And perhaps most importantly for these times, it is a time for cultivating equanimity—"mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.”
Equanimity is a solar virtue that will—ideally—rally forth for the upcoming DNC Convention and for a peaceful election in November. Even so, ideals often fall short and this one will probably need all the support it can get.
So this calming virtue is a natural-feeling goal that will also be needed for the peaceful transfer of power in January, and happily, this year’s Libra ingress chart (see Chart 1 below) could be helpful towards that end. The manufactured chaos and senseless ballot-count challenges that we lived through after Election 2020 harshly violated the Libra “vibe” of that third quarter in 2020 and they will do so again during the remains of this 2024 election year if we don’t make a conscious effort to embrace that blessed ability to “chill out” and carry on.
As you’re undoubtedly aware, this election year is within weeks of entering its final stretch: the always somewhat volatile period between Labor Day and November 5th. Given this timeframe, it makes astrological sense that we examine the Sun’s Libra ingress on September 22nd for insight into the character and feel of this final election push. We will do this with the help of Chart 1 below.
Then, keeping the insights from Chart 1 in mind, we will proceed to consider the Harris/Walz duo as an astrological entity in Biwheel 1. That duo is, of course, made up of incumbent V.P./presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her still fresh V.P. pick, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Finally, we will quickly consider the likely challenges and opportunities that next week’s DNC Convention may bring against Harris’s nativity in Biwheel 2 below. The event—which will formalize the Harris/Walz duo as the Democratic presidential ticket—gavels in next week on August 19th in Chicago. This event will be happening before the Sun ingresses Libra for this year’s 3rd solar quarter, of course, but since a major function of the Convention is to galvanize Party leaders, officials, activists and voters on all levels for the remaining battles of this election year, any insights we interested onlookers can gain into that 3rd quarter will still be key. Let’s begin there with Chart 1, cast for the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
Chart 1. Sun enters Libra, September 22, 2024, 8:43:25 a.m. DST, Washington, D.C. . All charts are cast by the author on Kepler 8.0 with Tropical Equal Houses and True Node and courtesy of Cosmic Patterns Software.
Given the importance of the sign for this 3rd solar quarter, the first details that leap off the page here for me are the many key Libra placements:
Sun conjunct So. Node (both Libra)
ASC (20°+Libra)
Chart ruler and Sun’s ruler Venus sits poised at the end of Libra, at 29°+, as if relishing her final couple days before slipping into Scorpio’s deep end.
Indeed, Venus is running the show here, touching several key chart points by a host of aspects and a powerful Yod configuration. Let’s enumerate all of this first and then work at making sense of it. Venus in Libra:
semi-sextiles the Libra Sun,
exactly squares Capricorn Pluto Rx in the 4th and t-squares the Pluto Rx-IC to MC (10th, Cancer) opposition axis. If we factor in the Venus-Eris opposition squaring that Cancer-Capricorn axis, this t-square is transformed into an intensely dynamic Cardinal grand square,
widely trines Gemini Jupiter in the 9th,
widely opposes the Chiron-Eris (Rx, Aries) conjunction in the 7th,
inconjoins 8th house Uranus-Moon conjunction (Taurus-Gemini) and 6th house Neptune (Pisces), forming a tense back-to-back double inconjunct configuration (some might say Yod) with Venus as the focal planet,
forms minor aspects with Cancer Mars (tredecile) and Pisces Saturn Rx (sesquiquadrate)
All of which paints a picture of intense activity carried out in the harsh, embattled conditions of a high stakes, “fork-in-the-road” (double quincunx) situation. Venus is cast here in the role of a Warrior Queen (dignified in Libra)—mythologically we might equate her with Athena, who has the protection and “ear” of her father and progenitor, Zeus (trine to 9th house Gemini Jupiter), yet must still navigate the disruptions and wounds that besiege her (7th house Aries Chiron-Eris opposition).
1st c. BC image of Athena at the Louvre.
Venus’s guard cannot be dropped for a moment here, for within her closest held values of peace, harmony and equanimity (values of true Democracy, as it happens) lie the seeds of tyranny and violence (Venus inconjoins Gemini Moon-conjunct-late Taurus Uranus) and the elusive shifting sands that imperil the foundations of civil and democratic (small “d”) society (Venus inconjoins Pisces Neptune Rx).
We can certainly project the political scenarios of our choice onto this powerful chart, and indeed, there are at least two ways of looking at everything: Venus can be said to signify our presumed Democratic standard bearer, Kamala Harris, or perhaps she’s Miriam Adelson, the vital big donor that candidate Trump is now trying to court, despite having excoriated her with angry texts earlier this week.
Or perhaps “she” is Trump himself, courting billionaire Elon Musk, who clearly sees Trump’s disdain for Union workers as a worthy investment (although the UAW is suing them both). Politics is a deep-pocketed affair (Venus squares Pluto Rx) and I have no doubt that high stakes political campaigns develop love/hate relationships with their donors over time.
But then, perhaps Venus signifies the masses of Women (of both parties) who, as I write this, are voting to protect their state-level abortion rights against deep-pocketed forces trying to strip their rights away, Project 2025-style.
Indeed, for some who embrace the Christian nationalist dogma that America really belongs to Christians—and only to some kinds of Christians—the Project itself might be reflected in this Venus, totally dependent upon those deep-pockets to push its soft-pedaled authoritarian agenda—Uranus-Moon does trine Pluto (both Rx, Taurus-Capricorn) in this chart.
Rest assured, the super-wealthy are those with the most to gain in the Project-based “coup” that Trump and company are planning for all of us. Forget labor protections; forget reproductive rights (Venus inconjoins Uranus-Moon); forget public schooling and expect your children to be religiously indoctrinated by all schools (Venus inconjoins Neptune and sesquiquadrates Saturn; Virgo Mercury opposes the Saturn/Neptune midpoint in Pisces); forget holding public officials accountable for crimes (the Venus inconjuncts are reinforced by Jupiter’s square to that same Pisces midpoint).
You get the idea: the sheer prevalence of frustrating “damned if you do; damned if you don’t” aspects and the high stakes Cardinal grand square detailed above covers all this territory and more. In the end, this final quarter of the calendar year will be what we make of it, but we will definitely need to strap in for a wild ride and pack both our patience and determination!
Meanwhile, the Harris/Walz campaign has been wheeling around the nation, offering a lighter vision of American leadership and the future, and they are about to make their official “debut” on the Convention stage in Chicago. So let’s now consider Biwheel 1 below for the Harris/Walz duo, with questions like the following in mind: to what can we attribute the enthusiasm their campaign has been attracting? Are they likely to function as an effective governing team, if elected in November? What pitfalls, if any, could hold them back?
Unfortunately, the only chart available for Gov. Tim Walz is untimed, so I’ve placed it outside of Harris’s nativity in the biwheel. Let’s begin.
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| V.P. Harris and Gov. Tim Walz on the road this past week. |
The biwheel: Harris & Walz
Biwheel 1. (inner wheel) Kamala Harris, October 20, 1964, 9:28 p.m. DST, Oakland, CA. Source: BC/BR, Rodden rated AA; (outer wheel) Timothy James Walz, April 6, 1964, 12:00 p.m. ST (no time available), Cuming City, Nebraska. Source: Rodden rated X: no time available.
Obviously, we can’t say much about the angles or houses or Moon placement in Tim Walz’s noon chart (outer wheel), but we can know that the Moon transited from 27° Cap 45’ to 10° Aqu 11’ during the 24 hours of this birth date, which points to the key influences of Saturn (for Cap) and Saturn-Uranus (for Aqu). At first, this seems surprising; with his broad, full-hearted grin Walz radiates affability, so it’s difficult to imagine him as a Saturnian “hard ass,” but his chart is telling us that we shouldn’t sell him short.
Walz’s Saturn may feel a bit forgiving in mutable Pisces, but it also falls opposite his Virgo Uranus Rx and t-square his Sagittarius Juno-Pallas conjunction, suggesting that imperatives like Liberty, Justice, Duty and Loyalty run deep in this man’s soul—perhaps engrained in him at times by the school of hard knocks. This is only reinforced by his Saturn/Chiron midpoint (Pisces) opposing his wide Uranus-Pluto conjunction, a configuration that he shares pretty closely with running mate, Kamala Harris, whose Virgo Venus also conjoins her Uranus-Pluto.
They were born within months of each other in another notable election year, 1964, when a right-wing extremist Senator for that time, Arizona’s Barry Goldwater, ran against incumbent Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson and lost in a landslide, so they both grew up in the tumultuous 1960s and 70s, when long overdue Civil Rights were being secured and codified within our Constitution, when women were gaining reproductive rights and new possibilities in the work place, and when the U.S. was engaged in a tragic Cold War-era war in Vietnam.
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| V.P. Harris as a girl growing up in Oakland, CA. |
Despite growing up in very different regions of the country and very different circumstances, both Harris and Walz seem to have internalized similar ideological values from that period in their lives and careers. Not all 1960s children grew up to be liberals—many Trump supporters and right-wing extremists are pushing 60 as well—but for those who are liberals, they are likely to feel rooted in the hard-fought victories of that period.
Being born around the same time, of course, Harris and Walz have similar outer planetary dynamics, and that will certainly become apparent here, but first, let’s examine their more individual dynamics for signs of compatibility, keeping in mind that in this partnership, Harris will take the lead and Walz will be expected to support her in this. It’s a lot to project onto any one man, but realistically, it’s quite possible that American men are (consciously or not) watching Walz to understand how they too can think about a woman as president.
It may sound ridiculous for our times to dwell on this, but in fact, the opposing party is working hard to force women back into submission in the super-sized “Man’s World” they’re working to recreate. Modeling a workable balance of power between male and female could be incredibly important to the Harris/Walz campaign. So, let’s enumerate the various interpersonal aspects (Harris, inner wheel; Walz, outer wheel) that may make a difference to their working relationship:
Their Suns fall in opposite signs—hers in late Libra, conjunct Scorpio Mercury and his in mid Aries—but the opposition orb is overly wide to call this an aspect;
Perhaps even better, however, Walz’s late Aries Jupiter taps into Harris’s late Aries-Libra Moon-Sun opposition; while she is an unmistakable Full Moon type that thrives center stage and takes command of a room with ease, he is (probably) a more introspective Last Quarter type who can be drawn out of his introspection when there’s a job to be done (Mars, Sun and Jupiter in Aries), and boy, is there! With these potent Aries points falling over Harris’s important 10th house, she should be able to count on his dutiful nature kicking in to support her goals and agenda and to infuse her campaign with “happy warrior” energy;
We can’t be sure of Walz’s Moon placement, but it could potentially square Harris’s late Aries Moon from late Capricorn, or it could square her Scorpio Mercury from early Aquarius. I wouldn’t take this as a sign that the two of them are emotionally incompatible, however: her Aries Moon is disposed by Mars and he’s well in tune with her there, with his several Aries placements—but his Moon (in whichever sign it falls) does suggest that he is emotionally invested in the duties associated with the position Harris has asked him to fill.
Reinforcing this emotional “call of duty” and a likely sense of destiny calling is his Cancer North Node, disposed by his mystery Moon. His nodal axis cuts across Harris’s 1-7 house axis and tightly squares his Aries Mars (which rules his Aries Sun), suggesting that he may feel it’s his role to protect her;
Walz’s Aries Jupiter also sextiles Harris’s Aquarius Saturn Rx and his Sun/Jupiter midpoint (Aries) trines her Mars (Leo)—clearly he is well-suited to supporting her governing agenda and the “prosecutorial” image she is cultivating in their campaign. Being born within the same year it’s not surprising that their respective Saturns are conjunct, but notice that Walz was born just days after Saturn first ingressed Pisces for the first time in that go-round and Harris was born during Saturn’s first retrograde period reaching back into Aquarius for another go at the Pisces transition.
Harris’s Saturn in Aquarius certainly fits her lifelong interest in criminal prosecution, but this can be a rather fixed, authoritarian placement in the hands of those inclined in that direction. Indeed, her generation’s stint with this Saturn sign may also explain the 50-60-somethings out there who now feel we should throw democracy over for something tougher, more authoritarian. But, as her campaign messaging says, it’s about “who you fight for”—about leaders serving the public instead of the would-be oligarchs.
Bottom line, both Harris and Walz have interesting Saturn-Uranus combinations and influences: Walz has the Pisces-Virgo opposition (Uranus Rx); Harris has the staunch Leo-Aquarius Mars-Saturn Rx opposition and her Saturn Rx very widely opposes his Uranus Rx; they appear to be on a compatible wavelength when it comes to the exercise of power and authority and to their views of freedom and change in society. Walz has summed up some of those views in one blunt quip: those who don’t like the freedoms exercised by some should “mind their own damn business!”
Then there are their respective Venus placements: Harris seems more personally driven by collective affairs with her 3rd house Uranus-Neptune-Venus conjunction in perfection-seeking Virgo, all opposite her 9th house Chiron in Pisces; Walz’s Gemini Venus forms a tight square with his Pisces Saturn and possibly trines his Moon (if it’s in early Aquarius, as pictured); one way or another, his Venus seems a bit more rooted in everyday realities, which sounds a lot like his career spent teaching and coaching local high school kids. Harris seems “born” for politics and public affairs; Walz seems like a man who can be happy wherever he’s sent, as long as he’s being useful to those around him. I would guess that this is an important difference between Harris and Walz, given the role Harris wants him to play.
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| Walz has quickly became known as "Coach" to rally goers. |
It’s easy to imagine that, if elected to V.P., Walz will be leading and initiating programs that inspire our children and above all, strengthening, rather than dismantling our public-school systems. Notice that Walz’s Venus (again, squared by Saturn) is disposed by and in mutual reception with his Taurus Mercury, which closely semi-sextiles his Aries Mars: he embodies Coach energy at a time when the nation can really use a rousing, motivational pep talk.
Finally, confirming their different focuses over the years, but common interests in public service, notice that the Mercury placements of Harris and Walz fall opposite each other, from Scorpio (Harris) to Taurus (Walz). Harris’s mental energies tend to be more engaged with the “long arc” and the deep, dark truths she undoubtedly absorbed at all those anti-war and Civil Rights demos her parents took her to as a child—chief among them, for a child of color, would have been the fact that nothing will be given freely…she would have to work double time and fight double hard to get where she wanted to go.
This, while Walz’s mental energies seem more pre-occupied with the down-to-earth material issues his midwestern “son of immigrant grandparents” upbringing would have taught him. He’s let no grass grow under his feet, moving from one opportunity to another over time, but staying rooted in public service of some kind. He’s expanded his horizons over the years as sensible Midwesterners do, and now, he’s been offered the job of a lifetime. My guess is that he expects good things to happen to him and in fact, they often do.
Now, with all that said, let’s quickly consider a chart for the DNC Convention that convenes on August 19th in Chicago. The Convention website indicates that there will be a 9 a.m. Press briefing and the only item on the schedule before that is a 7 a.m. breakfast, so I’ve used the 9 a.m. time for the chart. This press event will likely be the first part of the Convention that is televised, so this timing makes better sense to me than the breakfast.
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| How to watch the DNC Convention this coming week. |
The Convention
A lot has happened with the Harris candidacy since Minnesota’s popular governor agreed to join her ticket. His contagious enthusiasm for her candidacy has helped liven up their rallies in key swing states from day one. Despite plenty of competition for their attention this past week—from Hurricanes to Snoop Dogg at the Olympics (not to mention our great athletes and 40 gold medals!!)—huge crowds showed up for Harris and Walz in Philly, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, and even Phoenix.
So, it hasn’t been surprising that their poll numbers have been trending upward since Walz joined the team. It’s still early to take the polling too seriously, to my mind, but upward must be more encouraging than downward, especially when they’re preparing for the Convention.
Everyone—including Trump supporter and billionaire “bro” Elon Musk, as it turns out—is trying to turn-out middle of the road and uncommitted voters for their candidate. No doubt, such voters will be a major focus during next week’s event.
So, will Harris/Walz be able to “seal the deal” with so-called Republican Never Trumpers who are looking for a home? Will they be able to diplomatically court the votes of those who protested Biden’s support of Israel’s war against Gaza by voting “uncommitted” in the primaries?
Challenges abound and some observers are anticipating (or hyping) a 1968-style conflict-ridden DNC next week. Interestingly, parallels do exist between our two time frames—in both cases, older incumbents turned the race over to younger V.P.s; anti-war protestors are having their say now as they did in 1968; and an ultra-conservative candidate with criminal tendencies is the choice on the other side—but “that was then and this is now” is probably the least panicky way to proceed.
With these things in mind, then, let’s examine Biwheel 2 below for Harris (natal, inner wheel) and the 2024 DNC Convention (outer wheel).
Biwheel 2. (inner wheel) Kamala Harris, October 20, 1964, 9:28 p.m. DST, Oakland, CA. Source: BC/BR, Rodden rated AA; (outer wheel) The DNC Convention, August 19, 2024, 9 a.m. DST, Chicago, IL. Source: Convention website.
I’ve limited this chart to Harris, as opposed to Harris and Walz because ultimately, the presidential candidate is Kamala Harris and she needs to be able to inspire the enthusiasm we’ve come to expect from her campaign over the past couple weeks. Besides, a biwheel is complicated enough…the simpler the better here.
First, a quick rundown of the most significant interaspects we see between the two charts:
DNC Mercury-Sun (Leo) opposes DNC Moon (Aquarius) and this axis overlays Harris’s Mars-Saturn Rx opposition (Leo-Aquarius), so we can expect a schedule full of energized (perhaps even emotional) speakers who make the case for Harris’s fitness for the highest office;
To complicate things further, these overlaid Leo-Aquarius axes are t-squared by DNC Uranus (Taurus)-conjunct-Harris Jupiter Rx (Taurus). This transiting Uranus has been treating Harris and Walz pretty well as they’ve been rallying one swing state audience after another, but the potential does exist (according to the experts who follow these things) for a foreign actor like Iran or Russia to stoke chaos in our elections process and in the campaign infrastructures and operations. Trump seems to have already seized upon this by claiming that his campaign has been hacked by Iran, but this hasn’t been confirmed. What has been confirmed is that platforms like “X” are already allowing bad actors to circulate lies and misinformation about the election, and if Uranus’s position in Taurus tells us anything here, it’s that there are deep-pocketed players involved in flooding the zone with misinformation, with the aim of throwing our election process into chaos. If people can’t tell what the truth is because they’ve been flooded with torrents of toxic misinformation, they just might give up on voting.
The Convention is likely to be heavily focused on getting out the vote and avoiding such disruptions, so it will be interesting to see what happens with this. In 2016 the Hillary Clinton campaign was hacked by Wikileaks on behalf of Trump, possibly with Russian assistance; I have to wonder if something similar isn’t unfolding this time.
DNC Venus conjoins Harris Venus-Uranus-Pluto (all Virgo) and both oppose Harris Chiron and DNC Saturn (both Rx in Pisces); these axes are t-squared by DNC Jupiter and Mars (both Gemini). So, Harris is in the midst of a Venus return, but one that is complicated with a host of mutable energies demanding her attention and with DNC Mars and Jupiter hovering over her 12th house in a potentially undermining fashion.
Will there be a security scare? Violence and chaos of some kind? Again, a misinformation “hack” of some kind is a very real possibility with all the Neptunian Pisces energy at the top of this biwheel. Neptune (Pisces) itself semi-sextiles Harris’s Moon (Aries) and sextiles that Taurus Uranus just discussed above, suggesting possible subversive activities with personal ramifications.
Final thoughts
The Convention planners know to expect protests against the U.S. supplying arms to Israel for its attacks on Gaza, but we also know that Iran has stated out loud that it’s planning a retaliatory attack against Israel any time now, so that whole situation is hopelessly convoluted at this moment and that’s probably how Harris’s opposition prefers it to be, especially during her big nomination moment at the Convention. Let’s hope I’m wrong here and that this time, the Secret Service and other security personnel are up to their job of protecting all who attend this event.
Clearly, we’ve never seen an election year quite like this one, but as exhausting as the pervasive lies and toxic nonsense may be, I’m beginning to feel more hopeful that we’ll emerge from this mess mostly intact. I say this because I’ve been picking up on signs here and there that the nation is finally waking up to the authoritarian designs of Trump and his Project 2025 people, and that we might just be willing to put up a fight for our democracy, after all.
Still, the “realist” voice in my head says this election is still likely to be a very close call that will be contested for months after the votes are counted, but I choose to hope for better, anyway. That’s our right, and it’s our right to make it happen! IMHO, voting is not a tiresome chore as some seem to think…it’s our sacred right and it’s well-worth fighting for.
Keep it light, folks!
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Raye Robertson is a practicing astrologer, writer and retired educator. A graduate of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (U.K.), Raye focuses on mundane, collective-oriented astrology, with a particular interest in current affairs, U.S. history, culture and media, the astrology of generations, and public concerns such as education and health. Her articles on these topics have appeared in several key astrology journals over the years, and she has authored three books on key mundane astrology topics that are currently available on Amazon Kindle. For information about individual chart readings, contact: robertsonraye@gmail.com.
© Raye Robertson 2024. All rights reserved.
