eBook Review - The Idiot & the Moon Forecast 2013

review by Marlene Pfeifle, CAP
www.astrologicalinvesting.com

Randall Ashbourne's goal for all traders is to increase profitability while protecting capital - and he goes out of his way to help us all do exactly that in 2013!

If you have been following the weekend Eye of Ra reports you already know by now that Randall doesn't hold back -  interjecting  his Aussie sense of humor when discussing the various markets.  He makes reading what normally would be a very dry subject - Financial Astrology - quite fun.

I've described his book, The Idiot & The Moon as absolutely brilliant, and his latest book, The Idiot & The Moon, Forecast 2013 doesn't disappoint.  Regardless where the planets are, or what the planets are "doing", Randall gives us step-by-step, page by page, exactly what we need to know in order to make money each month.  It is unbelievably easy to read, yet absolutely FILLED with everything we need to know in 2013 from January through December.

To start off, he gives us in his chapter, Welcome to The Idiot & The Moon Forecast 2013:

• The Bradley Model major trend change dates as well as his  own prediction for critical reversal dates.
• A month-by-month breakdown of the key dates in the hope it proves to be more useful in identifying shorter-term trend changes.
• Also new to the forecast this year: for the first time anywhere, the long-range "Old Gods" charts which determine both the trend direction and the price targets for gold. 
• He analyses the performance of his Moon Trading model across 12 major world stock indices (including gold) during the past year … showing exactly which markets produce the highest profits and, perhaps even more importantly, those indices which should NOT be traded using the Moods of The Moon.
• A comprehensive chapter on the role of Mars in various stock indices and research which indicates a high-level tendency of Mars in Cardinal signs to change the direction of the prevailing trend … along with a list of dates for when the action planet will enter and leave those action signs.
• He takes a  look again at The Jupiter Cycle, and weighs it against the historical performance of Saturn in Scorpio, whose past presence in that sign over the last century has produced extremely strong Bull runs.
• He gives us long-range "Old Gods" charts tailored to the major Western and Asian indices to provide the price targets for sustained moves in either direction.
• And he says to us as always ..."Let me remind you though of what should be, by now, a familiar refrain …In my mind, technical conditions always override astrological expectations!"

His analysis is simple, yet succinct - helping us understand complicated analysis while describing a very colorful world of markets where "Old Gods Rule".

 Don't miss this Forecast, for a mere $20.00 you will get many, many times that back!

And... as Randall says, "Safe Trading!"

Reviewing long-range Old Gods targets

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, 10 2012

We will spend some time this weekend reviewing the long-range planetary targets for a number of major world stock indices.

Most markets popped dramatically last week after the stimulus shot from Super Mario, and Wall Street interpreted bad jobs numbers as boosting the chances of another dose of Ben-zedrine.

But the Draghi impact was patchy; some markets popped to new Highs while others continue to drag their heels.

Since the peak of the jump coincided with a Sun square Jupiter aspect, there's a chance things will stall and fall from this point - especially with some indices hitting the recent targets outlined in Weekly Planets charts over the past few weeks.

However, with a New Moon on the schedule for the coming week, as well as the potential positive of a Venus trine Uranus aspect affecting the near-term outlook, there is no guarantee the "good times" won't continue to roll.

American markets, particularly, seem to be following the usual pattern for Presidential election years, which would mean any significant drop in stock prices won't occur until after voting - and probably not until next year.

That's why we'll take a look at the long-range Old Gods charts, since they specify the probable targets without our needing to worry too much about the news.

Last weekend, I published both the Weekly Planets and Long Range Planets charts for Pollyanna, the SP500, along with a weekly Bi-BB chart showing the upper boundary for the week at 1438.79.

Polly's Weekly Planets chart also had 1439 marked as at least an interim target, should there be a breakout from the stalling level around 1410. The index hit a multi-year High of 1437.92 on Friday, only a whisker off the WP and Bi-BB targets.

Now, just in case this rally is to continue towards the November elections, I have updated the higher price targets on the 500's long-range chart.

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The two previous all-time Highs in this index were capped by contact with a Pluto line, currently priced at 1518. An overshoot of that could take Miss Polly all the way to 1578.

Either target would present a multi-decade triple-top formation and the downside becomes disastrous - especially if all the trillion-dollar bail-outs do is prop up bad bank behaviour and Wall Street, while ignoring the real economy of what the Americans call "Main Street".

So, with the SP500, price has reached an intermediate level important on the Weekly Planets charts and has 3 obvious planetary targets above that level.

Not so with Germany's DAX. I published this chart recently to show the long-range impact of Uranus price lines and suggested the index was aiming for another hit of that price zone ... accomplished last week when the market liked what Mario offered, even if the Bundesbank didn't.

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Germany's Constitutional Court is a potential fly in the ECB ointment this coming week when it's due to rule on the validity of bailing out the Med countries with German savings. Regardless of that, the Dax Weekly Planets chart indicates a potential target in the 7490s, if there's a breakout above the long-range Uranus lines, the first of which has now been overcome.

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For quite some time now we've been using rising and falling Sun lines on London's FTSE index to get a read on what would happen with markets generally. I'll skip those charts this weekend and concentrate on the long-range position of most indices. However, you might recall that last weekend, I indicated it would take some bad news to keep the FTSE under the influence of the falling Sun-Mercury lines.

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As with the other indices, the Mario bounce was strong after the FTSE made a false break of the Saturn level shown last week as 5664. It's worth making a mental note that the FTSE did NOT break above the earlier highs, unlike the 500 and the DAX. That puts into question whether the FTSE has enough oomph behind it to reach the next target levels.

Those levels are around 6000 - and there is no difference between the FTSE Weekly Planets and its long-range chart.

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I cannot, however, rule out the chance the FTSE will pop.

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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.

Let's turn now to India's Nifty 50 and update the targets for its Weekly Planets chart.

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And, finally, we'll take a close look at my home index, the ASX200. Last weekend, I introduced one of my private charts, saying:

"As y'can see, the index has a track record of stopping-and-turning, or at least stalling, when it runs into this particular set of planetary lines. For the week ahead, we can see there'll be a triple effect in play around 4400 on the topside ... and probably not a lot further to drop before Support comes into play."

So, how did it go?

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Far from shabby, as it turns out. The "probably not a lot further to drop" price markers were at 4277 and 4262 and Auntie put in a Low of 4161.20 ... less than a dollar off the target, before bouncing strongly.

The chart is helpful for setting Entry and Exit points for moves when the index is trapped within a Weekly Planets range, as shown in the chart below.

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Now, while these Old Gods charts form the basis of one of the main chapters of The Idiot and The Moon, I'd remind you they're not the only show in town and Fibonacci Retracement and Extension levels are a perfectly workable alternative method, particularly for newbies and the budget conscious.

If you need good stock software - dirt cheap - you'll find a link to Incredible Charts under the Software button in the main navigation menu. The free version will do the job very well and can be easily configured to do most of the tasks outlined in The Technical Section.

We'll use the next two charts as working examples.

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Now the methodology is the same, regardless of the timeframe of the chart. We'll look firstly at the long-range and it's clear two sets of Fibo Rx levels are important - the red retracement of the Bull market from 2002-2007 and blue retracement of the 2007-2009 Bear.

We can see the next upside target in the blue range is in the mid 4500s, which coincides pretty closely with one of the intermediate-range targets on Auntie's Weekly Planets chart. Beyond that, 50% of the red range comes into play at 4772. I've mentioned before that this index has been playing to 50% Fibonacci Rx levels on a regular basis.

And that tendency is the core of Auntie's current problem.

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In the chart above, the blue levels are the range from the lower double top down into last year's August plunge. There have been three attempts by the index to break that 50% barrier and each one has failed quickly. So far. Nonetheless, we again get targets in the 4500s, if Auntie can finally break north above 4371.

We've been keeping an eye on the upside breakout levels for a few weeks now, even though it seemed madness to push prices back into the irrational exuberance zone with so many economies faltering badly. I've attempted this weekend to show the maximum probable reach. It's a madness which could extend to the American elections, especially if the big boys have made the decision they want Obama back, rather than Romney/Ryan and the Tea Party people.

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

The Jupiter Cycle and Its Effects on Wall Street

Could the position of the planet Jupiter consistently predict the timing of Bull market tops and Bear bottoms?  

According to recent research tracking 140 years of prices on Wall Street, the answer is a simple: Yes.

In the Greek mythology, Zeus/Jupiter was head honcho of the Old Gods. The ancient Greek tales, when studied in depth, are Creation stories charting the history of the world.

And the tales form the basis of the system of astrology still used in the Western world. They also have counterparts in other cultures. In Vedic astrology and the Hindu religion, for example, Zeus/Jupiter has a counterpart in the figures of Guru/Ganesh.

In both cases, this “king” of gods introduces the concept that one can break free - spiritually or materially. In brief, Jupiter is the symbol of growth and expansion.

And Jupiter’s cycle through the zodiac shows up a very interesting statistical tendency in stock markets.

Since the 1870s, Wall Street has shown a distinct tendency to peak while Jupiter is in late Aries/early Taurus … decline into Jupiter in Leo … rise again until Jupiter is in his own primary sign, Sagittarius … and drop dramatically into Jupiter in Aquarius.

The knee-jerk response of many readers will be to dismiss the assertion as superstitious nonsense. It is an understandable, if predictable, response. Most people simply don’t know anything about the complexity of astrology, its history, or the fact that the system of symbolism and prediction is based on observation by literally millions of practitioners over thousands of years.

It is simply a clearly demonstrable fact that trading The Moods of The Moon - the monthly phases of the lunar cycle - produces steady and reliable profits across any long-term time frame.

And many of those same dismissive readers will happily fork out bundles of boodle to be trained in Gann techniques, or take notice of the Bradley Model turn dates - without having a clue that both are deeply rooted in astrological aspects.

But, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and nothing paints a clearer picture than … a picture.

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The chart above shows The Jupiter Cycle at work since the late 1990s.

It is a monthly of the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average and shows the statistical tendency worked perfectly at the 1999/2000 top, the 2002/03 bottom, the 2007 blow-off and the March, 2009 bottom.

The warning signals from the research are clear. If the historical tendency plays out as usual, Wall Street is reaching a peak in early 2012 and heading into a Bear market which could last until mid-2014.

In fact, the late Aries peak expected by the research data did play out on schedule in May, 2011. You’ll notice the price bars on the DJIA peaked just before the dark green solid bars which identify when Jupiter changed signs to Taurus and that the index is currently challenging that level again.

Since the May 2011 peak, Jupiter has been moving Direct and Retrograde in the early degrees of Taurus.

When I first published this chart in my Forecast 2012 early in January, I warned the position of Jupiter allowed a final rally into the first few weeks of March.

Now, the research shows a statistical tendency … not a cast-iron guarantee.

While the formula played out exactly from 1999 to 2009, there have been a few times when rallies have briefly exceeded the Jupiter in Taurus limit before diving into a Leo Bear bottom.

And 1929 was one of them.

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We could consider that the blow-off rally past Taurus was the technical equivalent of “a false break”. And one of the rules of a failed false break pattern is that the reversal is large and sharp, regardless of whether the break is a high or a low.

The dive into the red Jupiter in Leo bars is as obvious as the recovery rally which peaked as Jupiter again left his home sign of Sagittarius and the DJIA dropped into the first trough of a double-bottom pattern that sparked the multi-decade Bull market into the 2000/2007 peaks.

The two previous charts have shown exactly how The Jupiter Cycle performed from the late 20s to the early 40s and the late 90s to early 00s.

What is interesting to observe is how the tendency played out during the great sideways shuffle from the early 60s to 80s … and how similar that period seems to be to market performance since the 1999/2000 peak.

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The comparison with current market behaviour is stunning. This 20-year time frame last century was marked by sudden Bull rallies and equally sharp Bear plunges in quick succession.

And while the exact tops and bottoms fell outside the statistical tendency of The Jupiter Cycle, nevertheless there were consistent rallies into the Taurus and Sagittarius periods and sharp declines into the Leo and Aquarian periods.

Combined, the three charts show why extreme care is needed maintaining Long positions as we go further into 2012.

• We are moving into the long-term negative tendency of Jupiter moving out of early Taurus and towards Leo, where he will take up residence from the second half of 2014 until June, 2015.

• We are entering the exact time frame of another long-range negative astrological aspect – Uranus square Pluto, an aspect which last occurred at the bottom of the 1929-1932 crash – and the first exact hit of that aspect occurs this year in June and will continue until March, 2015.

On a technical level, Jupiter’s orbit of the Sun corresponds broadly with three and four year “cycles” in the markets. The Old God’s journey through the zodiac takes 12 years.

On my website – www.theidiotandthemoon.com – I constantly caution my readers against allowing astrological expectations to override the common sense technical conditions shown by the current state of the charts.

Accurate astrological prediction is as much a skill as it is the result of many years of study and empirical research.

Nevertheless, it’s why W.D. Gann has a large worldwide following, decades after his death – and why J.P. Morgan had the renowned astrologer, Evangeline Adams, on his payroll.

“And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – Shakespeare

About The Author

Randall Ashbourne is a former journalist and political strategist, author of the eBook, The Idiot &The Moon, which aims to provide newbie traders with the skills they need to start trading confidently.
While the book concentrates its main techniques on orthodox technical signals, Ashbourne also outlines a lunar cycle trading system he calls The Moods of The Moon and plots intermediate and long-range price targets for various indices using the planetary position of what he calls the Old Gods.
His website, www.theidiotandthemoon.com includes a free weekly column, The Eye of Ra, in which he explains the potential impact of looming astrological aspects and whether the expected symbolism is endorsed by the current state of technical conditions.