Written March 29, 2000
Jupiter squared (made a stressful, 90-degree angle to) Neptune on March 16. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 499 points on March 16, the largest one-day advance in stock market history. It also completed a torrid, record-breaking two-day advance in which the DJIA rallied over 800 points. Since March 15, the DJIA has soared over 1450 points, while both the NASDAQ 100 and S&P indices have skyrocketed to new all-time highs. Two weeks ago, the financial community was depressed and concerned. Today it is euphoric, confused and almost confident. What’s going on?

In the recent article titled “Dow Stocks Embark on a Flight of Fancy,” the Jupiter-square-Neptune aspect of March 16 was observed to be the third of three passages of this aspect for the 1999-2000 period. The first two passages on July 21, 1999, and October 11, 1999, were also noted as significant cycle dates in the U.S. stock market.

The aspect between Jupiter and Neptune is now over, but is its astrological orb of influence completed? Or is there still something else ahead, related to this major planetary cycle, that correlates to the present stock market environment?

Astrological Translation

In the study of astrology, there is a highly-regarded forecasting tool known as “translation.” Translation occurs when a third planet orbits into the range of a previous major aspect between two other planets. The Jupiter-square-Neptune aspect of March 16 occurred from 6 degrees Taurus (Jupiter) to 6 degrees Aquarius (Neptune). On March 30, Mars will approach 6 degrees Taurus, thus forming a “translation” to the Jupiter square Neptune point of March 16. Following that, Mars will then square Neptune (March 31) and conjunct Jupiter (April 6), the same planets involved in the original longer-term planetary aspect. Thus, the entire period of March 30-April 6 is significant from an astrological perspective, because it relates directly to what happened around March 16.

What Does This Mean for the Stock Market?

Now let’s consider what this might portend for the U.S. stock market. March 16, as pointed out in the previous article, coincided to record-setting advances in U.S. stocks. But other financial markets also experienced sharp reversals around the March 16 date. In the study of financial astrology, we oftentimes note that when a cycle starts around one geocosmic signature, it will end (or pause) as the next major signature unfolds. Right away, this should alert traders and investors that the powerful surge that started on March 15 could continue into the March 30-April 6 time frame. To financial astrologers, this should be no surprise, because Mars and Jupiter correlate with large volume and large price swings respectively anyway. The question in the past, however, has always been which way? Up or down?

Based on what happened on March 15-16, when the Jupiter-Neptune aspect occurred, it would seem that the March 30-April 6 period will coincide with something of a repeat. That is, it would seem prices would likely move up, and very sharply, again—and perhaps at another record-setting pace.

Mars-Jupiter Conjunctions Past

Time will tell, of course, but it might be useful to look at the history of Mars conjunct Jupiter alone. This signature unfolds on a 26-27 month periodicity. Since March 6, 1962, it has occurred nineteen times, including the three-passage series between December 15, 1979, and May 5, 1980. Long-term traders and investors will remember that period clearly. It was the time in which gold and silver soared to record prices of $850.00 per ounce and $50.00 per ounce respectively in January, 1980, only to fall sharply by March of the same year. In fact, silver continued falling, losing over 90 percent of its value by the time it bottomed in February, 1993 at $3.50 per ounce.

Another example of this aspect that stands out historically is the passage that followed the 1979-1980 instance. That one occurred on August 8, 1982. This was just one trading day removed from the nine-year cycle low in U.S. stocks. Readers might remember that this was the start of the greatest bull market in the history of U.S. stocks, which continues even today, seventeen and a half years later.

In the nineteen instances of Mars conjunct Jupiter since 1962, one will find that fifteen correlated with primary or greater cycles in U.S. stocks. That is a remarkable 78.9 percent frequency. Primary cycles have a median interval of 17.5 weeks (measured from trough to trough), with an orb of 3.5 weeks. The highest price between these troughs that define the primary cycle is known as the crest of that primary cycle. These cases of primary cycles (which means either a primary cycle trough or a primary cycle crest) have an orb of up to fifteen trading days away from the date of the Mars-Jupiter conjunction (or 8 degrees or less). In twelve of these cases (63 percent frequency), the cycle culminated within ten trading days or less of the aspect date.

What is also interesting about the history of this aspect is the fact that its correlation to primary cycle crests is twice that of primary cycle troughs. That means the odds are two to one that a significant cycle crest will form nearby to this aspect as a trough, within fifteen trading days, and usually ten or less. It is interesting to note that fifteen trading days prior to April 6, 2000 was—guess what?—March 16, 2000.

So does this mean there could be a new all-time high coming in U.S. stocks? Well, already the NASDAQ and S&P have made all-time highs in the past week. And between March 30-April 6, Mars will “translate” the Jupiter-Neptune signature of March 16, which saw the DJIA make a one-day and two-day record price advance. In other words, due to the phenomenon of “translation,” another record move is quite possible. According to the history of Mars, it could happen within fifteen trading days of April 6.

For more details, continue to read the daily comments.

Postscript

This article was written on March 29 for StarIQ.Com, to be published in the weekly StarIQ.Com Commerce Column, which appears every Wednesday. Already, the record setting pace of stocks referred to in this article have come to pass as the NASDAQ posted its largest one-day decline in history early this week. At the same time, the rally that began on March 15 in the Dow Jones industrials has reached at least a short-term peak as of Tuesday, April 3. During that time, the DJIA advanced over 17 percent, and then dropped over 700 points from that high on Tuesday (over 6 percent) during the market trading day.

Disclaimer: All information provided herein is based on Merriman Market Analysis technical, cyclical, and geocosmic analysis, and the integration of each of these factors. It is presented with reliable intent. However no claims for future accuracy are being made, nor can projections be guaranteed. Reliance on information in this report is at the sole risk of the reader. Future strategies are for the aggressive trader.