Weekly Column

Review and Preview

Now, however, analysts expect more stimulus before the end of the year. “If inflation remains very low, the ECB may decide in December to extend its crisis-response asset purchase program,” Florian Hense, eurozone economist said. – Silvia Amara, “Shocker Eurozone Data Raises Question About What the ECB Will Do Next,” www.cnbc.com, September 1, 2020.

The race may soon be back on to see who can provide the cheapest world currency, as getting inflation to rise remains an elusive goal. No one wants deflation, and even with interest rates hovering around zero, inflation also continues to remain below the goal of 2%. Now, this is becoming a growing concern for world equity markets, which have started a noticeable decline over the past week. This decline fits well with our market timing studies, as several world indices made new cycle highs within two days of our geocosmic critical reversal date on September 4.

The NASDAQ Composite, for instance, soared to a new all-time high of 12,074 on September 2. It then fell to a low of 10,750 so far on Friday, September 11, a decline of 11% in one week. This represents the steepest decline since the pandemic panic that bottomed on March 23. The S&P futures also made their all-time high on September 2 at 3587. By September 9, they were down to 3295.50, a decline of 8.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had rallied to 29,199 on September 3, its highest mark since its all-time high of 29,568 on February 12, just before the Panic of 2020 set in. By Friday, September 11, they had fallen to under 27,450 before recovering 200+ points to close the week at 27,665.

Other world markets also peaked on September 3, including the German DAX, Zurich SMI, and the Japanese Nikkei. However, the declines in most have not been extreme so far (less than 7%).

Equities were not the only market to decline in the past 1-2 weeks. Bitcoin’s low last week was 9825, down 21.4% from its yearly high on August 17 at 12,489. Crude Oil fell to 36.13 last week, down 17.4% from its post-crash high of August 26. Silver fell 11.1% to a low on September 8, down from a secondary high of 29.23 recorded on September 1. Soybeans, on the other hand, soared to 998 on Friday, a new high for this year and up 15.3% from its primary cycle trough of August 10.

Although these price reversals are sharp, they have not yet reached a level of hysteria. However, as we now enter the time band of Mars retrograde, September 9–November 13, and find Mars making its first quarter square to the Grand Conjunction of Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn through October 19, it is a counter-trend move that may be just getting underway. After all, this is the first quarter cycle of the Grand Conjunction that occurred when Mars was also in Capricorn March 23 as the equity markets bottomed.

Short-term geocosmics and longer-term thoughts

“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Mars retrograde is taking place in Aries. Mars rules Aries, so while it was in direct motion in its ruling sign (June 27-September 9), the financial markets and the economy seemed surprisingly strong. But when Mars turns retrograde in Aries, it is said it loses its strength, and what was confidence before now turns into doubt.

As stated in our last column of two weeks ago, “All financial and commodity markets are vulnerable to major reversals shortly as Mars will turn retrograde on September 9 and Jupiter will turn direct on September 12. Even before then, Venus (values, money) will be in opposition to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn August 25-September 2, and forming a T-square with Mars on September 4. These are geocosmic reversal signatures, and the entire time between now and mid-September can witness cyclical highs or lows from which reversals unfold.” Not a bad forecast.

But as Mars turns retrograde, it will soon begin one of the most powerful geocosmic time bands of the year, September 28-October 19, when it will make a square (quarter cycle) to the Capricorn stellium of Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter. Also, as stated in our column two weeks ago, “This portends a major shift in world matters, whether in politics, the economy, or nature. And financial markets are likely to react to that shift by exhibiting major reversals of trends. How long and how steep these reversals last depend on many factors, as will be discussed in the longer-term outlook…”

As with most astrological forecasting techniques, there are other geocosmic factors supporting the same possible outlook. For instance, the transit of Mars square Saturn and Pluto falls on Saturn in the founding chart of the New York Stock Exchange (known as the “Buttonwood” chart from May 17, 1792). The NYSE chart also has a Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in opposition to its natal Saturn. This means transiting Mars/Saturn/Pluto forms a cardinal T-square to the NYSE Saturn opposition Jupiter/Neptune. This is the type of combination that can lead to another panic or financial meltdown if not checked quickly, perhaps by the Federal Reserve Board.

It is also a combination that can indicate an angry political atmosphere bent on blaming everyone except oneself for things gone wrong, assuming things do indeed go south for a few weeks (or longer). The outcome doesn’t have to be extremely dire. But readers ought to know – and prepare for the possibility – that when disturbing matters of a geopolitical, economic, social, or environmental nature occur, it is often when these types of cosmic configurations are present. The cosmos doesn’t cause these events, but it often correlates with them. Thus, it is better to be prepared and forewarned before these conditions unfold than to be caught off guard and surprised. Even though Mars is involved and Mars rules accidents (and therefore a reason to be careful), these disturbances may not be the result of an accident. They could be caused by a lack of patience, maturity, and self-control. Think twice before placing that order to buy or sell, or acting on a decision made when angry. Acting on impulse, or according to one’s “gut feeling,” can lead to costly mistakes during this next month. It is better to use this energy to re-do something that was not done correctly in the first place, as frustrating as that may seem. Get it right this time.