(12 July 2015)  Sunday has now come and gone in Brussels without any decision on the possible bailout deal between Greece and the European Union.  Sunday had been touted as the ‘final deadline’ for a negotiated settlement, but perhaps no one should really be surprised that everything is still very much up in the air. The sticking point now is that Germany’s Angela Merkel and the other fiscal hawks in the EU want more guarantees that Greece will abide by the measures outlined in the bailout. 

The quixotic and unpredictable actions of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and his former Financial Varoufakis in recent weeks has caused an erosion of trust at the bargaining table which is now an impediment to any deal.  His referendum ploy backfiring badly, Tsipras now has to agree to even more austerity and exceptional conditions on this latest bailout offer or else leave the Eurozone.  There is growing talk that Germany and its fiscally conservative allies in the EU actually want a ‘Grexit’ and are attaching so many unpalatable conditions for Greece that Tsipras will have to be the one to walk out first.

In last week’s post, I suggested that the astrological alignments in the Greece-related charts suggested that a quick and simple negotiated bailout was unlikely in the coming days.  That is already in evidence now as there is now more opposition to giving Greece another €100 Billion to solve their chronic financial problems.  Even if this bailout happens, it will be unlike any other previous bailout since Germany is demanding that Greece hand out its sovereign control over most its finances to the EU.  Germany simply doesn’t trust the Greek government to carry out the promised reforms to get its fiscal house in order.  I should also note that my prediction regarding serious difficulties for FM Varoufakis has come to pass albeit somewhat unexpectedly.  Tsipras’ former Finance Minister suddenly resigned last Sunday in order to create a more conducive atmosphere for negotiations.

I still think a bailout is more unlikely, or if their is one there will likely be major setbacks in terms of its required political approval and implementation.  This is in part due to the serious afflictions in the Tsipras government horoscope that I noted back in January.  The Saturn station aligns exactly with both the Moon and Venus in this chart.  This suggests very serious developments which will cause suffering and hardship for the Greek people.  But the complicating issue here for making a prediction is that this kind of dire Saturnian suffering will take place in both scenarios. 

If Germany’s latest hard line offer with its unprecedented invasive conditions carries the day, Greece will lose a lot of control over its economy and it will continue to be mired in recession.  So I would acknowledge the possibility that this hard line bailout may actually satisfy the symbolism of the current planetary alignments.  But I think it’s important to note that this double affliction by Saturn opens to the door to the very real possibility that Greece could finally find itself left outside the Eurozone looking in. 

We can also see the current sense of unease and fractiousness in the chart of the European Union, dated for the Maastricht Treaty on 1 November 1993.  There is transiting Saturn (4 Scorpio) sitting just a few degrees from the Mars-Pluto conjunction (1 Scorpio).  Saturn also opposes the Moon with that same three degree orb.  Saturn is retrograde and backing into its station on 1st August so this very heavy pressure on the EU is likely to continue until that date at least.  Saturn symbolizes setbacks, burdens, hard work and in many cases, loss and disappointment.  Given that there are three planets involved in this Saturn transit, the extent of this Greece crisis cannot be overestimated.  This is a very nasty transit indeed. 

The instability of the present historical moment is also reflected in the close nodal transit to its natal position.  Transiting Rahu (10 Virgo) is aspecting Ketu (9 Taurus) and vice versa.  These nodal transits are usually times of difficulty where the status quo is upset.  While not necessarily predictive of one outcome over another, it is a further measure of how serious the current crisis is and how it threatens to be a game changer for the European Union.

Uranus (26 Pisces) is exactly opposite Venus and square the Uranus-Neptune conjunction for the next few weeks as Uranus is also due to station on 26th July. Uranus is the planet of independence and rebellion and its more disruptive side is usually in evidence when it forms hard aspects as is the case here.  Venus represents happiness and economic well-being so this extended dose of the Uranian desire for freedom is pretty much just what one would expect to see when an organization or union is coming apart.  We can see that the transiting Sun (25 Gemini) today aligned exactly with Uranus and the Venus-Uranus/Pluto square in the natal chart.   The egos (Sun) of Merkel, Hollande, et al were on display as the leaders of the EU failed to come to any agreement despite the deadline.

While Uranus may not have the final say about whether Greece stays or goes, this is a strong indication that the desire to resist solidarity and breakaway from the status quo will be very strong over the next couple of weeks. Again, this alignment argues for Greece leaving the Eurozone if a decision is made in July.  But the corollary to that is that if Greece can manage to hang on until August, then the outlook may improve for the bailout and staying in the Eurozone currency union as the Uranus and Saturn energies begin to recede. 

So what is going to happen?  The key time window to watch in this respect may be the Mars transit to 25 Gemini on 22-24 July.  At this time, Mars will align exactly with Venus, Neptune and Uranus.  Mars is usually a destabilizing energy so if Greece was going to really leave, then these dates look somewhat more likely for that outcome.  And that means that if they aren’t out by then, the odds begin to rise that they will stay in and accept the bailout offer.

Weekly Financial Update

US Stocks ended flat on the week after recovering on optimism that a bailout could be found for Greece.  The rebound in the Chinese markets also helped to boost stocks later in the week after some early selling.  The Dow actually ended slightly higher at 17,760.  Indian stocks fared worse, however, as the Sensex lost 400 points on the week and closed at 27,661.

In last week’s stock market forecast, I suggested that worst case scenarios were unlikely despite the surprising No vote in the Greferendum and thought that any declines might be modest.  This was more or less the case, and European markets ended higher on hopes that a deal would get done. 

This week looks more difficult, however.  On the plus side, Jupiter enters sidereal Leo on Monday.  That is normally associated with some upside.  But gains may turn out to be very brief if they happen at all as Venus is exactly squared by Saturn for much of the week, although most closely in the first half.  Then a very tense alignment of Mercury, Mars and Pluto dominates the midweek period.  This alignment is associated with coercive exercises of power and the obsessive application of logic and rules.  Looks like Ms. Merkel will be busy.