Weekly column: Tech ranges, energy strength, and the Aquarius volatility

Review

President Donald Trump’s push for mineral rights in Greenland may be the latest play in long-standing U.S. efforts to block China from accessing rare earths on the world’s largest island. … Trump has disclosed few details about the Greenland framework deal that he announced after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. But he told CNBC that it includes mineral rights for the U.S. and other partners, presumably NATO allies, though it is unclear at this stage.

— Spencer Kimball, “Trump’s Push for Greenland Mineral Rights Could Block China’s Access to Rare Earths,” CNBC, January 23, 2026.

U.S. stocks finished lower across the board last week, but the Nasdaq was down the least. The tech sector, especially the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, rallied hard on Friday, helping the Nasdaq recover some ground, despite the emerging strength in the energy sector.

European markets were also lower last week, with the London FTSE, the Amsterdam AEX, the German DAX, and the Zurich SMI all finishing lower. This happened even as the Euro saw a significant bid in its value. Money is pouring into Europe, but evidently not into the stock markets right now.

Most of this weakness persisted in Asia and Oceania as well. The Nikkei was down but finished well off the lows of the week. The Australian All-Ordinaries was also down, and ended well off of the weekly low, too. The Shanghai Composite, however, was the exception – it finished higher and near the highs of the week.

Over in precious metals land, the historic rally in Gold and Silver is still underway. Silver eclipsed $100, and Gold is nearing $5,000 now. A metal mania is very fitting for Neptune’s upcoming ingress into Aries.

Cryptocurrencies are still struggling to maintain any sort of bids. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum finished lower, as longer-term cycles continue to weigh on these markets.

Commodity markets saw a healthy rally, with Crude Oil leading the way. Grains also saw strong rallies, with Wheat especially coiling into some interesting price action.

Short-term geocosmics

It’s an extremely Uranian period right now. Aquarius season just started, and all the personal planets are in orb of a conjunction to Pluto. It’s a volatile period filled with surprises, and markets have followed suit with notable intraday price swings.

However, when you zoom out over the past few months, some stocks, particularly in the tech sector, have been trapped in a rather narrow range. The tech sector is very important to the U.S. market, accounting for roughly 30% of the S&P 500.

If anything is going to break this sector out of its multi-month funk, it could easily be all of these aspects and conjunctions taking place in Aquarius. This Uranian/Aquarian period culminates on February 8 when Venus squares Uranus. This is a notorious signature for breaks of short-term support or resistance zones.

Plus, this week starts out with the final ingress of Neptune into Aries. The romanticization of conquest and pioneering is only going to accelerate from here. More on this below, especially as it ties into the conjunction with Saturn in February.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will make its interest rate decision. The market isn’t expecting a rate cut, but with the Moon in Gemini that day, Mercury is the ruler. It just so happens that the Moon will be trine both Mercury and Venus within 30 minutes of each other, and the trine to Mercury will be in effect just as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to give his testimony.

Remember, Mercury is in Aquarius right now, and it’s the planet of messaging. Of course, with the Moon in Gemini, it could be another traditional case of central banker double-speak, but don’t be surprised if Powell surprises us all and tells the market exactly what it wants to hear. It could lead to a long-awaited breakout in stocks. Still, if instead he disappoints, we’re late enough in numerous cycles where an implosion begins as we head into the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of February 20.

Longer-term thoughts (and opinion)

TikTok announced Thursday that it has finalized a historic deal to launch a majority American-owned joint venture, a move aimed at averting a potential U.S. ban on the popular social media app.

— Bonny Chu, TikTok avoids U.S. ban by finalizing historic Trump-backed American majority ownership deal. Fox Business, January 23, 2026

There are decades where nothing happens, and then there are weeks where decades happen.

– attributed to Vladimir Lenin.

Take a moment to think about how we’re now closer to 2030 than 2020. For many, 2020 marked a fork in the road. The old way of doing many things metaphorically died that year, and a new dawn for humanity began. The geocosmic backdrop in 2020 was very fitting, given the respective conjunctions between Saturn and Pluto and Jupiter and Saturn that took place.

But there hasn’t been a major conjunction between Saturn and another outer planet since then. That’s set to change here shortly with the conjunction to Neptune on February 20.

I shared the quote about time accelerating, which is often attributed to Vladimir Lenin because he was a pretty important figure during the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 1917. Given Saturn’s rulership of time, and Neptune’s rulership of the dreamworld where time operates under different rules, an acceleration of the sorts between these two realms is upon us.

The Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 1917 was in the sign of Leo, and it corresponded to the fall of the Tsarist monarchy (Leo) in Russia. Lenin was a key figure in the Russian Revolution. Then there was the conjunction in 1952 in Libra. The Cold War was in full swing, and so was McCarthyism in the United States. The Civil Rights movement also began around this time, with landmark Supreme Court rulings (Libra) such as Brown v. Board of Education. Then there was the conjunction of 1989 in Capricorn, when the Berlin Wall fell and opened up new markets and business (Capricorn) opportunities in the former Soviet bloc. It’s obvious from these examples that this synodic cycle has some sort of unique connection to Russia, but how differently could it play out this time around?

Now, we have the conjunction taking place in Aries, which rules war. One of the recurring themes of Saturn conjunct Neptune is the implosion of some sort of illusion or the dissolving of an authoritative entity. This time around, NATO could very well be in the crosshairs of Saturn and Neptune.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established on April 4, 1949, with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., by 12 founding members: the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. It was born in the early Cold War era and aimed to deter Soviet expansionism, prevent the resurgence of nationalist militarism in Europe, and enable transatlantic security cooperation through collective defense.

Do yourself a favor and take a look at NATO’s natal chart. There’s a stellium in Aries featuring all of the personal planets (Mercury through Mars) and the North Node. Neither Saturn nor Neptune is exactly “at home” in this sign. Saturn is too methodical and calculated for the “do first, think second” temperament of Aries, while Neptune in Aries is like pouring gasoline on fire. Also, with Neptune in Aries, don’t be surprised if romanticization of warfare increases in popularity in the next decade. Although NATO may be in the crosshairs of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, Neptune’s transit through Aries is likely to be very lucrative for the military-industrial complex in time. Perhaps President Trump’s new “Board of Peace” has something to do with it, too, or perhaps it’s something more deceptive – are Greenland negotiations a bargaining chip Trump is using to increase the U.S.’s support within NATO to aid the Ukrainian conflict?

Now, for monetary matters related to Saturn conjunct Neptune. The conjunction will be taking place right on the Federal Reserve’s Midheaven. The Fed is in its most dangerous position since it came into existence in 1913.

Saturn, conjunct Neptune on its Midheaven, could shatter the illusion of its independence or even authority on monetary matters. It’s no secret that President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are at odds with how the Fed has handled inflation and rate cuts.

Regardless of how the Fed proceeds here in the coming months, it’s a lose-lose. If rates stay high to keep inflation in check, they’ll be blamed for the federal debt issues. If rates are cut and inflation returns, they’ll be blamed too.

With Saturn conjunct Neptune, the dividing line between fact and fiction gets blurred, and it can easily turn hostile. Restrictions (Saturn) on social media (Neptune), or at least what it was perceived to previously be, are in play.

Vegetius once said, “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” This translates to “If you want peace, prepare for war.” I think this is a very fitting quote for the Aries-Libra axis, which will be front and center for this Saturn-Neptune conjunction.