US Presidential Election 2020
Besides being candidates in the 2020 US presidential election, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris share another thing in common: each of them has a natal planet being sharply affected by the Neptune-Chiron contraparallel which becomes exact three times in 2020-2021.
A contraparallel is a difficult aspect, somewhat akin to an opposition by longitude. (The parallel and contraparallel aspects are aspects by declination, the number of degrees north or south of the equator that a planet is located.) Neptune is at 5° South declination, and Chiron is at 5° North declination.
This is a very rare aspect. It follows a very erratic pattern. The last time it was in effect (within 20 arcminutes of exactness) was in 1943-1944. Before that, it wavered in and out of orb between 1864 and 1866; prior to that, between 1838 and 1841.
Among other time periods when this aspect was in close orb since 700 AD, it was within 20 arcminutes of exactness during December 1284 – the last instance (prior to January 2020) of a Saturn-Pluto conjunction in the last ten degrees of Capricorn.
And it wavered in and out of orb from the summer of 1350 through January 1352 – the last years of the most intense outbreak of the Black Death in Eurasia in the 14th century. The world has already experienced some of the effects of this aspect, in the form of the covid-19 pandemic. (See my article on this aspect and covid-19 here.)
As the US presidential election nears, and transiting Mars at 5°-6° North declination aligns with Neptune and Chiron and these politicians’ natal planets, accusations and belligerence reach an extreme. If you thought the past four years were fraught with lies, confusing switches in policy and staff, and just plain baffling baloney – well, get ready for another assault.
Neptune and Chiron are moving in very close orb of this contraparallel aspect, and it becomes exact, in three time periods in 2020 and 2021:
from April 3 to April 22, with the aspect becoming exact on April 13 at 5°01' N/S;
from September 20 to October 13, with the aspect exact on October 1 at 5°22' N/S;
from February 11 to March 4, 2021, with the aspect exact on February 22 at 4°56' N/S.
Our cast of characters have these natal planets affected by this contraparallel:
Donald Trump has natal Jupiter at 5°34' South;
Joe Biden has natal Chiron at 5°54' North;
Kamala Harris has natal Venus 5°46' North and natal Moon 6°39' North.
A Blast from the Past
To get a sense of what will develop, hark back to July 2019, when Neptune and Chiron were withing 20 arcminutes of an exact contraparallel, but they didn’t form the exact aspect at that time. (See below for a related cast of characters who also were in the news in late July and August 2019, but for other reasons.)
On July 25, 2019, Trump had a phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, about a “deal” involving US military aid to Ukraine. Trump implied that such aid was contingent on Zelensky announcing an investigation into the activities of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son. This conversation was exposed, and led to the impeachment investigation against Trump.
But now Mars ups the ante and the drama, as he has already moved within close orb of these planets by declination. These allegations about Hunter Biden could be raised again, this time with more aggression.
In fact, Mars has already stirred the pot: he formed an exact contraparallel with Neptune on August 10 – the next day, Joe Biden announced that he’d chosen Kamala Harris as his choice for vice president. Trump reacted to this by describing Harris as “nasty,” a term he likes to apply to women.
The Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars form parallel and contraparallel aspects to Neptune and Chiron throughout the last months of the campaign. The most “interesting” days will be September 9, October 5, October 13, October 24, November 1, November 3, and November 29. And yes, debates and counting ballots could extend past November 3, Election Day – more on that below.
There may be several wild shifts in position on issues and polling numbers, due to transiting Mars and Mercury.
Mars goes retrograde during these final months of the campaign, at 28° Aries on September 9. Mars makes this retrograde station right on the Part of Fortune in Trump’s 2020 Solar Return, in the return’s tenth house of career and public status. Expect a shift in strategy from Trump’s team, especially fundraising and TV advertising strategy.
The Trump campaign could bring up allegations against Hunter Biden (Joe Biden’s son) again, concerning his activities in Ukraine. By derived houses, Aries/Mars rules his son in Biden’s chart, and thus Sagittarius/Jupiter would represent his son’s overseas contacts. Furthermore, Mars going retrograde in Aries, which increases its warlike behavior, indicates dragging the past over the coals again. Biden would do well to refrain from slinging mud and simply present factual evidence.
Mars’ retrograde station conjoins Biden’s natal Moon 1° Taurus, perhaps slowing the flow of campaign donations, though Biden would seem to have a considerable war chest.
Although transiting Chiron is parallel Biden’s natal Chiron and this could be hurtful to him, he seems to be able to capitalize on whatever comes his way, due to Venus giving him support, and Saturn making his opponent look mean-spirited. But the truth may be hard to discern.
The October 1 instance of the exact Neptune-Chiron contraparallel falls on the day of a Full Moon in Aries, with the Moon conjunct Chiron. Wounded feelings are intense. Along with the Mercury-Neptune sesquiquadrate (135° angle), some may try to make some wiggle room for themselves by telling lies, but transiting Saturn insists upon an accounting, as it squares transiting Mars, the ruler of Aries, where the Moon and Chiron reside. Those who’ve been wronged will leave no stone unturned in exposing deceptions and telling someone off, as Saturn just went direct two days earlier, so karma is due. Those who have been wronged may now get justice.
October 13 sees another whiplash event aimed at Biden, due to Mercury going retrograde at 11°40' Scorpio, conjunct Biden’s natal Mars 12°35' Scorpio. The same day, Mars 21° Aries opposes the Sun 21° Libra, and Mars is exactly contraparallel Neptune, affecting Biden’s natal Chiron. Planetary positions on this day hark back to Biden’s Progressed New Moon which occurred on May 5, 2019, and which indicated an attack by an opponent – which manifested in July 2019.
The Sun-Mars opposition aligns with Trump’s progressed Venus-Chiron conjunction at 19° Libra in his second house of finances, forming a T-square to transiting Pluto 22° Capricorn. Difficulties with personal finances could inspire taking a big risk. Astrologically, it’s not an auspicious time for him to take risks with money, as Mercury, ruler of his second house, has stationed retrograde. Also, Trump seems to be alienating women voters – almost as if he’s trying to do that.
In late October, retrograde Mars in Aries, in Trump’s natal eighth house, is opposing his natal Jupiter-Chiron conjunction, indicating a severe punch to the gut. It also indicates that perhaps Trump is half-consciously working against himself. But as transiting Mars in Aries is trine Trump’s natal Mars in Leo, he relies upon his tried and true formula of arousing aggressive reactions in his base group, and that does succeed in polarizing voters.
There are just too many adverse aspects involving transiting Chiron and Neptune, as well as progressed Venus-Chiron, and natal Jupiter by both longitude and declination, for October to be a successful month for Trump. He seems besieged by adverse publicity, and public aversion to his own behavior.
Trump is increasingly incoherent and dishonest, due to transiting Neptune 18° Pisces opposing his progressed Moon 17°-18° Virgo, with both forming a T-square to his progressed Uranus 17° Gemini. This aspect becomes exact on November 2, the day before the election. There also seem to be issues surrounding his children and their spouses, though this may not be apparent at the time.
Election Day – November 3, 2020
Transiting Mercury decides to shift direction again on Election Day, stationing direct at 25°54' Libra. The sign of the scales, Libra indicates balance and choices, but Mercury wants to upset the process.
Mercury forms a T-square with Biden’s natal Jupiter in Cancer and progressed Mercury in Capricorn (along with transiting Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter).
Saturn at 26° Capricorn opposes Trump’s natal Venus-Saturn conjunction in Cancer. Stationery Mercury is conjunct Trump’s progressed Jupiter in Libra, so both men have a T-square formation with transiting Mercury in Libra and Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn. For both of them, the planet involved is Jupiter – Trump’s progressed Jupiter and Biden’s natal Jupiter. These aspects don’t necessarily favor either of them.
The Moon is in Gemini on Election Day, and as Trump has his natal Sun in Gemini, this would seem to favor him. But even the Moon’s sign makes things a toss-up, as the Moon is trine Biden’s progressed Sun in Aquarius that day, but it squares Trump’s progressed Sun in Virgo.
Thus neither candidate has very favorable aspects on Election Day. Mercury moving direct indicates that a process of measurement can move forward, albeit slowly at first, and Mercury does preside over forms of communication (such as the postal service), so there may be a delay in an official tally of the election results.
Furthermore, Mars changes the direction in which it is moving in declination on November 1, just as it makes an exact parallel to transiting Chiron.
With so many twists and turns in a compressed time period around Election Day, public opinion is constantly changing, as are the circumstances on the ground, such as the spread of covid-19 (and misinformation about it).
Trump’s 2020 Solar Return shows how the covid-19 pandemic is major challenge in his life, as the return has Mars conjunct Neptune at 20° Pisces, forming a T-square with his natal Nodes and natal Sun and Moon.
The return’s Mars has declination 6°05' South, and is almost exactly contraparallel the return’s Chiron at 6°06' North. With Aries/Mars ruling the return’s Midheaven and Chiron right on the Midheaven, a serious disruption in his life is indicated. And, as mentioned above, Mars makes its retrograde station on the Part of Fortune in Trump’s return.
Just two days after his birthday, transiting Mars 23° Pisces made a square aspect to the total solar eclipse of December 14, 2020 at 23°08' Sagittarius, which conjoins Trump’s natal Sun. This time period triggered the beginning of the events associated with this eclipse. An eclipse conjoining one’s natal Sun portends a dramatic event affecting one’s life purpose and physical vitality. The traditional view of eclipses is that they are malefic in their effects.
The December 14 total solar eclipse is triggered on September 25. This could stir violent opposition to him, due to negative publicity. Perhaps this publicity is associated with the activities of his children and their spouses.
Late November Decision
The election result may be announced very near to November 29, when transiting Uranus in Taurus exactly squares the US natal Nodes 7°35' Leo/Aquarius. Note that Aquarius/Uranus rules the US natal third house of communication and the postal service. The next day is a lunar eclipse at 9° Gemini, aligning with the US Ascendant/Descendant axis and natal Uranus. The result is an unwelcome shock to somebody.
Of all the charts analyzed here, this one is the most compelling for a Trump win, as the eclipse hitting natal Uranus gives an edge to someone with a dictatorial style. Regardless of who wins the election, the combination of the eclipse and Uranus squaring the natal Nodes is a very ominous sign for the United States. However, the implied threat may be coming from an acknowledged adversary, rather than internal politics, as the Moon is conjunct the US Descendant.
Uranus 7° Taurus and the Sun 8° Sagittarius form a Yod (a 150°-150°-60° triangle) with Trump’s progressed Neptune 7°06' Libra in his second house of finances. The rulers of Libra, Venus and Saturn (Venus is domicile ruler of Libra, and Saturn is the exaltation ruler of Libra), point to his natal Venus-Saturn conjunction in Cancer. Both were opposed by transiting Jupiter and Pluto on Election Day.
Trump’s progressed Venus is conjunct progressed Chiron in Libra, conjunct his natal Jupiter in the second house of finances. And natal Jupiter is the planet that is being triggered by the Neptune-Chiron contraparallel.
The overall indication is one of a top-heavy, unstable financial structure that topples (Uranus is the apex of the Yod). And on November 29, transiting Mars 17° Aries opposes his natal Jupiter, while transiting Mercury 27° Scorpio, squares his natal Ascendant and Mars – a definite indication of bad news that has an air of finality about it (due to Mercury conjunct the cusp of his fourth house of endings). Whether Trump wins or loses, he already knows he is heading into a period of financial difficulty.
On November 29, the transiting Sun conjoins Biden’s progressed Midheaven 9° Sagittarius in his first house. This is a very positive indication for him. It also means that the lunar eclipse on the following day aligns with the opposition of his progressed Midheaven to natal Saturn 9° Gemini.
Biden’s 2020 Solar Return is much stronger than Trump’s return, from a career perspective, as the Sun falls in the return’s first house, and Leo/Sun rules the tenth of career and public status. The Ascendant is ruled by Scorpio/Mars, and Mars will now be moving direct in Aries on his birthday, and is in the fifth house of the return, another strong sign of dominance in public life. Furthermore, the return’s Moon conjoins Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, all in Capricorn in the return’s third house. But this return has Mars at 5°31' North declination, contraparallel Neptune at 5°40' South declination, which weakens his ability to carry out projects.
The Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 0°29' Aquarius in December 2020 forms a Grand Trine (120°-120°-120° triangle) with his natal Uranus 2° Gemini and natal Neptune 1° Neptune. Although a Grand Trine is usually considered quite favorable, this one could indicate that life takes an inward turn for him, as Uranus is the ruler of his third house of local community, and Neptune is the ruler of his fourth house of home and family.
Biden’s Solar Return is much more favorable towards a “win” in his career than is Trump’s return, which has Chiron on the Midheaven, ruled by Aries/Mars but Mars is weak in Pisces.
Regardless of whether he wins the election or not, progressions and transits to Trump’s natal chart point to severe financial problems for him, and the loss of something he holds dear (progressed Venus and Chiron in the second house of what one values and desires).
And his Solar Return indicates lawsuits that can now move forward. The return’s Venus 8° Gemini is triggered by the November 30 lunar eclipse. Uranus 9° Taurus in this return is in the tenth house of career (calculated for the natal location). Trump seems to already be planning on alternate course, as the Mars-Neptune conjunction in the ninth house of his Solar Return (with Mars ruling the Midheaven) points to a return to television.
The Prospects for the Potential Vice Presidents
As neither Trump nor Biden has overwhelmingly encouraging astrological aspects pointing to a win, it may be that looking at the charts of their vice presidential picks would be more revealing. In this case, Kamala Harris has very supportive aspects of an increase of power and prestige in her career, whereas Mike Pence has very disappointing aspects that have been gathering steam for some time.
Pence’s time of birth is unknown, but even using a time of sunrise is instructive. A major long-term influence was the transiting South Node over his natal Saturn 5° Capricorn in February 2020; Mars was conjunct the South Node when it conjoined his Saturn. His progressed Nodes 6°30' Libra/Aries formed a Grand Cross with the transiting Nodes at the same time. Natal Saturn has much to do with one’s career, status, and limitations imposed upon one. Pence has encountered a fork in the road and faces a decision. That he desires to do something new is shown by his progressed Sun 14° Leo having just conjoined his natal Uranus.
In November 2020, transiting Chiron 5° Aries squares his natal Saturn, at which point he needs to reevaluate his career, due to trying circumstances.
Kamala Harris may face hurtful accusations and lies during the campaign, as both Mars and Neptune figure prominently for her chart during the campaign and election period. Transiting Mars will be within 30' orb of declination of either Chiron or Neptune from October through November. When Mars is contraparallel Neptune (exact) on August 10, October 13, and November 21, this aspect echoes her natal Mars-Neptune contraparallel.
This is compounded by transiting Neptune 18° Pisces in her tenth house, opposing progressed Mars 18° Virgo, and her natal Venus-Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo. Her financial dealings, or those of her spouse, may come under scrutiny, and, with the heavy Neptune influence, be hard to shake off.
Although Harris has a good point when she declares that Trump is a predator, she might want to lighten up on that accusation – unless, of course, information and evidence comes to light about the other cast of characters affected by the Neptune-Chiron contraparallel, as described below.
But there are long-term influences which are excellent for her: transiting Neptune, ruler of her tenth house of career, is moving through her tenth house, and is making a trine to her progressed Neptune during the campaign. She is definitely in the spotlight!
Near Election Day, her progressed Mars is parallel her progressed Uranus, so she will make a forceful impression at this time.
On November 29, her progressed Sun conjoins her natal Descendant, indicating that her will and life purpose are moving strongly ahead.
And on Inauguration Day 2021, her progressed Moon is conjunct her progressed Jupiter 17° Taurus, and they trine her natal Venus 17° Virgo, another sign of good fortune.
If the prospects of the potential vice presidents are any indication of the winner of the 2020 US election, then the Democratic ticket has a better chance of winning.
Another Cast of Characters
Other well-known men and women may find the Neptune-Chiron contraparallel brings unwanted exposure and perhaps the long arm of karma. Maybe one already has: Jeffrey Epstein, whose chart has natal Venus at 5°34' South declination, and thus was parallel Neptune and contraparallel Chiron in July-August 2019, when he was found dead in his prison cell, having been accused of sex trafficking of underage girls.
His friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has natal Chiron at 5°25' South declination. Virginia Giuffre, who has accused Epstein and Maxwell of sexual abuse, has natal Pluto at 5°15' North declination. Bill Clinton has natal Venus at 5°07' South declination.
In the spirit of Neptune in Pisces, the interpretation of these positions is left to the reader’s imagination.
Data Source: Birth data for all people mentioned in this article came from Astro-Databank.