Gold started the week in the 1225 area

REVIEW

Typical of Venus retrograde (March 4-April 15), the repeal and reform of the Affordable Care Act stalled last week as Republicans were unable to muster enough support to bring it to a successful vote as of this writing. In response, equity markets trended lower every day this past week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 200 points on Tuesday alone, for its largest one-day loss of this year. The concern is that a defeat would spell trouble for the Trump agenda, as he will no longer be seen as someone who can “close the deal” with the snap of his fingers. This, supposedly, will embolden his opponents and jeopardize his economic agenda. However, once again, this is a Venus retrograde period, and it would be unwise to draw pre-mature conclusions, especially as this is the middle of Venus retrograde, when trends can change.

The climate of uncertainty was a positive for precious metals, treasuries, and currencies against the U.S. Dollar. Gold started the week in the 1225 area (it was below 1200 the prior week) and crossed the 1250 mark by the middle of the week before flat lining between 1240 and 1250. Silver rallied to a high on Friday of 17.80 after trading below 17.00 the prior week. The biggest loser was the Dollar against the Yen, which tested the 110 support zone last week, its lowest mark since mid-November. It is flashing signs that the 16.5-year cycle high in the Dollar was completed right on time in January 2017. The Dollar tends to top out every 16 years, within 6 months of January, coinciding with a victory of a Republican for the U.S. Presidency (1984, 2000, and now 2016).

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

While solicitously "guiding" the markets to its "earth-shaking" 0.25 percent interest rate increase (on March 15), the Fed has been expanding its balance sheet – big time – by buying a huge amount of assets in exchange for cash to reassure equity and bond traders… These numbers look more like a colossal new round of quantitative easing (QE) totally "missed" – but greatly enjoyed – by financial markets. – Dr. Michael Ivanovitch, “The Fed’s Stealthy QE — $267 Billion of Fresh Liquidity Injected Since Mid-January,” CNBC.com, March 20.

Just in case you were wondering how stock prices could rally while the Federal Reserve raised its short-term interest rates on March 15…

There are eleven important geocosmic signatures unfolding March 30-April 21. On Thursday, March 30, Jupiter will form is second of three waning squares to Pluto. This is big for several reasons. First, it was the beginning of this cycle – the conjunction in late 2007 – that coincided with the start of the “Great Recession” and stock market sell off. Not only did many equity markets plummet, but many nations began huge spending programs leading to the four D’s: debt, deficits, defaults, and downgrades. Those same themes are beginning to arise again. Second, this is no ordinary Jupiter square Pluto. It is part of cardinal T-square in which Uranus is also in opposition to Jupiter and square to Pluto. Donald Trump thinks he can quickly pivot from a troubled health care reform issue to tax reform. With Pluto ruling taxes too, in square to Jupiter, and with Venus still in retrograde, the probability of over-estimating the ease of picking low hanging fruit (tax reform) is just as great now as it was with reforming the health care act.

It won’t get any easier April 7-14 when the Sun translates this cardinal T-square, or April 5-21 when Venus makes two exact squares to Saturn, as both planets change their direction, or April 9-May 3, when Mercury is retrograde. If Donald Trump is frustrated now, it may be minor to what he will experience then if he tries to push things through without carefully thinking matters out (not likely). Did we mention that transiting Saturn is also still in conjunction to his natal Moon and in opposition to his natal Sun through the summer? Nothing moves quickly when Saturn is present. On top of that, he has Mars rising in Leo. Mars is not known for patience. One wonders what a frustrated (Saturn) and impatient (Mars) Mr. Trump will do between now and the end of August, when the August 21 summer eclipse will conjunct his natal Mars and Ascendant.

Let’s conclude this week’s column with some comments on the difference between Mercury retrograde (April 9-May 3) and Venus retrograde (March 4-April 15). Both retrograde periods indicate the tendency to make pre-mature decisions, and hence have to go back to the drawing board and make corrections before the dynamics can move smoothly forward again. However, there is a subtle difference in why this happens. With Mercury retrograde, there is insufficient information or knowledge to make the correct decision. With Venus, you have the information and knowledge available to make a decision, but you cannot easily decide which decision is best for you. The conflict is more one of values. Do I stay in this relationship and give it a chance even though I have been disappointed? Or do I stand on my principles and not bend? It is also a matter of setting unrealistic expectations. With Venus retrograde, it is better to set your expectations lower and then be pleasantly surprised if things work out, rather than setting your expectations too high and then be disappointed when they are not met – especially in relationships with others.

I won’t have overly high expectations for the next 3-4 weeks. With Venus retrograde now, and then Mercury retrograde to follow, I may need to repeat this mantra over and over again. Now, if we can just figure out how this will affect financial markets, life could be very pleasant under the retrogrades. I have some ideas, but I don’t want to get your hopes up too high. After all, not only is Venus retrograde, but she will be walking backwards into Pisces shortly (April 2-28). Talk about expectations not being met… this is a very romantic but unrealistic combination, as in the words of Financial Astrologer Marie Schoeppel, who taught at our recent MMA Investment Retreat, Venus will “retreat back into her girl-cave.” I wonder how that will affect the President. It might depend on what’s waiting for him in that girl-cave.