Rooting in Elections

Electional astrology is one of the more interesting branches of the art. Here the astrologer seeks to find the best time within a range of times to begin some venture to ensure a certain outcome. However, many students will be disillusioned with elections when the results of their venture are either lackluster or bust. Traditional astrology offers methods to ensure more potent elections with a simple technique of rooting.

Rooting is somewhat controversial in classical astrology. The technique and philosophy itself is well-accepted, but there are some personal differences that are highlighted in the literature about when an astrologer ought or ought not to elect for an individual that is based off the ability to root for them. Rooting concerns connecting different astrological charts together in some meaningful way, this is accomplished by repeating symbolism in a root chart. When this is applied to elections the astrologer seeks to craft a powerful election chart by weaving placements from the natal chart into it.

This simple procedure takes general astrological placements and makes them personal to that individual, making it more meaningful and powerful for whatever they are trying to accomplish.

In contemporary practice there is no reason not to utilize rooting principles in elections, but in the past it was often more of a luxury as it was quite common for people to not know their birth information. This is where some of the contention towards the philosophy arises as many astrologers following in the footsteps of Sahl felt that rooting was a core principle of elections and they would not elect at all for those who did not have a natal chart. Others felt this was improper, and in the event that a person did not have a natal chart one could root to a mundane cycle to get a similar – albeit less personal and powerful – effect.

Rooting is as simple to execute as it is to understand. An astrologer simply lists powerful points in a natal chart like the degree of the Ascendant, the Moon, Sun, Lord of the First house, or any places that may be significant to the matter the election chart is for. The midheaven degree and Lord of the Tenth house may be considered in an election for applying for a promotion, for example. Then, these degrees are worked into similarly important places in the election chart itself.

If the election were about getting a new job, we may consider the degree of the midheaven and where its lord Mercury is placed as well.

These degrees will become the focal point in the election as we seek to weave them into that chart to help connect the election's beginning with the birth of the person who will undergo the event the election represents.

The above is a bi-wheel chart comparing the natal chart (the inner wheel) with a proposed election chart on the outside wheel. This assists in illustrating how two charts can reflect one another in meaningful ways.

Notice that the Midheaven degree of the outer wheel (the election) is conjunct the natal Ascendant and Jupiter. Similarly, the election's Ascendant degree is conjunct the natal Sun. The Moon in the electional chart trines the natal Moon position and Jupiter who is the ruler of the first house in both the election and the natal chart trines its natal position in the election.

Rooting is still an option for individuals who do not have a birth chart and the focus is still the same. However, what the astrologer seeks to connect to is a mundane cycle of some kind. These can be seasonal ingress charts or lunation charts. The idea is to connect with the flow of nature by tapping into symbols present at important times of seasonal or lunar cycles. Below is an example of rooting to a chart set for the moment of the New Moon in the location where the event would commence.

In the above image, we see the Sun and Moon exactly conjoined in 28° Aries showing us the position of the New Moon. The outside wheel shows the election rooted to this moment. The key feature of this rooting process is the repetition of the lunation's Ascendant (10° Aries) which was placed on the Descendant of the election in order to get the helpful North Node in Libra on the Ascendant.

One election can be rooted to multiple charts. Recall from the natal chart above, the Ascendant is 12° Sagittarius which forms a trine aspect with the election's Ascendant. Furthermore, the natal ruler of the first house, Jupiter, is in 12° for the election, which trines both the election Ascendant and the natal Ascendant. This connects all three charts together for a very powerful foundation.

These principles are straightforward and easy to follow, yet make a profound impact on the efficacy of electional astrology. While good charts can be crafted and decent outcomes had of non-rooted charts, it is the power of continuation and personalization that makes elections a powerful addition to classical astrological practice.