(28 March 2017) It’s that time again.  Once every seven years, the planet Uranus changes its sidereal sign.   In keeping with its symbolism of rapid change and rebellion, the Uranus sign changes or ingresses often mark instances of instability and sudden black swan-type developments in world affairs.  To that end, Uranus is due to leave Pisces and re-enter the sign of Aries next week on April 5th according to the Krishnamurthi aynamasha.  The ingress happens two days later according to the more widely-used Lahiri ayamamsha. 

The last time Uranus changed signs was last year on June 23, 2016.  The next day the UK shocked the world by voting for Brexit, thereby launching the beginning of a populist rebellion in the Western world.  The similarly shocking election victory of Donald Trump in the US soon followed as the anti-elite, nativist rebellion evolved into a wider movement.  The rise of right wing populism can’t be explained solely in terms of this Uranus ingress but it certainly played a role. 

The important thing to note about Uranus ingresses is that there are usually clusters of two or three ingresses over a one-year period due to its retrograde motion.  The previous cluster of Uranus sign changes occurred in 2009-2010 when it entered Pisces.  Since Uranus moves forward on average of four degrees per year (8 degrees of forward motion followed by 4 degrees of backward motion), it takes about 7-8 years for it to transit through each 30 degree zodiac sign.  We are therefore in the middle of another cluster of a sign ingress.  Uranus left Pisces and first entered Aries last June and then stationed retrograde in July and moved backwards four degrees and stationed direct again in December.  It has has since been moving forward and will enter Aries again next week for a second and final time in this sequence. 

So the question is: what could happen on or near this next Uranus ingress into Aries?  It’s important to note that not every ingress brings sudden events.  We already had Brexit with the first of these Aries ingresses so it is possible that this next one may be relative quiet.  In that sense, the instability and eccentric energy of Uranus may have been fully expressed already with the June ingress. 

On the other hand, the second ingress can just quite potent in its own right.  I have previously mentioned in this space the uncanny coincidence of the ingress of Uranus into Sagittarius on Oct 17, 1987, just two days before the biggest US stock market crash in history when the Dow lost over 20% of its value in one day.  This was the second of two Uranus sign ingresses in 1987.  We are now in a similar situation in so far as the second of two sign ingresses will occur next week.  This is likely not a critical similarity but it does offer some support for the notion that the second and final ingress can sometimes be the most powerful. 

Already there are hints that the Uranian spirit of rebellion and independence is in the air.  Last week, the GOP health care bill aimed at replacing Obamacare failed to even make it to a vote in Congress as the more libertarian Freedom Caucus refused Trump’s overtures and threats.  This outcome was not surprising as I saw increasing levels of affliction in the President-elect horoscope (PEOTUS) at the end of March and into early April.  More generally, the Trump presidency continues to be under pressure from all sides here not only because of the increasing Uranian energy but also because Saturn is approaching its retrograde station next week also.  Saturn and Uranus may be working together to upset Trump’s aspirations here since Saturn stations retrograde on April 6th just one day after Uranus enters Aries.  That is a very powerful one-two punch. 

There is a real possibility that this Uranus ingress could directly relate to Trump since he has several planets in alignment with the Uranus ingress at 0 degrees of Aries.  His Sun is situated just 60 degrees away at 29Taurus55.  His Saturn is at 00Cancer48 and thus the Uranus ingress at 0 Aries will form a square aspect with his 12th house Saturn.  This may be deductively seen as a surprising loss or disappointment involving secrets, perhaps relating to women or money (Venus).  And, of course, I have also noted that Bill and Hillary Clinton’s charts look very positive for the March-April period.  With US politics pretty much a zero-sum game, one would think that any Clinton gains imply more troubles for Trump.

I have also noted that Trump was likely to be on the defensive as long as this Saturn Rx station (3 Sagittarius) is aligned with his natal Mars (3 Leo).  The Saturn Rx station also conjoins Vladimir Putin’s natal Mars (3 Sagittarius) so that hints that Trump’s Russia woes may continue for another few weeks at least.  I’m reluctant to make any specific predictions here as there are many possible scenarios which could fulfill the symbolism of Uranus and Saturn. 

More Russian revelations are very possible although we could also see something unrelated such as a sudden violent attack or an unexpected geopolitical development which upsets financial markets in a "black swan" type fashion.   The near-simultaneous Saturn station ratchets up the negativity next week so markets may be quite tense in the days around these two heavy duty planetary patterns.  Anything is possible, although with Brexit already out of the way, I would also not be surprised if we simply got more minor developments which further undermined the Trump presidency.  So while we may do well to expect the unexpected, we should not bet the farm on it. Black swans are inherently unpredictable events and yet these planetary patterns suggest they are more likely in the coming days. 

Weekly Market Forecast

US stocks have trended lower since my last post on March 15.  As expected, the Fed raised interest rates and stocks have further weakened since their all-time highs.  The inability of the GOP to pass their health care bill has raised doubts about the Trump administration’s legislative competence and that has brought new skepticism about its business-friendly plan to cut taxes.   The Dow has lost 500 points since its high although it put in a strong day today rising 150 points.  India’s Sensex has similarly come off its early March high although it is arguably consolidating below technical resistance before pushing higher.  The Sensex is fast approaching its previous high of 30,000 although sentiment has been weaker in recent days. 

This week may well be the calm before the storm.  Tuesday’s gains coincided with a bullish alignment of the Moon, Uranus and Jupiter.  However, a more problematic alignment of Mercury and Saturn could take hold on Wednesday and could induce some selling.  Thursday’s Moon-Mars conjunction also looks bearish.  The week could well be negative overall although Friday is harder to call.  The early week next week leans a bit bullish so a snapback rally is possible.  But again, the Uranus ingress on the 5th and the Saturn station on the 6th could signal a major shift in the markets.  There is an elevated risk of a "black swan" type-event on this double Uranus-Saturn influence. 

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.