Gold reaches 30-year high

As predicted, gold has eclipsed the $725 high set in May 2006 and now sits at $740 USD per ounce. Much of the run-up can be attributed to the decline in the US dollar as well as investors seeking safe haven amidst the uncertainty of the sub-prime credit crunch.

Last year, I predicted that gold would push past the $725 mark sometime in the late summer of 2007. Although I thought August would be the most likely time, one month late isn't too bad as far as getting time windows right. The fundamental chart factors still obtain, as Jupiter is now moving forward just past the MC/Rahu/Neptune conjunction, while Uranus applies to natal Jupiter. These are both strongly bullish influences.

I believe gold is likely going to continue higher until November when Uranus stations and Jupiter moves deeper into the 11th house away. $800 is not unreasonable as a target. There will likely be a retracement as we get into December and January, perhaps back to under $700, although that price is very much a guess. The nodes will cross the ascendant at this time, so look for price volatility mostly on the down side. Towards late January, I think the bull run will resume as Jupiter applies to the Sun-Mercury-Venus in Sagittarius. This looks very positive for gold. In May, Jupiter will station just a degree short of natal Venus, so that might be the window for another price top. I can't say if it will exceed the highs set this Fall, but it looks to be a substantial price rise.

Japanese Stocks

I've been looking at stock index launch dates lately (NYSE Comp, etc) and thought I'd take a look at Japan's broadly-based Topix index. It's basically the equivalent of the S&P 500, whereas the Nikkei 225 is akin to the Dow 30.

The Topix was lauched July 1 1969 at 9 am. in Tokyo. There are some excellent fits between planetary motion and this natal chart for recent big reversals. For example, the May 2006 peak and subsequent fall coincided perfectly with Rahu/NN's trine aspect to natal Mars. Rahu was transiting the 8th house. For all you westerners, the nodes are more often malefic, especially when their dispositors are bruised. (Rahu in Pisces in both transit and natally, and Jupiter was conjoined by Ketu) Tr Ketu/SN was conjunct natal Uranus and then Jupiter through the following summer -- more problems there and not surprisingly the index fell. Things went back up only once Ketu had passed the natal Jupiter and transiting Jupiter had stationed exactly trine the natal Sun. Wow -- you really like to see those kind of no-brainer type aspects.

Accounting for the preceeding run-up from May 2005 is a little trickier but there are still threads to pursue. Moon bhukti came into force in May 2005 (gee, what a coincidence!). Natally, Moon is in Capricorn closely trined by Jupiter. Another no-brainer there I think. So the results of the Moon subperiod would tend to be positive as long as there were no substantial transit afflictions. Tr Uranus was also trining the natal Sun, the chart ruler of the sidereal chart in the 11th house of gains. Another favourable indicator there.

The forecast for this chart? With Mars bhukti running until the end of the year, it's hard to be bullish. Mars is with Neptune near the IC and thankfully gets a wide aspect from Venus to keep the whole thing from sinking. A more troublesome configuration emerges in the Fall when Saturn and Ketu/SN converge on the Ascendant. I'd sell into any rallies here and think about getting back in once Jupiter's dasha begins in early 2008.

Stock Market Decline

Stock markets around the world took a sudden nosedive yesterday. The future is uncertain as far as stocks go. Since there is no single agreed upon chart for the NYSE, I thought of looking at some more recent and therefore more reliable data to see if the selloff could be seen. I believe they can.

The NYSE Composite Index (May 6 1982 10.00 NYC) is also under stress by Saturn and the nodes. This is one of the worst possible afflictions.

1) Tr Saturn squaring (by most malefic 10th house aspect) Sun within 4 degrees and applying.
2) Tr Ketu/SN trine Sun within 6 minutes.
3) Tr Rahu/NN trine Rahu/NN within 40 minutes and applying
4) Tr Jupiter is within 2 degrees of the equal 6th house cusp. This is a malefic placement and what's worse Jupiter is destined to station there in a month.
5) Tr Mars squares Moon within 2 degrees and separating.

This is also fairly compelling although I would rather see some tighter afflictions. Still the Ketu to the Sun is the backbreaker IMO, especially since it is under pressure from Saturn already.

The Nasdaq chart (Feb 8 1971 10.00 am NYC) also seems to work nicely and therefore can be seen as a proxy for the market as a whole.

1) Tr Saturn opp Sun within one degree and applying. (Tr Neptune is therefore also within a one degree conj with the natal Sun)
2) Tr Mars conj Mercury within minutes.
3) Tr Sun square Mars within two degrees and applying.
4) Tr Ketu/SN trine Saturn within 30 minutes and separating. (Nodal hits are most often negative esp when another malefic is involved and this includes the trine aspect.)

I'm sticking with transits here to keep it simple. Clearly, you have some damaging long term transits at work along with some short term trigger transits as well. All in all, another compelling picture.

Both of these charts suggest difficulties for stocks in the coming weeks.

Let's hope gold manages to walk between the raindrops of these bearish configurations.

Chris

Gold passes $680

Things are looking up for gold these days as gold rose $23 to $686 before sliding back a bit. So the good news is my prediction from last year is gradually being realized. It is a very slow process -- slower than I had thought truth be told. By this time, I thought that gold would be matching last year's highs of $725. This will come soon enough, but a little patience may be needed.

From the chart, we see that transit Uranus has delivered on its part of the deal and has now moved past Jupiter. Rahu is station a few degrees off the Jupiter so that will provide part of the fuel the price requires to make new highs. Also transit Jupiter will station near the 11th equal house cusp in April and that is likely to coincide with higher prices.

Iran on the verge

The noises from the Bush administration about Iran are growing louder these days. There are claims that Iran is aiding the Shia insurgents in Iraq making a bad situation worse.

There are clear astrological signs that Iran's role in the conflict is on the verge of intensifying. Mercury will station opposite Saturn on February 13th so look for some bad news for Iran then. This might be an internatioal rebuke, or having its agents or mercenaries being discovered in Iran.

If we look at the Iran proclamation chart (Apr 1 1979 3 pm), we can see that Tr Saturn is applying to station on April 19th within one degree of the ascendant. Natally, Saturn is 8th lord and is involved in a T-square with Moon and Venus so the Saturn transit here packs considerable punch. Also the tertiary progressed chart looks very violence as P3 Asc conjoins P3 Mars and P3 Rahu all squaring P3 Uranus. This points to a sudden explosion of violence.

The midnight chart representing the legal beginning of the Islamic Republic is similarly troubled, albeit without the added force of the progressed angles. However, the transit situation is, if anything, worse in this chart. It is running Rahu-Mercury dasha. Mercury is closely conjunct Mars, the 6th lord representing conflict and the military. Pluto is applying to a near exact square to Mercury at its station on March 31st.

The next two or three months seem the most volatile and will probably coincide with a more explicit Iranian involvement with the war in Iraq. A US attack on Iran is one possible scenario.

Key dates to watch are the time around March 8th, when Mars aspects Saturn by its most malefic 8th house aspect and simultaneously aspects the 6th house cusp. Also the time around March 18-22 when Mars aspects Rahu by the same aspect while Sun conjoins the Mars-Mercury conjunction.

This event or series of March-April events will only be one step in a longer sequence of events that draws Iran into the Mid-East conflict. Another moment of violence is likely in Nov-Dec 2007.

Unless you're Sean Penn, I wouldn't be planning any trips to Teheran anytime soon.

New Year's Chart -- 2007 Forecast

The New Year's chart (Jan 1 2007 00.00) forms a sort of general background influence on the year ahead. No surprise -- it doesn't look that good.

On the face of it, the New Year's chart really shouldn't have any astrological signficance. It is not based on any astronomical event or measurement such planets moving into a zodiacl sign, or moving into exact aspect with another planet. It's significance is purely calendrical and exists only in human consciousness. Because I tend towards a strictly empirical interpretation of astrology, I was very skeptical of this technique at first. Then after examining many charts, I found that these charts did exhibit a symbolic resonance with the basic contour of events of the year to follow. Heavily afflicted New Year's charts were normally found for years characterized by war and other calamitous events. Charts with favourable aspects were more typical of years of strong economic growth and relative peace and stability in international affairs. While they are not well-suited for very precise readings, they do provide an excellent thumbnail sketch of the dominant energies of any given year.

Overall, the 2007 New Year's chart is a mixed bag. The chart is cast for Washington, DC. While the chart differs little for every country and city in the world, the ascendant degree will vary somewhat, as will the degree of the Moon. This will affect the dasha in some cases. So for the United States, 2007 will run Moon-Saturn. The Moon is extremely favourable placed exalted in the 9th house, receiving a very helpful aspect from Jupiter. This might point to economic prosperity (Moon rules the 11th) linked to higher learning or foreign sources (9th house) Bhukti lord Saturn is more problematic, however. It is placed in the 12th house of loss with malefic Ketu. I am also not keen having Venus in a close quincunx with Saturn in this chart. It points to unhappiness generally and probably in far away places. Iraq and the Middle East come most obviously to mind.

Another negative element to this chart is the close square from Mars to Rahu in the 6th house of conflict and health. This is a classic signal of explosive violence and destruction owing to Rahu's tendency to exaggerate or distort Mars' natural tendencies towards aggression and impulsiveness.

Interestingly, the New Year's chart for the Middle East alters the position of the Moon sufficiently to change the dasha to Moon-Mars for 2007. This would strongly point to activating the Mars-Rahu aspect more directly through the year. In East Asia, Sun-Venus is running for most of the year, so that augurs well for continued prosperity in the Pacific Rim. In South Asia and India, Moon-Moon runs for the first half of the year until Moon-Mars begins in late July. With Mars entering the mix, there may be greater security concerns afterwards. Europe is running Moon-Rahu until spring, and then moves into Moon-Jupiter. Rahu really looks very difficult given its 6th house placement with unstable Uranus and the Mars aspect. Europe may undergo some security worries in the winter and early spring. Jupiter's bhukti will likely exert a protective effect and will keep the European economy strong.

More specifically, there are a couple of key transits to look for. First, in April and May Saturn will retrograde back to 24 Cancer to a position that is exactly opposite Neptune in this chart. This is a very difficult aspect between two malefic planets. This might indicate death and suffering due to illness and liquids (both Neptune significations). At the same time, Mars and Uranus will conjoin the natal Rahu in this chart, suggesting a sudden attack or event that catches us by surprise.

Next year's New Year's chart promises even more violence and conflict as Mars opposes Pluto.