(11 Nov 2020)  Despite Joe Biden’s widening lead in the vote count, President Donald Trump has yet to concede to his Democratic opponent in the US election.  Instead, Trump has claimed that Biden has benefited from voter fraud in several hotly contested states.  To this end, the Department of Justice this week launched investigations into apparent irregularities in the vote which could form the basis of a formal legal challenge to the results.  Since Biden’s lead is less than 1% in several states, it is possible that state outcomes could be reversed if significant fraud is uncovered and illegal votes are removed from the tally.

Trump’s refusal to concede isn’t surprising, since he already stated that he would not accept a loss in the election.  While the media and many world leaders have already recognized Joe Biden as the winner and President-Elect, there has not yet been a formal announcement by the overseeing office of the GSA.  Given the recounts now underway and possible legal challenges, formal announcement of the winner and certification of the results may take several more days at least.

Trump’s shift to offense this week following last week’s apparent defeat was in keeping with my expectations.  In last week’s post, I thought that Trump was likely to enjoy some kind of boost from the Venus transit to his natal Jupiter (24 Virgo).  Not only did Attorney-General William Barr announce the electoral fraud investigation, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke in support of Trump’s right to verify the results before committing to any transition process with the incoming Biden administration.  As a reflection of Trump’s shift to offense, the political betting market Predictit.org saw a small, but marked, move towards his re-election from a low a 8% last week to 18% today.

I still think Joe Biden is likely to be the next president, but the planets suggests that Trump will not go quietly.  Previously, I suggested that Trump’s fortunes would rise further next week as Jupiter entered Capricorn (Nov 19-20) and would align with his 10th house cusp representing status and success.  And as if to offer confirmation, Joe Biden’s chart showed an affliction to his 12th house Mars towards the end of next week.

Just to round out the analysis this week, we can take a look at the natal chart of the US and the chart of the would-be vice-president, Kamala Harris. As I outlined in a previous post, this year’s post-election planetary alignments have a similarity to the post-election patterns of the contested 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.  One of the main similarities was the placement of Saturn.  In 2000, Saturn was closely aspecting the USA’s natal Mercury at 3 Cancer by 3rd house aspect.  This year, Saturn (3 Capricorn) will exactly oppose Mercury over the next two weeks or so.  Saturn’s affliction to Mercury here symbolizes frustration, disruption and distortion, especially as they pertain to the election.  Elections are associated with Mercury,as it is the planet that rules matters of rational calculation.

The Saturn-Mercury alignment will be in special focus late next week, perhaps around the time that Venus and the Sun also align at 3 degrees of their respective signs.  This could represent a significant development related to the election results and Trump’s attempt to overturn the results.  As an added layer of affliction in the chart, transiting Mars will align with the natal Sun and Saturn which suggests conflict and strife.  Interestingly, this is also the day that Jupiter enters Capricorn which could give Trump a boost.

Another perspective on this disputed election result is seen in the chart of Kamala Harris, the Democratic VP nominee.  Saturn is also front and center in her chart at this time as it aligns exactly with her Sun (4 Libra) and Moon (4 Aries).  The Saturn influence is usually negative and suggests some kind of burden or setback, especially when in hard aspect as it is here.

Sometimes, the Saturn influence can translate into a greater sense of responsibility which may not be unwanted or even difficult.  Therefore, it is not impossible that this alignment could formally give her and Biden the election victory.   But this more benign Saturn scenario seems less probable.  While Harris’ chart is still quite strong overall at this time, a temporary setback of some kind is quite possible.  In the zero-sum game of politics, it would seem that negatives for Harris (and Biden) could turn into positives for Trump, and vice-versa.  Let’s see how Trump’s legal challenges unfold.

Weekly Market Forecast

Stocks have continued to their post-election rally this week, especially after Monday’s Pfizer vaccine news.  While I thought we might have seen more volatility in this post-election period, I nonetheless expected some upside around Thursday’s Jupiter-Pluto conjunction.  This bullish pairing takes place once a year and is usually positive for sentiment in the days leading up to its conjunction.  The days following the conjunction is usually less reliably bullish, however, although the bullish effects can sometimes linger.

This year the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction could have a lingering bullish influence since it will also form an alignment with the Sun and Venus that lasts into early next week.  Monday is also noteworthy as Venus leaves Virgo and enters the sign of Libra.  Venus sign changes are often bullish so there is some prospect for further upside, at least into early next week.

For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   I outline the key technical and planetary influences for US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, as well as currencies, gold and oil.

Trump Photo: C-Span.org