(30 December 2019) With the coming of the New Year, we may try to see what may lie ahead for 2020.   The New Year’s horoscope is an intriguing and simple way to see possible themes and trends.  This horoscope is a chart cast for the first minute of the New Year, at midnight on January 1.  As a default location, I choose Washington, DC but other locations may also be chosen.  Nonetheless, the Ascendant is always somewhere in the middle of sidereal Virgo, although the exact degree rising can vary somewhat.  While the New Year chart does not correspond to any particular astronomical event, the symbolic importance of the first moment of the New Year can yield important clues about the year upcoming.

For example, years that are marked by recession and wars tend to have malefic planets in prominent places in the chart.  Thus Mars, Saturn, and the lunar nodes, Rahu and Ketu, are often stronger if they align with the Ascendant, Sun or Moon and other planets.  This happened most recently in 2008, the year of the Great Recession, when the 12th house Saturn was aligned with the Sun, while Mars was opposite Pluto, Jupiter and the Sun.   It was not a good chart. (see below)

This year the New Year’s chart doesn’t look quite that bad.  And yet I would say that the chart suggests we could see increased instability and change.  One main reason is due to the prominence of the Lunar Nodes, Rahu and Ketu, at the top and bottom of the chart.   Rahu near the 10th house cusp suggests unexpected or disruptive events relating to leaders and governments.  This could represent some major governments failing or being voted out of power.

The nodal influence is made even greater due to Ketu’s close conjunction with Mercury, Jupiter and the Sun, and more widely, with Saturn and Pluto.  Ketu’s conjunction with the Sun reinforces the notion that leaders and government will become more unstable this year.  The Ketu influence on the Sun typically undermines notions of power and ego.  This is perhaps a comment on the fallout from the Trump impeachment proceedings and the upcoming US election in November.

Ketu’s conjunction with Mercury and Jupiter looks more positive as breakthroughs in science and communication are more likely.  The trine aspect with Uranus amplifies this sense of discovery.  Of course, the accelerating progress of science and technology is one of the hallmarks of this century.  But this pattern is unique and suggests that 2020 will be a year of major technological innovations and discoveries.

Besides suffering from potential governments disruptions, there are a couple of alignments that deserve special mention.  First, Saturn is conjunct Pluto within one degree.  This combination can reflect intense situations of restriction and austerity.  Saturn also connotes onerous and disciplined labour with may be coerced in some way  Manipulation by authorities is another theme that captures some of this difficult Saturn-Pluto dynamic.

The second pattern is the Moon-Neptune conjunction.  In its more hopeful form, this pairing suggests spirituality and inspirational visions, such as one might associate with a period of religious flowering or renewal.  However, we should note that the Moon-Neptune combination is closely aspected by Saturn through its full strength 3rd house aspect.  This is a serious affliction that will tend to reduce the positive spiritual manifestations of Moon-Neptune and bring forth its more malefic qualities.  These may include disappointment, delusion and sadness, since the Moon is the planetary significator for the emotions.  This is therefore a potential indicator for generally pessimistic sentiment which could reflect a slowing economy.

I would also suggest that the affliction of Moon-Neptune by Saturn could signify some kind of disease or health-related problems in 2020.  Neptune is the planet that is frequently connected with illness so its connection with Saturn and the Moon is noteworthy.  Saturn rules the 6th house of health so its association with Neptune and the Moon also raises this as a possible scenario.  By way of comparison, the SARS outbreak in 2003 saw Neptune closely aspected by Rahu in the New Year’s chart, while the Moon was closely opposed by Saturn.

Overall, 2020 looks like it will be an eventful and challenging year on several fronts.  The economy may be an ongoing source of concern but the indications are not as strongly negative as they were in 2008.  This may be suggest that the economy will fare somewhat better, however, we do need to remember that the New Year’s chart does not have the final word.  It often operates in broad strokes and in a more impressionistic manner than specific charts relating to financial markets or the fate of specific governments.  Therefore, we will fill out our analysis in the coming weeks and months as events develop.

Weekly Market Forecast

Financial markets have enjoyed the typical Santa Claus rally as the year wraps up.  As I suggested previously, the end of the year looked fairly positive as the Christmas eclipse occurred with a bullish conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter.  That said, I had been a bit uncertain if the stock market would manage to stay buoyant to the end of the year in the wake of the Jupiter-Uranus-Chiron alignment that had underwritten much of December’s rally.  Stocks pulled back somewhat today (Monday) but most indexes are trading very close to their all-time highs.

This week has a good chance for more upside, perhaps as soon as tomorrow (Tuesday).  Mercury is due to conjoin Jupiter by Thursday so that is likely to coincide with at least one up day (especially on Thursday, Jan 2) although I suspect its positive influence may be felt beforehand.  Friday looks like more of a question mark, however, so bullish investors should be careful.

For a more detailed analysis of the markets, please check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   I outline the key technical and planetary influences for US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, as well as currencies, gold and oil.