Weekly Column: A renaissance for humanity, an end to the fears of “the end times.”

Review and preview

 “This fresh chill has descended amid fears that the market is heading for a crypto winter. Although at $21,800 Bitcoin is still some way off its June lows of under $19,000, volatility is once again wracking the market.” – usannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown as reported by Jenni Reid, “ Sudden Crypto Market Drop Sends Bitcoin Below $22,000,” www.cnbc.com, August 19, 2022.

The Federal Reserve says it is going to keep raising interest rates. Wall Street thinks it’s bluffing. –Akane Otani, “Wall Street Bets the Fed is Bluffing in Inflation Game,” Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2022.

 Global stock markets reached a new cycle peak last week, on August 16-17 in most cases, coinciding with the Sun’s T-square to Saturn/Uranus August 11-15 and the favorable Venus trine Jupiter on August 17. The high of August 16 in several stock indices also coincided with the ingress of heliocentric Mercury into Sagittarius, August 16-29.

This time, instead of an acceleration of the new bullish trend in equities, the Uranus aspects corresponded to a reversal. When Uranus is highlighted, you never know if it will be a breakout of support or resistance as was the case during the first of these three highlighted Uranus periods on August 1 (for Uranus has no respect boundaries like support/resistance), or a reversal as noted last week.

Interestingly enough, the high of August 16 was a breakout above the downward trendline connecting the two previous primary cycles in the DJIA, an indication that the low of June 16-17 (Venus square Saturn period) was a cycle greater than a primary type. But typical of Uranus, the breakout then suddenly reversed, and a corrective decline began. Now we will see if next week’s powerful Uranus signatures (the third in August) will lead to a reversal in the opposite direction, or an acceleration of the decline below important support areas that will be discussed in our weekly subscription reports.

Major reversals were also noted in other markets last week. Silver for instance, reached a new cycle high on Monday, August 15 at 20.87. By Friday, it was down over 9% to a low of 18.92, right in line with our weekly and daily reports. Gold also fell last week, but its cycle high was the week before on August 10, right before the second set of Uranus aspects began on August 11. Bitcoin also made its cycle high of 25,201 on August 15. By the end of the week, it was testing 21,000, its sharpest decline since the lows of June 18. Crude Oil was a study in opposites. It made a new cycle low on August 16 and has started a new rally since then. This is not going to bode well for those who claim inflation has peaked.

All in all, it was a very Uranian, disruptive, week in which markets did not go as many expected. They reversed suddenly and sharply. Another Uranian time band is scheduled to start later this week or into the next. The time for boredom is over.

Short-term geocosmics

 There are many benefits for small business in the Inflation Reduction Act. Among others: 1.) It isn’t funded by small business 2.) The R&D tax credit doubles. 3.) The IRS funding will not target small business. – Rhett Buttle, “Five Truths About How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Help Small Business and Working Families,” www.forbes.com as presented on www.bettersmb.com, August 15, 2022.

It’s (the Inflation Reduction Act) good stuff, but it has to be paid for. So, who will be paying? It’s not going to be just “the wealthy.” It will be small businesses as well. The Inflation Reduction Act will actually increase inflation — or at least raise the costs and reduce revenues — for many of us and in three big ways. Gary Marks, “Three Items in the Inflation Reduction Act That Will Hurt Small Businesses,” The Washington Times, August 16, 2022.

Last week’s downturn will likely bring a lot of bears out of their recent hibernation, for the worry of higher interest rates, higher inflation, and a recession is still very much in the air. But I also think there is an understated case of FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – in the minds of many who missed the strong rally since the lows of June 16-17, especially as Saturn (fear) approaches its fourth and final waning square to Uranus September 21-28. Actually, it’s a battle of two fears – fear of recession leading to another stock market collapse (bearish) and fear of missing a chance to get on board of a new bull market that just started eight weeks ago (bullish). Based on what happened during the previous three passages of Saturn square Uranus in 2021, when the stock market soared to one new all-time high after another, my bias is with the bulls for now.

However, I cannot rule out a sharp corrective decline as we head into the third series of Uranus signatures starting this week. On August 24, Uranus will turn retrograde. Venus will then follow in a T-square with both Saturn and Uranus, August 26-28. In between, on August 27, the new Moon in Virgo will square Mars. This identifies a powerful geocosmic critical reversal zone that ends with a Venus/Saturn opposition on August 28. One of our basic financial astrology rules is that any market declining into a hard Venus/Saturn aspect is a candidate for a buy, especially if the low is just a correction in a greater bullish trend. We will be identifying those markets qualifying this set up in our daily and weekly reports for subscribers as we get there.

Longer-term thoughts

“Always remember, child, that to think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral you down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline, training, is about. So, train your mind to dwell on sweet perfumes, a touch of this silk, the tranquility of dawn. Then, at length, you won’t have to make such a great effort and you will be of value to yourself.” – James Clavell, “Shogun,” Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1994.

 This quote is for all who are struggling to maintain a positive attitude about the future, when the current reality of the world seems to be in such dire straits. You can’t ignore the reality, but unless you can change it, there is little benefit in worrying about it, which your mind, if left to itself, will do.

One geocosmic factor that allows me to think more positively about the future is the realization that all the outer planets will be changing signs soon. This is very rare and represents a sea change of the human predicament, as described before. That is, Pluto moves from Capricorn to start its 20-year trek through Aquarius beginning March 23, 2023, just two weeks after Saturn leaves Aquarius and begins its three-year passage through Pisces. Uranus will begin its exit out of Taurus and into Gemini over the next eight years in 2025, while Neptune leaves Pisces and starts a 14-year journey through Aries starting in 2025. On February 20, 2026, Saturn will conjoin Neptune in 0°Aries, forming a double sextile to Uranus and Pluto, which will be in a favorable air trine aspect to one another.

I think these long-term cyclical cosmic ingresses are indicative of a renaissance for humanity, an end to the fears of “the end times.” And an awakening to a new world in which the heaviness (and the psychologically “heavy” leaders) of the past leave the world stage that they have dominated for far too long. The next generation of leadership will bring a new spirit, and as with all cycles, the first phase may be rough at first but they are exciting and bullish, to borrow a market expression. I think the financial world could first witness a serious setback followed by a serious financial revival, somewhat similar to the “Information Superhighway” communications’ revolution of the 1990’s. I don’t know specifically how this will unfold, but my knowledge of astrology and the historical correlation of planetary cycles to cycles in human activity makes me confident that the world will begin a very different and more adult-like path related to the events of 2023-2026.

It will be worth hanging around to witness this, possibly even contributing to this soon-to-be emerging paradigm shift.