Nefarious Saturn may overwhelm Jupiter-Pluto positivism

Stocks in Mumbai edged higher last week on continued earnings optimism in a stable global environment. After briefly trading above 18000, the Sensex closed at 17955 while the Nifty finished at 5393.

This result was in keeping with expectations as the Jupiter-Pluto aspect managed to temporarily offset some of the menacing clouds looming on the horizon. It was noteworthy also that the early week alignment involving Venus and Jupiter delivered the biggest gains of the week, even if they were quite modest. Wednesday’s intraday high was actually a new high for the year, but once Venus moved out of the picture, bulls seemed to lose heart.

The aspect between Jupiter (wisdom, growth) and Pluto (power, large organisations) may continue to manifest in some form until it is exact on July 25. This influence may reflect on the ongoing efforts by financial institutions to find solutions to the global downturn. If this was the only major aspect in the sky, one would think there would be significant progress on that front.

The difficulty now, however, is that this aspect is only one of several and it is at risk of being overwhelmed by other more nefarious Saturn aspects. Saturn’s penchant for caution and reserve will run head on into the freedom-loving nature of Uranus in its exact aspect on July 26. Along with the Saturn-Neptune aspect, this is a rare and almost unprecedented alignment of planets. Major social and economic transformations are now in the offing as a consequence of these aspects and will likely be felt over the next several years.

This week should see an increase in volatility as Mars enters Virgo on Tuesday. Virgo is the sign of analysis and accuracy and when malefic planets are predominant it can wreak havoc with normal procedures and rational expectations.

Saturn is already in Virgo (where it will remain for the next two years) and the added Mars influence is likely to cause problems to areas of life that depend on analytical detachment. Information flows and knowledge-based networks will come under high stress over the coming weeks as Mars transits the sign of Virgo until September 6. This spells trouble for the stock market.

On Wednesday, Venus will come under the destabilising influence of Rahu, so spending patterns may disrupt risk-taking. While this could produce a brief rally, its overall effect looks more uncertain given the presence of other factors. The late week period features a Sun-Saturn aspect that could well dampen any remaining enthusiasm for equities.

Crude oil was basically unchanged on the week at $76 as concerns over global growth prospects were offset by a weak dollar. The earlier part of the week was higher as expected on the boost from the Moon and Mercury in Cancer. This week the Sun joins Mercury in Cancer and offers a possible counterweight to the looming Mars-Saturn conjunction. While some up days are likely, they may not be sufficient to boost overall fortunes. Tuesday and Wednesday perhaps look somewhat more promising given the Moon’s transit of watery Scorpio.

Despite some early week strength, gold could not sustain its gains and closed lower overall near $1193 an ounce. While the Venus-Jupiter alignment did lift prices, albeit modestly, the overall picture took a more negative turn at the end of the week after the Sun entered Cancer.  The fiery Sun often has problems in water signs, so this may be a clue that the yellow metal is due to lose more of its lustre in the near term. The mid-week aspect between Venus (luxury) and Rahu may provide some relief for gold, however.

The writer is a neo-Vedic astrologer specialising in predictive astrology. He runs the website www.modernvedicastrology.com