Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Pisces New Moon

The Pisces New Moon
by Kaye Shinker

The Pisces New Moon is March 7, 2008 at 12:14 PM EST, chart set for Washington DC.*
CURRENT MOON

*The New Moon in Pisces occurs on March 7th 2008 at 12:14 PM EST. I'm using the coordinates for Washington D.C. but the New Moon has a double stellium in Aquarius and Pisces so make a chart for your part of the world.

New Moon forecasts show general trends for the month, here is the overview of the month ahead.

For Washington D.C. the planets do not appear in money houses, therefore the economic activity will attract little attention. Every sector of the economy is regrouping and trying to staff their businesses with dynamic leadership who know how to seize an opportunity.

Jupiter is at 16 degrees Capricorn
Jupiter at 15 degrees of any sign is an indicator of a change in economic emphasis. This is the point where you begin to consider sectors that relate to Taurus and Scorpio. One of the sectors attributed to Taurus is Financial stocks. The problem right now is that an investment in this sector would suggest that you could be catching a falling knife. This is when you look very carefully first at price history before you set up a chart. It isn't always true but patient stock holders will sell as the price returns to previous highs thus slowing the upward movement of price. Case in point, the Dow Industrials Index.

Service industry needs to retool
Police, fire and service workers have been very busy especially with the Northern Hemisphere snow cover setting record levels. Replacement parts for the equipment of military and police organizations will need to be ordered. Companies that supply parts will succeed.

Transportation issues including autos will insist on practical consideration. Transportation is experiencing a complete overhaul. People are curious about the changes, but reluctant to buy. They want to know that new fuels are available and convenient. Many are concerned about repairs. Saturn is in House 3

Colds and Flu continue to cut into worker productivity
The flu season continues with folks using every remedy available. Pharmaceuticals and the companies that sell them are exposed to critical research. Over the counter medicines, chicken soup, honey and tea will help. These remedies will attract media attention. Read the labels and invest in the companies with remedies that work.

Election prattle pauses
The challenge in this chart is the opposition of Mars to Pluto which starts several days before the New Moon. The opposition says that a conclusion has occurred. The markets will have a better idea about the ticket of each political party and how they will be impacted by each candidate.

International trade agreements will occupy government. All are important, but those concerning the distribution of raw materials will bring controversy. What is amazing is the exchange of talent and inventions as we march into a new era of energy sustainability.

New Media wins
The New Media is taking over one click at a time. Even the local TV news led by weather is being displaced by the internet weather sites. People have given up schedules and waiting for the weather forecast is not an option.

Air, ships, and rail companies will probably demand most of the attention of investors. They need to offer efficiency and convenience to their customers and deal with the high costs of labor and fuel.

Foreign money is moving in to pick up some bargains and spending time at the various resorts around the country. Those with unique properties will have a high occupancy rate especially if they can provide linguists. Mercury leads Neptune and Venus through the ninth house

Musical Chairs
CEO's, CFO's, CIO's and their cadre of managers are playing musical chairs. As I discussed last month the changes throughout corporate landscape will be very newsworthy. There is a bounce in the price of equities where the leadership of the company is changing. Traders who carefully watch the insider trading lists as well as other corporate changes can make a quick profit. Stock buy backs, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures are the games noticed by Wall Street. The New Moon and Uranus are in the 10th

Goldilocks has dumped Santa and is playing the field with the Seven Dwarf's mining interests. There is a rumor that she is contemplating moving into the story of Ferdinand the Bull and divesting herself of an interest in the Three Bears.


Stock Market Comments For The Week Beginning March 31,2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

After posting important lows the previous week on March 17, stocks markets around the world were all over the place last week. In the U.S.A., the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite topped out on Monday-Tuesday’s lunar reversal date, and then sold off considerably throughout the rest of the week, closing near their weekly lows on Friday. But in the Far East and Pacific Rim, the Japanese Nikkei, India NIFTY, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices all traded at their highest levels on Friday. The All Ordinaries of Australia topped out on Wednesday. In Europe, London’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX indices each made their highest marks since March 17 on Friday, whereas the Swiss SMI and Netherlands AEX indices topped out a day earlier. It was most definitely a week of uncertainty and hesitation, but not at all out of character with the astrological and cyclical indicators that were in effect.

Precious metals, currencies, crude oil and grains all attempted comebacks last week, but failed after peaking out in the Sagittarius Factor zone of last Wednesday-Friday. When the Moon is in Sagittarius, these markets frequently end sharp rallies and then give back a good portion of the gains they just made. That pattern happened again last week.

Short-Term Geocosmics

We are in a rather strange transition period right now. On the one hand we are just ending the time band when Venus is in translation to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition (March 15-28). As suggested during the past two weeks, this period corresponded more to a rally than a further decline in stock indices throughout the world, probably because Venus was in its exalted sign of Pisces this time. Two weeks ago, everyone on the planet was convinced the world economy was on the verge of collapse and depression, and stock markets were in a mini-panic. Most pundits expected that to continue. But instead, on March 17, the first trading day after this time band began, stocks around the world started a surprising rally (it was not surprising to financial astrologers, but to the rest of the world). Now, instead of predicting a global depression, world-wide stock market collapse, and the end of the financial world as we know it, many market analysts are suddenly forecasting a recovery and proclaiming that the worst is over. What a difference a fortnight makes! What a difference a transit to the Saturn-Uranus opposition makes. If I didn’t understand astrology, I would say the world is crazy. But because I do understand the subject to some extent, I am more of the opinion that these economic gurus are instead just fickle – at least when it comes to convictions in their beliefs espoused of the moment.

During this period when the Venus translation is taking place, we also note that a translation of the Sun to a Mars-Pluto opposition is unfolding (March 21-30). With Pluto turning retrograde April 2, followed by Venus in a square aspect to Pluto on April 8, we have to be aware that the forecasts of a great and miraculous recovery may also be pre-mature. Pluto, after all, rules debt, and debt has been the big problem since last August. These aspects of the next two weeks indicate that the debt problem is not behind us. There is still more fallout likely to happen very shortly. But is it enough to send stock values to new yearly lows? That remains to be seen, and the answer determines whether or not the 4-year cycle trough is behind us or still ahead.

One key may lie in the important Venus-Uranus conjunction of this past Friday, March 28. If that indeed acts as a reversal signature, it could lead to a rally, as the U.S. stock market has declined into it. If it does not act like a reversal signature, it may instead unfold as a breakout signature, where once again the floor of the market gives way to an elevator ride south. With Uranus, you never know if it is a reversal or a breakout of important support and/or resistance.

Longer-Term Thoughts

Another reason why stocks may reverse right here is because Jupiter is making its first of three sextiles to Uranus on March 28, the same day that Venus forms a conjunction to Uranus. Anytime aspects form between Jupiter and planets outside of its orbit, it is considered a longer-term planetary signature. And the rule is: the longer the planetary cycle that is unfolding, the longer the stock market cycle that correlates nearby. Jupiter-Uranus has a periodicity of 14 years. It is not as long as aspects between Saturn and planets outside of its orbit, such as the Saturn-Uranus opposition that will take place November 2008 through July 2010. But it is long enough to be considered an intermediate-term correlate to market cycles, such as a 50-week or greater stock market cycle.

In terms of Financial Astrology, Jupiter is considered a dynamic of growth and gains when in favorable aspect, or hysteria and large losses when in adverse relationship. The sextile is considered a favorable aspect. Uranus is the principle of surprises and the unexpected. When markets fall in price around the time of this signature, we look for sudden and powerful rallies to follow shortly afterwards.

Of course any single signature has to be tempered with other planetary signatures that are happening at the same time. In this case, as Jupiter forms its favorable sextile to Uranus, other significant Pluto transits are taking place. The later are more worrisome. So it will be interesting to see how the drama plays out in the next two weeks between this favorable Jupiter-Uranus aspect, and the heavy transits involving Pluto.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Stock MArket Comments For The Week Beginning March 24, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Last week was another classic example of how Financial Astrology works so well in tandem with classic technical studies and basic chart formations. On March 15, Venus made its opposition to Saturn, the first leg of its “translation phase” to the Saturn-Uranus opposition, March 15-28. As stated in last week’s column, “On the positive side, Financial Astrologers can point to the idea that Venus is at least now in Pisces, a sign in which it is exalted. They can also point to the fact that the first passage will be the opposition of Venus to Saturn, which takes place this weekend, March 15. Oftentimes when a market is falling into this aspect, it will bottom, and then stage a sudden recovery just as soon as it is over.”

The collapse of stock markets around the world the prior week spilled over into Monday, March 17. The “mini-panic” plunge represented new yearly lows in many of these stock indices, while others held smartly above their lows of January 22. This is a chart pattern known as Intermarket Bullish Divergence,” and when it happens as close to an important geocosmic signature as Venus in opposition to Saturn, it can be followed by a healthy rally.

We saw this phenomenon in effect in the Far East. The Japanese Nikkei, for example, had a free-fall all the way down to 11,691 last Monday, its lowest price since July 2005. In the next three trading days, it rallied over 800 points and closed near its weekly high. The Australian All Ordinaries also fell to a new yearly low, down to 5130 on March 17. But new yearly lows were not made in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, or in India’s Nifty Index. Both took out the lows of January 2008, but not the lows of last summer.

In Europe, the Intermarket Bullish Divergence signature was in even more evidence last Monday. Germany’s DAX and Switzerland’s SMI indices fell to 6167 and 6769 respectively, their lowest levels since October 2006 and October 2005 respectively. But both the Netherlands AEX and London FTSE held well above their January 22 lows. Furthermore, each of these indices appears technically poised to rally more this coming week.

The same divergence was present in the United States. Last Monday’s low in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 11,756. This was even higher than the 11,731 low of the prior week, March 10, and well above the 11,634 low of January 22. But the NASDAQ Composite fell to 2155 last Monday, below its 2202 low of January 23, and in fact to its lowest level since September 2006.

Although the action in the stock indices of the world continued to be erratic and surprising, they were rather tame compared to that in the commodities. Gold, for instance, made a new all-time at 1017.50 on Monday, March 17. But by Thursday, just three days later, the yellow metal was already back down to 914.50. And Silver was hit even harder. After posting a new 28-year high of 2094 just the previous Friday, March 14, it collapsed over 400 points by Thursday of this past week. This was right in line with what our weekly subscription reports had forecasted – a decline of at least 300-500 points after the CCI (Commodity Channel Index) reached one of its rare overbought levels discussed therein. A similar fate awaited the Crude Oil market. After posting another new all-time of 111.80 on this critical March 17th date, black gold fell all the way down to 98.95 intraday on Thursday, just three days later. The pattern it formed on this decline contains the possibility of more to come, suggesting that perhaps the all-time high is in. This would be consistent also with our call for a 50-90% drop to begin in crude oil from an all-time high achieved by the first half of 2008, per our Forecast for 2008 publication. And finally we are seeing similar breakdowns in the grain prices, especially Soybeans, which staged three limit down days during last week’s shortened 4-day trading week. This too is consistent with our analysis given in the Forecasts form 2008 book, in which we postulated that this would be an almost ideal growing season due to the Jupiter-Saturn trine, combined with overplanting of Soybeans by farmers, thus likely to yield a huge crop this year.
Short-Term Geocosmics

The translation of transiting Venus to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition will end on this Friday, March 28. When the Sun made this translation February 27-March 10, we speculated that stock prices around the world might fall hard, much like what happened in January. And it did. But we suspected the pattern might reverse in this current translation period, because Venus was in Pisces, where it is exalted and thus much stronger. And typical of Uranus time bands, the market has a way of doing just the opposite as what one might expect. As we ended last week, everyone on the planet seemed to think that the financial fabric of the world was about to totally unravel. I don’t ever remember the “D” word (Depression) being bandied about so much as I saw in the European financial press last week. To say that the financial community was in a panic last Monday would be an understatement. The mood was utter despair and hopelessness, sort of like one might expect with planets in Pisces, with Venus in opposition to Saturn.

But Financial Astrology teaches us that when the investment community’s mood is bleak, and markets are declining into these types of planetary periods, it is time to buy. Once aspects to Saturn leave in a declining market, prices tend to rise immediately afterwards.

Still, we cannot say the market has confirmed that the worst is over. More bad news probably lies ahead in the next two weeks, as Pluto will turn retrograde on April 2, and the full moon of March 21 formed a T-square with Mars and Pluto. Whether stock markets fall again to new yearly lows remains to be seen. But with Pluto being highlighted so remarkably in the next two weeks, the problems with debts, defaults, and more financial write downs by major world financial institutions, is probably not over.
Longer-Term Thoughts

The big news in Europe last week was the hysteria about a coming financial collapse. It seems that the financial media is not just focused on a recession anymore, but a full blown depression. The European market analysts seem convinced that nothing can save the USA banking system now. No matter how much money the FRB pours into the system or how low they lower the interest rates, the future of the USA – and hence world - economy is doomed. We are in for a serious washout unlike anything we have seen since the 1930’s. Upon returning back to the states on Wednesday night, it appears that pessimism in the USA is almost as serious. But not quite.

If we look at long-term planetary signatures and their correlation to economic history, we can make a case for both a positive and negative viewpoint. First of all, I would suggest that Jupiter in Capricorn exaggerates (Jupiter) the fear of an economic downturn (Capricorn). The Federal Reserve Board is a Capricorn entity, and transiting Jupiter in its natal Sun and Jupiter sign (of Capricorn) leads me to believe they can still pull a "rabbit out of the hat" and prevent an immediate collapse. I believe they are acting quickly and boldly in exactly the way they have to act. Sure, it may seem like it is too late, and the hysteria can create a feeding frenzy leading to a collective self-fulfilling prophecy. If enough people lose confidence, then of course the markets and economies of the world will crumble, regardless of the planetary signatures. And we saw some of that last week. But with interest rates coming down quickly and with the U.S. Government about to send out $150+ billion dollars in tax rebates, and with a lot of money now in the hands of mutual funds as a result of retirement savings accounts contributions that are now due, it won’t take much to suddenly uplift this economy and the stock market. Once the market starts to rise, these money managers will yank all that cash and buy stocks in huge quantities. And once that happens, the headlines of the major financial publications around the world will be dumbfounded, and will probably proclaim something of a miracle just happened. Why not? Uranus is in Pisces all year (symbol of miracles), and about to be sextiled by Jupiter in its first of three passages this year, on March 28. The danger may not be that market is about to collapse, but rather that it is about to launch to a new round of some serious buying by the funds who are sitting on large cash positions.

If this happens, the financial pundits will declare the problems are behind us. But they are not. Well, they may be temporarily behind us for a few months, for these geocosmic signatures may have an effect lasting a few months, and these stimulus packages perhaps about the same, like just enough to get us close to the election. Once they wear off, the possibility is strong that these same problems will resurrect once more when Saturn begins its square with Pluto (2009-2010). How appropriate to see all this unfolding on Easter weekend, a symbolic time of death and resurrection. Enjoy the respite while it lasts (if it lasts), and try to construct your future financial strategies while you have this opportunity.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning March 3, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Most stock indices around the world continued their previous week’s rally into Wednesday of this past week. And then the “Sagittarius Factor” hit Thursday and Friday, and prices begin a substantial decline to end the week on dangerous ground as we head into next week’s important geocosmic signatures. As stated previously, “But an important geocosmic period commences… February 25 through March 7, when the Sun will form an opposition to Saturn and end with a conjunction to Uranus. In essence, this is yet another period of a faster moving body translating the more important slower moving aspect. The Sun is translating the Saturn-Uranus opposition of later this year, and hence February 25-March 7 may offer a glimpse of what to expect from November 2008 through July 2010 when that Saturn-Uranus opposition is in effect.” In typical Uranian fashion, these financial markets either made a sudden and unexpected reversal, or in the case of currencies and commodities, they continued to skyrocket to new all-time highs.

Many stock indices soared to their highest levels in six weeks by Wednesday of last week, following the Sun-Saturn opposition of February 24-25. This was the case with the Netherlands AEX and London FTSE in Europe. But it was not matched with new monthly highs in either the German DAX or Swiss Stock Index, for a case of regional intermarket bearish divergence. New 6-week highs were noted in the Nikkei of Japan, but not in the other stock indices of Asia and the Pacific Rim (Australia’s All Ordinaries, India’s Nifty Index or Hang Seng of Hong Kong) for yet another case of intermarket bearish divergence. In the U.S.A., last Wednesday’s high was a double top to the high in early February, but in the case of the NASDAQ Composite, it was far off, for yet a third case of this bearish divergent pattern. Thus it sets up a dangerous chart pattern for next week, especially as we move fully into this translation of the Sun to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition.

But the big stories were again in commodities. Crude Oil made another slightly higher new all-time high at 103.05 on Friday. Gold soared to another a new all-time high of 977 on Friday. Silver soared close to 2000 ($20.00/ounce) for the first time in 27 years. Many currencies made new all-time against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro well above 1.5000 for the first time, and the Swiss Franc almost at par with the U.S. Dollar now. Soybeans and Wheat both soared to new all-time highs last week, topping out at $15.24/bushel and $13.00/bushel respectively. Who says prices aren’t rising? Yes, it is true in regards to home prices, and wages are staying fairly stable. But the cost of raw goods is soaring, and has been since 2001, when the Saturn-Pluto cycle topped out (opposition). As stated so many times before in this column, the opposition to the conjunction (2001-2020) is the time when commodities do well, and stocks go all over the place, but mostly down. The stocks haven’t really stayed down for long yet, because we still have the Saturn-Uranus opposition to go through, November 2008 through July 2010. Burt we are getting the picture of what to expect then with the transiting faster moving bodies when they translate by hard aspect to the Saturn-Uranus opposition, as we are seeing now, and as we saw in January when Venus did similar. As stated last week, “Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles goes like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Short-Term Geocosmics

This could be a very dangerous week for many markets. In addition to the Sun translating the opposition to Saturn and conjunction with Uranus there are other powerful forces at work that should be of interest to all Financial Astrologers. As stated last week, “Mars will also cross the 0 degree Cancer point on March 4. Historically that is a period when central banks make critical changes or announcements in their interest rate policies, which in turn affect Treasuries and currency prices, and by association, also precious metals and stock markets.” And then also, “On March 4, heliocentric Mercury will also enter Sagittarius through March 17. This is a period that has a very high correlation to sharp price swings in many markets, especially precious metals and currencies. With heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius at the same time as the new moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus around March 7, it could be a very dramatic time coming up.”

So here we are. Fasten your seat belts again. It could get very turbulent into next Friday, And that is also the day that the Federal Reserve will release its very important Unemployment and Payroll Reports.

Longer-Term Thoughts

The Saturn-Uranus opposition takes place for the first of five passages right on Election Day, November 4, 2008, in the United States. It is certainly shaping up into a classical representation of these two planets. On the Uranian side, you have the Democrats, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who each rep[resent a “first” – either the first African American or first female potential president. That’s Uranian. On the other side, you have John McCain, who would be the oldest person to assume presidency if elected. That’s Saturn, which represents age and experience – and also the Establishment (but Hillary could be viewed as The Establishment too… she could be Saturn and Uranus).

This election is particularly challenging to me – and I suspect most astrologers. The candidates to be selected fit just fine with the principles of Mundane Astrology. In fact, they fit exceeding well. It is easy to define who is who by planetary symbology. But it is not so easy to choose who will win, for with Uranus, anything can happen, and surprises are more than likely the order of the day. As an extreme, under this signature, there can be no certainty that the candidates selected to represent their parties even make it to election or inauguration day. Something disruptive is always a possibility, especially with Saturn and Uranus in hard aspect, complemented by Pluto about to move back into Capricorn at that time (November 26, which is between election day and inauguration). I am not predicting assassination, for these symbols can mean many things. But the last time Saturn and Uranus were in opposition, and Pluto was involved, was in the mid-1960’s. Both political and racially-motivated assassinations stung the USA deeply during that time. At the very least, we must at least hope that these candidates have adequate protection, and are not harmed. And that is why I state this possibility in this column. It is not with the wish to “be right,” but instead to diffuse the energy of this possibility, for in metaphysics, we know that if you want something to have power and grow, you keep it within yourself. If you want to diffuse the energy, you bring it out into the open. We have a very exciting and highly energized process taking place in the United States at this time. The youth – and representatives of several demographic groups – are more involved in this election than ever before. That too is consistent with Saturn in opposition to Uranus. And when you have such “new” involvement involving such “first-time” things, it can disrupt the status quo, and this become a very dangerous situation. Bit as we also learn in metaphysics, danger and opportunity go together. Let’s hope safety is not forsaken in this amazing time we are living, and circumstances (people) allow these cycles to unfold in a natural manner.

Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning February 25, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Stock markets around the world traded in a rather narrow range last week, consistent with the principle of Mercury slowing down as it changed from a retrograde to a direct motion. On Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, there was a lunar eclipse conjunct Saturn. Many stock markets were making a modest rally into that time, and then sold off a bit to end the week. But the big stories were in commodities. Crude Oil made a slightly higher new all-time high at 101.32 on Wednesday. Prices then retreated back to 97.16 intraday on Friday before closing the week at 98.81. Gold also made a new all-time high last week, on Thursday, at 957.10. Silver soared above 1800 for the first time in 27 years. The currencies were also very strong against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro back up above 1.4800, and challenging its all-time high of 1.4966 recorded back in November. In the food sector, Soybeans also soared to a new all-time under the lunar eclipse factor, topping out last week at $14.22/bushel. Despite the data of economic reports, it is apparent that raw goods prices are in a state of inflation, and with the Dollar falling again, this trend is continuing. And as we know from previous discussions, this trend could continue until the Saturn-Pluto cycle ends and begins anew, which is not until January 2020 +/- 18 months. Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles gores like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Review and Preview

Stock markets around the world traded in a rather narrow range last week, consistent with the principle of Mercury slowing down as it changed from a retrograde to a direct motion. On Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, there was a lunar eclipse conjunct Saturn. Many stock markets were making a modest rally into that time, and then sold off a bit to end the week. But the big stories were in commodities. Crude Oil made a slightly higher new all-time high at 101.32 on Wednesday. Prices then retreated back to 97.16 intraday on Friday before closing the week at 98.81. Gold also made a new all-time high last week, on Thursday, at 957.10. Silver soared above 1800 for the first time in 27 years. The currencies were also very strong against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro back up above 1.4800, and challenging its all-time high of 1.4966 recorded back in November. In the food sector, Soybeans also soared to a new all-time under the lunar eclipse factor, topping out last week at $14.22/bushel. Despite the data of economic reports, it is apparent that raw goods prices are in a state of inflation, and with the Dollar falling again, this trend is continuing. And as we know from previous discussions, this trend could continue until the Saturn-Pluto cycle ends and begins anew, which is not until January 2020 +/- 18 months. Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles gores like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Short-Term Geocosmics

We are now coming into a potentially very interesting geocosmic period. As stated in last week’s report, “But an important geocosmic period commences the following week, February 25 through March 7, when the Sun will form an opposition to Saturn and end with a conjunction to Uranus. In essence, this is yet another period of a faster moving body translating the more important slower moving aspect. The Sun is translating the Saturn-Uranus opposition of later this year, and hence February 25-March 7 may offer a glimpse of what to expect from November 2008 through July 2010 when that Saturn-Uranus opposition is in effect. One might expect a very sudden turn of markets during that period, especially near the end, for Mars will also cross the 0 degree Cancer point on March 4. Historically that is a period when central banks make critical changes or announcements in their interest rate policies, which in turn affect Treasuries and currency prices, and by association, also precious metals and stock markets.”

Within this highly charged geocosmic period, we may see the greatest level of volatility right near the end. On March 4, heliocentric Mercury will also enter Sagittarius through March 17. This is a period that has a very high correlation to sharp price swings in many markets, especially precious metals and currencies. With heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius at the same time as the new moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus around March 7, it could be a very dramatic time coming up. Last week may have been relatively quiet in world stock indices, but I would expect that to change in the next two weeks. The question of course is whether that means a powerful rally starts at once and continues into that time, or if instead a powerful decline commences that ends around that time. With Uranus, you never know for sure. Oh, some pundits may think they know ahead of time, for under Uranus aspects, nearly everyone thinks they are psychic and/or knowledgeable. But Uranus has a way of defying logic and making dogmatic types look foolish. It also has a way of causing large losses to those who are grossly mistaken in their conviction as to how the market must behave. So the best way to handle this is to be flexible and nimble.

Longer-Term Thoughts

In lieu of our comments recently made in this column about how the U.S.A. election results will depend greatly on the turnout of the youth, a report out of the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday was most interesting. It stated, “The youth vote tripled and even quadrupled in some states on Super Tuesday. U.S. Senator Barack Obama, with his inspirational words about unity and new approaches to our nation’s challenges has struck a chord on college campuses around the country.”

So it seems clear that Barack Obama represents the Uranus part of the Saturn-Uranus opposition that starts this year, in terms of the U.S.A. election. And it seems clear that John McCain will represent the Saturn part of this signature, since Saturn is conservative, and also pertains to older age (McCain, if elected, would be the oldest president to assume office). So where does this put Hillary Clinton? Well, she too is Uranus, for if elected, she would be the first female president, and the 45-year Saturn-Uranus opposition does have in common historical theme related to women’s rights.

Right now Obama has the momentum and is in the lead. Can he pull it off? It is possible, of course, because of Uranus. But also because of Uranus, there are many expected things that can and probably will still happen that no one anticipates. My view remains that the geocosmic signatures on Election Day will point to the themes that will sway the votes of the population. And on Election Day, the Moon will be in Capricorn conjunct Jupiter, just as it was on the day of the New Hampshire primary and Super Tuesday. I don’t think you can count any of these three leading candidates out at this time. But on Election Day itself, it still appears that the American electorate will go for experience, tradition, and the candidate who makes them feel the most “safe.” Fear still sells. And as result, I am not so sure that Americans will change their stance that this country is headed in the wrong direction, a belief that appears to be shared by over 75% of the U.S.A. population.