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.