On Tuesday, November 3, in the United States midterm elections, Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, according to an NPR analysis of The Associated Press race calls. In the Senate, where Republicans began the year with a 53 to 47 majority, Democrats flipped at least seven seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Maine, and held Georgia and Michigan. In the House of Representatives they flipped more than two dozen districts, and NBC News projects the largest Democratic majority in nearly two decades, with 42 races still undecided as of November 4. According to exit polls, half of voters saw the election as a chance to rebuke the president, and 70% want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the presidency. Donald Trump accepted the result and congratulated Democrats in a Fox News interview, although he said he would veto bills he considers "insane." The new Congress is sworn in in January: Hakeem Jeffries launched his bid to lead the House, and the Oversight Committee, which Robert Garcia is expected to chair, is preparing four investigations starting that month.
The New Moon in Scorpio arrives on Monday, November 9 at 1:02 a.m. (Mexico City time), at 16°53' of Scorpio, six days after the vote. Scorpio is the sign of shared power, oversight and what is investigated in depth, and a new moon marks a beginning: it opens a two-week cycle for planting intentions. This beginning coincides with an election that changes who watches whom in Washington and with a majority that announced investigations.
That Monday the Moon squares Mars (12:45 p.m.) and Jupiter (5:30 p.m.), both in Leo, the sign of the presidency, of command and of the figure at the center of the stage. The square joins the collective force of Scorpio, which reviews and balances, with the individual force of Leo, which wants to decide and lead. It is an image that fits the new distribution of power in Washington, with a president who has already spoken of using the veto against a Congress with oversight powers. Mars and Jupiter, at 22° and 25° of Leo, give energy and exposure to that tug of war during the week.
In the early hours of Tuesday the 10th the Moon enters Sagittarius and around 9:00 a.m. it sextiles Pluto in Aquarius, the planet of power and collective structures, an aspect that favors conversations about how authority is shared. On Friday the 13th, Mercury and Venus turn direct again, Mercury at 5° of Scorpio and Venus at 22° of Libra, and the sky moves from review to action. With Mercury direct, the statements, agreements and calendars that were on hold regain movement. This reading describes the climate of the sky and does not predict legislative outcomes.