Here we are, right in the midst of the most intensive gathering of geocosmic signatures of the year between August 21-September 10, as discussed the previous couple of weeks. And right in the center in the Jupiter-Uranus opposition of August 29, the longest-term of all the planetary aspects that unfold this year. This 14-year cycle contains the Jupiterian principles of exaggeration of truth, euphoria, and over-reaching, combined with the Uranian dynamics of detachment, excitement, separation, and shock. Together they can produce a climate of great invention and unique problem solving to world problems, or the sudden announcement of claims that can be shocking and disturbing to the masses.

And so what did we witness in the past week? As many world stock markets rose throughout the week, Friday’s Wall Street Journal headlines read “North Korea Raised stakes in its chilling game of nuclear chicken.” The North Korean chief envoy at the talks in China “said his nation intends to formally declare it has atomic arms and to test one as proof.” It was only two weeks ago when this column stated “I could make a case, based purely on my knowledge of astrology, that the high for the year may occur between now and September 10. The rally upwards may become very exciting, even explosive in a positive sense. And then something completely unexpected happens, and these markets suddenly reverse. Perhaps an eye should be kept on North Korea during this period, or any nation in the world where the leader of that country may be given to erratic, unpredictable, and even dangerously irrational (and perhaps passive-aggressive) behavior. With Mars retrograde in Pisces, and Uranus so prominent, anything is possible, from amazing revelations and solutions to gigantic problems facing the world today, to the creation of new problems and new threats by people (even so-called leaders) who will possibly be considered crazy and unstable.”

Exaggeration was not only noted on the international political scene. Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal reported that “The Federal deficit will be $401 billion this fiscal year and $480 billion next, and a the total will be $1.4 trillion through 2013, the CBO forecast.” This will be a new record deficit, and a subject the Democrats will surely pounce on as election season nears. This is alarming because it was only two years ago that the U.S. was enjoying a budget surplus for the first time in a long time. Going from a surplus to record deficit in just two years, however, has both historical precedent and astrological correlation. It relates closely to the 32-37 year Saturn-Pluto cycle, which is comprised of two phases: the first phase covers 16-18 years, and covers the time from the conjunction through the opposition. This is the period when most economies experience a lowering of interest rates, rising of stock markets, and movement from collective debt to surplus. This is the “good times” for investments, when the goal is capital appreciation. This first phase was in effect from 1947-1966 and 1982-2001 in recent history. The second and last phase also covers 16-18 years, and extends from the opposition of Saturn and Pluto to its conjunction. During this phase, interest rates mostly rise, stock prices go sideways to down, and surpluses give way to debts. In recent history this occurred from 1966-1982, and has started again as of 2001-2002, and will last to 2020.

Perhaps the most remarkable instance of this cycle that relates to current time, occurred in 1834-1835. That was not only a time of Saturn in opposition to Pluto, but it was also a time when Neptune was in early Aquarius, and Uranus was moving from Aquarius to Pisces, the same set up we saw in 2001-2002. What happened then? Well, the U.S. and England were involved in the great Railroad bubble, when tracks were being laid across the country that revolutionized the means by which goods were distributed to people. A great westward expansion was under way in the United States, and everyone wanted a piece of the action. No one wanted to hear that these good times would ever end. The stock market rose to new all-time highs, and for the first time since it became a country, the United States had a balanced budget. In fact, it had a surplus. But the goods times did end. By the time Saturn entered its waning square to Pluto in 1842, the stock market had lost 80% of its value. Not only that, but the United States defaulted on its bonds for the first and only time in history It had gone from a budget surplus to so much debt in just seven years that it could not meet its debt obligation to bond holders. The country entered one of its worst financial depressions ever.

Could it happen again? Of course it could. And the signs are already appearing, as noted by the change from budget surplus to record deficit spending in just two years. The interest rates may have seen their long-term lows just this past June, as rates have already gone up considerably since then. And all of this happening right at the beginning stages of the down side of the Saturn-Pluto cycle.

But does it history have to repeat itself? Does this have to happen again? Of course not. Humankind has the option of learning from its past, and thereby has choices, as dictated by the leaders of our nations. A certain amount of enlightenment may be necessary, along with learning from history. But even that is possible, because at this time we also have the very rare mutual reception of Uranus in Pisces with Neptune in Aquarius, which is in effect 2003-2010. These are potentially very brilliant dynamics when placed together. There are no boundaries to what Humankind can invent and accomplish with these principles in force, primary through advances in technology. As an example, I have oftentimes referred to this dynamic as the collective urge for world peace and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and violence. After all, Neptune and Pisces are the ultimate principles of world peace, and Aquarius and Uranus are the symbols of the Humanitarian.

So you can see that we have very powerful, contradictory forces at work, as symbolized by the current position of the heavens. And right now, many of those very contradictory principles are very much in force as even the shorter-term planetary cycles indicate. As you look up in the skies at night right now, you see Mars at its closest proximity to the Earth in over 60,000 years. Mars is in Pisces. The planet of war is in the sign of peace. And Mars is in opposition to the Sun, which makes it even more aggressive. Additionally, Mars is nearby to Uranus, so both Mars and Uranus are on the opposite side of the sky to the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter. It is quite a spectacular line up, with the earth right in the middle. It is even more significant because Mercury has just turned retrograde (August 28-Sreptember 20).

Some readers have asked about the recent soaring cost of gasoline prices. Jupiter and Neptune, and their ruling signs of Pisces and Sagittarius, rule gasoline. The Jupiter opposition to Uranus on August 29, and Mars opposition to Jupiter on September 7, probably coincides with the high in price. Other readers have asked about where to invest monies now. I cannot give you a firm recommendation, but as stated as far back as last December, I would seriously consider moving some funds from U.S. Dollars to money markets based in other currencies, like the Australian Dollar, Swiss Franc, and Euro. The European currencies are making a good pull back now into their 13.5- and 26-month cycle lows, due between now and the end of the year (ideally in September). These vehicles should be available through most major brokerage houses, although many brokers simply do not understand them. Find one who does. I personally do this through my favorite broker at Smith Barney. Money that I have in U.S. money market funds are easily shifted to money markets based in these and other foreign currencies with a simple phone call to my broker.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language. This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the author’s understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world. It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.