THE RIDE'S ALMOST OVER!

It's a long time since I felt so keyed-up! I could weep and jump for joy at the same time. Neither is appropriate - yet! The roller-coaster ride to the US general election is almost at an end. "Roller-coaster" is apt, the ride wasn't nearly graceful enough to be likened to the Carousel or Waltzers. It has been zany enough at times to resemble the Fun House, and scary as the Ghost Train at others. But even more appropriate than the Roller-coaster is the House of Mirrors, astrologically this would be the domain of Neptune.

Neptune features strongly in this election. After a period of apparent backward motion the planet began to move direct on 2 November. Neptune relates to illusion, delusion, imagination, and an aura of fogginess. The planet is prominent in Senator Obama's natal chart, and in Sarah Palin's, both have Sun square Neptune, both have an ability to project to the public the image each person wishes to see. Transiting Neptune stationing close to Obama's ascendant and Palin's Sun (and my re-located ascendant) on election day is likely to intensify this "see what you want to see" effect, all day long and for some long while afterwards. House of Mirrors!

The sky could not be more aptly in tune with what's going on just now - Uranus at 18* Pisces exactly opposite Saturn at 18* Virgo: Change (Uranus) opposes the status quo (Saturn).

Mercury concluded its retrograde period in October, which is good news. There's less potential for technical hitches in the voting process - though many suspect human manipulation might still cause a few of those!



It'll be my first chance to vote in my new country. I'll take great satisfaction in doing so after experiencing, over the last four years, an expensive roller-coaster ride myself, immigration-wise! I'd been in the USA just over a week when George W. Bush was re-elected president in 2004. That was a bitter disappointment. Although my initial status as a legal permanent resident was adequate for most purposes, it didn't allow me to vote. Determined that I'd be able to do so by 2008, I applied for US citizenship immediately I became eligible. That final process took exactly one year, now I get to reap the reward for all the frustration involved.

We might take advantage of early voting at the courthouse today if the lines are not as long as they were on Friday. Otherwise, we'll be at our local precinct voting station bright eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning.