Congress in the Cosmos
The Astrology of the Speaker of the House Election
The 119th United States Congress is set to be sworn in for a new 2-year term on January 3, 2025. They will immediately have several important tasks to complete, including electing a Speaker of the House and being asked to certify the 2024 election results (we all know how that went in 2021). What does the cosmos have to say about this new class of legislators? Let’s find out!
First, a wee bit of history. The United States has a bicameral legislative branch, as set forth in Article I of our Constitution. That means there are two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, with each of the 50 states having two senators.
The House, however, is based on population, as determined by the United States census. Those representatives are currently allocated in accordance with the Uniform Congressional Act of 1967, which stated that all congressional districts must have a single representative (as opposed to more than one).
The total number of representatives in the House is capped at 435 by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929, and there are 5 non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico also has a non-voting resident commissioner who serves a 4-year term.
Constitutional Controversy
Now, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention how the House of Representatives used to be allocated. Let’s rewind to our nation’s very early days. We have to remember that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was highly risky and largely held in secret. The Founders had just led a massive War of Independence, which was controversial in itself. They then had to establish a new national structure, which was done through our original founding document, the Articles of Confederation. Ratified in 1781, it established a strong state-centric government with a weak federal system, much like we see in the Eurozone today.
Now, a mere 6 years later, they were contemplating throwing the whole thing out and starting fresh with a strong federal system and weakened state sovereignty. There were many Anti-Federalists who feared this was a direct pathway back to the monarchy days they’d just waged war to free themselves from. It was not an easy task to get participants to come to consensus on what this new federal government should look like.
One of the many sticking points was how enslaved persons without voting rights would be counted towards the population that determined the number of representatives in the House. Naturally, states where slavery was legal wanted to count all people - even people who were viewed as property - for the purposes of having more representatives. Non-slavery states opposed this, and the result was the damned Three-Fifths Compromise, which stated:
“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other Persons.”
Thankfully, this malarky was eventually nullified by Section 2 of the post-Civil War Fourteenth Amendment (our favorite amendment!), but the scars of it remain today. Back to the Now Times!
119th Nonsense
The Republicans will have a majority in both the House and Senate that’s about as thin as my patience. In the Senate, there will be 45 Democrats, 2 Independents (Bernie Sanders - VT and Angus King - ME), and 53 Republicans. In the House, there will be 215 Democrats and 219 Republicans.
However, that could change! There are currently 2 special elections that have been called to fill vacant seats in the 119th Congress, both of which are for Republican Florida Representatives and will be held on April 1, 2025. Primaries will be held in late January, and although they are both in Republican strongholds, we “won’t know until we know”.
The first is for Florida's 1st Congressional District to replace Matt Gaetz, who resigned on November 13, 2024. This is the same day that he was nominated to be Attorney General by The Former Guy, and two days before a House Ethics Committee was set to release a report on his alleged misconduct. That report has since been released and… ew.
The second is for Florida's 6th Congressional District to replace Michael Waltz, who is expected to resign on January 20, 2025. Waltz has been selected to serve as a national security advisor in the next administration abomination, a position that does not require Senate approval (but possiprobably should).
Regardless of party lines, the House must choose a Speaker prior to starting their work session. Without a Speaker, there is no one to oversee the rules of the chamber and bring bills to the floor for debate and votes. No Speaker, no “People’s business” and that includes certifying the 2024 election results. That might be why a certain Mango Menace quickly went from disparaging Mike Johnson to saying he now supports his reelection as Speaker.
One final note, the Speaker of the House is almost always from the majority party, but they do not have to be. In fact, our Constitution doesn’t even specify that they need be a member of Congress! It only states the House of Representatives shall choose “their Speaker and other Officers.”
In theory, they could choose an unelected person to serve in this role, but there would likely be serious pushback given that the Speaker is second-in-line to the presidency after the Vice-President. Well, it would be a problem in Normal Times, but here we are in Idiocracy LIVE!, where the titles are made up and the laws don’t matter. Anyway…
NOTE: Just as we were putting the final edits on this post, it was announced that House Republicans want to include some very controversial rules for this upcoming session of Congress. A rules package is always proposed before the session begins to set the parameters for how business will be conducted, and it’s generally boring and procedural in nature.
Not this time! House Republicans have proposed a rules packages that:
Dissolves the congressional Diversity & Inclusion Office
Authorizes subpoenas of Merrick Garland and other DOJ officials (they’re bringing back the Biden investigations, folks)
Governs how AI can and will be incorporated into House operations and functions
This rules package also lays the groundwork for votes on ridiculous bills that will:
Sanction the International Criminal Court (yes, seriously)
Require proof of citizenship for federal elections voter registration (hello, voter suppression!)
Amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to pull funding for schools with trans athletes
Revoke federal funding for “sanctuary jurisdictions”
Prohibit a moratorium on hydraulic fracking
Demand physicians provide “proper degree of care” for a fetus that survives an abortion (which they are already required to do???)
And a bunch of immigration/”deportable offense” bills
I hate it here.
One part stood out regarding the spending bills (Section 3(b)(4) Separate Orders):
“A general appropriation bill may not be considered in the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union unless it includes a spending reduction account as the last section of the bill.”
They are setting up the coming March budget battle to trigger a shutdown unless the proposed bills specifically cut spending, which may not be possible if it is necessary to the function of government.
However, the biggest issue involves what’s called “a motion to vacate” that determines who, when, and how a member of Congress may call for the Speaker to be removed. We saw this play out several times with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (eventually successful) and Speaker Mike Johnson (unsuccessful).
In the previous session of Congress, any single member of any party could call for a motion to vacate. Prior to that, the motion had to be introduced by either the House Democratic Caucus or the House Republican Conference, but it could still come from either party.
Now, House Republicans have proposed that only a Republican member of the House may introduce the motion to vacate, and it must be co-sponsored by an additional 8 House members who must also be members of the Republican party. In short, if passed, this gives ultimate power of the gavel to the GOP and excludes Democratic House members from any real means of removing the Speaker, and thus dramatically weakens their power in this session. It’s also a move straight out of the fascism playbook.
As we will see in the coming astrology, nothing is guaranteed, and we expect this to be a very bold and abrasive session. You can read the entire 36-page proposition here (or line your birdcage with it. Whatever.)
World Point Woes
The first chart we will look at is for the Speaker of the House election, which will be the first order of business for the 119th Congress. We’re also going to consider this to be the “birth chart” for this class of legislators but will amend that if new information is presented.
The first thing that jumps out is that Chiron-ASC conjunction at 19° Aries. YEESH! That type of conjunction would stand out no matter what, but the United States as a country also has a natal Chiron at 20° Aries. Yup, we’re going through our Chiron return (it all makes SO much sense) and this legislature is sitting directly on those wounds.
In a perfect world, we could see that bold Aries initiative expressed as a group of leaders who have great power to address some deeply painful issues that have existed from our nation’s founding until today. With this group, though? Don’t put your money on it. Instead, this feels like they will press directly on those wounds, repeatedly ripping them open at every given chance. The hotheads may have the floor for the majority of time. Fanfreakingtastic.
There’s one other thing about this transiting Chiron-conjunct-ASC conjunct natal Chiron mega mess: it’s on a world point! World points are indicative of a significant event, especially in mundane astrology. The actual world point is at 22° Aries, so this only has a 2° to 3° orb. Whatever happens with this legislature over the next 2 years affects not just the United States, but the whole world, and it’s going to dig up a LOT of old wounds.
Leading from the Shadows
The second thing that stands out is the 13° Sun-10° MC Capricorn conjunction in the 10th House. (I know, I know - that 12th House is… a lot. I see it and we’ll get to it.) The Sun is the “Leader”, which in this case is the Speaker. Capricorn is the CEO of the zodiac and natural sign of government, so this could be a great indication that we will have strong government-centric leadership in this Congress. Wouldn’t that be a nice change!
However, in mundane astrology, the 10th House is the house of the Executive branch, whereas the 11th is the House of the Legislative branch. There has been speculation that current-Speaker Mike Johnson would not be voted back in, or that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would be given the gavel in a surprise twist. I don’t see that happening, and we’re not going to try to make wild predictions, but rather interpret the energy presented in this chart.
Here’s what I’m getting: the 3 co-equal branches of the government are supposed to work collaboratively with, yet still remain independent of, one another. As we’ve clearly seen since the 2016 election, that no longer is the case. What this placement says to me is, “The real leader of the Legislative branch is the person who is leading the Executive branch, and the Speaker only serves so long as they retain stay in that person’s good graces.” There have been justifiably concerning discussions about just who will make the decisions at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue come January 20, 2025.
Will it be the twice-impeached, 91-times-indicted, 34-times-convicted, insurrectionist felon who was on the November ballot? Or will it be the South African apartheid superfan who buys up tech companies and then breaks them? Or perhaps one of the other broligarch Project 2025 puppeteers who is staying out of the spotlight, but still pulling all the strings from behind closed doors? The fact that we’re asking these questions is deeply troubling.
Add to this the fact that our 1° Pluto in Aquarius is also in the 10th House, and we know there is something deeply transformational about this “leadership”. That doesn’t mean good or bad, just… transformational. However, Pluto is opposite critical degree 0° 59’ Mars Rx in Leo in the 4th House of land, everyday citizens, political opposition, and the homeland. Mars is also a planet that can represent the political opposition, and democrats will have to play that role, fighting for the American people and the very fabric of our nation. This Mars also rules our Aries ASC! Will they be able to lead the charge for democracy?
Retrograde Redux & Quincunx Chaos
A few other notes about this particular transit: our Constitution and government, which also means Congress, have a different natal chart than the United States as a country. That is because as we explained earlier, the government and founding document we have now is not the one with which we started. In the government’s natal chart, Uranus, the planet of political friction and rebellion of the oppressed, sits at 1° Leo in the 8th House.
This transiting Mars is now conjunct that placement, and since Mars is retrograde, we’ve been through this before! Remember that retrogrades cover the same territory three times, and the first time we had a Mars-Pluto conjunction was on November 3, 2024, when they met at 29° of Cancer and Capricorn, respectively. Mars was then at 0° 26’ Leo when the polls opened on Election Day. Yup!
We’re going to revisit this conjunction yet again around April 19 to 22, and Mars will be in exact opposition to Pluto on April 26, 2025. Mark this time frame on your calendar! We don’t yet know what it means, but it likely means something important.
Venus and the Moon are also conjunct at critical degree 0° Pisces in the 11th House of the legislatures. Venus is the peacemaker, and she rules women and money. The Moon often represents the public and their feelings. Venus is exalted in Pisces, so perhaps this is truly an opportunity for diplomacy to lead the way, especially regarding the treatment of women.
Again, we have no idea how this will play out in real time, but this could be a powerful healing conjunction. However, emo Pisces could also have everyone in their feels, especially about these same issues. We’ll see if logic and cooler heads can balance this out.
We also have not one, not two, but 5 quincunx aspects! They are:
Venus in Pisces quincunx Mars Rx in Leo (0° orb)
Mercury in Sagittarius quincunx Uranus in Taurus (0° orb)
Moon in Pisces quincunx Mars Rx in Leo (0° orb)
Sun in Capricorn quincunx Jupiter Rx in Gemini (1° orb)
Jupiter Rx in Gemini quincunx Capricorn MC (2° orb)
Quincunxes are 150° aspects that are frictional. They have neither the ease of a trine (120°), nor the direct challenge of an opposition (180°). I always think of them as trying to walk back to the shore at the beach as the tide continually sweeps the sand away. It’s hard to get your footing with them.
Quincunxes are also integral to Yods, and you know how excited we get about Yods around here! If this chart is truly the natal chart for the 119th Congress, then it will be active for the next two years. That leaves plenty of opportunities for transiting planets to create one or more Yods during that time. Yikes!
12th House Turmoil
Finally, let’s address that fustercluck of a 12th House. The 12th House is the “house of imprisonment”, governing hospitals, mental institutions, prisons, and hidden enemies. It can also signify how an event will conclude. This chart has Saturn (14° Pisces), Neptune (27° Pisces), and the North Node (1° Aries - Rx) all in the 12th House, and technically Chiron is just barely in there by a few minutes. What could that mean?
Well, Saturn is the planet of structure, boundaries, and restriction. It rules Capricorn and co-rules Aquarius, so our 10th House placements (Pluto, Sun, and MC) are very influenced by this planet. In mundane astrology, Saturn can represent public servants, such as state and local officials, but it can also signal epidemics, calamities, and national tragedies.
Saturn can also signify a restriction in our resources, and since it is square 12° Gemini Jupiter in the 2nd House of the economy, that immediately brings to mind the impending budget battle. A Continuing Resolution (CR) was just narrowly passed to avert a government shutdown, but it will only last until March 14, 2025. Congress will need to approve a new spending bill by that time.
How money is spent will be a constant challenge of this Congress, even if the restrictions are to our own national detriment or the harm of the people. With these DOGE dipshidiots talking about cutting Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration, the Food & Drug Administration - not to manage having Bobby Brainworm head the Department of Health and Human Services - many people will suffer or die from these funding cuts.
The U.S. government also has a natal Saturn at 13° Pisces conjunct a natal Sun at 14° Pisces, which means that - DING! DING! DING! - our government is also going through its Saturn return AND transiting Saturn is directly conjunct its natal Sun. OUCH! These placements are in the natal 4th House, which may be why we feel like our very framework and leadership is dissolving before our eyes. From an astrological standpoint, it is!
Let’s face it - Saturn in Pisces is an awful placement for a government to have, but it’s the one we’ve got. The return was exact in late March/early April of 2024, then through most of October 2024, and finally through most of December 2024. We dealt with possible government shutdowns due to lapsed funding bills during all of these periods. Did Congress learn its lesson? We’ll see.
As for Neptune, well… ugh. This is always our problem child. It can represent healthcare and social safety nets, and wouldn’t we all like to see some serious healthcare reform with access for everyone? You bet! But that’s not the vibes this throws off.
Why, you ask? Because at 27° Pisces, this delulu Neptune is trine warmonger Mars Rx in Leo (4H) and sextile “change or die” Pluto in Aquarius (10H). It’s also square Mercury at 23° Sagittarius in the 9th House of the judiciary and religion. Look, we love us some Sag truth smack-talk, but Sag can also jump on the fanaticism bandwagon, and that’s amplified here in the 9th House. This feels very “more bullshit rulings from the SCOTUS bench” that Frankenstein Church and State into one gnarly theocratic monster. Remember that with Saturn in Pisces, the boundary between the two is more easily dissolved!
That’s because Neptune can represent the spirituality of a nation, but in an unhealthy way. Neptune is the planet of illusions, delusions, escapism, and addiction, and some folks are blindly committed to their particular brand of extreme theology, yearning for the good ol’ days of Inquisitions and Crusades. They believe we should all follow their faith, and they won’t take no for an answer. Christian nationalism anyone? It’s giving Gilead vibes with -10,000 aura points.
However, the Aries North Node is also here, indicating this is the work that must be done; the lesson that must be learned. We may need to walk through the fire to see just how hot the flames burn. Too many have either never known, or have forgotten, the bloody fight waged by generations to secure our very new and fragile civil rights. Those born into them have the responsibility to protect these rights for the generations to come but have instead taken their existence for granted. They feel entitled to what is and more, focusing only on where inequities remain and failing to see their role in the firewall against the rescission of those protections. You cannot continue to build upon a neglected foundation lest it all fall down.
WHEW! Thanks for reading Politics & Pentacles. We’d love to know what you see if this chart or learned from this post. We’re going to break down the January 6 Election Certification chart in our next post, so make sure you subscribe to get the latest insights!