By Amanda Painter

As the dust settles on Tuesday’s midterm elections in the U.S., I wish I could say the political landscape looked even more different — but I am grateful for the movement that was achieved. Voters came out in increased numbers on both sides, and women were voted into office to an unprecedented degree. There is no longer a one-party lock on all three branches of government.

A blue wave? Jupiter’s south pole, as seen by NASA’s Juno spacecraft from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometres). Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles

This opens the way for House Democrats to put things in motion, specifically subpoenas to investigate Trump’s taxes and his involvement with Russia in 2016. Of course, Trump is already saying he’ll be happy to work with House Dems — as long as they don’t go after those subpoenas; in which case he’ll “fight fire with fire.”

Even so, we now have the first two Native American women in the U.S. House (for context, more than 10,000 people have served in the House since the first Congress met in 1789). The first two Muslim women have been voted into the House. A Latina woman is the youngest representative ever elected to the House, and there are new African American women elected to this branch of government, with USA Today putting the total number of all women in the House at 118 as of midday Wednesday — breaking the previous record.

Colorado elected its first openly gay governor. And although Democrat Beto O’Rourke lost his Senate bid in historically red Texas to incumbent Ted Cruz, he did strikingly well in counties that border Mexico and have higher Latinx populations (as well in as the more diverse urban centers in the state).

There were also a couple of rather more curious outcomes. For example, in Virginia a writer of Bigfoot erotica was elected to the U.S. House (Denver Riggleman). And in Nevada, the owner of a brothel who has been dead for about three weeks, Dennis Hof, was voted into a state assembly seat. Both are Republicans. (As absurd as Hof’s win seems, it looks like a strategic vote that requires Nevada’s government to appoint another Republican in his district, rather than letting the Dem candidate win by default.)

But now that the election energy is winding down, we have to consider that certain wheels are still in motion; even though representation has shifted some, the overall climate is a direct continuation of what it was just a few days ago. And no matter what country you live in or what you look like, we’ll all be moving through our lives with the same astrology operating. The difference comes in how that astrology interacts with our personal psychology and life situations, with our personal natal charts, and with the specifics of our immediate social environment.

The first significant event to color the tone of all those things is Jupiter’s shift from Scorpio to Sagittarius, which occurs today at 7:39 am EST (12:38:22 UTC). Jupiter will stay in this sign for about a year.

My personal sense of Jupiter in Scorpio has been that it seemed to spotlight — much more than other recent signs it’s been in — the way Jupiter can magnify underlying problems just as much as it can expand and enhance benefits. That could be a totally subjective and inaccurate assessment, but I’d be curious to know if you’ve felt and observed the same.

Likewise, Jupiter in Sagittarius, which it rules, can go either way. Personal circumstances and social context are key determining factors.

On one level, the planet of expansion in a sign that loves freedom could feel like a big ol’ sigh of relief, and may come with a much-needed dose of optimism. As Jupiter moves into its square to Neptune in Pisces later in the year, idealism might grow further; and as I read once years ago, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

That said, as with all things in astrology, Jupiter in Sagittarius can express in a shadow form, too. Given the current cultural climate, this could very well manifest as further codification of the more self-righteous systems of social and religious thinking, with a strong desire to convert non-believers. (Notice if you find yourself leaning that way.)

I confess, I am particularly concerned about this potential given the polarity, extremism and even steps toward fascism that mark our current moment. Sagittarius sometimes comes through as the broad vision, but it can also appear as narrow focus on a goal. Combine that with dogma, and people start insisting others conform to specific beliefs.

To tap into the more ‘evolved’ vibrations of Jupiter in Sadge, it will be helpful to follow your curiosity: by continuing to question dogma; exploring metaphysical subjects; traveling to other cultures if you can (studying them from afar is great, too, if finances are limiting); getting involved in humanitarian causes. The more you develop your mind and spirit, the better you’ll be able to counterbalance things like superstition and rigid beliefs.

Astrologers Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker mention the tendency for someone with a natal Jupiter in Sagittarius to think deeply and individually within whatever philosophy they’ve chosen to guide their life. Also, there can be a vibrant propensity to seek understanding across a broad spectrum of cultures and ways of thinking, which may at times lead to prophetic insights. We could use more of those right now. Or is it that we need to recognize those already being proffered?

In an article Eric wrote yesterday, he offers brief summaries of some of the other astrological highlights of the next week or two (such as Venus stationing direct in Libra and Mercury stationing retrograde in Sagittarius, both Nov. 16; and Mars finally leaving Aquarius and entering Pisces the day before). So I’m going to let him cover those for you, and will touch briefly on a couple other factors in the air today.

Venus and Mars are in a trine aspect, exact tomorrow. This should make for a fairly social and affectionate Friday. Even if you need to be very direct with someone, it’s more likely to come across as charming rather than pushy. And when the Moon joins Jupiter in Sagittarius later today, you may find that physical activity, getting out and about someplace new, or just ‘winging it’ suits your mood — which could play very well, indeed, with the Venus-Mars energy.

To end with a note of optimism: according to astrologer Isabel Hickey, Jupiter in Sagittarius apparently boosts the executive power of women. May that power be wielded judiciously and with empathy, now that we have a new wave of women in many governing positions in the U.S.

As we go deeper into this most unusual and challenging phase of history, intelligence is the thing we need the most. That is the theme of the 2019-2020 annual edition of Planet Waves, now available for pre-order. See more information here.