Review and Preview

 In the first week following the geocosmic center mass of the Cardinal Climax, and the first week of the new Mercury retrograde cycle (August 20-September 12), equity markets around the world continued their sell-off, and then appeared to reverse at the very end of the week. Yet what may be more interesting is how many economic leaders are changing their tune about the future of the economy since going through that midsection of the Cardinal Climax, July 21-August 21. Prior to - and even during the early part of that time band - the near-unanimous consensus was that the USA would not have a double dip recession. Now the majority are stating that the odds of a double dip recession have just increased, with some actually calling for an outright double dip recession in the next year. Welcome to Mercury retrograde, on the heels of the Cardinal Climax. You are likely to hear many adjusted and “double message” forecasts about the probability of a “double dip recession” as U.S. Treasuries continue to exhibit a “double bubble trouble” pattern.

 In Europe, all equity indices we follow declined to new monthly lows on Wednesday, August 25. Those lows did not take out the lows of early July, and were followed by decent rallies into Friday. In Asia and the Pacific Rim, it was a little different. Most indices bottomed on August 25, but in the case of the Japanese Nikkei, it was a new yearly low, below 9000. The Nikkei fell to 8807 on August 25, its lowest price since May 1, 2009. In India, the market didn’t fall to a low at all. In fact the NIFTY index made a new yearly high on August 23.

 In the Americas, The Argentine Merval index made a low on August 25 too. Brazil’s Bovespa bottomed out the next day. And in the USA, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite bottomed early Friday, and then commenced a healthy rally into the close, following Ben Bernanke’s speech from the Jackson Hole, Wyoming banking summit. Each of these indices held above their lows of early July.

 Gold and especially Silver found new life as well after initial softness early last week. From a low of 1773 on Tuesday, September Silver shot up to 1934 during the day on Friday. It closed around 1904. Gold made a new monthly high at 1246 on Thursday in the December contract. Less than a month ago it was trading below 1160. Crude Oil’s performance was similar to the equities and precious metals. That is, it ended a decline to 70.76 on Wednesday, August 25, its lowest price since early June, and then rallied to close the week above 75.00 on Friday.

 But the big story continues to be in U.S. Treasuries. They reached a new post-panic high on Wednesday, August 25, but then fell sharply into the close of the week. The Japanese Yen was another fascinating story. It skyrocketed against the dollar, which fell below 84.00 on Tuesday, August 24, its lowest level to the Yen since  early 1995, The dollar then rallied sharply into the close of the week too.

Short-Term Geocosmics

So what was so important about early last week, when equities and Silver bottomed, while Treasuries and the Japanese Yen topped out? Well, it was within three trading days of three important “Level 1” (strongest) geocosmic signatures that unfolded August 20 and 21. These included the Sun-Neptune opposition, Venus-Mars conjunction, and the 32-37 year waning square of Saturn and Pluto. On top of that, Mercury also turned retrograde on August 20. Combinations like this, so close in time to one another, usually produce a reversal within three trading days. This was no exception. How long this reversal will last, however, is another matter, because under Mercury retrograde, reversals oftentimes do not last long. More often than not, big price thrusts in any direction usually lose momentum quickly, i.e. within 4 trading days. We also note that these reversals occurred close to the Virgo-Pisces full moon of Tuesday, August 24. Lunations in mutable signs seem to have the most correspondence to reversals in many financial markets, as opposed to lunations in other types of signs.

The next series of important geocosmic signatures starts up on September 4. An abundance of signatures will then unfold lasting through Venus retrograde on October 8. Prepare yourself for another roller coaster ride during that 5-week period, for in addition to ending with the powerful Venus retrograde, we will also encounter the second of three Jupiter-Uranus conjunction passages on September 18. These are two of the highest historical correspondences of all geocosmic signatures to primary or greater cycles in equities, as reported in the studies of “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles.”

Longer-Term Thoughts

 For some time now I have been writing about a “bubble” in financial assets. More recently (since June) I have referenced that such a bubble seems to building in U.S. Treasuries. But the concept of “bubbles” means different things to different analysts. In the strictest numerical sense, a “bubble” is a phenomenon where a financial asset increases sharply in price without any notable and normal declines. In almost all cases, the advance of that asset is at least 100% of a price from which the move up started. More often than not, the increase is 4-10 times higher.

 Bubbles have correlations to Financial Astrology. They pertain to Jupiter and/or Uranus, either in the skies at a given point in time, or to the chart of particular entity associated with a financial market. The NASDAQ Composite’s tech bubble started from a base of 750 when Uranus entered Aquarius in 1995 to its high of over 5000 in March 2000, as Uranus advanced to the last third of Aquarius, squared by Saturn and Jupiter in Taurus. Aquarius is associated with technology, and the NSADAQ is a tech-heavy index. Or you could look at the bubble in Crude Oil as Uranus moved into Pisces in early 2003 from a base of about $25/barrel to a high of $147.27 in July 2008, when Uranus was in the last third of Pisces. Pisces is the sign associated with Crude Oil. In each case, the ensuing decline took prices down 70-80% within 6-24 months.

 But there is another way to look at bubbles rather in terms of multiples of 4-10 times. Bubbles can coincide with periods of excessive greed or fear, driving investors to flock to a particular investment and thus drive its value sharply higher. This is the case with Treasuries right now, in my opinion, and the basis for my concerns that Treasuries are forming a “Double Bubble Trouble.” There is no way that Treasury Bonds or Notes will appreciate 4-10 times their price at the base from which the move up began, due to the way Treasuries are valued. From a base of 95-105 in 1999 and 2007, Ten Year Treasury Notes rallied to an all-time high of 130/25 on December 19, 2008, as the Federal Reserve Board experienced its 12-year Jupiter return. That was also in the peak of the Financial Panic. It fell back to 115 as recently as April 2010, but is now approaching the 130 area again (the high last week was close to 127).

 The reason I suspect this is a bubble is because of the psychology behind this sharp run up in the last 4 months. It is due to excessive fear, again, as investors have piled much more money into the “safety” of Treasuries than they have the stock market. I see this as a dangerous trend – even a “bubble” - due to the psychological factors. But I also see it as “bubble” from the Financial Astrology point of view. Jupiter and Uranus have been in conjunction in the very early degrees of Aries. And this forms a T-square to the Sun-Pluto opposition in the Federal Reserve Board chart (created December 23, 1913). The Fed and the financial products it affects through its decisions (such as Treasuries) are thus akin to a “bubble.”

 Many astrologers were baffled that the astrological midsection of the Cardinal Climax did not produce any spectacular events, such as another financial crisis or political overthrow, or start of a new world war. Yet this simply demonstrates a lesson in how astrology works. It is not “causal” in terms of human activity, although it may be causal in terms of natural phenomenon, such as the severe heat and dryness that led to the fires and drought in Russia, and the floods that displaced hundreds of thousands in China and Pakistan.

 Astrology correlated to human activity is more “synchronistic” than causal. In the thoughts of the great Swiss psychologist and astrologer Carl Jung, “Every moment of time has its own unique quality, and whatever is born in that moment takes on that quality.” So as I approach the study of astrology, it is not from the viewpoint of predicting an event related to the meaning of each planet and sign. I am more interested in “what is born in that moment” in which an unusual cosmic pattern unfolds. To me, that is the key to understanding what the outcome will be.

 As I see it, there were at least three important economic and mundane policies and decisions that were “birthed” in the July 21-August 21 Cardinal Climax midsection. And those decisions commence the cycles that will soon grow into something transformative regarding our economic future. In fact, they have already begun. As I stated in the Forecast 2010 Book, the year 2010 may be the most important year of our collective life as seen from the study of astrology. We have choices going into the summer of 2010. But by then, the choices will have been made and it will be very difficult to turn back the consequences that those choices will generate.

 What were those choices and how do they relate to astrology? The first was the Financial Regulatory Reform Act of July 21, which took place as Saturn entered Libra, and with Jupiter and Uranus opposite in Aries. Each of these transits squared the USA Venus and Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are the “money” planets, and this can be a classical bankruptcy aspect related to spending more than one can afford. And then on August 10, the Federal Reserve Board decided to abandon its pre-announced plan of an “exit strategy” by drawing down its balance sheet. Instead it decided to reflate its portfolio by resuming purchases of long-term Treasuries. It did this as Jupiter was stationary, in exact square to Pluto (an aspect of holding too much debt), forming a T-square to the Fed’s Sun-Pluto opposition. When Jupiter is involved in these kinds of aspects, there can be a tendency to misjudge via over-estimation and exaggeration. That’s the astrological perspective, as I see it. Decisions were made and there will be consequences that will grow out of these new initiatives, and they will have an impact upon life as we know it, for better or worse, per the dynamics of the most potent line up of geocosmic signatures in our lifetime. As above, so below.

 The third decision that was made during this period occurred last Saturday, August 21. That was when Russia loaded the rods for a nuclear reactor in Iran. It was on the day of Saturn square Pluto, but also still at the beginning of the 78-year period when the progressed Mars in the USA chart has turned retrograde. Mars rules one’s military outlook. If anyone says that the heart of the Cardinal Climax was a non-event, I beg to differ. I believe it was every bit as important as financial astrologers throughout the world expected. And the markets are reflecting this.