The month of October is usually weak, but this month has brought more lows than any other month. Stocks will likely resume a decline from last month on October 3 or 4.
Saturn is roughly opposing Pluto from Gemini to Sagittarius. Vesta goes retrograde on the 9th at 13° Gemini, so it is also in the picture. Previously in this column, we stated that the entrance of Saturn into the sign of the Twins would be tough for communication equipment stocks. Earlier booms and crashes centered around energy, in 1980, and real estate, in 1990. Both oil and real estate may decline in value, but they eventually recover. Communication equipment becomes obsolete in two or three years, perhaps less. Thus, entire inventories are without value and can be written off. This opposition will likely mark the time for such liquidation.
We can glean more information by looking at the incorporation horoscope of Lucent, which came into being on November 29, 1995, at 9:00 A.M., in Dover, DE. Here we find a host of planets in mutable signs. The following planets are in Sagittarius: Pluto at 1°, the Sun at 7°, Mercury at 10°, Jupiter at 22°, and Mars at 29°. The Moon is at 11° Pisces and Saturn at 18°. The August Pluto station was semisquare Uranus and square the Moon. The combination of the former two are well known for sudden changes in financial position. The progressed Sun is at 13° Sagittarius, receiving the brunt of the Saturn-Pluto opposition. December will be important because solar-arc Pluto will hit the Sun, and the solar eclipse will be conjunct natal Jupiter; the latter may be a life-saver amidst all the affliction. There will likely be layoffs and cost cutting. But the jury on the long-term prospects will be out until Pluto passes over Jupiter at 22°. Lucent has to pass this test before the situation clears up.
Our veteran readers may recall that the strongest shared degree area for the airline group is in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis. With the Saturn-Pluto opposition here, this is a group to avoid. For example, the chart for Delta (DAL-4/17/57) tells the story. Saturn is opposing Saturn and is in hard aspect to Venus and Neptune. Pluto is on Saturn and is semisquare the Sun.
In addition, I think that the technology stocks are about to enter another leg down in their bear market. It will not begin until next year, but we want to avoid those shares, save for quick trades until then.
This is earning reporting time for most companies. We look to the Midheaven, Moon, and Sun of first-trade charts to see how these reports will be received and what subsequent share action might result. Saturn sits on the MC of Fluor (FLR-7/17/78), opposing the Moon and Neptune. As it moves up, it will square Mars. Pluto is on the IC. The shares of this engineering construction firm will be under pressure. The stock will improve into the spring, when Jupiter will run right over the Sun-Jupiter conjunction from mid to late Cancer.
Allergan (AGN-7/27/89) is a pharmaceutical stock with a Midheaven of 15° Gemini. This stock will likely sink under the weight of Saturn-Pluto.
Sungard Data Systems (SDS-6/4/97) has a 13° Gemini Sun, so it, too, is underperforming.
Galileo Int. (GLC-7/25/97) is another tech stock with a very afflicted MC.
There is another strategy that we can employ. October usually begins weak, hits a low, and then takes off. Stocks usually are very depressed when the horoscope is most afflicted. They usually hit peaks or accelerate when they are very well-aspected. For example, Saturn conjunct the Sun usually occurs near lows. Indeed, IBM bottomed out at $25 in the early 1990s under this aspect. Jupiter hitting the Sun is usually a high, as it was with Unisys in the spring of 2001. We can look forward to the November 2 Jupiter station at 15°51' Cancer.
The Jupiter station will be conjunct the Moon and MC and sextile Venus in the horoscope of Genuine Parts (GPC-8/20/1968). This will likely draw these shares up from the October lows. Another stock that will likely bounce is the oil stock Royal Dutch (RD-7/20/54). The MC is at 15° Gemini, so the Saturn-Pluto opposition will knock the stock down. The Jupiter station will be on Jupiter and sextile the Ascendant. In December, Jupiter will parallel the MC. Thus, RD could make a v-shaped low in October.
Automatic Data Processing (AUD-11/10/1970) is a leader in payroll processing. This computer services stock tends to do well when the overall technology sector is weak. The Jupiter station will trine the Scorpio trio of Sun-Venus-Jupiter. In December, the progressed MC will be conjunct progressed Jupiter. AUD will probably outperform the average stock.
Investors may be wondering when the bull will return to good health. There are several indications around the corner. First, the Mars-Vesta cycle will kick into buy mode for the first time since January of 2000. This is one of the few astro-cycles that is proven to outperform the market over time. (Readers can go to my website at billmeridian.com to read the entire Mars-Vesta analysis.) In addition, Mars will enter the sign of its low, Taurus, in the first quarter. This will put both the solar and the Mars cycles into upswings. I think that the market will put in a major low no later than the summer of 2002. Until then, we will have to navigate choppy seas.
randomhouse.com
Mars-Vesta cycle (aka four-year cycle)
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