Choose Your Wedding Date With Astrology – Electional Guidelines

The art of electional astrology is a fascinating one. What is electional astrology? It is the art of choosing a chart that is most conducive to a certain event – for example :- opening a book store, starting a business, promoting your project, sending an important letter, moving into a new home and getting married.

Whilst the electional chart does not over-rule the planetary placements and movements in your own chart (and that of your partner’s/composite chart), it can help to accentuate positive trends and connection, giving a smooth start to your married life. An event chart with mostly unstressed aspects and placements and harmonious links to your personal charts makes the best use of the energies available.

In a way, I think of electional astrology as rather like ritual. It makes you think about your ultimate goal and how you would like it to manifest. It helps you to focus on what is important.

When it comes to wedding elections there are a set of specific rules to follow which does make things a little easier! But that said, it is also extremely important to know and understand the charts of the two people involved and the synastry between them in order to amplify the most positive connections (and possibly play down the more challenging ones).

Very Important – please read this paragraph!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember here is that there are no perfect charts! Even if you do find that seemingly illusive ‘perfect’ chart, it might turn out to be at 4 a.m. in the morning when it’s unlikely your friends and family would want to turn out for the wedding. Maybe that special chart is on a day you simply can’t get married or at a time when the wedding location you want isn’t available (or the minister or celebrant is unavailable). If you start to panic over this, believe me, you will tie yourself up in knots. If you focus on avoid, avoid, avoid, this sets up a negative mindset and comes from a place of fear that something will come along and damage your marriage because you couldn’t get rid of Venus square Saturn. Do your best to strike out the most challenging aspects but stay within the realms of reason. Don’t forget that squares and oppositions promote growth! Plenty of people marry under Venus Retrograde or with Pluto on the Descendant or a scary looking Saturn aspect; entirely oblivious to the starry influences. Not every marriage is doomed because of challenging configurations.

How to Choose Your Wedding Date with Astrology – Electional Guidelines

So, with all that said, here are some guidelines on choosing your wedding date with astrology. Dates shown below are current for 2016.

Note – all times/dates below are in UT time. The wedding chart will be erected from the location where you get married so please use the time and date converter here to check for your particular location

The process of electional astrology requires a good working knowledge of astrology so these tips would suit those of you who are avid students.

Steps 1 – 3 cover the most basic issues to be aware of in choosing the date of the wedding.

Step 4 covers other things to consider if possible.

Step 5 is a reminder to reference the wedding chart against the natal charts of each of the partners.

Step 6 covers some notes on choosing the appropriate time once you have chosen a date.

Step. 1 Rule out Retrogrades

Ideally, it is best to marry during a time when Mercury, Venus and Mars are direct. So this year (2016) we can rule out the following dates.

Mercury Retrograde

1:05 p.m. 5th January to 9:49 p.m. 25th January
5:19 p.m 28th April to 1:19 p.m, 22nd May
1:03 p.m 30th August to 5:30 a.m 22nd September
10:55 a.m. 19th December to 9:42 a.m. 8th January 2017

Venus Retrograde :

Venus will be in direct motion all 2016

Mars Retrograde

12:13 p.m. 17th April to 11:38 p.m. 29th June

Step 2. The Condition of Venus

As ruler of love, it’s great to have a strongly placed Venus. Look for dates when Venus is in her own signs (Taurus or Libra) or in her sign of exaltation (Pisces)

Venus in Pisces – Exalted

10:23 a.m. 12th March to 4:50 p.m. 5th April

Venus in Taurus – Ruler

12:35 a.m. 30th April to 9:44 a.m. 24th May

Venus in Libra – Ruler

2:06 a.m. 30th August to 2:50 p.m. 23rd September

Avoid Venus in Aries, Venus in Scorpio as these are signs of detriment.

Avoid Venus in Virgo as this is the sign of Venus in Fall.

Venus in Aries – Detriment

4:50 p.m. 5th April to 12:35 a.m. 30th April

Venus in Virgo – Fall

3:36 p.m. 5th August to 2:06 a.m. 30th August

Venus in Scorpio – Detriment

2:50 p.m. 23rd September to 7:00 a.m. 18th October

Step 3. The Condition of the Moon

The Moon plays a huge part in electional astrology and there are several factors to consider. Note that when I refer to aspects, I am referring to Ptolemic aspects only (conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition) :-

The Moon’s phase

With a marriage, it is preferable to choose a waxing Moon (from New Moon to Full Moon). You can check my lunations table for times and dates of the New and Full Moons to determine whether the Moon is waxing or waning.

The Moon’s sign

The Moon is strongest in Taurus and Cancer.

Moon in Libra also is indicative of partnerships.

Avoid if Possible

Moon in Scorpio – Fall

Moon in Capricorn – Detriment

Void of Course

It is best to avoid the void of course Moon. Traditionally it is said that ‘nothing will come of the matter’, when the Moon is void. This can be read in many ways – for example :- the marriage won’t occur on the set date for some reason, there are unforeseen difficulties on the day, there is a vagueness about the wedding or the marriage, emotional disconnection or apathy, difficulty in making headway in the marriage. Note that if one of you was born under a void of course Moon, this may help to offset this – as will other positive aspects. I have written a post about the void of course Moon which also includes a PDF of the times when the Moon will be void during 2016.

The Moon’s aspects

The aspects that the Moon makes are important in the final chart. In electional astrology, it is the applying aspects that count. I try to avoid Moon square Saturn or Moon square Sun.

Most important is the last aspect the Moon makes before entering Void of Course status.

Traditionally, the aspects the Moon makes from the time of the election chart to the last aspect is said to describe the progression of the marriage so for this reason, it is best to have a positive aspect as the last aspect.

Step. 4 Other Factors to Consider

Anaretic/Sensitive Degrees

If possible, try to avoid planets at 0 or 29 degrees of a sign, particularly the personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars). These degrees tend to have an air of instability about them. I avoid 29 degrees Taurus if I can as it’s connected to the ‘weeping sisters’.

Sun and Moon

Traditionally the lights indicate the man and the woman however it should be noted that the lights can simply indicate each person in the partnership regardless of gender.

If possible, try to have a sextile or trine between the lights.

Avoid Sun or Moon square to Saturn

Venus and Mars

Again, Venus can rule the woman, Mars the man but these planets are simply the love planets regardless of gender. Venus and Mars say something of the physical relationship and attraction between a couple.

If possible, try to have a sextile or trine between these two.

Avoid Venus or Mars square to or opposite Saturn.

Best Synastry Aspects and Echo Transits

Make a list of the five best aspects between your charts. Say for example your partner’s Venus sextiles your Mars. Lovely!

Look for a day when Venus is applying to a sextile with Mars in the skies. This ‘echoes’ the positive synastry aspect between you. Great to use if there are more challenging aspects around that you can’t get away from.

Likewise, if you and your partner share a challenging Mars square Saturn synastry aspect, see if you can find a day when Mars and Saturn are trine or sextile to each other to relieve the tension.

Step 5. Take note of transits to the natal charts

As well as knowing the potential of the natal charts, it is also important to look at the transits going on in each partner’s chart. The wedding chart is after all the transits to each person’s chart on the day. When choosing a wedding date, cast you eye over each individual’s transits and aim to ensure that the wedding date doesn’t reinforce any particularly challenging transits.

Think – If the wedding chart were the chart of a person, would this person get on with both people who are getting married?

Step 6 – Choosing the Time

So, you’ve picked a day when it seems as though the Moon is strong, Venus and Mercury are behaving themselves and generally the aspects seem good overall plus things seem favourable in your individual natal charts.

Now it’s time to patiently cast and re-cast the chart until you strike gold. If you have a program like solar fire, you can use the ‘rectify’ function to keep moving the chart forwards and backwards.

Note that the chart must be erected from the location of where the wedding will be held (or the ritual of intention).

The Ascendant

See if you can arrange for a fixed Ascendant (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) for stability and longevity. Libra Rising too is nice for a marriage chart.

Rulers of Houses

It’s unlikely you will be able to fufill all of these criteria so these are just suggestions you can try :-

If possible,  a conjunction, sextile or trine between the rulers of the 1st and 7th houses of the wedding chart is good. Avoid challenging aspects between the two.

Look for a date when the rulers of your natal 7th houses are in positive aspect to each other. Avoid challenging aspects between the two.

See if you can place the chart ruler (the ruler of the Ascendant) of the wedding chart in the 7th house.

Avoid squares or oppositions between the ruler of the 7th house or any planets in the 7th house with the outer planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron).

General Rules for Placements

I try to avoid Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron in the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house. It’s not always possible but try to keep them away from the Ascendant, Descendant, IC and MC.

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The guidelines above contain the basic rules for electing a wedding chart. As you can see, there is a LOT to take into consideration. As I mentioned earlier, you can’t possibly avoid everything. There will always be something of a challenge in an electional chart but there’s a lot you can do to strengthen the chart regardless.

My wedding is already booked and the aspects are horrible – HELP!

I’ll say it again – please don’t panic!

Perhaps the date was chosen by you and your partner for a karmic reason. Perhaps the lessons contained in the chart are there for a reason. Maybe it’s fate that this day was chosen. But you have the free will to respond to with a positive mind set and the intention to do the best that you can for yourself and for your partner.

Solutions to challenging wedding chart aspects :-

Some people choose to marry legally in a quick ceremony at an astrologically ‘good’ time then have their full family ceremony at the time already booked (or a preferred time and date even though the day is less astrologically friendly).

If you are not able or unwilling to have a quick legal marriage in line with the stars, what you can do is perform a ritual of intention under a date and time when the planets are aligned in positive aspects. Don’t forget to set the chart from your location.

Remember that challenging aspects can be used productively. Consider how these aspects may manifest in your marriage and how you can best work with the available energies. Think what is the best way this could manifest? How could we help it to manifest in this way?

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Please note –  I cannot answer queries in the comments regarding wedding elections due to time constraints.

I no longer offer wedding election readings amongst my range of readings however I do recommend the following astrologers for this kind of work :-

Leisa Schaim
Diana Stone
Kelly Surtees
Nina Gryphon

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Painting – The Wedding, Church Of St. Roch, Paris by Frederick Hendrik Kaemmerer