Review and Preview

The highs of January 11-19 in world equity markets are holding. These highs were nearby to the stations of Saturn (January 13) and Mercury (January 15), which was the basis for our critical reversal date of January 14, +/- 3 days, as identified in both The MMA Cycles Report and SOS Global Market Cycles Reports for the last two issues. After attempting a rally from the lows associated with Saturn square Pluto on January 31, the markets sold off sharply again last Thursday. Many markets made new multi-week lows on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, fell below 10,000, to 9835 intraday, its lowest level since this primary cycle began in the first week of November. It recovered to close back slightly above 10,000.

The sell-off was noted in many commodities as well. Gold, for instance, fell from a high of 1128 on Wednesday to 1044 intraday on Friday. Silver fared even worse, falling from 1695 on Wednesday to 1465 on Friday. Crude Oil also tumbled, plunging from 79.66 to 70.75 in the June contract, from Wednesday to Friday.

The culprit was exactly what we have been highlighting in the last several columns: debt. But it is not just debt in the United States anymore. It is debt in Europe, and specifically the countries that make up the European Union. Consequently, the Euro currency is plummeting sharply against other currencies. Against the US Dollar, for instance, the Euro currency has now plunged from a recent high of 1.5110 in early December, to under 1.3600 on Friday. That is one of the major reasons why Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil have fallen, for their prices are denominated in the U.S. Dollar, which is rising sharply as forecasted in our recent Forecast speeches, as well as in the Forecast 2010 book.

In short, the world is awash in debt. The debt ratings of countries all around the world are vulnerable to being downgraded further. And now the same is true of the United States as a result of its continually mushrooming debt. It is all related to Pluto in Capricorn, the midpoint of the Saturn-Uranus opposition and the focal point of the evolving Cardinal Climax of 2008-2015. It peaks, from an astrological point, in mid-2010. But the damaging consequences of this debt explosion will be felt for the next 2-5 years, and probably throughout the entire decade, unless politicians around the world can honor their campaign promises and break their addiction to out-of-control spending they – we — cannot pay. But that is not likely to happen, for in the last 20 years or more, politicians have learned one lesson every well: winning elections is not about how well you can govern, but how well you campaign. What they may not have realized however, is that voters are discovering this too. And with Uranus approaching a square to Pluto-in-Capricorn, a populist revolt against politicians, bankers, and big businesses is already underway. It can only be stopped by the positive potentials of Pluto in Capricorn: honesty, truthfulness, and ethical behavior. In other words, honor your campaign promises. Sacrifices will be necessary to get back to a foundation of core values and common sense practices.

Short-Term Geocosmics

This last week was typical of the principles of Saturn square Pluto, which began the week on Sunday, January 31. The attention of the world was on the destructive nature of debt. Credit agencies downgraded nations. The specter of higher taxes spooked the market with the realization that companies are not hiring new employees yet, despite the fact that the business cycle is ready to turn up. It won’t – can’t – improve dramatically until businesses know what their taxes will be, if they can afford them and still hire new people. Based on the President’s budget proposal given this week, it doesn’t look good – not just for this year, but for all years of this new decade. The President’s promise to put a freeze on new spending was qualified to not begin until 2012, and well after more record-breaking budget deficits first. By then it may very well be too late to recover. And so the market sold off as credit agencies threatened to downgrade to U.S.A. credit rating, for who is going to loan it money if its budget projections show it will spend over $1 trillion+ per year more than it brings in? At some point, the debt will explode too far, and then there is danger of default. Who wants to loan money to an entity that is on the path to defaulting on its loans? Not China. Not anyone.

Nevertheless, the geocosmic picture of this month is not so ugly. Venus will first conjunct Neptune on Monday, and then Jupiter on February 16. This is known as a “translation” of Venus to the separating Jupiter-Neptune conjunction. Obama and the White House may experience something of a “comeback,” for it was the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction last year that supported the world’s belief in his powerful aura, or “magic.” But it has worn off sharply since its last passage on December 21, according to many polls. Yet, the translation of first Venus, and then the Sun (February 14-28) to Jupiter and Neptune can indicate a temporary recovery of that charisma and magic. Under these themes of optimism and hope, stock markets can rally. If not, the downside of these same signatures can be hysteria and panic. But it is March 9-21 that we want to focus the greater attention on in the near future. There will be nine important geocosmic signatures taking place then.

Longer-Term Thoughts

We are now more than halfway through the Mars retrograde cycle (December 20-March 10). The commodity and currency markets that bottomed at the time of the retrograde (Gold, Silver, Euro currency), have now broken down below those lows of December 22 after a rather impressive 2-3 week rally. The idea now is that they may continue lower until the Mars retrograde cycle ends.

In the study of astrology, Mars retrograde pertains to the idea that new efforts begun around the time of the retrograde date may have to be aborted before it resumes its direct motion. We have already noted this phenomenon at work in the United States Congress, where the Senate passed its much anticipated Health Care Reform proposal right before breaking for the Christmas holiday season, or, right around the time that Mars turned retrograde. This was not a favorable geocosmic time to pass such a proposal, or any new effort that you wish to be accepted. Our comments at the time suggested that this proposal would not pass the entire process necessary to become law without some major revisions. This analysis was based solely on Mars retrograde. One month afterwards, the state of Massachusetts shocked the country when it elected Republican Scott Brown to the seat that held been held by Democrat Edward Kennedy for several decades. With that upset, the Health Care Reform proposal of the Senate was dead, for Democrats lost a filibuster-proof majority.

Yet the idea of universal health care reform will not die as quickly as many Republicans may hope. After all, Uranus is still in Pisces back and forth through much of 2011. And Jupiter is now in Pisces, which rules this kind of reform movement.

Mars retrograde may have portended the collapse of the Senate’s proposal. But my guess is that even this month, it could be resurrected again, in a new form. And that really is the nature of Mars retrograde. It doesn’t always kill the effort. It just means it has to be done over again, with considerable modifications. The public is still plenty angry at health insurance companies. And with Pluto in Capricorn, these companies will still be held accountable for their opportunistic behavior at the expense of common people. Both the population and government will force them to make significant changes that are more in line with the mood and needs of the public. The public wants reform in this area, and I believe they will still get it this year. It’s not dead. It is just in the process of being resurrected in another form after Mars goes direct.