ASTRO-FINANCE FOR AUGUST 2024
By Barry Rosen
Over the years, I find that the economic long-term forecasters are right but it seems to take a bit longer than our fears. I remember discussions of the demise of the Petrodollar in 2020 and it finally happened last month but the impact has not been catastrophic yet.Macro cycles have their own sense of time.This is also true of the debt crisis and the Neo-con tension aspiration to take out Russia and we continue to move toward a difficult situation there with the latest being the US threatening to put in missiles in Germany and Russia saying they will counter with putting missiles10 minutes away which would suggest another Cuban missile crisis.The difference now is that we do not have the leadership in place. We are watching August 26-27 when Mars transits over the US natal Mars in the 7th house.
And then again, the economy likes war and that is one way they have debt crises like in the past as with World War II pulling the US out of the Depression. We have worried about the budget crisis for years and so much of this takes time to erupt but as always, it takes longer than one would think. Chances are we will not have a stock market crash (but rather a large correction) but at some point, the US will have to default on our bond debt, and that will kill the Dollar and create a huge economic crisis. Still, Europe is in worse shape. Countries that overspend on the Olympics have run into problems and we saw that with Greece in 2004 and China in 2008 and both created peaks in those economies. France was having an economic crisis a few months before the Olympics, and so watch out there. The next summer Olympics is in Los Angeles and one has to wonder.
Because it’s an election year, the powers that be will do everything to hold their fingers in the dike to stay in power, but you can tell that 2024 looks to be a watershed year in the history of the US.How much time do we have? Seems like 2025 is more problematic and we have to assume they will do everything in an election year to make it seem like all is well.
Last month we noted that Biden was not likely to be on the ticket and it was not a hard prediction. I am still not willing to predict the election yet as these things are very complicated and given how Washington works, we still may have some drama. Biden has Mars transiting over his natal Saturn on August 10th this year in the 7th house which is a Maraka house either creating illness or something more dramatic and we wonder if he will complete his term.In Kshema Vimshottari Dasha which is used because he has moon in the 6th house, he is in a Ketu/Venus period until July 2025 and Venus is a maraka (death or illness) planet as lord of the 7thlord and Ketu has a way of taking things away as we have seen with leaving the ticket.I am not sure his problems are over with the retrograde Saturn continuing into Oct. 3rd.  Regular Vimshottari Dasha is no better with Saturn/ Saturn/ Moon and Saturn in a Maraka house and Moon in the 6th house of illness and during a Moon sub-period he had an operation for a brain bleed.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in media fear and division and the higher forces are trying to divide this country. Whoever wins in November, no one will accept the results and continued distrust in the stability of the US will take the Dollar and bonds lower. We do not think they will give up on their AI dreams and we do have 4th quarter tech highs.
Saturn has a 75% square to Jupiter exactly on August 19th and this exact aspect does not happen that often as the two planets are very slow moving. We see it about every 7 years. This transit can curtail personal freedoms and create restrictions and cause too much hard work as your routine gets broken. Saturn will challenge finance and expansion and will create restlessness.It’s time to evaluate what has and what has not been working in your life over the last seven years. You may feel frustrated around work. It may be good to wait a month until after the impact of these energies has passed.
Saturn is retrograde until October 3rd and that often adds an edge to the market and everything. It is debilitated in the D9/Navamsha chart August 19th-October 3rd and that will create more anxiety in general. Saturn is squaring Jupiter exactly (75%) into August 19th and we do not see that cycle very often, and it is happening on the same day as Saturn is opposing Venus so we expect that some kind of secondary stock market low will come in by then. Venus in Virgo August 24th-September 18th is usually a deflationary influence and will not be helpful for many markets.
Mars is in a planetary war with Jupiter August 12-16th and while they are friends and this can increase risk/taking, this conjunction is usually not a great time for finance, investment, and sound money management so be careful with reckless risk-taking at this time.
The fear of war will push the stock market down at some point if they push the anti-Russian agend abut it will not be a 1987 crash. Our stock market dashas going back to its founding in 1792 suggest that the stock market could continue higher into 2026. Of course, we will get a big correction on war scares and other problems. If anything, European money will flow to the US next year if the Russian front starts moving more into Western Europe and that has happened before. There is ten times as much government debt as corporate debt and companies have assets to liquidate, and the government does not. Stocks may still seem a safer investment than bonds.
Inflation cycles will continue to cause problems over the next 2-4 years but recession energies will creep in also. Neptune in Pisces is too strong for inflation and the Middle East is a powder keg and 150 oil next year is not hard to negate even if recessionary fears and realities pull oil down into September. Eventually, I think a 70’s type stagflation is coming. Key stocks will ignore recession worries and there are always some of those but you have to know when to buy and you have to choose carefully.
Longer-term cycles for the United States point to a critical juncture in the years 2030-32 with Saturn in Taurus and Rohini Nakshatra (Taurus 10-23.20) which starts in March 2031. This year, 2024, has been pivotal with the 248-year cycle and Pluto return and that usually is a peak of civilization cycle. When past empires like Rome, China, and the UK went through that cycle they did not perish but they fell from world power. You cannot read the headlines or look at what is happening in the US and not see this.
We have Uranus in Taurus which last happened May 31, 1940, until March 1, 1948. Of course, that was the start of a major offense by Hitler against France and Belgium and their conquest. You cannot help but be concerned when you see many European countries starting to pass mandatory conscription for 18-year-olds in order to get ready for World War III. The trillions of dollars of debt, government ineptitude, and staying in power can only be solved by starting a war. President Macron of France has only a 30% approval rating so what else can he do with European elections looming?
Saturn goes into the US 4th house in Pisces on March 29, 2025, for 2.5 years and that should unleash the second housing crisis since 2008-9. That has been bubbling up with rising home sales, high interest rates, and mortgage companies offering no money down deals and real estate agents making any deal they can to get a sale.We have the Saturn/Rahu conjunction into April 2025, and you can see the potential anxiety that will build there around housing and mortgages.
STOCK MARKET:
The stock market found a bottom on the day of the FOMC announcement which was slightly hawkish. While we should get a rally into August 4-5th, Mercury retrograde then will reverse the market after August 7th probably into August 16h. We usually find the market subdued during Venus in Virgo debilitation and seasonally September is the most bearish market of the year, but we will need some kind of x-factor/Black Swan event to knock it off. Seasonally the market is often higher starting in October and tech stocks like Mercury in Virgo Sept 23-Oct 10th. We have a 4th quarter high for tech stocks due. Cash S & P has been projecting 5850 at least and pullbacks are likely to stay above 5250. NVDA just missed our target of 100-1 and it took a bit longer and it projects 152 into the fall. Tesla could retest 188-193 this summer and still could take off.
GOLD and SILVER:
Gold has been correcting in July and that correction should be over by August 4th. We have higher gold between August 4-19th but it’s unclear if the upper target will come in and hit 2550 or 2660 by then or if that will come later next January. You can play gold with ETFs like SLV, GLD and GDX (Gold Miners) and we cover them in our newsletter and watch entries on August 4th.
Gold could accelerate in a crisis to 2800 into the year 2025 and projects higher prices eventually. Stay on top of our daily forecasts with Fortucast.com newsletters.
CRYPTOS:
The market got close to the minimum pullback target of 6400 and the maximum 60000 but it is still a buy for the mid-August high. Resistance is at 71000 and 73411. Additional resistance is up at 75378 going into next week. Not expecting huge pullbacks and 70000 probably will hold. The square of Saturn to Jupiter into August 16th will probably be the thing. The more bullish patterns project 88000 and 98125 longer-term. New research suggests cycle highs into mid-August. Fund managers are projecting 200,000k Bitcoin on the news into next year but we have seen these wild assertions before. Still, our larger cycles are friendly into 2026.
Bitcoin is in a Jupiter/Rahu period from August 2023 into 2026 using the correct dasha of (Adhana Vimshottari Dasha) and it is likely to weather the storm for a bit.
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. You have to buy low and sell high.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH MY DAILY THINKING ABOUT THE MARKETS AND THE STARS:
As always, this is my snapshot though for July 31, 2024. 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.
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ABOUT BARRY ROSEN: Barry Rosen 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 Astro-Yoga and his professional astrological website is www.appliedvedicastrology.com. He can be reached at support@appliedvedicastrology.com.
