If the polls can’t predict the election, maybe the planets can.

“Whoever does well in New Hampshire, it looks like this might be who is president in November,” astrologer Christopher Renstrom said.

Renstrom isn’t #FeelingTheBern or the #Marcomentum. Instead, he’s going off the alignment of the planets during the 2016 presidential campaign and comparing them to the alignment of planets when candidates were born to see who’s got astrology in their favor.

Last week in Iowa, polls pointed to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both galloping home with wins. However, Trump scraped by with second place and Clinton barely held on to beat Bernie Sanders by the tiniest of margins.

So with all eyes on New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday night where Trump and Sanders are expected to win, Renstrom, a Salt Lake City-based astrologer who writes daily horoscopes did the candidate’s charts.

And New Hampshire is critical, says Renstrom, because it’s very similar astrologically to election night on 8 November.

For the New Hampshire primary, the sun will be in Aquarius and Mars will be in Scorpio. For the election, the sun will be in Scorpio and Mars will be in Aquarius.

A man leaves the town hall after voting in the US presidential primary in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Before this was dismissed as gobbledygook, Restrom explained that in astrology, zodiac signs (such as Gemini, Pisces, Cancer etc) are like numbers on the face of a clock, and the planets are like the clock’s hands, in constant motion and pointing to signs, giving certain character traits.

So for the New Hampshire primary and election night, “the planets mirror each other, which is really quite surprising”, said Renstrom.

“Whoever shows really strongly in New Hampshire is going to be the same person who shows strongly on election night,” he added.

And who’ll do well? People with “a very strong Mars signature”, says Renstrom, such as being a Mars sign (Aries and Scorpios) or having Mars in Scorpio or Aquarius.

“That isolates Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz right off the bat. With Marco Rubio coming up pretty close behind,” he said.

Clinton is a Scorpio, Cruz has a Mars in Scorpio and Rubio has a Mars in Aquarius.

Since Mars is the god of war, this election lends itself to a warrior, a “long distance athlete, the person who takes on the decathlon”, said Renstrom.

Not ideal conditions for Trump, who as a Gemini is adept at media and sales, but cares less about the day-to-day grunt work to be leader.

“The man’s got no attention span … He loves a good game, loves the art of the deal, loves the theater of all this, but his worst nightmare is to win the presidency,” said Renstrom.

Sanders, a Virgo, is tipped to win New Hampshire for the Democrats, thanks to his home state of Vermont lying just over the border.

“The wild card here is Bernie Sanders. That’s because he’s got a Mars in Aries,” explained Renstrom.

Unsurprisingly for Sanders the revolutionary, Virgo is the sign of the common folk. Right now Jupiter – a planet of good fortune and protection, says Renstrom – is passing through Virgo.

“That’s why he’s getting this populous wave, and I expect it to get more powerful as we get into the summer,” said Renstrom.

But, the astrologer warns, this push only lasts till around late August, then Jupiter leaves Virgo.

“If he gets the candidacy, I would be very concerned that what was supposed to be a very strong support would evaporate,” said Renstrom. He compared it to Mitt Romney in 2012, who polled well but bombed at the voting booth.

After Iowa, the newly hyped candidate was Marco Rubio. Renstrom says although he thinks the final battle will be Clinton v Cruz, Rubio’s Mars in Aquarius is “something that keeps him in the game”.

Despite the millions poured into his campaign, Jeb Bush was a no-show in Iowa. For New Hampshire, he’s carted out his mother and his brother to back him and he’s beginning to climb back in the polls.

The planets align for Bush in New Hampshire: he’s an Aquarius who’s got Mars in Scorpio. Plus on Tuesday, he’s got a solar return and a Mars return, which will give him a boost – “You get rebooted, you get infused. New Hampshire could see that for him,” said Renstrom.

However, the astrologer said, sometimes you need to look up from the chart and see what’s happening day to day.

Instead, Cruz, a Capricorn, is his pick to grab the Republican nomination.

“Ted Cruz is going to be unstoppable. He’s got incredible tenacity and perseverance. He’s another long-distance runner like Clinton,” said Renstrom.

However, Renstrom warns that Cruz’s chart predicts a coming economic crisis. “If he were to be elected, he brings his chart along with him. And that financial crisis is very strongly configured,” he said.

Who’s going to win come November? The planets vote Clinton.

“The presidential election takes place when the sun is in Scorpio,” explained Renstrom.

“She’s a Scorpio, so from a astrologer’s point of view, she’s in season ... I would say her chances are very, very strong for going the distance.

“But it’s going to be really bloody,” he added.