Political party charts are often a surprisingly opaque guide to wins and losses. The commonly used Democratic Party chart of 8 January 1828 is no different, checked against Clinton and Obama triumphs and Reagan and G.W. Bush’s defeats from a Democrat viewpoint. There is a slight hint of the Nodes being involved but nothing startling.
The chart does have a Sun Neptune in Capricorn opposition Saturn in Cancer which could point to a party keen on improving the lot of the underdog; with Venus in friendly Aquarius square an enthusiastic and determined Mars Jupiter in Scorpio. The North Node in Scorpio can be a hint that losing everything can be a way of finding their core purpose. Though there is no saying how long the stripping away of former glory lasts. And presumably is dependent on some self-awareness of what went wrong in the past.
This last painful loss to Trump and the Republicans recently did show up – which may be a coincidence since if you play with enough numbers some are going to fit whether relevant or not. Tr Pluto was conjunct the Dem Solar Arc Saturn opposition the Solar Arc Sun Neptune which reflects utter devastation. And tr Uranus was conjunct the Solar Arc Jupiter Mars and square Venus, which is quite a complex mix of an emotional upset, high insecurity and perhaps a dent in over-hopefulness. Mars Jupiter at a negative level can point to partnership difficulties – and the whole Biden/Harris imbroglio might be part of that.
On this chart 2026/27 look devastated and confused and by 2028 tr Saturn will oppose the Dem Jupiter which is less than ideal. Though I have seen wins with seemingly negative influences on the party chart so it is hardly a definite no. 2033 looks marginally brighter with tr Jupiter Pluto in Aquarius square the Dem Jupiter Mars; though by that time tr Neptune will be squaring the Sun Neptune opposition Saturn.
One problem in the USA is that the Democratic Party has changed radically since its early days that this chart may not be sound as the basis for prediction.
Cartoon: Thomas Nast, in Harper’s Weekly, from 1862 to 1886, America’s first great political cartoonist.
PS My slight impression is the Republican chart of 1853 works better than the Democratic chart and it had tr Jupiter conjunct Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct its North Node over the recent Inauguration.
Thanks …indeed, jupiter conjunct north node is auspicious…in Indian astrology…jupiter is considered teacher of gods and north node is a demon but when Jupiter becomes his teacher in conjunct or trine or sextile, he doesn’t let him stray to demonic behaviour but enhances his skills in positive manner
I do think as well that there must be a more modern chart for the Dems. Or at least a better founding chart. There is one I’ve even found dating back to the 1790s, although the Democratic name and identity hadn’t yet taken hold. The earliest party coalitions in the US identified as the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, the later of which were the forerunner to the modern US Democratic Party. The modern Republicans coalesced out of the remnants of the Whig Party, Know-Nothings, and Abolitionists. I like the July 6, 1854 chart (first formal party convention) for the general mood, values and identity of the Republican Party/GOP, but there are several earlier versions that seem to work just as well.
Perhaps the true founding of the Dems is forever lost to antiquity?
With all the talk of voter suppression and even blatant electoral fraud by Trump (and Musk) in 2026, another Democratic defeat would be quite devastating, although perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising, given that most of the party leadership continues to insist on propping up the ossified status quo (e.g. Schumer, Connolly, etc.) rather than promoting the promising new, like AOC, Crockett, and other young Dems.
Or maybe we are looking at a more formal split that happens around this time also? A left-wing Third Party could be quite unnerving to the Dem party leadership, and it would threaten and undermine their prospects, while potentially throwing the race entirely to Trump’s MAGA Republicans.
We also don’t know yet how bad things are going to get in the US. But if the Dems continue to try to place nice with Republicans and insist that everything is fine and okay as long as people vote for them, they may be in for a rude awakening.
It is possible that if the Democrats fail to take back at least the House in the midterms then it is possible that they lose in 2028 due to infighting and voter suppression.
Or the Democrats win in 2028 and per usual they have to clean up the mess that the proceeding Republican president has made.
@Unmystic Mom: passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under Pres. Lyndon Baines Johnson were, for the most part, what precipitated the Great Switch you reference, so perhaps the passage of the Civil Rights Act date might be the beginning point for a new chart for the modern Democratic Party? After he signed the Civil Right Act into law, LBJ reportedly told his aide Bill Moyers, “I think we just delivered the South to the Republican party for a long time to come.”
Other reference points might be the JFK assassination (which led directly to LBJ becoming president), or possibly the RFK assassination in 1968 (which cleared the field for Nixon and the Republicans, who implemented the infamous Southern Strategy)?
Also, possibly John F. Kennedy’s address to Congress in which he announced a goal for the 1960s of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” (Wikipedia says this address occurred on May 25, 1961), culminating with Neil Armstrong’s first step on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (albeit during the Nixon administration, but it was set in motion by JFK)?
The Democratic Party since the mid-’60s is almost the direct opposite of the party at its birth in the 1820s. The Republican Party morphed much more gradually–at least up until around 2016, when it fell off the deep end.
Marjorie, do either the Republican or the Democrat charts show the Great Switch of the 1960s, when the Democrats, which used to be the party of segregationist white voters, took on a more progressive outlook under Kennedy and LBJ, while the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and abolitionism, switched over to taking the role of being the party of predominantly white voters?
Also, does Nixon and/or Watergate flag up on either of the charts?