It’s been awhile since we’ve taken in a round of the Ohio Fight Club. Last time we checked in on the Senate battle in this Midwest “swing” state, Senator Sherrod Brown (Democrat) was duking it out with Josh Mandel (Republican) and eyes were turning black – both for the candidates and the viewers.

Let’s take a look at how the current transits affect this race. Since we last checked in on Brown and Mandel, Jupiter has entered Gemini, Mars entered Libra and Saturn is close to entering Scorpio.

The moon, Mercury and Venus changed signs too as they move quickly as “inner planets.” The moon is how you feel today, Mercury this month and Venus six weeks. Those planets are fun to watch when you’re planning a picnic or date but today we have to look farther to the November election. We need to travel past Venus.

Mars in Libra

Mars in Libra is an excellent placement for Mandel and a mixed blessing for Brown.

Mandel has sun and Pluto in Libra. Mars on Mandel’s Libra sun gives him a hazy glow of charisma. The camera angle is flattering, the wind blowing softly from the north creates the perfect windblown but not harried look.

This energy brings Mandel a sense of power, a sense of self that Libra normally does not have. Mars in Libra squares Mandel’s Mars in Cancer meaning Mandel isn’t at home much (which could become a problem) as he’s enjoying the attention, the cameras and the lights. Libra likes its pleasures as does Mandel’s Taurus moon.

The way to Mandel’s heart is through expensive and fancy labels and he’s probably receiving a lot of name brands right now.

For Brown, Mars in Libra triggers quite a few aspects – it conjuncts his Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Libra, squares Uranus in Cancer, squares Mars in Capricorn (T-square here) but trines moon/Pluto in Leo.

The other day I received an email from Brown’s wife (Caitlin Shultz Gard) on how a conservative blogger accused her, as a journalist, of socializing with her subject (Brown). Shultz Gard happens to be both a journalist and Brown’s wife. The email suggested they suck face regularly.

Brown is feeling romantic (Mars trine Leo moon), drawn to unexpected family matters (Mars square Uranus in Cancer) and a little disappointed in personal relationships (Mars conjunct Saturn/Neptune) all at the same time.

The T-square of Saturn-Neptune, Uranus and Mars creates a rather edgy person in general and Mars kindles this edginess.

Brown is a strong person in general with a cardinal T-square and a fixed T-square in his chart (sun in Scorpio, moon/Pluto in Leo and Jupiter in Taurus).

Brown has endless energy but very little patience. You have to watch the patience when you’ve got too much cardinal. It’s like when someone cuts you off while driving and you give that person the finger only to discover it’s your boss in the car.

Jupiter in Gemini

Jupiter in Gemini is better for Mandel than Brown.

Mandel’s personality is more flexible than Brown’s, even with Mandel’s Taurus moon. Mandel can handle the changes that occur when planets transit mutable signs. Gemini is the twins, back and forth, this side and that, wandering off and seeing what’s down that country road just for the heck of it.

Being a Libra, Mandel probably likes a little Gemini excitement and change. Who wants to go to the same office every day? Who wants to talk to the same people every day? Routine is kind of boring, isn’t it?

Jupiter in Gemini trines Mandel’s sun. Again, he’s having a good time.

For Brown, Jupiter in Gemini is opposing his Mercury and Venus in Sagittarius. Jupiter in Gemini opposing Mercury in Sagittarius is called “mutual reception.”

Why?

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Mercury rules Gemini. Jupiter is in Mercury’s ruler and Mercury is in Sagittarius’ ruler.

Mercury in Sagittarius is prone to expansive communication and Jupiter opposing brings the fact checks and nitpickers and gossips.

Brown needs to watch the rhetoric because he could be embarrassed by it. Sagittarius and Gemini are light hearted and gossip for the pure fun of it. While Brown has Mercury in Sagittarius, he’s still a serious Scorpio who would be embarrassed by accidentally writing “pubic” instead of “public.” (I use this example because I made this very error in a blog – thank you reader from Australia!).

Saturn in Scorpio

Saturn enters Scorpio at the beginning of October and promises to make the last month of the election and intense, mud wrestling affair for all contests.

Neither candidate will care for this transit. For one, both will probably go broke during this election as Saturn conjuncts Mandel’s moon in Taurus and opposes (in about a year) Brown’s Jupiter in Taurus. When Jupiter was in Taurus (last year), both men gained financially. That is over.

If Brown wins, he’s still going to have to spend money for the next year. Mandel’s tightening of the financial belt may pass soon after the election (need time of birth to know degree of moon).

For Mandel, Saturn will conjunct his Uranus in Scorpio by January. Mandel might find himself intensely drawn to someone around that time. Later when Saturn squares his Saturn in Leo, that relationship will fall apart due to control issues and the person wanting to steal the limelight. Mandel, with Libra and Taurus, isn’t one to see too far beneath the water and won’t understand others’ hidden motivations. He’s got some lessons here.

For Brown, Saturn in Scorpio activates his fixed T-square creating tensions in money, sex and romance – the usual. As I write, I wonder if Brown wants to consider what this election will cost him in all areas of life.

At the same time that Brown’s fixed T-square is being stressed, Pluto continues its transit of Capricorn and Uranus Aries which will ultimately stress the cardinal T-square.

Times are rough for all of us with collapsing structures and some individuals will be hit personally harder than others.

The Pluto and Uranus transit are also hitting Mandel’s chart but will feel for him like an outside, external pressure rather than an internal stress of personality. Libra sun is also pretty good at putting on rose-colored glasses so Mandel usually can’t see a problem until it’s in the rearview mirror.

Who will win?

I don’t have the skill to guess at who might win this contest. Looking at the men’s’ charts, I feel like both will suffer a lot at the run for this seat.

First, both will spend the family savings. Second, the election will stress relationships. For Brown the stresses comes sooner than for Mandel.

Looking at their charts, I wonder if the one who doesn’t make it to the Senate seat isn’t the true winner. That’s the one who can experience his T-square in private.

Source of candidate data: Ohio 2012 Election Center