(12 May 2020)  America’s top doctor has warned of more “suffering and death” if the US reopens too quickly.  Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate on Tuesday and warned that the economic reopening may be happening too fast and risks further outbreaks of Covid-19.  Fauci’s note of caution contrasted sharply with President Trump’s optimism and desire for the country to get back to normal and end the shutdown.  Fauci’s downbeat tone took the stock market lower as the indexes fell by up to 2% today.

To quote Winston Churchill, we may only be at the “end of the beginning” for this coronavirus.  As I noted in last week’s post, there is a very real possibility of additional waves in September and even in December.  We can take another perspective on this question by examining the Inauguration chart for the current president, Donald Trump.  Last week, we saw how afflictions to Trump’s natal horoscope in September and December suggested the possibility that the pandemic may not just disappear in the coming weeks.

We get much the same story from an analysis of the Trump Inauguration horoscope on January 20, 2017.  The coronavirus pandemic prompted the declaring of a national emergency on March 13, 2020.  We can see that the Inauguration horoscope was heavily afflicted in March.  Mars was conjunct Pluto (coercion, intense conflict), Saturn was conjunct the Sun (disappointment, weakness, restriction) and Ketu (South Lunar Node) was conjunct Mercury.  This affliction by Ketu was very appropriate since Mercury is the lord of the 6th house ruling the health of the nation.

Due to its retrograde station yesterday at 7 Capricorn, Saturn has remained in close conjunction with the natal Sun (6 Capricorn) throughout the first two months of this national emergency.  The Saturn-Sun conjunction reflects the intractable problems facing the US as well as the loss of vitality and injury to the national well-being.  It should also be seen as a reflection of the criticism and pressure that Trump faces since he is also represented by the Sun (leader).  Saturn will remain in close conjunction with the Sun through the month of May an into June as well.

The difficulty for the US there is another focus of affliction in August and September.  Saturn will end its current retrograde cycle at 1 degree of Capricorn in September.  This will form a near-exact 60 degree aspect to Mars (0 Pisces) in the Inauguration chart.  Mars rules Aries, of course, which is lord of the 1st house signifying the nation as a whole.  This may be seen as either another affliction to the health of the nation (i.e. virus outbreak) or as a possible conflict or war-type situation.  Both are likely to be negative influences on financial markets.

At the same time, transiting Ketu (29 Scorpio) will be conjunct Saturn in September. This suggests another layer of affliction which may be separate from the pandemic.  To be sure, it may simply represent more economic troubles from the virus.  But it could also signify some upset or erosion (Ketu) to the pillars or foundations of the nation (Saturn).  If the virus re-emerges as a problem in September, then there is talk that the November elections may have to be re-scheduled or altered in some way.  This Ketu-to-Saturn transit is a possible manifestation of this level of interruption of the status quo.  Trump looks to be under intense pressure from this transit in any event, so we should keep an open mind about the possibility of some major changes occurring in the US during the fall.  Again, this looks like bad news for financial markets regardless of how it manifests.

Weekly Market Forecast

Stocks generally went sideways last week as the promise of endless Fed QE largely offset any nervousness in the stock market.  This neutral to bullish outcome was not unexpected as I thought the planets looked fairly mixed last week. The late week Venus-Mercury-Neptune seemed fairly bullish and suggested the likelihood of some temporary upside at least.

This week has started off on a more negative note, however, as US markets sold off on Tuesday after Fauci’s sober reminder about the likely trajectory of the virus.  The negative start to the week was in keeping with my expectations.  Saturn turned retrograde on Monday, while Venus is due to turn retrograde on Wednesday and Jupiter turns retrograde on Thursday.  Retrograde stations aren’t always negative influences, however, but they can represent turning points in sentiment nonetheless.  Usually, retrograde stations still need to be assessed on the nature of the alignments they form.

There are some bearish-looking alignments this week that may have yet to manifest.  Mars will align with Saturn and Ketu throughout the week so further downside looks likely.  Thursday’s Moon-Mars conjunction could make that day worse than Wednesday or Friday.  Early next week doesn’t look much better as Mercury aligns with Saturn.

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