Weekly Column: World equity markets continued their rallies

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Argentina missed interest payments to international creditors on Friday, thrusting the economically besieged country back into default territory. – Natalie Alcoba, “Argentina Defaults Again as Debt Talks Progress,” www.Aljazeera.com, May 22, 2020.

The US dollar edged higher on Wednesday and China’s yuan hit a near nine-month low as worries about the US response to China’s proposed security law for Hong Kong injected a more cautious tone into foreign exchange markets. The US currency had fallen sharply on Tuesday as strong risk appetite encouraged investors into riskier currencies… – www.reuters.com, “Yuan Hits 9-Month Low as US-China Tensions Return,” May 27, 2020.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra

World equity markets continued their rallies following major cycle lows on May 14, one day after Venus turned retrograde. For most indices, these rallies represent new highs following the historic collapse to the lows of March 19-23, when Mars began its series of conjunctions (and hence the start of new synodic cycles) with Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn (March 20-31). At the time, we had forecasted this rare cosmic phenomenon as the likely time for the peak of the panic and the peak of the rate of increase of the novel coronavirus cases. We also forecasted that economies around the world, and especially in the U.S., would likely start to re-open around the time of the triple retrogrades (Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter) as the curve started to flatten out, May 10-14, and that too is turning out to be correct. As the economies of the world continue their re-opening, global stock prices have soared, especially since the lows of May 14. Many, including in the U.S., are now up over 40% from their bear market lows of March 19-23.

What does the study of geocosmic signatures say about this rally? Can it help us understand what is happening, and how to plan for the future? First of all, understand that this latest rally is unfolding under Venus retrograde in Gemini, which is still in a square aspect to Neptune in Pisces. It is also happening as transiting Jupiter is stationary, starting its retrograde motion, in 27° Capricorn, in an exact square to Neptune in the “Buttonwood chart,” or the birth chart of the New York Stock Exchange (May 17, 1792). This combination is déjà vu all over again. We are back to irrational exuberance that was present in 2019, and it could quite possibly devolve again into hysteria and panic when the elixir of Neptune wears off and the reality of Saturn returning back into Capricorn (July 1 through the winter solstice of December 17-21) returns for the second half of the year.

It is interesting that Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter turned retrograde within four days of one another (May 10-14), given that retrogrades can mean a return to a time in the not too distant past in which issues arise that were not completely resolved just prior to turning retrograde. Have we really resolved the issues of the pandemic yet? Is the economy really going to get back to where it was before the crisis hit?

We have mentioned before that Venus retrograde often corresponds with changes of monetary or fiscal policies of a nation or their central bank, and this can lead to disturbances in the currency markets. Last week, Argentina defaulted on payments due to international creditors. Last week the Chinese Yuan fell to its lowest level in 9 months as analysts consider whether China is about to devalue its currency to gain an edge in world trade as its economy continues to open up. And yet, the stock market continues to soar to new post-crash highs.

By way of trying to understand this apparent contradictory behavior, let’s return to the subject of Venus retrograde, square Neptune in Pisces. As we have discussed many times in 2019, Neptune and Pisces pertain to irrational exuberance, especially when Jupiter is involved. And Jupiter is involved because it also turned retrograde in 27 degrees Capricorn on May 14, the day of the most recent low, forming an exact square to Neptune at 27 Libra in the “Buttonwood Chart.” As we know from last year’s three-passage series of waning squares between Jupiter in Sagittarius to Neptune in Pisces (the “Setup,” as described in the Forecasts 2019 Book, to the “Edge of the Cliff” Capricorn Stellium of 2020), this state of over-optimism and complacency can leave one totally vulnerable and unprepared for an unexpected “shock” event (“black swan,” or perhaps the result of an election). And when the delusion of irrational exuberance is broken by reality (such as Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn), markets can tank. In other words, the 2019 Jupiter/Neptune square, and its theme of irrational exuberance leading one to be vulnerable to shock, is back again with Jupiter, at 27 degrees of Capricorn square the NYSE Neptune at 27 degrees of Libra. It is there for most of May. It makes one wonder: what will happen when Jupiter leaves the NYSE Neptune in June, and Saturn returns to Capricorn in July through most of December? Will it be another market environment like 2019, followed by what just happened February-April 2020? It’s possible, for Saturn moving back into Capricorn may be a harsh reality check for any issues that were not resolved earlier this year.

In other markets last week, Silver soared to a new multi-month high of 18.55, but Gold could not exceed its 7-year high on April 14 of 1788.80, or its double top of 1775.80 on May 18. It struggled around 1750 for a continued case of intermarket bearish divergence to Silver – unless it formed a half-primary cycle low last week at 1684 (it’s possible). Crude Oil, like the stock market, was strong last week, reaching 35.77 on Friday, May 29, its highest mark since the low of 6.50 on April 21, a gain of 350% in one month. Bitcoin is rallying again. After falling to a major cycle low of 8630 on May 25, it is approaching 10,000 again as we head into the weekend. One of the bigger stories, however, and related to Venus retrograde, is the Euro currency, which soared to a 1.1144 on Friday, its highest mark since March 27. Venus rules money, as in currencies. It also rules love. You can’t have one easily without the other.

Short-term geocosmics and longer-term thoughts

The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la, de da de da

Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss
The cars keep going faster all the time
Bums still cry, “Hey buddy, have you got a dime?”

– Sonny and Cher, “The Beat Goes On,” 1967

The midpoint of Venus retrograde (May 13-June 25) takes place this week, June 3-4. This often represents a turning point in financial markets, especially those that did not reverse near the time of the retrograde (May 13). The week demands even more attention because Venus retrograde (in Gemini) will square Mars (in Pisces) on June 2, and the week will end with a lunar eclipse in Sagittarius. All that Venus and all that mutable sign activity (Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces) portends a wild week of potential misunderstandings and over-reactions between parties that are having difficulty seeing what the other wants or why they are behaving like they are. Maybe (probably) there is an ulterior motive they are hiding, related to something or someone that attracted them in the past, and they have a fantasy, an illusion, about rekindling something that ended previously for a reason that one now wishes to overlook. But one needs to be careful about overlooking such former issues that have not been resolved. They are still there and can cause problems all over again, like déjà vu. The Venus/Mars square could be especially delicate in terms of social distancing guidelines. People want to connect with one another, even hug and express passion and intimacy. It may be challenging if wearing a mask and trying to maintain a 6-foot distance. People are likely to violate those guidelines, and with Venus retrograde (along with Saturn and Jupiter), there may be consequences. There may be spikes in new cases of the coronavirus. This is a critical week to maintain safety measures in social interactions.

In terms of financial markets, we would look for a sharp decline or rally to end during this week, and for that market to reverse again. Our attention will then be focused on June 22 +/- 1 week, when a powerful summer solstice solar eclipse takes place while Neptune and Mercury turn retrograde and Venus turns direct. This period highlights the potential of larger and more sustained market reversals than we are likely to see next week, due to the culmination of longer-term market cycles,