(8 July 2021) US stocks tumbled today on fears the spread of the Delta variant could upset summer reopening plans.   Some investors hit the sell button today after weighing the possibility of more lockdowns despite the largely successful vaccination programs in the US and Europe.   This bearish beginning to the month of July is not too surprising given approaching Venus-Mars conjunction which is exact on Tuesday, July 13.

July as a whole may be somewhat vulnerable to declines due to the extended alignment between Saturn and Rahu, the North Lunar Node.  Both of these malefic planets are now moving backwards while maintaining a very close 120 degree separation within just two degrees of orb.   This extended angular relationship could damage sentiment over the next several weeks.

Moreover, we can see that this malefic alignment will activate the horoscope of the Nasdaq stock index.   The growth-oriented Nasdaq has been outperforming other indexes recently as bond yields have fallen in anticipation of transitory inflation and a possible Fed tapering of QE asset purchases later this year.  The current planetary afflictions in the chart are fairly clear.  Saturn is forming in a near-exact conjunction with the natal Sun (18 Capricorn) while Rahu is within one-degree of conjoining the natal Moon (15 Taurus).  Both are destabilizing influences that reduce the probability for a continuation of the recent rally.

And since both Saturn and Rahu move quite slowly — just one degree every three weeks at their current velocities — the dual afflictions to the natal Sun and Moon will remain in place for a while longer.   Typically, aspects are strongest when exact and begin to weaken when they begin to separate.  Here we have a more complex set up since Saturn is already separating (i.e. a lessening negative influence) from its conjunction with the Sun while Rahu is still approaching its conjunction with the Moon (i.e. an increasing negative influence).  This very mixed picture nonetheless should give bulls pause in the near term.

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