(29 September 2024)  This week’s transits are very much open to interpretation.  At first blush, Wednesday’s solar eclipse would appear to be the highlight.  Eclipses are often times of uncertainty and change, as the lunar nodes — Rahu and Ketu — block and redirect the energies of the Sun and Moon.  The result is often changes in routines and interrupted patterns of behavior that can act as a kind of reset or renewal in our daily lives.

And yet the four-planet alignment of Saturn, Mars, Mercury and Venus later in the week could well prove to be more significant.  Normally, alignments that include malefics Mars and Saturn carry a certain amount of negative energy that can manifest as geopolitical tensions, market volatility, or more simply, as interpersonal friction.  However, it would be a mistake to view Mars and Saturn alignments as wholly negative.  Positive effects are still very possible, although they often require other coincidental factors which can offset or transform the blunt energies of Mars and Saturn.

That may well be the case this week as the alignments with benefics Mercury and Venus could mitigate or even reverse the challenges inherent in Mars and Saturn.  The Saturn alignment with Mercury and Venus is closest on Thursday and Friday, and Mars aligns with Mercury and Venus most closely next weekend (Oct 5-6). Thus, the late week period may actually be favorable for activities that combine the symbolism of Mercury (communication, analysis) with Venus (sociability, aesthetics) with the more positive attributes of Mars (action, courage) and Saturn (discipline, tradition).

However, we should note that the only full-strength Vedic aspect this week is Mars’ square to the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Ketu in sidereal Virgo.  This looks a bit more challenging as Mars squares tend to produce more tension and frustration.  Mars-Moon squares are typically difficult to handle, although they pass quickly.  Mars-Mercury squares are also fraught with troubles as Mercury is often ill-equipped to deal with a full dose of Mars’ aggressive energy.  Mars-Sun squares are somewhat more constructive for certain activities requiring high energy, although they also have their difficult side.  Mars-Ketu squares can manifest as unpredictable and surprising events, often with some kind of conflictual element.

One way to examine the effects of this Mars square to both the Sun and Mercury is to refer to financial markets.  As examples of collective sentiment, financial markets are a prism to see how planetary influences are working.  Taking a quick look at previous Mars squares to the Sun and Mercury (omitting consideration of the Moon and Ketu for reasons of simplicity), we can see that financial markets are generally weaker.

The previous Mars-Sun-Mercury square occurred on March 15, 2023 and coincided with a down market in the week leading up to the closest alignment.

Before that, Mars squared the Sun and Mercury on November 24, 2018 and that also marked the culmination of a small decline in US stocks.

And prior to that, the Mars square of the Sun and Mercury on September 10, 2016 marked the end of a modest week-long market pullback.

However, we should note that on December 28, 2013, the square of Mars to the Sun and Mercury was actually somewhat bullish for stocks.

While this is a tiny sample of just four preceding cases, it does hint at the inherent tension of the Mars square to the Sun and Mercury as three out of four cases coincided with falling stock prices in the days leading up to the closest Mars square alignments.

Given the near-simultaneous alignments of Saturn and Venus with this Mars square, it remains to be seen how financial markets will react this week. If nothing else, this week will provide another useful data point in the grand cosmic experiment.