(1 June 2017)  Well, climate change just got Trumped.  President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from Paris Agreement today fulfilling a key campaign promise.  The US joins a tiny group along with two other nations (Syria and Nicaragua) out of 190 which has rejected the climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to reduce global warming.  Trump intends to renegotiate the deal on more favourable terms to the US.  Early reaction from other signatory countries suggests this may be wishful thinking. 

There are several interesting astrological angles worth exploring here.  The most important is the horoscope of the Paris Agreement itself which was passed by unanimous vote at the COP 21 conference on 12 December 2015 at 7.26 p.m CET.   With the future of the agreement now in doubt after the withdrawal of the world’s greatest contributor of greenhouse gases, we should expect to see malefic planets like Saturn and Mars more prominently placed.  And that is exactly the case. 

The horoscope for the Paris Agreement currently has Saturn sitting on the cusp of the equal 6th house of conflict.  Saturn (1 Sagittarius) is in an almost exact alignment with the Ascendant (0 Cancer) and reflects intense stress as a consequence of the US abandoning its global leadership on this issue.  Saturn symbolizes setbacks, delays, and disappointments and its exact conjunction with the 6th house of disputes is very fitting this latest development.  Saturn is also squaring the Jupiter-Rahu conjunction suggesting an obstacle to the wisdom and reputation (Jupiter) of the accord. 

The Lunar Nodes are also within range of their respective house cusps as Rahu (4 Leo) conjoins the 2nd house (= distortion or interruption of voice) and Ketu (4 Aquarius) conjoins the 8th house (=sudden scandals or setbacks).  Mars (4 Gemini) is the triggering planet as it aligns almost exactly with the MC/IC or unequal 10th and 4th house cusps.  While these cusps are not widely used in traditional Vedic astrology, they nonetheless are sensitive points that often correspond with significant events when under close aspect.  Mars typically brings shocks and disputes as President Trump has called into the question the future of the entire deal.  Without US participation, some commentators wonder if the accord can now survive and if so, if it will be effective.

The planets this summer indicate that the Paris Agreement will be under intense pressure now more than ever.  Transiting Saturn is due to station at 27 Scorpio in late August.  This will be very close to the natal Sun (26 Scorpio) in the horoscope.  So we should expect more doubts about the viability of the agreement over the next few months.  Even if China, India and the EU countries pledge to uphold its terms in the coming days, the Saturn transit to the Sun may mean that the legitimacy of the agreement will in flux.  We may see another setback for the accord such as another major nation opting out in the summer.  Alternatively, we could a movement towards the possibility of some renegotiation which would be in line with Trump’s thinking.  A change in the original agreement could manifest as a serious affliction to the horoscope since it would entail an injury or amendment to its current form. 

The Nodes will also intensify its problems as they will conjoin the cusps of the 2nd and 8th house.  Nodal influences are often indicators of uncertainty and sudden or difficult changes that require major adjustment. The nodal affliction to this horoscope will continue through to November when Rahu will exactly aspect the Sun.  This could well signify an additional setback for the deal in its current form. 

An additional underlying problem is that Pluto forms a t-square with the Mars-Uranus opposition for the rest of 2017.  No doubt, the US withdrawal is already a manifestation of this troublesome energy.  But since Pluto moves very slowly, we should interpret this Pluto influence as representing powerful and possibly hidden forces that are working to undermine the agreement.  Things do not look much better in early 2018 as Saturn is due to station retrograde while in close conjunction with the Moon-Mercury conjunction in Gemini.  Since the Moon rules the chart as a whole (i.e. the Cancer Ascendant), it is quite possible that the deal will suffer further setbacks.  I would not be surprised if it goes on life support in early 2018. 

But the outlook should improve by the spring and summer of 2018 as Jupiter transits through Libra and will conjoin the natal Venus.  It is very possible that the accord will have new life at that time, possibly as a result of Trump’s declining fortunes.  I have previously predicted a serious setback for Trump in the fall of 2018.  Given the time frame, it seems likely that the GOP will lose control of Congress in the midterm elections.  Without GOP control of Congress, the complex legal process for quitting the agreement may be delayed or even stopped altogether.  Early 2019 also looks very good for the Paris Agreement as Jupiter will station retrograde in close conjunction with the natal Sun.  This could well represent a Democrat-controlled Congress decisively blocking Trump’s withdrawal plan or maybe even impeaching him.  I’m not prepared to go out on the impeachment limb just yet but the planets are sufficiently bad for Trump that it is definitely in the conversation.  More on that question soon.

Weekly Market Forecast

Meanwhile, the stock market has resumed its upward march this week.  US markets rallied on a positive jobs number today as the Dow closed at 21,144.  India’s Sensex has been slowly climbing since last week as the benchmark index finished Thursday at 31,137.  I thought we might have seen more negative sentiment around the Mars-Saturn opposition earlier in the week.  This proved to be something of a misfire, however, as US stocks only fell fractionally on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Friday’s Venus-Uranus conjunction looks bullish enough, especially given the larger alignment with Saturn and Rahu (North Lunar Node).  Next week also offers some upside potential as Venus will align with Mercury and Mars in the first half of the week.  Alignments containing the planet Mars may be less reliably positive than ones involving only benefic planets like Mercury and Venus.  Nonetheless, there is some reason to expect more gains next week, at least in the early going.  Things may get murky by the end of the week as Jupiter stations direct on Friday the 9th.  This could alter some of the growth assumptions in financial markets and produce a reassessment of asset values.  It may also encourage reallocation of assets into different asset classes  e.g. moving out of stocks and into bonds, etc.

For more details and analysis on market trends for this week, this month and this year, please check out my weekly MVA Investor Newsletter.  The newsletter is published every Saturday and includes extended discussion of US and Indian stock markets, as well as gold, oil and major currencies.