QE2 & the Federal Reserve

Show Down at the G 20 in Seoul

The Federal Reserve and the Dollar are in for a rough few months ahead as the world's economic leaders voice their disapproval of the quantitative easing of the Dollar by the Federal Reserve.

Chinese officials are not to pleased with the Federal Reserves policy of QE 2. The Financial Times article details the comments of the Chinese officials as well as other members of the G20.

The Astrologers task is to discover from the charts for the Federal Reserve if this policy will work or will it spark a currency war. Will it perform as promised? Will it make USA goods abroad cheaper, and therefore increase domestic employment.

No War

Mars represents employment and the July 11, 2012 solar eclipse was conjunct the Fed's Mars and the need for concern was real. But Mars becomes fairly lazy when eclipsed. Employees of the Fed and actually the whole country turned into monetary couch potatoes. No one was thinking and the Fed employees were just recycling old ideas that didn't work the first time. It certainly was too much like work to find other measures to move the USA economy.

Success?

The North Node is applying to the Fed Sun which along with Jupiter moving over the MC could signal a good decision will emerge around January 1, 2011. In addition the South Node will be conjunct the Fed's Pluto which would mean their power is easily recovered. It appears that Federal Reserve will succeed in spite of themselves. All of the hand wringing by critics will become a humorous anecdote.

The USA Economy?

A tremendous number of folks will find their unemployment benefits expire on January 1, 2011. The Republican House of Representatives will suggest "tough love" . It is amazing how quickly the economy improves when folks decide to work for wages.

When I set up the chart I thought I would also be a critic of the QE2 policy and I was positive that the Federal Reserve would make the mess even worse. However it appears that by mid-February we will decide that the policy was not awful. I'm surprised by the chart, now someone is going to tell me to use the November 16,1914 chart when the Federal Reserve opened its doors for business. Actually that chart has the South Node conjunct its Pluto Saturn conjunction. Same reading but the Fed will not get credit for taking a remarkably correct action.

Nodes of the Dow

Sometimes it is fun to quote yourself. Winter Solstice 2009 I wrote an article for the NCGR Journal "The Nodes and Financial Astrology" pg. 30

My original research for the article appears in The Textbook for Financial Astrology IV. Here is a portion of the article I wrote after four of my colleagues sent E mails explaining to me that my research article should be in the next edition of the Journal.

Financial Astrology Gibberish

Will the Index continue to march back to its former highs? The Neptune Jupiter Chiron trio returns to their conjunction with the Index North Node as of December 10, 2009. Too much of a good thing and the index reverses?

Oct 9, 2007 was a reversal date and the market fell 10% only to return up 8% then on Dec. 10 the market reversed to go down 52% on March 9, 2009. the Dec 10th North node was within a degree and a half of a nodal return.

An aside to the study was twice nodal returns indicated a market up 10%. An interesting statistic however there were three nodal returns where there was no effect. The nodal return on January 1, 2008 did not mark a reversal date and the market continued its downward trend. Venus had just passed the South Node which it does once a year, but the Nodes were moving to a nodal return that would be exact January 1, 2008 and the Feb eclipse would was 17 Aquarius. The Dow average plummeted 12% . The March 2, 2008 trouble was in the wind but the Nodal return was still in effect . The Dow began its precipitous fall. May 2, 2008 from 13,000 to March 3, 2009 at 6600 or over 60%.

The nodal return was four degrees from exact and transiting Saturn was within 3 degrees of the Index South Node. The July eclipse would fall on Jupiter so a reversal seemed unlikely. The fall of Lehman Brothers on Sept 15,2008 and no aspects appeared to be available to break the fall. The January 28, 2009 eclipse would be opposed Jupiter a possible break.

The low happened on March 3, 2009 and the South node made a conjunction to Jupiter on April 20, 2009. The first ‘V’ was in and the Dow would move up 25% in the weeks that followed.

Second "V" in the Dow?

Will there be a second ‘V’ ? The next eclipse in January 15 at 25 Capricorn and it is followed by an eclipse on July 11 at 20 Cancer. There are a lot of transits in between to cause trouble for the Dow, but enough to cause a significant reversal of trend?

Oh let’s just speculate that all is quiet on the Dow until the Nodes move to Sagittarius and Gemini in 2011 and the next eclipse is 11 degrees Gemini June 1,2011 is conjunct the Sun Pluto conjunction of the Dow index. On that eclipse Uranus will also be conjunct the Index Mars. Within a month of the aspect expect a reversal of trend and make your stops secure.

Conclusion: The dates provided by Smith Barney are the actual dates for highs and lows in the Index. The dates I have mentioned under Gibberish might not fit their exact criteria, but they are close enough for nodal work. The Dow Index does not always set the tone of the market and there are numerous factors that influence its rise and fall. However the transiting nodes and eclipses have a pretty good track record.

Relationship Question

On the blog I will share the answers to questions asked by a young student.  Huge volumes have been written on each of her questions. 

First question: How can one predict the nature of a relationship using astrology?

There are a number of ways depending on the type of relationship under investigation. People like each other for a number of reasons that you can identify quickly by putting together the horoscopes. Often you will find Sun signs next to each other get along very well. For example: an Aquarius likes Pisces folks and Capricorn folks.  Moon signs have to match by element for folks to have affection for each other. A person with a Moon in Gemini will adore a person with a Moon in Libra. 

But in order to have a real sexual attraction with someone that lasts for more than a week Mars and Venus for each horoscope have to match by element.  If someone has a Mars in Aries and they meet a person with a Venus in Sagittarius they will find an attraction.  Will it go beyond 'you are cute'?  Only if the Suns and the Moons also get along and then their Mercury's actually say "Hi."  

Now there is something called soul mates. This is indicated by the sign of the North and South Node.  If all of the above come together and the nodes are in the same sign you have a relationship that could become anything from a business partnership, best friends, or a marriage.  

You often find best friends are about the same age meaning that their nodes are in the same sign, If their Suns are next door or in the same element and their Moons are also in the same element then you have a long term friendship. 

Relationships also work in financial astrology. 

I belong to an Apple users club that started in July 2007.  Its Jupiter is exactly conjunct the Mercury of Apples IPO (the date they offered their stock for sale).  The club also has Mars conjunct the Jupiter of the date Apple Computer was incorporated. One member of the club was hired to design applications for the I phone during the past year.

My stock club has the Sun in Cancer. We reluctantly sold our stock in Barnes and Noble which had a Sun in Scorpio and Moon in Cancer. We made an excellent profit at the time.  It was hard for the group to sell it because we loved their stores. However, Amazon was a threat and we decided to invest in their company. We won't have any trouble selling Amazon since its Incorporation and IPO do not have any Cancer planets.

Anticipation

                                                  Is another shoe about to drop? 

Folks are feeling nervous.

Could the economy roll over again? Everything seems to be in reverse. For all the talk about transparency something seems set to ambush the economy. 

Inflation?

Certain stuff costs more even in the big box stores.

Treasury Bonds?

A low yield could discourage domestic and foreign buyers. 

Commercial Real Estate?

Property values diminish when commercial real estate can't find tenants. 

Where do financial astrologers look for the answer?  

Horseshoes? 

The symbol for the North Node looks something like the horseshoe on the left. 

The symbol for the South Node looks something like the horseshoe on the right.  

The Sign of the Transiting Nodes gives a Clue.

The sign for the current transiting nodes is where the next eclipses will fall.  2010 has the The North Node in Capricorn and the eclipse will be January 15th at 25 degrees Capricorn. The South Node in Cancer indicates that on July 11th there will be an eclipse at 19 degrees Cancer.

An Eclipse Changes Circumstance and Point of  View.

The Cancer and Capricorn Nodes have a tendency to reduce the price of real estate, your house, your office and your shopping center.  For various reasons these investments become unattractive.  In the early 70's it was stagflation and in the early '80's it was high interest rates. In the '90's it was over supply of commercial real estate and the in the 2000's the supply of houses. This time it appears office space is not required for new business, foreclosures threaten shopping centers as retail goes online, and owners of condominiums succumb to inflating assessments.

The July 22, 2009 eclipse at 29 Cancer was very close to USA Mercury, the Federal Reserve Neptune and the Dow Venus. The January 2010 eclipse will be very close to the USA Pluto and Venus in the chart for Gold. Charts available in The Textbook for Financial Astrology.

July 22, 2009 Eclipse

An eclipse to the USA 8th house Mercury means that we have to rethink taxes and insurance. Higher taxes means lower revenues for the IRS. Increase the numbers paying for health insurance and lower the cost of premiums.  Everyone has a point of view and the argument will continue for several years. 

An eclipse to the Federal Reserve 1st house Neptune makes its interest rates the focus of attention and the need to earn money by raising them.  It needs to find creative imaginative ways to generate income and raise the value of the currency it creates.

An eclipse to the Dow Venus means that the guardian angel for the Index is on vacation and although she left after fortifying the stocks in the Dow, if they misbehave she is not around to scold them and get the stocks back on their proper price track. Volatile prices reign.

January 15, 2010 Eclipse

An eclipse to the USA's 2nd house Pluto means that the old ways to earn money no longer exist and folks need to divest themselves of their material possessions and find new ways to earn money. (Forewarned)

An eclipse to the Venus of Gold means that the guardian angel for gold is on vacation and although she left with the price at its best possible level she can not guard it from volatile price swings.

Eclipses Create Volatility and Uncertainty.

When you are checking all the possible stocks to add to your portfolio it is a good idea to look at the sign of the nodes in the Incorporation and IPO chart of the company.  Then check the sign for the current transiting nodes.  Will they come close to any planets in either chart?  If so it is a good idea to go onto the next company in your idea box. 

An eclipse falling in your personal horoscope has a specific meaning. Check my articleEconomic Implications of the Eclipse in Your Personal Chart .