(6 October 2020) The roller coaster of 2020 never stops it seems.  President Donald Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus last Friday but has returned to the White House after a short hospital stay. Trump’s condition has improved since the weekend although doctors are watching him carefully in the event of further symptoms.  In some patients, the second week can be worse than the first week.

Trump’s diagnosis is reflected in a difficult planetary alignment.  As noted last week, the month of October was likely going to bring bad news for the president since he was experiencing an unusual multi-planet alignment of malefic planets.  The Lunar Nodes, Rahu and Ketu, have returned to their natal position where they also conjoin Trump’s Sun and Moon, since he was born on a lunar eclipse when the Sun is conjunct Rahu and the Moon is conjunct Ketu.

Trump’s problems are compounded by the fact that Pluto and Mars are also in a degreewise alignment with the Lunar Nodes and thus deeply afflict both his Sun and Moon.  He is in a very tough spot indeed.  This week would appear to be a possible nadir in his fortunes.  As I noted in last week’s update, the time around the VP debate would seem to carry an added burden for him.  This could reflect a poor performance by his VP Mike Pence, or it is possible it could also relate to other concerns, such his ongoing medical condition.

Vice presidential debate

The VP debate takes place tomorrow, October 7, at 7.00 pm in Salt Lake City when Republican vice president Mike Pence will debate Democratic Senator Kamala Harris.  The debate promises to be highly confrontational given the strong Mars alignment with Ketu and Pluto.  In addition, the Moon will conjoin Rahu at the start of the debate and will likely amplify the emotional impact of the proceedings.  Intense feelings and unpredictable developments are more likely with this Moon-Rahu conjunction, particularly when the Mars and Pluto influence is factored into the equation.

Predicting the possible performances of Pence and Harris is made more difficult because we only have the birth time of Kamala Harris.  Mike Pence’s horoscope is therefore only estimated for noon and may not offer as much useful data on how the debate will unfold. Pence’s chart shows the Rahu-Ketu-Mars-Pluto alignment highlighting his natal Mercury at 28 Taurus.  This suggests some disruptive news or developments are possible in the debate.  It also can greatly intensify his speech patterns and aims of communication.

But all three of these planets are natural malefics and do not set up a positive outcome for the debate at all.  Rahu can sometimes coincide with situations of creativity and thinking ‘outside the box’ but the Mars and Pluto influence here seems unhelpful in a debate setting.  The emphasis is on tension and conflict rather than success or rationality.  Of course, we don’t know his exact horoscope so it’s possible that he could have other more favorable patterns.  But that cannot be known.

Kamala Harris’ chart also looks troublesome.  The theme of conflict is also front and center since her Mars (28 Cancer) will feel the full effect of this nasty Mars-Rahu-Ketu-Pluto alignment.  It seems likely that antagonism and conflict will be prominent in her debate experience.  For example, Pence may try to paint her as a radical leftist who is fomenting racial divisions in the US.  By standard Vedic aspecting, her Mars is in an exact 120-degree/5th house aspect from Ketu, the South Lunar Node.  This is associated with intense and stressful attacks that demand quick responses.  By itself, it cannot be considered a favorable influence for a debate win.  However, I would also note that the Mercury-Uranus opposition does form a close 135-degree alignment with her Ascendant and should give her the ability to deliver effective and intelligent answers.

But the larger problem for her is that Saturn is sitting on her 8th house cusp at 1 Capricorn.  While this placement is dependent on an accurate birth time (which is from a birth certificate at least), this Saturn placement is not good at all for making progress towards one’s goals.  It suggests obstacles and setbacks and even scandal.  Saturn is finally moving forward again since its direct station on September 29, but as I see it, it is too close for comfort there.  This is another reason why I can’t get too optimistic about Harris’s chances in the debate.  It may refer to other ongoing negative situations unrelated to the debate, but it nonetheless casts a long shadow over her progress.

Harris’ chart gets a bit better if we relocate her chart to Salt Lake City, there is a very nice placement of transiting Venus there on her 3rd house cusp. The 3rd house is associated with communication and Venus symbolizes beauty and harmony.  Therefore, there is at least some reason to expect Kamala Harris could do well in the debate, at least on the level of presentation.  Given these highly volatile aspects, I am reluctant to predict a clear winner in the VP debate.  And yet, Harris could have an edge here given the role of Venus in her relocated chart.

Weekly Market Forecast

Stocks suffered a major reversal lower today after President Trump abruptly broke off stimulus negotiations with the Democrats.  With Trump postponing any hope of a stimulus until after the election, markets are more vulnerable here since much of the recent up trend had been based on stimulus hopes.   The sell-off appeared to confirm my forecast from last week of some turbulence on the alignment of Mars with stationary Pluto and Ketu, the South Lunar Node.

I suspect we could see more turbulence this week as the Mars alignment will remain within range until Friday.  At the same time, it is important to note the potentially offsetting bullish influence of the Jupiter-Neptune alignment over the coming days.  This suggests that the market may see significant moves in both directions as the tense pessimism of Mars alternates with the optimism of Jupiter.  Nonetheless, caution is warranted.

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