Three executives have quit Donald Trump’s business advisory panel

REVIEW

I am in Cuba today, as one of three stops on a five-day cruise I am on, as part of a Strategic Planning week for the ISAR Board of Directors. ISAR stands for the International Society for Astrological Research, a non-profit organization with VP’s and astrological schools representing over 25 countries in the world who seek to upgrade the profession of astrology, and its value to societies everywhere, especially through quality research (www.isarastrology.com). I have had the honor of being elected president of this wonderful organization for eight terms over the past 24 years (each term lasts two years).

As a result of my duties here at these meetings, I am unable to write the usual weekly column. However, I think the events of last week (and the week before) illustrate how astrology adds great value to understanding the times we live in and the markets we trade. As you know, via this column, we are in a powerful eclipse cycle, from the lunar eclipse of August 7 through the total solar eclipse of August 21. And, as stated before, this solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, falls right on President’s Trump’s natal Mars and Ascendant – hence the forecast for quite some time now that this period would be very dramatic sensational, war-like, threatening, and involve him at the epicenter of all this activity. It has proven to be the case.

Below are just two examples that occurred last week, before Friday’s firing of Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon.

Three executives have quit Donald Trump’s business advisory panel, throwing it into chaos, in the wake of the president’s failure to immediately denounce white supremacists over a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead and several others injured. - Sabrina Siddiqui and Dominic Rushe, “CEOs Quit Trump Council Over Response to Violence,” The Guardian, Aug 15, 2017.

The index started falling earlier on fears that Gary Cohn, a business-friendly advisor to the president, could resign his role as director of National Economic Council because of Trump's remarks following the violent protests in Charlottesville, VA. The concern remains that members of Congress and others in the business community would not want to work with the President following the backlash that led Trump to dissolve two CEO advisory forums. – Fred Imbert, “Dow Posts Biggest One-Day Fall in 3 Months; Concerns Over Trump Agenda Grows,” www.cnbc.com, August 17, 2017

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

The cosmic drama continues this week. In fact, it is now peaking – last week and this week. The solar eclipse is this Monday, August 21. The midpoint of the Mercury retrograde cycle takes place August 24.  Saturn ends its retrograde motion and turns direct on August 25. Each of these are powerful geocosmic indicators of a reversal and/or major breakout of support/ resistance zones. But with Mercury retrograde, breakouts can quickly turn into fake outs.

From last week’s column

Last week’s market activity proved once again the point made several times lately in this column: the greatest risk to the stock market is the political risk – and it involves President Trump, because he is the one whose natal Ascendant and Mars are being scorched by the solar eclipse. This is not to say he is right or wrong in his actions in regards to North Korea (or Iran). He is just being Mars-like – which means he is angry and willing to fight for what he believes is right, which I assume means the protection of the citizens of the U.S.A. I think he sees that as his highest duty at this time. So, whether you like it or not, the world is currently under Mars – a war zone theme – for this month.

Of course, there is more going on in the cosmos than just Mars’ highlights. In fact, the next two weeks are jam-packed with cosmic activity. First, our old friend Mercury turns retrograde this weekend, August 12, lasting through September 5. It is turning retrograde in Virgo, in opposition to Neptune in Pisces, which means this cycle will probably be one of the most confusing of all the Trickster’s acts. Mercury retrograde is typically a period when information given and received is contradictory, and hence confusing – like central banks saying one thing but political leaders saying something completely opposite. But Neptune is the planet that rules confusion – and illusion, delusion, and subterfuge (there should be a word called “subterfusion,” for the sake of alliteration). So, when the Trickster partners up with the god of diversion and distraction, what do you think happens? I don’t know, either. All I know is that I am not believing it.  And there was the rumor of Gary Cohn’s resignation that started the avalanche down in US stocks on Thursday.

This opposition is followed by a series of irrational contacts between transiting Venus, which forms a cardinal grand square with Jupiter, Pluto, and Uranus. In addition to being a deadly combination for meeting up with someone who has “fatal attraction” written all over their arms, legs, and most other body parts (it’s just art and ink), it also portends a time of whipsaws in financial markets. First, they go up sharply, and you think, “Aha! The next leg up is underway.” But then it suddenly reverses, and you think, “Oh, this is going to be a pounding down.” And in the end, you get whiplash from being whipsawed by both Venus in a grand square, and Mercury the Tricksters being retrograde and in opposition with Neptune, the illusionist. It’s magic!

But the real magic comes on August 21, right in the middle of all this craziness, when the Moon intersects the plane of the Sun-Earth connection, and day turns into night.

That’s it for this week. We will resume next week, following the greatest solar eclipse in the United States in nearly 40 years, and possibly 99. As promised, this is already an amazing and critical time for the world, the United States, and its President.