Politically Charged: Super Tuesday is *super* during Mercury retrograde—here’s what to expect

With Politically Charged, a new monthly column by QueerCosmos astrologer and Well+Good Changemaker Colin Bedell, you’ll get a look at what’s happening in the 2020 election cycle, not through the lens of any specific issue or party or scandal, but rather through the energy of the universe.

First up is the astrology of Super Tuesday, which rather dramatically falls during a Mercury retrograde cycle. Find out how that transit may influence the March 3 results below.

The first politically powerful Tuesday is upon us in the 2020 presidential election year. Known as “Super Tuesday” since 1976, Tuesday, March 3, will host 14 state primaries— Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia—and the American Samoa caucuses, together accounting for 33.8 percent of the country’s total. But what does the astrology of Super Tuesday have in store for how those votes may sway?

Well, crucially, let’s not forget Mercury will be retrograde on Super Tuesday, and there have been several seminal moments of past election cycles that transpired during Mercury retrograde. To name just two, take Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment in 2012 (talk about miscommunication!) and the Bush vs. Gore recount in 2001. With history in mind, expect that this Super Tuesday may bring any number of surprises, inaccuracies, and word blunders. From a voter perspective, it means we’ll want to carefully discern the intentions behind the discourse and stay focused on the details.

How Pisces comes into play

Another component of this Mercury retrograde that comes into play regarding the astrology of Super Tuesday is that it’s happening in the sign of Pisces, which has the astrological energy to wake us up to the political issues we’ve ignored, denied, or deceived ourselves about. It’s no secret that we don’t always interact with the most credible sources of information, and Mercury retrograde can inspire us to review, fact-check, and confirm what we do believe to be true. This way, with the help of eye-opening Pisces, voters can take the most objective and critical thoughts to the polls.

With the help of eye-opening Pisces, voters can take the most objective and critical thoughts to the polls.

Additionally, the influence of Pisces may have us consider certain universal spiritual themes with our political convictions. One of those themes? How would we vote if humanitarian ideals—not just short-term economic gain—were the primary ordering values of our political lives? And if you’re unsure about how such humanitarian values and spiritual seeking can impact politics, just think of the 1960s in the United States: The counterculture studied spiritual teacher Ram Dass, the I Ching, and astrology, and marched with signs that read “All You Need Is Love” while they applied civil rights to the legally segregated American South, impeached Richard Nixon, and ended the Vietnam war. Not nothing, right?

The bipartisan influence of the Gemini moon

On March 3, the Gemini moon could help the voters wrap their heads around the nuances of American culture by recognizing a reality beyond binary, partisan thinking. This lunar energy supports “both/and” and “not only, but also…,” styles of thinking, which could provide the intellectual framework that reminds us of the central tenet of American politics: E Pluribus Unum—or, “out of many, one.” Gemini also rules the way we can change our thinking, and as Gemini Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” So, if you’re up for a change of political heart and are now realizing old thinking is what got the country “here,” then the Gemini moon can help you find the courage to begin a change of heart.

The Venus-Aries conjunction asks voters to check in about whether a candidate has a demonstrable history of not only expanded professional opportunities for women but for women of color, as well.

An alignment between Venus in Aries and Uranus in Taurus, known as an out-of-sign conjunction, supports voting for candidates who prioritize increasing economic opportunities for women. This conjunction asks voters to check in with their conscience about whether a candidate has a demonstrable history of not only expanded professional opportunities for women but for women of color, as well. Because not only is that interest good for business, but it also uplifts civilization as we know it.

“Let’s heal the planet,” says the sun-Neptune conjunction

The sun in Pisces will form a conjunction to Neptune in Pisces on Super Tuesday, which begs the deeper question of whether politics could become a space where we begin to heal the planet. That’s because the sun-Neptune conjunction inspires broader, more compassionate thinking that helps us align with all sentient beings including what’s in nature, so voters could be aligning with a candidate on environmental issues.

Just a few weeks later, heavy-hitting Saturn enters Aquarius, and through Aquarius energy, we’ll be able to see how progressive, communal based policies and legislation can serve as a serious strategy on our shared humanity. Aquarius energy graduates our thinking from a place that’s all about “me” to a serious concern for the “we.” And since the “we” encompasses “me,” prioritizing this grander vision is a great strategy for navigating the complex times in which we live.

No matter what the results of Super Tuesday, rest assured that the cosmic forecast shows us moving toward a more communal collective energy where we restore interrelated villages in our lives, so we can feel deeply supported, since the burdens of selfhood have never been greater.

Want more specific politics intel beyond the astrology of Super Tuesday? Here’s where leading democratic candidates stand on health care. And here’s why it’s so important that candidates discuss reproductive health.