Weekly column: Jobs, markets, politics, and the cosmos

Review:

The U.S. economy created slightly fewer jobs than expected in August, reflecting a slowing labor market while also clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month. Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 142,000 during the month, down from 89,000 in July and below the 161,000 consensus forecast from Dow Jones…. At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2%, as expected.

—Jeff Cox, U.S. Payrolls Grew by 142,000 in August, Less Than Expected,” www.cnbc.com,  September 6, 2024.

The number of job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in July, tumbling to the lowest level in more than three years and representing the latest evidence that the labor market is cooling.

—Breck Dumas, “US Job Openings Fall to Lowest Level since January 2021,” www.foxbusiness.com, September 4, 2024.

Last week was a prime example of why Uranus is known as “the Disruptor.” Uranus turned retrograde as the week began, and immediately, global stock indices started giving back much of their gains made during August 5-28 when Mercury retrograde (“the Trickster”) was in force. The DJIA, for example, posted a record high on Friday, August 30. Then, every day last week, the index declined to consecutively lower daily lows. That was the pattern for most global indices—except in China, where last week’s decline was more intense. The Shanghai Composite fell to its lowest level in over six months on Friday. So far, all other markets are in a correction mode, which means, for the moment, the recent bullish signals of August are still intact.

In other markets, Gold made an attempt at new all-time highs on Friday but then succumbed to selling pressure by the end of the day. Silver also performed poorly on Friday, sliding to 28.01, its lowest mark in three weeks, right in line with MMA Silver analyst Pouyan Zolfagharnia’s call in the MMA weekly reports over the past several weeks. Crude Oil, however, can’t seem to find a break as it dropped to its lowest mark since June 2023. Bitcoin also struggled, but like stocks, it is still trading above its low of August 5. In fact, it may be forming what chartists call an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern. If the neckline of 62-64K can be exceeded, it might signal the end of the 24-month cycle low we have been looking for.

Short-term geocosmics

“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”

—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, given as a tweet on ‘X by Culture Critic September 4, 2024.

Traditional astrology (500 B.C.–1600 A.D.) was oriented toward the ego, concerned with survival and security, unaware of psychic depth and complexity, fear-based, and utilized primarily for augmenting control over life, nature, and death. Conversely, during the modern era, there has been a gradual shift toward a more psychologically-based astrology with a focus on character delineation, intrapsychic processes, personal development, healing, self-actualization, and ego transcendence.

—Dr. Glenn Perry, “From Ancient to Post-Modern Astrology, www.academia.edu, September 6, 2024.

Next Tuesday’s presidential debate will be as important as everyone says…. More and more, I am getting the impression this will be a path election, not a person election. Once you chose John F. Kennedy—young, bright, vigorous—and he led you down a path. You chose Ronald Reagan, and he led you down a path. You picked the person, and that person said, “This way,” and cut the path through the forest. I’m feeling that a lot of people this year will be choosing the path, not the person. They’ll put up with the person, but it’s the path they want. And I’m not sure people want to go down the Blue Path any deeper than they already have.

—Peggy Noonan, “Trump and Harris Get Ready to Debate,” www.wsj.com, September 6, 2024

This week stands out cosmically for a couple of reasons. First, Mercury leaves Leo for one of its ruling signs, Virgo, on Monday, September 9. This has the potential for leaders to focus on policies rather than personalities and bravado. It will sharpen the focus on details as opposed to broad, general “feel-good” platitudes about the future, about one’s capacity to change things for the better without providing the details. It will focus more on the importance of service and the need to develop skills to succeed in the “New Aira” economy. Then, on September 11, Mercury will come out of its “shadow” period that began when it turned retrograde on August 5 in early Virgo. You might remember that as the time when the stock markets of the world ended their mini-panic and started a robust 10-day rally. Revisiting that same degree when the retrograde began (thus exiting the “shadow”), has the possibility of reversing this current secondary pullback. As long as equity markets hold well above the August 5 low, corrective pullbacks after a primary or 50-week cycle bottom can be favorable times to buy.

Another interesting cosmic change underway is Mars entering Cancer, which began last week on September 4. It will remain in Cancer until November 4, one day before the U.S. Presidential Election, when it ingresses into Leo.

In modern astrology, which is based on humanistic psychological principles, Mars-in-Cancer signifies an independent/dependent psychological dilemma (“I want to do my own thing, but I need you”). Mars is feisty, assertive, even aggressive, and competitive, if not downright combative. It wants to win, be first, often at any cost. It is a “me first” approach, and not really interested in team concepts, except when in the role of being the leader. But Cancer is the opposite. Whereas Mars is usually the drive to be physical, active, and victorious, the Moon, ruler of Cancer, is more reactive, sensitive, protective, and emotionally based by nature. Together, they either operate in a way to protect and defend those whom they care about or to harm/hurt those seen as opponents or competitors. In the latter case, the rhetoric may get personal and nasty. We will probably get a sense of this at the debate taking place on Tuesday, September 10. It will be interesting to see who will behave like the adult in the room. With the Moon in Sagittarius, the debate could become quite chippy.

Mars can be aggressive while Cancer can be passive, and the result can be mixed signals, behaviors that are not consistent with one’s real agenda. One current political issue that comes to mind is election and voting integrity. Both parties claim to support fair and efficient voting procedures, and both parties fear the other side will either 1) not behave fairly or 2) not accept – deny – the reported results of the election, which could lead to another violent insurrection. With Mars in opposition to Pluto going into the election, that possibility cannot be discounted (Mars/Pluto has the symbolic potential for violence and cries of a “stolen—abducted—election”). If the United States hopes to enter a smooth transition into the “Aries Vortex” and favorable seasonal ingresses denoted for the nation in 2025, it is imperative that 1) the election procedures are fair and conducted honestly and 2) both parties agree to graciously accept the results and urge their followers to do the same in a peaceful fashion.

I’m not sure Mars in Cancer or Leo will do that. If not, it will be a long winter. But, as nature teaches us, spring will follow. And then everything changes again as Neptune enters Aries and Uranus enters Gemini. No matter who ends up in the White House, a new course will be charted, and I think there is hope for humanity and the nation on this new course, whatever it is. The ingresses of the seasons look favorable to the U.S. after spring. Our leaders just need to play their roles well in this new act. They need to be the adults that the conditions in the world will demand of them and that will shape their character into the roles they will be called upon to perform as we enter the Aries Vortex of 2025-2027. It’s either renaissance or war and possibly both, depending not only on the character of the U.S. president but that of other world leaders as well.