Week of August 18

Review and Preview

It was a wild week astrologically, and financial markets reflected this.

In the geopolitical world, Russia shocked the world by sending troops into Georgia under the premise that it was protecting the lives and interests of Russians. Consistent with the misinformation or intentionally deceptive principles of Neptune, which is part of the lunar eclipse taking place, many cease fire agreements were violated. The “overkill” and assault itself is consistent with the principles of Mars in square aspect to Pluto, which is also happening at this time, and represents a “Have no mercy” tact when dealing ruthlessly with one’s opponents.

Yet in spite of new hostilities hoisted upon the world community, crude oil and precious metals continued to plunge all week. Crude Oil fell as low as 111.34 on Friday, down nearly $36.00/barrel from its high of just one month ago. Gold fell below $800 and Silver down to $12.20 on Friday. These represent multi-month lows after peaking above $1000 and $20.00 respectively just a couple months ago. Yet both the precious metals and energy sectors are entering time bands when their 18- and 26-month cycle lows will soon be due.

Most of the stock markets of the world achieved their highest levels of this new primary cycle early last week, and then pulled back into Thursday-Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, touched 11,867 on Monday, a 1200+ increase form the 10,827 low of July 15. Similar peaks were completed in the European indices as well early last week, where the picture was more mixed in the Far East and Pacific Rim countries. Australia’s All Ordinaries index, for example, made a new yearly low on August 5, and did not rally that strongly last week. The same was true with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, which tested its July 16 low again on Friday. Yet the Nifty index of India rallied smartly in August 12 before pulling back into Friday.

Short-Term Geocosmics

As wild as last week was, the study of Financial Astrology suggests more fireworks through the end of September. For this coming week, we note that Mars will enter the cardinal sign of Libra on Tuesday, August 19. Since the Federal Reserve Board was “born” at the start of another cardinal sign (Capricorn, December 23, 1913), we can anticipate a change in trend in interest rate related markets, like Treasuries (which have been rising) and foreign currencies (which have been falling against the US Dollar).

However, all of this is leading into the first two weeks of September, which some of the most powerful geocosmic signatures of the year will unfold. As stated in last week’s column, “That is when Jupiter will make its second earth-sign trine to Saturn of this year. The first was on January 21, one day prior to the previous yearly low on of 11,634 in the DJIA on January 22. But within 1-2 days of this important geocosmic signature in early September, both Jupiter and Pluto will change their motion from retrograde to direct. These represent powerful correlates to changes in investor psychology. Perhaps the “good times” that started this week will end around then.”

Longer-Term Thoughts

Welcome back to the future. This past week the United States was rudely awakened from a massive self-delusion, wherein existed a sense of peace and world dominion. The Cold War was supposed to have ended when Uranus and Neptune formed a long-term cyclical conjunction with Saturn in 1988-1989. But now, 20 years later and approaching the opposition of Saturn to Uranus (following last year’s opposition of Saturn and Neptune), the Cold War is back on as Russia marched into Georgia under questionable reasoning, and then ignored warnings from Western governments and violated several agreements to a cease-fire.

What is it about Saturn-Uranus conjunctions and oppositions that operate like a well-timed theatrical drama between the United States and Russia? You can go back in time and look at this 45-year cycle and its half-cycle of 22.5-years each, and see these patterns of change from “friend to foe” with such regularity that it nearly defies coincidence. It was approximately 90 years ago when the Russian Revolution took place as these two planets came into opposition. Czar Nicholas was forcefully removed in favor of the Communist Bolsheviks, paving the way for the repressive Stalin era that led to major fractures between the United States and Russia. Then as these two planets came together in 1942, so did these two superpowers in the mutual effort to put down the Nazi empire-building of Adolph Hitler in World War II. But over the course of the next 22 years, the Cold War resumed and reached its peak as Saturn and Uranus once again came into opposition in the mid-1960’s. Then on their conjunction in 1988-89, Russia freed its communist satellites, paving the way for a new era of partnering between the Big Bear and the USA.

And here we are today, 45 years after the peak of the Cold War and under yet another Saturn-Uranus opposition, and Friday’s  Wall Street Journal  headlines blare out: “U.S.-Russia Relations Turn Cold Over Fate of Georgia, Provinces.” Even Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated in an article by the Associated Press on Friday, “The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia. I see no reason to change that approach today.” Really? Don’t be surprised if this new era of coldness escalates, because in the past week, Mars has opposed Uranus and squared Pluto. This is a “translation” of the very serious Uranus-Pluto square that will take place 2012-2015. This is a preview of what might lie ahead for the next seven years. It doesn’t have to be “Cold War.” It can very hot and tense during this period.

This new threat—and realization that the U.S. has been in a state of delusion—is outlined in quite startling fashion by former Russian Chess Champion Garry Kasparov in an editorial piece in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, titled, “ How the West Fueled Putin’s Sense of Impunity.” In it, he states, “Russia’s invasion (of Georgia) was the direct result of nearly a decade of Western helplessness and delusion.” He backs up this statement with specific incidents.

How do these events—and reactions - show up in the field of Mundane Astrology? A look at the birth chart of the United States will reveal