The New Year's horoscope: the outlook for 2022

 (29 December 2021) As the second year of the coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, we wonder what lies in store for 2022.  While this year's vaccine rollouts and partial lifting of restrictions was a welcome improvement over the shock of 2020, the world still seems far away from a return to anything approaching normal.  And the emergence of the Omicron variant in November has been a harsh reminder that the pandemic seems likely to last longer than expected.  

One useful source of information about possible future trends for 2022 is the horoscope for the New Year.  The turning of the calendar at midnight on January 1 imbues the planetary positions at that time with a special symbolic importance that manifests during the rest of the year.   Prominent planetary alignments involving benefics Venus and Jupiter, for example, increase the likelihood that peace and prosperity will prevail for most of the world.  Conversely, a New Year's horoscope where malefics like Mars and Saturn are stronger suggests a year where conflict and suffering will be the focus of our collective attention. 

The New Year's horoscope for January 1, 2022 offers little cause for celebration.  As always, the two most important planets to consider are the Sun and the Moon.  The Sun, representing vitality and confidence, is in a decidedly mixed condition as it is in a degreewise alignment with Saturn (limits, oppression, control) and Uranus (change, revolution, technology),  although neither of these outer planets casts full-strength aspects upon the Sun.  Nonetheless, the alignments are close enough (within one degree) to indicate that 2022 will be a time of social instability and change as traditions are challenged and authority structures are questioned.  Some governments will likely fall. 

We should remember that the Soviet Union collapsed when Saturn and Uranus (and Neptune) were conjunct the Sun in the New Year's horoscopes of 1989 and 1990.  While this year's minor Saturn and Uranus aspects to the Sun are weaker than those conjunctions, we should not be surprised if long-established hierarchies or governments suffer a similar fate as the USSR. 

The Moon is arguably more afflicted than the Sun in this year's chart.  The Moon (24 Scorpio) is conjunct malefic Mars (19 Scorpio) and raises the possibility of suffering through military conflict or sudden or fiery natural disaster.  Since the New Year is ushered in at different times across the world, the Moon-Mars conjunction will be closer and hence more powerful in Asia and the Middle East. 

But the bigger concern here is that the Moon-Mars conjunction is square Neptune.  As we know, Neptune is the planet most closely associated with the notion of disease and has been prominent over the past two years during the pandemic.  Writing in December 2019, the reason why I thought a pandemic was possible in 2020 was because the Moon (the people) conjoined Neptune (disease) in the 6th house of health and both were aspected closely by Saturn (suffering, loss).   Fortunately, this time around Saturn is not aligned with the Moon or Neptune.  But Mars is aligned with the Moon and Neptune and this increases the possibility of more troubles and suffering from Covid.  The Mars influence here also hints at the possibility that the pandemic may be seen less in terms of suffering (Saturn) more in terms of its military or geopolitical implications.   

The economy is also a source of concern as the key economic planets are under stress in this chart.  Venus, the planet of value, is retrograde and just past its conjunction with Pluto.  The concentration of economic power by large corporations (Pluto) is likely to continue in the New Year but this may have negative consequences for the economy as a whole.  But I am most concerned about the difficult position of the Mercury, the planet of commerce and trade.  Mercury's conjunction with Saturn and Pluto in sidereal Capricorn suggests ongoing limits to trade which may translate into continued supply chain problems through 2022.  This, in turn, argues for more inflation and higher interest rates.

Moreover, Mercury is further afflicted by the loose 120-degree aspect from Rahu (North Lunar Node) and the exact 45 degree aspect from Mars.  The Rahu-Mercury combination suggests a distorted economy, as trade and transportation difficulties from lockdowns are more likely to hamper economic growth.  The Mars-Mercury alignment suggests trade disputes could further undermine economic activity.  These two afflictions to Mercury increase the probability of slower growth and lower stock market returns in 2022.

Overall, the 2022 New Year's chart looks challenging.  The strong Neptune influence here suggests pandemic concerns are likely to continue.  The April alignment of Saturn with Neptune and the Lunar Nodes looks like another possible setback in that respect, possibly signaling a new variant or perhaps new evidence of waning vaccine efficacy.


Weekly Market Forecast

Stocks have generally moved higher in recent days as the year-end Santa Claus rally appears to be underway amid low holiday volume.   Thus far, the Venus retrograde cycle (Dec 19-Jan 29) has been bullish following the initial Omicron pullback during its 32-day preceding shadow period (Nov 17-Dec 19).  While it is possible that the current up trend could extend into the New Year, some kind of significant pullback looks increasingly likely before the end of its 40-day retrograde cycle.


For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   In addition to reviewing the key planetary and technical influences on US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, I also provide an astrological analysis of potential upcoming moves in currencies, gold and oil.

Manchin pulls the plug on Biden's spending plan

(20 December 2021) Stocks extended their sell-off to start the week after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin abruptly withdrew his support from President Biden's ambitious Build Back Better plan.  Without Manchin's decisive vote in the 50-50 Senate, the Democrats will not be able pass their $2 Trillion spending package that has been the centerpiece of Biden's domestic agenda.  And if this additional fiscal stimulus isn't forthcoming, the economy will become more vulnerable to a slowdown, especially in light of the impact of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. 

The sudden withdrawal of fiscal stimulus was bad news for the stock market which had assumed these trillions of government largesse would eventually filter through the US economy and onto the corporate bottom line.  While further negotiations cannot be ruled out in the coming weeks, investors may have to rethink their earnings' forecasts for 2022 without the help of Washington, DC. 

We can see how Joe Biden is behind the planetary eight ball here.  Mars and Ketu are transiting his Ascendant (10 Scorpio) while Venus stationed opposite his Jupiter and Neptune is conjunct his IC (4th house cusp).  Mars-Ketu to the Ascendant represents frustration and anger from surprise developments, and the Venus-Jupiter opposition suggests expected rewards that do not come to pass.  Neptune to the 4th house cusp (IC) is a broader, slow-moving influence that symbolizes an inner weakness in Biden that makes it more difficult for him to realize his ambition.  Neptune is associated with confusion and lack of vitality so its placement on the 4th house cusp is very unwelcome at this critical time.

Underneath all these alignments lies the most telling chart affliction: transiting Saturn (16 Capricorn) square to his Mars (19 :Libra).  In several previous posts, I had suggested that Biden's first year in office was likely going to be very difficult since this Saturn-Mars square was within range for the whole year.   At a general level, the Saturn-Mars square represents thwarted ambition, losses through anger, and actions that fail to deliver on its promises. 

After stationing retrograde exactly square to his natal Mars back in May, Saturn is now gearing up to come back to that exact same point on January 16, 2022.  In other words, President Biden will likely continue to struggle to implement with his agenda for the next several weeks at least.  We can also speculate that Biden and the US are likely to suffer some additional frustrations and setbacks in January.

Today's decline in the stock market coincided with the start of the 40-day Venus retrograde cycle.  Venus retrograde marks a period of time in which value and worth are subject to reappraisal and can sometimes mark a change in trend.  As a default setting, Venus retrograde should be considered a bearish influence although other planetary influences also should be considered.  Actually, the preceding Venus retrograde cycle occurred in May-June 2020 and marked a time when stocks actually rose.  But on that occasion, Venus was strong since it was in its own sign of Taurus and there were no powerful afflictions to other planets.  In other words, the fact of retrogradation was offset by other positive factors.

This time around the situation looks less favorable.  Venus is in Capricorn, a sign ruled by Saturn.  Moreover, Venus is also conjunct malefics Saturn and Pluto. We can also note that Saturn forms its third and final square aspect with Uranus this week on Wednesday, December 23.  This is another negative influence that could weigh on investors.  While short term rebounds cannot be ruled out in the coming days, the overall planetary outlook seems challenging.  The US stock market has been amazingly resilient during the pandemic, but these upcoming planetary alignments make me wonder how long this bull market can continue. 


For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   In addition to reviewing the key planetary and technical influences on US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, I also provide an astrological analysis of potential upcoming moves in currencies, gold and oil.

Stocks fall on inflation worries ahead of FOMC meeting

(14 December 2021) The markets are looking jittery ahead of Wednesday's much-anticipated FOMC meeting where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is widely expected to announce an accelerated tapering of QE asset purchases.  Stocks fell for the second straight day on Tuesday after the wholesale PPI inflation number came in higher than expected at 9.6%.  The inflation problem comes at a particularly bad time for the Fed in the wake of fresh Covid restrictions in Europe following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. 

This early week sell-off was in line with our expectations given the nasty Mercury-Mars-Ketu alignment.  Mars and Ketu (South Lunar Node) are both malefic planets and their conjunction increased the odds of a decline on Monday and Tuesday.  The involvement of Mercury in this configuration further added to the tension.  In my weekly market forecast from November 3, I had suggested that this Mars-Ketu conjunction could signal major problems for the Fed given its affliction to the natal horoscope of the Federal Reserve (Dec 23, 1913).  Powell appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place here as inflation is much higher than expected while slowing seems inevitable given the new Covid restrictions.  The last thing the Fed wants to do is to tighten in a slowing environment and yet that is the difficult reality of the current situation. 

Large cap tech stocks in the Nasdaq suffered more than other indices as perennial market leaders were dumped ahead of the likely Fed tightening tomorrow.  Large cap, growth-oriented stocks (Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, etc.) are more dependent on low interest rates and thus become more vulnerable if the Fed tightens monetary policy by reducing QE stimulus and hiking rates. 

One reason why tech stocks suffered more in the sell-off can be seen in the Nasdaq horoscope (February 8, 1971).  This week's Mercury-Mars-Ketu alignment closely activates the Ascendant at 8 Aries (all positions sidereal zodiac, Krishnamurti ayanamsha).  Mercury (7 Sagittarius) was exactly aligned with Mars (6 Scorpio) and Ketu (7 Scorpio).  As an added affliction, both Mars and Ketu were conjunct the 8th house cusp which is considered a malefic dussthana house by traditional Vedic reckoning.  While Mercury was not in a full-strength aspect under standard rules (Mars square/opposition or Ketu trine), the exact 30-degree angular separation nonetheless created a negative resonance with both Mars and Ketu. 

Looking ahead, markets could remain volatile after Wednesday's FOMC meeting.  While some relief is possible as Mercury moves away from its alignment, Mars and Ketu will inch closer to an exact conjunction with the 8th house cusp and will form an opposition aspect with the Moon on Thursday. 

As noted in previous posts, the overall risk level is also elevated due to the approach of the Venus retrograde station on Sunday, Dec 19 and the Saturn-Uranus square on Dec 23.  Both are potentially negative influences on sentiment in the coming days.


For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   In addition to reviewing the key planetary and technical influences on US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, I also provide an astrological analysis of potential upcoming moves in currencies, gold and oil.

In the shadow of Venus, Omicron weighs on stocks

(6 December 2021) US stocks bounced today on hopes that the Omicron variant may be less serious than originally feared.  Despite this oversold rebound, markets have trended lower in recent weeks in the wake of a fresh wave of Covid restrictions and the Fed's more hawkish stance to combat inflation.  As the Fed embarks on tightening its monetary policy, we may well ask if this could be the start of a larger correction, such as we saw with Fed Chair Powell's previous attempt at tightening in 2018? 

One window on this question may be found in the approaching Venus retrograde cycle.  Venus turns retrograde about once every 19 months where it appears to move backwards in the sky for a period of 40 days.  Venus is due to station retrograde on December 19 at 2 Capricorn (Krishnamurti/sidereal zodiac) and then return to normal forward motion on January 29 at 17 Sagittarius.  In terms of financial astrology, Venus is a bullish planet that signifies value and worth.  Its retrograde cycles suggest a more bearish energy, however, since its traditional positive symbolism is reversed so that the collective sense of value becomes susceptible to revision. 

Actually, the full retrograde cycle of Venus is comprised of three distinct phases, of the which the more well-known retrograde cycle proper occurs in the middle. The first phase is what is known as the pre-retrograde shadow period, in which Venus is slowing down before it turns retrograde.  The shadow period is measured from the point of its eventual resumption of direct motion (here at 17 Sagittarius) until the date of the retrograde station and lasts for about 32-33 days.  The Venus pre-shadow period began on November 17 and will end on December 19 when Venus finally stations retrograde.  The post-shadow period begins on January 29, 2022 when Venus returns to normal forward motion but is moving very slowly.  Venus will conclude its post-shadow period on March 2 when it returns its location of the retrograde station at 2 Capricorn. 

The common thread of the entire period from November 17 until March 2 is that Venus will be moving much slower than usual and that for a part of this time will be moving backwards -- as seen from our perspective on Earth.  While the Venus retrograde cycle has a overall bearish bias, this is not to suggest that this entire 15-week, three phase period will necessarily be negative for stocks.  More often, it is only one of these three phases of the cycle tends to be bearish, while the other two phases may be more neutral or even bullish. 

And sometimes the Venus retrograde cycle doesn't produce much of anything. The previous Venus retrograde cycle (May 13, 2020 - Jun 25, 2020) was modestly bullish with no discernible trends, either in the retrograde phase or the two shadow phases.  The preceding retrograde cycle (Oct 5, 2018 - Nov 16, 2018) was more bearish, however.  Stocks rallied during the initial shadow period throughout September and then peaked in early October just three days before the start of the Venus retrograde phase.  Stocks then began a two-month, 20% correction that finally bottomed a week after the end of the post-retrograde shadow period.  In that unusual case, the pre-shadow phase was bullish, while the retrograde and post-shadow phases were both bearish. 

This time around we have seen the market already begin to decline well in advance of the Venus retrograde cycle.  In fact, the start of the pre-retrograde shadow phase (Nov 17) was just five days before the S&P 500 peaked on Nov 22 and US stocks have been falling ever since.  So the question is: what is likely to happen when Venus finally turns retrograde on December 19?

While it is difficult to make firm predictions based on single planetary factors, we can nonetheless speculate that stocks could well reverse their decline closer to December 19 and the retrograde station.  There is precedent here in that the major market low on March 6, 2009 following a global financial meltdown occurred on the exact same day that Venus stationed retrograde.  As in 2021, stocks had been falling throughout the pre-retrograde shadow period from early February, and indeed had been falling since the start of that year.  Therefore, it is worth considering the possibility that whatever trend has been in place during the shadow period, it could reverse after the retrograde station. 

We should also consider the condition of Venus at the time of the retrograde station.  If it is afflicted, then that would support the scenario of declining markets before the station and then reversing higher after the station.  In March 2009, Venus was in a tense 150-degree alignment with Saturn which may have partially accounted for the down trend heading into the station.  Now, Venus will be closely conjunct Pluto which introduces the possibility of negative sentiment, although I would not say it is an unequivocally negative association. 

More important may be that Venus will form an indirect alignment with the ongoing Saturn-Uranus square aspect.  Saturn-Uranus is a bearish pairing and it is due to form an exact 90-degree angle on Dec 23.  While Venus does not form any clear aspects with Saturn-Uranus, it will form a 60-degree alignment with the Saturn-Uranus midpoint at 2 Pisces. At normal speed, this Venus-Saturn-Uranus configuration likely wouldn't have any effect.  But with Venus having no velocity at all at its retrograde station, this is more likely to coincide with problems for financial markets.  An additional parallel is that Saturn formed an alignment (opposition) with Uranus in March 2009, just as it does here in Dec 2021 with the square.

Therefore, there is a very plausible case that stocks could continue to decline over the next two weeks.  If stocks do continue to trend lower before Christmas, the Venus retrograde station on Dec 19 would be one potential time to watch for a reversal higher.  Let's see how this all unfolds in the days ahead.


For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST).   I outline the key technical and planetary influences for US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, as well as currencies, gold and oil.