(7 December 2015) Markets were shaken last week as the ECB announced
only cautious stimulus measures which fell short of expectations.
Investors were hoping that Mario Draghi would introduce more QE-type
easing but instead he chose merely to extend the current program into
2017. Most global stock markets fell on the news as European bourses
lost 3% while the US market lost 1.5% and India also ended generally
lower on the week. While I thought we would see some midweek downside,
the extent of the selling was a bit surprising given the typically
bullish entry of Venus into sidereal Libra on Monday. At least Friday
was higher in the US as stocks surged 2% on a strong jobs report. This
coincided nicely with the late week Mercury-Jupiter alignment that I
mentioned in last week's market forecast. In my subscriber newsletter, I had suggested that the Euro was more likely to rise at the expense of the Dollar last week. That is precisely what happened as the Euro enjoyed its biggest one-day gain in months as it climbed from 1.06 to 1.09 on Thursday after the disappointing Draghi announcement. There were several astrological reasons for my prediction of a rise in the Euro at this time. First, the entry of Venus into Libra is generally supportive of risk currencies such as the Euro. Second, bullish aspects like last Friday's Mercury-Jupiter square are also often favourable towards risk-taking at the expense of safe havens such as the US Dollar. This would also be a generally positive influence on the Euro at some point.
But it was the horoscope of the Euro (1 January 1999; 00.00 CET) that held the most crucial pieces of information. That late week square involving Mercury (25 Scorpio) and Jupiter (27 Leo) square aligned almost exactly with a similar natal square involving Mercury (27 Scorpio) and Jupiter (28 Aquarius). This was within two degrees of exact on Thursday and Friday. Since both of these planets are considered bullish most of the time, their aspects (i.e. degree separation of 30,45, 60, 90, etc.) will tend to be bullish for the Euro and bearish for the Dollar.
While other aspects might be seen to be more problematic such as the conjunction of Rahu to the Ascendant and the alignment of transiting Mars to the natal Sun and natal Mars, it seemed more likely to me that we would see a bullish outcome. As always, one of the most difficult elements in financial astrology is weighing the relative strength of each factor.
Since the planetary positions are always unique and constantly changing (i.e. literally, the current positions of all nine planets is unique and has never before occurred in human history), it is very challenging to predict the overall outcome in a way that incorporates all factors. The multiplicity of variables is one reason why financial astrology remains only a probabilistic enterprise. It's other main source of error, of course, it happens to share with economics, sociology, and political science. Namely, its objects of study are human beings who possess consciousness and therefore do not follow the simpler rules of the physical sciences that govern atoms and molecules.
Weekly Market Forecast
This week is a mixed bag. While the bullish Venus in Libra effect could be felt at various points along the way, there is also a strikingly negative alignment involving malefic Mars with Uranus and Pluto. The Sun is close to participating in this alignment but its aspect with Uranus occurs a day or two earlier than the Mars alignment. We could therefore see some early week gains around this Sun-Uranus aspect. But the Mars alignment looks tense and could reflect some violent or unexpected events. Sentiment is therefore more likely to be cautious for part of the week, especially in the second half.
