GENERAL ECONOMIC INSIGHTS:

We have plenty of tensions rising as we move into April. Mars will be conjunct

natal Mars in the US chart on March 13-14th increasing war tensions as the US is

absurdly thinking that they can win in a long-term nuclear war against Russia and

Russia and China keeps moving closer to joining forces. There is some climax in

April with Saturn moving toward a 60-degree sextile in the true node system into

April 13th and the difficult three-degree orb will be dominating until May. In

general, Saturn/Rahu aspects increase tension and stress, and with the aspect of

Aries, a sign connected to Mars and fighting, something is going to pop up in

Europe and Ukraine and we still have China playing games in Taiwan as the US

continues its game of chicken in the skies with Chinese planes.

Add Mars moving into Gemini on March 12th and hitting natal Mars in the US

chart and you can see how tensions in the world are going to elevate a bit.

Jupiter will come to the rescue when it goes into Aries on April 21st but will get

spoiled in the process. You can see why April is not going to be a great month

for the stock market and the dollar will continue to rally against the Euro with the

dollar going to 110-113 and the Euro probably falling to 97-101.

Higher dollars tend to hurt gold and it is a myth that gold is a hedge against

inflation, in reality, gold only is sought when governmental trust in currencies

goes out the window which could happen in May and June as the debt ceiling

crisis comes to a peak. Gold has a short-term bounce finally coming but it may

not mean much.

Meanwhile, we probably have 2-3 more rate hikes into June, and only when the

FED breaks the camel 's back and we worry about recession more strongly in the

3 rd and 4 th quarters, will interest rates come down again and stocks will respond to

the second half of the year with another swoon.

Saturn will also be trining Ketu between Libra and Aquarius around 8-11 degrees

from April 1 st to May 6th and this will increase world tensions and increase

unexpected events. We might see more earthquakes and natural disasters.

Rahu is in Ashwini, which is owned by Ketu and Ketu is in Swati owned by Rahu

and the nodal exchange of nakshatras tends to create deep karmic destiny to

unfold.

 

I have not had enough time to look at all the astrology for the next few years but

big the world debt crisis is not going to go away these problems have been

boiling and brewing for years and governments make wars to get out of crises as

was the case with World War 2 after the depression. I have a sense that 2023 is

a better year for prosperity in the first ½ of the year than 2024 but there is a

steady decline coming from the US as we move into later years in the decade

and having your gardens and greenhouses, sources of power, and being in safe

communities are things to think about.

The good news is that Jupiter moves into Revati nakshatra (Pisces 16.40-29.59)

Feb 24-April 21 st as it completes its journey through Pisces. Jupiter moves

toward Rahu into early May and gets a sextile or 60-degree aspect from Saturn

into June 19th. Both these aspects should help the stock market in May and June

but seasonally that is also when stocks top out. Still, Jupiter/Rahu aspects are a

signature for bankruptcy so how it impacts certain countries will be dependent on

what houses in a country’s chart are connected to Aries. Unlikely it will happen

in the US but the debt ceiling crisis is another way for governments to manipulate

us.

The recession is coming next year as Jupiter moves into Aries and will be

aspected exactly 60 degrees into June 19, 2023. The stock market will initially

like a recession as it means the FED will be forced to lower rates in the 2 nd half of

the year and the market is already trading that idea.

Looking ahead, we have to look for bargains on defense stocks and sporting

goods as Jupiter moves in Aries and will support their growth in the next year

above other sectors. We would look to buy dips at the general stock market low

which is early January. The best ETFs for Defense are ITA and XAR. ITA is a

a bit overbought but XAR has some upside potential to 118-20.

Natural gas looks like it has a long-term uptrend and has bottomed and should

be higher into the year 2025. Europe avoided a crisis with a mild winter but how

long with that last? Natural gas futures are an Aquarius rising and Saturn going

back into Aquarius for the next two years will ultimately help this market. Still,

UNG, the ETF for natural gas did bottom at 7.00 and should not fall more.

Natural gas got to below 2.00 in Feb and should rally to 13.00 eventually and

there are still shortages in the world even if the European cold winter did not

manifest this year.

Neptune moves back into Pisces on Feb. 18th and conjunct Jupiter for a few

months will rekindle a new wave of inflation. Attempts to manipulate prices by

releasing more of the Strategic Reserves is just a political ploy and will not help

egg prices that are up 70% or the price of chicken or milk.

 

Worldwide food shortages will also fuel inflation as grain cycles are set for a

cycle high into May 2023. There are grain future ETFs like SOYB for soybeans

and CORN for corn and even cotton that will do well this year as there are

several drought cycles due to hit the Midwest this summer and only Mars in

watery nakshatras may save us a bit. BAL is the ETF for cotton. Grain futures

may not bottom until April when a wet spring will delay plantings and then we will

have a hot summer.

April 2024 is a pivotal moment for the US. It is the month of another total Solar

Eclipse on April 8 th, 2024, totally crossing the United States during the day, much

like the one we saw in 2017. This time the US faces a Pluto return with Pluto

returning the degree of its birth when the US is founded in 1776. Past Pluto

returns for other great civilizations like Rome did lead to a major dethroning of

power and it is clear that China wants to take over the mantle of a world leader

and that the US is sinking. Can it be saved? The US was created when Pluto

was in Abhijit Nakshatra (Capricorn 6.40-11.13) which is connected to victory and

power. The good news is the Pluto return which goes into 2024-25 may rekindle

and allow the US to overthrow many of the dark forces (including China) that

want to take the US down. There will be a crisis next year but I am more hopeful

now and Jupiter in Taurus on June 2, 2024, will be trining Pluto to give it the

power for positive transformation.

STOCK MARKET 2023:

The stock market has been scary the last few weeks of Feb. as it continues to

get clearer that the FED will not stop rate hikes and may even give us another 50

bps on March 22 nd . Saturn and Pluto are aligned at about 5-6 degrees between

Capricorn and Aquarius with a 30-degree angle and this creates fear of higher

rates and has been creating some tension in the financial markets.

The Venus/Jupiter planetary war which can be quite expansionary could come to

the rescue on March 2 nd but at the same time, Saturn and Mercury are in a

planetary war dampening their desire for stock shares which are ruled by

Mercury. The market looks like it will hold up into March 10-13 th but it's unclear if

it can rally enough to save the recent fall with lower prices into April, it is in

trouble and S & P cash will at least get to 3758 but more is possible depending

on the European tensions we discussed above.

Seasonally stocks are often down into late March and the Mercury in Pisces

debilitation is over by March 31 st . Mercury governs shares of stocks. Jupiter in

Pisces will cancel the debilitation but may not be enough to help stocks do a

secondary low in March. The stock market does not look great in April as

anxiety is up with Saturn throwing a 60-degree aspect toward Rahu in Aries at

about 6 degrees. We also mentioned the tight 30-degree aspect between Saturn

and Pluto in March and then Saturn's trine to Ketu most of April which is always

an ugly aspect.

 

We are friendly for a cycle high into late May and probably into June with the Jupiter

sextile to Saturn into June 19th being key. We cannot estimate the recovery until we see

where it lands in late April.

A rally would start from Oct /Nov. 2023 low and not sure what will save the US stock

market. If world bonds and currencies fail, the world could pour their money into the US

stock market and that could make it happen. Should be thinking 2750 on the S & P

by then? The good news is there seems to be a recovery into Dec. 2024 and

into January 2026 from there.

GOLD: Gold has gone south and the wonderful rally we have had is gone with

higher rates and lower stocks and higher dollars, gold is in trouble until late April.

Gold is not an inflation hedge and it does not care and only a crisis in the US

monetary system or that of Europe may create some buying. Gold now will only

retrace a bit in the first few weeks of March but could fall to 1733 or lower into

late April. Longer-term cycles are supported into September 2023 and May 2024.

Jupiter in Aries aspecting Leo, the home of gold will be helpful after late April.

Longer-term patterns later in the decade suggest will rally to 2750 but getting up

to 2047-53 this year would be a minimum target. Some longer gold cycles

suggest a high into the year 2028 from a low next year and we wonder if gold will

fall to 1600 again at some point given world fundamentals.

CRYPTOS: Bitcoin has come back a bit but lower tech stocks in April are not

going to help much and only flight to quality on world tensions may take it up to

28500 into late April.

Expect a new Congress to legislate cryptos—which may at first appear to be a

good thing—but is more manipulation as world governments do not want

competition for their worthless printed money. We have a pullback into mid-Feb.

for cryptos and Mercury in Pisces in March 2023 is not going to be that helpful.

 

TECH STOCKS: Tech stocks have again swooned but have a chance to come

back on March 10-13 th . They never like Mercury in Pisces which hits March 16-

31 st and not sure how much they can recover.

We doubt that 13100-13200 on NQ 100 will get taken out this year on a bounce.

The technology crash will probably not be over until the Oct/Nov. 2023 cycle low.

Tesla had a huge rally in January and is consolidating. If it can take out 218, it

can push up to 240 or 260 into mid-March before Mercury goes into Pisces. It

should hold 185 if we get a last pullback. Like many stocks, I am not sure it will

buck the trend of the major market and we will have to revisit it in late April when

the general stock market bottoms.

Teslas are wonderful until you need to replace the $7000.00 battery or your

warranty lapses after 1 year and you get the mechanic’s bill in the mail.

Remember to work with your broker. Trading and investing have to be done both

technically and astrology can help but should not be the only factor in making a

decision.

As always, this is my snapshot thought for Feb 26, 2023. New information

comes in daily. If you are a trader or investor, consider my Fortucast newsletters

which are published daily at www.fortucast.com. A trial subscription is

97.00/month.

If you want to learn financial astrology visit my website at

www.appliedvedicastrology.com and click on the Financial Astrology link.

ABOUT BARRY ROSEN:

 

Barry Rosen has been practicing Vedic astrology since 1987. He has visited and

studied in India on 4 occasions and has spoken numerous times at the American

Council of Vedic Astrology Conferences in Sedona, AZ since 1999 and also at

the British Association of Vedic Astrologers in London since 2006. He has been

involved in Vedic culture since 1973 and is a long-time meditation and yoga

teacher and a published poet. He has had many Vedic astrology teachers

including Komilla Sutton, Marc Boney, and Robert Koch, and has taken several

mini-seminars from Sanjay Rath. In the last seven years, he has moved away

from his specialty in Investment and Mundane astrology to his fascination with

the psychological and spiritual dimensions of Vedic astrology.

He is the author of five books on Vedic astrology including The 2018-2020 Vedic

Almanac series, Finding Your Blind Spots Using Vedic Astrology, Signs of Life

from the Astrological Zodiac: The Spiritual Dimensions of Planets, Signs, and

Houses in Vedic Astrology and Mysteries of Saturn and Capricorn: Mastering the

Energies for Growth and Transformation. They are all also available through

Amazon.

He has been teaching classes in Investment Astrology since 1990 and began

teaching the other aspects of Vedic astrology specialized courses online in 2017,

including Dashas, Transits, Personal Finance, Health, Longevity and Death,

Nakshatras, The Spiritual Dimensions of Vedic Astrology, Secrets of the Houses,

Relationships and many more.

In his consultations, he focuses more on the emotional and mental patterns in the

chart and their impact on consciousness which can create waves of illusion

blocking you. A good consultation should help you witness the play of karma so

 

that you are not gripped by it; you can transcend it and realize your Divinity,

becoming the commander of the planets and not the victim.

Barry Rosen also operates a blog on Facebook under Barry Rosen and also

Astro-Yoga and his professional astrological website is

www.appliedvedicastrology.com. He can be reached at

support@appliedvedicastrology.com.