Anne Massey’s astrology blog

Financial astrology: Recession, Depression

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 | Current Planetary trends, Financial Cycles

Note that this analysis of the astrological cycles as they relate to the world of money should not be considered advice to invest or withdraw from the markets. I am not a stock broker, financial astrologer or an investment advisor. I am an astrologer who is just as worried about personal investments as the next person. I have chosen investments with astrology and it has served me well, however, always in conjunction with financial advice. But I do consider the stock market as gambling. The bottom line with the current planetary cycles, which I will be discussing in this post, is that we cannot expect recovery quickly, 2013 is the beginning of more stable times. Analysis needs to begin with the outer planets, the inner planets give us details, and longer cycles of the outer planets set the tone. The fact that the US has been in recession for a year, resonates with Pluto moving into Capricorn in January 2008—it then moved back into optimistic Sagittarius and temporary recovery ensued. At the beginning of December 2008, Pluto had been in restrictive, pragmatic Capricorn for five days, and reality set in—the acknowledgment of the recession hit the news.

2008 went into the history books as the worst year in the stock markets since 1931. As the year ended and a new one began, the markets continued to be volatile and there were violent events all around the globe. Everyone is worried about the future. Looking at the influence of planetary energies and applying that to a set of circumstances typically begins with the outer planets. I have talked about Pluto extensively in my blog posts, but the words that apply financially are wealth, resources, and transformation/restoration/renovation. In terms of timing Pluto entered Capricorn November 26, 2008. Pluto will retrograde from April 4-September 11. The two to three days prior to those dates are likely to be volatile in the financial markets. The other dates, traders count to these days using the Gann Trading method, are the equinoxes and solstices. Once again I use 2-3 days as prior to the actual date to state significant shifts in markets. If they have been going up they will go in the opposite direction and vice a versa.

Back in the 1930s the stock markets were reeling from the stock market crash of 1929; however, this wasn’t just in America nor did was it contained to a year, the markets actually plummeted even more in June 1932; different markets had different dates—globally the great depression followed. Pluto was in Cancer 1912-1937, but naturally as it was only discovered in 1932; astrologers of the day were not using its symbolism. The financial Jupiter-Saturn cycle for that era, with its 20 year cycle, began with the conjunction of the two planets in September of 1921 at 26°Virgo46′. The cycle we are in currently began in 2000 when the two planets held their meeting at 22°Taurus43′. In terms of astrology, these two degrees are linked by an aspect (angular separation) of 120 degrees, a trine. In terms of financial astrology, the aspects are not good or bad, rather they bring action. If they are nice, harmonious aspect the action happens without hindrance or obstacles. They may create havoc, but we cannot stop it just like we cannot prevent an avalanche. So there are similarities in this cycle but there are differences as well, a completely identical planetary set does not repeat ever.

Various experts in economy and industry have speculated about the dates that the global economy or that of a country emerges from the recession/depression. The most optimistic think that it might be as soon as July this year, others talk about 2010 and many talk about 2013. Astrological cycles have an advantage because they do offer as timing. Let’s look at the current cycles of change, their implications and timing.

In this graphic I have entered the outer planets. The glyph at the top is that for Pluto. Pluto will stay in Capricorn until 2023 with a brief return in 2024. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn (1762-1777) United States of America was born. On July 1, 1776 Pluto was at 27°Capricorn 33′ and retrograde in motion. It was early days of the Industrial Revolution. England had begun taxing its colonies. The agricultural landscape and related jobs began to diminish or vanish, and people had to adjust to a different kind of life. Back then we also had two rare Venus occultations in Gemini; we had the first of the pair in 2004 and the next one is in 2012—the cycle of the Venus occultations in Gemini is about the same as Pluto’s cycle, 250 years. Capricorn the sign of Pluto’s current transit is the sign of business, industry and enterprise. It represents governments, banks and authority. Pluto’s role is to eliminate all that is not viable and then create something new in its place. Typically we note fast changes when Pluto moves into a cardinal sign, and in terms of timing the initial few degrees and the final few are the most prominent. We also have a pivotal point in the middle of the sign at around 15 degrees. I would speculate that once Pluto is at 8°Capricorn, the worst is over in Canada. We have Sun and Uranus at 8°Cancer. Thus we are looking at the end of 2012. In the interim, we are likely to witness the disappearance of financial and business institutions, which were not managed properly. By then of course there is something else to address.

The second most distant planet is Neptune, blue in this graphic and in Aquarius—the sign of mass production. Neptune has been in Aquarius since 1998, and will move into Pisces in 2011. During the past decade ‘global markets’ became a familiar concept as did outsourcing. The areas in the graphic that have a pink background are the primary money houses, and these need to be applied to a static birth chart for a person, nation or entity to see what kinds of money we might be talking about. For example in the US chart, we are talking about banking and value of currency. Transit Neptune is the second house in the US chart. Astrologers would advice a person with this transit to manage their monies, to live within their means and to seek the services of a financial advisor. Neptune tends to dissolve, make things vanish or become unimportant.

Uranus (turquoise in the graphic) is the next in speed and closer to us than Neptune and Pluto. Uranus has been in Pisces since 2003. Uranus is in mutual reception with Neptune until May 2010. Mutual reception means trading places. So in essence we also have Saturn in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces—Pragmatism vs. Ideology. It is interesting to note how politicians keep talking about crossing party lines, wanting to work together across the aisle and want to put ideologies aside during these challenging times. Well we can see how long that lasts-about a year or maybe even less as Saturn moves into Libra at the end of October 2009. Earth signs are pragmatic, and currently that means Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo. Seeing that inventive, radical Uranus is also free to trade places, it shows that technological advances and innovations take place at rapid speed over the next 1.5 years still. Uranus moves into Aries for about five months at the end of March 2010 until August 2010; and to stay for seven years in March 2011. These are rather volatile times, and could indicate changes in government in countries that have a cardinal Sun in their charts such as Canada, Britain, US and Australia. From the Uranus perspective, we might see improvement in the markets in about 2012-13.

The other stressor, Uranus-Saturn opposition, takes place 43-47 year intervals. This time we have five successive ones. The first was the US Election Day in 2008; we will have two this year and another two in 2010. Following the opposition the governments across the globe began to acknowledge that recession was upon us, and that our ‘fortunes’ were tied to the US economy for better or for worse. Those dates, which will reverberate, are November 4, 2008; February 5, 2009; September 15, 2009 and April 26, 2010. Note that the influence is in play for at least 10 days either side of exact. The aspect repeats from 1919-1920 and 1965-67. During the former, Saturn was in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces just like now. During the latter period Saturn was in Pisces and Uranus in Virgo; and Uranus was not alone it was with Pluto. The current Saturn-Uranus cycle began in 1988 in late Sagittarius, which according to many sources is the Ascendant for the US; and over the past 3-5 years Pluto was at the US Ascendant. None of the cycles work in isolation. Nor do the events that coincide with the cycles. Many financial analysts feel that the US mortgage crises originate with the programs the government launched in 1988-89. Prior to that time, people needed to have a decent down payment in order to qualify for a mortgage, and grew smaller and became none by the time the bubble was ready to burst. Up until that time, mortgages that were amortized over 20+ years were not commonplace globally—now we can or could up until now, get a 40 year mortgage regardless of how old we might be. We learnt to buy on the never-never. Those of us older may recall a time when having a credit card was an exception not a rule. Thus this influence subsides after mid-2010, and we should have a bit more stability.
I think that 2009 will go down as the year of most bankruptcies we have ever seen—not just personal ones but some gigantic corporations will cease to exist. One of the interesting concepts in astrology is about the behaviour of outer planets in Cardinal signs-a change in direction, reversal of fortunes. This year it is only Pluto but in 2010 and 2011 Uranus and Neptune will move into Aries, which is the most volatile of the cardinal signs. And of course, in 2011 Jupiter will also be in Aries, expanding and growing whatever it encounters on its path. The cardinal signs are often referred to as the world axis. What tends to happen is that tides shift in the other direction when the outer planets, Jupiter-Pluto, move into the cardinal=action signs. While Pluto is in the sign of management i.e. Capricorn, any company that is not efficiently managed is likely to be ‘forced’ to cease operations. Let’s recall that over the optimistic, overly ‘greedy’, indulgent years that Pluto spent in Sagittarius we all expected exorbitant returns for our investments. As Pluto began its journey through Capricorn in 2008, we began to see that our reality would be different.

Another cycle I discussed in an earlier post is the Moon cycle. The Moon ventures north and south on an axis, and there are several years when the Moon goes out of bounds every two weeks for several days. This follows the Equinox and Solstice cycle but is a monthly cycle. Investors using the Gant method count days to arrive at the up and down cycle, which is actually defined by astrology and the change of seasons. The Moon cycle is 19 years. There are 11 years when the activity of the Moon is wild and 8 when it is more stable. We are in the unstable period. This one ends in May 2011, and we begin more stable times. The cycle the economist was referring to has to do with the nodal cycle—for decades now whenever the north node of the Moon has moved into Capricorn we have seen higher interest rates, which are offered when the economy is good and there is less need to stimulate it-it is the lender’s market. That arrives in June!! However, we need to take into account that Saturn its ruler at that time is in Virgo, which always causes a slump in available jobs. Further we have the Moon in her volatile cycle. I wish I could concur with the overly optimistic predictions of the economists but I cannot. Often during the cycle of the Nodal axis in Capricorn-Cancer construction goes down, it did last time (early 1990s) and therefore there is less for sale and the demand goes up. The mortgage rates, however, are likely to drop considerably, opening the door for buyers. This particular cycle begins in July and ends at the end of 2010.

The calmer years with relative stability are: 1900-1907; 1919-1926; 1937-1944; 1956-1963; 1974-1982; 1993-2000; 2012-2020, 2030-2039-the Moon will not venture beyond the declination of the Sun’s annual path; i.e. she will not go out of bounds.

The years when Moon is WILD and markets more volatile are: 1908-1918; 1927-1936; 1945-1955; 1964-1973; 1983-1992; 2001-2011, 2021-2029-the Moon ventures out of bounds twice a month for about 11 years in a row.

Venus factor – what is the real market value?

Venus will be spending about four months in Aries, and will be retrograde in Aries from March 6 to April 17, 2009. In terms of money and investments this retrograde period is about revaluation, devaluation, and reassessing. We are already in turbulent times with the Pluto in Capricorn in its initial stages and the Saturn-Uranus opposition is adding an element of shocks and surprises. During 2009 I expect we will see a record number of bankruptcies and we will also see much of the workforce displaced. February through early May marks a time when the markets will begin to settle into true value.

I think that we will witness devaluation of currencies, some will be re-valued and some will choose to float theirs. A tricky time if you want to invest in currency; Iceland is bankrupt and has borrowed money from the International Monetary Fund and they have a new Prime Minister and Government. In terms of a country, their borrowing is like the mortgage we take out to buy a home. If we take out more than the value of our home, we will face problems down the road, right. The same applies to countries. Common sense dictates that.
During the years Pluto was in Sagittarius the value of things became inflated and now that Pluto is in Capricorn reality is setting in. Venus is about our money and Pluto is about wealth, the two will square off twice—the first time in early February and the second time in early May. In between we have the balancing act of Venus; we need to understand that inflated prices need to come down. Venus is in Aries and needing to accommodate the needs of Mars-the role of Mars is to cut, and in this instance the value.

Amidst the bad news, this is tax season and for many a time to think about retirement investment contributions. I hear the advertisers selling recession proof things, but what is depression proof in terms of investments, I need to know because I have to find something that I feel will earn some income. In the long-term it needs to be blue chip companies, government bonds; tried, tested and ‘true’—represented by Pluto in Capricorn—companies that are well managed. That’s not enough information. Capricorn is the sign of business, management and slow, steady advancement toward goals. The astrological cycles and the economists statements about timing take us back forty years—that’s the last time the situation was as dire.

OK, that’d be the Uranus cycle of 42 years. In the 1960s we had Saturn conjunct Uranus in Virgo, and now we have Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces, and opposition that we saw when the 1910s gave way to 1920s. What might be the commonalities? Might I want to invest in something involving alcohol? People tend to drink more during depressed times, a form of escape from reality. We do have the mutual reception between Uranus and Neptune, which lasts for another year and change. What about technology, which helps us become less dependent on fossil fuels?—now that sounds like an option. The price of oil does not seem to follow any logical economic cycle nor does the current pricing reflect the astrological cycles, the only conclusion I can arrive at is price manipulation. Manipulation to me is a Pluto concept!

The job losses are at record highs, and we need to adjust our thinking and find new options. There are shortages of workers and the redundancy of employees. We always have both, at times it is exaggerated. What makes it tricky is that we need to find the opportunities through the same factor; in astrology Saturn defines both shortages and redundancies. Saturn is in Virgo, and thus represents the service and health sectors. In Canada we have a shortage of nurses and too many people in the service sector-shops and restaurants. Factory workers, especially in the auto industry, are being displaced by the hundreds yet there are jobs begging in the insurance and health fields. These are Saturn in Virgo concepts working within the pivotal times we are in.

Having looked at the duration of these cycles and their impact, I cannot agree with July as an end to a recession; the variety of the stimulus package out there are going to be challenged and tested while we seek to understand the true value of things. We are likely to find that the assessments we were given in January and early February were undervalued-it will cost more and it will take longer, will be the chant during March and April. My assessment is that we are looking at 2013, with some improvement beginning to show mid-2010. But I will need to dig deeper to find something to invest in… well that’s another session plowing through the charts and finding valuable nuggets of information.

To see what this may mean on a more personal level check out my post http://www.annemassey.ca/2009/02/06/finding-true-value-with-venus/ and the associated horoscopes for the signs will be posted by February 18 at www.astrologicallyspeaking.com and I will post a notice on my blog as well.

Copyright Anne Massey 2009

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