Dozens of astrologers are coming together to predict who will be president, anticipating a ‘potentially explosive’ October surprise that could shape the result

Astrologers predict the election: Trump is from Mars, Clinton is from Venus

The polls are grim, but the cosmos may yet save Donald Trump. Why fret about Florida when you have Orion?

The Republican presidential nominee, born under a full moon eclipse, has a possible edge that could align the stars on 8 November.

“Mythologically he’s Orion – a constellation. It represents giants. It’s very important for the whole story of the United States, that’s why he finds his place here,” said Aleksandar Imsiragic.

The Serbia-born astrologer was speaking on Tuesday in advance of a conference that will bring dozens of astrologers together in Costa Mesa, California, to predict the outcome of the election.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest International Society for Astrological Research. Photograph: Rory Carroll/The Guardian

Instead of Gallup or Ipsos, the astrologers are poring over zodiac charts, which signal, among other things, a “potentially explosive” October surprise that could shape the result.

Imsiragic and eight colleagues gave some teasers at a press conference about the climax and aftermath of the wildest election campaign in memory. Their advice: buckle up.

“The US election occurs when the sun is travelling in the Via Combusta, the fiery way,” said Shelley Ackerman. A period which also includes Halloween and Hillary Clinton’s birthday, she noted. “It could be something that is unexpected, very powerful and upsetting to a lot of people. That patch of the zodiac is literally when the shit hits the fan.”

That patch of the zodiac is literally when the shit hits the fan Shelley Ackerman

For most Americans, if polls are accurate, that would be a good way of describing a Trump victory. So can the Donald, trailing eight points with likely voters in the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll, defy political gravity and win the White House?

His hair, source of so much mockery, actually matches Orion mythology, according to Imsiragic, who said he predicted Trump’s implausible rise in August 2015. “He’s a giant, even physically, with golden hair.”

Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) Breaking: 'Mythologically he's Orion. It represents giants.' Aleksander Imsiragic on Trump. pic.twitter.com/lOxv7kBGBl

Born on 14 June 1946 in New York, Trump is astrologically from Mars, an aggressive place, and that chimes with the country’s combative mood, said Ray Merriman, president of the International Society for Astrological Research, which is hosting the four-day conference that starts on Thursday. So, too, is the GOP candidate’s running mate, mild-mannered Mike Pence.

“If you look at Pence and Trump, they’re both Geminis, born either side of Mars. So in this election Republicans are from Mars. Make America Great Again – the motto is Mars.”

Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, in contrast, have their suns making a trine – an angle of 120 degrees. “The Democrats are from Venus this year. Their slogan, Stronger Together, that’s Venus,” Merriman said.

In Roman mythology Mars and Venus were lovers, but the astrologers were not predicting a rapprochement between Clinton and Trump, a romance so cosmically wrong it could tilt the Earth off its axis.

Trump’s aggressive tack may backfire, said Glenn Perry. “He’s so over the top, so Martian … it’s almost as if in the candidacy we’ve overshot the mark. We’ve nominated someone who does embody the mood of the collective, but too much.”

If Trump flames out, Clinton can thank her running mate. “The moon ends up on election day right at Tim Kaine’s sun,” Ackerman said. Pressed, she predicted the Democratic ticket would prevail.

Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) Breaking: astrologer Shelley Ackerman calls it for Hillary. 'Election Day moon ends up at Tim Kaine's sun.' pic.twitter.com/y0BVfYGChx

The other astrologers played coy, withholding forecasts until the conference, when two panels of American and foreign astrologers will give verdicts.

To astrology skeptics that will be gibberish based on pseudo-science nonsense, as meaningful as goldfish bubbles. Conference exhibitors have names such as Cosmic Intelligence Agency, Planetary Visions, Aura Photo & Coaching, Gaisheda Kheawok & The Whispering Song School.

Astrologers are not psychics, Perry said. “We can read certain signs but there are always certain levels of ambiguity.”

Astrologers predict New Hampshire results: whoever wins will be president Read more

Gloria Star made one safe prediction. “Whoever wins, no one will be entirely happy with what they get.”

If Clinton wins, here is another safe bet: a fresh round of birtherism. She was born on 26 October 1947 in Chicago, but the exact time of her birth is disputed. Some accounts say 8am, others 8pm, or maybe closer to 2am.

“It’s important because the planets shift over the course of a day, and just a few minutes can make a big difference,” Star said.

A sleuthing astrologer rang an Illinois records office and used a Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein-type Watergate code to extract information, Ackerman said. When he punted incorrect times, the source or sources indicated so. “They were silent at 2.18am, which basically is Virgo rising.”

A big deal if correct, apparently. “The chart of the leader is the chart of the country while they are leading,” Ackerman said.