Weekly column: China’s economy has kicked off the year of the rabbit with a worthy bounce

Review and preview

China’s economy has kicked off the year of the rabbit with a bounce worthy of its sprightly zodiac avatar. That raises the probability of stronger global growth this year, and higher oil prices, too—although the biggest effects are likely to show up in the second half of 2023. – Nathaniel Taplin, “China’s Post-Covid Bounce Has Arrived,” Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2023.

Silvergate Capital, one of the crypto market’s top banks, said that recent events leave it at risk of being “less than well-capitalized” and that it is evaluating the effect those events have on its ability to continue as a going concern. Shares of Silvergate were off 25% in after-hours trading. – Charley Grant, “Silvergate Stock Drops After Filing Raises Questions About Its Ability to Stay in Business,” March 2, 2023, Wall Street Journal. 

Last week witnessed multi-week and even multi-month lows in many of the world’s stock indices. But then many of those same markets turned sharply higher right afterwards, into the end of the week, signaling that a new primary cycle may be underway.

In Europe, the major indices bottomed anywhere from Tuesday-Thursday. Each then rallied into the close of the week. The same was true in the U.S., where the DJIA bottomed on Wednesday, March 1, but the S&P and NASDAQ futures bottomed early on March 2, and all three rallied smartly into the close. It fits for a low per cycle studies, but a little early per geocosmic studies, (see below).

It was a little more complicated in Asia and Oceania. China and Japan rallied smartly all week, with the Shanghai Composite trading at its highest level since July 2022. However, the Hang Seng of Hong Kong, the Nifty of India, and the ASX of Australia each fell last week to their lowest levels since January 3.

Gold and Silver also fell to their lowest price of this New Year early last week (February 28), but then turned around in what might become a new primary cycle as well. As with stocks, there is still further work to do before confirming this is the start of a new primary cycle, but each of these markets was in the time band for their primary cycle troughs – and still are until further constructive action takes place. We’ll cover the necessary points in more detail, with trading strategies, in tomorrow’s weekly subscription reports.

One market that ended the week poorly was Bitcoin. Unlike stocks, BTC did not have a robust rally on Friday. Instead, it had a robust selloff, probably due to the threat of a major crypto bank in danger of going under. Saturn is on Bitcoin’s natal Venus, and Pluto is on its natal Jupiter. Still, the lunar cycles look positive after March 8, and at the same time, Saturn will separate from its natal Venus then as well. There is hope.

Short-term geocosmics

An old Chinese saying is that “Truth has many faces.” – James Clavell, “Tai Pan,” Atheneum, 1966. 

Working on mysteries without any clues. – Bob Seger, “Night Moves,” 1976.

Aside from the transits to Bitcoin’s natal chart, there was nothing standing out about the current transits in effect last week. Venus conjoined Jupiter on Thursday, which is considered a favorable aspect in the field of astrology, followed by Mercury conjoining Saturn later in the day, normally considered a more challenging aspect. But that seemed to mark a low in stock prices, consistent with Mercury/Saturn perhaps, but not Venus/Jupiter. In any event, neither aspect has a high ranking in terms of their correlation to primary cycle highs or lows historically, at least not like what is looming ahead March 14-21. This is one reason why we need to be a little cautious about this coming week’s bullish prospects in spite of the powerfully bullish-looking technicals and the fact that cycles are in a time band for an important low (primary type). We prefer to see these reversals occur when powerful geocosmics also stand out, so it’s possible March 14-21 could either be an early primary cycle crest or a failure of this current rally to a new low then.

So what is happening astrologically March 14-21 that has our attention? First, Mars squares Neptune (after markets close) on March 14, followed by the Sun and Mercury conjoining Neptune on March 15-16, with the Sun, Mercury, and Neptune in Pisces, the ruling sign of Neptune. That’s a lot of “unknown.” Neptune represents mysteries, uncertainties, but without “many clues.” In some cases, there are clues, but they are intentionally misleading to hide a “truth :that has many faces.” No one wants to be responsible or accept responsibility, and the order of the day seems to blame others for falsehoods rather than owning up to one’s own role in creating the rumor or fabrication. Additionally, the Sun, Mercury, and Neptune are all in a square aspect with Mars, the planet of war. So the rumors and the misinformation may also apply to saber-rattling and threats that have no real force to back them. It could also be the pretense of negotiations for peace, where trust is still unable to be verified. It is good to know your enemy, but it may not be wise to trust someone who claims to support you.

No geocosmic principle is totally negative, however. Both the Sun and Neptune (and Mars, too, for that matter) are highly creative dynamics. They work well in the arts and entertainment, especially music and dance. But in terms of politics and their correlation to stock indices, this could be a case of being “out of tune” or “out of step” unless one is faithful to the source of their inspiration. Hopefully, the inspiration is for peace and not for deception. Both are possibilities, and either could impact financial markets, and especially Crude Oil, at this time. Bottom line: just be authentic, and be wary of those who are not.