The 11:20 Chart

[voxcaelorum]

A few months ago, JMG posted an interpretation of the astrological chart for the 2021 presidential inauguration. His interpretation is quite good, but it may have been based on an inaccurate time, as he was assuming that the inauguration would take place at 12:00 on January 21st. An anonymous commentator on the Ecosophia blog pointed out that Joe Biden's inauguration in fact began at 11:20. In theory, the important moment in astrological timing is the beginning of a thing. Therefore, even if Biden took the oath of office at 11:50, the 11:20 chart is the proper birth chart for his inauguration and his whole presidency.

And it's a doozy.

So I thought it might be fun, in the way that looking at train wrecks is fun, to take a look at the 11:20 chart, and see what we can make of it.

As always, I don't consider myself an expert at mundane astrology, so please interpret the following as hypotheses, not prophecies.

And because it's 2021, I probably need to add the following disclaimer:

I am not personally in favor of, or opposed to, anything indicated in this chart.

I am a traditional astrologer, and my only interest is to see how we can understand Joe Biden's presidency from that perspective, as forecast by the stars at the moment of his inauguration.

That said, let's get this party started. Here is the chart:



As always, let's start with the Sun and the Moon.

The Sun, representing the head of government, is in a very mixed condition in this chart. On the one hand, he is located within the 10th house. The 10th house is an angular house, and planets located there are stronger than otherwise. It also specifically represents the executive branch of government. This tells us that Biden's position will appear to be strong, and that, unlike his predecessor, the executive branch bureaucracy is solidly behind him. He also benefits from a distant but real conjunction with Jupiter. Jupiter represents the wealthy and also religious professionals. In this chart, it also represents the Supreme Court as ruler of the 9th house. This tells us that all of these groups are, by and large, on Biden's side. And that's where the good news ends.

The Sun is located in the 1st degree of Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign of the Sun's Detriment, greatly weakening his power. While the conjunction with Jupiter is nice, the Sun is making a much closer conjunction to Saturn, the Great Malefic. These two indicators together would be very bad news all on their own. Aquarius weakens the Sun; Saturn rules time, death, and sorrow. The suggestion is pretty clear: Biden is going to die in office.

It gets worse.

The Sun is afflicted by hostile aspects from the Moon, Mars, and Uranus. The three latter planets are located in the first house. Uranus and Mars are conjunct one another in the sign of Taurus, which is Mars's Detriment and Uranus's Fall. The Moon is in the last degree of Aries, which places her under Mars's overall rulership. All of this suggests intense and potentially violent opposition to Biden from many segments of the population. In this chart, Mars rules the First House, representing the people generally; the Moon rules the 4th house, representing the countryside, farmers and miners, and the opposition to the government; and Uranus rules the Eleventh House, representing the legislature. Biden will face intense opposition during his presidency from all these corners.

Really, it's hard to overstate how bad this chart is. Mars, Saturn and Uranus are the three malefic planets of the solar system. All three are in hostile aspects to the Sun, representing the president. In Medieval manuals of astrological magic such as Picatrix, charts like this are used to specifically to create curses and evil talismans. If you wanted to create a magic spell to cause the downfall of a king, you would wait for a moment exactly like this.

As a final note, we should probably say something about Pluto. Following John Michael Greer, I view Pluto as a waning influence-- but waning does not mean done. In this chart, the Sun is separating from a conjunction with Pluto. Pluto rules the criminal underworld, spies, secrets and hidden things. The implications of the Sun having only just separated himself from direct contact with Pluto are probably better left unsaid.

And what of The Moon?

In a mundane chart, the Moon represents the people in general, or at least that subset of them that is loud enough to make their voices heard in public. Now, the Moon is located in Aries, which is ruled by Mars, and very close to the cusp of the First House. The First House rules the people generally, and the Moon is applying to a someone distant conjunction with its ruler, Mars. More on that in a moment.

Overall, the position of the Moon is nearly as bad as that of the Sun. The Moon is strengthened by her placement in the First House, like the Sun in the 10th. Unlike the Sun, Aries does not have any especially bad signification for her, but it doesn't have any good signification either. We can suggest, though, that her placement in Aries and conjunction to its ruler suggests an angry and a warlike mood among the people. Other than that, the Moon is making a square to the Sun, suggesting an opposition to the government; applying to a conjunction with Mars and Uranus, two of the malefics, and a square to Saturn, the third malefic.

As representative of the people, the Moon suggests an angry, fractious and divided populous, deeply opposed to the head of government, the bureaucracy (the Sun and Saturn), and entrenched institutions generally. In this chart, Uranus rules 11th house of the legislature. Uranus is in a terrible way in this chart; in the sign of Taurus, he expresses his influence in the most destructive way. This suggests that whatever actions Congress takes which are intended to "help" the people are only going to inflame public anger more.

Under the rulership of Mars, the God of War, conjunct Mars and also Uranus, the ruler of chaos, rebellion and anarchy; deeply opposed to the government and the entrenched bureaucracy; the Moon is ready to rebel.

From the luminaries alone we can predict riots, strikes, and acts of insurrection over the course of the Biden presidency.

In the conflict between the Sun and the Moon, who wins? Both luminaries are badly afflicted, with little saving grace in either case. And yet both are very strong influences, in the angular houses. The answer may be "no one."

Let's look at the Houses, and see if we can fill out the picture.

Of The First House we've had a bit to say already. The First House rules the people generally. The house cusp is in Aries, and Mars is its ruler. Mars is in Taurus, tightly conjunct Uranus. The Moon is on the cusp of the First House more distantly conjunct the other two planets.

All of these are bad indicators by themselves. Mars and Uranus both predict riots, violence, and anarchy. Conjunct one another, their malefic influences are strengthened. Mars is weak in Taurus, the sign of his Detriment; Uranus is harmful in Taurus, the sign of his Fall. This suggests that we probably won't see open warfare on a large scale either abroad or at home. Instead, we'll see the kind of rioting, anarchy and terrorism that we've been getting used to just get that much worse. The presence of the Moon adds to the problem, as the Moon rules the public, crowds and mobs. Events like those of Summer 2020 and January 6 2021 are likely to become everyday affairs in the early '20s.

It's worth noting that the Moon and Mars both represent the people. They are in different signs from one another, but they are moving toward conjunction, and both are square to the Sun and Saturn, representing the government. This suggests that, while the populace is deeply divided, large segments of the Right and Left may be moving toward one another, united in their opposition to the entrenched elite. What that united opposition may look like going forward may be foreshadowed a bit by the regular appearances of left-wing commentators like Glenn Greenwald and Jimmy Dore on conservative Tucker Carlson's Fox News show. 

The Second House rules the economy and the national treasury. It is located in Gemini, and its ruler, Mercury, is in the 11th house, in Aquarius. Mercury is one of the few planets in this chart that is not badly afflicted. Actually, Mercury isn't doing very much at all. He has a very mild dignity in the 19th degree of Aquarius. He gains no strength from the 11th house and makes no aspects to any other planets. He does make a fairly exact trine to the North Node of the Moon. What the lunar nodes signify in a Mundane Chart I am honestly not certain-- but the North node is generally seen as a benefic influence. This suggests that, despite everything this chart foretells, the economy may do okay during this time period. Not great, mind-- but okay.

 Aquarius and Mercury are both indicators of change; both also relate to technology. This suggests the ongoing transformation of our economic life by computer technologies will continue apace during this time, encouraged by friendly legislation.

The Third House rules transit, communication, and the internet. The Third House is also in Gemini. To my mind, the link between the economy; the internet, communication and transportation systems; and, as we will see later, public health; with the signs and planets ruling both Congress and high technology, indicates that the ongoing consolidation of power by the technology companies is going to be one of the main stories of the coming years.  

The Fourth House rules the countryside, farms and factories, and the opposition to the government. The 4th house is in Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon. We've said a great deal about the Moon already. Expect adverse legislation and regulation to continue to target rural populations, farmers and the working class. This could include sweeping gun legislation, more restrictive lockdowns, and elimination of mining, farming and logging jobs by environmental legislation. 

Expect a backlash.

As ruler of the opposition, does the Moon rule the Republicans? A photo made its way around the internet recently of George W Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Nancy Pelosi embracing at the Biden inauguration. So, of course, did another photo, of a miserable-looking, lonely Bernie Sanders. Could it be that the "opposition" described in this chart represents the Trumpist wing of the Republican Party and the Sanders-left of the Democratic Party, acting in opposition to the leadership of both parties? The chart doesn't say. But in either case, expect vigorous opposition from those out of power to the Biden agenda. Will this opposition be effective? Again, the afflicted state of both Moon and Sun suggests that, frequently, no one will win-- but the parties represented by the Moon have a slight advantage. 



The Fifth House rules entertainment and celebrities, Wall Street, education and children. The Fifth House is in Leo, whose ruler is the Sun. This tells us another thing we already know-- Hollywood just loves our new president. On the other hand, all of the negative indicators which applied to the Sun as representing the Head of State apply to him as ruler of the Fifth House. Expect more chaos and turmoil in the entertainment industry-- sex scandals, ratings collapses, failures and fan revolts. We will also see great controversies over public schools, probably related to issues like the teaching of "critical theory" in elementary schools, transgender issues, and issues related to the Covid lockdown. 

The Sixth House relates to public health, the military and the working class-- or at least, that segment of the working class not represented by the First and Fourth houses.  The Sixth House is in Virgo and so, like the Second and Third Houses, is ruled by Mercury, whose placement we've discussed already. Public health is likely to improve over this time. We've already seen Amazon offer its services in vaccine distribution, and we'll probably see that sort of thing continue, as the technology giants assume their place as a kind of 4th branch of government.

The Seventh House relates to foreign affairs and war, and its role in this chart is rather interesting. As the house cusp is in Libra, Venus is its ruler. And where is Venus in our chart? In Capricorn, conjunct the cusp of the 10th house. This tells us that foreign governments really like the new administration. Venus is also making a sextile to Neptune in the 12th house. A sextile is a helping aspect; the energies of the two planets assist each other. Neptune rules delusion and idealism, and also Socialism and related movements; in this chart, he also rules the nation's hidden enemies. This suggests, at minimum, that at least one foreign, socialist government which covertly opposes the United States is very happy with the new situation. I'll let you work out which government, or governments, that might be.

The Eighth House relates to death and everything having to do with it. It also relates to foreign trade, as it is the second house (money) from the seventh house (foreign nations). The cusp of the Eighth House is in Saggitarius, and so Jupiter is its ruler. Jupiter's condition in this chart is not very good. He is conjunct Saturn and square to the Mars-Uranus conjunction. As we've seen, he is also distantly conjunct the Sun. Under ordinary circumstances, the Sun would gain by a conjunction to Jupiter-- but this isn't a very ordinary Jupiter. As ruler of the Eighth House of Death, he augurs death in office. As ruler of foreign trade, he suggests that Biden's efforts in this area, which may include an attempt to return to the pre-Trump status quo, will not work out. 

The Ninth House is also in Sagittarius and so also ruled by Jupiter. The Ninth House relates to the Supreme Court, and also to higher education and the clergy. Here again, we see a badly afflicted Jupiter representing these things. Conflict over the Supreme Court is likely. The universities will come under fire, probably related both to usurious student loans and to the pushing of critical theory and other forms of radical politics in the schools. The distant conjunction with the Sun suggests that both the Court and the universities are likely to continue to back Biden, as will the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All to their sorrow.

The Tenth House represents the Executive Branch of government itself. The Tenth House has a lot going on with it. It is in Capricorn, and so is ruled by Saturn, of whom we've had a bit to say already. Venus is conjunct the Tenth House cusp. Pluto is here as well in Capricorn. Starting in the first degree of Aquarius, we have a conjunction of the Sun, Saturn, and Jupiter, in that order. So let's talk about this.

We've had a bit to say about Venus already. Venus rules art and artists generally; this tells us again what we already know: Hollywood loves Biden.

The Jupiter-Saturn-Sun conjunction is interesting. The Sun is solidly in the Tenth House, but Jupiter is conjunct the Eleventh House cusp, and so would, ordinarily, count as being part of the Eleventh House. Saturn is somewhere in the middle. All are afflicted. This suggests that we should see the center of power as a kind of alliance of the Executive Branch, certain factions within Congress, and the courts, backed by entertainment elites (Venus), foreign money (Jupiter, Venus), and other, more clandestine factions (Pluto). 

As the specific representative of the Executive Branch, Saturn's position is very mixed. He gains power by his conjunction with Jupiter, but his conjunction to the Sun is an affliction known in the older writings as combustion. The planet is blinded by the Sun's rays and cannot see clearly. And, of course, he is square to the Moon and the Mars-Uranus conjunction. 

Expect hard times to come for the incoming administration. And not just in the most dramatic sense; brutal political fights with Congress are very likely. 
 

The Eleventh House rules Congress, especially the House of Representatives. As the cusp of the house is in Aquarius, the house is ruled by Uranus. This is a very interesting placement, whose implications we haven't really discussed yet. Uranus is very badly afflicted in this chart. He is in Taurus, the sign of his Fall, and so expresses his most malevolent side. He is located in the First House, which rules the population in general, and he is conjunct its ruler, Mars. Mars, as we have seen, is in his Detriment, and so weakened. This suggests a Congress deeply hostile toward the general public, and probably expressing that hostility through punitive legislation. 

On the other hand, Uranus is also square to the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn. What are we to make of this? 

One possibility is the sort of mid-term election that we saw in 2010, 2006, or 1994. Such an election would take Congressional power away from the allies of the Administration, Democrat or Republican, and place them in the hands of its opposition. Remember that the Moon rules the Opposition in this chart, and the Moon is distantly conjunct Uranus and Mars. She starts out in another sign from them, but will move to conjoin them in Taurus. This may be a foreshadowing of the 2022 election and the Congress that will take power thereafter. 

In the struggles between that Congress and the Biden Administration, who will win? Again, this chart says "No one." The two sides will keep one another from getting very much done, as is often the case in American politics.

At last we come to The Twelfth House. The Twelfth House rules institutions, prisons and hospitals, and secret enemies. The House cusp is in Pisces, and so this house is ruled by Neptune, the only truly powerful planet in this chart. Neptune, Lord of the Deep, is here in this House, in Pisces, and is also in Pisces, the sign of his rulership. Neptune is strengthened by being in his own sign and also by a sextile to Venus. He has two major debilities, however. The Twelfth House is a cadent house, and planets in cadent houses are weakened. Meanwhile, he is making a fairly exact semi-square to the Sun itself. 

Let's break this down a bit. 

Neptune in this chart rules matters pertaining to the Twelfth House. In general, he rules big ideas and big delusions; Socialism, mysticism, and drug addiction. His placement in this chart suggests that the Administration will pursue more or less socialistic policies with respect to the poor and to the underclass. His semi-square to the Sun suggests that the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, represented by Bernie Sanders, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and others, will attempt to oppose the Administration and to influence its policies; however, the position of Neptune in the cadent Twelfth House suggests that they will rarely get their way. 

The issue of drug addiction will continue to worsen over this time. The sextile between Venus, ruler of foreign powers, and Neptune, ruler of both addiction and hidden enemies (Twelfth House), suggests that hostile foreign powers will continue to secretly fund the addiction crisis. Given what we have said about Venus's relationship to the Tenth House, there may be little the Administration can do about this. 

And so there you have it. 

We're in for a rough couple of years, politically speaking, if this chart is correct.

What can we do about it?

Not very much, on a collective level. 

A very great deal, on a personal level. As Seneca wrote, "Disaster is virtue's opportunity." And as Eliphas Levi tells us, we attain nothing without struggle.