Astrology of the 2024 Presidential Election -- Part I: Trump vs Biden
A Weekly Mundane Astrology Series
On November 5th 2024 the citizens of the United States will elect a president to lead the country for four more years. The two major parties have unofficially chosen their candidates. Barring any unforeseen circumstances the two candidates will be Donald Trump, our 45th president, and Joe Biden, the current 46th president. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running as a 3rd party independent candidate. At this point in the campaign he does not appear to have more than a very slim chance of winning. Election day is six months away and, over the coming weeks, I will be delineating a series of astrological charts to see what the stars have to say about the likelihood of a second president Kennedy. Should the testimony of the charts be in favor of one of the candidates, I will be making a prediction as to who will win the election. Six months is a long stretch of time during a presidential campaign, and much will happen between now and November 5th. This election season appears to be particularly ripe for unpredictable changes that could drastically alter the current landscape.
Having birth times for all three candidates will afford us the opportunity to look in detail at a host of astrological charts to determine which of the three candidates has the clearest path to the presidency. Using a variety of charts will allow for patterns and trends to emerge over time. RFK’s independent candidacy has added a wild card to the race. We haven’t seen such a strong third-party candidate since Ross Perot ran in 1992 and 1996. In order to win the presidency a candidate must win 270 electoral votes. With the country so evenly split among the two major parties, a strong run by RFK could result in no candidate winning enough electoral votes. The election would then move to the House of Representatives where it would then be decided.
The most important astrological chart for the presidential election is the event chart for the time and place that the poles will first open on November 5th. For the past several election cycles voting has first started in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The polls will open there immediately after midnight on election day. Here is the chart for Dixville Notch, New Hampshire November 5th, 2024 at 00:00:01.
The ruling Democratic party and its representatives are signified by the 10th house. The planet ruling the 10th house cusp signifies the ruler of the party, currently Joe Biden. The opposing Republican party and its representatives are signified by the 4th house. The planet ruling the 4th house cusp signifies their chosen leader Donald Trump.
Looking at the 10th house cusp we find the sign of Taurus. Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus. This makes Venus the signifier for Joe Biden. On the 4th house cusp we find Scorpio; Mars rules the sign of Scorpio. This makes Mars the significator for Donald Trump. Venus and Mars are appropriate significators for Biden and Trump as we can find these same planets in the first house of the natal charts of the candidates. Looking at the first house of Trump’s natal chart we see Mars, but Mars appears to be in the 12th house. In traditional astrology a planet that is within 5° of a house is said to be able to project its rays to the next house. It is by this “5° rule” that we consider Donald Trump’s natal Mars to be in his 1st house.
Looking at Joe Biden’s natal chart we again see the 5° rule at work. Even though Joe Biden’s Venus appears to be in his 12th house, it is in his first natal house because Venus falls within 5° of the 1st house cusp. His Sun remains in the 12th house because it is more than 5° away from the 1st house cusp. In a natal chart the first house represents the self, body, and personality. It signifies the native himself more than any of the other houses.
Looking to the planets that signify our two main candidates, we can now assess their internal strengths. We will also be able to get information about the candidates access to external physical resources and their ability to utilize them.
Essential dignity is determined by looking at what kind of rulership a planet has at the place in the zodiac it finds itself in a given chart. For example looking at Mars in the election chart (fig. 1) we see he is located at 0° Leo. There are five levels of dignity a planet can have. The strongest is by sign rulership. If Mars were in Aries or Scorpio, one of the two signs that it rules, Mars would be considered to have the strongest kind of rulership and would get +5 points for essential dignity. In order to determine if Mars at 0° Leo has any of the other four levels of essential dignity, we need to look a William Lilly’s table of essential dignity. Here is William Lilly’s table of Essential Dignities, borrowed from the Skyscript Astrology site:
Looking at the row of dignities for the sign of Leo we see Mars listed twice, but neither entrees applies to 0° Leo. In order for Mars to have rulership by Terms (+2 points) Mars would have to be found at 25-30° Leo. In the second case, for Mars to have rulership by Terms (+1 point) he would have to be at 20-30° Leo. He does not fit either of these scenarios, so Mars at 0° Leo has no rulership by House, Exaltation, Triplicity, Terms, or Face. When a planet lacks any kind of essential dignity (or rulership) they are considered to be peregrine. When a planet is peregrine it shows someone who is like a stranger in a foreign land. They are confused and directionless and may be forced to rely upon their craftiness to get by. Further, they are someone who has little influence over others.
Now we will turn to look at Biden’s significator, Venus, and see what her essential dignity looks like. In our 2024 election chart Venus is at 22° Sagittarius (fig. 1). Looking again at William Lilly’s table of essential dignity, this time using the row for Sagittarius, we see that Venus at 22° has no essential dignity. She does not have rulership by House, Exaltation, Triplicity, Terms, or Face. Venus like Mars is Peregrine. Both of our establishment party candidates are weak, directionless, crafty, and are largely unable to steer the course of events. This is an apt description of two candidates with historically high unfavorable ratings. According to the Five-Thirty-Eight polling website Biden has an unfavorable rating of +15, and Trump is only slightly better at +10. The only candidate with an overall favorable rating is RFK Jr. at +1.
Now that we have established that both of our two candidates have no essential dignity, we will now consider their accidental fortitude. Though they may both have very limited internal strength they can still have external resources and allies that can assist them to influence the course of events and carry out an effective campaign. These physical resources and their ability to utilize them is shown by the planet’s accidental fortitude.
To find their accidental fortitude, we will look to see what house Mars and Venus are located in. The house placement is determined by the planet’s relationship to the horizon. If the planet is located just below the eastern horizon, it is in the first house. If it directly straight above us it is in the 10th house. The sign located just below the horizon at the time of birth is what determines each individuals “rising” sign.
Looking first at Biden this time, we find Venus is directly under the earth in the 4th house. Venus is strong here because she is in one of the four angular houses. The angular houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses (fig. 2). These are the strongest and most important houses in an astrological chart, especially when considering accidental fortitude. These houses represent the most important parts of our life: the self (1st), the home (4th), our partners and open enemies (7th), and career (10th). When a planet is placed in one of these houses that planet has opportunities to fully express itself and its strengths. Whether it be dumb luck or friends in high places, when planets are in these strong angular houses doors open up and opportunities become available.
As we stated at the beginning, in a presidential election chart the 10th house belongs to the party currently in power while the 4th house belongs to the challenger and the party he represents. While Venus, Biden, is strong in the 4th house, this is also the house that primarily signifies and belongs to Trump. It would appear that Biden, and his allies, have taken the fight to Trump. We can see this playing out in judicial system in Democratic strongholds where progressive prosecutors have brought a total of 91 criminal charges against president Trump. These court cases keep Trump’s hands tied and keep him off the campaign trail at a crucial time. Some people believe that most of these cases would not have been brought against Trump if he had not chosen to run for a second term. So far these court cases have not seemed to harm Trump’s popularity. Should Trump be convicted of a felony, he might lose enough support to cost him the election.
Let’s now turn to look at Trump’s accidental fortitude and see if he has the resources required to allow him an adequate defense and to launch his own aggressive assault. Mars, Trump’s significator, appears to be in the 11th house, but is within 5° of the 12th house cusp. So, Mars is considered to be in the 12th house. The 12th house is a weak and malefic house. It is one of the cadent houses. The other cadent houses are the 3rd, 6th, and the 9th houses (fig. 2). Opportunities for a planet to express itself in a cadent house are severely limited. The 12th house is the house of incapacitation, incarceration, and hidden enemies. It would appear Biden has Trump on the ropes. The prospect of a felony and/or misdemeanor convictions diverts large amounts of valuable time and resources that could otherwise be going to his campaign. Worse yet, Trump could possibly even find himself in prison. While things are not looking good for Trump, at this point, our analysis has only just begun. Let’s take a look at Venus and Mars’ relationship to each other.
In the election chart (fig. 1) Venus and Mars do not form an aspect to each other. An aspect is when two planets form an angle of 60°, 90°, 120°, or 180° to each other. Due to the lack of an aspect between the two planets, the two candidates are found to be avoiding contact with each other. This avoidance of contact is likely indicator that there will be no presidential debates for the first time in over 60 years. Instead, the candidates will work to turn out their voter bases of support while painting their opponent as an existential threat to our democracy and way of life.
Today we looked at Trump and Biden’s main significators. In Part II we will look at RFK vs Biden. In Part III we will bring all three candidates together and take a detailed look at their co-significators. In part IV we will look at the candidates natal charts and see what they have to say.
Don’t forget to like, follow, subscribe, comment, and come back for Part II: Biden vs RFK!!!
That is a fascinating analysis; thanks for writing it!
As someone with a background in political journalism who is now entering the field of astrology, using astrology to gain insight into politics and current events is one of my favorite things in the world these days.
I really liked how you broke down the planets with their essential and accidental dignities. I've just been learning those in recent months and it's always helpful to see them put into action.
Anyway, I'll go ahead and read the others, as well. Keep up the good work!