Review and Preview
Last week was interesting from the viewpoint of Financial Astrology. First of all, many stock indices topped out, or made secondary highs, around the August 15-18 critical reversal date, which coincided with the lunar eclipse conjunct Neptune, and the very favorable Venus-Jupiter trine. At the same time, precious metals and crude oil ended their very severe month-long declines, and started substantial rallies this past week. On Tuesday, August 19, Mars ingressed into Libra, and the currency markets bottomed against the U.S. Dollar while Treasuries made new cycle highs. This is significant, for as stated in last week's column, "Mars will enter the cardinal sign of Libra on Tuesday, August 19. Since the Federal Reserve Board was born at the start of another cardinal sign (Capricorn, December 23, 1913), we can anticipate a change in trend in interest rate-related markets, like Treasuries (which have been rising) and foreign currencies (which have been falling against the US Dollar)." Then on Wednesday and Thursday, several stock indices ended their pullback, consistent with a lunar reversal phase of stocks (Sun in Leo, Moon in Aries, both fire signs). By Friday, U.S. and European stock indices were sharply higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 200 points. The exchanges in the Far East and Pacific Rim countries did not participate as greatly in this end of the week rally, probably because they were closed before the biggest part of that rally unfolded on Friday.
The stage is now set for equity markets to continue higher into the first two weeks of September, when a series of important Jupiter transits converge. The rally could be quite sharp, if Jupiter's affect is bullish this time around, as the technical picture implies. Let's see if the current bullish technical environment holds up to assure this forecast as we head into yet another holiday week. The United States celebrates Labor Day on Monday, September 1. The combination of holiday week, and applying Jupiter signatures, would seem to be positive.
Short-Term Geocosmics
This weekend (August 23) will find transiting Venus in opposition to Uranus. Therefore this ends yet another "translation" period where a faster moving planet (Venus) aspects the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition. In this current instance, the conjunction of Venus to Saturn took place August 13, and the opposition of Venus to Uranus occurs August 23. Most of this period was down again, as most of these translation periods have been this year. There is yet another "translation" period coming up September 3-13, when the Sun will conjunct Saturn and end with its opposition to Uranus. Only this time, I am not so sure the market will fall the whole time, because during this period, there will be a slew of important Jupiter transits too. Jupiter transits can act like a magnet, uplifting the market into its arena of influence. These will take place September 4-9, and includes the Sun trine Jupiter, Jupiter direct, and Jupiter trine Saturn.
These are not the only geocosmic signatures of importance to unfold in the next couple of weeks. On August 30, Venus will begin its geocentric ingress into Libra, which will last through September 23. This ingress has a higher than usual correlation to rallies in stocks, and lows in precious metals. However, heliocentric Mercury will transit through Sagittarius from August 27-September 8. This period usually correlates with an impressive 3-8 day rally in precious metals, and a decline in stocks. As you can see, Financial Astrologers will have their work cut out for them in these next few days, deciphering the probable path of markets during these contradictory planetary influences. We will monitor it closely in our daily reports, for things can change very quickly in the next two weeks, and price swings in many markets may be very large. That is usually the story with Jupiter and the sign it rules, Sagittarius. When there are a slew of Jupiter signatures, and planets moving through Sagittarius (heliocentric or geocentric), markets can either exhibit irrational exuberance or hysterical panic. At least this time Saturn will be involved in a trine with Jupiter, which would imply some moderation. Nevertheless, August 27-September 13 should be a most fascinating period in market behavior, according to the study of Financial Astrology. And if it is interesting in the financial markets, it is also likely to be interesting in terms of mundane and geopolitical events in the world.
Longer-Term Thoughts
The next two weeks are important to the USA (and world) because of the conventions of the two major political parties. First the Democratic Party will formally select their candidates for the President and Vice-President in their gathering, which takes place this week, August 25-28. This will be followed by the Republican Party's choices, September 1-4. Astrologers around the world will be watching closely for the exact time that the candidates formally accept their nominations.
But Election Day, November 4, will tell a more powerful story of what to expect in the next 4 years. Exactly on that day, the first of five passages involving the 45-year Saturn-Uranus opposition cycle will take place. This is one of the most powerful geocosmic correlations to geopolitical activity that Mundane Astrologers study. For instance, this aspect was present around 1920, just after the end of World War I and during the time that women finally acquired the right to vote in the United States. Silver made its 60-year high in prices. It was present next in 1965-1966 when the U.S. entered the Viet Nam conflict. At the same time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched 1000 for the first time. After four days at this level, it fell back to the mid-700's over the course of the next couple of years. This time frame also coincided with race riots and political assassinations. The younger generation rebelled against authority all over the world, and the mantra became "turn on, tune in and drop out." If you were over 30 years of age, you were not to be trusted in this anti-establishment fervor.
No matter who wins the election, the next seven years promise to be a remarkable time of change. And the president elected on November 4 will play a key role in the nature of that change. The Saturn-Uranus opposition occurs five times through July 2010. And shortly after that, Uranus will form a square to Pluto seven times, from 2012 through 2015. This is an even longer-term signature than Saturn-Uranus, as its cycle is 126 years in duration.
As Financial and Mundane astrologers, we won't be lacking for themes and issues to discuss over the course of these next seven years. Astrology can provide tremendous value to both society and to the individual, during this tumultuous period ahead. The only question is: will society seek the insight that Astrology can provide? Or will society (and government) be doomed to repeat the same mistakes it made in the past under these same large planetary cycles, because it refuses to accept or even explore with an open mind, the interconnectedness of the individual to the cosmos? It is perhaps ironic that Uranus is the planet involved so significantly these next seven years. Uranus is the planet ruling the profession and study of Astrology.
Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language. This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the authorís understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycleís analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world. It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.
No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.
About the Author
Raymond Merriman is a professional astrologer and President of The Merriman Market Analyst, Inc., an investment advisory firm specializing in market timing products and services. He is the editor of The MMA Cycles Report, an advisory newsletter used by banks, financial institutions, investors and traders. He is the author of numerous astrology books, and developed two financial astrological software systems: The FAR (Financial Astrological Research) program, and the SOS (Stock Optimizing Selector) Program, which enable traders to identify potential turning points in various stocks and/or financial futures markets. He can be reached by email, or visit his website.
