The 4 aspects of the apocalypse

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 April 22, 2013

Nerves of steel will be required over the next couple of weeks as four market-moving aspects take control of the markets.

Despite the shift from fiery Aries into earthy and stable Taurus by the Sun, Venus and Mars, fast and volatile moves in different directions are likely.

I'll show you the historical performance of these aspects in a moment and it'll be obvious why we all need to exercise care and caution.

Each one of the aspects is capable of producing a significant High or Low in markets. But, when they occur as a tight grouping together, the Highs and Lows have a strong historical tendency to be relatively major in intermediate terms ... and in some cases, a multi-year change of trend.

Now, apocalypse is probably too strong a word. But, I have a 5th House, unaspected Sagittarian Sun, so quiet and reserved understatement tends not to be a character trait. And at least I got your attention.

The aspects begin with Venus, in Taurus, opposing Saturn, in Scorpio, on Monday (USA time). The Full Moon later in the week is a lunar eclipse FM and with the Moon conjuncting Saturn.

Next weekend, the Sun opposes Saturn; and at the end of the following week, Mars, the mover of markets, also opposes Saturn ... meaning that "drive" is hurtling towards a collision with a brick wall.

We'll also be taking another look at gold this weekend for those of you holding positions in the metal itself, or in relevant mining stocks.

But first, we'll look at the historical performance of the four astrological events I mentioned a moment ago. In the chart below, a weekly of the SP500, Mars oppose Saturn events are marked with a red bar; Venus oppose Saturn is pink; Sun oppose Saturn is blue; and lunar eclipses are green bars.

Each single one is important individually, but I have circled the 6 previous occasions when these four have arrived as a group ... and their impact on stock prices has been sudden and dramatic.

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Two of the 6 played an important role in determining the bottom of the past two Bear crashes. One was present at a temporary stall in the early 2000s Bear; and the remaining 3 marked important turning points within intermediate corrections during Bull runs.

It's not then a true apocalypse scenario ... but it just might feel that way if you're caught on the wrong side of the sudden turns. And not one of these events was an insignificant, ho-hum period in the markets.

Next we'll take a close-up look at what happened on daily charts during the last appearance of this tight grouping in early 2011.

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The series began with Sun in opposition to Saturn marking out a top ... a fall then into Mars oppose Saturn ... a rise into Venus oppose Saturn ... and a sharp drop into a new low at the green lunar eclipse. We could be in for a wild ride in the next couple of weeks, especially with 3 of the 4 due to play out this week.

Now let's turn our attention to gold again. And I won't bother stepping politely this weekend. This appears to have been pure larceny. The big banks, most notably two of those which own the US Federal Reserve, had amassed enormous Short positions in gold.

Unfortunately, the broad world market didn't agree and price was shuffling sideways rather than tanking. At the same time, there had been a run on physical gold depositories. For some obscure reason, investors didn't trust the system and had begun moving their bullion into private vaults. Oh, tsk*tsk. This was a big problem for the banks ... not only was price not sliding dramatically, they were in dire danger of default if people kept rolling up with armoured vans to move their physical gold.

A co-ordinated worldwide raid was launched. Over in London, the computers which handle sales of physical gold crashed, supposedly because of the number of people trying to place trades. Far too many of which were Buy orders! Gee golly, the computers at the American dealers which handle paper gold did not crash - even though they, too, were suddenly inundated with orders.

Meanwhile, they all stayed open over the weekend to send out margin calls ... but not open enough to allow anyone to transfer money to meet the margin calls by the market opening on Monday. It was theft on a massive scale ... and just as with the various other incidents like the flash crash and the Fat-Fingered Freddy "mistake", absolutely nothing will be done about it.

If it were, we might find out the real reason why the US Federal Reserve can't actually supply Germany's 300 tons of bullion for 7 years.

The banks are playing a very dangerous game. They desperately need real amounts of physical gold - and, of course, they want it cheap. Their problem is ... drive the price too low and physical gold will dry up fast because a lot of small mines have a very high cost of production and will be forced to shutter, rather than lose money.

In any case, the price of gold continues to respond, quite precisely, to the planetary charts I introduced this year in Forecast 2013. Let's start with a close-up of the daily action.

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After the forced margin-call selling on Monday, the bounceback began with a false break below a secondary Pluto line, when price touched a Sun line. In technical terms, this does appear to be - probably - a temporary bounce before another drop. That drop is likely to produce an even bigger bounce, possibly even a change in the overall downtrend.

We'll go now to the weekly chart. The most significant price levels are the primary Pluto lines - 1518, 1363 and 1160. Also significant are the primary Sun lines. Primary Sun support is provided in the coming week at 1300.

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Okay, that's it for this edition. I will try, next weekend, to update Weekly Planets charts for Canada and the major Asian indices; it has been a few weeks since we last looked at them.

Be aware of at least the potential for things to go crazy over the next two weeks. The particular set of astrological aspects to Saturn, combined with a lunar eclipse, very rarely fails to produce fast moves in different directions - and are often exact on the day, as I tried to illustrate with the second chart in this edition.
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

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A high-energy astro union of aspects

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 November 26, 2012

The first couple of days this week are likely to be volatile as Americans get past Thanksgiving and return to their trading desks.

There are three major astrological aspects on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a lunar eclipse Full Moon as Wall Street opens on Wednesday.

And the little winged-heel guy, Mercury, goes Direct again - having delivered the "perfect" sequence of events during his Rx phase.

We discussed early in the month what is the "normal" behaviour for a Merc Rx period ... the Retrograde date starts a trend, which changes course halfway through, and that by the Direct-again date, prices tend to be back within 1% of where they started the whole phase.

Friday's jump back to the 1410-ish level marked on the SP500's long-range planet price chart ticked all the boxes.

But now things get interesting again. First cab off the rank is a Sun trine to Uranus, quickly followed by a Venus conjunction with Saturn and then a Mars conjunction with Pluto.

Then there's a lunar eclipse Full Moon in Gemini ... and just a normal Moon in Gemini usually brings wide-range days in both directions.

That's a lot of astro energy at play within a very short timeframe.

Let me chat a little about the nature of that energy. Most astrologers work on the assumption that a trine aspect is largely benevolent and interpret the symbolism as an "easy flow" of energy.

The trouble is that an easy flow of energy can be a very bad influence. The real nature of the trine aspect is the sudden removal of all obstacles. Now, this is a damn fine thing if you've been out of work for months, having trouble finding a new job. You suddenly get one ... and it'll frequently be a much better job than the one you lost or left.

However, if you happen to be facing fraud charges ... or anxiously avoiding an audit by the tax office ... the trine can suddenly pull the rug out from under you and you fall hard onto your butt in a deep pile of dung.

And then we have the Venus/Saturn conjunction in Scorpio, the sign which relates to debt, death and taxes. Venus in Scorpio is not the kind of girl you bring home to meet Mum. She's an evil, scheming, manipulative bitch who'll hump your brains out ... and then eat them. While you're still alive.

And that's her good side!

Saturn in Scorpio is even worse. On a mundane level, Saturn is "The Government" and since Scorpio relates to debt and taxes, it represents a timeframe when the business of government will relate strongly to those issues. It means time is running out for governments to continue short-term, quick-fix solutions to problems like sovereign debt and the American "fiscal cliff".

And since Mars conjuncts Pluto in the sign of Capricorn, that's a reiteration of the overall theme. Mars and Pluto rule Scorpio, where Saturn currently travels, and they're meeting in Cappy, which is Saturn's home ground. So, we get this sense that the astro pressure is about to be ramped up dramatically when it comes to money (Venus), government (Saturn) and death, debt and taxes (Mars and Pluto).

When we couple those themes with the Sun trine to Uranus and the volatility implied by a Gemini lunar eclipse Full Moon, it is possible things could get real scary, real fast.

However, let me remind you again of the house rule here ... astrological expectations do not over-ride technical conditions. So, let's look at some charts.

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Firstly, I want to check the historical behaviour of Venus conjunct Saturn aspects - marked with red bars on the chart above. By itself, it's not conclusive and reliable as a turning point ... which is basically the same conclusion we reached with the so-called "Mars/Uranus crash cycle" chart we looked at again last weekend.

But, what happens when we look at the four - Venus conjunct Saturn, Sun trine Uranus, and Mars conjunct Pluto and square Uranus?

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In the chart above, Venus/Saturn is red, Sun/Uranus dark blue; Mars/Uranus pink and Mars/Pluto light blue. Three of these were present in the formation of the two previous Bull peaks. Three of them were nearby during the two previous Bear bottoms ... and near the bottom of last year's August/October plunge.

So, the concern here is not one single aspect ... it's the combination of the punch jammed into a narrow timeframe.

Our next chart is Pollyana's performance during the Mercury Rx phase.

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As usual, the official figures from the NYSE won't reflect the silly gap on Friday's half-day, when markets are easily manipulated. The danger is that this is a set-up and not the real start of the annual Santa Claus rally. Yes, I'm still more than mildly concerned by the lack of a positive divergence signal in the oscillators as Miss Pollyanna made her low on the 16th.

The bounceback is even more obvious on the monthly bars in the 500's long-range planetary price chart.

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It's interesting to look at a monthly chart of the FTSE from a technical point of view. While Polly is playing to the planets, the FTSE can't seem to break through the topside of a triangle ... at least not in a sustained way.

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I'll wrap up this weekend's edition with a few Weekly Planets charts and hopefully get back to a wider look at other indices next weekend when it'll be time to look at the likely ranges for December.

Just bear in mind that the Mercury Rx phase did it's "normal" thing virtually perfectly ... but that we have a combination of astro aspects happening over the next few days which have a tendency to be present when markets are marking out important turning points.

NASDAQ 100 Weekly Planets:

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DAX Weekly Planets:

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ASX 200 Weekly Planets:

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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

Alarm bells ring in the tech index

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 1, 2012

With September and the 3rd Quarter now behind us, we'll spend a little time this weekend looking closely at two of the major American indices for signs of stress.

The danger of an unexpected Black Swan event remains in force over the coming week. This weekend's Harvest Moon provides a potential trigger for more negative energy - compounded by some major astrological energy shifts over the next few days.

Four planets change signs and Jupiter goes Retrograde.

Both Mercury and Saturn make the move from Libra into Scorpio; Venus moves from Leo into Virgo; and Mars changes from Scorpio into Sagittarius.

Long-term, the most significant shift is Saturn because it will spend the next couple of years travelling through the sign associated with Big Debt, Big Money. Let me explain first how this works in a personal horoscope, though I must stress the interpretation is broad-brush and does not apply to all individuals.

In a "natural" horoscope, Scorpio rules the 8th House - which is the house relating to "other people's money".

An individual undergoing a Saturn transit to the 8th is very likely to find access to other people's money cut off.

This is a time when banks refuse you a loan or a mortgage, when your debts become a major burden to service, and when the Tax Department audits your returns for several years and decides you owe them a LOT more than you've been trying to get away with.

Now, just like you and me, nations also have a "personal" horoscope so not every country is going to suffer the same symbolism. But, because of the long-range negativity of the Uranus-Pluto square already in effect across much of the world, we can expect the sovereign debt issues affecting countries like Greece to magnify significantly over the next couple of years.

Saturn's entry into Scorpio will bring those issues to a head. Banks will be affected, the Treasuries of nations will be affected, insurance companies will be affected. Anyone with large exposure to banks, financial stocks and insurance companies should take some time in the next few weeks to closely examine the technical conditions of their holdings.

The principle of Saturn in Scorpio is that anyone who has become too reliant on "other people's money" faces an unwelcome reckoning ... because the money tap is about to turned off. Saturn transits demand we take a conservative and responsible attitude to debt - or face the consequences.

Those governments which have been blustering and bluffing face a dose of reality. We must consider the transit is a long one; Saturn takes almost three years to travel through each sign. And the Mars shift to the boundless enthusiasm of Sagittarius may provide the opportunity for one last moment of mindless enthusiasm before even the most ardent optimists are challenged.

For several weeks now, we've been exploring the likely limits of the upside in various indices and watching for the first signs of negative divergence to appear in our oscillators to warn of major roadblocks.

And with September and the 3rd Quarter now behind us, that's what we'll be looking at this weekend, concentrating on two of America's major indices, since it's only US Federal Reserve intervention and manipulation which has been holding those markets aloft.

We will begin with Pollyanna, the SP500.

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The first thing we need to take into account is that the SP500 has followed the technical "rules" fairly closely since the Bear bottom in 2009 - finding either Support or Resistance at key Fibonacci levels while rising at an overall angle determined by a pitchfork anchored at key tops and bottoms.

The long-range Canary has endorsed the September high by making a higher peak compatible with the price high.

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September also behaved perfectly with the rules of the Bi-BB system, which is explained in The Technical Section of the book. Unlike the long-range Canary however, the fast MACD doesn't like the new highs at all. I've used a couple of examples over the past weekends to show you how MACD divergence actually needs time to build and if you're a new reader, you might want to revisit the last couple of editions.

The MACD divergence has been building-up in this index for a very long time now.

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I also discussed, a few weeks back, the possibility that Pollyanna was marking out a termination pattern known as an Ending Diagonal and September's false break outside the upper boundary of that pattern increases the probability that it is what is happening ... and that the index is getting very, very close to breaking out or breaking down.

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And we've also been regularly reviewing my long-range Old Gods chart for the 500, where I've discussed the importance of the dotted Neptune line at 1468 - as well as the potential for the index to make a final exhaustion run to 1522 or 1562 before the collapse gets underway.

Now, let's turn our attention to the state of the Nasdaq 100.

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I've discussed a number of times the importance of 50% retracement and extension levels to some indices and a few weeks ago we looked at this chart, anticipating the NDX would face a major hurdle at the 2805 level.

However, that's not the most important thing on the chart. We have in the NDX what is missing in the 500's chart - a severe and increasing level of negative divergence in the long-range Canary (the blue oscillator line). All three versions of the Canary HATE the Nasdaq's new September high!

There is a very loud alarm klaxon going off in this index ... and it is even more obvious in the NDX weekly chart, below.

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Since the index deals with technology-related stocks, it's no surprise to discover that Uranus is the Old God most closely associated with its long-range targets, either as Support or Resistance. Uranus is delineated on the chart below with the orange lines.

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Last week found Support when price retested the Uranus barrier which had twice previously acted as Resistance. However, as with the previous chart, there is negative divergence from the height of the MACD signal line peaks, as well as the histogram peaks. This index is in danger territory. It is showing all the classic signs of getting very close to a major breakdown.

So, while we have no solid leads yet that Pollyanna is about to morph into Chicken Little on the SP500, we have very clear signals from the Nasdaq 100 that the American market internals are no longer stubbornly Bullish.

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The chart above is the DAX Weekly Planets. It failed to make it all the way to the Neptune line at 7490 and has gone from a Saturn (cyan) high to a Saturn low. However, with this index, it's the grey Neptune and orange Uranus lines which are the major targets.

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The FTSE Weekly Planets chart is next and needs no explanation.

And below is a really simple chart of the ASX200.

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I display this chart once again as an example of just how simple - and informative - a chart can be without having to rely on expensive software. It actually flies in the face of the omens from the NDX. The downtrend angle has been broken and the long-range Canary is suggesting further upside, so long as 4266 isn't breached by October's close.

Okay, I've spent more time than usual this weekend concentrating on the 500 and the NDX, since Wall Street and the Fed seem determined to follow the American Presidential Pattern, which normally sees an October slump followed by a fast rally into the November election period.

Next weekend, I'd hope to look at the Asian markets again - especially Shanghai, since what happens in China will be important. And I also hope to have another look at the main Canadian index since it has been quite a while since we reviewed the TSX60.

In the meantime ...

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 Autumnal Equinox, September 22, 2012

Chart for Washington, D.C. USA

Chart Analysis with discussion of Astrological Events

Listed in the Astrological Events of the Season is the September 19, 2012 Uranus square Pluto aspect at 7° Aries/Capricorn. Click here for list.

Though exact before the Equinox, this aspect remains an important influence throughout 2012, up through 2015. It is significant because of the implication of its meaning globally as well as at home.

The Autumnal Equinox, Wednesday, September 22 at 10:48:58 am EDT, Washington D.C.
“What all the wise men promised has not happened,
and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.” – Lord Melbourne

Charles E. O. Carter, the great Twentieth Century British Astrologer, states in the book, Mundane Astrology, The Astrology of Nations and States, "Uranus represents the administration of power, the administrative officers of the State and all their functions." Additionally Carter goes on to say, "Uranus rules power on the physical plane - dynamos and all power generators." With such electric energy, Uranus is as unpredictable as lightning. When afflicted by difficult aspects Uranus is rebellious and anarchic. 

Pluto desires to control power, using power to control. With an affinity to the Underworld, it reveals what is hidden and dark, bringing elements into the light making what was powerful now vulnerable, thus easier to tame, reform, transform or destroy. Pluto, like Mars, is a planet of war, but much, much more ruthless. With it's scorched earth policy Pluto brings about transformation, but only after destruction of what lies in it's path.

Randall Ashbourne writes, "Uranus represents an energy which demands change, reform and radical restructuring of everything it considers "wrong". In Aries, the demands are aggressive and, if thwarted, will turn to direct action ... from taking over the streets to taking up arms. Pluto represents great power and great wealth concentrated very narrowly. In Capricorn, it is very much all about control by the plutocrats... " - Eye of Ra report, week beginning June 18, 2012

So, what we have in this season ahead is a time greatly influenced by tense, dynamic energy pitting the nature of these two planets and the signs they are in against each other to force an outcome. It is quite understandable then, that the world has been confronted with economic and political crises.

Bold, impatient, impulsive and rebellious Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn has brought about the reigniting of anti-Japan protesters across China; has exposed the euro as a divisive force instead of what was to be a uniting force for European countries; and has driven deeply divided political parties in the USA to face off in a nasty, bitter battle for the White House while America faces a fiscal cliff ahead regardless who wins. It has brought about the Arab Spring uprisings, and now extremely anti-American sentiment and tension in the Middle-East. We now are experiencing what some journalists have named "the Arab Winter". 

"U.S. embassies and consulates have been breached this week in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia — the same four countries to rid themselves of decades-long dictatorships in what became known as the Arab Spring of revolutions last year. In Libya, the only place the U.S. used its military to ensure regime change, the violence was the worst, claiming the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other embassy staffers." The Washington Post, September 14

The Equinox chart is rife with difficulty. Sun in opposition to Uranus square Pluto with Mars on the Ascendant in Scorpio. Markets will go on a wild ride, gold and silver prices will rise and fall and people are in an aggressive mood...

The Equinox Sun for Washington, D.C. appears in the Eleventh house with Mercury

The Sun in good aspect here should be beneficial for Washington D.C., however five days later, on September 29 the Sun forms an exact T-Square with the Uranus-Pluto aspect. National and International news is filled with stores of anti-American protests and of a presidential campaign that only gets nastier.

Mercury goes retrograde on election day and that isn't good news for the candidates. The last time Mercury stationed retrograde on election day was in 2000! And we all know how that went...

Mars (co-chart ruler with Pluto) in the first house square Venus in the ninth - An aggressive spirit has risen in the people regarding domestic matters and matters abroad. With riots, strikes, fires, assaults, and rumors of war, military affairs attract attention and battleships are launched. Financial questions affecting foreign relations cause debate and concern.

Moon in the Second House sextile Saturn in the twelfth - Economic worries are soothed by the Fed's release of more money into the market to influence financial affairs generally. This adds to the ever increasing political power of the Fed.

The national debt and the economy is an important campaign issue, but what women "value" and what their needs are an important part of the debate in the presidential election.

Saturn enters Scorpio on October 5 - Real and responsible reform regarding financial policy must be dealt with as Saturn transits Scorpio over the next three years. Debt, regulations in banking, and taxation are areas that both political parties must confront.

Pluto in the Second house square Uranus in the fifth house - suggests a possible increase in military spending and a discontent over national extravagance. Possible loss in equities in the stock exchange causes precious metals to soar. Disputes over financial questions and taxation cause concern.

Neptune in the fourth house - This is good for crops if the weather remains temperate and damp, but there is a possibility of cold, damp weather. Not only is there a good deal of fluctuation in temperature, but in the political climate as well!

Jupiter in the eighth house sextile Venus in the ninth house -Opportunities for financial relations with foreign countries improve. This is fortunate for trade and the shipping industry.

Happy Halloween, October 31, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving, USA November 22, 2012

Be sure to read the New Moon Newsletters for September, The New Moon in Virgo, September 15; for October 15, The New Moon in Libra; and for November 13, The New Moon in Scorpio. (If those newsletters are not for the current month, you will find them in the newsletter archives.) To get these newsletters in advance please subscribe here.

All the best ~ Marley

Marlene Pfeifle, CAP