Weekly column: The S&P 500’s longest bear market since the 1940s has come to an end

Review and preview

 It’s official! The S&P 500’s (SP500) longest bear market since the 1940s has come to an end. The benchmark index closed up 0.6% to 4,294 on Thursday, vaulting it back into bull territory with a 20% advance from its October low. The rally has been powered, in large part, because of a handful of companies posting outsized gains, like Big Tech, Tesla (TSLA) and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA). There has also been somewhat of a resurgence in economic optimism, compared to the sentiment that plagued the market in 2022. – Wall Street Breakfast, “Run, Bull, Run,” www.seekingalpha.com,  June 10, 2023.

Global equity markets were mixed last week, with some soaring to new multi-week or multi-month highs, others falling to multi-week lows, and still others between the lows and highs of the prior week. Such discordance must mean … we are in the Sun sign of Gemini, where markets will be all over the place and not all following the same instruction manual.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Japanese Nikkei index made a new 33-year high last week. The Indian NIFTY index is close to making a new all-time high. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong had a good week, but only after making a multi-year low on May 31. China’s Shanghai Composite and Australia’s ASX indices held the prior week’s low, but not by much as both economies struggle to show signs of growth.

European bourses also struggled to find direction. It was an inside week in all the major indices we track, with the London FTSE closer to its multi-month lows, whereas the DAX was closer to its recent all-time high. Is it a bull or is it a bear? Don’t ask Europe when the Sun is in Gemini. It’s both or neither, depending on how well you can bi-locate.

The Americas, however, are much clearer that it is indeed a bull, especially after Washington lawmakers finally put the debt limitation crisis to bed just before the June 5 deadline when a national fasting and energy savings mandate would have to be implemented in order to make sure the government stayed open. Just kidding. But lawmakers mostly went to bed anyway after that exhausting struggle over so little. It was a welcome sign in any event that they found a way to compromise and avoid a financial disaster (at least for another day) at the last moment.

In other markets, Bitcoin fell to a new 12-week low on June 6 but then recovered quickly. But it’s still a case of lower lows and lower highs lately. Gold and Silver are both trying to bounce back from recent declines, but the road is bumpy in Gemini. Crude Oil made a new cycle high of 75.06 last week, a nice move from its primary cycle low of one month ago at 63.64. This back-and-forth nature of Gemini may get a reality check next week when Saturn and Neptune both get highlighted (see next section).

Short-term geocosmics and longer-term thoughts

Shifts in personal fortune and unexpected turns remind us of what we know in the abstract and forget in the particular. They remind us that life is not, as a friend once reflected, a painting. In a painting the curtain doesn’t move. In life it moves, often softly but sometimes, in a storm, wildly. Life is dynamic—fate, chance and character play big, determinative roles. We go through the daily grind thinking nothing ever changes, but life is change. Sometimes it’s barely perceptible; sometimes it goes boom. – Peggy Noonan, “Don’t Count a Third Party Out in 2024,” Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2023.

The biggest political group in America isn’t Democrats or Republicans; it is the unaffiliated. Gallup, which does a monthly poll on political affiliation, reports a record number of Americans say they are politically independent. In March Gallup put the share of independents at 49%—pretty much the same as the two parties put together. – Peggy Noonan, “Don’t Count a Third Party Out in 2024,” Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2023.

“I just want to tell you I am an innocent man. I did nothing wrong and we will continue fighting this just as we have for the last seven years.” Donald Trump, when informed of the new charges being brought against him, June 9, 2023.

It is an interesting idea that Peggy Noonan discusses in this weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal. She suggests a third party consisting of both a Republican and Democrat candidate could win the next election. I was thinking the same thing. I was also thinking about Robert Kennedy Jr and Nikki Halley, both born in late Capricorn, with their natal Sun conjunct the U.S. natal Moon/Pluto conjunction. Transiting Pluto (power and reform) will re-enter late Capricorn this week (June 11), conjoining their natal Suns until November 2024 (election). The Moon in the July 2 founding chart of the U.S. indicates a woman of power rising, maybe even becoming president (or VP). I know we have one now, but this is someone else. Yes, I know Dems are hoping Michelle Obama runs, and interestingly enough, she too is a late Capricorn (same January 17 birthdate as Kennedy Jr.). Thus, I don’t think we can count either of these three individuals out if they decide to run in some combination together.

On the other side of the political universe lies the beleaguered Donald Trump, a victim once again of the consequences of his own doings. He was charged with 37 counts of felony violations of national security laws for his handling of classified documents. Of course, Joe Biden did something very similar and one has to wonder when he will have to also deal with the consequences of his own doings as well (probably if and when Donald Trump gets re-elected).

We note that Mr. Trump will celebrate his 77th birthday this week, on June 14. That means his solar return is also this week – a time when the Earth is at the same position in its orbit around the Sun as it was when he was born. This is an actual event, and like all events, a chart can be cast for that moment and based on the location of where the event takes place, which in this case appears to be in West Palm Beach, Florida. Yes, I know some astrologers believe you must use a location other than where the person is located at the time of their solar return, such as one’s birthplace or residence. But that is not the basic foundation for which an accurate and relevant solar return (or event) horoscope is cast – if you follow the tenets upon which astrology is based. But I digress.

The former president’s solar return will take place at 1:17 AM on June 14 in West Palm Beach, FL. The rising will be 17° Pisces, right on the midpoint of Saturn and Neptune at 7° and 27° Pisces, respectively. Since the Saturn/Neptune midpoint is symbolic of weakness and the ascendant is you, the person, and your body, it poses the possibility of confinement. He needs to get the hell out of West Palm Beach if he wants to change the dynamic to something resembling “freedom of movement.” He does have the Moon conjunct Jupiter in Taurus in the second house, so this also implies he will rake in another busload of donations from these new charges. It’s good for his finances, but maybe not so good for his personal liberty if he is actually in West Palm Beach at that time, and this chart proves to be relevant.

Shorter-term, we note that this week finds Pluto moving back into Capricorn and Mercury forward into Gemini on Sunday, June 11, the same day Venus will square Jupiter. There is a change of sentiment starting, but it may not get fully underway until after June 17-19 when Saturn turns retrograde and the Sun squares Neptune. These are both powerful Level 1 signatures, the strongest correlations to reversal (and primary cycles) in financial markets given an orb of 11 trading days. With Saturn in Pisces and Neptune retrograde, Crude Oil will likely be highlighted for a reversal.

On a more personal level, highlighting Saturn in Pisces and Neptune squared by the Sun favors those engaged in spiritual practices and who hold honesty and truthfulness in high value. It does not favor those who are deceptive and prone to spread false or misleading information that adversely affects the right of others to make informed choices based on full disclosure. This is not the time to hide something from someone that they have a right to know or to intentionally mislead them into making a poor decision to one’s advantage at their expense. Those who violate this principle at this time may end up in a situation much like Donald Trump this week. Saturn with Neptune can be the ultimate victim aspect. The solution? Be accountable, be honest and truthful.