Hell in a Handbasket

If there’s anybody out there looking for a celestial explanation of why hell is breaking loose this week, I offer two possibilities. The first is the increase in solar flare activity this week, which is supposed to culminate on Thursday. The other is the fact that transiting fiery Mars is Cancer is creating a “cardinal grand cross” that also involves explosive Uranus in Aries, destructive (particularly for wealth) Pluto in Capricorn and restricting Saturn in Libra.

As followers of astrology know, this lineup is hitting both the birth charts of the US, where stocks are in a free fall following Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the nation’s credit rating for the first time in 71 years, and the UK, where unemployed hooligans are running amok in the wake of the government’s austerity measures.

Kudos to Nancy’s Starlight News blog for pinpointing Aug. 5 as a day of reckoning for the US. That’s the day that S&P took away our vaunted AAA rating.

I’m not surprised to see a downtown on Wall Street corresponding with Neptune’s retrograde back into Aquarius, which began Aug. 4. The New York Stock Exchange chart is a Taurus and Neptune moving forward in Aquarius helped inflate stock valuations, in my opinion. But Neptune is tricky. I think its last pass in Aquarius could deflate equity prices down at the corner of Broad and Wall. We’ll see.

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Venus Retrograde and the Foreclosure Freeze

About a month ago, a fellow astrologer and I were talking about the possible macro implications of Venus going retrograde in Scorpio, which occurred Oct. 8.

My idea was that some financial issues (Venus ruling desire, Scorpio ruling corporations and joint finances) would be revisited big time. Well, this morning it dawned on me that the freeze on home foreclosures by several large US banks as a result of allegations of fraud and shoddy paperwork is a perfect manifestation of this transit.

Even though some have called for a foreclosure freeze of as long as six months — an idea that has been rejected by President Obama and Wall Street, those supposed enemies — I have a feeling things will get sorted out by the time Venus turns direct in Libra on Nov. 18.

Stay Out of Stocks after July 22

I’m not the first to make this observation and I won’t be the last, but the Jupiter station of July 23 doesn’t bode well for the U.S. stock market. Jupiter is starting its retrograde movement, which means its apparent motion from the Earth appears to be backward.

Today’s entrance of Saturn into Libra brings Saturn into opposition with Jupiter, which is not a good thing. Professional astrologers know we’re entering the so-called Cardinal Climax, which is activating the U.S. Venus. In layman’s terms, the country’s wealth will be restructured.

Making matters worse is the entrance of Mars into Libra on July 29, and its opposition with Uranus the next day, promising fireworks of all kinds. The Mars/Saturn conjunction in Libra on July 31 is likely to bring frustration, anger, and resentment for everyone under the Sun.

Unless you’re a professional trader, I don’t think you should have your life savings invested in stocks. See my “About” for my boilerplate. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. I’m not a registered investment adviser with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

However, I did tell folks to get out of stocks on Aug. 13, 2008, a month before the failure of Lehman Brothers triggered a financial crisis. I was motivated to make my prediction by the then-upcoming Aug. 16, 2008 eclipse.

Venus Direct: Is the Rally Over?

I don’t know how often Monica’s Admirer checks in at Astrology Mundo, but I wasn’t surprised to see today’s 289-point drop in the stock market.

Why? Well, Venus turned direct on Apr. 17 and during its retrograde, stocks staged a rally. So it’s a good possibility now that Venus is moving forward from the perspective of earthlings that the rally will run out of steam.

I’m not the only one subscribing to this school of thought. Check out Ray Merriman’s post for this week.

Another reason why stocks may be resuming their descent is that the Sun has moved into Taurus, which is the sign of the New York Stock Exchange incorporation chart. That in and of itself is not a bearish indicator. It’s just that the Sun is moving toward a square with Neptune and Jupiter in Aquarius in the sky.

As Merriman points out, the combination of Neptune and Jupiter can be quite inflationary, but I think the challenging aspect from the Sun will make this a negative influence on stocks. Stay tuned.

As I’ve often pointed out, I’m not a registered investment adviser and this blog is for entertainment purposes only. I also bought my house at the top of the market in August 2005, so my financial acumen is clearly limited.

The Stock Market and Venus Retrograde

Before you get too excited about these gains in the stock market, let’s see what happens when Venus turns direct on Apr. 17. I believe the station occurs at 29 degrees of Pisces, which is mighty close to the world axis at 0 degrees of cardinal.

I salute those who identified 6,500 as the bottom, or at least a floor, for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However, you might want to think about taking some gains before Venus goes direct.

Once again, a reminder: I’m not a registered investment adviser and this blog is for entertainment purposes only.

More Sad Guys on Trading Floors

This photo of “blurry letters” at the New York Stock Exchange comes from one of my favorite photo blogs, Sad Guys on Trading Floors.

Astrology aficionados out there will recognize the resonance between blurry letters and Neptune squaring the Sun of the Big Board incorporation chart, also known as the Buttonwood Tree agreement chart.

Blizzard Hits Big Board

Stay away from the corner of Wall and Broad streets this week, my friends. The New York Stock Exchange incorporation chart is getting hit every which way. Transiting Neptune, Mercury, and Mars are hovering around the NYSE’s natal Pluto, which is at 23 degrees of Aquarius.

The transiting Aquarius trio is also making a square to the Big Board’s natal Sun and Mercury in the late degrees of Taurus. All in all, expect a bloodbath in the U.S. equity markets this week, with the possibility of circuit breakers being activated.

Stay Out of Stocks

Anybody who doesn’t think the Dow Jones Industrial Average could fall to 1,500 should take a look at this chart. Right now, stocks have fallen about 50% from their highs, a drop that is consistent with many other downturns, save 1929-32, when stocks fell 90%. Here’s the chart, courtesy of Barry Ritholtz.

The Feb. 9 Eclipse and Stocks

You didn’t believe me yesterday when I said this eclipse squared the incorporation chart of the New York Stock Exchange, right? Well, stocks are down about 5% today, depending on which index you follow. Don’t shoot the messenger, please!

The Feb. 9 Eclipse: Everything Seems Possible

I haven’t been blogging as much lately because I’ve been wrapped up in a demanding project that’s keeping me away from Astrology Mundo. I also don’t want to seem like the spoiler for the Obama party.

With Jupiter in Aquarius traveling close to the North Node, there are a lot of good vibes out there. I can feel them in my neighborhood. The Community Organizer-in-Chief is helping folks feel connected and empowered.

Yesterday, my next-door neighbors, whom I’ve known for four years, invited me to a family buffet, and I went. No big deal, I know, but a barrier was broken. A hand was extended across a fence and it was embraced.

There’s been a lot of snow in Upstate New York this winter, and the neighbors on the other side have been shoveling my sidewalk and driveway before I can even get out of the house. People seem to want to help each other these days for the first time in a long time. It truly is a blessing!

That’s the good news — friendly neighbors. The bad news is that today’s eclipse at 21 degrees of Leo opposed the Sun and Neptune. The whole lineup is squaring the New York Stock Exchange incorporation chart, so I’m looking for a further evaporation of U.S. equities over the next six months. I’m not optimistic the stimulus bill, even if it is approved by the Senate, can do much to prevent the economy’s descent.

It wasn’t Obama who got us here, but “we’re waist-deep in the big muddy,” to quote Pete Seeger’s famous anti-war anthem. We’re waist-deep in Iraq and Afghanistan and we’re just keeping our heads above the quicksand of the financial crisis.

I believe that Obama will ultimately be forced to take some drastic steps to get our nation’s economy back on course (cutbacks in the civil service, perhaps), and because of his rock-star persona, people may accept the news with a smile.

When President Jimmy Carter tried to trim the federal workforce about one Saturn revolution ago, he got lots of pushback. It will be interesting to see what happens this time around (assuming I’m right, of course).

And you wonder why I haven’t written lately.