Walz vs Vance, October 1st, in The Big Apple: What Does the Astrological Map Tell Us?
Authentic Midwestern Character or Existential Threats to Our Way of Life
The Main Significators:
The ruling party is signified by the 10th house cusp at 9° Aquarius 47`. Saturn rules the sign of Aquarius; Tim Walz is signified by a retrograde Saturn at 14° Pisces 17` in the 11th House of Good Fortune (fig. 1). Saturn is an appropriate significator for Tim who has Saturn in Pisces prominent in his natal chart where it makes a sextile to Mercury and a square to Venus. Due to Tim’s birth time being unknown, we cannot say if this is the strongest planet in his birth chart. He was, however, born with either a Capricorn or Aquarius Moon; in either case, Saturn is the dispositor of the Moon and is thereby in charge of her affairs. Mr. Walz’ grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska; Saturn is associated with people who work or live in secluded outposts. The planet is also associated with those who maintain discipline; Tim, like his father, worked for many years as a school teacher. Finally, Saturn is the planet of old men, fathers, and grandfathers (1); At 60 years of age, Mr. Walz is the older of the two candidates by a generation.
The opposition party is signified by the 4th house cusp at 9° Leo 47`. The Sun rules the sign of Leo; J.D. Vance is signified by the Sun at 09° Libra 19` in the 5th House of Good Spirit. The Sun is an apt significator for J.D. who has his rising sign and Sun sign both in the sign of Leo. He also has Venus in Leo in the strong angular 1st House. Leo is the predominant zodiac sign of his natal chart. The Sun is a signifier for those who are in the prime of life. At 40 years of age, Mr. Vance is the first millennial on a presidential ticket and one of the youngest vice-presidential candidates in history. For a relatively young man, Vance has amassed an impressive biography of accomplishments reflecting the Sun’s radiant outpouring of creative self-expression (2). After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served for four years as a combat correspondent in Iraq. From there he went to university and graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He wrote the best selling autobiography Hillbilly Elegy about growing up in poverty in rural Ohio with a mother who suffered greatly from addiction issues. The book was later made into a Netflix movie. Finally, he co-founded two successful Ohio venture capital firms that invest in Midwestern startups.
The accidental placement, or House location, of the two main significators is appropriate for the two opposition candidates. Saturn is in the 11th House of supporters of the ruling party. Conversely, the Sun is in the 5th House, which can be viewed as the supporters of the opposition party. You might think that the candidates, as current members of their respective parties, would make more sense being placed in the 10/4 house axis, but if you consider that both of these candidates were chosen primarily to appeal to their party’s base of support, versus an appeal to the moderate voter, the 11/5 axis makes sense.
In this election, a historic percentage of women will vote Democrat with recent polling showing as much as a 21 point gap preference for Harris over Trump amongst female voters. While men will vote in greater numbers for the Republican candidate, the gap is not so large. This is reflected rather nicely in the astrological map if we consider that Saturn is in the feminine, mutable, and cerebral sign of Pisces, while the Sun is in the masculine, cardinal, and action oriented sign of Libra.
In the debate chart, Saturn and the Sun do not form any aspect with each other. I see this as an indication that there won’t be allot of fireworks during the debate. Rather, I expect to see the two candidates mostly talking past each other, referencing their various talking points, and failing to engage each other directly. Both Saturn and the sun are peregrine; this indicates that the candidates are directionless, crafty, and have little influence. Peregrine planets signifying presidential candidates have been an ongoing theme throughout this election cycle. Given that these two men are vice-presidential candidates, we might forgive them for not presently having much influence upon current affairs. The Sun, in addition to being peregrine, is in the sign of its fall. A planet in fall shows someone who has been brought down from a formerly elevated position. This debate fight could find J.D. Vance performing inadequately or coming off as vain and arrogant. Conversely Saturn, in addition to being peregrine, is moving backwards by retrograde motion. This may reveal Tim Walz to be seen as defensive and out of touch.
Taking a step back to look at the chart as a whole, we see that Saturn is the only traditional planet above the horizon. In addition, all three of the slow moving outer planets are above the horizon. In Traditional astrology, the outer planets are usually seen as having a malefic influence. Looking at it from this perspective, I have an overall dark impression of the chart.
Aspects to the Main Significators:
The first set of aspects that stand out is a grand water trine composed of Venus, Mars, and Saturn. With Venus in Scorpio the sign of its detriment, and Mars in Cancer the sign of its fall, we would expect this triad of planets to express their more negative qualities. Renn Butler provides the following description of, the more negative side of, the Venus-Mars-Saturn triad (3):
“Chronic emotional one-sidedness, problems maintaining a balance between one's feminine and masculine energies, relationship disharmony, a love of conflict and discord… Acrimonious heartbreak, bitter sobering up, feelings of jealousy and resentment.”
Saturn moves by retrograde motion and mutual application to Venus in Scorpio. With Hillary Clinton’s (Sun, Venus, Mercury in Scorpio) recent comments in regard to criminally charging Americans who express certain kinds of “disinformation”, I must recommend Liz Greene's comprehensive review of the mythological symbols of Scorpio. In her book The Astrology of Fate, and the chapter titled “Myth and the Zodiac”, Ms. Greene methodically reviews the many transformational stories of Scorpio and the Plutonic underworld. Of special note is the “…vivid image of the battle with the dark forces portrayed in the story of Perseus and the Gorgon” (4). I believe it is only through a study of the mythological origins of symbols that we can begin to comprehend the dark forces that confront us today.
Moving along to the fifth house, on the opposite side of the map, another triad of planets stands out. There we see the Sun and Mercury closely conjoined and applying to a square with Mars in Cancer. Once again, with both the Sun and Mars in the signs of their fall, we can expect that these planets will express their more negative qualities. Borrowing again from Renn Butler, here is his description of the negative side of the Sun-Mercury-Mars triad (5):
"Mental restlessness and agitation, a sense of intellectual overload, surges of paperwork or emails that need attention. Hot-headed irritation, rash and impulsive communication, pointed or aggressive self-expression, a tendency to perceive ongoing threats and insults, inclinations to argue, insult people, or make sarcastic comments, a habit of goading or provoking others. Verbal competitiveness, loud and heated speech, obnoxious macho banter, in-your-face directness, a cocky attitude, aggressive or offensive wit.”
It sounds to me like Renn Butler has nailed down many of the worst aspects of our modern day Democrat and Republican leaders.
The Moderators
In the VP debate chart, the Moon rules the 3rd House of communications as it did in the presidential debate chart from September 10th. In that chart, Mars in Cancer was in the 3rd house. Looking back, I now see Mars as signifying the two ABC moderators who handed softball questions to Kamala, while effectively baiting Trump into a defensive posture. After the debate, the moderators were roundly criticized for bias by right leaning news outlets and commentators. In the VP Debate chart, there are no planets present in the 3rd house; in this case, the moderators are represented by the Moon, the 3rd House ruler. The Moon at 1° Libra has dignity in face, the weakest form of dignity; this shows someone who acts through negative reinforcement. The Moon is itself located in the 5th House of Good Spirit together with the Sun and Mercury. I would not be surprised if the CBS correspondents, Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, show some bias in their handling of the upcoming debate. I do not, however, expect that it will be a flagrant disregard of unbiased moderation.
There is much more to consider in the symbolism of these three planets placed together in the 5th house. The Moon and Mercury are both considered “combust” as they are within 8.5° of the Sun. Mercury is at the beginning of its cycle and can handle being combust better than other planets. As the ruler of the 1st house of the people, and the 5th house of the supporters of the opposition, Mercury combust could be interpreted as an inability of “the people” to see some important truths that are being concealed. No doubt, the Republicans would point to a biased legacy news media, while the Democrats would counter with their own claims of Trump as the dictator who will never leave office. It is interesting to note that between the three planets in the 5th House, the opposition rules houses 1-5 while the ruling party controls the rest of the chart with the exception of the 7th and 11th Houses ruled by Jupiter. In my estimation Jupiter in Gemini, in the first house of the people and disposed by Mercury, is accordingly split down the middle.
The Moon is traveling to the Sun but must first cross the South Node as it moves downwards across the ecliptic. The meeting of the two luminaries indicates the culmination or coming to light of a matter. The luminaries are both below the horizon which is not a positive indicator. Both the Sun and Mercury are moving to perfect a square with Mars ruler of the 12 House of hidden enemies and co-ruler of the 6th House of unhelpful conditions.
The Assassins
In my last article, when I analyzed the Harris/Trump debate chart, I identified Jupiter in Gemini in the 2nd House and ruling the 8th house as a potential inside perpetrator who might make another attempt on Trump’s life. The preliminary evidence, from the second assassination attempt, would seem to support my assessment.
In a mundane chart, the 7th House is the House of “public enemies, i.e., enemies to the nation — outlaws and fugitives who are not imprisoned” (6). In this chart, Jupiter rules the 7th House and the 11th House of “resources and supporters of the ruling party”. Jupiter is the only planet placed in a strong angular house. This makes it the strongest planet by accidental placement in this astrological map. “Watch out if a significator is essentially debilitated but possesses a lot of accidental strength, as this can be a worrying indication of someone whose influence is not well restrained and can do a lot of damage. This is especially the case where a powerfully positioned planet is acting as the ruler of an unfortunate house and making harsh aspects to other unfortunate planets: this describes a destructive planet that has great strength of expression” (7). Jupiter makes a square aspect to the midpoint of Neptune and Saturn, both in the 11th house. For the Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune triad Renn Butler quotes Martin Luther King who had a Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune grand trine. “The means by which we live have out distanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men” (8).
In her book The Astrology of Fate, Liz Greene gives us the mythology of the Gemini twins (9). She relates the stories of Hermes inhabiting his/her various personifications of the Trickster figure while unleashing daimonic forces in response to the repression of our shadow-side that is being aroused by a modern scientific ethos that believes in our ability to solve any problem through logic and acculturation. The mythologies of Greek antiquity and the symbols arising in our own time and unconscious can provide us with an invaluable counter-weight to the expanding forces of technological and bureaucratic control. Jupiter in Gemini started last May and will remain with us until June 2025.
Conclusions
I see some indicators that provide clues as to the possible outcome of the debate and the presidential election five weeks later. The Moon is a signifier of the common people, the people who will ultimately decide this election. The Moon makes an application from the 5th house by a trine aspect to the ascendant, first house cusp, that represents the people. The Moon also applies to the Sun 8° away. With the Sun signifying J.D. Vance, I would have to say that both of these applications are positive indicators for the Republicans. The Moon is exactly 5° from the malefic South Node and election day is exactly five weeks from October 1st. The timing here is ominous and would seem to spell trouble ahead. If Trump appears headed for victory, there will undoubtedly be last stitch efforts set in motion to stop this from happening “at any cost”. The Democrats have been openly broadcasting this intent while the mainstream media outlets have been irresponsibly fanning the flames. It is impossible to say what exactly the South Node foretells, if anything. The South Node could be an indication of the measures that will be enacted to prevent Donald Trump from assuming the presidency. Perhaps the election results will be delayed or the election canceled. Jamie Raskin has suggested, that if Trump wins, the Democrats should invoke the 14th amendment in defiance of the Supreme Court and have Trump arrested for insurrection, preventing him from taking office.
Perhaps my prediction of a Trump win will be proven wrong and Kamala will be the victor. There are certainly a number of reputable astrologers who have predicted as much. But, if the Sun can close the 28` of arc separating it from the trine to the 10th house cusp of rulers and kings, my money is on J.D. — and Trump.
Gemini: Reading from The Astrology of Fate
See supplemental article for more predictions! The Striking Symmetry of the VP Debate Chart and What I Think that Means.
See the supplemental Star Report here!