It’s here: Election Day. Final day of voting. But let’s not be surprised if it’s not all over yet. Have heart, even if we don’t get results tonight. We’re not at the end — but it is in sight.
Today, the Mercury retrograde ends. The day that Mercury completes its retrograde is a very potent time. When Mercury, who has been walking backward in the sky, changes direction to move forward, it first comes to a standstill — unmoving in the sky. Astrologers call this day the “Mercury station.”
The moment of the Mercury station is a portal. It is a portal to clarity.
Mythologically, Mercury is the messenger who receives information and disseminates it. During Mercury’s retrograde, it goes to the Underworld for a visit, and those of us in the material world temporarily lose access to clear communication (that’s why astrologers suggest going internal rather than external during a retrograde). When Mercury leave its retrograde, it comes out of the Underworld and brings messages from below with it. That which was buried becomes visible again. We may or may not like the information, but at least it will come to light.
It is my tried and true experience that Mercury the Messenger receives our prayers. We can send a prayer to the planet of information and ask for clarity. I know I am sending up prayers that the passageway to truth be cleared, so that truth may travel far and wide. And because Mercury is in a liminal state today, my prayer is also a commitment: I commit to helping Mercury do its job by speaking up and being 100% truthful in my communication, so that there is a little more honesty in the world.
Astrologers and analysts have all predicted we won’t get a result today. Me, too.
After all, this Election Day features a Mercury station. This has only happened one other time in over 150 years of presidential elections: in the year 2000. The Year of Gore, Bush, and the Hanging Chads.
This year, just like in 2000, things are not what they seem. Information that starts out one way is likely to change direction before the day is over.
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On Tuesday, November 7, 2000, Democrat Al Gore was on the ticket against Republican George W. Bush. By 8pm that night, enough exit polls had been conducted that major media outlets announced Gore the president-elect. But just a few hours later, the news reversed directions and declared Bush the winner — tentatively. Al Gore called George W. Bush to concede, but another few hours later, Gore called Bush again and took it back.
He said it was too close to call. Indeed, the votes were so close in Florida that it trigged an automatic recount.
A lengthy series of legal battles ensued, with Democrats suing Republicans, Republicans appealing, and on and on, going to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Finally, 5 weeks after Election Day, the Supreme Court made a ruling that ended the recount. The Supreme Court ruled that Florida’s recount was unconstitutional, and that starting a new recount process would take too long — and this effectively ended the recount and left Bush the ballot winner. Gore had won the popular vote, but Bush had won the Presidency.
No wonder in 2020, Trump and Republicans made sure to fill the Supreme Court seat before Election Day. It would not surprise me if the 2020 election also called upon the Supreme Court. It would not surprise me if the results change direction partway through the tally process. It would not surprise me if the person who wins the popular vote does not win the office.
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But November 2020 is not a story about the President. It is not about one septuagenarian white man or another septuagenarian white man. It is actually about us, and the story we are writing right now.
2020 has been a year of cardinal energy, of disintegration and restructuring. The cardinal signs in astrology are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Gemini.
All year, the cardinal signs have been activated by Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, Mars in Aries, and the faster planets traveling through the rest of the Cardinal signs, exacerbating the planets already in Capricorn and Aries. For full details, refer to the Astrology of 2020 article. We are now at the END of this energy signature. it is the last leg of the race. And like most races, the final push is the toughest.
Cardinal signs are about initiative and initiation. Initiative refers to beginnings, and initiations are the challenging rites of passage we go through to enter a new stage of life. All new beginnings test our strength. 2020 may seem like a year of disintegration and endings, but it is also about beginnings. That is the mystery of the death and rebirth cycle.
What do we want to remember about 2020, 100 years from now? This year is the beginning of something. What do we want it to be the origin story of? We are at the END of this cardinal energy which started in January. By late-November, the winds are about to blow in a different direction.
Today, we are challenged to be storytellers, to tell an origin story we can pass down to future generations. What do we want to be able to tell future generations about this time? About what was birthed now? What do we want 2020 to be the origin story of?
It will not be the origin story of our democracy. That is the thing that is ending. What is the thing that is emerging?
I believe it is a new structure — new structures of care. Collective care pods. Mutual aid. Committing to our chosen families. How do we actively grow our focus on that, so that it’s even bigger than our focus on the election?
Luckily we’ve had a lot of practice all year. Keep doing it. Lean into relationships, reach for the people you trust, celebrate the ones you love and offer them everything you have.
We are on the cusp of a major change in energy. This year may seem terminable, but it’s about to come to an end. More importantly, the astrological signatures that have governed 2020 so far are coming to an end. By late-November, a new set of astrological patterns will blow in.
This election is not the bigger story. The election is the concluding chapter of an old story. The new story is on its way. We are writing it.
From empty space comes new life. Everything that exists in the world — from the Sun, to the Earth, to our bodies, and the plants that sustain us — all of it emerged from the womb of emptiness. We are in an emptying process that allows for a re-invention that would not have been possible otherwise.
Much bigger, more revolutionary, and amazingly innovative changes are already on their way. Just remember that.