(26 July 2016)  The US Presidential election is about to move into a higher gear.   Following last week’s raucous Republican convention that formally nominated Donald Trump, the Democratic Party takes center stage this week as Hillary Clinton is nominated as the candidate to stand for election in November.  Already, the Democratic convention has seen some controversy following the release of hacked emails that showed the DNC and the party establishment favoured Clinton over challenger Bernie Sanders.   Sanders’ delegates are understandably angry but it seems unlikely to affect the overall outcome of the convention.

The nomination of Donald Trump has put many liberals in America into a state of shock and fear as their worst nightmare is now one step closer to reality.  The possibility of a Donald Trump presidency frightens many since Trump represents a radical sea change from Barack Obama on all fronts: an unpredictable and bellicose temperament, a ill-defined foreign policy, an anti-free trade stance, and much more draconian approach to immigration. 

Based on my reading of his horoscope, I thought it was unlikely that Trump would get this far.  On that, I was wrong.  But I did think that he was going to have a good campaign and that he would do better than many of his dismissive critics suggested last summer.  It didn’t help matters that we lacked the birth times of most of the other GOP candidates like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.  We had Trump’s birth time and Jeb Bush’s birth time but that was about it.  Oh well, onward and upward. 

From an astrological perspective, the good news this week is that we have the birth time of Hillary Clinton’s just-announced VP running mate, Tim Kaine.  Thanks to the efforts of astrologer Patrick Watson, we now know that Kaine was born at 7.59 a.m. in St. Paul, MN on 26 February 1958.  The horoscope is good, as one would expect from a sitting US Senator.  But will Kaine be a part of a winning ticket on November 8th or will he be destined to become an historical footnote?

Kaine is currently running the Saturn-Venus dasha period.  Both planets look broadly helpful for career success.  Saturn is placed in the 10th house of status and achievement.  To be sure, Saturn is a malefic planet by nature and its rulership of the 12th house (Aquarius) looks problematic for a Pisces Ascendant.  And yet, Saturn does quite well in the 10th house due to its symbolic affinity.  Saturn rules the natural 10th house (Capricorn) since it is a karaka planet of authority.  Saturn is not afflicted by any aspecting planet in his chart. 

Minor dasha lord Venus is also in good shape as it is a natural benefic planet and it is placed in the 11th house of gains and wishes fulfilled.  Having a strong 11th house is very useful when an individual is engaged in any kind of contest as is the case here.  Venus rules the 8th house which is less than ideal, although it is disposited by Saturn, which is nicely placed in the 10th house as we know. Although they are rarely decisive in predictions, the dashas look good.

The transits also look good this fall.  Transiting Jupiter will be in the middle of sidereal Virgo in October and hence will aspect both his Moon (11 Taurus) and his Venus (8 Capricorn).  Mars at the top of the chart should also be conducive to effective debating and competing against his GOP opponent, Mike Pence.  This will be right around the time of the debates (including his own on October 4th) and it could signal the moment in the campaign when the Democrats begin to pull away from Trump and the Republicans and assume the lead.  Currently, Clinton and Trump are virtually tied with Hillary having lost her long-held advantage.  Trump has astutely taken control of the political agenda while Clinton has struggled to avoid scandal and internal controversy.  But October looks very good for Kaine and hence it should be good for Clinton also. 

There are many other factors one could point to here but I’ll just mention one.  At the time of the election, Kaine’s tertiary progressed Jupiter (at 10 Sagittarius) will station retrograde just one degree from his equal 10th house cusp and one degree from his unequal 10th house cusp (MC).  The retrograde station is less desirable here than the direct station but it is so close to an obvious power point in the chart that it should translate into a win for Clinton and Kaine.

The takeaway here is that Kaine’s timed chart offers more evidence for a Clinton win in November.   This is important since Hillary’s birth time is a matter of some uncertainty with at least two different times in widespread circulation.  Birth time uncertainty notwithstanding,  I have generally thought for some time that Hillary’s chart looked good for November and that she would win.  After seeing Tim Kaine’s chart, I still think that now. 

Weekly Market Forecast

Stocks haven’t moved much over the past week.  In the US, the Dow is still near its recent high of 18,500 while the Indian BSE-Sensex closed Tuesday just under 28,000.  This is more or less in keeping with expectations with my market forecast as I thought we could see some declines late last week but that this week could begin more positively.  This has largely been the case, especially in Asian and European markets. 

The rest of this week looks more difficult as Mercury squares Mars on Thursday and Friday.  This is a tense alignment that could bring a rise in caution.  Interestingly, it will follow the latest Fed meeting announcement on Wednesday.  Perhaps Janet Yellen will say something that surprises investors.  Early next week also looks less amenable to gains as Mercury begins to tighten its square alignment with Saturn.  Next Tuesday’s New Moon could be significant in this respect as it aligns closely with Saturn. 

For more details and analysis on market trends for this week, this month and this year, please check out my weekly MVA Investor Newsletter.  The newsletter is published every Saturday and includes extended discussion of US and Indian stock markets, as well as gold, oil and major currencies.