An election, worked

A worked example, chosen because the time available was short — which is the usual situation, and the one that shows what an election can really do.

The brief

A blog to be launched, online by a particular weekend. A few days of choice, not a few months.

The first thing to say to a client with a narrow window is that a narrow window limits the result. An election works with what the period offers; it cannot manufacture a configuration that is not there.

What was prioritised

Visibility and communication, since that is what the venture is for. In practice:

• the lord of the Ascendant and the lord of the Midheaven placed as favourably as the window allowed — the matter itself, and its standing;
• Mercury, the natural significator of communication, taken while it was still strong;
• the Moon translating light between the two benefics, which carries a benefic influence from one to the other and is worth waiting hours for.

What the chart also said

An excess of fixed signs. Fixity is durable and slow: it indicated that visibility would build gradually rather than arrive, and that the venture would probably change form before reaching what it was for.

This is worth noticing because it is not a fault in the election. It is a description of the pace, and telling the client in advance is more useful than a promise of rapid success.

The outcome

The blog developed slowly, to its owner's satisfaction, and grew steadily after a redesign — a change of form, as the fixity suggested.

What this shows about elections

An election does not guarantee success. It selects, from what is available, the configuration best suited to the matter, and it tells you in advance what shape the result will have. Both halves are the service.

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