People who believe in astrology look for something other than charts, polls or news sources to prepare for the outcome of the election.
Chicago prepares for high-profile visitors and protesters ahead of the DNC
The area around the United Center is being cleaned while inside the stage is being set up and chairs are being lined up on the floor.
- According to the Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice released in February, a majority of Americans find comfort and relief in astrology.
- Some voters hope that astrology can predict the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
CHICAGO – As a child, Rebecca Rivera sneaked into her grandmother’s house with the weekly edition of TVNotas – a Mexican magazine – in her hand. She didn’t care about the latest gossip from the telenovela. Desperately, she turned to the back of the book to see her horoscope.
Rivera delved deeper into astrology in the hopes of better understanding who she was as a person as she grew up.
It was only in May of this year that the 24-year-old began thinking about how the stars and planets might influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. But one day, while scrolling through TikTok, sometime after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York hush money trial, she stumbled upon an astrologer reading the horoscopes of the presidential candidates.
“Studying astrology gives me hope about the possible outcome of the election,” said Rivera, who was born under the sign of Leo, which corresponds to the month and date of a person’s birth.
Rivera is among a growing number of millennials and Gen Z voters who have found faith in astrology. After the divisive 2016 presidential election, an isolating COVID-19 pandemic and now another tense presidential cycle, more young voters are looking to the real world for “hope” as the November general election approaches.
A Pew Research study released last year found that a majority (70%) of adults in the United States identify as “spiritual” in some way – a trend that has seen American adults identify less as religious. About a quarter (26%) of U.S. adults also believe that objects such as crystals, jewels or stones can contain spirits or spiritual energy.
Even though voters do not use astrology to decide whether to vote, many leading astrologers and some voters said they hoped it would help them better assess the outcome.
Renée Watt, a 36-year-old astrologer from Portland, Oregon, said that during a tense presidential election, people who believe in astrology are “looking for something other than charts, polls or news media to prepare or gain hope for what’s coming.”
This year’s election was marked by unprecedented challenges. Trump survived an assassination attempt after a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race last month after a shaky performance against Trump at a presidential debate in late June. A Gemini Sun, Leo Ascendant and Sagittarius Moon. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose Sun is in Libra, Gemini Ascendant and Moon is in Aries, catapulted to the top of the list of candidates. And on top of that, divisions have deepened across the country.
“It’s this kind of encounter between spirituality and the desire to feel safe in one’s country,” Watt said.
The Presidential Astrologer
This is not the first time that astrology and politics have been linked.
“Astrology and predicting election results have always been part of our society,” Watt said, adding that other political leaders “would also turn to their astrologers for information on how to avoid famine or strategize in war.”
“Astrologists have always been active in politics at some level,” Watt said.
Astrology, which has been around since the first dynasty of Mesopotamia and became a practice in the 18th century, has experienced waves of popularity in the United States. Horoscopes were first published in newspapers in the 1930s. But birth charts – or simply knowledge of the “Big Three” – have become established as an important part of the American vocabulary. It has become a common question when meeting new people: What’s your name, where do you live, and what’s your zodiac sign? (For anyone wondering, this reporter is Taurus, Gemini, rising, and Virgo.)
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan had his own astrologer, Joan Quigley – or at least his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, began consulting Quigley after the assassination attempt on the Republican president.
Lisa Stardust, a leading New York City-based astrologer, said the Reagans used Quigley to help chart his events, such as when Ronald Reagan discussed the Iran-Contra affair.
“He did it on purpose during the empty moon so he wouldn’t have too many relapses,” Stardust said.
In her own book, What Does Joan Say?, Quigley describes her relationship with the Reagans during their time in the White House, from the timing of Reagan’s speeches and public appearances to the overhaul of Nancy Reagan’s image.
“Not since the time of the Roman emperors, and never before in the history of the U.S. presidency, has an astrologer played such a prominent role in the nation’s affairs,” Quigley wrote in her book.
But today, the role of astrology in politics is primarily to help voters understand and deal with current events.
According to the Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice released in February, a majority of Americans find comfort and relief in astrology. And almost all (95%) Americans know at least their zodiac sign, according to the survey.
And while more than half (58%) of millennials turn to astrology primarily for entertainment purposes, when broken down by age, 31% of millennials said they turn to astrology to find meaning and 28% said they seek guidance, according to the Harris Poll, a company that has been studying the behavior and motivations of adult Americans since 1963.
“This election is a very powerful moment,” said Sarah Potter, an astrologer in New York. “People are curious and thirsty for knowledge, and so we will look for it everywhere we can.”
Trump or Harris? What their signs say
But voters aren’t just looking for comfort and guidance about what might happen in the election. Some are hoping that astrology can predict the outcome.
“People are generally more concerned about the outcome of this election because we see two very different paths ahead,” said Catherine Urban, a professional astrologer in Cleveland, Ohio. “And if astrology is any good, we should be able to tell what’s coming next.”
Urban was among several astrologers who said they had predicted Harris’ rise in politics in recent years. After she clinched the vice presidency, Urban said she began looking at Harris’s chart because the moment was so significant: First female vice president and first woman of color to hold the office.
“I could tell years ago that her political career would continue to grow,” Urban said. “But you know, once you’re vice president, what do you do next?”
And while Harris is surrounded by a lucky energy this year, so is her political opponent Trump, according to astrologer Stardust. Both Harris and Trump have Gemini in their charts, meaning “both are surrounded by lucky energy this year.”
Another important event this year: The United States is currently experiencing a Pluto return. Humans never experience this because it lasts more than 200 years. But it is another element that astrologers say will influence the presidential election because it indicates a time of death and rebirth.
Urban said the return of Pluto also signifies a “complete collapse of the system.” Trump, whose 2016 election victory shocked many in Washington DC, is “a huge symbol” of the beginning of this period the United States is currently experiencing.
“I’m still trying to formulate my prediction for the period after this election. It looks a little bit chaotic,” Urban said. She added that Harris’s sun and moon in her birth chart are at the same degrees as the United States’ Pluto, meaning Harris could “play a role in ushering in” this new era.
But for some voters, what the stars or planets say doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the candidate.
Rivera, who lives in Washington DC, wasn’t planning on voting this year. Neither Biden nor Trump deserved her vote, she said. But now that Harris is at the top of the ballot, she can’t wait to cast her vote.
“She seems ready to take the lead and is willing to have uncomfortable conversations,” she said, adding that she wants to see the United States able to have a female president.
That may not be written in the stars. But for Rivera, it is enough.
