by Christine Hall
Trying to predict economic forces using star charts can be a rather complicated affair, but there are a few key indicators we can look at for a quick read on business, money and fortune.
First and foremost is the planet Mercury, which deals with communications and business. The path of Mercury is deceptively unpredictable. Tracking the planet is rather easy, it follows the sun through the sky, but it often goes retrograde (meaning that it appears to move “backwards” through the sky). When a planet is retrograde, it’s influence is considered to be somewhat erratic and disruptive. The fact that Mercury is inclined to go retrograde frequently helps to explain why the business road is never without its bumps and potholes.
Mercury may be our most important indicator when figuring economic fortunes, but we must also consider the movement of Saturn and Jupiter. Astrologers consider Saturn to be the most material of the planets, and its also said to be our “karmic regulator.” Jupiter deals with issues of wealth and riches, among other things. Both of these planets move extremely slowly through the signs of the zodiac, unlike Mercury which makes a complete circle every year. Also unlike Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter tend to remain retrograde for months instead of days.
We also must consider the movement of Mars and Venus, although we give less weight to the position of these planets than we do the others. Mars, being male, gives us an idea of the energy levels in the marketplace, while female Venus gives us an idea of the feelings at play. We consider the remaining planets only when their position seems significant.
Last October Saturn went retrograde, which might help to explain why our sputtering economic recovery seemed to grind to a halt at the end of last year and why Christmas retail sales were flat. We begin the new year facing the prospect that Saturn will remain retrograde until February 21st. This would seem to indicate that even with a terrific economic stimulus package it would be difficult to see any sort of gains until late next month.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait longer than that. According to astrologers, when a planet has been moving backwards through the sky, we must wait until it returns to where it was before this backward movement began before things get back to normal. In this case, that means that we’ll be waiting until the first of June before we can expect the stars to cooperate with our economic recovery.
There might be good news on the horizon, however. As Saturn gets back on track in late spring, it will be lined up with the sun, Mercury and Venus. The later two planets will be in stubborn but bullish Taurus, meaning that emotional and intellectual conditions should be right for a bull market. The only negative aspect here is Mars, which will be “squaring” Mercury, a situation that will only be temporary. Also, Mars’ placement in unorthodox Aquarius should help to smooth that situation.
If we do see something akin to a bull market begin in early June, it should be with us for a while. In late July or early August, just as Saturn will be leaving the conjunction of sun, Mercury and Venus, Jupiter will be coming in to take its place, which should bring an aspect of good luck into play. Therefore, look for unexpected good news on the economic front between the 20th and 27th of July.
On August 28th, Mercury will go retrograde, which might seem for a while to bring any economic gains to a screeching halt. This situation will only be temporary, however, and should end around September 20th.
Traditionally, the all important Christmas shopping season begins on the day after Thanksgiving, this year on November 28th. Many astrological forces come into play this year to indicate that this will not be a particularly good holiday season for retail businesses.
As the season begins, generational Pluto will be in conjunction with Mercury, indicating that there will be plenty of customers at the malls and shops. Unfortunately, Jupiter will be squaring Mercury, meaning that money might be tight, and Saturn will once again be retrograde. In other words, there might be plenty of customers, but they’ll be making smaller purchases. To make matters worse, on December 17th Mercury will go retrograde, which should put a jinx on last minute Christmas shopping.
According to the stars, 2003 might be a better year for the economy than we’ve seen for a while. We can expect a strong recovery to begin near the middle of the year, but this recovery will not result in money in the consumers pocket in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Of course, if there’s a war, all bets are off.
Christine Hall has been working as a journalist since the 1970s. She currently hosts a weekly radio show of sixties music, The Sixties in 60 that can be heard every Sunday at 6 pm Eastern Time on The Barrel of Rock.
