I'm the most desperate for astrological insights during times of great uncertainty. Like, say, a political election. When it feels like everything operating outside of my control is spiraling at once, the planets offer me a loose guideline for what the days ahead might look like. So that’s why, ahead of the NYC mayoral election this week—which will determine the fate of rising rent, childcare, and transportation costs in the country’s largest city, I found myself ringing up my favorite astrologer, Cosmo contributor Lisa Stardust. Because I'll admit, though I’ve been watching the debates and obsessively tracking the polling numbers (like all well-informed constituents should), I’m also curious about how the stars and planets think Tuesday’s vote will go.

This week’s election has Republican Curtis Sliwa facing off with former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (now running as an independent candidate) and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. To do some political forecasting, Lisa dove into each candidate’s astrological birth chart to examine how they’re interacting with the current planetary transits and figure out whether this week’s astrological conditions point to an obvious win for one candidate over the others.

First of all, no matter which way this swings, astrology indicates that this election will see some technological mishaps, since Mars in Sagittarius is currently sitting opposite Uranus in Gemini. “Mars is the planet of aggression, and when it’s in opposition to Uranus, the planet of technology, there could be problems with computers,” Lisa says. “Data breaches and scams are possible and could affect the election. Protests and frustrations with the outcome are also possible. This is an election that will be shocking!”

For the real prediction of Tuesday’s outcome, Lisa says that we’ll want to look at the South Node. It represents our karmic patterns, past-life energy, and the themes we should be evolving from. It’ll be in the sign of Virgo until June 2026, and that specific transit isn’t great for former talk show host Curtis Sliwa. He’s been trailing behind his fellow candidates for the entirety of the general campaign, but (like a true Aries) refuses to give up despite urges to drop his bid. “It’s not in the cards for him right now,” says Lisa. “The south node of Destiny is in his 10th house [which represents public image and career], so he looks like the least likely to win.”

Astrologically, things are looking brighter for Sagittarius sun Andrew Cuomo, which could explain the narrowing gap between him and Zohran Mamdani in recent polls. But his Plutonian energy indicates that anything positive that could happen this week will be marked by a bit of chaos and controversy. Pluto represents power, transformation, rebirth, and taboos. Because the South Node is transiting Cuomo’s retrograde Pluto in Virgo, “something is happening behind the scenes that could affect his ascent to power,” Lisa shares. "Having one’s natal Pluto on the transiting south node can bring intense and drastic change. It can signify a fall from grace."

Polling numbers have placed Zohran as this race’s frontrunner for months, but his Jupiter and Venus placements in Virgo are providing some added luck. They’re both auspicious planets—Jupiter represents luck and expansion, while Venus oversees love, beauty, and pleasure. When the South Node transits favorable personal planets like these, things fare better than they do when it’s transiting Pluto. But even though these are all winning factors, Lisa notes that there's something about this time that will be “bittersweet” for the state assemblyman. Maybe because the South Node is all about leaving things behind to grow and move forward.

So all in all, the planets are most in favor of a Zohran win this week. But because this vote is happening the day before the full moon in Taurus, Lisa advises all three candidates to carefully reflect on their journeys and consider what their careers will look like in the long term, rather than fixating on the outcome of this one vote. “Focus on how far you’ve come and can continue to grow in your career — not just in this election. There are more milestones to achieve.”