Many business owners and amateur astrologers, recognizing the value of electional astrology, have adopted the habit of doing elections for important endeavors, course launches, business meetings, etc. Subtleties and nuances which can go undetected by the amateur abound throughout the practice of electional astrology.. Without realizing it, honest attempts will make an unintentional faux pas that can disrupt positive aspects of the election or outright negate any benefit.
For this reason, I decided to write this article to set the record straight and acquaint amateur astrologers with some of the fundamentals of astrology.
1. Not Doing It
This may be seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people who are open to the use of astrology forget to make an election or believe that they can get away with not doing it.
There are many reasons for this. Some people prefer to operate according to traditional marketing wisdom of launching on a Monday or a Saturday or launching it at a particular time of the day, since marketers have found that those times are generally the most successful. Regardless of general marketing wisdom, I find that successful launches that operate according to these principles had strong electional charts, and mediocre launches that followed these criteria had mediocre charts. It always turned out that the traditional marketing advice was also subject to the rules of electional astrology.
Others that I have run into think that their intuition suffices to know when to begin something. Unfortunately, unless you are a tremendously clear and an accomplished, experienced psychic, chances are that your intuition does not possess the required strength to anticipate and tune into all the moving pieces involve in doing a good election.
I promise you: if you take the time to do even the simplest election, your endeavor will be more successful than if you try to wing it.
2. only paying attention to the moon phase
The Moon is hands down the most important planet to look at for an election. Those who have read my Introduction to Astrology for Business series will remember just how much the Moon rules and how many significations it carries. In a nutshell, the Moon rules the general context that surrounds any given endeavor. Having a strong Moon means that the environment and situations that surround the endeavor will support it overall. A weak Moon, on the other hand, means that support from the environment will be hard to find.
I have run into many people online discussing the phase of the Moon and ensuring that the Moon phase supports the endeavor, but not anything else. To be sure, the phase of the Moon occupies an important place – ideally things that you want to bring you more money like course launches and business partnerships will begin during a waxing moon, and decisions that involve diminishment or decrease - like paying taxes and letting people go will occur during a waning moon.
However, there are so many other things to consider when it comes to the Moon. You especially want to ensure that the Moon does not occupy either Scorpio or Capricorn, the places of her fall and detriment respectively. Even if the Moon waxes, her placement in either of these signs will severely hamper the success of any endeavor.
You also want to make sure that the nature of the zodiacal sign the Moon occupies supports the endeavor. Think hard about what you want to accomplish: are you launching a course or beginning a new advertising campaign? Then an air sign, possessing strong social and communicative tendencies, will be ideal for the Moon. Are you hosting a high-energy, dynamic weekend workshop? Fire signs will be better. The Moon might be happier in Taurus, but the static nature of a Taurus Moon will not help people to get excited and click that “buy” button or throw themselves into an intense weekend workshop. It will be very helpful, however, for the founding of a business that you want to last for a long time.
And like anything else in astrology, even Moon phase must be considered in relation to everything else. One of my most successful elections for a course launch was set during a waning moon, because for the time that the Moon was waxing that month there was a brutal Saturn-Mars square taking place, and avoiding that square took priority over having the correct Moon phase.
Really take some time with the Moon. She will reward you amply for the time you spend on her.
3. Ignoring the ruler of the moon
Almost all the classical writers affirm this rule, but nevertheless it has gotten very little discussion in the contemporary astrological field. In addition to all the other things the Moon rules, the condition of the Moon signifies how the beginning of a venture will fare. If the Moon is weak, then the venture for which you have elected will have a rough start. For this reason alone, strengthening the Moon is a high priority.
But this rule has a second part: while the Moon represents the beginning of a venture, the ruler of the Moon represents its outcome or result. For those interested, check out the Carmen Astrologorum by Dorotheus of Sidon for a poetic description of this rule. Some people have brought me election charts that didn’t do very well, asking my advice on why it failed. Quite often, I will see that the ruler of the Moon occupies a poor position.
Once I saw a chart with the Moon in Taurus in the first house - an objectively good placement for the Moon. Venus (ruler of Taurus), however, was poorly placed in her detriment in Aries in the 12th house – an objectively bad placement. The course launch had a good start, but as it reached the end of the launch period very few people signed up, and as many of you know, the final days of a course launch are the most crucial.
Always follow this simple rule. If you do, I guarantee that your elections and the endeavors themselves will improve drastically.
4. ignoring the placement of the ascendant ruler
The ruler of the ascendant becomes a signifier for the whatever or whomever the chart represents - an oft forgotten facet of astrological technique. The ascendant ruler was called the kubernetes or the helmsman of the chart. Whichever planet fulfills the role of the helmsman very literally steers the life of the native just like a sailor at a steering wheel, and its placement will determine not just the character and flavor of something’s life but also its ultimate outcome.
On a natal level, the ruler of the ascendant represents the identity of the individual just as much as the Sun does, and sometimes people identify more with the placement of the ascendant ruler than their Sun. The same thing applies to electional astrology – the course launch itself, the business partnership itself, etc. will be represented by the placement of the ascendant ruler.
To find the ruler of the ascendant in the first chart, look to the rising sign, or the sign covering the first house cusp in a chart. Then look up who rules that sign. If Taurus is rising, Venus becomes the ascendant ruler, if Pisces, then Jupiter, and so on.
Strengthening the ascendant ruler becomes obvious once you know this fact about it. It naturally follows that you’d want the planet who represents the total endeavor to be as positive as possible. There’s a couple things you want to look out for: first, wait until the planet occupies some kind of rulership, even if its only a bound or triplicity ruler it will be better than nothing. Second, place it in a strong house, 1st and 10th are the strongest, 7th and 4th are close runners-up. Third, confirm that the ruler does not make any hard aspects (square or opposition) or is conjoined to Saturn or Mars.
If you follow these three rules for the ascendant ruler, then you are guaranteed to have a strong helmsman who will not only help your endeavor succeed but has the resources and power to do so.
5. Forgetting about their own natal chart
There must be congruence and harmony between the election chart you have crafted and your own natal chart. I saved the best for last: of all the essential electional rules, people neglect this rule the most.
This makes sense when we think in terms of astrological synastry: whatever you have elected for will become an entity with its own astrological life and personality. If the synastry and aspects between your chart and the chart of the thing for which you are doing the election are problematic and difficult, then this can bode trouble.
A course launch might make your life difficult for its duration through some difficult aspects. But think of how detrimental this can be for starting a business – if the business you start has Mars and Saturn squaring your natal Sun and Moon, then you will have to experience those square aspects in your life so long as your business operates. Sometimes people unconsciously sabotage their businesses simply because the synastry between their chart and the chart of their business brings too much discord. – like a person you can’t stand being around but you have to spend time with because, in this case, they are literally your livelihood.
I want to make your life easier and keep this from happening to you. Avoid squares and oppositions from the malefic plants Saturn and Mars to your natal planets, especially your Sun, Moon, and your own ascendant ruler. If you can, ensure that there are easy aspects between the Sun and Moon of your chart and the Sun and Moon in your elected chart. Moon-Moon trines and sextiles are especially helpful and will guarantee that working on the thing for which you have elected brings emotional fulfillment.
Finally, any planets which play an important role in your chart (the ascendant ruler and the rulers of the Sun and Moon) should also be emphasized in your election. Think of it like this: smart, mercurial people tend to get along with other smart, mercurial people, and conservative Saturnians tend to gravitate towards other Saturnians. The same thing goes for you and your endeavor – if you and your endeavor both exhibit strong Venusian traits, your business will fare better than it would by emphasizing Saturn.
If you do this successfully, then your entire attitude towards your business will be friendlier and warmer, and you will be more inclined to help your business and work on your business, as opposed to subconsciously sabotaging it. Moreover, your energy will naturally support the endeavor without you having to do anything!
In conclusion
A plethora of techniques exists for doing elections and I have only scratched the surface. But even these handful of techniques will skyrocket your elections if you haven’t been doing elections at all heretofore.
It takes practice and dedication. Eventually the practice becomes easier, and after observing the planets for awhile and seeing how they manifest in your lives you will get a more certain feel for how they reveal themselves. And if you have been doing elections for awhile and are in tune with the motions of the planets, you can even do them in your head. Some of my most successful elections I have gotten through a eureka moment by playing around with charts in my head.
Electional astrology provides some of the most immediate rewards of all astrology, and certainly one of the most immediately productive. Applying it will not only make you more successful, but also allow you to see for yourself just how much astrology can do for you.