When the election was called, the planet of communication and negotiations was getting ready to change direction having reached 23° Aries. It occupied the highest point in the chart of the moment, on that Friday afternoon. Aries is the sign that deals the best with moving forward and of course, aggressive, non-conciliatory and heated debate. Since the end of March the motion has been backward and the next change is not until April 23.
I watched an agonizing two hours of the National Leaders’ debate in English (don’t speak French), which I quite frankly saw as a shouting match. Unfortunately with so many planets in Aries and only Saturn in co-operative Libra as an astrologer I should have expected exactly that. The debate portion of the event was lost and with it an opportunity to engage the audience, who after all are each spending $10 per Canadian on the Election Process. The planetary power during the campaign and on Election Day continues to be heavily weighted in Aries. Aries has some wonderful qualities, but on the negative front it ramrods its way onto the scene, throws caution to the wind and then deals with what it finds rather than plans to set an agenda. Aries is the scrapper, willing to engage in a fight without too much preparation. Expediency is important and in terms of advertising, it is like those commercials, which say that my product is better than the leading brand.
So if we take Mercury to be the election talk, he is pulling backward symbolically returning to what was. The Moon is the public opinion and the pulls away by May 2 not quite reaching the Sun, which naturally would be the leading contender. Might the public throw its support behind status quo but not quite within allowing Harper to form a majority?
During this campaign Mercury will have been travelling the same ‘landscape’ at length—forwards and backwards—will anything change? Mercury will be together with Venus, making a connection to Harper’s Mercury and Canada’s Neptune. Was it all in vain?
I have talked about Ignatieff and Harper and the prominent Aries energy in the two men, and I also wrote two peas in a pod back in 2008. For Harper logical Mercury is in Aries, which would appear well equipped to speak to what he thinks Canadians want, however, his Mercury is with his South Node, so he will always address his past record. Harper came across very controlled during the debate with his Saturn is in its own sign of Capricorn; he played a very Saturnine, responsible and calm role. He stuck to his script; looked straight at the camera’s and was rather inanimate. After five years of watching him we didn’t expect him to be different.
Saturn is in Libra will remain opposite Harper’s Mercury throughout this campaign and he will be challenged primarily about fairness, playing by the laws and his personal ethics; or more so about whether he is playing fair and in an inclusive manner. The question is whether he is responsible, and can he play nice with the others. Saturn in Libra is all about balance, harmony and equitability. From that perspective it was interesting to hear the comment, that the Conservatives treat all of the provinces equitably. I was expecting him to use more words that belong to Saturn, such as responsibility, reality, etc.
Ignatieff’s chart is primarily about Jupiter, and that’s what we see and hear, a professor promising money for education and questioning Harper about his ethics. Ignatieff’s Aries planets are Venus and Mars together. There is strong passion and desire in this combo to be the number one and Aries is also known for its short attention span. Mercury reached his Venus-Mars by the end of March; the press he heard at the time might have convinced him that he can become the Prime Minister. His Mercury however is in Taurus—being quick to respond from a logical perspective is not his natural strength. Taurus is deliberates, contemplates and he potentially has many moments when he knows what he should have said. His Mercury of speech is opposite Jupiter in Scorpio, so he is more likely to promise things he cannot deliver (and knows this). Venus and Mars are in charge of his communication style and when pushed he will say what is expedient rather than what he really thinks. Ignatieff has his North Node is in Gemini, ruled by that ponderous Mercury thus he might think that he can talk himself into any position, and maybe he can.
On the day of the Election, expansive and convicted Jupiter and aggressive Mars will be together in Aries with Ignatieff’s Venus and Mars. It marks a start of something big for him… could it be a win or a post to another important position.
By the election the only ones to have pulled away from the strong pack of planets will be the Sun and the Moon, both will be in Taurus close to Harper’s Sun at about 9 Taurus. Harper’s birthday falls just two days prior to the election. Ignatieff, who is also a Taurus, will turn 64 on May 12, and the two pull- a-ways don’t reach the degree of his Sun.
Layton’s party has the least seats of the three majors, so is in an underdog position. He is a Cancer Sun individual with his Mercury in Leo. He has a Mars-Neptune pair in Libra more or less opposite Canada’s Neptune. Wonder if Canadians would prefer that he lead the official opposition? His Venus hugs Canada’s Moon and he really does care about what Canadians want. Based on just the connections, he would make the ideal opposition leader, keeping the others on track and addressing issues. Layton’s chart does top into the collective energies from a different perspective to that of the two Taureans. However, on Election Day the energies do little to encourage big gains—however I suspect these might be significant from some perspective that I cannot put a clear description upon. The Moon will be on Jack Layton’s Vesta exactly on the day. Vesta represents service without complaints and I expect people recognize or reward Jack for something on the day. So my speculation is that he will gain ground, not by becoming the prime minister but being able to broker deals powered by stronger voter support.
Well we have three contenders, and none of them have the charisma of Pierre Trudeau, who Libra Sun basked in our 7th house and whose energies tapped into the power to change and grow in our national chart. Incidentally his time of birth was 7:03 AM, October 18, 1919 in Outremont, Canada.
By the time the Election Day is upon us Jupiter and Mars will have reached that degree and Mercury will only hold a position it held March 19, when we knew the Electional call was merely a matter of time. On May 9th we will have Mercury at that seemingly crucial degree; might it take until then to declare who gets to form the government—perhaps recounts galore.
