TIME BENDING WITH ELECTIONAL ASTROLOGY: EXPERIMENTS IN CELESTIAL ORGANIZING FOR FUGITIVITY

One thing that has become evident in exploring the history and on-going political legacies of the United States through an Afrofuturist lens is that linear time is only the surface level construction of time used by this country. Much of what has been experienced in the present, and has been inflicted on Black people in the past, is the result of calculated time bending. In Counter Clockwise: Unmapping Black Temporalities

From Greenwich Mean Timelines, Rasheedah Phillips of Black Quantum Futurism (BQF) talks extensively about how time, as shaped by the Prime Meridian Conference (1884), has been weaponized against Black freedom and life. The work of BQF, and its April 2022 Prime Meridian Unconference worked to deconstruct Western timelines and establish localized Black temporalities. As an Afrofuturist astrologer, I have attempted to do this as well, by way of electional astrology and the use of what I call “retrocurrent elections.” The overall goal of experimenting with time bending was to examine and construct astrological events that served as acts of refusal and to “undermine categories of the dominant’’ as Tina Campt states in her definition of fugitivity. I specifically sought to elect the opportune time for an ancestor to kill their enslaver and escape.

Electional astrology is a branch of astrology that is used to “elect” or select a time, date, and location for an event to occur or an action to be initiated with astrological reasoning. It is an artform that is contingent upon the selection of astrological transits that reflect the intent of what is being elected; as the starting point to explore how electional astrology can be used as a tool of intentional time bending as means to continue the prophecy of Black freedom, survival and joy to establish a hereafter.

One of the most profound realizations that came out of Phillips’ piece is her observations of facticity and how it is used to control Black temporalities through space and time. She defines facticity as follows:

“Facticity means a thing can only take on the feature of being a fact, of being real, of being truth or a part of reality when it has been pinpointed to the linear timeline and assigned a date.” (2021)

The gist of her observations is that through facticity via the Western linear timeline, the State establishes a reality where Black freedom isn’t real unless it is attributed to a defined time and date. Facticity thus delegitimizes the personal seeking of Black freedom and Black resistance prior to emancipation.

We can begin to examine time bending as not just a magical thing, but as a practical tool used frequently by the State. Phillips, through BQF and PolicyLink, talks extensively about various forms of “temporal and spatial inequity” as commonplace in housing laws but it does not stop there. Roe v Wade’s overturning led to the enacting of trigger laws across the nation that had immediate impacts on abortion access. Some of these laws were made hundreds of years in the past, and never removed or corrected after Roe v. Wade; they lay in wait as dormant seeds awaiting this moment to sprout and bare poisonous fruit yet again. In Arizona, ARS 13-3603 a law established in 1864, bans virtually all abortions was reenacted after its overturning (Stern, 2022). A single decision turned these spaces of relative safety to places where bodily autonomy is criminalized. But within the relative safety lies the illusion of progression on a linear timeline away from legacies of racism, patriarchy, homophobia, and the like when it is only “a matter of time” for timelines to re-enliven draconian laws and practices that never truly went away. And while these legal repercussions are a reality in the construction of time and how it is weaponized, it is not the only reality.

Time is a tool that belongs to no one, but it’s shaping is a duty we must actively take part in. Within the African diasporic tradition there are an abundance of words that describe how we connect to time and the many forms it takes beyond linearity. This idea is also expressed in the Iroquois principle of Seven Generations, in which they are working to create the material conditions for those seven generations into the future and to honor those seven generations in the past. After reading Counter Clockwise, I couldn’t help but think of ancestors who interacted with time outside of this weaponized use and the farce of facticity.

In adherence with the principle of Sankofa, it is necessary to retrieve lessons, traditions and history of the past to inform our futurebuilding. What does it mean to shape history in the present? Not only in the direction of the future, but the past as well? To think about these questions I explored successful and unsuccessful acts of flight: the Combahee River Raid, Frederick Douglass freeing himself (as rectified by astrologer Amir Bey), The Pearl Incident and many others. I also utilized the astrological protocol of 13th century astrologer Guido Bonatti’s electional considerations for “going to war and defeating enemies.” In what follows below, I engage electional astrology and African nonlinear time, or retrocurrent elections, to explore the Combahee River Raid, Frederick Douglass’ Escape, The Christina Elections, and the killing of a slave master, examining the ways astrological/planetary placements influence and indicate a(n) atmosphere(s) ripe for refusal.

What I found most interesting about the Combahee River Raid and Douglass freeing himself was the planets indicating the querents (people of whom the election concerns) is that they were located in what I would refer to as places of fugitivity. These planets are circled in the chart examples. Mars as representative of Douglass is in the water sign Cancer in the 9th house of long distance travel. Douglass escaped by disguising himself as a sailor on a ship in Baltimore. While in the Combahee River Raid, we can see the enslaved as represented by both Mercury and Venus escaping, as a phasis Mercury is sneaking into the 3rd house of short distance travel onto riverboats.

In on-going research and study, the cadent houses (3,6,9,12) have appeared to be places of fugitivity mainly because of their symbolism. Cadent houses are “falling” away from the angular houses which are indicative of visibility and thus easily accessible. In electional astrology, we can place planets we would like to be obscured from view or influence in cadent houses. In horary astrology, significators in cadent houses symbolize a person or object that is long gone and unlikely to be retrieved. Here I extend this logic for the interpretation of these events and creation of the elections. Combining the Bonatti electional protocols with what I observed in fugitive acts of ancestors, I created an election to kill a slave master as “a time capsule sent backwards and a prayer of synchronicity; that some ancestor through divine will used an auspicious time to free themselves from bondage” (Harmon, 2022).

The chart was then presented in the electional astrology course led by Sam Reynolds. The year of 1851 was intentionally chosen because of the enacting of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1851 which provided additional incentive and protection for enslavers to retrieve ancestors who freed themselves. The chart focuses on the power of a cadent Mars squaring Jupiter and the Ascendant to inflict a retributive act of justice to secure Black freedom and futures. In my description of the election to this unknown ancestor I state:

“A cadent ascendant ruler makes for an enslaved person with audacity and ultimately, a freedman. The day of the Moon helps to fortify the Moon, but also makes for a day to pursue the enemy and leave one’s home. The Moon is in the Sixth mansion, which is good for pursuing enemies, seeking justice, and travel. The hour of Mercury will make you difficult to retrieve.”

Reynolds and my classmates checked to see if this election corroborated any historical events that were recorded. What was discovered is that it was relatively close to the court case for the Christiana Rebellion, in which a group of Black people who freed themselves were being hunted by Edward Gorsuch, the slave master from whom they had escaped. They were armed resistanceagainst those who sought to re-enslave them. They killed Gorsuch and the other slave catchers. These freedom fighters were able to flee to Canada. While some others did remain, charges were brought against them on November 14th, however they were charged in absentia and ultimately were able to get away with their act of resistance.

In the chart we can see the Mars square Jupiter is a mainstay and echoes the violent killing of the enslaved at the hand of an “enemy” or the freedom fighters. We find the Jupiter that was on the ascendant of the election representative of our unknown ancestor fleeing in the 9th house of far away places. While we do not have the exact time the indictments were sent out, symbolically it remains at least interesting. With our freedom fighters as an open enemy/fugitives (7th house) represented by the Sun in Scorpio on the ascendant, and beyond the scope of the State (Mars in Leo) and those pressing charges (Saturn Rx in Aries) it was a day to “get away with murder.”

This led to the creation of four additional elections to add to a complete zine. And a term that emerged from this synchronistic confirmation of the election’s power was retrocurrentelection. A retrocurrent election is an astrological election that is cast for the past or distant future. Based on the term retrocurrences, it is used intentionally to reach back and forward in time to intersect with moments reflective of the election’s intent. It can be checked for accuracy via horary, historical searches, or seeking omens.

Part of this project was about establishing the astrological facticity of Black freedom as imposed by our ancestors. In this instance, facticity is used as testimony and planning rather than fabrication of timelines to weaponize. It is not about proving anything to anyone about our history, but rather considering the celestial patterns of our ancestors’ resistance, refusal and other possibilities. It is also about reclaiming where and how we have the power and agency to shift time for the future of Black people.

Electional astrology is vast in its potentialities as it is used for events or actions, including the use of astrological magic and other forms of spell work. Within our history there are many instances of ancestors looking to the stars for guidance. Many were guided by the North Star to freedom–Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner both used eclipses to foreshadow revolutionary action. I visualize a present and near future in which elections are helping to form community protection and anti-gentrification talismans. Enacting spells to return stolen artifacts to their sacred homes on the Motherland. Creating tinctures for community health and healing embedded with planetary magic. Casting elections for labor strikes and publicizing unions. Securing the perfect dates to rewild barren land, to seed community food forests, and enliven mutual aid campaigns.

We are the hereafter for our ancestors.

Resources

Harmon, I. (2022, September). elections to kill your slave master and other considerations for liberation. Black Speculative Astrology Zine.

Phillips., R. (2021, June 21). Counter Clockwise: Unmapping Black Temporalities from Greenwich Mean Timelines. THE FU NAMBULIST MAGAZINE. https://thefunambulist.net/ma gazine/they-have-clocks-we-have-time/counter-clockwise-u nmapping-black-temporalities-from-greenwich-mean-timelines Stern, S. U. B. A. R. T. (2022, September 24). Arizona’s 1864 law banning nearly all abortions is in effect, judge rules. Usatoday. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/23/arizonaban-on-nearly-all-abortion s-in-effect-judge-rules/8097102001/

SONIA McCALLUM