Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning April 21, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

The majority of world stock markets ended their corrective decline early Monday, and then soared to their weekly highs on Friday. This was right in line with one of the two basic patterns described last week, based on the principles of Financial Astrology. As stated in last week’s column, “There are no major geocosmic signatures in effect this coming week that have a high correlation to reversals in financial markets… This means one of two things: either the move down that started last week will continue into the following week, or the move down ended Friday (April 11) and the market will start another rally immediately this week, and continue rising into the following week.” It looks very much like this later pattern was –and is still - operative.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, the four markets we track made their weekly low on Monday. In the case of Australia’s All Ordinaries, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and the Japanese Nikkei stock indices, each put in their high of the week on Thursday. But none sold off much on Friday. In India, the NIFTY stock index also made a weekly low on Monday, but continued rising into Friday. Of all these indices, India’s again looks the strongest headed into the new week.

In Europe, the pattern was similar. Each of the four indices we track made weekly lows on Monday. In the case of the London FTSE index, the weekly high unfolded Wednesday, but Friday was not that far off. In the other three indices – Netherlands AEX, Germany’s DAX, and Switzerland’s SMI index - the high of the week was not until Friday. They are all pointed up heading into next week’s powerful cluster of geocosmic signatures.

The U.S. stock markets performed slightly different. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite bottomed early Tuesday (instead of Monday), and then soared to their highest levels of the year on Friday’s huge up day. It is looking more and more like that low of January 22 in the DJIA was the 4-year cycle trough.

In other financial and commodity markets, the Euro currency made yet another new all-time high on Thursday, while Crude Oil closed well above $116/barrel for the first time ever on Friday. The Euro started a sell-off after that high on Thursday, and I still expect Crude Oil to top out by the end of May (Jupiter sextile Uranus), and then begin a decline that could surprise many people. If it doesn‘t, it will surprise me. And isn‘t Uranus known for surprises? In this case, the surprise would pertain to the greater number of people, and not to me, the individual.

Short-Term Geocosmics

This forthcoming week is one of the most intense weeks of geocosmic activity this year.

After the Sun enters Taurus this Saturday, April 19, there are six major aspects between planets the following four days. It starts with the Sun making a grand trine to Saturn and Pluto on April 20-21, which could coincide with news that an agreement has been reached (or proposed) to resolve the sub-prime debt crisis. The feeling that “the worst is behind us” may be on the increase. Friday’s big up day in the stock market is a step in that direction, and it might continue to lead to higher equity levels as we start the new week.

On Tuesday, April 22, Mars will form a waxing trine to Uranus. This is a powerful Level 1 signature, according to our work published in “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles.” It has a 70% correlation to primary cycles within an orb of 12 trading days. And then on Wednesday and Thursday (April 23-24), Venus will form a cardinal T-square to the Mars-Jupiter opposition. On a personal level, this can correlate with big attractions and/or disputes in love. It is sort of like falling in – and then out – of love. On a Financial Astrology level, this can correlate with a big price swings in the equity markets. It is sort of like falling in – and then out – of love for your portfolio (or broker).

On top of all that, we will go through another Sagittarius Factor period (Moon is Sagittarius) Tuesday-Thursday. This typically is a lunar phase that can correspond to be very large price swings as well, especially when Mars, Jupiter, or Uranus aspects are involved. And as you see, they are involved with one another in the middle of this week. Just watch out who you are involved with this week! Everything (or someone) looks good. But are you ready for the ride of your life? Use your brakes, your clutch, and whatever other means of support you have at your disposal if you don’t want to overshoot the “Cliff Up Ahead!” sign. Ah, spring.

Longer-Term Thoughts

There is another primary election taking place this week, on April 22, in Pennsylvania. The Moon is in Scorpio that day, which would seem to give an advantage to Hillary Clinton. But despite the results of that primary, Mundane Astrologers are going to have a difficult time successfully forecasting the victor of this year’s USA Presidential race. Oh, I am certain that after the election is over, many will loudly announce their correct call of this election. But I can honestly say that right now, I still can’t tell who will be the next President based on astrology alone.

I look at the transits of that day, and like every other Mundane and Financial Astrologer, I see the first passage of the Saturn-Uranus opposition. But what does it mean? It certainly means a new course, a new direction of leadership with anything that is decided around that time. On the surface, that would seem to mean a Democrat will win, for isn’t John McCain (the Republican candidate) suppose to be the same direction as George W. Bush? Well, yes, and maybe no.

If we think of Saturn and Uranus as the opposite ends of the spectrum between the old (Saturn) and the new (Uranus), the liberal (Uranus) and conservative (Saturn), experience (Saturn) versus someone who is perceived as original and not so experienced (Uranus), we can see a choice in which the candidates are truly different this time. There is a clear distinction between the two sides. But which one wins? Saturn or Uranus?

There are five passages of this aspect between November 4, 2008 and July 26, 2010. On this first passage, the Moon and Jupiter will be in Capricorn, the sign that Saturn has dominion over. This would seem to suggest that the Saturn principles (old, conservative, and experienced) would prevail. But on the other hand, Saturn in opposition to Uranus also implies many surprises still be in store for the nation - for the world - going right into the election. Perhaps Saturn is highlighted because it is being “hit” in a candidate’s chart and (s)he has a change of status in life even nearby to the election. One might note that John McCain is a Virgo (August 29, 1936, 9:00 AM, Panama City, but this is not confirmed data). If he wins, he would be the oldest person ever to be elected to this office (72 years young). That certainly fits with Saturn being emphasized, especially with the Moon in Capricorn on Election Day. But Saturn is transiting through Virgo all year, and he is a Virgo. What can happen to someone who runs a grueling campaign, with Saturn on his Sun? It depends on his health and vitality of course, but Saturn on anyone’s Sun, let alone one who is already past 70 years of age, is not a time when one is advised to “push the limits” of what might be needed to conduct a successful campaign. I realize that some astrologers are reading this as a time when one takes on more responsibility in his/her life, and therefore he is the candidate to win because of this very condition of Saturn on his Sun. Perhaps. But he also has his natal Saturn at 20 Pisces, right where Uranus is passing back and forth all this year. And that natal Saturn is opposite his Venus-Neptune conjunct, with Venus ruling the probable ascendant (Libra). Transiting Saturn is there too, on his natal Venus-Neptune, opposite his natal Saturn). So this Saturn-Uranus opposition that is transiting in the heavens denotes sudden and unexpected changes along the way towards this election, towards the assumption of this office by next year. And it falls on very critical points to Senator McCain’s chart.

Can he win on the basis of Astrology? Yes, of course he can. In fact, on the basis of astrology alone, I would say McCain has the advantage. The Moon – Jupiter conjunction on Election Day implies the country does not want to make a change, and that they do want someone in the office who has experience and represents the idea of “safety to the nation.” It favors the older man, the one with more experience, in my way of looking at things.

But it could also be interpreted to favor Senators Clinton and Obama too, because they represent Uranus – especially Obama (youth). If the youth come out in large numbers, they could produce the classical theme of “change” (or upset) that goes with Uranus in opposition to Saturn. Or something else can happen along the way that derails the whole process, prior to January 20, when the new president is sworn in. And if that happens, you can be certain it would open up a whole new realm of conspiracy theories, especially if it means the current Administration has to stay in office beyond that date, which - after all – isn’t that what many conspiratorial theorists are suggesting anyway? It could happen, and it may not be the result of a dark conspiracy. Or, maybe it is. In any event, this signature promises one thing for certain: nothing is certain. Anything can happen with this election, and even right afterwards.

Fall of the Roman Empire

http://www.hermes-press.com/triumph_civ.htm

You have heard an expression that America is likes a Roman Empire.
Below you can read how connected the dots between what is going on now in our country and what reason Roman Empire had fallen.
It has a strong parallel between them. Read and THINK...

In his famous history, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbons outlined the major reasons for the fall of Rome:

• The government became increasingly controlled by the rich and the military
  
  
• Imperialistic militarism became the primary state policy, with increasing amounts of funds spent on armaments for foreign wars
  
  
• Patriotism declined as people lost their allegiance to the state
  
  
• The state imposed ever increasing taxes on the middle class
  
  
• Moral decay was evident as depicted in its literature, amusements, and lifestyles that often portrayed gratuitous sex and violence; there was a mad craze for pleasure, with sports becoming progressively more brutal
  
  
• As productivity declined, the Roman empire became more dependent on foreign products (globalism)
  
  
• A break-down in the labor force occurred as the traditional work ethic declined
  
  
• The infrastructure of the cities eroded and began a steady decay
  
  
• A balance of trade deficit began to occur in increasing volume
  
  
• The cost of government, including the military and welfare, became unbearably burdensome to the taxpayers
  
  
• Class economic warfare broke out between the rich and poor
  
  
• Parts of the empire were not taxed while others were overtaxed
  
  
• Christianity challenged the traditional Roman character traits and caused people to neglect the state as they concentrated on personal salvation; religion degenerated into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to guide it

Pluto and its main moon Charon

The beginning of 2008 was the poorest start of a year in a long time, the financial markets were shattered violently and the stock markets dropped sharply. This has not really been a surprise, the danger of a January weakness was also mentioned in press interviews, e.g. in the December issue of Germany's leading market magazine "Börse online". The 'malefic' responsible for the timing of the turbulences is without doubt the dwarf planet Pluto, at the top of the page it's depicted with its main moon Charon. In Roman mythology Pluto is the lord of the realm of the dead and the lower world (Greek equivalent: Hades) and Charon the ferryman to the realm of the dead.

Pluto symbolizes death, rebirth, karma, power, transformation, intensity, war, trauma, fanaticism, the occult, the crowd, the collective. In a nutshell, Pluto is the principle of destruction and a malefic comparable to Saturn. The impact of Pluto often triggers painful events and crises, it brings the suppressed and archaic to the surface. This symbolic death planet was activated several times the past months, and you wonder how many skeletons are still hidden in the closet... Relating to the financial markets, Pluto rules these two markets:

(1) bonds, obligations: this is also the link to the subprime crisis

(2) natural resources in general but especially the strategic/ war-affine commodities gold and oil: from a historical perspective, gold is the traditional 'metal of violence' being the cause for many wars; oil is the most important reason to start a war in newer history, already WW1 had a strong oil background as the excellent analyst and best-selling author William Engdahl writes (http://www.plutobooks.com/cgi-local/nplutobrows.pl?chkisbn=9780745323091&main=&second=&third=, see also http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529).

In general, there are three times when a planet is very powerful and dominating the world for some time, the window is +/- a few years:

(1) A planet is most dominant when it's discovered: this is a unique event, so it's most extra-ordinary.

Pluto was discovered in early 1930 when the world economy was at the beginning of the most severe depression in the history of capitalism. At the same time dictatorships and especially fascism were gaining ground very fast in the late 1920ies and 1930ies (dictatorships & fascism are Pluto's 'preferred' political systems). The US banning gold in 1933/34 (until 1975) also marked the victory of the conspiracy of the illuminati/ high finance over democracy, since that year one has to label the US rather a plutocracy than a democracy. Wikipedia offers the following definition for plutocracy: "Plutocracy is a government controlled by that minuscule percentage of extremely wealthy individuals found in most societies." On the scientific level the most destructive invention in human history was made in the 1930ies: the atomic bomb (the idea was born in 1933, Leó Szilárd's patent in 1934). So the Pluto principle of destruction can be easily found on all levels: economic, political, scientific.

There is a special case that never happened before 2006: in August 2006 Pluto lost its status as a normal planet and was re-classified as a dwarf planet. This happened, by the way, almost exactly 76.6-years (37 x 108 weeks) after its discovery. In the spring of 2006 I found out that we are repeating history with a cycle of 76.6 years and this Pluto event did fit almost magically.[1]

So what are the parallels between 1930ff and 2007ff? Certainly more than you would guess (and probably wish). In both cases we are at the beginning of world-wide depression that evolved deflationary in the 1930ies (the natural outcome) but today's 100% fiat money system should end in a hyperinflation. In the past year we witnessed events and indicator readings that haven't recorded seen since the 1930ies (e.g. see http://www.shadowstats.com/article/265). Even very specific events are repeating, too, both the crisis in the 1930ies and today started with a collapse of an Austrian bank with the headquarters in Vienna, Austria (Vienna is considered to be the heart chakra of Europe, i.e. the subtle center of the continent, which explains its central role):

• In May 1931 the Creditanstalt declared bankruptcy, the largest bank default by that time.[2]
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• In May 2006 (almost exactly 76.6 years after the stock market crash of October 1929) the Austrian BAWAG would have gone bankrupt without a government bail-out, after Refco (2nd largest corporate scandal in history) had filed for chapter 11. BAWAG and Refco had close ties.

On the political level both around 1930 and 2007 there was/ is a rapid increase of fascist sentiment trying to abolish civil rights, today mostly represented by the Bush regime since 2001. The usual strategy is that governments abuse inside jobs initiated by themselves (the Reichstag fire respectively 9/11) as an excuse to cut civil rights and abolish democratic rights. The warmongers call the shots, the propaganda (both on the economic and political level) is getting more and more ridiculous. Naomi Wolf describes the typical model how democracies are transformed into dictatorships: "Fascist America, in 10 easy steps."[3]

In the 1930ies there was a racist Jew-baiting, today the agitation is mainly against the Muslims, which can be explained with the different sign placements of Pluto: in 1930 Pluto was in Cancer, the sign Cancer presents home (land) and the genetic roots while Pluto in Sagittarius the past years is the symbol for belief and religion. In the 1930ies the nuclear bomb was invented, today the US are threatening to nuke Iran. And as Warren Buffett already said: the US$ 516 trillion OTC derivatives (notional value) are today's weapons of financial mass destruction.[4]

Uranus, the planet of liberation, revolution and inventions, was discovered in 1781, what happened during this time if you give or take some years? The dollar was created in 1775, 1776 is usually accepted as the beginning of capitalism and in this year the US started their independence war.[6] As a matter of fact, Uranus is the principle of the free market economy because the only factor that creates real wealth over the long haul are innovations. The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the phrase "creative destruction by the free entrepreneur". The political orientation of Uranus is free democracy.

Neptune was discovered in 1846 during the time of romanticism. In 1848 Karl Marx published the "Communist Manifesto", the political ideology of Marxism based on nothing but illusions is very Neptunian indeed. Communism was/ is governed by the Saturn-Neptune cycle. The political system ("New World Order") aimed by the political elite (illuminati) is a combination of Neptune (communism) and Pluto (dictatorship, full control). For instance, the EU commission is but a copy of the structure of the Politburo of the Soviet era, which of course allows interesting conclusions...

(2) A planet is also powerful when it's aspecting the Galactic Center (GC) at 27° Sagittarius, the conjunction (0°) is the strongest activation: the transits of the slow planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) over the Galactic Center in the past half century have always triggered a kind of a crisis.

The conjunction of Pluto and the GC happens every 248 years, the last instance was in late 2007. As a matter of fact, the first time I wrote about this coming key event was 2001 (http://www.amanita.at/e/reading/01/e-0103-galactic.htm, http://www.amanita.at/e/reading/01/e-0104-galacticgold.htm). Pluto rules gold and oil, both markets have done extremely well over the past year. This constellation was fine-tuned by Venus passing over the GC on January 21, 2008, on this day the market appeared to have no bottom. The 2nd most important angle after the conjunction (0°) is the opposition (180°): in the early 1910ies Pluto was in late Gemini opposite to the GC in late Sag. This marked the one of the most perfidious crimes in history and the final victory of Plutocracy: the formation of the Fed - which is an unconstitutional institution and as 'Federal' as 'Federal Express'. Needless to say, in 1914 WW1 started. US president Woodrow Wilson who signed the Federal Reserve Act later admitted:

“I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world. No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.”

The founding fathers recognized the danger, e.g. president Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, warned:

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

The 3rd most important angle after conjunction and opposition is the square (90°), Pluto squared the Galactic Center in 1970. 1971 was the year of the most momentous decision since Bretton Woods (1944) as US president Nixon closed the gold window. Therefore, we have a 100% fiat money system since 1971 and as a consequence the past 37 years have been more inflationary than the previous two thousand years combined...! Unrecognized by the public, the closing of the gold window in 1971 was a hidden state default of the US.

When the liquidity planet Neptune (named after the sea god in mythology) went over the Galactic Center in the early 1980es, we saw the inflation high (and bonds low) of the 20th century and the low of the stock markets (inflation-adjusted) of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

And when Uranus, the planet of volatility, surprise and invention, passed over the GC in 1987-88 we experienced the sharpest crash in history. The previous conjunction coincided with Einstein publishing the relativity theory in 1905, probably the biggest scientific breakthrough of the 20th century (Newton science is Saturn but the new paradigm is Uranus, e.g. chaos theory). Another effect of this transit was the bear market in 1906-07 that almost halved the Dow.

(3) And finally, a planet is potent when it's on the ecliptic which is the plane connecting sun and earth, then the planet is in conjunction with its own planetary node which happens twice each revolution (http://www.astrologyhoroscopes.info/planetnodes.htm2]).

Pluto's nodes are at 19° Cancer/ Capricorn, due to Pluto's orbital eccentricity this transit is not a regular event, it's approximately a 90/ 160 year alternation cycle. The last touch of the ecliptic were the early 1930ies around the discovery, so what was said above does apply here, too. The next conjunction of Pluto with its nodal axis is 2017-19, which can be expected to a time of maximum global destruction.

Neptune (node 11° Aquarius/ Leo) crosses the ecliptic every 82-83 years, the last time after WW1 when many countries suffered from a very high inflation and Germany even from an outright hyperinflation (ended in1923). Neptune is also ruling low immunity (it's the antagonist of Saturn that is ruling the immune system), the Spanish flu 1918-20 was the largest pandemic of the past centuries which killed 25-100 million people or about the same as the Black Death. In the past years Neptune also went over its node which explains why global inflation was never as high as in the 21st century (although the inflation numbers are heavily doctors in many countries, especially in the US).

Interestingly, at the time of their discovery Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were all rather close to the ecliptic which could suggest that points 1 and 3 are usually connected.

In the night of January 25th/ 26th Pluto entered the sign Capricorn where it stays until 2024. An interpretation rule independent from the sign is that the ingresses of the slow planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto frequently create instability in the 12-18 months before, i.e. when the planet is in the final degrees of a sign when it's often "void-of-course". Void-of-course periods do coincide with recessions and stock market lows. It's like manually changing gears when driving a car, you have to throttle when are in a 'void' for a short time. Without doubt, 2007 was characterized by a lot of instability, one of the many reasons being the ingress of Pluto into Capricorn in January 2008 - although this crisis window is now closed. Actually the remainder of the year 2008 is dominated by soft signatures suggesting the situation is calming down. 2008 should be very different than 2007 or 2009. 2009-11 is a double crisis window because both Uranus and Neptune are transiting the last degrees of a sign (then this window is closed until 2017-18). It's worth mentioning that the previous instability window was the 12-18 months before March 10, 2003, as on this day Uranus entered the sign Pisces. Needless to say that this window ushered in 9/11, a global recession and bear market and the start of the last war (Iraq war March 18, 2003).

The bottom line is that the last degrees of a sign require mankind to finish off with the past and this indeed was a dominant topic of the past year. A sign change as in late January 2008, however, brings in new energy, mankind is again able to focus on the future and new projects and not on the past. So it's no surprise that the first 1-3 years after a sign change (and partly longer) are commonly beneficial for the economy and politics.

What do the signs Sagittarius and Capricorn represent? The table below offers a comparison.

Pluto in	Sagittarius 1995-2007	Capricorn 2008-2024
basic sentiment	happiness, hope, mania, optimism	cautious, fearful, defensive, pessimistic
basic tendency	expansion, growth, abundance	contraction, scarcity
symbolism	endowment (of life) with meaning, community, values, goal orientation, freedom, philosophy, religion	discipline, perseverance, steadiness, order, concentration, hard-nosed, karma, laws, norms, control, technology
economic/ business	free trade, globalization, free enterprise, dismantling trade barriers	restriction of economic freedom, (re-) nationalizations, prices fixed by the state and not by the markets, centrally planned economy, re-erection of trade barriers
economic confidence & tendency to take risks	high	low
role of the state	rather irrelevant, capitalism	dominant, decisive, planned economy
stock markets	manias & overvaluation	realistic to low valuations
political	political correctness/ "do-gooders", religious-philosophical topics dominate, terror by fundamentalists	discussion focused on absolutely necessary topics, restriction of freedom
challenge for companies	How can we sell into supersaturated markets?	How can we still produce in spite of the problems, limitations & bottlenecks (e.g. lack of commodities)?
sectors	global & multinational companies, luxury goods, export – import, sports goods, gambling, clothing (for men), wholesale, ethical investment, travel and transport (tourism, airlines), growth companies, consumer, services	blue chips, public administration & bureaucracy, industry (esp. heavy industry), construction, hardware, commodities, agriculture

In 1994 the stock markets experienced the longest correction of the 80ies and 90ies and with the ingress of Pluto into Sag on 1/16/95 the real mania started: the Nasdaq 100 index rose from below 400 points in 1994 to almost 5000 points in 2000. Besides, the year 1995 marked the breakthrough of the internet as one key element of globalization.

One of the characteristics of the Saturn-ruled sign Capricorn is bureaucracy and planned economy. In 1989 the Eastern bloc collapsed under the very remarkable triple conjunction of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the sign Capricorn. Uranus and especially Neptune dissolved the Capricorn structures. For world politics, 1989 was without doubt the most important year in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century due to the extra-ordinary constellations the events were foreseen by some astrologers albeit almost no one did pay attention because the end of communism of the Soviet Union seemed surreal to political observers without the necessary astrological background.

The market that is currently almost the only mechanism to set prices and distribute goods should be partly replaced in the coming 15-20 years by other means, e.g. coupons. In the past years some states have started to re-nationalize key industries. The privatizations of the past 20+ years have been touted as a 'progressive' policy but reality looks different: from a historical perspective, privatizations have been a means to avoid or at least postpone an approaching state default!

Viewed from the sun (heliocentric), Pluto enters Capricorn on 7/19/08, viewed from earth (geocentric) there are two ingresses due to the retrograde period, one at the beginning and one at the end of the year. The United States are for me a Sagittarius country while Capricorn is more associated with China which is the 2^nd oldest state on the planet, after Egypt. So the transit of Pluto as the planet of power from Sag into Cap certainly paraphrases the ongoing power shift from the US to China. There are numerous signs that the US empire is crumbling.[8] Interestingly, two symbolic events happen near the sign change of Pluto in July 08: first, in June 08 Bill Gates, the founder of one of the most valuable US companies and the symbol of the American dream, is (semi-) retiring. Second, in August 08 the Olympic Games take place in China. Another key event could be the withdrawal of the US army from Iraq in fall 2008. And last but not least it's a nice synchronicity that PetroChina is replacing Exxon as the company with the highest market capitalization, both being oil companies (= Pluto).

The cycle of civilizations (rise & fall) is typically 220-240 years long, which approximately equals one revolution of Pluto (247 years) and is also close to a higher vibration of one Venus cycle (225 years).[5] The scarcity of raw materials is clearly on the horizon, in particular of the commodity #1 for the capitalistic society: oil. Robert Gover expects the most serious depression in the history of the US 2008-19, and I concur.[7] This should throw the nation back to the level of a 3^rd world country, the country should also return to the isolationism policy of the 19^th century. Politically you have to be prepared for an Orwellian police state during the Capricorn transit, this is a key element of the New World Order plans.

Saturn and the sign Capricorn have another traditional meaning: age. The revolution of Saturn of about 30 years is about the length of one generation. Is it just a coincidence that according to Harry Dent the West reaches the top of the generation cycle in 2008-9 with the ingress of Pluto (= the mass) into the sign Capricorn (= age), a long-term growth top?

Analyzing the sectors it's obvious that those industries that have profited most from globalization will also suffer the most. Tourism and transport (especially airlines) will have a hard time when oil is getting extremely expensive. Instead, the "dirty" sectors" (industry, commodities, agriculture) are favored by the global trends.

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[1] http://www.amanita.at/e/reading/06/e-0610-766.htm

[2] http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/a-list/2005w04/msg00043.htm

[3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

[4] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a58EF32GpHeg

[5] http://www.billmeridian.com/BillMeridianSarrubiStocksandCommodiites.pdf

[6] Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" published in 1776 is usually taken as the start of capitalism; moreover, the illuminati were founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Ingolstadt, Germany

[7] http://www.robertgover.com/artical-may.html

[8] http://www.commondreams.org:80/views07/0202-26.htm

Stock MArket Comments for the Week Beginning April 7, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

After ending a corrective decline last Monday, March 31, many of the world stock indices commenced one of their strongest rallies in a long time over the following two days. In some indices, the rally continued right into the end of the week. This behavior fits with well our Financial Astrology bias stated in last week’s column as follows: “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.” Later on, this same column ended with, “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.” Bingo! After bottoming at 12,177 on Monday, the DJIA soared to close the week at 12,608, a gain of 391 points from the prior week’s close. The NASDAQ Composite had its low the prior Friday as Venus formed its conjunction to Uranus. That is noteworthy in the study of Financial Astrology because aspects to Uranus are relevant to technology companies. The NASDAQ is heavily weighted in tech stocks. For the week, this index was up 109 points.

In Europe, the pattern was similar. These markets ended their corrective decline on Monday, and all soared sharply higher the next two days, with the London FTSE and Netherlands AEX continuing their rallies right into the close on Friday, just like the NASDAQ Composite. But the German DAX and Swiss SMI indices topped out on Wednesday and then went sideways, just like the DJIA.

In the Pacific Rim and Far East, it was mostly similar to Europe and the U.S.A. Both the Australian All Ordinaries and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were up all week, with a huge gap up day in the middle of the week. Japan’s Nikkei ended a modest corrective decline on Monday at 12,430, and then soared nearly 1000 points to its weekly high on Thursday. But in India, the NIFTY index was a little different. It topped out under the Venus-Uranus conjunction of the prior week, and then spent most of this past week trending down.

Precious metals and grains ended their sharp declines on Tuesday, and then promptly started impressive rallies right into the end of the week. During this rally, Corn prices soared to an all-time high. Of interest here is the fact that farmers announced they were increasing their plantings of Soybeans by 18% and Wheat by 6%, while decreasing their planting intentions of Corn. This is exactly in line with our forecasts made in this year’s Forecast Book as well as our past few issues of the “MMA Cycles Report.” As anticipated, this announcement caused Soybeans to fall sharply, down to $11.35/bushel in the July contract. Just a month ago it was trading above 15.80. Wheat also fell, but Corn soared. As stated in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal, “Stocks of corn before the new harvest could fall to a decades-long low of 636 million bushels, compared with 1.4 billion bushels currently. If corn usage remains unchanged and if yields are the same as last year, he (Terry Roggensack of the Hightower Report) says ‘we’ll run out of corn.’”

Short-Term Geocosmics

There are three signatures of importance this week. On April 6, Venus will ingress into Aries and form a waxing square to Pluto. On April 10, the Sun will form a waxing square to Jupiter. The Venus transit through Aries will last the entire month (April 30), and suggests new proposals (Aries) that could affect the value of currencies and treasuries (Venus and Pluto). We saw some of that last week when Treasury Secretary Paulsen introduced his idea of sweeping changes in the banking world, including increased powers for the Federal Reserve Board. This idea of increasing the powers of the FRB is in direct contradiction with my understanding of Pluto moving into Capricorn, and its relationship to the Sun-Pluto opposition in the FRB chart. For an astrological view of this transit over the next three years to the Federal Reserve Board, and its implications concerning lessening of powers (not increase), please check the article that appears on our website at http://www.mmacycles.com/articles/articles/pluto-in-capricorn/. Not surprisingly, the investment community reacted as if Paulsen’s plan was “dead in the water” already.

The two aspects – Venus square Pluto and Sun square Jupiter - are rather powerful signatures. Both have a nearly 80% correlation to 4% or greater price reversals within four trading days, according to our studies reported in “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles.” This week could be a little bit wild, especially since Jupiter alone represents the principle of exaggeration. A quick 200-400 point down day in the DJIA is within the realm of possibility sometime this week. However, that does not negate the possibility that a new 4-year cycle is in force. That won’t be negated until the DJIA falls back below the 11,634 low of January 22.

Longer-Term Thoughts

The Labor Department’s employment report of Friday, April 4, showed a decrease of 80,000 jobs last month, the biggest monthly decline in several years. Of course this immediately prompted further proclamations that the U.S. economy is already in the midst of recession, a claim that spurred the dramatic sell off in world-wide equities just two-three weeks ago. Our column of the past two weeks alluded to this reminder, as it stated, “With Pluto turning retrograde April 2, followed by Venus in a square aspect to Pluto on April 8 (should be April 6-7), we have to be aware that the forecasts of a great and miraculous recovery may also be pre-mature.”

But what about a recession? Are we in a full-fledged recession? Will it be a deep one, or is this just mild and temporary? What does Financial Astrology say? For this year, and especially the next two months, the long-term geocosmic signatures are favorable, according to principles of modern-day astrology. That is, there are important trine (120 degree) relationships in effect between Jupiter and Saturn, as well as Saturn and Pluto. And, as mentioned last week, Jupiter has also now begun its first of three favorable sextile (60 degree) aspects that will last into November. Modern-day astrology, applied to the field of market timing, hypothesizes that such favorable aspects are ultimately favorable for the economy and equity markets.

However, we also discussed the idea that traditional astrology might have another viewpoint. Here, it is not planets in aspect that are so important, but rather planets in signs that are more important. In this regard we note that both Jupiter and Saturn are in earth signs (Capricorn and Virgo respectively), and earth signs have more a contracting quality. Thus the economy and stock markets might not perform so well with these placements. In my opinion, I think it is a combination of both these principles at work. The planet-sign relationships may coincide with the constriction we have experienced in regards to economic growth and stock market behavior so far. But the favorable aspects have also limited the amount of downside activity too. The economy and stock markets may not be so bullish right now, but they aren’t falling hard either. For the amount of fear witnessed in the world investment community in March, these economies and equity markets have held up pretty well. The fear was great, but the fear has yet to materialize into anything near the degree to which many analysts predicted.

Yet it is interesting to note the similarity between the last instance of the 29-year cycle of Saturn in Virgo, to this current time. (Virgo, by the way, represents "the work force," and Saturn represents "contraction"). The last time Saturn was in Virgo occurred from November 1977 through September 1980. You may remember in the United States, this was a time of sharply rising prices (inflation), when precious metals soared to historic highs. But it led to an economic recession and sluggish stock prices. They called it “stagflation.” And here we are again, with Saturn in Virgo, September 2007 through October 2009. Commodity prices are soaring, and Gold recently passed $1000/oz for the first time ever. Yet the economy and stock markets are struggling, and the ‘R’ word is being bandied about loosely. Back then, President Jimmy Carter forbid the use of the ‘R’ word, preferring instead to refer to the economy as “bananas.” I wonder what words today’s administration will use to address the state of the economy. Maybe peanuts?

Huge Effects predicted within two weeks from Aries New Moon on April 5, 2008 @ 8:55 PM PDT.

Looking back on this study: Virtual Mega-quake Shows Earthquake Could Inflict Major Damage on Pacific Northwest

The Next China-Taiwan Crisis: 2009-2012

This analysis was first done at the request of a client. It first appeared in print in Considerations Magazine in the August-October 2005 issue.

Red China has vowed to take back the Republic of China, or Taiwan. In the May 2004 issue of the Boom, Doom, and Gloom Report, Dr. Marc Faber (website-boomdoomgloom.com) points to a report by Wendell Minnick, the Taiwan correspondent for Jane’s Defense Weekly. Mr. Minnick, in "The Year to Fear for Taiwan: 2006", wrote that a mainland invasion is unlikely to be a large-scale operation. Instead, it is more probable to take the following course. Special forces will land days prior to the attack. Assets that are already in place will assist in assassinations of officials and sabotage. The combination of air and missile strikes, rapid deployment forces, and airborne drops would capture key communication centers. The second phase would be the securing of an airport that would be used to ferry in additional elements that would spread out and complete the takeover. Sympathetic Taiwanese would assist the Chinese forces. This decapitation strategy would destroy command and control, likely leading to the loss of Taiwan in as little as 7 days. Taiwan is of strategic importance because the Taiwan Straits there control the flow of oil tankers to South Korea and to Japan. In addition, this is a base for the USA to watch China. The USA would have little time to respond, and if they did so, China could tie up US forces with small attacks on US forces in Japan, or even Hawaii and Alaska. I doubt that the USA would go to war in such an event.

As one man once said, don’t tell me what is going to happen, tell me when. This is the province of astrology. By studying the 4 crisis periods during which Beijing threatened the island nation, we can glean some insight as to the future timing of such an action. The crisis periods were:

1- August 11, 1954 to May 1, 1955: Zhou En-Lai declared that Taiwan must be liberated. On 17 August 1954 the US warned China against action against Taiwan, but on September 3, 1954, the Communists began to bombard Quemoy. In November, Chinese planes bombed the Tachen Islands. On September 12, 1954, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended the possibility of using nuclear weapons against China. On November 23, 1954, China sentenced 13 US airmen shot down over China in the Korean War to jail terms. President Eisenhower refused to bomb mainland China or use American troops to resolve the crisis. The United States signed the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Nationalist government on Taiwan on December 2, 1954. The shelling ended on May 1, and the US airmen were released.

2- August 23, 1958 to January 1, 1959: From 23 August through October of 1958, the Communists resumed an artillery bombardment of Quemoy and Matsu, threatening invasion. Chinese patrol boats blockaded the two islands against Nationalist re-supply efforts. This was accompanied by an aggressive propaganda assault on the United States, threats against American naval ships, and a declaration of intent to "liberate" Taiwan.

3- July 1, 1995 to March 23, 1996: On October 27, 1994, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was involved in a three-day running encounter with a Chinese nuclear attack submarine in the Yellow Sea. On June 9-10, 1995, Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui concluded a private trip to a Cornell University reunion. His repeated use of the terminology "Republic of China on Taiwan" was taken by Beijing as a challenge to the "One China" formulation. In response, the PRC conducted tests of missiles from July 21 to 26 in an area near Taiwan's Pengchiayu Island. A series of missile tests and military maneuvers followed. One missile landed only 23 miles from a Taiwanese port. The crisis ended when Beijing said that they would not invade Taiwan but were still committed to one China.

The military exercises were meant to intimidate the people of Taiwan in the run-up to the presidential election. On March 23, 1996, the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan defied Beijing by electing Lee Teng-Hui as their first directly elected President.

4- 1999: The 1999 Taiwan Confrontation began on July 9, 1999, when Lee Teng-Hui, President Republic of China responded to questions by saying "The Republic of China has been a sovereign state since it was founded in 1912. Moreover, in 1991, amendments to the Constitution designated cross-strait relations as a special state-to-state relationship. Consequently, there is no need to declare independence. The resolution of cross-strait issues hinges on the issue of different systems. We cannot look at issues related to the two sides simply from the perspective of unification or independence. The Chinese mainland's promise of a "one country, two systems" formula for Hong Kong and Macau is irrelevant to Taiwan ... the ROC is a sovereign, independent state."

The crisis ended in May 2000, when Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-Bian, said he will not declare independence nor do anything else that China might consider provocative as long as Beijing does not use force against the island.

The crises were marked by solar eclipses in cardinal signs and strong Pluto influences. In 2009, the eclipses will return to the Cancer-Capricorn axis, and Pluto will cross into Capricorn. In 2011, an eclipse opposes the ROC Sun, and Pluto begins to move over the Sun in 2012. Regarding the PRC, Pluto begins to oppose Uranus, and the eclipse opposition to Pluto squares the communist Sun in the next year. In the following years, Pluto will oppose the USA Sun. The eclipse of January 2011 opposes the USA Sun, likely drawing America into the conflict.

PLUTO IN CAPRICORN 2008-2024

Joyce Hoen DF Astrol S ©
published in The International Astrologer in January 2006

Pluto was first discovered when it was in the sign of Cancer, where it started its journey in 1913, just before World War I (WWI). After WWI the power factions in for instance Russia were in complete disarray, first after the collective murder of the entire family of the Tsar, and the rebellion of the suppressed nation; the result was thorough and lasting, a true Pluto action. Pluto remained in the sign Cancer for 25 years while the European world, its countries' boundaries, its empires, were being ravaged. The power of the aristocracy and monarchies belonged to a previous zodiacal cycle of Pluto a completely new cycle of power had started the power of the "common people" (Cancer).

In a way, it's easy to compare the sign Cancer to the fourth house, especially when mundane astrology or the 'astrology of the world' is being discussed. Toward the end of Pluto's sojourn in Cancer, the forerunners of the Second World War (WWII) could be noticed, a time in which a dictatorial demagogue (Pluto) tried to control the masses (Cancer) who didn't shun collective murder of those who in past times were thought to have had power.

In Western Europe the passage of Pluto through "the fourth house" of the mundane chart thus correlated with the rumbling of wars, although WWII did not truly start until Pluto entered Leo

In 1937/1938 Pluto began a 20-year period in the sign Leo. If we divide the horoscope circle in eight phases - like the Moon's eight phases- one can compare 0 degrees Cancer with a New Moon, a moment at which all is still unaware and the fundament of the entire following cycle needs to be build first - or shaken up as was the case with Pluto when it was in the lowest 'house' of the world's horoscope. The most dramatic period coincided with the point 0 degrees Cancer - 15 degrees Leo, for after that point, when Pluto had arrived in the next (waxing) phase of its total cycle - after WWII -, renewed building and a collective baby boom started. Of course 'children' also fall under the sign Leo.

After Pluto's ravaging at the lowest point in this western "world's horoscope", when for instance weapons were discovered for mass destruction (the atom bomb), Pluto began to proceed upwards in the world's horoscope, rebuilding from the 15 degrees Leo point or, putting this differently, from the first semisquare of Pluto toward the turning point, the first square, at 0 degrees Libra.

The second phase thus started at the first semi-square and finished when Pluto reached the point of the square.i.e. at 0 degrees Libra. Rebuilding was continued during this entire period; people worked very hard, and the nations (Cancer, with which it all started) achieved more and more power over their destinations. Power and money go together, and people continued to earn more to spend. Around the 1960s earnings became higher still, and slowly but surely the people who in a previous Pluto cycle were suppressed, began to earn enough money to obtain power and, ultimately, also status.

Thus, while Pluto travelled through the first quadrant of the new cycle -which started at 0 degrees Cancer- a total turn-around of the powers that were took place. In Russia and Eastern Europe a new dictatorship had risen: that of the people's collectives with a lot of mutual espionaging going on. The time had arrived for the next phase, namely the one from 0 degrees Libra to 0 degrees Capricorn, from about 1971 - 2008. Halfway through this quarter-cycle this new dictatorship in Eastern Europe would start to fall as well, with Pluto in the 8th sign (Scorpio), midway in this second quadrant from 0 Libra to 0 Capricorn.

Matters concerning Pluto often appear to be bloody events, but alltogether it seems that we are in a Pluto-cycle during which "the people" no longer are suppressed.

Right now we have reached the end of this 'waxing' phase of Pluto, halfway through the horoscope's zodiacal circle. During the latter part of Sagittarius we notice that all over the world people hanker after safety, certainty and freedom, and wherever in the world people still are suppressed, they want to escape to the free West, which by now feels nearly inundated by the suppressed of other countries.

What will happen when Pluto will reach yet another new quadrant? To stay with the Moon cycle terminology, this will start in 2008 when the waxing phase has finished and the waning phase starts, i.e. the Full Moon point.

On January 26, 2008, Pluto will move into Capricorn for the first time, to then travel retrograde into the tail end of Sagittarius between June 14 and November 27 of that year. From November 27, 2008, Pluto will stay in Capricorn for 15/16 years 2008-2024.

The increase of population is now at its peak, and if Cancer means birth and Pluto is -of course- the most important and collectively strong factor, we may presume that this increase will last until 2008 and will decrease thereafter! Because unfortunately, the populationgrowth creates tremendous problems in Western Europe, living space (Sagittarius) becomes smaller and smaller, with the result that collective migrations are now taking place, looking for space and individual possibilities to expand. The population growth keeps demanding more and more regulations for the simple reason that we, 'the people', can't always cope with the concept of freedom and misuse our planet and the still open spaces so badly because we're still fighting for our own safety, thereby endangering the safety of others and of nature itself. Pluto is now still in the quadrant of 'mutual relations' between people (Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius), but the planet will move into a more collective quadrant (Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) - the quadrant which asks us 'how will we all find a space that keeps us individual yet together; how will the world work it out on a grander scale?'.

A new kind of suppression is noticeable already the suppression by rules that are imposed upon us by outside forces, the authorities (Capricorn). It is also possible for us, individuals, to try if we can work with fewer rules by using our own disciplines better, by taking responsibility ourselves, as members of 'the people'.

Action is always followed by reaction. Whenever we take too much freedom individually, without regard for others, there will be a reaction. This may be imposed upon us by the ruling powers. During the sign Cancer the people murdered these rulers in order to claim power for themselves.

Now the people (that is, 'we') have gained power and occupy positions of political influence and authority. Will these same authorities this time be killed in a hostile manner, or will the people (we) show that we can handle individual freedom by actually accepting responsiblity?

Responsibility or rule? Rules originate when people don't take personal reponsibility; where there is chaos rules need to be created in the interest of the collective safety. Whenever we accept personal resonsibility, we'll need far less rules. Will it become possible during the Pluto in Capricorn period to have global governments that are formed by us, i.e., governments we personally created - apart from a collective new global dictatorship (also created by us) which will impose all sorts of laws and rules? The promise Pluto in Capricorn gives us is not at all a bad one - but are people capable of listening to their inner voice, or will they only take liberties and permit themselves to do as they like, at the cost of others? That is the question. Can we, "the people" who wanted the power in fact handle power? That is the question. This is always the question when Pluto occupies the tenth house of an individual's chart; power and the lack of it in relation to our social status are the order of the day in such cases. This theme exists because Pluto tries to use power in a pure, clean way, NOT at others' expense. Will it become possible to observe that our global governments will show far more prudence? - that people will take reponsibility for their own actions? - (just listening to our inner voice and our conscience should be sufficient) - so that all the objectionable rules will no longer be necessary? We will be tested from 2008 onward, and to begin with we might experience lots of noise and violence before we finally understand and can put it in practice - for Pluto is not a surgeon who leaves festering wounds. On the contrary should wounds occur they will be noticeable and they will cry out to be cleaned.

What can we do as individuals, when we are powerless and feel bullied by the collective powers? Just this: bring the power back to where it belongs - to ourselves. We, as people, have no power over circumstances beyond us, no matter how much we try to attain omnipotence to cover our fears. All we have is power over our own reactions and our inner life. Every individual is able to make a difference in this world. Our inner voice is far more important than any dictatorship - no matter whether this is a dictatorship of the times, of fashion, of status, or of entire global governments. Let's free ourselves of the dictatorship of status, of striving and distancing ourselves from ourselves. Take the power back and keep it with you; lead your life in harmony with your inner self, with nature and the people around you. Let's busy ourselves with all this rather than perish in the maelstrom of the collective force of social status, positions and powerful respectively powerless relations. We are in a prolonged Pluto cycle in which we must learn how to handle power, a cycle in which individuals ultimately need to be free to be their own self, without this happening at others' expense. Pluto in Capricorn appears to be the culmination of what was happening during Pluto in Cancer, when the planet was discovered and showed us that power belonged to the people. The people, that's us, you and me and all the others. Can we create a better world with Pluto in Capricorn by showing that we need fewer rules from the outside world and simply listen to our inner rules - the rules we all possess anyway?

We haven't reached that point yet in the coming year Pluto will first be making a conjunction with the Galactic Centre (at 26 degrees Sagittarius). In 2008, times will have changed again, and personally I definitely feel I'm still in the Pluto-in- Sagittarius phase, so that I cannot do better than speculate what will occupy us in the future. Still, astrology shows us in theory which themes will become of importance. It is evident that from 1995, when Pluto began its journey through Sagittarius, a huge revival of near "obligatory success" in the world took place. Sagittarius is rather expansive, very enthusiastic and full of vision. The economy continued to exist by the grace of all sorts of slogans regarding visions of the future that, for a great deal, rested on pantomime and balderdash. All this took place in a world full of advertisements of succesful power brokers making telephone calls in the streets for instance. Reality will overtake them all from 2008 on. I will be breathing with considerable more ease when all this economic coaching and all the balderdash about huge sums of money will become more realistic. However, I will also sadly say farewell to that part of the period Pluto-in-Sagittarius that brought us a great stimulant for meeting other peoples, other cultures, much travel, and the adventures of new worlds.

Living 'in the Now' is really better suited to Pluto in Capricorn than to Pluto in Sagittarius, for Now we live in the Future (Sagittarius). Capricorn is Time itself. Collectively we will be living in the Now more and more our future depends on it. The past and its abuse of power will certainly be brought to light and cleaned up, but unrealistic visions of the future will also belong to the past.

We will handle the principle of living in the Now better; day after day we need to be aware of how we regard the world using our own reponsibility rather than someone else's, which is helpful to others. By the year 2008 I will start living in the Now, and I'll be discovering how this feels, this new period with Pluto in a new sign and in a new quadrant. My quess is that it won't be easy-going during the first few years as large 'tension aspects' will occur with Uranus, Saturn and Pluto in the cardinal signs in 2010. The world will change, that's a certainty.

Hopefully we will witness large corporations, so powerful now and misusing these powers, (and made up from the people who took over the power at the beginning with Pluto in the "fourth" house) go under in favour of a better use of power. A better use which is not at the cost of others, and which will show more responsibility for the environment in which we live and which we share with each other, and this will not depend on outside factors, but on us. Our status might become ruined, but that is 'only' ego.

Our soul will want to express itself and will call for us to join our inner being so that we will be able to stand strong and whole in the outside world - not with a false status, not under the yoke of leaders or even boards and committees busy only with attaining status. Actually, 'status' will be out of fashion once Pluto will be in Capricorn ... ah, what a liberation!