In recent months, instead of astrologers being asked the usual questions – ‘What’s it like for Cancers/Scorpios and so on’, the question has become ‘Who is going to win the U.S. election, Trump or Harris?’
The same question has been put to an army of pollsters with the same consistent answers: ‘Too tight to call’, ‘They are neck and neck, ‘It’s all within the margin of error.’
Astrologers have performed little better. Like the pollsters, they remain uncertain and loathe to call a winner. In part this is because both candidates have auspicious planetary transits going on. Jupiter has long been deemed the ‘presidential planet’, which is why Ronald Reagan chose to officially become the Governor of California in the early hours of the morning – so the giant planet would be high in the sky in his inauguration chart.
Jupiter is currently in Gemini – good for Trump, a mega-Gemini, albeit of the worst sort, a compulsive liar (like fellow Twin Boris Johnson), but also for Harris, who has Gemini ascending. Trump has Prometheus rising high at the peak of his birth chart – a one-man revolution. Harris just had a full Moon in Aries on her Libran birthday, very close to her own full Moon, promising peak popularity. Harris also has her natal Saturn in Aquarius, precisely on the Moon of the USA’s birth chart – a powerful connection to its people.
The election itself, on November 5 comes loaded with potent configurations, most obviously Mars in Cancer opposing Pluto in Capricorn. Mars-Pluto is as scary a combo as it sounds – the God of War meets the Lord of the Underworld. One well-regarded textbook – Reinhold Ebertin’s The Combination of Stellar Influences – sums up the pairing as ‘The tendency to proceed in a brutal manner.’ The same opposition reoccurs on January 3 and April 27, albeit from Leo (Mars) and Aquarius (Aquarius).
Pluto is itself a maverick in play – in the last degree of Capricorn it may represent the passing of an era of corporate demagogues, or its last final fling. Pluto in the early degrees of Aquarius promises a more humane touch but also a more overtly controlled society. The fabled hippy ‘Age of Aquarius’ it ain’t.
So far, so scary.
What many astrologers prefer to speak about is what happens after the US election. For example, Australia’s Jessica Adams homes in on the retrograde cycle of Mercury that starts immediately after the election, and which is associated with disputed results – famously, the ‘hanging chad’ election of 2000 between Dubya Bush and Al Gore was decided on a few hundred votes. The 2024 election may likewise become a fiercely contested legal battle, probably not decided in a matter of days, which will come down to an anomaly in Wisconsin’s voting system or some such. North America’s online sage Helena points to the retrograde of Mars into Trump’s 12th house in December and January as a signal of ruin and disappointment.
In the run-up to the election there has been much talk of the US electorate being divided into two obdurate tribes locked in mutual loathing. ‘Civil war’ has been become a popular prediction, not altogether flippantly – this is a gun-laden society. One particular astro-cycle backs up that judgement – the USA’s Prometheus (Uranus) Return. Declared a sovereign nation in 1776, the fledgling republic was born with Prometheus (aka Uranus) in Gemini. When Prometheus arrived back at its starting position – an 84 cycle – it brought with it the horrific US Civil War, which began in 1861. One cycle later, in 1941, America entered World War Two – an external rather an internal conflict. Prometheus begins its seven year residency of Gemini in July 2025.
Like the pollsters, your astrologer is sitting on the fence about the result of the US election, poised between hope and gloom. If asked to commit to a bet, my money would be on the National Guard being called out at least once between November 5 and inauguration day, January 20.
Cosmic events
November 1 – New Moon in Scorpio @ 12.47 GMT
3 November – Mercury moves into Sagittarius
The comms planet will turn retrograde on 26 November
4 November – Mars moves into Leo and will turn retrograde there on 6 December, before heading back to a further spell in Cancer
12 November – Venus moves into Capricorn
15 November Saturn moves forwards in Pisces after a four month backslide
15 November – Full Moon in Taurus 21.28 GMT
19 November – Pluto moves into Aquarius, where it spends the next 20 years
22 November – the Sun moves into Sagittarius
Jupiter is retrograde in Gemini all month
Prometheus is retrograde in Taurus all month
Neptune is retrograde in Pisces all month, turning forwards in early December
Scorpio and Scorpio rising
Your birthday month comes loaded with some of life’s big themes – love, ambition, money – but straightforward it isn’t. As regards the tangible stuff – money, property – best be brisk. Organisational Mercury in your zone of ready assets is good news, but the planet enters a tangled retrograde cycle later in the month. Meanwhile, the Sun’s link with Saturn – exact on the 4th – invites you to put formalities in order, like signing a property deal.
The Scorpio Sun continues to make potent aspects thereafter. The link to Neptune in Pisces, and to Prometheus in Taurus, arrive with the full Moon of the 15th, when you might expect a mix of allure and provocation- a good time to cast yourself in dramatic mode – Scorpios do good Gothic – to keep people guessing or to entice them in. As with all full Moons, it spells an ending. Looks like quite a weekend.
Your ruling planet, Mars (accept none other) spends November resplendent at the peak of your horoscope, a place where you can get noticed and remind your public of your talents. Grab all the plaudits you can, as the red planet turns retrograde early in December and doesn’t reappear here until April next year, meaning you may have a long wait before rave reviews of your latest theatrical production arrive. Be patient. Happy Birthday.
Sagittarius and Sagittarius rising
The weeks before your birthday season are not always your strongest, but this year you have reason for optimism. First there is Venus in your skies until the 12th, granting you the gift of being in the right place at the right time and, at the very start of the month, with Venus square to Saturn, checking that partnerships are grounded in commitment and the love stuff. Otherwise, it could be sayonara to one particular association. Saturn is pretty much static all month, leaning in particular on birthdays circa December 4.
Secondly comes Mercury in your skies, which grants you handy superpowers where imagination, organisation, fancy speaking and suchlike are involved. Scurry hard for positive outcomes and make arrangements in the first three weeks of November since the planet goes into a three week retrograde on the 26th. Mercury in retrograde doesn’t mean you can only sit back and watch rather than shape events, but but new initiatives are not favoured, whereas amendment, rethinks, and preparation for the future are. Mercury is still boosting your cognitive powers. Since Mercury is in opposition to your totem planet, Jupiter, dialogue is crucial. Talk and talk some more to get a positive outcome, however long it takes (weeks maybe).
Mars, the energiser, spends November in Leo, a fellow fire sign, emphasising your thirst for adventure and any international connections you have. However, Mars is crawling along, ready for a four month backslide in 2025, meaning you may get echoes of November’s events in April next year. The red planet makes a super aspect to the Sagittarian Sun on November 27 when an element of ‘destiny’ is in play, certainly for November birthdays.
Capricorn and Capricorn rising
Thanks firstly to the Scorpio new Moon on the 1st, you will be moving right along in November. Scorpio represents wide allegiances and small ‘p’ politics for the Goat, offering you networking possibilities, while some of you will still be putting your career schemes back together after October’s eclipse atop your solar chart. Be among simpatico people, mix, enjoy.
Some relationships are more special than others, of course, and the full Moon of the 15th may show you who really matters, whether it’s an old acquaintance or a brand-new arrival, and with Luna next to Prometheus, the alliance, or the other person, may not be conventional. Romance, orthodox or otherwise, is a hot topic just now, thanks to Venus passing through the Goat’s skies between November 12 and December 6, granting you a magic touch where social encounters are concerned, and encouraging you to glam up a tad.
Recent associations (and near misses) are majorly flagged across autumn and winter. Last month’s encounter with Mars may have tested relations between you and a main squeeze/new playmate, but with the red planet back in opposition in early 2025, much remains to play for.
Aquarius and Aquarius rising
Busy, busy, busy. A new Moon atop your ‘scope announces a new cycle in business matters and career status. Time to renew your plans for world domination, or whatever you can grab of it, and, given Mercury’s advantageous position, to network morning, noon and night, more on which shortly. The weekend of the 9th, with a waxing quarter Moon in your skies, looks ideal for self-promotion. By then, Mars will be in opposition to supply one or two individuals to turn your head or give you an undeserved fight.
The search for your rightful position in society – or at least, your little patch of it – continues through December, but be aware that Mercury, playing the part of social secretary, will be retrograde from November 26, urging you to fill your diary before said date where possible, and to be prepared for cancellations thereafter.
There is a sense of provisional arrangements in the run up to Xmas. Mars vanishes from opposition at new year but returns there in April 2025, meaning that relationships – attractive or hostile – may follow the same pattern. The fat lady, whoever she is, doesn’t sing until next springtime.
Said lady is in full throat this month however, as Pluto arrives in your skies after flitting in and out for the last 18 months. Those of you born at the very start of your sign, 20-21 January, will already have had a taste of the distant planet’s presence, which inclines to the all-or-nothing. Empowerment and destruction are the two sides of Pluto’s work but you may prefer to think of it as a transition. to clearer more optimistic time.
Pisces and Pisces rising
When Saturn is one’s sign, stationary, and about to move forwards, then so are you. The ringed planet doesn’t pull its punches and the last four months in particular have likely been confrontational – not necessarily with another person but with yourself, your ambitions, the compromises you must make and those you just cannot. A time of reckoning in short.
Saturn now moves forwards to clear your skies in six months’ time, a period when you can truly set your business straight. Let go what has served its purpose and renew what is valuable. In November, with a new Moon in a fellow water sign, Scorpio, is the perfect time to start the process. While Sun and Moon accentuate your yearning for adventure and knowledge, Mercury passing across the peak of your ‘scope brings strategy and detail to your plans, accentuated once the Sun reaches the Centaur on the 21st. Venus in earthy Capricorn from the sweetens the social whirl from the 12th, and the 10th and 11th find Luna in your skies to put wind in your sails.
Aries and Aries rising
At the beginning of the month, your ruling planet, Mars, is briefly in opposition to Pluto, which is admittedly a scary pairing with a tendency to absolutism rather than compromise, with the duo leaning chiefly on those born at the very end of your sign – April 19- or the very beginning, March 21-22. It’s a meltdown of a transit – maybe to do with career status, or a relationship, and possibly unavoidable, but an abrupt, angry response to events is unlikely to yield results.
Better to take a long view, firstly because Mars in fiery Leo is actually a very positive transit for the Ram, one to pump up your self-confidence and spark up your creative and romantic selves. Mars is here until the new year before going retrograde and isn’t back until April, when you may be able to pick up loose ends from now.
November and December also see Mercury and, from the 21st, the Sun in the third fire sign, Sagittarius, to keep spirits high and adventure in sight. A rewarding spell for the academics and writers among you, while Venus atop your solar chart calls for a charm offensive at work. Perhaps the most challenging part of the month’s developments concerns finances, where the full Moon of the 15th is likely to bring any problems to a head.
Taurus and Taurus rising
Your cage is being rattled, and none too gently in some cases. The planetary picture is not necessarily antagonistic, but the energies are restless. There is the Sun in opposition for starters, asking for some simpatico understanding of partnerships, and with it comes the annual full Moon in Taurus on the 15th, a good weekend for partying, but also for the odd blazing row! This Moon may also signal closure on one long-running saga.
Personal relations are something of a puzzle. Mars at the root of your ‘scope may be niggling, may spell boorish builders or a flatmate who neds to be placated. On the other hand, comes ruler Venus, nicely placed from the 12th to put friends and potential lovers in your path. In general, you have to go the extra mile where others are concerned. Mercury, about to enter one of its retrograde cycles, is stuck in the zone of passion where it is joined by the Sun on the 21st and in December a new Moon – hard to get to the root of partnerships (including ex’s) under such influences, though being open about money and who owes what may help.
Gemini and Gemini rising
The first thing to consider is that you have two months of Mercury in opposition, including a three-week retrograde. The chances of you and a significant other – not necessarily a lover – nodding along in agreement are therefore not high. You may need to research and get knowledge of the small print, so to speak, and you will definitely need to stay in dialogue. The arrival of the Sun on the 21st intensifies the issues, for better or worse. Consider that not every problem is someone else’s fault, and that you have a few issues of your own to admit and rectify.
Away from one-on-one relationships comes Saturn, at a halt this month and strong at the peak of your ‘scope. This doesn’t leave you much wriggle room in career matters; more likely you have to accept the tasks in hand and despatch them with cold professionalism (the stuff that bosses like!). Beneath any immediate problems you remain blessed with Jupiter in your skies, which makes you, if not unsinkable, then seriously buoyant. Blend your current seriousness with the joi-de-vivre for which you are celebrated. The 16th and 17th look good.
Cancer and Cancer rising
A new Moon in your fifth solar house – recreation, romance, creativity – is always a cause for celebration, and so it is with that of November 1st. Yes, it arrives under a super-scary aspect – Mars in your skies opposite spooky Pluto – but unless you have a birthday circa 21 July you are out of range, and those of you who do have a birthday then have already handled Pluto effectively over the last 18 months. Stay on the good foot.
Helping you do so is Venus. The relationship planet arrives opposite on the 12th for an all too brief three week stay when you can smooch, argue, flirt and fool around. On the 15th comes a full Moon, again across a relationship axis, when routine high spirits may come with a happy surprise (mind you, if you have had enough of someone, here’s a moment for release). Saturn is not often considered a helpful presence but for early July birthdays it promises clarity and even adventure. Follow your dream.
Leo and Leo rising
Leos are well known for their generosity, but they can also be stubborn. In a month when planets in other ‘fixed’ signs are active, that may cause an unnecessary impasse. The arrival of Mars in your skies is a two-edged blade, allowing you to cut through problems with bravado but also leading you to double down on mistakes. Stay flexible and approachable – after all, you have Venus on your side until mid-month, with Mercury serving you ably until its retrograde on the 26th. By then your celestial ruler – the Sun – is firmly in control in the Centaur, and you are pretty much in charge.
However, you aren’t there yet, and the new moon in Scorpio on the 1st returns you to domestic needs and setting Leo Towers in shape. At the other end of your solar ‘scope a full Moon arrives on the 15th which demands you show your public your best qualities – big-hearted but not big-headed!
Another caution is to realise that Mars is in your skies for two months but only tentatively. The warrior planet reverses into Cancer at New year and doesn’t return until mid-April, when you can pick up on events unfolding in November.
Virgo and Virgo rising
A decidedly mixed bag of prospects confronts you in November. A Scorpio new Moon is straightforward enough but the full Moon that follows on the 15th, comes spiced with a surprise element that means you may have to rethink your professional plans. You will almost certainly have to do some rethinking later in the month when your Mercury ruler enters one of its annoying retrogrades, one solution being to have your plans set up tickety-boo before the 26th. You can do that. Mercury – and from the 21st the Sun – are in the zone of home, hearth and family, so Virgo Acres may be the problem, or a resident that needs to be unseated.
Most demanding of all remains Saturn in opposition and now at standstill before it moves forwards again, and therefore deemed at full strength. For Virgos born before, say, September 20th, this is something of a restatement of an episode you have already negotiated, though that doesn’t make it much less uncomfortable. If you haven’t acceded to Saturn’s demands – clean living (mens sana and all that), financial good sense, honesty with those closest you – then this may be a painful moment. If you have passed the tests – which is how it often feels – then congratulate yourself (in case no one else does).
A chunk of good news is that from the 12th Venus transits your fifth solar house, the place you find joy, romance, and inspiration. Only there for three weeks of course so live it up when you find space to do so.
Libra and Libra rising
Money may not be your greatest problem, and a new Moon in your cash zone on the 1st is a handy omen. Still, it would be remiss not to shake down your assets and spread sheets before the full Moon of the 15th, which comes with a surprise package – happy surprise or not remains to be seen. This lunation falls in your partnership zone so someone may have beef with you. Plus, with Saturn strong in your zone of work and efficiency, you don’t want to be caught out by the taxman or similar.
That said, your stars offer a perky picture. Ruler Venus in the home zone from the 12th suggests you will adjusting your beautiful home to ensure that the artwork frames are level and the vibe congenial. Domestic matters are important across winter. Jupiter continues to offer you routes away from the humdrum (which is anathema to the Libran soul) and Mars is sparking up interest among your fellow travellers – be on the lookout for someone a tad brash. Best be brisk about putting your world in order, as a retrograde of Mercury from the 26th is likely to bring the usual delays and pitfalls.
Want to know the Key Astrology Dates 2024 to help you plan ahead?
My webmaster, fellow astrologer and friend Pam Carruthers has compiled 2 FREE REPORTS. The New and Full Moons in 2024, followed by the Mercury Retrograde and Eclipses Report.
The most important days in the entire year to avoid launching any new projects are the days of the Solar and Lunar eclipses and the days when Mercury goes Retrograde.
The Karmic Axis
Eclipses are major turning points in the year. In astrology they are indicated by the nodes of the Moon. The Lunar nodes aren’t planets. Eclipses happen when there is an alignment with the Sun, the Moon and the Earth. When these are aligned eclipses occur, which happen twice a year.
The Moon’s Nodes form an axis in astrology, which in our birth chart is said to represent one’s destiny or spiritual quest in life. The North Node points to a key lesson in our lives. It represents new experiences towards which we must aim during this life. We have already learnt the skills of its opposite point, the South Node, in the past. Now we must grow and stretch ourselves through the North Node.
In the birth chart this polarity indicates your past life (south node) and destiny (north node). This is known as the Karmic Axis. So the people born in that time span are our Soul group. In approx. 19 years the cycle repeats, so people born 19 years apart from us share the same lunar node sign, and are also aligned to our Soul group.
Eclipses 2024 are times for a major reboot
In 2024 the transiting North node is in Aries, the south node is in Libra. The theme will focus us on our relationships.
To sum up, eclipses are powerful new or full moons. Ideal for rituals and meditation but not good for parties, weddings, or any celebrations.