How to find the best time to apply for a job using Electional Astrology
Photo by Vlada Karpovich
Let’s be real, the job market in the last couple of years has been ROUGH. It feels like the automated rejection emails come in almost as quickly as we apply! Did anyone even read my resume? Or, worse, we get no response at all. With so many layoffs, the competition is intense in favor of the employers.
What if I told you there was a way to elect, or choose the best time to submit your application for your next job, so you can stack the odds in your favor? There IS, and it’s called Electional Astrology.
What is Electional Astrology?
Electional Astrology works on the premise that everything that begins has an astrological birth chart, just like people do. Just as a person’s birth chart can tell us how things may unfold in their life, an electional chart can do the same for the critical beginnings of our lives.
Whether you actively elect a time for it or not, your next career move also has a birth chart, beginning with the time, date, and location when you submit your employment application. The great news is you can CHOOSE a favorable astrological timing for when you first contact an employer, which may give you an advantage over other applicants.
Instead of sending applications randomly at all hours, every day, why not time your application submissions for when the stars are aligned in your favor and use that as a competitive advantage? 👀
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The most essential factor in timing an election is the Moon
Of the seven traditional planets, the Moon is the closest to us on Earth. This gives her the unique ability to filter down to us the positive and negative influences she receives from other planets that she comes in contact with.
The Moon spends about 2 days in each sign, so with a little bit of planning, we can easily identify days and times she’ll be at her best to work for us.
General electional considerations for the Moon:
❌ Try to avoid elections with the Moon in the signs of either Scorpio or Capricorn.
❌ Try to avoid electing times when the Moon is receiving squares or oppositions from or in the same sign as Mars and Saturn. If this is not possible, choose a time when the moon is separating from Mars or Saturn, and not applying to them either.
❌ Avoid eclipses, as magical as they may seem! The ancients saw eclipses as disruptive power outages in the sky, so they are a hard-no for elections.
⚠️ Avoid electing days when the Moon is shrinking and losing light (waning). This consideration is not a deal breaker for an election as much as the first 3.
✅ Try to have Venus and/or Jupiter in the same sign as, or making aspects with the Moon. Any Ptolemaic aspect to either of these planets is good: sextile, conjunction, trine and even a square or opposition.
✅ Try to have the Moon in the sign of Taurus or Cancer, or supportive signs where she has triplicity: Pisces and Virgo.
✅ Ideally, position the Moon in the 1st, 10th, 7th, 4th, 9th, 11th, or 3rd house.
The Rising Sign Modality in Electional Astrology
When choosing a good election, the modality of the electional chart can influence how long something lasts, in this case, your job application process. For simplicity, when I say “the application process,” I mean the moment you click SEND on your application to the employer. The birth chart of this moment can lay the foundation for whether the application experience goes smoothly, regardless of whether or not you get the job. In the importance of factors for electional astrology, the modality of the rising sign is a “nice to have”. The condition of the chart ruler and the Moon are far more important.
Ideally, we would prefer not to choose a fixed rising sign because we don’t want the application process to drag on forever. The absolute worst is waiting weeks to hear whether we got the job! Remember, we are not electing for the job itself, which ideally is fixed: long-lasting and stable. In this initial step, we want it to go as efficiently and quickly as possible. Fixed risings are: Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio, and Leo.
Mutable signs are also less than ideal for choosing a time to submit job applications, as they can introduce complexity and variables into the hiring process. We don’t want too many rounds of interviews if we can help it. We don’t want the employer to remove the job post only to see it pop up in our feed weeks later. Mutable risings are: Pisces, Virgo, Gemini, and Sagittarius.
Cardinal risings for Electional Astrology are ideal because we want a swift, clear outcome and the entire application process completed quickly. Cardinal rising signs are: Aries, Capricorn, Cancer, and Libra.
Choose a strong chart ruler
The chart ruler of your election is the ruler of the rising sign, and like the Moon, we want this planet in a strong sign and house. The chart ruler represents YOU in any election, so we also want to make sure it’s as strong and unbothered by Mars / Saturn as possible.
In Medieval / Traditional Astrology, we use the OG rulerships and exaltations to identify the places of strength for each planet:
Aries is ruled by Mars, and the Sun is exalted in Aries
Taurus is ruled by Venus, and the Moon is exalted in Taurus
Gemini is ruled by Mercury
Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and Jupiter is exalted in Cancer
Leo is ruled by the Sun
Virgo is ruled by Mercury, and Mercury is also exalted in Virgo
Libra is ruled by Venus, and Saturn is exalted in Libra
Scorpio is ruled by Mars*
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and Mars is exalted in Capricorn
Aquarius is ruled by Saturn*
Pisces is ruled by Jupiter* and Venus is exalted in Pisces.
*The traditional planetary dignity scheme does not include Neptune, Pluto or Uranus. This article by the astrologer Susan Ward beautifully explains why I do not use the outer planets in my practice.
Similar electional guidelines apply for your chart ruler:
❌ Try to avoid electing days when your chart ruler is retrograde, or about to station retrograde. A planet coming OUT of retrograde (stationing direct) is stronger than a planet stationing retrograde.
❌ Try to avoid electing times when your chart ruler or Ascendant is receiving squares or oppositions from or in the same sign as Mars and Saturn. If this is not possible, choose a time when the chart ruler is separating from Mars or Saturn, and not applying to them either. This includes conjunctions.
❌ Try to avoid electing times when your chart ruler is within 15º of the Sun, especially if the Sun or your planet is moving towards one another. Exceptions to this are Mercury and the Moon.
❌ Try to avoid your chart ruler in cazimi. Cazimi is when the planet is within the same degree and sign as the Sun. I know this is a hot topic (pun intended), but in medieval astrology, this is a time of weakness and overwhelm for a planet. As a planet separates from the sun’s rays, it is like someone slowly gaining their strength after overcoming an illness.
✅ Try to put Venus and/or Jupiter in the same sign as, or making aspects with, your chart ruler. Any Ptolemaic aspect to either of these planets is good: sextile, conjunction, trine, and even a conjunction, square, or opposition. Jupiter is more helpful when the Sun is in the top half of the chart, and Venus is more helpful when the Sun is in the bottom half of the chart.
✅ Try to put Venus or Jupiter in the 10th of career and reputation, the 11th of alliances and networks, the 7th of partnerships, or the most powerful house in any chart: the 1st.
✅ If you cannot put your chart ruler in its own sign or exaltation, choose a sign where it has triplcity.
✅ Ideally, put your chart ruler in the 1st, 10th, 7th, 4th, 9th, 11th, or 3rd house.
What to do with Mars and Saturn
Try to tuck these baddies away in the 12th, 8th, and 6th houses where they cannot see the Ascendant.
Pay attention to the sect of your chart. Generally speaking, Mars is more constructive at night when the Sun is in the bottom half of the chart. Saturn is generally more helpful during the day, when the Sun is in the top half of the chart.
Avoid placing Mars or Saturn in the angular houses: 1st, 10th, 7th, or 4th. With the whole sign house system, the MC can float anywhere in the top half of the chart. Mars and Saturn should be away from the MC if possible.
The most important takeaway when practicing electional astrology is there’s NO perfect election. Something will almost always be less than ideal.
Putting Electional Astrology into Practice
At the end of the day, you know what works best for you. Maybe you continue to apply for jobs regularly, but you use electional astrology for the jobs that really catch your eye. I personally have found that saving jobs and then applying for them all in one sitting during an auspicious election is better for my mental health than submitting my applications every day.
This is a crash course in Electional Astrology to get you going with the basics. To really get into it, I highly recommend The Astrology of Sahl B Bishr, translated by Benjamin Dykes. If you prefer a more visual, class approach, Kira Ryberg’s Electional Astrology Course is excellent! As you start learning, practice electional astrology with minor, everyday events in your life to get the feel for it.
The easiest way to find your strongest elections is to use software like Astro-Seek, Astro Gold, or Solar Fire, which lets you quickly move the time forward and back. An ephemeris, online or in print, is also helpful for finding when a planet is in its domicile, exaltation or stationing retrograde.
Even in the worst-case scenario in any astrological chart, there are almost always mitigating factors. For example, a Moon in Scorpio or Capricorn enjoys support by triplicity. There are many more mitigations to consider.
Define the time window you’re working with. If you really want to apply for a job every single week, you’re going to have to settle for more of the less-than-ideal elections.
If you can give yourself more time by applying for jobs once or twice a month, your elections will likely be better because there are more days to choose from. Keep in mind that some months will be better than others for elections.
With so much of the job application process out of our control, adding Electional Astrology to your arsenal might be what makes the difference.
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