Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Going into the Midterm Elections on 8 November 2022, it was anyone’s guess what would happen.  With a Lunar Eclipse that day which also directly incorporated both Mercury (the vote) and Uranus (shocks and surprises) pretty much any outcome was possible.  With a Red Wave predicted to topple Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, inflation at record levels, gas prices rising again, and a president with low approval ratings, the Common Wisdom argued for a Republican resurgence.  Historically, the Party which holds the White House tends to lose seats in the House of Representatives during its first Midterm, on average 28.  Republicans had only to wrest five seats to gain control of the House, and just one to gain control of the Senate, which seemed like a walk in the park, given precedent.

But Uranus loathes the Common Wisdom, delighting in upsetting the apple cart and throwing a spanner into the works.  So it did the most surprising, shocking thing it could in the circumstances – it left things pretty much as they were!  As of this writing (November 11), not all races have been called, and one at least will proceed to a runoff in early December before control can be decided.  The most likely outcome seems to be a mirror image flip in the House, from 222 Democrats and 213 Republicans, to 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats, with the Senate swapping out a few members but retaining the 50/50 split, leaving Dems in charge with VP Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker.  [See Addendum for breaking updates.]

Which isn’t to say there wasn’t some Uranian-style high drama in the election.  Republican political analysts and Fox News pundits watched aghast as the Red Wave became a Red Trickle, in some cases backing up in the sink, with unthought-of losses in State Houses across the country.  Surprise victory was mostly on the Democratic side, with unexpected wins and advances for progressives nationwide.  Maryland got its first black governor, Wes Moore; Massachusetts got its first female and lesbian governor, Maura Healey.  Michigan’s incumbent Governor Gretchen Whitmer, once so unpopular that defeat seemed certain, won reelection by more than ten points.  Not only that, both houses of the Michigan legislature flipped red to blue!  Democrats in Pennsylvania can now boast two sitting senators, with John Fetterman’s win over Dr. Oz, and are within an ace of turning the lower chamber there blue as well, once all the votes are counted.

Fetterman’s PA pick-up seems likely to be counterbalanced by a loss for Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, putting Georgia in the spotlight once again as the deciding race for control of the Senate, as in 2020.  Incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock eked out a slim victory over GOP challenger Herschel Walker, but didn’t cross the 50% threshold required for winning in the Peach State, compelling a runoff election on December 6^th.  It’s likely we won’t know which Party has the upper hand until that race has been settled.  [See Addendum for breaking updates.]

In many cases, it was Trump-endorsed candidates who went down to defeat, causing some Republicans to finally begin to question their uncritical adherence to the former president.  From a Trump perspective, the night was an unqualified fiasco, and may cause him to delay a mooted and ballyhooed announcement for his 2024 bid for the presidency, teased for the week after the election.

This squares nicely with the placement of asteroid Troemper on Election Day, our celestial referent for The Donald.  At 16 Sagittarius, Troemper conjoins asteroid Karma at 18 Sagittarius – there is a reckoning coming!  Locked in a T-Square with an opposition to asteroid Achilles at 17 Gemini, with asteroid Nemesis on the fulcrum at 18 Pisces, Trump’s essential weakness and vulnerability (Achilles) were on display, and his ability to bring his Party to ruin (Nemesis) fully actualized.  Only one of his endorsed candidates for Senator or Governor won their races (that would be James David “J.D.” Vance in Ohio, perhaps a result of asteroid James’ conjunction with Troemper from 11 Sag), and many conservative politicians and media outlets are beginning to openly verbalized what’s been obvious to everyone in the fact-based world for some time:  Trump is a drag on the GOP.

Hard to believe, but control of the House is still not a done deal, though a Republican Speaker with a very slim majority still seems the most likely outcome (will it be Kevin McCarthy?  We’ll deal with that at another time).  The Senate looks to remain just as it is, though it’s still possible that Dems will actually come out of this with a net gain of one seat, a result unthinkable just days ago.  And that’s what delights Uranus most, shaking up expectations and shocking people out of their complacency.  [See Addendum for breaking updates.]

That the Senate would be in the balance and a major focus of the election was prefigured by asteroid Senator at 26 Leo opposing Damocles at 25 Aquarius, representing the doom hanging overhead, about to descend at any moment. That Sword of Damocles is still suspended, and may be until early December, but right now it’s looking good for Democrats.

Also under the gun of that opposition to Damocles was asteroid Nancy at 22 Leo, representing current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who may be about to lose her primacy.  That Damocles connection manifested a week before the election, when a crazed MAGA supporter invaded her San Francisco home and brutally attacked her husband Paul with a hammer, while the Speaker was in DC, shouting “Where’s Nancy?!”.  That incident may render Damocles a spent force in Pelosi’s life, or it may yet require the sacrifice of her leadership position.

Also opposing Damocles is asteroid Arizona at 25 Leo.  Surely, the looming threat (Damocles) to democracy is nowhere better expressed than the GOP ticket in Arizona, which featured 2020 election deniers up and down the ballot, from Governor to Senator and Secretary of State.  Had they been successful, the country’s slide into MAGA, Christo-fascist autocracy would have been accelerated.  As of this writing, however, incumbent Senator Democrat Mark Kelly handily held off GOP challenger Blake Masters with a five-point victory; Democrat Adrian Fontes defeated Mark Finchem for Secretary of State by a similar margin; and Democrat Katie Hobbs holds a slim lead over Kari Lake for Governor, though that race is still too close to call, with thousands of votes yet to be counted.  Trump endorsed all three and was pivotal in their Primary victories, for a probable trifecta of failure.

The thorny issue of abortion was on the ballot this year – quite literally, in five states, where the right to reproductive freedom for women was confirmed or established (California, Montana, Kentucky, Michigan and Vermont).  Early in the cycle, abortion was assumed to be a major factor in turnout and outcome, but as inflation increased and Biden’s popularity dipped, most surveys listed the economy as the top issue for voters.  Exit polling on the day, however, revealed abortion to still be top-of-mind, and helped carry Democrats across the finish line with minimal losses in an atmosphere that was otherwise ripe for massive Republican gains.

Asteroid Roe at 9 Aries (for Roe v Wade, the seminal decision legalizing abortion nationwide which was struck down by the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court in June) conjoined asteroids Demokritos (for Democrats) and NOT (a general disqualifier or block to progress), both at 7 Aries, identifying the subject as critical for progressive hopes.  The issue in advance was, which way would the NOT cat jump?  Did it signify the voiding (NOT) of abortion protections by the court as a Democrat catalyst, or did it suggest that abortion wouldn’t (NOT) be a contributing factor in their outcomes?

As it turns out, it was decisive, in progressives’ favor.  Asteroid Wade was also active; at 18 Virgo, it joined the Troemper “GOP disaster” T-Square to form a Grand Cross, identifying the dual issues of Trump and abortion as the bugaboos which would limit Republican successes and expose their inherent weakness with the American people.

And how about those Americans?  Asteroid America at 3 Libra conjoined asteroid Bida (our celestial referent for Biden) at 6 Libra, suggesting that, on some level, the country was behind the Biden administration’s agenda, if not behind the President personally.  Biden’s closing argument focusing on abortion rights and the threat to democracy paid off, big time.

And, as always, Donald Trump was shown to be the Biggest Loser.

[ADDENDUM:  Just as AAA was going to press on this article, the Senate race in Nevada was called for incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who overcame a lead by GOP challenger Adam Laxalt to claim victory.  This gives Dems the 50 seats they need to retain control in the Senate; if the Georgia runoff in December returns Raphael Warnock, they won’t need VP Harris’ tiebreaking vote, except to offset a recalcitrant Manchin or Sinema, if they balk the Party line again.  There remain 16 House races to be called before control is definitely established; a Republican majority still seems likely, but with a slimmer margin than the Democrats currently have, perhaps as little as two seats.]