016 US presidential election, and half want Hillary Clinton to win. Generally, women, college educated, and minorities are rooting for Clinton, and white males support Trump. It is the last chance for the latter, because demographic dynamics in the US show minorities growing and working-class white males decreasing in number, so it is a gamble for Trump, and Trump loves his gambles There is no easy way for astrologers to pick winners in elections in the USA. Basically candidates are equally popular, they are already in the limelight, they are already very successful. It is the small things, even indirect things, that can hint at changes. Bill Clinton became president when US progressed Venus moved into Aries conjoining the US IC, as Hillary, a new kind of dynamic First Lady, entered the White House? Obama became the first black president as Pluto entered Capricorn? George W Bush beat Al Gore because his Sun conjoined the US Sun? Reagan beat Carter in 1980 because his Moon was exalted at 13 Taurus whilst Carter’s Moon was in fall at 13 Scorpio? Becoming President means moving with the whole family to the White House. So it was a pretty good for Jimmy Carter in 1976, when he beat Republican Gerald Ford, that Carter’s progressed MC conjoined natal Mercury in Virgo, and his progressed Sun was just moving from Scorpio to Sagittarius, taking him away from the peanut farm and projecting him into the US Administration and international limelight. He wasn’t a Washington man, so you would expect to see something indicating a change of scene. If you are already President, then it is best that there are no indications of a major move, so probably it was not very good that President Carter’s Ascendant ruler Venus progressed into exile in Scorpio just a year after the 1980 election. Another major change of scene is the constant presence of the Secret Service at your side, monitoring every movement. So when Obama’s progressed Mercury conjoined progressed Mars and squared progressed Saturn at 23 Libra/Capricorn, all in semi- and sesquisquare to Pluto at the 2008 US election, then that was not necessarily a bad indication, as regards winning the presidency, because it showed the dogs of war guarding him. Reagan had Mars progressed exactly in trine to Pluto when he became president. John F Kennedy had transiting Pluto square his Sun within 2 minutes of arc when he beat Richard Nixon in 1960. (Perhaps that spelled the trauma to come.) Some things are constants, when it comes to the US electoral process. The Inauguration chart is always on January 20th at noon, so you can count on the Sun being at 0 Aquarius, whilst the Ascendant will be at approximately 14 Taurus and MC 25 Capricorn. So perhaps it is really great for a candidate to have something powerful on these degrees. Certainly it looked extremely good for Obama, who has Jupiter at 0.51 Aquarius, that the 2009 Inauguration had Mercury and the Sun at 0.40 and 0.46 respectively, with Jupiter at 3.32.
It was fortunate too for Ronald Reagan, whose Moon 13 Taurus opposing Jupiter 13 Scorpio fell right across the Inauguration Ascendant. Another constant is that the election chart will always have the Sun in Scorpio around 12-16 degrees conjoining the Ascendant, with the MC at 24-28 Leo. Probably it was not good that Al Gore has natal Saturn at 15 Leo exactly squaring election Sun on November 4th 2000. Systematically analyzing elections, the following factors are really important:
- Trends in the national horoscope
- The candidates’ charts and the national chart
- Transits and progressions in the candidates’ horoscopes
- Synastry between candidates
- The Election chart
- The Inauguration chart
… so let’s have a look at them all in the light of the coming Clinton/Trump contest.
Trends in the national horoscope
Sometimes the USA is ready for something special. For example, when Obama was elected, progressed Mars was stationary at 18 Libra ready to commence a 60+ year retrograde movement. Progressed Venus reached 18 Aries at this time, so it pointed to a really significant year, creating some kind of balance as these two planets opposed each other and were in reception. This took place exactly on John McCain’s Ascendant/Descendant, but obviously did not help him. Probably it was also indicative of the financial meltdown at the time. The election in 2008 took place with an exact Saturn/Uranus opposition, so it really showed the battle between the old and the new, and it is generally the new that has the most powerful voice. Astrologers use several different charts for the USA, but a good general rule is that when a country celebrates independence on a certain date, then the horoscope for that date will be effective. The time for the Sibley chart (July 4th, 1776 at 17.10.40 Philadelphia) has obscure origins, but the destruction of the Twin Towers with a Saturn/Pluto opposition, exactly on USA’s 12 Sagittarius Ascendant in 2001, was a really good vindication of the efficacy of this chart. The approaching Saturn/Pluto opposition at the election showed an impending crisis, and the fact that George W Bush had AS progressed square his Uranus/Node at the election and MC progressed conjoining in September 2001, shows he was the President made for the crisis. 
United States of America: July 4th 1776 at 17.10 Philadelphia
If you trust the Sibley chart, then the MC progressed using the traditional (Naibod) system at the November 2016 election moves to exactly 0.00 Gemini, which is interesting. Could it mean a double presidency (Clinton + Clinton)? Or a Gemini President (Trump)? The US progressed Ascendant on 4.21 Virgo is exactly on Clinton’s IC – a point for Hillary here. If you are fond of the asteroid goddess Ceres, the US progressed Moon is exactly on natal Ceres square Uranus, which could be a nod to female voters and all those LGBT folk. Also USA’s progressed Venus is exactly sextile the radix Moon at 27 Aquarius. Very feminine. Another point to Hillary.
The candidates’ charts and the national chart
If there are no reasonably powerful connections between the candidate and the USA chart, then they may never get into the position of resonating with US voters. Al Gore had nothing like the synastry that Bush had… Sun on US Sun and Mercury on US Mercury. This synastry is not only important for winning, it also shows what the successful candidate later evokes in the USA during the presidential period. John F Kennedy had Jupiter on the 8th house cusp exactly square Uranus, which conjoined the US Moon in Aquarius. He won the 1960 election with his Descendant progressed exactly on Jupiter, but, reflecting the square to Uranus, his assassination rocked not only the American people, but also the world. Richard Nixon – Tricky Dick – who won the 1968 election, had a Mercury/Jupiter/Mars conjunction opposite his own Pluto and also Venus/Jupiter in the US chart – so his dirty tricks and the compromising recordings of his own appalling use of language hit the US self-image as a whole. Jimmy Carter had his Pluto exactly on the US Sun, which probable reflects something of the humiliation experienced by the USA in connection with the long incarceration of the US hostages in the Iranian embassy. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, it’s no use romanticizing the fact that she will be the first woman… her presidency will also be dominated by characteristics indicated by her horoscope, not least the Mercury stationary conjoining her Scorpio Ascendant and exactly square Saturn. She hasn’t held a press conference in nearly a year, and it is not hard to see why. Hidden emails will be the least of what goes on in her administration. (But we’ll never find out). She has the same Mars/Saturn/Pluto stellium as Al Gore, so we get the same wooden presentations strangely devoid of passion, but make no mistake – if she gets elected Putin will be trembling in his boots. Hillary’s chart does not resonate well with the US chart, apart from her Scorpio planets in trine to USA’s Cancer planets, but her Saturn exactly sextile US Mars so she is a good military strategist.
Hillary Clinton: October 26 1947. 8.02. Chicago, Illinois
Donald Trump, with Mars conjoining his Leo Ascendant on Regulus, is described by many as a bombastic and narcissistic bully. It’s a powerful chart with Mars harmoniously aspecting the extraordinary lunar eclipse in Sagittarius whilst the Sun conjoins the unpredictable and media-savvy Uranus in Gemini. He is a lightning rod for the feelings of the people, especially when it comes to immigration. With Jupiter in exact trine to Uranus and harmonious to the Sun and Moon, this is a winner horoscope, as he is constantly reminding us.
His Sun/Moon opposition activates the US Mars/Neptune square, which obviously evokes the dreamers in the US electorate, as well as those in love with the gun culture. His Venus/Saturn conjunction activates the US Mercury/Pluto opposition, so I guess he’ll never release the details of his finances, and we’ll never know if he pays any tax. The connections with the US chart are there, but they may not be favorable.
Donald Trump: June 14, 1946. 10.54 Jamaica, New York
Transits and progressions in the candidates’ horoscopes
As mentioned earlier, if Hillary Clinton’s birth time of 8.02 am can be trusted – and progressions show that it has worked extremely well throughout her life (note 1) – then she has some great progressions at the time of the election. Her progressed Ascendant at 22.26 Capricorn is both sextile the Moon at 22.51 Pisces and trine the North Node at 23.34 Taurus; this is an indication of national popularity. Furthermore – and quite extraordinary – her progressed Mercury at 12.11 Capricorn is exactly overtaking the Sun at 12.09 Capricorn. This could simply indicate her taking over the Presidential baton. In fact, when JFK won back in 1960 his progressed Mercury was also conjoining his progressed Sun! Considering Mercury was retrograde at birth and it has had a lot of catching up to do and now at last… There is a catch though. Her progressed Neptune is at 12.57 Libra and in September/October 2016 her progressed Moon conjoins Neptune and therefore also squares her progressed Sun/Mercury. Here we have the lyin’, cheatin’ Hillary which Trump is so keen to sell, and the indications are that it is going to have a strong effect. In fact, in early September Hillary collapsed into her car with pneumonia (which she – of course – tried to cover up) and the influence of Neptune may also expose health weaknesses. Transits for Hillary are not particularly encouraging. The powerful Saturn/Jupiter sextile which dominates the period from the election to the inauguration is both trine and sextile her Saturn and Mars/Pluto conjunction. Quite good, if it wasn’t for the fact that the same transits powerfully aspect Trump’s Sun and Moon. The transiting constellation of Jupiter in Libra, Saturn in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aries is excellent for Trump, not least because Uranus is stationary at about 21 Aries for the whole period up to the inauguration and Trump has the Moon at 21 Sagittarius. Jupiter moves to conjoin his Jupiter and favorably aspect his Sun and Moon. If you don’t want Trump to win, you may be able to take consolation in the fact that Saturn does actually conjoin the Moon, which could mean he is dead in the water as far as popularity is concerned.
It could also mean he has responsibility for the people. Perhaps the Jupiter and Uranus transits could indicate the “long, long holiday” he says he plans to take if he loses. In Mexico, perhaps? Looking at progressions in Trump’s chart, it appears that his progressed Ascendant at 23 Libra was exactly square his Saturn at 23 Cancer when is campaigned to be the Republican candidate – and won! Perhaps the fact that his Jupiter progressed was at 23 Libra gave him the success despite the dislike he evoked from the Establishment? In 2017 his progressed Ascendant moves on to square Venus in Cancer. It’s the MC ruler so it could be good. There is another possibility, and that is that Trump is born about 5 minutes earlier. That would see him winning the candidacy with Ascendant progressed trine the Sun, then losing the presidency with it square Saturn. Trump’s progressed MC moves from 29 Cancer to 0 Leo in 2017 – which normally would indicate a change of location and career. However, Nixon’s MC also moved from one sign to another when he lost to Kennedy. Nevertheless, this looks good for Trump. If we stick to the given birth time of 10.54, his Sun progressed was exactly on the Ascendant when he was anointed Republican candidate in July and the Sun immediately moved into 0.00 Virgo afterwards when he had a drastic fall in the polls. Other interesting progressions in Trump’s horoscope are his Mercury progressed conjoining Pluto – he is not afraid of saying all the politically incorrect things and focusing on all the taboo issues – and his Mars progressed square Mercury. You can count on him to be rude and bullying. But all in all both transits and progressions for Trump are excellent. But just one thing: his progressed Moon on election day is at 22.53 Cancer, conjoining his Saturn at 23.48. Not good for popularity. Hillary’s progressed Moon at 14.06 Libra exactly sextiles her Mars/Pluto conjunction.
Synastry between candidates
As mentioned earlier, synastry can play an important role, especially when it comes to the debates. Reagan who had Moon exalted in Taurus opposing Jupiter, crushed Jimmy Carter, who had Moon in Scorpion, in the first debate. Barack Obama has his Pluto 6.58 Virgo right on McCain’s Sun 6.01 Virgo – very uncomfortable. He also has his Sun dignified at 12.32 Leo exactly conjoining McCain’s Mars 12.18 Leo (which is square Uranus) which made him seem more presidential and McCain more warlike and unpredictable. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump do not have very remarkable synastry, but her Moon’s Nodes are on his MC/IC axis.
His Mars is close to her Saturn (square Mercury/South Node in Scorpio) so he’ll be battering away at her, but she may be able to shut down his arrogance.
The Election chart
Bearing in mind that for polls opening at 7 am on the East Coast the election chart will always have a Scorpio Ascendant with MC ruler the Sun in close conjunction, so it does not really help to try to use traditional horary rules to determine a winner or loser. It is better to follow the trajectory of the planets and trace them to the events on the ground.
US Election: November 8, 2016. 7.00 a.m. Washington DC
Looking at Mars on election day, it is on the verge of moving out of Capricorn after a period of one and a half months, when it is conjoined Pluto and recently squared Uranus. This is the signature of an ambitious person, a businessman, with extreme views. As such it reflects Trump and the fact that the day after the election Mars moves from exaltation and into outsider Aquarius seems to indicate that he is out of the political picture. If Mars reflects Trump, then Mars’ opponent will be Venus, which will reflect Hillary. Venus is on the Galactic Center in quintile to and reception with Jupiter is Libra, which is very strong indeed. By the time the results are known, the Moon has moved out of Aquarius and into Pisces, which harmonizes with Hillary’s Moon in Pisces. These are all quite nice indications of a Hillary win.
The Inauguration chart
When the inauguration takes place on January 20th in Washington at noon, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn are all at 21-23 degrees, which resonates very well with Trump’s Sun and Moon – except for the fact that Saturn is on his Moon. An inauguration horoscope will always have Venus in the range of Sagittarius-Pisces and Mercury in Capricorn or Aquarius. In this case Venus conjoins Mars in Pisces on Hillary Clinton’s Moon – and this could be indicative of a presidency with a focus on social issues, health and other Democratic themes. Venus was in Pisces when JFK’s presidency was inaugurated in 1961 and Obama in 2009.
Inauguration: January 20, 2017. 12.00 Washington DC
A study of relevant horoscopes for US elections show just how tricky it is to sort through a range of contradictory factors to find a winner. Quite apart from that, the astrologer is likely to have a preference, and make judgments which can be very subjective. Experience from the unexpected Brexit results shows that polls and experts can be unreliable. Many people may not admit to preferring Trump, and election day can bring surprises. Also in this case both candidates are equally unpopular, so voters are just as likely to vote against a candidate as for one. Do you want the arrogant and bullying populist demagogue, or the greedy, secretive woman who has spent a life in politics? If Hillary does get elected, there is likely to be a major crisis a couple of years into the presidency as her Ascendant ruler Venus opposes her Mars/Pluto conjunction. Looks like a foreign policy crisis (or a marital one). Or does it just show the amazing reversal of roles as Hillary has the power, and Bill gets refused access to the oval office as First Gentleman? The strongest arguments in favor of Hillary are the election horoscope and the progression of her Ascendant to her Moon and Node. The strongest argument for Trump is the harmonious interaction of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus with his Sun and Moon and his progressed MC moving into Leo. On balance I think that it is in Hillary’s favor. But let’s check with the bookies here at the time of writing: September 18th 2016. It’s 44.8% for Trump and 45.2 to Hillary. Hillary to win then.