WTF is Electional Astrology (and how tf do you use it)?! Electional astrology (aka event astrology) is when an astrologer strives to find (or does find) the most auspicious date, time, and location for some event to take place. This practice has been around in some form since Babylonian times (16 BCE)…and still being used in practice today. Even though I have a good number of clients that have me cast electional charts for different life events, I have actually never written about THIS type of astrology, either (kind of like how I had never written about horary astrology until recently). Not only that, but the crime/forensic astrology charts that I’ve done (both by myself and with Brandy) are event charts (just not the “elected by the querent” kind). Same idea remains though – reading the chart of the “event” in question as a stand-alone chart.
**If you would like for me to help you elect a date for an important event in your life, I would love to help you with that! You can purchase a reading from me here (by clicking the text), or if you would like to get in contact with me by email first, you can email me at ellie@saturnseason.com. If you are more of a watcher than a reader, here is the video that I did on this subject.
Something to keep in mind when using electional astrology to cast charts – THERE IS NO PERFECT CHART! This just simply doesn’t exist. While you might strive to find the “perfect” chart for some major event in your life, more than like you will need to settle for “good enough.” Sorry, that’s my Capricorn Moon and Saturn rising ass being realistic hahaha.
In order to play around with electional astrology, you do need to have a decent handle on the planets, houses, signs, and aspects in an astrology chart. Meaning this might not be the kind of astrology fuck with in a serious way if you don’t have a decent handle on such things. To help you with getting a handle on what the astrology chart says, keep this in mind:
*Planets are WHAT energy is wanting/needing/”should” be expressed
*Houses are WHERE/AREAS OF LIFE that energy is expressed through
*Signs are HOW energy is expressed
*Aspects tie the whole thang together
**If you would like to learn more about how to read an astrology chart, the Star Cards are a fabulous astrological tool to help a person learn this astro-language!
Some “Guidelines” for Electing Charts using Electional Astrology
- The Moon
⭐️ For most things that you would want to elect a chart for in life, you want those things to go to “plan.” When the Moon is voc, it is less likely that things will go to plan (they can more easily “go off course”). There can also be a sort of “failure to launch” aspect with the Moon voc which tends not to be great for (big) life events. For instance, let’s say you wanted to start a business. If the Moon were voc at the time the business was started (when doors opened for business, when the business was incorporated, etc.), that could make it harder for the business to really “take off.” To check and see when the Moon is voc, here is a void of course Moon calculator from astro-seek.
-There are times that it might benefit you to have the Moon voc (though they would be few and far between). If you have a feeling that you KNOW how some event will play out and you DON’T want it to play out that way, having said event take place under a voc Moon could be helpful. For instance, let’s say you have some civil court thing going on which you get to choose the time and date that it happens. Let’s also say that you have a feeling HOW this court thing will turn out and you don’t like the feeling you have about it. Setting the time and date (location would be wherever the courthouse is) for when the Moon is voc might actually benefit you in this scenario.
⭐️Electing a chart where the Moon isn’t harshly aspected (especially the square aspects) is a good thing to shoot for. Applying aspects between the Moon and other planets matter the most (once the Moon is separating from a planet, angle, etc., the less the square matters).
⭐️If you can get the Moon in the house (area of life) for which you are electing the chart, all the better. For instance, if you are electing a chart for the start of a business getting the Moon in the 10th House might be a good idea. If you are electing a chart for a marriage, getting the Moon in the 7th House (or even the 8th House) would be ideal. - Mars, Saturn, Uranus & Pluto
⭐️Under A LOT of contexts (though not all of them), you want to keep Mars and Uranus off of the major angles and out of the angular houses. Uranus can be disruptive (which isn’t usually ideal for major life events), and Mars can just poke & aggravate things (again, also not ideal for major life events).
–For those unfamiliar, angular houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th Houses in the chart.
⭐️Oftentimes it’s not great to find Saturn in an angular house (or conjunct one of the angles), either. I say “oftentimes” because this isn’t always the case. If the event that you’re casting the chart for requires a lot of solidity, structure, or any other sort of Saturnian expression (or something under the domain of Saturn), Saturn in an angular house/conjunct one of the angles may not be a “bad” thing.
⭐️Pluto is kind of a hit or miss in electional charts. Because Pluto is so transformative, if you are casting a chart for some event that you want to go off in a “calm” manner, Pluto conjunct the angles/in angular houses WON’T USUALLY provide that “calm” (it’s far too tumultuous). However, if it’s an event that needs a boost of evolutionary energy, Pluto can be very helpful on an angle/in an angular house. - Retrograde Planets
⭐️While I’ll “ride at dawn” for retrograde planets in a natal chart and most other astrology charts, electional charts are where they can get dicey for me. It’s likely that there will be at least one planet retrograde in any event chart (it is what it is), but it’s generally good practice to pick a time for the event (whatever event it is) where the chart ruler/planetary ruler of the Ascendant is DIRECT. Having a retrograde chart ruler tends to just make things more difficult.
⭐️Not only is it a good idea to have the chart ruler direct, but it’s also a good idea to have the planetary ruler of the house that has domain over the event direct as well. For instance, if you are starting a business, having the planetary ruler of the 10th House direct would be advised.
⭐️A good “rule” of thumb is to have Venus direct when getting married, proposing to someone, starting a relationship, etc. This is very general (and there are always outlier situations where Venus Rx wouldn’t matter much), but should AT LEAST be kept in the back of your mind. Since Venus deals with aesthetics and beauty, it’s typically advised to not have cosmetic procedures done or do any major changes to your appearance when Venus is Rx. Another thing like this deals with Mercury and having it direct for any event that is communication related, signing any kind of papers & documents, and things of that nature.
Looking at event charts from a retrospective lens can be really enlightening. This can show you what you want to see and don’t want to see when casting electional charts. The chart below (and declination table) are the time, date, and place for when two people got married.
Above we have Uranus and Mars in the 7th and 10th Houses (respectively). Ideally, you don’t want EITHER of these planets in the angular houses (and the 7th & 10th Houses are angular houses). The 7th House is the “marriage” house (among other things)….which having the great disrupter in this house doesn’t seem like it would bode well for a legal marriage (in most cases). Mars in the 10th House is conjunct the ruler of the Sagittarius 4th House (home & family), poised to aggravate home and family affairs (?). Jupiter is ALSO the traditional ruler of the Pisces 7th House, which feels like Mars would ALSO aggravate the legal marriage in general. Mars stands out even more since it is out of bounds. Mars out of bounds can be incredibly driven (which can be fantastic), but it can also be a mean son of a bitch (and it’s not something I would want to see in a marriage chart, ideally). Pluto is in the 4th House, which does stand out. LOTS of evolution at home, with family, and in the private spheres of life…but that really depends on how the two people “work” that evolution in any case. Pluto can also express intensity, depth, secrets, and can be just generally tumultuous. If Pluto can’t function at its highest vibrational capacity, it’s probably best to keep it out of the angular houses and/or off the major angles. Saturn is just chillin’ in the 2nd House which doesn’t bother me on its own. Even though the Part of Fortune isn’t something typically looked at in these charts, the close conjunction between it and Saturn does catch my attention. Since the PoF can be things that “befall” us, having Saturn (a planet that *can* limit, restrict, isolate, etc.) conjunct it seems like it could cause different challenges to befall the marriage (either over the WHOLE marriage or just on the wedding day).
The Moon isn’t void of course in this chart, but it IS applying in a square with the MC/IC axis (which I’m not crazy about). The Moon in Virgo is also in the 12th House which I’m really not crazy about seeing in the chart of two people getting married. Look, I’m a 12th House Sun myself – I’ll go to bat for the 12th House. However, because it IS a house that is where “unconscious” stuff goes/is and is a house that deals with grief and loss, this just doesn’t seem like the place to have the Moon. This chart has a Virgo Ascendant with Mercury Rx in Cancer as the chart ruler.
**Speaking of the Moon, it’s parallel Uranus in this chart. This could make this marriage – both the day of the marriage and the marriage itself – more unpredictable than one might want a marriage (or their wedding day) to be.
There are a couple of other things in this chart that stand out even if they might not be considered by other people who cast electional charts. Chiron in Pisces conjunct the Descendant (from the 6th House) feels painful, like it could bring more pain than necessary to the marriage. Healing is *also* possible here (because Chiron DOES heal as well), but keeping Chiron off of the angles/out of the angular houses just seems like a good thing in this context. Another thing that is like a bright flashing sign is Venus in Leo square the nodal axis (and Venus being the ruler of the Taurus South Node). Venus wants to express “relationship” stuff (among other things), and having this square the nodal axis makes me think that there is SOME kind of “hang up” going on (either something that was going on when these two got married OR would be down the line in the marriage). Also, with the chart ruler Mercury Rx AND Venus as the ruler of the South Node, there is something about this chart that feels like it “goes back” too much; there just isn’t much “forward” motion, in my opinion.
——————-This marriage did not last; they ended up getting divorced———————-
Other Things to Consider with Electional Charts
- Intercepted signs
⭐️Intercepted signs in the houses are possible since I use the Regiomontanus house system for event charts/electional charts (unless a client specifies otherwise, which I’m happy to oblige). Honestly, I don’t usually care much if signs are intercepted in an electional chart. While that signs energy IS easier to access if it’s not intercepted, there is a planetary ruler for which that sign’s energy CAN and WILL be able to flow through. The only time that intercepted signs “bother” me is when ALL of the planetary rulers of the signs intercepted happen to ALSO be intercepted in those signs as well. The reason for that is if the planetary rulers of the signs intercepted are also in the intercepted signs it can make it more challenging to access BOTH the sign and planetary energy (things don’t flow quite as easily).
–For instance, let’s say you have Cancer intercepted in the 1st House and Capricorn intercepted in the 7thHouse (interceptions happen in pairs), and BOTH the Moon and Saturn are intercepted in Cancer. THIS would make it more challenging to access Cancer and Capricorn energy in the 1st and 7th House due to the planetary rulers of both being intercepted. - The Moon in detriment or fall
⭐️You know, there are times that I really don’t give a shit if the Moon is in detriment (Capricorn) or in fall (Scorpio) in electional charts. I know there are people who would disagree with this and that’s totally fine – we all do things our own way :). Luckily the Moon changes signs every couple of days so it’s usually easy enough to time some event for when the Moon isn’t in detriment or fall if this really bothers you (I have some clients that it does bother and I’m happy to respect that). This doesn’t automatically turn me off to a chart, though. If you are, say, starting a business (which is Capricorn territory), having the Moon in Capricorn *might* not be a bad place to find the Moon…especially if the Moon is making a bunch of really nice (applying) aspects to other things in the chart.
⭐️Kind of like with the retrograde planets, I would rather not see the Moon in detriment or fall if the Moon is the chart ruler (which would be the case if the Ascendant was Cancer). - Surgery
⭐️This needed its own section because it’s something that comes up often enough to mention. This part needs to be in all caps: IF YOU NEED SURGERY AND ITS LIFE OR DEATH (OR YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE IS GREATLY DIMISHED BY NOT HAVING SURGERY) PLEASE JUST GO GET SURGERY. Seriously. Don’t try to elect a good “time” for it – just go have the surgery. With saying that, if you are having electional surgergy/non-emergent surgery, etc., THIS is when you can elect a good time and date (setting the location for the hospital/city the hospital is in) for the surgery to take place.
⭐️Beyond the other things already mentioned about the Moon, it’s generally good practice to have surgery when the Moon is NOT in the sign that rules the part of the body having surgery. For instance, you might not want to have some kind of elective/non-emergent hip surgery when the Moon is in Sagittarius (since the hips fall under Sagittarius territory).
⭐️If you can avoid it, not electing to have surgery on a Full Moon is probably a good idea (or during either a lunar or solar eclipse). But….IF YOU NEED TO HAVE SURGERY AND IT’S DURING A FULL MOON (OR AN ECLIPSE), JUST GO HAVE SURGERY.
⭐️If you can avoid it, since Mars rules over sharp objects, knives and surgery, it’s probably best to NOT elect to have surgery under Mars Retrograde. Again though, IF YOU NEED TO HAVE SURGERY AND MARS IS RETROGRADE, JUST GO HAVE SURGERY.
I’m sure (like 1000000% sure) that I will have more to say about this topic (because there is so much more to say!). Stay tuned 🤣