Electional astrology is the practice of finding the most constructive time to begin a venture or engage in an activity. Basically, it’s the astrological equivalent of checking the weather forecast to determine the best time to have a picnic. However, instead of quickly consulting the handy extended forecast, you’re the meteorologist. (For more information on electional astrology, see my other article.) You can use electional astrology to time events like a marriage, announcement, or website launch.
Launching a website has been on my to-do list for this year. While learning electional astrology in a Kepler College course, I used a final project to elect a website launch date and time. Now, perhaps it’s not in my, or your, best interest to present my very first election before its success is determined…but oh well. If this whole website thing ends up going badly, this can serve as a cautionary tale in electional astrology.
The Electional Astrology Search
Choose Your Fighter
After establishing the time window & limiting factors for an electional search, it helps to determine the most relevant planetary significator. Mercury seemed the obvious choice in electional astrology for a website launch—Mercury governs writing & sharing information, as well as astrology & services. So, to fortify these significations, an ideal election would feature a strong, unafflicted, definitely-not-retrograde Mercury. (I’ve seen the fallout of Mercury retrograde web launches, and it’s not pretty.) Considering houses, the 9th house of the electional chart & its ruler also have relevance, due to the house’s associations with astrology & long-range communication.
Choose Your Battles
A perfect election is impossible—there will always be something that isn’t ideal and, often, at least one unavoidable snag in the chart. You have to choose your battles. Mine are the conditions of the Moon, Moon’s ruler, ascendant-lord, & chosen planetary significator. Because these take priority, it helps when the same planet serves multiple of these roles (e.g., the Moon in domicile, the chosen significator ruling the ascendant, etc.) That way, fewer key planets require priority in the electional chart, and a well-dignified planet can take on extra responsibility to ensure a fortunate election.
To find a suitable election, I first identified periods within my search window of Mercury’s major dignity & direct motion. This narrowed my options to windows of time in early July, August, or early October. I further whittled down these periods to keep the other planets as dignified or free from debility as possible and the Moon waxing. This left me with three short windows of just a few days each. Now, at this point the search process becomes more granular, and I feel grateful to have a chart animation tool & significant natal Virgo placements. From here, it came to omitting ascendant signs with averse rulers, as well as those that put Mercury, the Moon, or the Moon’s ruler in unfortunate houses, while seeking precise times that emphasized favorable planets & diminished malefics. Once some times rose to the top, I checked their interactions with my own natal chart as a final decision-maker.
The Elected Website Launch Chart
This site went live this morning, at 4:37am MDT on July 4, 2022 in Longmont, Colorado. Mercury has dignity by domicile & triplicity in Gemini, emphasized by rulership over & conjunction with the ascendant. I definitely achieved the goal to find a strong Mercury election! Because the ascendant-lord should be as strong as possible to ensure a constructive election, Mercury’s rulership bodes well.
Highlights of the Electional Chart
Fortuitously, the chart’s ascendant sits conjunct my secondary progressed midheaven, linking the election with my current ambitions. This is also conjunct one of the most benefic fixed stars, Betelgeuse, which has the nature of Mercury & Mars. This constructive Mercury-Mars energy rising echoes Mercury’s applying sextile with domicile Mars, conjunct Fortune, in the 11th house of good fortune & community support.
Mercury not only rules the ascendant, but also rules the Moon—another fortunate feature of this chart. Dorotheus advises that the Moon’s condition indicates the success of the endeavor’s beginning, while its ruler’s condition indicates the success of the outcome. The Moon has decent condition. It’s waxing, not applying to problematic aspects, averse traditional malefics, with triplicity in an earth sign & angularity. Off to a good enough start, and Mercury’s well-dignified condition suggests even more positive outcomes.
No Electional Chart is Perfect
Given the 9th house’s significations, I had hoped for this house of the chart to have particularly good condition. Honestly, I don’t love the malefic contrary to sect, Saturn, retrograde here. This could suggest obstacles & setbacks in the matters of the house. Fortunately though, Saturn has domicile & triplicity in Aquarius and will hopefully embody more constructive traits here. Saturn also has bound rulership over the ascendant. This gives Saturn a level of responsibility over the direction of the election. It suggests that the Mercurial energy at the ascendant will be implemented in a Saturnian manner, in a 9th house context.
Another imperfection of this chart? Jupiter’s aversion to the midheaven. Ultimately, I had to decide between a slightly earlier Venus-rising chart with Saturn angular at the midheaven, or this Mercury-rising chart. I opted for an averse midheaven-ruler over an angular malefic. Saturn already bears plenty of personal influence here via conjunction with my natal 6th house north node and squares with my MC/IC axis & annual profected time-lord, Venus. Likely best not to make all of that angular in the election.
Jupiter’s aversion to the midheaven isn’t that unfortunate, actually—our other benefic can step in. Venus exerts exaltation & bound rulership at the midheaven, and also has triplicity here—Venus arguably has more authority here than Jupiter. Venus regards the midheaven from the 1st house, where the planet enjoys dignity by bound. The midheaven isn’t a lost cause, and also sits very close to two fixed stars—Deneb Adige & Fomalhaut. Both stars have the nature of Venus & Mercury, further emphasizing the energy of the election’s 1st house planets.
Successful election? Only time will tell…