Review and Preview

Remember the Saturn-Pluto waning square of November 15, and the concern of Financial Astrologers that the U.S. stock markets did not decline into then? And the further disappointment that these equity markets didn’t plunge immediately afterwards? It seemed like Saturn in waning square to Pluto was going to be a non-event for stocks. All that changed on Thanksgiving Thursday as World Dubai requested a six-month standstill on payment of interest tied to its bonds. In other words, World Dubai cannot pay its debt obligations on time. This is not surprising to Financial Astrologers and readers of this column, for the bug theme of Saturn square Pluto is…. debt! And if one looks at the chart of world stock indices, it will be quite evident that the yearly high in many of these indices was in fact the week of November 16 when the Saturn-Pluto square took place. The only major market that we track that made a high after November 16-18 was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which peaked last Monday, November 23, which was a huge lunar reversal date according to the weighted values for stocks given on our web site.

This is how economic crises start under Saturn-Pluto, if not under most major planetary signatures between outer planets. First, there is a default of a somewhat major country, bank or financial institution. The world is jarred by the debt repudiation, and financial markets plunge as investors rush to so-called “safe havens,” like the U.S. Dollar ands U.S. Treasuries. They sell stocks and precious metals in an effort raise cash, which just exaggerates the sudden and extreme movements. But then everything seems to return to normal for awhile, until the second big entity fails. Eventually that is sorted out, by then another follows. Eventually there are several that happen in short order and a panic ensues. You may remember this same scenario in 2008, when first it was Bear Sterns, then Countrywide Financial a few months later. And then all of sudden, it was Citibank, Merrill Lynch, AIG and others as the banking system started to hemorrhage.

As investors flocked to the U.S. Dollar and U.S. Treasuries, Crude Oil, Gold and especially Silver plunged, along with European currencies. Strangely enough, the Japanese Yen went up strongly against the Dollar.

Short-Term Geocosmics

The unexpected and sudden surprise of World Dubai Bank failing to meet its debt obligations on time is consistent with Uranus changing directions. On Tuesday, December 1, Uranus will end its retrograde motion and return to its direct motion. When a planet changes its directions like this, it is referred to as a “station” of that planet. The dynamics which are associated with a planet become highlighted during its station. In this case, Uranus pertains to sudden disruptions of the status quo. Oftentimes events happen which are considered as “shocks.” World Bank Dubai’s announcement is a “shock.”

The orb of influence of a stationary planet depends upon the speed of the planet. The further-out the planet, the longer its orb of influence in a station will last. In reviewing the history of markets, as outlined in “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles,” a Uranus station can influence stock indices for as many as 12 days either side of the station date. The other thing to note is that any other planet in aspect to a stationary planet is also emphasized during that station. As Financial Astrologers know, the most powerful planetary aspect in the heavens right now is Saturn in opposition to Uranus. The 45-year “crisis” aspect is in force from November 4, 2008 through July 26, 2010. It is even more powerful than the 36-year Saturn-Pluto waning phase aspect, which is also in effect right now, October 29, 2009-August 21, 2010. Together, these two signatures form a T-square formation, and thus are destined to wield a turn in financial markets that will alter the way the world does business for a very long time. The themes are indeed crisis and debt, but also the possibility of brilliant innovations in science and technology.

Longer-Term Thoughts

Last week’s column stated, “The more important reversal signatures coming up will be Uranus turning directions, from retrograde to direct motion, on December 1, and then Mars turning retrograde, followed by the third and final conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune on December 20 and 21 respectively.” These are no ordinary times, for in addition to the long-term Saturn-Uranus and Saturn-Pluto aspects taking place, we have Jupiter conjunct Neptune also in force. This is a 14-year planetary cycle that coincides with irrational exuberance and optimism, when left alone from influence by other planets. However there can be a downside to Jupiter-Neptune too if a crisis arises. Instead of optimism and confidence, Jupiter can manifest as excess and exaggeration. Instead of faith and hope about the future, Neptune can manifest as loss of control. Together they can coincide with periods of hysteria and panic if things start to unravel.

Thus we wait and see if this development in Dubai is only a temporary setback and if investors will quickly return to the market, driving prices right back up into the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of December 21. Or, will the crisis begin to escalate, causing investors to panic and withdraw their monies from equities, resulting in sharply falling stock and commodity prices into the holiday season. With Uranus station, you never know for certain which way it will manifest, for Uranus periods are very unpredictable. Financial markets can just as easily reverse as break out of expected support and resistance zones. Uranus has no respect for support or resistance, and in fact seems to delight in breaking any such boundaries. It is only when breaking through such boundaries that one experiences the freedom and inspiration of Uranus. Of course, it is also true that when you see these boundaries breaking, you can experience the sudden terror of having lost control. That latter phenomenon would just be exaggerated going into Jupiter conjunct Neptune. Let’s hope that this time the Uranus station is a reversal and not a break out to the downside, or it could become a very bizarre Christmas season…. sort of like “Christmas in the Twilight Zone,” with Santa Clause as zombie, or vampire.