Cosmic Culture 11/11
Were the Stars Wrong?
Amidst your TikTok doom-scrolling, chances are you’ve come across an astrology prediction (or two) about the U.S. presidential election. Fox News invited a tarot reader on air earlier this year (a video of that has recently been making the rounds). The Daily Show’s Grace Kuhlenschmidt had an astrologer on a segment to offer her takes the day before the election. Elle Magazine ran a feature earlier in September about Kamala’s prospects. All systems seemed a go for preserving the current veneer of democracy—even the universe signed off!
Understandably, people are looking for certainty in these times. However…astrologers, tarot readers, and any human with a pulse are inherently limited by biases and perceptions stemming from their lived experiences. As a study of time, astrology consults the past to make informed predictions about plausible scenarios. Context is everything. Predictions cannot exist in a vacuum. We all have blind spots.
While there are astrologers who got it right (Nick Dagan Best, a mundane astrologer who’s well-versed in Western history has some interesting opinions worth checking out), we’ve got bigger fish to fry as a collective in the grand scheme of things. We are on the precipice of a new 20-year chapter that mirrors the period between 1777 and 1798. And it officially begins on November 19 in earnest! Feeling a little rusty on your history amidst our collective grief? Let me paint a picture.
In 1777, we find ourselves amid the American Revolution, driven by Enlightenment ideals like individual rights and democracy. Centralized power structures were being questioned as people sought to envision a more just society where rights were equally distributed among citizens—by the people, and truly for the people. This spirit of revolution wasn’t confined to the U.S.; soon after, the French and Haitian Revolutions would follow. Meanwhile, the Industrial Revolution introduced rapid technological advancements that enriched the wealthy, yet child labor, environmental pollution, poor working conditions, and low wages remained widespread.
Well, that sounds familiar.
The United States seems to be living out its version of the “Roman Empire” meme. Approaching its 250-year mark—a milestone often associated with the fall of empires—the U.S. faces a critical moment of reckoning. Founded on the exploitation of Indigenous lands and guided by the Founding Fathers (emphasis on the masculine), the nation now finds itself confronted by the evolving demands of a diverse population that has outgrown a system originally designed to disempower. How does a country with such a complex legacy begin to reconcile its past with the realities and aspirations of the present?
We’re currently strapped into an aging reality TV season that begs us not to look away and disassociate because we all have a monumental challenge to reclaim and redefine a better future for everyone.
Imagine Trump’s election in 2016 as the moment Ned Stark was unexpectedly killed off in Game of Thrones. We’re now in the “Red Wedding” season: it’s bloody, brutal, and jaw-dropping—especially for those who didn’t see it coming. By the end of Game of Thrones, however, the Iron Throne was destroyed, the old ways of choosing rulers were dismantled, and Sansa Stark rose to power, offering a new vision for an independent kingdom. We’re in the thick of the upheaval now, but what comes next could reshape the system in ways no one anticipated.
And that’s the Astro tea.
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for December 6—an unprecedented new beginning in US History is on the horizon.
Tasha is a former Wall Street cog turned spiritual astrologer and pop culture aficionado.