Stocks slumped last week on renewed worries over European sovereign debt and the possibility of criminal charges against Goldman Sachs. In New York, the Dow closed down 2% to 11,008 while the S&P finished at 1186. In Mumbai, equities also lost ground as the Sensex finished at 17,558 and the Nifty at 5278. As the planetary drama between Saturn, Uranus and Neptune played out last week, markets responded negatively as Tuesday's exact Saturn-Uranus opposition coincided with a major decline in US markets. This manifested on Wednesday in Asia and effectively bumped the more bullish sentiment implied in the Wednesday's Sun-Mercury conjunction to later in the week. The good vibes then lasted until Friday in Asia but US markets turned lower again on more Goldman Sachs developments as Neptune joined the party in force. With the Sun's condition boosted by the passing Mercury, gold climbed to $1179.
The current Saturn-Uranus-Neptune alignment is quite rare and has the capacity to produce some major structural changes in the world. We can see this is happening already as there is widespread recognition of the need for greater government regulation of the financial industry. Capitalism itself may be undergoing a kind of overhaul in the aftermath of the 2008 meltdown. Thus far, however, these three planets have not generated much in the way of market reaction. Saturn and Uranus may have sparked the initial crisis in 2008 on their first opposition aspect in this series, but subsequent aspects have been less momentous. Last week's decline was potentially significant in that it may have marked a kind of turning point but we will have to wait for events to verify that claim.
The highlight this week will likely be the Sun-Mars square that is exact on Tuesday. The Moon may act as a catalyst here when it forms a t-square with Sun and Mars on Wednesday. This appears to be a tense combination of fiery energy that may coincide with sudden or instinctive reactions to undesirable or even violent events. While it is conceivable the market could rise in this outburst of frenetic activity, the more likely outcome would appear to be greater anxiety. To make matters worse, the Sun and Mars will form minor aspect with malefics Saturn and Rahu. Jupiter entered sidereal Pisces over the weekend so that could provide some kind of temporary boost to the overall equation but it seems unlikely to radically alter the dynamics. Jupiter's approach to Uranus over the next few weeks will be interesting to watch since it could shore up excessive pessimism from Saturn's aspects. Alternatively, Jupiter may simply serve to hasten and clarify the larger changes reflected in the Saturn-Uranus aspect.
