Plus,
World Financial Markets:
They should.
I have continued to forecast about the inclinations of this year, and, of problems and troubles on the high seas. Nothing has changed, as the world transits head towards the formation of their configurations featuring the Cardinal Cross, and T-Square.
Opinions, personal sensibilities, ideologies, be they dogmatic, political or religious, are of no concern to the world transits and their inclinations.
Should anyone give sway to the belief that their ideological opinions and stands trumps world transits, they are truly living in a dreamworld of fantasy and self-delusion.
World transits are very real.
Jupiter has entered Aries, and on June 8, conjoins Uranus at 00-Aries. This is a preview transit of their two other conjunctions in Pisces arriving later this year, and then, their official re-entries back into Aries in early 2011.
Presently, both planets are transiting as part of the Cardinal-T-Square of June, July, and August 2010.
So, I continue to warn all about the seriousness and power of the Cardinal inclinations of the planets relative to the earth as we now approach the first series of the Cardinal Crisis Transits.
The planetary configurations of the cardinal inclinations do not favor operations on, over, and below seas and oceans.
I continue to warn about accidents, and intentional violence taking place on the high seas.
Transits are unfavorable, and will be so for some time.
Again, I urge caution, prudence, diplomacy, and patience.
Egypt to Strip Men Married To Israeli Women Of Citizenship
A secular and religious nation, the Turkish people are not happy about what they say is the intentional starvation of the Palestinian people.
Moreover, under the cardinal planetary inclinations, it appears that Israel's current leadership is practicing foreign affairs with a heavy hand ~ against what the world community desires to see. This is not something that is wise at all under the Cardinal inclinations just ahead.
So, what's next?
Well, two things, which are really three things:
- Israel remains stubborn, goes unilateral, and war breaks out with Turkey
- The world's nations focus on Gaza, and Israel is then blockaded
- People can come to their common senses, and let everyone, including Palestine, live in peace
I prefer the third option. This allows the Cardinal Crisis transits to pass by, without leaders, policymakers, and everyone else, to be inclined towards the violence of the planetary inclinations.
As a mundane astrologer, I continue to warn everyone to take it easy ~ especially leaders and policymakers.
I would also advise diplomats to step up their game or get off the court so some real players can improve the situations building up to this year's Cardinal Crisis.
Under these particular world astrological transits, it is a serious mistake to think, or to believe, that the world community will forget about the economic crisis, by providing them with international crisis of the sort now playing out in Gaza, Israel, Turkey, and the Korean Peninsula, among other regions of the world.
Gaza, Israel & Turkey
The Cardinal Crisis: Tensions Continue To Mount
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wave Turkish and Palestinian flags during a protest in Ankara against Israel's deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ship. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed June 6, 2010 to hold Israel to account over what he said was "state terror" in the Middle East as thousands protested against the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships
~ AFP reports ~
By Hande Culpan
ANKARA (AFP) – June 6, 2010 - "Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Sunday to hold Israel to account over its "state terror" in the Middle East as thousands protested against the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.
The Israeli operation, in which nine Turks were killed, has plunged the fragile ties between the onetime strong allies into a deep crisis, with Erdogan hardening his strong criticism of the Jewish state.
Gaza "is a historical cause for us," Erdogan said in a public speech in the northwestern city of Bursa, parts of which were carried by the CNN-Turk news channel.
"We object to those who force the people of Gaza to live in an open-air prison... We will stand firm until the blockade on Gaza is lifted, the massacres cease and the state terror in the Middle East is accounted for," he added.
The hands of a detained activist from the Gaza-bound flotilla are placed on a bus window as it leaves a prison in Beersheba, southern Israel, on the way to Israel's airport, Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Israel quickened its expulsion of detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla as the worldwide diplomatic fallout from its deadly raid on the ships widened.
Credit: Alberto Denkberg/AP
Israel has cut Gaza off from all but vital humanitarian aid in a bid to pressure the enclave's rulers -- the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas -- to end rocket attacks on the south of the Jewish state.
Turkey recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv and canceled joint military exercises after last week's raid, while demanding a formal apology from Israel.
Israel will be absent from the participants of international aerial exercises that the Turkish army said Sunday would take place in central Turkey on June 7-18 with planes from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain and NATO taking part.
Ankara has also called for an independent international inquiry into the incident, which Erdogan said he discussed plans with UN chief Ban Ki-moon in a telephone conversation on Saturday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also spoke out Sunday about the need for "a credible and impartial inquiry".
He said he spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him to accept such an investigation, in which France would be willing to take part.
But Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, told "Fox News Sunday" programme that his country had "the ability and the right to investigate itself", and would not participate in any international probe.
In Ankara, some 6,000 to 7,000 people gathered under pouring rain, shouting "Damn Israel! Murderer Israel, get out of the Middle East!", an AFP photographer said.
Some protesters set fire to a picture of Netanyahu as others held up a banner depicting him as a a pirate with a hook arm next to the inscription: "The Flotilla of Humanity Against Pirates."
In Istanbul, some 1,000 people called on the government to expel Israeli diplomats.
Moroccan police said 35,000 people, including government ministers, held a protest in the capital Rabat where they trampled on Israeli flags.
In Lebanon, several hundred left-wingers burned Israeli flags at a demonstration near the US embassy while some 3,500 people, many wearing Palestinian headscarves, demonstrated in the northern French city of Lille.
Organizers of the aid flotilla have accused Israeli soldiers of firing indiscriminately in the raid on the Turkish ferry, Mavi Marmara, where the nine victims were killed.
But they have also acknowledged that the activists attacked Israeli soldiers with metal bars.
Israeli officials say the soldiers responded only after they were attacked by the activists.
The mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper on Sunday published photos of bloodied Israeli commandos being overpowered by those on board the ferry, which it said were recovered from a memory card obtained from an activist.
This Monday, May 31, 2010 photo taken by an unidentified person aboard the ship Mavi Marmara, an Israeli soldier is surrounded by people aboard the Turkish-flagged vessel. The photo was released by Turkish activist group IHH. According to IHH, the Israeli soldiers were hurt while storming the ship in confrontations with activists aboard, and were later returned to other Israeli troops who boarded the ship.
Credit: AP/IHH
One of the photos shows an Israeli soldier holding the back of his head with one hand, with blood on his face and the front of his shirt torn open.
photograph: AP/IHH
Given the tense atmosphere, Israel late Sunday ordered that Israeli soldiers should not take part in military missions to Turkey or even go to the country for private reasons, the premier's anti-terrorism office said.
Media reports have said that Turkey's justice ministry was mulling possible legal action against Israel; while prosecutors in Istanbul have launched an investigation to build a possible case over the raid against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi."
~
~ The AP reports June 7, 2010 ~
By Selcan Hacaoglu
ISTANBUL, TURKEY — "A summit for a 20-member security group for the Asian region kicked off Monday in Istanbul with Turkey seeking to condemn Israel for a raid that killed nine Turks on a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla that had attempted to break the blockade on Gaza.
Turkey, the most important ally of Israel in the Muslim world, said it would reduce military and trade ties with Israel and shelved discussions of energy projects, including natural gas and fresh water shipments.
Mass protests continue in Turkey. Credit: Umit Bektas/Reuters
It also threatened to break ties unless Israel apologizes for the raid last week.
Nine heads of states, including leaders of Iran and Syria, and Russia's prime minister are scheduled to attend the two-day Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, or CICA, that opened Monday.
Turkey said Israel, also a member, was invited but not expected to attend.
The interception prompted a worldwide outcry and growing demands that Israel ease or lift the blockade that has been in place since 2007, when the Islamic militant Hamas seized the territory.
Under the blockade, most exports from Gaza are banned, further depressing the territory's economy.
Back Home: Kuwaiti Member of Parliament Dr. Waleed Tabtabai, one of the 16 Kuwaiti activists that were on board the aid convoy sailing to Gaza is greeted on his arrival Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at Kuwait International Airport. The activists were received at the airport by high ranking Kuwaiti officials along with hundreds of relatives and sympathizers.
Credit: Gustavo Ferrari/AP
Turkey said it considers Gaza as well as the situation in Afghanistan as test cases for the security group that includes Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and South Korea. The group last met in 2006, after being set up in 1999 to discuss Asia's conflicts.
Turkey is assuming the presidency of the group from Kazakhstan and is expected to use the platform to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians during Monday's meeting between foreign ministers of the participants. Iraq and Vietnam will become new members on Tuesday morning before the world leaders convene.
Before dawn on Monday, June 7, the Israeli navy fired on Palestinian divers off Gaza, and Palestinian medics said they later retrieved four bodies.
The Israeli military said its forces prevented an attack on Israeli targets, but did not explain further.
The incident came a week after Israeli commandos killed the nine Turks, including a 19-year-old boy who held dual Turkish-U.S. citizenship, in international waters of the Mediterranean.
On Saturday, June 5, Israel commandeered another aid ship [The Rachel Corrie] without incident. All 19 activists, including a Nobel Peace laureate, and crew were deported Sunday."
~
The Cardinal transits also show us events in the natural world. Like this story from the American mid-south where WREG in Memphis, Tennessee, reported June 1, 2010 that a mystery plague is damaging crops and killing birds?
~
The world transits at this time in June show that global markets will continue to be very shaky due to weakness of the world economy, and the continued corruption of hedge fund players, and international bankers.
I expect that as the cardinal inclinations strengthen this month, for many stocks to continue to take a battering on currency, oil, and energy disruptions, as well as the obvious geopolitical tensions building in various parts of the world; particularly the Middle East.
Heard In Hungary: "We're Not Greece?"
~ Bloomberg reports June 7, 2010 ~
That may not be enough to ease investor concern until Prime Minister Viktor Orban takes concrete steps to achieve the budget deficit target set by the EU and International Monetary Fund.
The yield on the government’s three-year forint bond rose to 7.003 percent from 6.941 percent. The benchmark BUX stock index fell 4.4 percent.
~ The BBC reports June 7, 2010 ~
The FTSE 100 opened 1.3% down, while Asian markets also tumbled, with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing down 3.8%.
Meanwhile, the Euro dropped to its lowest level against the dollar in four years.
Fears were largely driven by disappointing US jobs data released Friday, June 4, 2010.
Euro Currency: June 7, 2010 - 0930 UK time
Euro To Dollar Spread - May 7 to June 4, 2010
Some 431,000 jobs were created in May, the US Labor Department said. However, analysts had expected 500,000 new jobs.
Other European markets also fell in the first hour of trading, with the German Dax index down 1.9% and France's Cac 40 down 1.7%.
The Nikkei had been down 4% at one point, and its closing level marked its biggest daily fall in 14 months.
Oil Woes?
Oil and gas stocks have been particularly badly hit, amid worries that global energy demand may be slowing.
Japanese oil refining company JX Holdings was the biggest faller, down 8.3%.
The price of Brent crude oil dropped 8% late on Friday and over the weekend to $70.50, before recovering to around $71.50 on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, US light, sweet crude fell 7.8% to $69.50, before recovering to the $70 mark.
Eurozone doubts?
On currency markets, the euro dropped 2.8% over the weekend to $1.188, before rebounding above $1.19.
The single currency hit an 8-year low against the Japanese yen of just over 108 yen, before recovering above 109 yen.
Meanwhile, the pound continued to split the difference between the dollar and euro.
Against the dollar, sterling was down 1.85% to $1.44, while against the euro it was up 1.1% to 1.213 euros, its highest level since 2008.
As well as US job woes, market angst over the euro zone was piqued further on Friday afternoon.
In Hungary, a spokesman for the new prime minister claimed that the country faced a "Greek-style" financial crisis after the outgoing government had allegedly falsified data.
However, the Hungarian government has since been at pains to rephrase the comments after the country's currency, the Forint, dropped 6% against the dollar on the news.
Worries about the health of euro zone banks were also heightened by an unsubstantiated market rumor on Friday that French bank Societe Generale had suffered a big loss in its financial derivatives trading.
The bank said it had no comment to make about the rumor that saw its share price plummet 7.6% on Friday."
~
More Private Sector Deflation Ahead?
~ CNBC reports June 7, 2010 ~
By Patrick Allen, CNBC Senior Editor
"Bond markets could get very nasty over the coming months, while stock investors could take a few months off and stop attempting to trade volatile swings in the markets, Anthony Fry, senior managing director at Evercore Partners, told CNBC Monday.
“The current problems will be with us for 5 years or more and uncertainty is very high," Fry said.
Fry believes many European banks have yet to fess up on losses and says governments across the world are between a rock and a hard place.
“You can have lower rates and deflation, higher rates and higher inflation or the nightmare scenario of higher rates and deflating asset prices,” he said.
“If the nightmare scenario plays out as I suspect it may then the debt situation gets worse.
There is currently no exit strategy and the reaction to the crisis of policy makers remains a big worry.”
“I don’t want to scare anyone but I am considering investing in barbed wire and guns, things are not looking good and rates are heading higher,” he said.
The comments mirror those of bearish Bob Janjuah from RBS, who told CNBC on Friday that we are facing big stock market losses and told investors to get into gold before G20 governments attempt to throw another $15 trillion in quantitative easing in a bid to jump start the economy.
Austerity Coming To England?
British Prime Minister David Cameron Says:
"Years of Pain Ahead."
British Prime Minister David Cameron
~ The Times reports June 7, 2010 ~
By
Exclusive To The Times - "David Cameron has warned that the economy is in a far worse state than previously thought and signaled that Britain faces years of “pain” as the spending axe falls.
The prime minister indicated a sharp downgrade in official growth forecasts and revealed that welfare and public sector pay would bear the brunt of budget cuts.
It is understood that tough measures being considered to help control the £156 billion budget deficit include benefit freezes and cuts in child tax credits.
There are also likely to be below-inflation pay rises for state employees on top of next year’s planned freeze.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Cameron said: “Proper statesmanship is taking the right action, explaining to people the purpose behind the pain.”
The prime minister said there would be no “trampoline recovery” of the economy. He warned there was a “serious problem” with forecasts inherited from Labour of robust 3% growth next year.
“There is a huge amount of debt that has got to be dealt with. Crossing our fingers, waiting for growth and hoping it will go away is simply not an answer,” he said.
“The country has got an overdraft. The interest on that overdraft is swallowing up things that the nation should otherwise be spending money on.
We have got to take people with us on this difficult journey.”
Cameron gave a clear hint of the priorities for the emergency budget in two weeks’ time.
“You have to address the massive welfare bills,” he said. “You have to address public sector pay bills. You have to address the size of the bureaucracy that has built up over the past decade.
“Otherwise you will have to make reductions across the board which you don’t want to do. We need to address the areas where we have been living beyond our means.”
With the budget of the Department for Work and Pensions set to face cuts of up to 20% over the next five years, ministers are hoping for large savings from schemes to force claimants off incapacity benefit and into work.
More draconian measures are also on the table. Freezing all benefits for 12 months next year would raise £4.1 billion.
Executing a Liberal Democrat pledge to axe child credits for couples on a joint income of more than £26,000 could save more than £1 billion a year.
It is understood that ministers have ruled out means-testing child benefits and winter fuel payments.
All public sector workers earning more than £18,000 a year already face a pay freeze next year, but it is understood that curbs in wage rises beyond 2011 are likely to be unveiled in the budget on June 22.
Cameron said he had not seen the report being prepared by Sir Alan Budd, the head of the government’s new budget watchdog.
MPs expect that Budd will scale down the current growth forecasts to somewhere nearer the average predictions of independent economists, who believe next year’s growth will be a sluggish 2%.
The prime minister insisted the figures that the coalition had inherited were wildly over-optimistic. “There were two levels of optimism in what the [Labour] government was forecasting,” Cameron said.
“One was trampoline growth of 3% and above, and the second theory was that interest rates would always stay low.
“One of the most shocking things is the extent of the interest we are paying on our debt. If we don’t do anything about it, it is going to be £50, £60, £70 billion.
“It is going to be huge. We will be spending more on debt interest than we do on educating our children and defending our country. It is totally irresponsible what we are left with.”
Despite the challenge of cutting the deficit, Cameron said he was still confident that most of the gap could be closed by cuts in public spending.
“Sometimes politicians haven’t tried hard enough to reduce inefficient spending and reach for the taxes too quickly,” he said. “We shouldn’t do that.”
However, he refused to rule out an increase in Vat, which many analysts believe will go up from 17.5% to 20%.
“We want expenditure to bear the burden of what needs to be done,” he said.
Cameron signaled a softening of his stance on capital gains tax, which is due to go up this month from 18% to nearly 40% to help pay for the Lib Dem aim of taking the low-paid out of income tax.
Facing a growing rebellion from Tory back-benchers, the prime minister said he was considering some sort of relief for investors selling assets such as shares or second homes that they had held for a long time.
“I totally understand the arguments,” Cameron said. “I did not come into politics to punish people who want to do the right thing and save.”
Giving his own gloss on the budget cuts, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister and Lib Dem leader, warned there would be no return to the “sink or swim” economics of the Thatcher era.
Deputy British Prime Minister Nick Clegg
“Fiscal retrenchment does not mean a repeat of the 1980s,” Clegg told The Observer. “We are going to do this differently.”
George Osborne, the chancellor, claimed a significant victory yesterday as the G20 group of leading nations backed the British government’s stance on spending cuts."
Mr Cameron argued that the boom under Labour was an illusion. The boom in financial services was a mirage, he said, because it was “conjured from years of low interest rates, cheap money and a bubble in the price of assets like houses.”
It was also maintained by unsupportable levels of immigration, which at one point accounted for a fifth of our economic growth while millions were dependent on welfare payments, as well as a boom in government spending, Mr Cameron said.
“So when the inevitable happened, and the boom did turn to bust this country was left high and dry, with a massive deficit that threatens to loom over our economy and our society for a generation.”
Mr Cameron singled out particular government departments where there have been inappropriate public spending, which are likely targets for the Comprehensive Spending Review.
- The Department for Work and Pensions, which increased benefit spending by over £20 billion, he said, accepting as a fact of life the eight million people who are economically inactive.
- The Ministry of Defense, which allowed 14 major projects to over-run, which at the last count are £4.5 billion over budget.
- The Department of Health, which almost doubled the number of managers in the NHS.
- The Treasury, which sanctioned all of this because it published growth forecasts that were far more optimistic than independent forecasts.
Mr Cameron continued: 'If we fail to confront our problems we could suffer worse – a steady, painful erosion of confidence in our economy.'
“Today, almost every major country in the world is focusing on the need to cut their deficits.
'And the G20 has called on those countries with the biggest deficits to accelerate their plans for reducing them.'
'If in Britain investors saw no will at the top of government to get a grip on our public finances, they would doubt Britain’s ability to pay its way.'
After the speech, Mr Cameron reiterated the case for raising Capital Gains tax, making an argument likely to dismay the right of his party.
“If you read any of the things written by anyone about capital gains tax ... they all agree that there is a massive leakage of revenue that takes place when you have a very low rate of capital gains tax and a high rate of income tax.”
Public sector unions reacted with fury to the speech.
The chief executive of Unison, Dave Prentice, described it as “a chilling attack on the public sector, public sector workers, the poor, the sick and the vulnerable, and a warning that their way of life will change.
“There was nothing in this speech that told the rich, the banking and financial sector or the City speculators that their privileged way of life will change.”
Hugh Lanning, Deputy General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, called Mr Cameron’s speech is a “smokescreen."
“The debt wasn’t caused by the public sector: it was caused by the banks and the financial crisis,” he added.
“The best way to cut public expenditure is to grow employment, not to put people on the dole.”
The Government should also raise money by cracking down on tax avoidance, he said.
The Government is due to present an emergency Budget on June 22 and the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn.
Tomorrow George Osborne, the Chancellor, will announce a public consultation on where the cuts should fall.
It was also reported this morning that he is considering setting up a “star chamber” before which ministers would have to justify the cuts in their departments."
~
Now, it is the Chinese?
China Upset With Goldman Sachs
By Jamil Anderlini
"Public criticism of Goldman Sachs has come to China, where the investment bank has been lambasted in articles in state-controlled media.
Parts of the media, apparently emboldened by congressional inquiries and public anger in the west, have openly slated Goldman; arguably the most successful foreign investment bank in China.
“Many people believe Goldman Sachs, which goes around the Chinese market slurping gold and sucking silver, may have, using all kinds of deals, created even bigger losses for Chinese companies and investors than it did with its fraudulent actions in the U.S.,” read the opening lines of an article in the China Youth Daily, a state-owned daily newspaper, last week.
Referring to Goldman as a “black hand” that “played little tricks carefully designed to gamble with Chinese enterprises,” the article made few specific accusations of wrongdoing by the bank.
The report followed similar commentary and articles published in publications including the 21st Century Business Herald, one of the largest financial newspapers in the country, and New Century Weekly, a liberal magazine.
- April 6-7 - Pluto stations retrograde at 5-Capricorn
- April 7, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Virgo
- April 26, 2010 - Saturn opposes Uranus (4th opposition)
- May 23, 2010 - Jupiter opposes Saturn (first time since 1990-91)
- May 27-28, 2010 - Uranus enters tropical Aries
- May 30th, 2010 - Saturn stations direct motion at 27-Virgo
- June 5-6, 2010 - Jupiter enters tropical Aries
- June 6-7, 2010 - Mars enters tropical Virgo
- June 8, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus at 0-Aries
- July 5, 2010 - Uranus stations retrograde at 0-Aries
- July 8, 2010 - Jupiter turns North in declination
- July 11, 2010 - New Moon total eclipse at 19-Cancer (not seen in N. America)
- July 21, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Libra for good
- July 23, 2010 - Jupiter stations retrograde
- July 25, 2010 - Jupiter Squares Pluto
- July 26, 2010 - Fifth Saturn/Uranus opposition
- July 31, 2010 - Mars & Jupiter turn S in Declination
- July 31 - Mars conjoins Saturn at 0-Libra
- August 3, 2010 - Jupiter, retrograde, Squares Pluto again
- August 6, 2010 - Venus turns South in Declination
- August 13-14, 2010 - Uranus re-enters tropical Pisces
- August 16, 2010 - Jupiter Opposes Saturn
- August 20, 2010 - Mercury retrogrades in Virgo
- August 21, 2010 - Saturn Squares Pluto
- September 8, 2010 - Saturn turns South in declination
- September 8, 2010 - New Moon at 15-Virgo
- September 8, 2010 - Venus enters Scorpio
- September 8-9, 2010 - Jupiter re-enters tropical Pisces
- September 12, 2010 - Mercury stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Pluto stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Mars enters Scorpio
- September 19, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus for first time in Pisces
- October 8, 2010 - Venus retrograde in Scorpio
- October 29-30 - Venus turns to "morning star" phase for ten months
- November 6, 7, 2010 - Neptune direct in motion
- November 18 - Venus stations direct
- November 18 - Jupiter stations direct
- December 5, 6- Uranus stations direct motion
- December 10-30 - Mercury retrograde
- January 4, 2011 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus a third time
- January 22, 2011 - Jupiter enters Aries
- Jan. 25, 26 - Saturn stations retrograde 17-Libra
- February 25, 2011 - Jupiter Squares Pluto
- March 3, 2011 - Transiting Lunar Nodes shift to Mutable Quality of Sagittarius & Gemini
- March 11-12, 2011 - Uranus enters Aries (first time in 84 years)
- March 28, 2011 - Jupiter opposes Saturn
The internal battles in Greece because of heavy sovereign debt and deep austerity will re-ignite over the summer months of 2010.
Nature Erupts: Volcanic activity as Uranus enters Aries.
The Markets
That 1,000 point drop: May 6, 2010 proved to be one of the strangest days in the history of the Dow Jones. A mysterious "1,000-point" plunge in the afternoon hours, blamed on a "fat finger," lost money for tens of thousands of traders and nearly collapsed the stock market. Federal authorities investigate, but the "glitch" still has not been explained nearly a month later.
The year 2011 is the start of a new cycle, mainly brought on by the official entry of Uranus into Aries, the first time in 84 years.
~ Mundane Forecast: 2010-2015 ~
There are six (6) major transits of the Cardinal Crisis Years - signified by the planets involved & their inclinations:
- Saturn oppose Uranus -
Much cooperation is needed to avoid falling into the unfavorable inclinations of Saturn's opposition to Uranus.
Extreme viewpoints expressed by the ignorant and mentally ill fall under this influence. Loud public pronouncements shouted with wild mannerisms expressing inconsistent attitudes can be observed.
Common sights are: bugged-eye pundits uttering unsubstantiated personal opinions as facts; personal attacks, insults, and acerbic comments designed to bring attention to oneself.
Impulse, haste, snap judgments, immaturity, poor communication skills lacking any sign of social grace and basic manners can be observed.
There is widespread conflict between the old order and the new emerging order. This is generational.
Concepts and ideas in economic, business and political affairs tend to be impractical, unreliable, and eccentric. Economic life continues to run at a low ebb.
Saturn's opposition to Uranus is unfavorable when dealing with joint accounts, finances, corporate business affairs, inheritances, insurance, and all economic matters important to organizations, groups, and individuals.
Selfish motives within organizations, and groups tend to be those where others try to take credit for the work of others in order to advance their own careers leading to estrangements between associates, colleagues and friends.
The will power of those involved in personal and professional intrigues is heightened to the point of very negative inclinations with some people using coercive methods to achieve what they perceive as success.
Under Saturn/Pluto this can feature acts of blackmail, threats, and plots at the highest levels of government, within political groups, and corporations.
Paranoid individuals with extreme opinions, and viewpoints is also common under A Saturn/Pluto square.
Some individuals will find themselves battling against corruption and rampant dishonesty within organizations, or within associations, be they professional or personal with attacks on their reputation coming as a result of fighting dishonest persons and groups.
The coming revelations of widespread corruption in global financial markets, on Wall Street, and other stock markets will be under the Saturn/Pluto square.
Corporate power plays take center stage under the cardinal crisis transits with increasing political pressure and regulatory scrutiny on major banks, insurance companies, and those implicated in widespread financial malfeasance over the last decade.
The focus on these areas: unemployment, insurance, housing, stock markets, hedge funds, secret bank accounts, general economics, political and government affairs, alimony, and inheritances - is all common under the influences of Saturn's square from Libra to Pluto in Capricorn.
It is also common under these inclinations for opposing groups and individuals to use negative, dishonest, and evil means to obtain personal/profession advantages over others; or attempts to hide past acts of malfeasance to avoid implicating others involved in acts of corruption.
This often backfires under the Saturn/Pluto square and results in public scandal along with damage to the reputation and the careers of those who used negative means to gain what they "perceive" to be an advantage.
Nowhere does "do unto others as you would have them do unto you' applies more than under a Saturn/Pluto world square.
The effect on personal and professional connections can be long-lasting with people completely breaking off any further association with friends, family and colleagues.
Power struggles - both internal and external - is a main theme of a Saturn/Pluto Square.
Often, decisions are based on perceived "associations" with others who are not one's friends, nor who share one's common interests, except to advance their own personal interests while using others as a means to and end. Very common under Saturn's square to Pluto.
After the square aspect passes, the events which have taken place under its influences are fully revealed, leading to permanent estrangements from those once trusted and valued as friends, associates, or lovers.
Saturn's continued transit through Libra (2010-2012) then features a full distrust and estrangement from those who used dishonest means during the Saturn/Pluto inclinations.
The Jupiter/Pluto Square acts much like that of Saturn's square to Pluto. Jupiter's motion into Aries in mid-2010, and then again in February 2011, will square Pluto in tropical Capricorn.
The same kinds of conflicts under Saturn's influence by square to Pluto comes into action with hasty, impulsive and headstrong promotion of one's opinions as facts to gain a perceived advantage over others.
Rampant litigation under Jupiter's inclinations lead to a rush toward legal wars without first seeing the bigger picture. With the Jupiter square to Pluto: it is the forest first, the trees second, but do make sure you count each tree.
The contradictions of this is simple:
Often, this comes about because of ego, and headstrong acts featuring arrogance and pride; but wholly failing to take into account the small, but very important details.
The only way to neutralize this transit, as with all the others of the Cardinal Crisis transits is to slow down, and to be strictly honest at all times in all personal and business affairs.
Also, the need to remain detached and practical while plodding step-by-step without ego, impulse, and haste. This is the antidote to the impulsive inclinations of cardinal transits.
Power-plays, and forced acts of coercion, with promotions of extreme expressions of personal, political and religious viewpoints is quite common under this global square.
Often, one's aspirations to remake others comes with neglecting one's own house while confused attitudes about ethics and morality are cast aside in favor of haste and impulse - rushing to judgment.
Struggles with corrupted individuals and groups is also common under a Jupiter/Pluto Square.
Pisces/Aries - Virgo/Libra
Jupiter at 0-10 degrees Taurus
Such will be the case with the 2010-2012 opposition of Jupiter/Saturn. During these oppositions expect business to suffer as the generational transition continues over the course of Jupiter's opposition to Saturn.
Because of the poor economic climate some people may resort towards using questionable tactics to get ahead and make money.
The desired expansion of business is fraught with frustration after frustration, red-tape, barriers, blocks, delays, and legal problems. Rising defaults & bankruptcies increase as a result of past mismanagement of resources and corruption with credit conditions tighter than normal.
The crush of competition, fighting for a limited amount of customers, with resources lacking can further cause disruptions in professional and personal lives to the point of some leaving entire industries for good.
It is a poor time to seek favors from others, as the business climate of 2010-2012 will continue to suffer from immense commercial & residential real estate losses, double-digit unemployment, and a general sense of malaise from an aging generational establishment.
Those seeing support from official institutions, such as federal, state, and local agencies, may find themselves frustrated with the lack of help usually expected from these offices.
While this takes place, many people will see their own personal and professional responsibilities increase; while wages continue to stagnate from the lack of resources, which will be limited because of prior economic corruption and waste.
The opposition of Jupiter to Saturn can test what the true balance really is between being optimistic, and being pessimistic. Much will depend on the ability of the individual to be creative, and patient, while the opposition is underway.
Many of these people will be older, and due to the transit of Saturn, will exhibit rigid views without realizing that in a short period of time after the opposition has waned and passed; that they themselves will receive similar treatment from the very people whom they denied opportunities and relief.
The conflicts which come about during 2010-2012 under the Jupiter/Saturn opposition will tend towards ethics; morals; joint finances, family responsibilities, friendships, associations, romantic relationships, partnerships and corporate struggles that will test the reliability and strength of relationships in general.
The Jupiter/Saturn opposition will begin to weaken in February 2012, and by the end of March 2012, will move out of orb.
- 25º Libra - "The sign of an autumn leaf brings to a pilgrim the sudden revelation of the mystery of life and death."
- 26º Libra - "An Eagle and a large White Dove Turning into each other."
An unprecedented Seven (7) exact squares occur in just three (3) years: 2012 to 2015
(*) = significant dates
1. June 24, 2012 – first global square at 8-degrees Aries/Capricorn
2. *September 18-19, 2012 – second square at 6-degrees Aries/Capricorn
3. May 20, 2013 – third square at 11-degrees Aries/Capricorn
4. November 1, 2013 – fourth square at 9-degrees Aries/Capricorn
5. *April 21, 2014 – fifth square at 13-degrees Aries/Capricorn
6. December 14-15, 2014 – sixth square at 12-degrees Aries/Capricorn
7. *March 16-17, 2015 – seventh global square at 15-degrees Aries/Capricorn
The last time Uranus and Pluto met in global square aspect was during the 1930s. This was a decade of reactionary, extreme right-wing politics, revolutionary socialism, rising crime, rebellions, revolts, and restrictive laws gradually reducing freedoms throughout Europe and the then-Soviet Union.
The Bank Crisis and Stock Market Crash of 1929-33 fueled the early years of the Great Depression with rising waves of petty crime and bank robberies. The resulting foreclosures of homes, businesses and family farms amid a depressed global economic system cast a dark shadow over the world.
The NYSE reaching its lowest trading point in history. Weather anomalies under the influence of Uranus in Aries led to the hottest year in U.S. history in 1933-34 with drought and dust storms raging across the American Midwest.
Meanwhile, political extremism ensued with the rise of tyrants, as Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany while in Japan, radical forms of militarism spread so much that it was being openly taught in elementary and high schools.
The revolts, rebellions and revolutionary sentiments under the Uranus/Pluto squares thus paved the way for the Second World War that followed by the end of the 1930s.
Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn revolve their squares worldwide for much of the 2010s, but the most powerful periods are between 2012 through 2015.
This is a time of great upsets within nations which have now experienced at least four to seven years in the wake of the global economic crisis.
Uranus' penchant for sudden change against Pluto's desire structure in Capricorn for a kind of transformational war that butt heads over the "kinds" of new changes to be realized and those not to be supported.
While this is happening, populations around the world seem to have had it to their chins with the constant disruptions of their lives; the losses of lifestyles over the years.
Groups, organizations and individuals have become radicalized by the events since 2008. So much so, that by the time (June 2012) of the first of seven exact Uranus/Pluto square social unrest is a certainty in regions around the world.
There are increasing signs of rebellions, revolts and foreboding examples of revolutionary sentiments expressed in various nations upset with the status quo, represented by Pluto in Capricorn.
The headstrong inclinations of Aries, with Uranus in it's 7-year transit in this sign, squaring Pluto can indicate sudden deaths coming about unexpectedly; usually through acts of violence, and from common accidents, and unexpected large-scale disasters related to weather extremes.
Past associations, friendships and relationships can become radically changed under Uranus and Pluto's cardinal squares. It is at this time, between 2012-2015 that companies that were hanging on by a thread financially - can suddenly break and fall into bankruptcy.
The entry of Neptune into tropical Pisces in February 2012 will impress dissolution on failing companies afterward, with a slow, but gradual death into the mid-to-late 2010s.
The sudden losses associated with Uranus' transit in Aries can bring about greater financial losses than expected while corporations continue to witness power struggles as the generational transition picks up speed in the early to mid-2010s.
The revolutionary sentiments inclined by Uranus/Pluto come about as a result of the frustrations of the decade of the 2000s.
The global economic crisis, and the resulting societal effects have angered many populations who feel that their governments and representatives were not representing them, but corporate monied-interests that pilfered society's resources.
The resulting backlash featured under the Uranus/Pluto squares of the 2010s will be widespread, and quite unsettling for those involved in the mismanagement of trillions of dollars and euros over the previous decade.
Rising crime can be a problem; also fueled by the lack of resources because of the Banking Crisis of 2008-2012.
State officials, under pressure financially, are forced to release thousands of prisoners in the early 2010s to relieve the system from overcrowding.
If there has been little reform of the system during the time of incarcerations, then obviously the lingering effects of the economic crisis that awaits convicts on the street can be a threat to public safety under the Uranus/Pluto squares.
By the spring of 2014, things become quite tense again globally with another Cardinal Cross - this time a Grand Cross configuration featuring Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto in the Signs of Libra, Cancer, Aries and Capricorn.
Grand Cross configurations in cardinal signs seek immediate release of strong, emotional pent-up energies.
~
This will take time, but will be fully completed by the mid-2010s.
Baby Boomers, those with Pluto in Leo, are now the new elderly in the world. As they leave the establishment, there are personal concerns and questions: What now? What am I to do? Where am I to go?
There are consequences to all of this, and it will be felt in the 2010s for the Baby Boomers.
I observed this happen with the Baby Boomer generation in the year 2000, right after the millennium. For all the exciting talk about "future" and a "new world" & "Jetson's society" - every year of the 2000s was spent, not looking forward, but looking back.
I have consistently advised my baby boomer clients to reject the 'forever young' view of their contemporaries, and to get down to the real business of preparing themselves for retirement.
That word, "retirement" has been treated by the majority of Baby Boomers as a bad word. So, it is no wonder that many have been unable to cope with the realities of life when it comes to aging. If one denies it even exists, then why bother, right?
Wrong.
World transits show that there is not going to be the attention showered on the Pluto in Leo generation as there has been for its entire life. There is simply too much work on the table for the generation now coming in as the new establishment.
Generational angst of aging, and unresolved ideological conflicts have been the prime causes for the recent collapses in trust and stability worldwide.
The world transits of the Cardinal Crisis Years is bringing all of this to a head, and calls for action away from those things which are outdated and outworn.
This is the reason for the civil unrest and much of the international tensions.
Should Baby Boomers take off the blinders of denial and open their eyes to the truths of what has been done, or not done, by their generation, only then will they be able to move forward honestly and be able to face life as the elderly and live in peace.
This generation will be very busy as the new establishment. Born with Pluto in Virgo, ruled not by the Sun, but by Mercury, another variable of great significance in astrology.
Generation X will inherit a world that is unsure of itself and that is in the early stages of a series of crisis.
Battered by years of abuses, corruption, massive levels of greed, a world misused, and drained of great resources by the acts of two generations: the oligarchy with Pluto in Cancer, and their children, the Baby Boomers with Pluto in Leo, this new generation faces a great challenge.
Generation X will have to pick up the pieces, clean up the damage and trash, and at the same time provide not just for the Pluto in Leo generation, but also lead the way into the future for the generations born in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
You are talking about doing 36 years worth of work in about 18 years.
You're all going to have to cut Generation X a lot of slack. Talk about a workload.
To see a person younger than you and to take, or deny this younger generation the resources to progress in the world has been the cause of the massive deflation of the economy, and the crumbling of infrastructure.
This can only be accomplished through the octave of Mercury, which rules Virgo. So Generation X is well-placed as the decade of the 2010s begins.
The planetary inclinations are very strong, and, because the outer planets are involved, will take longer for them to complete their cardinal inclinations over a period of time. We are in for the long haul here.
Once this is done, and it should be done as quickly as possible, then the next idea is to gravitate towards your own gifts and talents, rather than to take on jobs and positions that, in the recent past, were used to merely survive enough to pay the bills.
This is important to remember because over the years, some people who claim to be "spiritual" are really just making the rounds, and speak with empty promises that do nothing but waste valuable transit time.
Therefore, it is essential to take care of any personal matters within yourself so the strong transpersonal planets do not force whatever is unresolved into the outer world, thus slowing you down, and putting barriers in the way of your aspirations and goals.
The cardinal crisis years are years of transition, challenges, crisis, of course, but also of generational change and transformations.
The entry of Jupiter, and Uranus into Aries is one sure sign that things are about to change, and in a big way for the world.
Again, times are changing.
From a mundane perspective, it is time for another generation to come into its own and to help shape the healthy progress of humanity into the future.
After all of that, I continue to take Oddball's Advice. In these times, this is how I feel nearly every day now, but I continue to have faith.
Let's get some more positive vibrations out there in the world and be more hopeful and righteous as Oddball says.
~







































