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Weekly Market Forecast for January 23 - 27 2012

Stocks rise on Jupiter-Uranus; Mars turns retrograde on Monday

(Updated January 21, 2012)    It's a good thing the stock market doesn't believe in omens.  After the sinking of the Italian cruise ship the Costa Concordia last week, a superstitious investor might well think that the disaster might somehow symbolize the imminent collapse of the Italian and European economies.  Or maybe that collapse is already happening and the sinking is simply a reflection of a larger pattern of corruption and irresponsibility.  In any event, the IMF stepped in to pledge another $600 Billion last week to stave off further banking problems and the debt talks between Greece and its creditors were reportedly making good progress.  On the basis of those more positive (and tangible) "omens", stocks pushed higher for the third straight week.  In New York, the Dow climbed 2% closing at 12,720 while the S&P 500 finished at 1315.  Indian stocks put in an even better week as the indices gained almost 4% with the Sensex closing at 16,739 and the Nifty at 5048. 

The gain was not too surprising given the exact Jupiter-Uranus aspect that I mentioned last week.  This is a very bullish combination that has largely boosted sentiment in January.   I thought we might have seen more downside in the early week on the Mercury-Rahu aspect but that never materialized.  As expected, Friday's Moon-Mars aspect briefly interrupted the positive mood, although most of the intraday losses were recouped by the close.      Read more...

The astrology of the Norway attacks: Saturn's pivotal role

(Posted July 30, 2011)   On Friday July 22, 2011, Norway was the victim of a home-grown terrorist attack at the hands of a single right-wing extremist.   Intent on fomenting a religious war with Islam, Anders Behring Breivik exploded a bomb in downtown Oslo that killed 8 people and then went on a shooting rampage at a youth camp in nearby Utoya that killed another 69.  It was the deadliest attack by a single gunman in recorded history.  News of the attack and its religious motivation has shocked the normally peaceful and tolerant country.

The transits at the time of the attack illustrate a tell-tale conjunction of Mars with Ketu (South Lunar Node) which often produces sudden eruptions of violence and conflict.   Both Mars and Ketu are malefics and their combination is usually quite volatile and often brings disturbing results.  We can see the key transits at the time of the initial bomb blast at 15:25 also included the Moon which joined this alignment and was in close aspect with Rahu (North Lunar Node). The presence of the Moon ratchets up the intensity of this pattern, although it does not help us locate just where its effects will manifest.    Read more...

DSK released from house arrest as case unravels

(Posted July 3, 2011)  DSK must be thanking his lucky stars this weekend.  Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released from house arrest following new revelations about the alleged sexual assault victim that have undermined her credibility.  Reports suggest that the entire case is now on the brink of collapse as the chamber maid's criminal ties and attempts to profit from the incident have been exposed.   After the July 1 hearing, the judge returned his bail bond citing that he was no longer a flight risk.  

This stunning turnaround has thrown France's political class into turmoil as DSK's possible candidacy for the Socialist Party is now being opening debated.  In light of these new circumstances that point towards his innocence, some candidates are now suggesting that the closing date for nominations for the primary be extended from its original July 13 deadline.  DSK's next hearing in front the judge is scheduled for July 18.  It is therefore possible that the charges could be dropped at that time and he would then be able to launch a campaign for the leadership of the Socialist Party.  Primary elections are slated for October 9, with a run-off on October 16 in the event that the first election does not produce a clear majority for any single candidate.  Read more...

Osama Bin Laden is dead: Saturn delivers harsh its justice

(Posted May 3, 2011)  In the end, it was Obama who finally got Osama.  The world's most notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in an assault in Abbottabad, Pakistan in the early morning hours of May 2.  This ends one of the longest and most intense manhunts in history as the elusive Bin Laden had been a fugitive from justice for almost ten years.  Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks claimed the lives of more than 3000 people and now Bin Laden has paid the ultimate price for his actions. 

There are a couples of intriguing astrological angles on this development.  First, it's interesting that the assassination of the world's most wanted man occurred just as Mars (28Pi56) was about to enter sidereal Aries.  As the planet of violence and conflict, it is entirely appropriate that Mars should be prominent in some way at this time.  Aries, of course, is ruled by Mars and is considered the most aggressive of the signs of the zodiac. But what's also quite telling is that Mars was very closely aspected by Rahu (00Sg14) at the time of his death.  Read more...

The Royal Wedding: Love meets Duty

(Posted April 30, 2011)  It was celeb-watchers dream this week as the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding attracted the world's rich and famous to London's Westminster Abbey to witness the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  The exchange of vows between the second in line to the British crown and the commoner from Berkshire took place at 11.20 a.m. on Friday, April 29.  The moment of the marriage encapsulates potential future directions as seen through the position of the planets.  Just as the direction of every individual's life is projected into the future by the planets at the time of their birth, so is the possible course of married life by the planetary alignments when the bride and groom say "I will".   The marriage chart of William and Kate is remarkably powerful.  Cancer rises with lagnesh Moon very well placed in the 9th house in Pisces.  The Moon is joined by no less than five other planets in the 9th house.  . This confers a certain huge amount of popularity and good fortune and suggests that the couple will prosper through involvement with authority figures.  Read more...

Obama's budget deal: a mixed blessing

(Posted April 17, 2011)  One of the trickier things about reading horoscopes is making sense of mixed planetary influences.  Most of time, the planets are neither wholly good or wholly bad but something in between.  This can therefore manifest as the proverbial "cloud with a silver lining" or with a gain that comes with strings attached.  Jupiter is considered a reliably positive influence and often brings good events that are marked by achievement, rewards and happiness.  However, there are times when this is not the case.  Sometimes Jupiter acts more as a double-edged sword where success comes at a price or there is some downside attached to it.  Read more...

Gaddafi under fire as West declares no-fly zone in Libya

(Posted March 20, 2011)  After Libyans rebels stood on the verge of defeat in Benghazi at the hands of Gaddafi's army, the West has been compelled to declare a no-fly zone over the strife-torn country.  After two days of air strikes from the US-led coalition, most of Libya's air defenses have been taken out and much of Gaddafi's air force has been neutralized.  For all intents and purposes, the no-fly zone is essentially a declaration of war on Libya and brings to three the number of Muslim countries that the US is currently fighting.

In a previous post from late February, I had suggested that Gaddafi might be driven out of a power fairly soon, with late February and early April as the two most probable times.  To be honest, I was starting to wonder if I would be proven wrong in this expectation as Gaddafi began to beat back the rebels into the small base in the eastern part of the country.   Read more...

Japan struggles to contain radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plant

(Posted March 19, 2011) Japan's post-earthquake misery has been compounded by a dangerous radiation leak from its Furushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.  In the wake of the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Japanese authorities are now having to cope with a third and potentially more devastating problem of poisonous nuclear radiation leaking from the damaged reactors.  Workers have been working around the clock for over a week to pour water on the reactor rods to keep them cool, but thus far they have been unable to bring the situation under control.  While there have been some small signs of progress this weekend, the situation remains somewhat uncertain. 

I noted in my write-up on the initial quake how Japan's 1952 national horoscope was heavily afflicted by Rahu (North Node), Uranus, Saturn and Neptune. Clearly, the mind-boggling scope of these multiple disasters would suggest a very dense pattern of planetary affliction and that is indeed what we see.  But I would like to briefly discuss some upcoming transit hits that might correspond with significant developments in this ongoing crisis.    Read more...

Earthquake and tsunami devastate Japan: Rahu-Uranus wreaks havoc

(Posted March 12, 2011)  Japan's strongest earthquake in recorded history has devastated the northeastern part of the country.  The quake hit on Friday, March 11 2011 at 2.46 p.m local time and had a magnitude of 8.9.   Its epicentre was under the ocean about 100 kilometers east of the city of Sendai.  The death toll from the temblor and resulting tsunami is now likely in the thousands and has caused billions of dollars in damage across a wide area.  To make matters worse, the quake also damaged several nuclear power stations and radioactive contamination is now a potential problem.

From an astrological perspective, this earthquake seems to be another reflection of the very disturbed nature of the New Year's horoscope.  As I have noted previously, the horoscope for midnight January 1, 2011 featured a close aspect between Mars and Saturn, the two most malefic planets.  This increases the likelihood of destruction and loss of life through natural disasters or human conflict.   Read more...

Revolution in Middle East spreads to Libya

(Posted February 26, 2011)  Revolution is definitely in the air these days in the Middle East.  Libya is the latest country to be hit by waves of civil unrest and violence as protesters have taken to the streets and demanded the ouster of long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi.  After the protests turned violent, much of the army and police forces were chased away in the eastern part of the country as opposition groups began to take over cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.  While the capital Tripoli remains in Gaddafi's hands for the moment, most commentators expect him to lose this stand-off fairly soon.

Why is the entire Middle East seemingly caught up in this revolutionary fervour at this time?  Ultimately, the answer to this question lies in the individual horoscopes of the countries in question.  Read more...





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