Biden's speech gaffe risks escalation in Ukraine war

(27 March 2022) With the war in Ukraine now possibly developing into a stalemate, it seems that a negotiated settlement is the only way out of the crisis.  To that end, President Zelensky has stated that he is willing to consider formal neutrality for Ukraine if Russia withdraws its troops.  Unfortunately, US President Biden committed a major gaffe in a speech yesterday that may have inadvertently escalated the rhetoric.  In an ad-libbed comment, Biden appeared to call for regime change in Russia when he said that Putin "cannot remain in power."   White House officials spent most of Sunday walking back the remarks in order to avoid any misunderstanding. 

The gaffe underlines the current difficulties in Biden's horoscope and the affliction of natal Mercury, the planet of commerce and communication (and speech!).  As I have noted previously, the current March-April period was likely to be very stressful and frustrating for him given the approaching Mars-Saturn conjunction at 28 degrees of sidereal Capricorn.  This conjunction will be exact on Monday, April 4.  The problem for Biden is that this conjunction forms an exact square aspect to his natal Mercury (28 Libra). 

Both Mars and Saturn are malefic planets whose aspects mark unwanted and stressful events when they form close aspects with key planets in a natal chart.  Mars symbolizes action, aggression and frustration while Saturn represents loss, obstacles, and disappointment. 

Since Mercury is the planet of commerce and communication, the next few days could see Biden and the US suffer from failures in communication and transportation (incl. possible cyberattacks) and setbacks involving the trade and the economy.  For our purposes, we should note that this could include financial markets. 

The Mars-Saturn conjunction is part of a much larger alignment involving the Lunar Nodes, Rahu and Ketu, as well as Jupiter and Neptune.  These additional planets could serve to magnify the importance of events in early April.  Of course, Jupiter is usually a more moderating and positive influence so it is possible that could represent stress and uncertainty rather than any manifested event outcome.  

Biden's chart receives a potentially helpful aspect from Jupiter-Neptune.  But the exact conjunction of Ketu (South Node) to his Mercury doesn't look good.  Ketu-Mercury conjunctions are linked to unexpected situations, especially ones involving the interruption of the status quo.  

Meanwhile, there are a few noteworthy patterns this week.  Monday's Moon-Venus-Saturn conjunction will offer a less tense preview of the early April alignment.  While Venus is a more positive influence than Mars, there is still some downside risk to this pattern.  The contra-parallel of Venus and Mars on Monday (and possibly Tuesday) is another not-so-great influence.  Wednesday's Venus-Jupiter contra-parallel could be more bullish, however. 

Also, the Moon conjoins Jupiter and Neptune on Wednesday so that also looks fairly good.  The late week is quite mixed.  Thursday's Venus-Saturn contra-parallel is negative although it could be offset by the approaching Sun-Uranus-Chiron alignment.  Friday's Mercury-Sun conjunction is a plus although the Mercury-Mars parallel could dampen market enthusiasm somewhat.  So maybe the rally takes a breather this week.  Let's see.



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 rebound as Fed delivers dovish 25-point rate hike

  (21 March 2022) Stocks rebounded strongly last week as the Fed finally delivered on its 25-point rate hike.  With inflation surging, Powell's modest hike was seen as a dovish compromise given the uncertainty from the ongoing war in Ukraine.  Of course, the prospect of Fed tightening has flattened the yield curve recently as the spread on the 2/10y now under 20 basis points and on the verge of inverting.  The Fed was late to tighten (as usual) and now could be at risk of repeating the mistakes of 2008 by finally tightening only to realize they are in the midst of a slowdown and have to do an about-face and loosen.   

The planets this week look less bullish.   One big reason for last week's rally was the Venus-Mercury-Uranus-Chiron alignment.  While Uranus (18 Aries) and Chiron (17 Pisces) are still closely aligned and thus broadly bullish, Venus and Mercury have since moved on.  This should significantly weaken positive sentiment.  On the negative side of the ledger, Mars forms a square aspect with Uranus in the first half of the week.  Mars-Uranus is often a negative influence, although the 60-degree aspect with Chiron could be a moderating factor.  Nonetheless, it does not seem positive.

The other significant alignment this week involves Mercury, the planet of commerce and trade.  Mercury is the planet perhaps closely associated with market behavior and is subject to fast-changing conditions.  When Mercury is aligned with malefics, stocks tend to fall.  But when aspected with benefics, stocks usually rise, as we saw last week when it aligned with Venus. 

On Wednesday, Mercury conjoins Neptune in the final degree of sidereal Aquarius.  While this can be a positive combination for some commodities like oil, it is a more ambiguous influence for stocks in general.  But the larger issue this week is that the Mercury-Neptune conjunction will be closely aligned with Ketu (South Lunar Node).  Ketu is a malefic influence that often brings about reversals and unpleasant surprises. 

The exact timing of the Ketu alignment with Mercury-Neptune is hard to pinpoint due to the different measurements of the Lunar Nodes.  The True Node version of Ketu aligns on Wednesday, while the Mean Node version aligns on Thursday.  While I usually use the True Node, it doesn't always provide the best results.  Therefore, it may be better to give Ketu a wider margin of error this week to encompass both possibilities.  An additional factor to consider here is that Mercury will enter Pisces, its sign of debilitation, on Thursday and thus may be less able to cope with the Neptune and Ketu influences. 

And we shouldn't forget to mention the Saturn-Uranus contra-parallel in geocentric declinations late this week.   This bearish pairing will be exactly contra-parallel at 15 degrees and 15 minutes after Thursday's US close.  This is a slow-moving pairing, however, so I am uncertain when it could generate some sparks.  In the absence of any faster-moving triggering planet at 15 degrees this week, it's possible it will be a dud and not move markets at all.  Nonetheless, it is worth monitoring.  As an added burden on sentiment, Mars is parallel Neptune in latitudes during midweek.  While parallels are usually less negative than contra-parallels, the Mars-Neptune combination is not usually positive.

The positives seem less prominent this week.  The Uranus-Chiron alignment still looks fairly strong so that's something for bulls.  And Jupiter forms a potentially bullish latitudinal semi-parallel with Venus on Monday and a declinational parallel with Mercury on Tuesday.  Monday wasn't very bullish, however, so that suggests that even the bullish Venus-Jupiter semi-parallel didn't have much impact on the overall picture. 

Let's see how durable this post-Fed rally will be this week.


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.



Photo Credit of Chicago Federal Reserve Building: Ken Lund

US stocks sink as war in Ukraine enters third week

(13 March 2022) Markets remain under pressure here as the war in Ukraine enters its third week.   The West's unprecedented level of sanctions have economically isolated Russia from the rest of the world but have also wreaked havoc in commodity markets.  Wheat, oil, gold and numerous other commodities have seen near-record price spikes as a result of the twin disruptions of Putin's "special military operation" and the subsequent sanctions.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are ongoing, however, and there have been signs of progress in recent days that a ceasefire and an eventual settlement is still possible.  News of the negotiations may have been one reason why oil and gold retreated sharply from their recent highs at the end of last week. 

The planets this week are very much a mixed bag.  Venus continues to slowly separate from bearish Mars following its exact conjunction on March 6.  While the extended conjunction of Venus-Mars in late February and early March was a key ingredient in the unraveling of the stock market, there is not much evidence yet that the affliction has lessened.  With Venus still just one degree away from Mars, the repairing of sentiment could be a protracted process. 

 

There are several telling short term alignments this week.  The early week Mercury-Venus alignment offers some hope for gains on Monday or perhaps Tuesday.  The overnight Monday morning (4:00 a.m. EDT) Moon-Mars opposition could throw a wrench into things, but there is a chance for a surprise to the upside.  Tuesday morning's (7:00 am. EDT)  Moon-Saturn opposition looks challenging but the entry of the Sun into sidereal Pisces could bring some optimism.  And the fact that Jupiter will very sitting very close to the midpoint of the Sun and Mercury may also be helpful, even if not decisive.

Wednesday is the FOMC meeting in which the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points.  Investors will focus on the press conference for clues about Powell's future plans, including the schedule for unwinding the Fed's balance sheet of $8 Trillion in QE assets.  The planets don't look good.  Mars casts its malefic 8th house aspect to the Moon in the afternoon.  Venus is parallel bearish Saturn in declinations and the Mars-Neptune midpoint is conjunct the midpoint of Mercury and Saturn.  While midpoints may be seen as secondary influences, this nonetheless damages the outlook.

The late week looks mixed but with some upside possible.  Thursday's Moon-Jupiter opposition could be a plus, as is the Mercury-Venus-Chiron-Uranus alignment.  But the evenly-spaced Saturn-Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn is still worrisome.  Friday's Mercury-Venus parallel in latitudes looks more bullish, however.  


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.


Photo Credit: manhhai

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Markets tumble as Western sanctions on Russia push oil prices higher

 (7 March 2022) Stock markets remained volatile to start the week as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has seen oil and agricultural prices surge to multi-year highs.  The prospect of major supply interruptions and onerous Western sanctions has seen crude oil trade above $120 while wheat futures have risen 75% above their January level.  Putin's invasion of Ukraine has been an unwelcome shock to the financial system as the already elevated rate of inflation threatens to explode even higher.  This puts the Fed in a very difficult place ahead of next week's FOMC meeting as it is poised to raise interest rates to rein in inflation. 

The transits this week look mixed.  The Venus-Mars conjunction is still very close -- just 11 arc minutes today -- but Venus has finally passed Mars and is beginning to separate from the more bearish influence of Mars.   This gradual separation hints at a possible improvement in sentiment in the coming days although the conjunction is still close enough that we cannot rule out further volatility.  Monday's significant decline in US markets is perhaps evidence of that lingering Mars influence on Venus. 

The other possible bright spot this week is that the Sun will transit between Jupiter and Neptune.  This looks like a broadly positive influence which should at least coincide with a brief rally attempt.  Wednesday's alignment places the Sun in the approximate midpoint between Jupiter and Neptune and thus highlights an upside potential.  The bearish Mars-Jupiter parallel in latitudes is exact over this coming weekend so it may not have a major influence.  So while the planets generally do not look very good for the next little (e.g. Pluto conjoins the Saturn south node at 4 Capricorn), there is a real possibility of a bear market bounce in the coming days.

A larger concern is how much the US and the Western world have been caught up in this war fever.  While the illegal Russian violation of Ukrainian sovereignty is plain to see, all this talk of war may be fulfilling President Joe Biden's dangerous karma.  He was inaugurated on January 20, 2021 on the day of an exact conjunction of Mars and Uranus in the 1st house (= sudden violence and conflict) and the New Year's horoscope for 2022 featured a close Moon-Mars conjunction in Scorpio suggesting the greater likelihood of war at some point this year.  Let us hope that the spirit of compromise eventually wins out over the forces of single-minded righteousness. 

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.