Venus takes a swim, Mars catches Fire

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com  The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning September 8  2014 

This will be an interesting week in the markets in spite of the ceasefire negotiated to bring Ukraine off the boil.

I indicated last weekend that Wall Street was likely to be volatile in the shortened week following the Labor Day holiday and we'll look at exactly how that panned out in a moment.

There is the potential for danger dead ahead. One of the most accurate Elliott Wave theorists on the web believes American markets are about to go into correction.

And Clif Droke, who is both an expert in Kress cycles and financial astrology, is forecasting a decline into October or, at best, a continuation of a sideways range.

Both of them believe there will be a strong resumption of the Bull trend in the later part of the year.

This week begins with a Harvest Full Moon. Mercury will square Pluto and oppose Uranus; Venus will oppose Neptune midweek; and Mars moves out of Scorpio into the Fire sign, Sagittarius, next weekend.

Normally, the Full Moon is a statistical low point. It might not work this time.
Let's look first at the historical track record of Venus opposing Neptune and Mars entering Sagittarius. In terms of Greek mythology, Venus and Neptune are buddies. 

Venus was born when Saturn castrated his poppa, Uranus, and threw his manly bits into the ocean. There was a bit of froth and bubble, Venus popped up, and Neppy rescued her from the waves and took her back to shore in his chariot.

So, aspects between Venus and Neptune have a tendency to be relatively benign. The reality doesn't always match the expectations; Venus-Neptune oppositions occur near peaks, as well as troughs. There has been only one previous occasion in the past few years where the aspect occurred simultaneously with Mars moving to Sadge ... it concided with the sudden drop in October, 2012.

Now, last weekend I indicated there was some danger to the SP500 rally because it had peaked the week before very close to the price of a Sun-Neptune crossing.

I said: "So, when Wall Street opens on Tuesday, the big boys' computers are going to have to force a gap above $2004 ... or the index will be in danger of starting a dive."

That is exactly what happened. Pollyanna gapped-up to open at almost $2006 when Wall Street went back to work on Tuesday.

And it gapped-up again the next day.

You can see just how volatile the shortened week was by the range of the price bars.

That's probably just a small taste of what is to come over the next few weeks.

There is a battle going on to control the immediate future of stock prices.

That battle is perhaps even more obvious when we return to the wider view of where Pollyanna is positioned in relation to primary planet prices. Breakout above the falling, dark green Venus opens targets at 2028 and rising Mars in the 2040s; a breakdown suggests the 1970s or 1960 before strong support comes back into play.

The ASX 200 is still having trouble climbing above, and staying above, its Weekly Planets Neptune barrier, now priced around 5640.

The rise in the value of the American dollar caused another sharp slump in the price of greenback gold. There is potential support from a secondary Pluto and a rising Sun line not far below.

Safe trading - RA

 (Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2014

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, and The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2014, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.

Important reading:  Randall Ashbourne's The Idiot and The Moon, Forecast 2014  

  Purchase Forecast 2014 and receive a special report on GOLD   

Happy Solstice ... and see you in 2014

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning December 16, 2013

Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice

Pollyanna - the SP500 - topped out last Monday with a fairly precise hit of one of the important planetary lines we looked at last weekend.

However, the Time factor was off ... and that means we can't be sure this is an intermediate breakdown.

We'll return to the relevant chart in a moment.

This weekend will be the last Eye of Ra report for the year. I need now to shift my mental focus away from the current action and concentrate for a couple of weeks on what 2014 is likely to bring.

Astrologically, the coming week brings the Full Moon on Tuesday (NY time), the same day Uranus turns direct. Next weekend, Venus will turn Retrograde and the Sun enters Capricorn.

Neither the Venus nor Uranus change of direction has a reliable track record of turning markets in any particular direction.

And, in any case, everyone has their eye on what the US Fed will do this week.

Thank you for your company during the year and I wish you all the best during the holiday season.

Forecast 2014 should be ready the first week of January.

Pollyanna and the Nasdaq were the last of the major world indices to top out ...

The DJI and the DAX made their Highs on November 29; the CAC 40 peaked on November 7; the FTSE on October 30; and the ASX200 on October 28.

Last weekend, I indicated the SP500 had potential breakout or breakdown levels associated with a couple of important trines ... Mercury and Uranus or Jupiter and Saturn.

Jupiter/Saturn had the highest price level to watch - $1811.63. The index peaked on Monday at $1811.52 - close enough to a double-top with its November 29 peak.

I also indicated last weekend that breakdown through the lower price levels was likely to trigger strong, further correction. But the break had to happen on the day the aspects were exact. And that part didn't happen.

Compounding the problem of predicting the short-term direction into year's end is the fact that other indices have been in real correction mode for weeks.

The FTSE, for example, has lost almost 50% of the rally which started in June.

 

The ASX 200, below, has lost 50% of the rally ... though it had a little bounce from that level on Friday.

And the Pollyanna index has lost very little.

For the next couple of weeks, the trading volumes are likely to decline markedly. We can't rule out a bounce ... because a lot of the non-Wall Street indices have reached relatively strong support levels.

There'll also be a tendency for the big fund managers to want to end the year on a high note. And Benign Ben is nearing the end of his term and one suspects doesn't want to see it all come to an end with a sharp drop in the market he has taken to new highs.

But, what happens when Ben waves bye-bye?

And that's a topic for another year!

Warm regards, best wishes and ... Safe trading - RA
Astrologicalinvesting.com note:  Randall Ashbourne's Forecast 2014 will be available to purchase in January 2014 at 
www.astrologicalinvesting.com  as well as www.theidiotandthemoon.com 

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, and The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.
Randall Ashbourne's Forecast 2014 will be available to purchase at www.astrologicalinvesting.com/html/shop.htmlwww.astrologicalinvesting.com  as well as www.theidiotandthemoon.com 


(Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2013

Murky Wrecks ... and more gold mystery

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning October 21, 2013

There are a couple of astro events this week likely to have an impact on stock markets ... Mercury goes Retrograde and the Sun shifts from Libra into Scorpio.

Firstly, the usual warning about Merc Rx - Murky Wrecks - make sure you double-check everything you do and expect some data feeds to go haywire.

Most of us make a few mental blunders during the Merc Rx periods; like hitting the Buy button when we actually meant to Sell.

It's just a lack of concentration, which is easy to overcome if we're aware of the tendency and adopt a policy of double, even triple, checking.

There is also a general tendency for stock markets to start a move in the few days around the Merc Rx date which reverses course halfway through the phase (normally about 3 weeks long).

It doesn't always happen, but it does more frequently than not ... and since the last Mercury Retrograde phase in June/July launched a strong rally throughout the period, the coming phase probably has a higher chance of returning to "normalcy" mode.

We'll take a look at a chart on the topic in a moment. We'll also be taking another look at gold, where mysterious big money buyers have replaced the mysterious sellers, and I'll start the process of updating the Weekly Planets charts for a range of indices ... starting this weekend with India's Nifty, London's FTSE and Singapore's STI.  

There is great joy across America as its politicians vote to send the nation deeper into debt while refusing to do anything about its profligate spending.

This is good. It means we can all get back to the really important stuff ... like why Miley persists in sticking her tongue out so far when it's always covered in white fuzz ... or whether there should be a law compelling Kim Kardashian to wear a full burqa so we are all spared another one of those endless "selfies" displaying buttocks that would shame a dairy cow into going on a diet.

And speaking of vacuous trolls ...

Miss Pollyanna, the SP500, gapped up on Friday into the Full Moon date, which statistically tends to be a low point in market mood. This inversion of the normal also happened at the last Full Moon - prompting a 3-week decline.

The new Price high has received an approving nod from the Big Bird oscillator, which has also recorded a higher peak ... though not as high as it recorded in May.

Next, we will look at a Mercury/Node chart for the index. In the left third of the chart I've marked the previous Merc Rx phase with two black verticals. The index rallied all the way through the phase, which is a little unusual.

Miss Polly has a tendency to travel between Node price lines, which are the orange horizontals on the chart above. And there's one of those immediately overhead.

The astrological symbolism applied to Mercury Retrograde periods is that it denotes time for a RE-think about what's happening. I showed you a few weeks ago that the Sun in Libra tends to be a bit chaotic. Libra symbolises balance and a drive to reach agreement and an harmonious outcome.

I also said it can just mean the iron fist is wrapped in a velvet glove. We had that sort of stuff happening in Washington. Nevermind. We got the agreement, which kicks the whole mess down the road until early next year.

The Sun's shift to Scorpio, in conjunction with the Merc Rx phase for the next few weeks, means it's very likely there'll be a national re-think about how to handle all the debt (Scorpio) issues.

So, we do need to be aware that the breakout could be subject to a reversal. However, it is a breakout and the next highest level of long-range planetary price resistance doesn't come into effect until the $1770s.

The optimism displayed by Pollyanna is not universally shared.

London's FTSE index remains below its May highs; in fact, it's still below its August and September highs.

The daily Big Bird is crawling higher, even with the price lower. There's not quite the same level of agreement from weekly Big Bird on the FTSE's Weekly Planets chart (below).

Still, either on this rally or the next one, the FTSE seems to have its target set at the upside Saturns - in the 6700s.

Mumbai's Nifty Weekly Planets is below and the index has been playing those close to perfection. Big Bird likes the bounce and breakout is likely to target the 6400s.

The Straits Times Index has been constrained by Saturn for many weeks - and its Big Bird is not giving clear signals for a move in either direction.

Similar to the Nifty, Auntie - the ASX200 - is playing almost perfect WP touches. We have preliminary indications of a break northwards ... and it's open space all the way to around 5500.

I'll try to update more European and Asian WP charts over the next couple of weekends. But now, let's turn our attention to the latest shenanigans in the bullion bazaar.

And bizarre it was again last week when, in the wee hours of New York's Thursday morning, a wave of Buy orders worth over $2.3 billion surged onto the markets, causing a 3% jump in prices in a matter of minutes. The manipulation continues unabated.

Let's look first at my planetary price chart for greenback gold. We got the lower prices when gold slumped down into the 1250 Pluto level early in the week and rebounded with all those mysterious early-am Buy orders on Thursday to finish the week capped by a falling Sun line.

 

Thursday's raid also produced a breakout above the red downtrend line which has controlled the market since it peaked in August. Fast Bird (green) likes the move and so does the red Medium Bird.

So, despite Friday's stall it appears higher prices are ahead. So go consult the planetary chart.

But remember that there's still a lot of overhead resistance which has yet to be overcome before we can be sure gold has embarked on a sustained rally.

Safe trading - RA

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, and The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.
Important reading:  Randall Ashbourne's The Idiot and The Moon, Forecast 2013
(Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2013

Bounceback potential in stocks and gold

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning June 24, 2013

World stock indices and the price of gold are hitting, or are very close to hitting, prices which have the potential to produce a bounceback.

However, the situation overall remains dangerous and complex as both technical conditions and the astrological weather deteriorate.

We have a lot to consider this weekend; most especially whether we are now in the early stages of a developing Bear market in stocks.

But we will begin by reviewing where we are in terms of the correction which started, for most indices, late in May. I indicated then that: "There's a strong chance stock markets have gone into correction mode likely to last for several weeks."

For the past few weekends, as we tracked the decline in European and Asian indices, I've also indicated: "At a glance, the correction on Wall Street still seems to be too shallow, in terms of both Price and Time, to be realistic - especially considering the rapid, steep declines in most other major indices."

And I said last weekend: "Jupiter energy takes centre stage this week, when the fires of optimism will be stoked again ... or the fear will be."

We got the fear mode, which finally produced a Wall Street decline which is much more realistic in terms of an intermediate correction.

It now may be nearing bounceback levels. I would prefer to see a low form in the SP500 in the price range from 1570 to 1540, since the decline still seems a little short of the mark.

However, some of the other world indices are starting to display positive divergence sufficient enough to produce at least a bounce.

But the astrological weather ahead in the next few weeks is full of turmoil ... and we have reached a major Bradley Model turn date. I will leave discussion of The Spooky Stuff until later in this edition.

Since it's the easiest to deal with, we'll begin with a quick look at gold. Long-range, it has hit an important Fibonacci Retracement level.

click for larger image

Purely from a technical perspective, this is a normal retracement which, if it holds, keeps the long-term uptrend in a strong position. And it should hold, at least for a relatively strong bounce. The danger is that the long-range oscillator continues its deep dive.

From a planetary perspective, gold has lost the primary Pluto line at 1360 and a primary Sun line - with last week's drop taking price down to a secondary Pluto level. The potential good news is that not only has it now hit a long-range FiboRx price, but it has dipped into Pluto prices with a third instance of positive divergence in the oscillator, though it is mild divergence rather than strident.

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There is one other factor which could help to produce a bounce ... Heliocentric Mercury goes into Sagittarius this weekend for a brief visit into early July. It's a position which frequently causes a gold rally. It's not a certainty, but as we can see from the weekly gold price chart below, it does tend to have an impact.

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Now let's turn our attention to Pollyanna, the SP500. Well, Polly actually ran screaming from the stage last week for a Chicken Little revival. As usual, Wall Street was more than a day late and a lot more than a dollar short in doing what everyone else was sure of weeks ago.

There is a reason I call the SP500 Pollyanna ... or The Vacuous Troll. However, reality finally dawned that Benign Ben isn't going to drop money from helicopters in QE4ever.

The index finally dropped out of the uptrend channel which has defined the rally since it launched late last year. The drop has taken it down into a potential Full Moon low, which is a statistical tendency. The only thing that concerns me is I'd have preferred to see it hit price levels from 1570 to 1540.

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Now let's look at the index in terms of the wider rally channel in play since the bottom of the Bear crash in 2009. While it has lost the intermediate-term rally angle, it came to rest at the end of the week with a little bounce from one of the long-term channel markers.

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The bad news is that the long-range Canary, the Big Bird, has dipped below the upper red line in the oscillator panel, which is a clear warning the inner technical strength of the Bull run is starting to fade again.

Now I have been indicating since late May that I thought this was going to be an intermediate-length correction, lasting probably 5 to 8 weeks. There is a chance it is something much worse. However, there are no major warning signs on the monthly charts, so I'm still leaning towards the optimistic outcome ... which is that this is the last major correction before the final, the last, rally of this Bull run.

But ... two things. Firstly, the combined impact of Neptune going Retrograde and last week's Sun-Jupiter conjunction. They're marked on Pollyanna's long-range monthly chart below with blue bars for Sun-Jupiter conjunctions and red bars for Neptune Rx.

And they have a nasty habit of showing up at important turning points!

click for larger image

And we also have the Bradley Model suggesting a major trend change. I dealt with the Bradley Model at some length in the June 3 Eye of Ra (click here), or you can access via the Archives button on my web site. (http://www.theidiotandthemoon.com/index.html)

I repeat the warning: It is the dates which are important, not the direction nor the amplititude of the swing.

The next trend change dates for this year don't occur until early September and early October.

click for larger image

Okay, now let's discuss The Spooky Stuff - because the astrological weather is full of change in the next few weeks.

Jupiter changes signs into Cancer this week ... Venus goes into Leo, where she throws off the dowdy house frock, gets a new "do" and piles on the bling ... and Mercury the brat mischief maker goes Retrograde.

We have discussed Mercury Rx many, many times. And here we go again. DOUBLE-check EVERYTHING you do for the next few weeks to make sure you are actually doing what you intended to do!

Before you hit the Buy or Sell button, pause ... consciously think ... double-check that you WANT to Buy or Sell. You have a stronger than usual chance of hitting the wrong button. But ... ONLY if you're being inattentive! This is not the world out to "get" you. It's you!

Now, it is true that data feeds go awry for a couple of days around the Rx and Direct dates; it is true that emails go missing; it is true that computers do the damndest things.

And it is also true ... more often than not ... that markets will start a trend around the Rx date which reverses course halfway through the Rx phase ... and then arrive at the Direct date a few weeks later with prices pretty much within a per cent or so of where the whole silly phase started.

So, Mercury is Rx from June 26 to July 20. Just pay attention!

Jupiter's shift into Cancer should accelerate sector rotation ... that is, money will flow out of stock sectors which have been popular over the past year or so and into different sectors. I discussed this in the May 13 edition.

It also puts the planet of expansion on track to make a Grand Trine, which is the most benevolent of all astrological aspects, with Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio. Neptune rules Pisces, so is in a good mood; Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, so he is reasonably benign; and Saturn in Scorpio is associated historically with strong stock market rallies.

The aspect becomes exact in mid-July. We will need to watch the performance of stock indices very closely then, because a Grand Trine is a very powerful aspect likely to produce an important high or low.

Okay then ... let's recap. Most of the world stock indices behaved themselves ... launching into a strong, intermediate correction in late May. The Vacuous Troll kept dancing to the old Benny and the Feds soundtrack, but also finally faced reality. Apart from Polly, most indices have already hit - and in some cases re-tested - potential bounce levels.

We have a Murky Wrecks period fast approaching, which have a tendency to start a short-term trend change which reverses course halfway through. Helio Merc is going into Sadge and Geo Venus is going into Leo, both of which have a reasonably strong tendency to be good for a gold rally ... as the metal hits a long-range Fibo Rx level, with some intermediate-term positive divergence.


So, I think we have the potential for a good bounce in both gold and stocks getting underway this week. It's probably not going to be long-lasting for either of them ... and over the longer-term, warning sirens are starting to wind-up for stock markets.

Safe trading - RA

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, and The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.
Important reading:  Randall Ashbourne's The Idiot and The Moon, Forecast 2013 , Jupiter's cycle and its effects on Wall Street and a posting of the weekly Eye of Ra report in this blog, titled A look at the Venus Retrograde effect
(Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2013

The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013

• Major trend change dates for the full year, plus a month-by-month breakdown of high-energy trading dates and critical reversal dates.

• An index-by-index analysis of Moon Trading across major American, European, Asian and Australian stock indices-

• Identifies the major indices where following the phases of the Moon can dramatically cut profits, or even result in large losses.

• Old Gods & Gold ... a Eureka! discovery about exactly what drives gold prices during rallies and corrections and charts showing highly-reliable target levels to both the upside and downside.

These price charts are individually-tailored to each index and cover Wall Street, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, India, England, Germany and France.

You will not see these charts anywhere else on the Internet!

And much more...

It is NEVER too late in the year to have this monthly information!

Reviewing the correction ... and long-term

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning July 1, 2013

"Some lessons are very s-l-o-w-l-y learned!"

Late in May, I indicated there was a strong chance stock markets had gone into a correction mode likely to last for several weeks.

In some markets, the correction has been deep and steep; in others the decline has been shallow. Too shallow, in fact - both in terms of time and price.

But regardless of that, we may have reached bounce levels across most of the major world indices.

Last weekend we reviewed the potential for a major trend change to develop this month - if indices continue to follow the major turning points indicated in this year's Bradley Model major dates. If you haven't read it, you can review the edition by scrolling down or clicking here.
This weekend, we'll be taking a look at the status of the current correction and looking again at where we are in a long-range context.

I indicated last weekend that Pollyanna, the SP500, was giving relatively clear signals that we are now probably within the process of topping out the Bull run which got underway in 2009.

At this stage, that's still my view. But, we'll begin this weekend by looking firstly at where we are within the correction.

In late May, I warned against short-term traders taking the usual Long trades between Full Moon and New Moon. I wrote: "Polly has been rising in a clear channel since the Santa Claus rally got underway late last year. A breach of the upside channel line, with negative divergence in the oscillator, puts the index under threat of a retreat to retest the lower trendline."

And so it came to pass ...

Polly spiked briefly down through the lower trendline on Thursday before bouncing strongly on Friday, the last trading day before the New Moon.

click to view larger image

Full Moons are the heavy blue candles, New Moons the red ones. We got a clear V-turn in the oscillator, as we did at the three previous corrections within this rising channel.

But, there's a difference ... two of the price/oscillator turns arrived at Full Moon bottoms and the third one arrived with a 1Q Moon. This bounce has arrived right on New Moon timing, when markets statistically are most bouyant. It's not unusual for rallying markets to continue rising in the statistically negative period between NM and FM, but the rises do tend to muted, at least most of the time.

So, the Friday bounce could be short-lived. We need to pay close attention to price reaction on Tuesday and Wednesday when Venus opposes Pluto and squares Uranus.

In the late May edition, I used a chart of the ASX200 as proxy for what I thought was happening and said: "Technically, it appears to be a high-level Wave 4 underway. This is the last major correction before the final rally of a Bull leg."

I had expected the Elliott Wave Theory of "alernation" to come into play - that the correction could drag out in terms of Time, without necessarily losing quite as much in Price as did the first similar-level correction within the rally out of the spike lows in August/October, 2011.

Wrong! The ASX, and some other indices, just kept diving!

click to view larger image

If this is a high-level Wave 4 correction, it has overshot the Wave 2 decline into June 2012 in terms of Price, but not yet of Time. And the index has breached the important Weekly Planets level at 4744.

That does set up the potential for a bounce from here, even in the face of the negative tendency of the NM-FM phase. It took a few weeks of bouncing about for the last correction of this level to get enough traction to start rising again. Whatever happens, the Weekly Planets price targets for a bounce are clearly marked and likely to be significant.

Now, let's turn our attention again to the bigger picture ... and we'll begin with a look at Pollyanna's long-range monthly. Those of you who've read The Idiot &The Moon will know that one of the techniques outlined in The Technical Section deals with how a particular stock, or index, will repeat the same angles of trend over and over again.

The chart below is simply a slight variation on that theme. I've taken the angle of the current Bull run and applied it to the two previous ones, rather than the other way around - just to see how this one is performing in comparison with the other two.

We can see fairly quickly that this Bull is more like the blow-off Tech Bubble run into 1999/2000. The 2002-2007 Bull run oscillated around this angle, rarely getting too far ahead, or too far behind the trendline.

The earlier bubble run soared away from the line and had deeper corrections to reconnect ... as has this one. The second thing to note is the thin red line connecting the 1999 and 2007 Bull peaks. And that's what Miss Polly came down to retest last week.

click to view larger image

The third thing on the chart to consider is the state of the long-range Canary - the Big Bird. I've inserted a black vertical into the price of the two previous Bull peaks and at the current May peak in Pollyanna. And I repeat the point I made last weekend. The Canary is not dropping off its perch.

The negative divergence build-up going into the first Bull peak developed over a long period. There was a shorter, but nevertheless clear, warning at the 2007 peaks. And, at the moment, we just don't have it for the current Bull run.

Now, let's review where we are in terms of Polly's long-range planetary price markers. I confess I had fully expected Pollyanna to go into a major swoon and exit the stage for a major Chicken Little performance as the index hit the levels between 1464 and 1519.

I'm a fool. Not an Idiot ... because The Idiot and Big Bird continually disagreed with my "astrological expectations". What can I say? The Idiot and that bloody Bird are always a lot smarter than I am!

click to view larger image

Yes, yes. It's enough to give one the ... uhm, irrits. The truly sad thing is that even knowing The Idiot and Big Bird are smarter than I am, I still make that fatal trading error of "thinking" ... even after having gone to the trouble of putting it all in a book so that I, and you, would just shut-up and do what our charts tell us to do, rather than trying to anticipate them. Some lessons are very s-l-o-w-l-y learned!

Ah, well. No time to wallow. Let's take a quick look at the long-range planetary charts for the FTSE and the DAX.

Germany is behaving like Pollyanna, trying desperately to hold onto the long-range breakout level.

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While London went into a deeper dive ...

click to view larger image

Next weekend we'll have another look at what's happening with the Asian indices.

Overall though, we can see that stock indices have declined into apparent bounce levels. Shallow, but obvious, in the case of Pollyanna and the DAX. Deeper, but still obvious, for the ASX and FTSE.

The Bradley Model suggests markets should continue their rally phase into later in June.

And personally I believe that what is "normal" is that indices are now within a topping process where we are going to get jerked around for a few months ... before the Bear comes back. This certainly appears to be a Bernanke-blown bubble. Every piece of bad economic news is greeted as good news because benign Ben will stretch out his QE4-ever program.

I think we getting a taste of it. The slightest hint that the Fed might pull back, and the addicts suffer withdrawal shakes. However, I reiterate my earlier point. "Thinking" just isn't the best tool for trading stock markets. Trendlines, an Idiot and a silly bloody Canary tend to be a lot better at it.

Safe trading - RA

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, and The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.
Important reading:  Randall Ashbourne's The Idiot and The Moon, Forecast 2013 , Jupiter's cycle and its effects on Wall Street and a posting of the weekly Eye of Ra report in this blog, titled A look at the Venus Retrograde effect
(Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2013

The Idiot and the Moon, Forecast 2013

• Major trend change dates for the full year, plus a month-by-month breakdown of high-energy trading dates and critical reversal dates.

• An index-by-index analysis of Moon Trading across major American, European, Asian and Australian stock indices-

• Identifies the major indices where following the phases of the Moon can dramatically cut profits, or even result in large losses.

• Old Gods & Gold ... a Eureka! discovery about exactly what drives gold prices during rallies and corrections and charts showing highly-reliable target levels to both the upside and downside.

These price charts are individually-tailored to each index and cover Wall Street, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, India, England, Germany and France.

You will not see these charts anywhere else on the Internet!

And much more...

It is NEVER too late in the year to have this monthly information!

Elephant poop on a ragged Bear rug!

Randall Ashbourne, an associate of Astrological Investing, posts a weekly market report on his web site, theidiotandthemoon.com The following is this weekend's Eye of RA report: Week beginning September, 17 2012

Are we there yet? That's the question on everyone's lips after Uncle Ben surprised most of us with an open-ended QE3.

The decision sent most world markets on a rocket ride to new highs - right into the statistical high of a New Moon and what I described last weekend as the "potential positive" of a Venus trine Uranus aspect.

We'll spend some time this weekend trying to divine the answer from the omens of the planetary charts and the technical conditions.

Based purely on what is "normal" for the latter, the answer to the question is: No!

But we may have reached a stalling point. Markets have a statistical tendency to decline between the New Moon and the next Full Moon and the coming week has some negative astrological aspects which may impact on further gains.

Pluto resumes Direct motion; we have the second exact instance of Uranus square Pluto; and late in the coming week, the messenger of the Old Gods, Mercury, will bring news related to the symbolism of that aspect by squaring Pluto and opposing Uranus.

But. As longer-term readers will know, I've been worried most of the year by "the elephant in the room" - the total lack of negative divergence in the long-range Canary oscillator (the 50CCI). We'll have a close look this weekend.

For the past few weeks, we've been looking at potential upside targets in various indices and I'm sure some of my Old Gods charts have shocked a few technical readers who don't really want to "believe" the position of the planets, translated to price, sets reliable targets.

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And yet, here we go - again. 1468 was set as the target last week for any further rally and Pollyanna, the SP500, obliged with an overshoot to 1474 before settling into a Close of 1465.

I introduced you to one of my private ASX200 charts in the past couple of weeks.

And ...

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So, both of these indices behaved in a normal way in terms of these planetary charts ... hitting, or slightly overshooting, the target level before backing away to finish the week slightly under the levels. We'll review the position of other indices in a little while.

But the theme of this week - in an attempt to answer the question - will be to look closely at the long-range Canary to see if that damn elephant is going to continue pooping all over my now very ragged looking Bear rug!

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A few weeks ago, I showed this monthly chart of the 500, indicating the index seemed to be making what is called an Ending Diagonal pattern. A final overshoot outside the lines of the wedge is not unusual for an ED pattern.

The problem, as I still see it, is that there is NO negative divergence in the 50 CCI. I've marked the state of the oscillator at the 2007 topping process with a yellow oval. The Bear did not emerge until there was a clear divergence ... a lower peak in the Canary, while price made a new (and final) high.

Now, clearly there is no divergence current in the oscillator at this time. In fact, the higher peak in the blue line endorses the legitimacy of the rally, regardless of what we might think of Benzedrine and SuperMario stimulus.

And the Canary's sweet-singing approval is also obvious in Germany's DAX.

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Again I point out the very obvious divergence displayed at the 2007 topping process ... a divergence that is very obviously NOT present at current price levels.

So, until the bird starts to sing off-key, we need to stay open to the idea that there are higher targets which will probably be hit.

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The Neptune line Miss Polly hit last week is an important one ... especially since it was a lower version of this planet which put a stop to the drop in August/September/October of last year. You'll also note the months of stalling at the unbroken Neptune line at 1411. It's worth tracing both the 1411 and 1468 lines back to see their impact during the 2007 topping process in this index.

Still, the Pluto line at 1522, or the Node at 1578, may be the final targets for this Bull run - and we need to continue watching closely to see if divergence appears in the oscillator should the index hit either of those levels.

Now, remembering there is no divergence in the DAX long-range Uranus chart above, it would be unusual for that index to not hit its upside Weekly Planets targets. Not necessarily immediately, but certainly before we can be certain that "we're there yet".

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Let's have a look now at London's FTSE. Showing the following chart last weekend, I said: "A long-range technical chart for the index shows price obeying the confines of a triangle, jumping from the uptrend line and stalling at the downtrend angle. As price gets forced into the business end, it will have to breakout, or break down. The reason I cannot rule out the former is the state of the long-range Canary, which is recording higher peaks even though price has not done so. There are a couple of horizontal technical levels which have "history" and are worth watching closely."

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Again, there is a long build-up of divergence as the FTSE went into its 2007 peak ... and there is currently nothing but positive confirmation from the oscillator. In fact, we have the reverse position. The oscillator is indicating that price is dragging its heels and has higher to run.

I published a long-range planetary chart for the index last weekend and you can have a look in the Archives; below is the FTSE's Weekly Planets chart for the intermediate moves.

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There is one FTSE chart which indicates a correction may be about to begin.

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I mentioned the New Moon and the Venus trine Uranus aspect last weekend as Spooky Stuff positives. Friday's big gap-up took the index to a precise meeting with the Venus/Uranus price crossing point. It's difficult to know how much weight to give that since the aspect took place on Thursday, not on Friday.

If the index had closed above the exact price crossing point, higher prices immediately would be virtually assured. But failure to breach the level is a potential warning sign of lower prices just ahead.

Below is the Nifty 50's Weekly Planet charts with updated targets.

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And, finally, we'll go to my home index, the ASX200. If you want to go back to the private chart I showed earlier, you'll see I've added the next level of upside targets. I explained the basis for this chart over the past couple of weeks, so check the Archives. Auntie's Weekly Planets targets are listed below.

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And since I've published long-range planetary targets for Pollyanna, the FTSE and the DAX over the past few weeks, here's the big picture possibilities for the 200, a Neptunian index.

The logical side of my brain thinks the 4770 target is impossible. The higher peak at lower price state of the Canary seems to think my brain doesn't actually have a logical side!

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So, there you have it. Some indices have hit important planetary targets fairly precisely - and did it when the lunar phase and astro aspects were in a very, very good mood. The astrological weather now has storm warnings with Mercury (news) at odds with the huge negative potential of another exact Uranus/Pluto hit this coming week.

But, the Big Bird thinks that while Price may be getting damn close to its final peak in some indices for this Bull run, Time may not yet be ready to comply.

Safe trading - RA

Astrological Investing's associate, Randall Ashbourne, author of the eBook, The Idiot and The Moon, writes a free weekly column titled, The Eye of Ra on his web site in  which he explains the potential impact of astrological aspects and the current state of technical conditions. Ashbourne's charts are revealing illustrations of exactly what has occurred in the market and the probability of what to expect.
Important reading:  Randall Ashbourne's article, Jupiter's cycle and its effects on Wall Street and a posting of the weekly Eye of Ra report in this blog, titled A look at the Venus Retrograde effect
(Disclaimer: This article is not advice or a recommendation to trade stocks; it is merely educational material.)
Copyright: Randall Ashbourne - 2011-2012