What is Electional Astrology?

 The premise of the “doctrine of origin.”

 The quality and future of anything can be determined by looking at the alignment of
the planets at the moment it began.
 The potentiality of a system is embedded in the moment of its inception.
 Everything has a chart.
 Events and ventures can have birth charts, not only people
 Election simply means “choice.”
 Electional astrology involves proactively choosing a chart to begin something.
 If you can control the beginning then you can control the outcome.
 Distinction between inceptional and electional astrology.
 Original name for this branch was katarchic astrology, from the Greek katarchē.

History of Electional Astrology

 Probably originated in the Mesopotamian astrological tradition.

 Most cultures that develop astrology also develop something like electional
astrology.
 Earliest and most influential treatment in western tradition is book 5 of Dorotheus of
Sidon.
 Most later Hellenistic and Medieval treatments of elections based on Dorotheus
 Earlier fragments by Petosiris indicate earlier lost sources from 1st century BCE
 Horary astrology probably partially developed out of electional astrology eventually.

What Kinds of Things Can You Elect?

 In theory anything, but typically used for more important ventures

 Common uses: weddings, business incorporations, signing contracts, listing a house,
etc.
 Can use it for smaller things still important to you: sending important emails, etc.
 Famous instances of electional astrology:
o The founding of Baghdad in 762
o John Dee elected the coronation chart for Queen Elizabeth I.
o Ronald Reagan’s astrologer Joan Quigley elected many major presidential
events.


What Do You Do at the Electional Time?

 Typically the most symbolically significant initial act that begins whatever you are
starting.
 Establish what the most symbolically significant beginning of the event is.
o What is the most important moment?
o Are there multiple beginnings, or just one?
 Examples:
o Saying “I do” and being pronounced married at wedding (begins marriage)
 o Starting to write a book/article and saving draft.
o Opening doors for business for the first time.
o Leaving your house for a trip.
 Sometimes the thing that finalizes the beginning: sending a letter/email, saying “I
do”
 If it’s possible, we try to do both start and finalizing actions, if more than 1, in same
election.
 Focus on the moment of the most symbolic importance.
 Sometimes consider the conception versus birth issue from natal astrology.
o Ask yourself if this is a conception moment or a birth moment?

Philosophical Views on the Difference Electing Can Make

 May give you an edge, help something go more positively you were already going to
do.
 Can’t really produce anything that your birth chart doesn’t at least suggest already.
 Can’t fully change your fate, but it may help in some small ways.
 Sometimes it helps just knowing what the outcome will be when you initiate an
action.

General Approaches to Electional Astrology

 1) Making chart as positive as possible overall based on fundamental astrological

rules.
 2) Making chart look similar to the venture you are starting.
 We usually do #1, while also paying attention to general significator and house of
topic.
 Some ventures involve multiple houses, can be tough to make everything great at
once.
 Optimize the good things, and try to minimize the bad or challenging things.
 There are no perfect charts.
o Electional is the art of learning how to prioritize what is most important.

First Steps: Defining Your Time Frame

 Clearly define the available time frame:

o e.g. June 1 – August 15, 2014.
o Between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
 The more restrictions, the harder it is for you the astrologer. Fewer options.
 The fewer restrictions, the more work, because there are too many options.
 Only consider elections that fall within your available time frame.
 Anything outside of your available time frame does not matter. Ignore it.
 The challenge and skill of electional is learning how to make the best of what you
have.

The Ruler of the Ascendant

  Ruler of the Ascendant and Moon are two most important factors in any election
o In our approach these two must be well-placed.
 The Ascendant, 1st house, and ruler of 1st represent the one who initiates the
action.
o Primary planet that represents what was started at the inception of the
venture.
o That which emerges or is born at that moment.
 We use whole sign houses, and traditional rulerships.
 Ensure that the ruler of the Ascendant is well-placed in your electional chart.
o Dignified by sign (domicile, exaltation, or mutual reception, ideally).
o Angular or in a good house that aspects the Ascendant.
o Aspected by benefics (Venus and Jupiter).
o Free from hard aspects from malefics (Mars and Saturn).
 Applying aspects indicate the future, separating aspects the past.

The Moon

 The Moon is the second most important significator in any electional chart.
 It acts as a general significator for the election as a whole.
 Ensure that the Moon is well-placed in the chart.
 In a good sign and house.
 Ruler of the Moon also in a good house.
o Old rule that Moon indicates the beginning, but the ruler the outcome.
 Applying to benefics.
o Not applying to hard aspects with malefics.

Angular Houses

 Planets in angular houses are more prominent and active in your electional chart.
 Emphasize benefics by making them more angular
 Minimize malefics, by making them less angular.
 Angular here means by whole sign house primarily, and secondarily by quadrant
house.
o Whole signs for topics primarily, and quadrant houses for activity.
 Use sect to identify most positive and negative planets.
o Most positive planet by day: Jupiter, most negative: Mars
o Most positive planet by night: Venus, most negative: Saturn
 Really emphasize the most positive planet as much as possible.
o Be extra careful with and minimize/mitigate most neg planet as much as
possible.
 Angular planets are most prominent in chart. Indicate the present, that which
persists.
o Succedent houses next most prominent, indicate the future.
o Cadent houses least prominent, indicate the past.
 Mitigate planets that are poorly placed in cadent or bad houses.
o An aspect to the degree of an angle within 3 degrees, or to an angular planet.
General Planetary Significator of the Election

 If there is a planet generally associated with the topic, also make sure it is good.
o e.g. Venus for marriages, Mercury for communication.
 We tend to place more emphasis on the particular rather than general significators.
 Making general significators well-placed by sign can take much longer range
planning.

Comparison with Natal Chart

 The electional chart acts as a permanent transit to your natal chart.

 Make sure that these are good transits that you can live with.
 We recommend finding a few possible elections, then use the natal chart as a
tiebreaker.
 Use sect to identify natal transits to emphasize or avoid.
o Emphasize Jupiter and avoid close Mars transits for natal day charts.
o Emphasize Venus and avoid close Saturn transits for natal night charts.
 In the natal chart you focus on many of the same things as sensitive factors.
o The Ascendant, 1st house, and ruler of the Ascendant
o The Moon, especially by night, or the Sun by day.
o The other angular houses.
o The house that matches the topic of the election (e.g. 7th for marriage).
 Arguments exist about starting with the election or the natal chart first (discussed in
ep 2).
o No one really ignores natal chart.
o Just a matter of exactly how much weight given to natal transits vs. electional
chart.
o As people who do a lot of electional, we find it makes sense to start most of
time with the elections, and then incorporate the natal.
 This makes sense partially from a workflow standpoint because it is
difficult and time consuming to find good electional charts.
 In some instances this isn’t always the case, and there have been
times that we used zodiacal releasing to narrow down a time span.
 In most instances you are not working with a very broad or ideal time
frame where you can do a lot to control things like outer planet
transits.
 This is why it often makes more sense to focus on the electional chart
first.