Review and Preview

Due to the length and nature of this week’s “Review and Preview,” there will not be an additional “Longer-Term Thoughts” section.

Let’s see if we got this right. Gold soars to a record high last week as the Euro currency falls to a new 4-year cycle low. Everything that was up is now down. Everything that was, isn’t, and that which is, won’t be much longer. And that which will be, isn’t yet known, but only imagined. Welcome to this new portal you’ve entered known as the “Cardinal Climax,” an 80-90 year planetary pattern in which Dollars become worth pennies and Euros even less, as fiat paper currency begins to disintegrate right before our eyes.

In this “Alice in Wonderland” flight from normalcy, there are layers upon layers of surprises as we descend deeper and deeper into the Cardinal Climax of 2008-2015. From the viewpoint of this Financial Astrologer, there are at least five layers of new cosmic – and thus mundane — realities to be encountered. The first occurred in late 2007, early 2008 as Pluto initiated humanity into the Cardinal Climax with its 15-year entrance into Capricorn. That was when the toxic sub-prime mortgage began to wreak havoc upon the world-wide banking system, forcing central banks (like the Federal Reserve Board) to begin reducing interest rates to zero and to pump excessive monies in order to shore up liquidity, which was suddenly dangerously low. But it didn’t work for long as Bears Stearns and Country Wide Financial went under anyway.

The second layer was the first major aspect of this Cardinal Climax – Saturn in opposition to Uranus, in the fall of 2008. It would begin the near collapse of banking system (Lehman Securities went under) and the resulting historic elections in the United States and Japan, where the populace voted for the promise of “change” (a good word to describe Uranus), and threw out the incumbents – a phenomenon that continues, as witnessed by Great Britain last week. The banking system cracked and the markets plunged. Then they recovered more powerfully than anyone thought possible. These are all themes consistent with Saturn and Uranus in opposition.

The much more than expected explosion of debt kicked off the third layer as Saturn entered Libra and began its series of waning square aspects to Pluto in October-November 2009. The degree of debt was much worse than anyone (certainly politicians) realized or revealed at the time. In fact, it was out of control, despite claims to the contrary, and promises to rectify it, by world leaders. As all this was happening, Mother Earth then went berserk in the first five months of 2010 (Haiti and Chile earthquakes, Iceland volcano eruptions, the oil rig explosion and disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, to name just four). This too is a classical expression of Saturn and Uranus in opposition, with Pluto in Capricorn.

And now, we descend even further into this next layer of this bizarre portal, this rabbit hole abyss of a Wonderland, as both Jupiter and Uranus enter Aries in the next three weeks, lasting into early September. What was down will now turn up, up, and away (think asset inflation). And that which was up will likely turn down, down, and more down (think of the future of political incumbents). There are no limits with Jupiter and Uranus, only new expressions and experiences.

The final layer – the bedrock – of the Cardinal Climax – will unfold late July through early August, when Mars joins Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and the Moon’s North Node, all in cardinal signs. The middle of this will be Pluto and North Node in Capricorn, which will extend even into November. What can be deeper or darker than Pluto in Capricorn, squared by both Uranus (with Jupiter) and Saturn (with Mars)? This is not to suggest that everything will be negative, for in darkness there is also a sense of unity and oneness, from which the cycle of growth is slowly but painfully reborn.

How high will Gold be then? For that matter, what will the terms “Currency” and money come to mean? If you have followed the golden rules of financial planning, i.e. saving money, since the Cardinal Climax began, you have suffered dearly. Your savings are paying less than 1% while stock and precious metals are appreciating over 70% in the last 12-18 months. But you know, just as soon as you move your money from savings to these markets and discard the “golden rule,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average will fall 1000 points or more. Or so you fear.

These are not the “End Times,” but they are times of collective karma, or the realization of consequences from misguided past actions. In typical Saturn-Uranus fashion, a lot of promises have been made that have been broken. In classical Pluto-in-Capricorn fashion, the collective is demanding accountability. They are searching for leaders who exhibit honesty and financial sensibility, which will allow for practical and realistic financial planning. As we come out of the fifth layer of the Cardinal Climax, the ascent won’t be along the same path as the descent, and it won’t be straight up. It will be rocky, and it may feel like we have entered yet other strange portals along the way. The most powerful of the signature within the Cardinal Climax will take place 2012-2015. That is the 126-year waxing square aspect between Uranus and Pluto. At least it is a waxing square, which symbolizes the pain of birth (or rebirth), and not pain of death.

Short-Term Geocosmics, and more Review and Preview

This fourth layer of the Cardinal Climax technically begins this week. Transiting Venus will enter Cancer on May 19. As stated last week, that will “… (set) off the Cardinal Climax by entering the “grand square” position of the T-square between Jupiter-Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn. The week after that will witness the 20-year opposition between Jupiter and Saturn." In fact, between May 17 and May 23, there will be eight important geocosmic signatures, and three of them are the most powerful Level One types (i.e. historically the highest correlation to primary or greater cycles). As Venus enters Cancer, it will square both Saturn and Uranus, and oppose Pluto, May 18-23, creating a case of translation to the Cardinal Climax.

But it is the two following weeks which are also a great concern to Financial Astrologers. On May 28, Uranus enters Aries. On June 6, Jupiter enters Aries. On June 8, Jupiter and Uranus will conjunct one another in the first degree of Aries. There are no geocosmic signatures with an historical higher correlation to primary or greater cycles than Jupiter and Uranus within 11 trading days. Both of these planets represent speculation, as does the fire sign of Aries as well. There are probably no two planetary combinations that represent greater volatility than Jupiter and Uranus (perhaps Mars belongs in this group too, but that will have to wait until August to set in). We can already see its influence manifesting in financial markets in the past 10 days, from the intraday 1000 point drop in the DJIA on Thursday, May 6, to the 1000 point rally from that low into last Thursday, May 13.

And while all that happened, the Euro currency fell to a new 4-year low and Crude Oil dropped back to 70.00/barrel, when just the prior week it was trading at its yearly high of 87.15 and Gold soared to a new all-time high on Friday, just below $1250.00/ounce.

We are entering the fourth layer of this spectacular and bizarre portal. The rules that worked before don’t work now. But that doesn’t mean that there will not be exceptional trading opportunities. To the contrary, the most exceptional trading opportunities of a lifetime are unfolding now. Unfortunately this also means the risk of loss is greater than ever before too. If you don’t understand Astrology, you might start to think that the world and its leaders have gone mad as a Hatter, and Alice really is the leader of the Tea Party (is he really the only sane one?). It can make for great entertainment if you can remain detached and keep your wits about you.

The only thing is that I don’t think Mother Nature is viewing this craziness with much sense of humor these days, certainly not in regards to deep sea oil drilling. This can be a time for laughter, if you can remain detached, but it can also be a time for tears, caused by senseless and careless behavior leading to accidents and loss of life.

Yet Pluto in Capricorn will hold one accountable to all behaviors now, even the Mad Hatters of government and big business (they are all in it together, including the Freddies and Fannies) as well as Alice and her Tea Party, and Robin Hood too. As Yogi Berra once said: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Only in our self delusion, we may think that “This Time It is Different.” In some ways it is, but in terms of the outcomes, it’s not.

Take your risks, but keep them measured. Keep your seat belts fastened. There are a whole lot more surprises and revelations coming up on this roller coaster ride through the Wonderland of the Cardinal Climax. It is turning out to be everything it was hyped to be.