Randomhouse Market Horoscope
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September is traditionally the weakest month of the year. As
regular readers know, I have interpreted the fixed-cross eclipse of last month as bearish. Putting these two observations together, the odds are that this month will be another downer. Most lows have been registered in the month of October, as the first column in this series successfully predicted one year ago. So the odds suggest that there will be a firm low in place next month.
The period between the 8th and the 11th appears particularly volatile for the entire market, likely a top. On the 10th, Venus stations only 27 minutes from the August eclipse point. This is very powerful, especially for the tech stocks on the NASDAQ. The market and many of the tech shares will likely reverse direction.
The Node is moving from 11ø to 10ø Leo. Uranus stations next month at 12ø52' Aquarius. In addition, we must keep in mind that Saturn is retrograding back to the 11ø-12ø Taurus area, which it will reach later this year. So these degrees are marked for affliction, and the bear will likely chew on any stocks that have important planets in this part of the zodiac. Microsoft (MSFT) has its Midheaven in its first-trade chart at 12ø Aquarius. With Uranus on one side and the South Node on the other, there will likely be a bearish perception (bad news) of the stock. The Midheavens of software giants Oracle (ORCL) and Intuit (INTU) are at the same degree, so we can expect the same effect on these two stocks.
There are other stocks that are in similar condition and should be avoided through the fourth quarter. Ford's (F) Midheaven is 14ø Aquarius. The stock may not fall, but it is unlikely to do as well as the averages due to the harsh contacts to the Midheaven. Smaller stocks that fit this mold are Albemarle (ALB), Macerich (MAC), Pentacon (JIT), Pluma (PLU), Reltec (RLT), Vlasic Foods (VL), and CSK Auto (CSK).
Valassis Communications (VCI) has the Midheaven at 11ø Aquarius, but it also has Saturn at 14ø Aquarius and Mars at 17ø Aquarius, so it will be afflicted over the near term, and will also get hit by Uranus as it moves forward. Saturn will station square the Midheaven next year, and then will move up to square the grouping in Aquarius. VCI is thus likely entering a tough period that will last into next year.
One stock that will likely do well is Avon (AVP). The Moon in the second house of the first-trade horoscope is at 18ø48' Leo, and was eclipsed in August. The Venus station on the 10th will be on this highly energized degree. This will have a greater effect on AVP than it will have on other stocks because Moon-Venus relates to the industry that AVP is in: personal care. In addition, AVP has a natal Sun-Jupiter conjunction at 0ø-2ø Taurus, the degrees over which Jupiter will retrograde. In addition, the progressed Midheaven is at 3ø58' Taurus. Neptune, which is squaring these degrees, will likely exaggerate investors' preference for these shares. By converse progression, the Moon will be conjunct Jupiter for the next two months. Saturn is retrograding away from a square to the Moon, so a cloud over investor's perceptions is lifting.
As regular readers know, Neptune has left Capricorn, and the last Saturn-Neptune square has passed. Jupiter squares Neptune next month. The deflationary planetary conditions have passed and we now have mildly inflationary aspects. The stocks that have been the beneficiaries of deflation will likely have begun to slip while the long-downtrodden inflationary hedges will now benefit. Schlumberger (SLB) made a low last December when the August 1998-February 1999 Solar Eclipses hit SLB's progressed Jupiter-Uranus opposition. Last month's eclipse was on natal Jupiter. Uranus moves over the 13ø Aquarius Sun this month, and Saturn will square a trio of planets in November. So it appears that the first up-leg in SLB's bull market may be over and that the stock will correct in the third and the fourth quarters. Texaco (TX) is in a similar condition. Its Jupiter was also eclipsed last month. This stock also has an opposition by progression, Jupiter-Neptune, that was ignited by the eclipses in late Leo-Aquarius. August may also prove to be a near-term high for TX. But this stock's chart is not so nearly afflicted as that of SLB, so the pullback may not be as serious.
Jupiter stationed last month at 5ø Taurus; it will go direct at 25ø Aries in December. When it moves forward, it will run over this ten-degree band again. Stocks that have first-trade charts with planets here will receive a positive jolt from the Greater Benefic. We run a computer scan of the database that tells us which stocks will be affected. Then we can run progressions and other techniques. Rite Aid (RAD) is the stock of the well-known pharmacy chain. The stock fell about 33 percent in one day last March when earnings fell far short of expectations. At that time, Saturn had just entered Taurus coming within one degree of RAD's natal Saturn at 2ø Taurus, which is opposite natal Jupiter at 5ø Scorpio and square the Sun at 6ø Aquarius. In addition, the progressed Midheaven at 5ø Aquarius was square progressed Saturn. Jupiter now pulls back over natal Saturn and in aspect to the progressed planets--we will likely begin to see a recovery bounce in RAD shares.
There is another consumer stock that took a beating late last year--the toy maker, Mattel (MAT). Saturn hit natal Saturn in late Aries at the top of the chart, and the late Leo-Aquarius eclipses hit the converse progression of Mars-Jupiter-Neptune. Jupiter is now backing over the Midheaven of 0ø Taurus. With the eclipses off of the progressed T-square, and the Midheaven receiving better aspects, MAT will likely begin a slow recovery. But do not run out and buy the shares right away. We will find some better stocks next month, as the market hopefully bottoms. |
