As we trundle along the final weeks to the mid-term elections of 2006, two distinct narratives are being developed. The “liberal” mainstream media, unable to disregard the clear polling nationally which indicates that Americans are more than ready for a shift in the makeup of Congress, has been reporting this sea change. But alongside these statistics pundits are weaving the alternative narrative—the deus ex machina which will allow the Republicans to dismiss pre-election polling and exit polling, and snap their fingers at allegations of vote fraud. In virtually every report highlighting voters’ preferences for a Democratic majority, the power and majesty of the GOP Get Out the Vote (GOTV) operation is touted, preparing the ground for yet another miraculous Republican victory in November.

Well, the Republicans certainly do have a way with votes; not so much getting them, as suppressing them. The BBC’s Greg Palast, the first investigative journalist to dredge up the facts about the vote tampering in Florida in 2000 which propelled the Bush junta into office, in his latest work “Armed Madhouse” alleges that as many as a million votes were suppressed from Democratic totals in 2004, and that as many as 3 million will be “spoiled” or go missing in 2008 via such electoral tricks as trashed registrations and uncounted provisional ballots. In addition to the e-vote fraud made probable by proprietary voting machines supplied by staunch GOP contributors Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, suppressing the Democratic vote has become a Republican staple, and has made possible not only the outcome of the 2000 election, but the Democratic losses in the mid-terms in 2002 and Bush’s “re-election” in 2004.

Bush’s low approval ratings and the continuing circus of GOP congressional misconduct, scandal and criminality have combined to create the most favorable environment for major Democratic gains since the Republican take-over of the House of Representatives in 1994. But will the clearly expressed will of the people manifest at the polls on Election Day 2006, or will we see yet another corrupted travesty? And if the latter, will the American people finally take to the streets as did the citizens of the Ukraine and Mexico, or will they merely roll over and hit the snooze button yet again?

As in 2000 and 2004, galactic indicators favor a change, and Democratic victory, but nothing is certain: free will is still a factor, and the auguries can just as easily be read as electoral chicanery.

Most problematic is the late date of the election, November 7, when the Sun at 15 Scorpio both conjoins a Pulsar and opposes a Black Hole at 16 Taurus. In recent memory, late date elections with this configuration have not favored Democrats. In 1994, election date November 8, a legitimate GOP tidal wave swept Republicans into control of Congress for the first time in more than 40 years, with conservatives flipping more than 50 seats. Promising to do good in Washington, the conservatives stayed on to do well, dwarfing the previous standards of Democratic corruption in just 12 short years. In 2000, election date also November 7 as in 2006, the planned Florida voting debacle and a partisan Supreme Court completed the Republican revolution. Now in 2006 there is the opportunity to reverse these earlier disasters and effectively neuter the out-of-control Bush administration for the remainder of their time in office, whether that be the full two years or a shorter period, truncated by the mercy of impeachment.

Black Hole Suns such as this are tricky things to call, especially when the aspect involved is an opposition, whose very nature heightens the mirroring effect that interaction with Black Holes always evokes. There exists in this combination the potential for a complete reversal of the status quo in Washington, a Democratic take-over of both Houses; but equally the contact could promote massive, pervasive deception. With the Sun also conjoined a Pulsar, a deep space anomaly which is informational in nature, the Media will play a pivotal role in the day’s events—will it be to obfuscate, or to reveal, any electoral improprieties which may come to light?

Mercury’s position at 18 Scorpio, similarly, could indicate either of two outcomes. Its retrograde status on Election Day could signify the change of heart in the electorate, a repudiation of the GOP and its policies, or it could indicate the subverting of the vote by clandestine means (Scorpio). Mercury is conjunct the Sun at 15 Scorpio, as well as Venus, Mars and Jupiter at 17, 9 and 26 Scorpio, and also opposes the 16 Taurus Black Hole. Mercury/Mars implies an angry electorate, Mercury/Venus could indicate the importance of female voters in determining the outcome, and Mercury/Jupiter shows the potential for a larger than normal turnout.

Mercury is further squared by both Saturn at 24 Leo and Neptune at 17 Aquarius. Neptune here underscores the possibility of fraud or deception, and Saturn could suggest the blocking or suppression of the vote. But this is a powerful T-Square which also speaks to the ultimate disillusionment (Neptune) of the population (Mercury) with the administration (Saturn), and that may be an energy that not even vote fraud can counterbalance.

Pluto, too, is in a strong galactic position; at 25 Sagittarius it is conjoined both a Pulsar at 24 and the supermassive Black Hole at the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius, which together indicate a major news event of global importance to come out of the day. From this degree Pluto trines Saturn and is tightly squared the Nodal Axis. Although the link with Saturn, representing the administration, is favorable, the mix with the nodes suggests a reckoning or comeuppance is due. Further, Pluto is inconjunct the nation’s 24 Cancer Mercury, indicating adjustments in attitudes and a possible change in direction for the country; a sextile to the US Moon assures that the populace is amenable to change.

If we look further, examining the charts of the two major parties, there is additional confirmation of the Democrats’ likely success. The roots of the Democratic Party are popularly traced to a letter from Thomas Jefferson dated 13 May 1792; the Republican Party was founded on 6 July 1854. The Democrats’ Aquarian Moon has an affinity with the US’ own, while the Republicans’ 14 Cancer Sun is a close match for the US’ at 13 Cancer, an interesting state of affairs as the two parties have often been termed the “Mommy Party” and “Daddy Party,” respectively. The Democrats’ Moon/Pluto conjunction expresses its populist message of “power to the people,” while the Republicans’ Venus/Saturn conjunction indicates their attraction both for the moneyed elite and the “values voters.”

Currently, the Democrats are receiving several significant transits from Pluto. At 25 Sagittarius, the planet of transformation and regeneration is sextile both its natal position at 23 Aquarius, unleashing more of its power, and Jupiter at 23 Libra, compelling a revision of its philosophy and party platform. A simultaneous trine to its Saturn at 25 Aries and an inconjunct to its 23 Taurus Sun, both conjoined Black Holes, suggests a change in its worldly fortunes and power as well as its self identity and image.

The Republicans have a tougher row to hoe, with transit Uranus as the dominant force in their nativity currently. Uranus’ shocks and upsets, as well as affinities with revolutions, revelations and exposing things hidden, squares well with the series of body blows the party has received over the past year, from the Abramoff scandal to Foley’s disgrace. From 10 Pisces on Election Day, transit Uranus conjoins natal Neptune at 15 Pisces, eliciting disruption and confusion, and bringing voters greater clarity as to the GOP’s true agenda and feet of clay. Additionally, an exact square to the Republican natal Saturn at 10 Gemini could indicate a major upset for the administration, which the loss of one or both Houses would certainly be. The trine to the GOP natal Sun and inconjunct to its natal Mercury at 9 Leo both suggest some major shifts, particularly in the area of self-identity and communication. And indeed, a hallmark of the past few months has been the unprecedented breakdown of the Republican message machine and the lockstep for which their legislative foot soldiers are noted, with significant departures from the Party line by major players in the old guard of the GOP. Defections include Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Armed Services Committee Chair Senator John Warner (R-VA), who with several others have expressed serious doubts about the administration’s policies and competence.

Read simply, both Pluto and Uranus indicate major change, but Pluto gravitates toward an increase in power where Uranus signals disruption. Taken with the Election Day transits discussed above and the national polling, Democrats seem poised to take one, possibly both Houses, effectively disabling the Bush juggernaut. But as in 2004, with every major indicator against them, the White House remains serenely sanguine about the elections, not even preparing a game plan for a Democratic takeover of Congress.

Could they know something we don’t?