Facing the financial winter...

Astrologer Maggie Hyde in conjunction with potter/astrologer Jack Kenny who has been following the financial markets for years, gave a fascinating yet terrifying talk last night at The Company of Astrologers in Hampstead.

I came in to the packed room just as Jack Kenny was talking about the 9.5 trillion dollar bailout that the US has given to the banks. He was trying to give some kind of indication of just how bad things are...I took notes and Tweeted the talk. 

"The dollar is up but everything else is suffering. Confidence in money is beginning to slip. A European holiday is 40% more expensive this year than last. The government is spending more, trying to reflate the economy but with unreasonable credit.

"The kroner is massively devalued. The news has been bad for 18 months now. The September to December period last year will be known in 100 years as the 'panic of '08'. The last banking crisis on this scale was not 1929 but 1907...

Counter-trend rallies are very violent. Everyone buying stocks and houses...

House prices have dropped 25% in the U.S. They will bottom out at 75% of their peak value. Start to recover in 2020.

Stock prices will drop to 90% of former value, some have already dropped that far.

Unemployment will peak at 30% by 2017. It will shoot up dramatically. But the stock market will start to rise in 2012.

Western government bail outs...governments are merely taxpayers so they are merely bankrupting us. 

No mature economy can devalue it's currency to become wealthy.

A normal recession...things a bit out of balance...a stimulus package can bolster. This is not a recession. This is a generational positive clearing out. 

Any government reaction to the contrary will delay the problem.

We owe 30 times the world GDP.

This nonsense of Brown going to see Obama and saying together we will solve the world's problems...Brown knows the truth. He's just delaying [the melt-down] which will make matters worse.

Quantitative easing is the only option...printing money. Inflation will hit 20 to 25%."

Someone in the audience asks:"Will we be buying bread with wheelbarrows?"

Jack smiles: "No."

Maggie Hyde takes over to show a few charts on the overhead projector. The charts she is working with include:

•  The Coronation of William I, known as the 1066 chart, which is the usual chart for England
  
• The Sibley chart for the USA.
• The Fed chart
• Obama's chart (because never before has a president had to take office in such perilous times)
• Brown's chart (but he's really a bit-part player).

"Looking at the 1066 chart, it's the Saturn return for the UK. A Jupiter/Saturn opposition is coming up. The UK is very Capricornian, with the Sun in Capricorn trine a Saturn/Jupiter conjunction.

The problems last autumn, there was no major signature in the charts. "

Jack interjects:"The British banking system was within 3 hours of total collapse. 100 billion dollars of foreign currency was being withdrawn from the UK. They were trying to slow down this exit. Lord Myners admitted this. (1)There were no funds."

Maggie:"On the 14th of October we had the first of our Saturn returns, the second and third hits will be in March this week and in July.

"This year Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. Well, that's got to be inflation, hyper-inflation. Jupiter equals bizarre fantastic growth. These conjunctions will occur on the 27th of May, July and December this year.

"The Saturn/Uranus opposition will happen five times. The first was on Obama's election.

The Jupiter/Saturn opposition will happen three times starting May 23rd 2010 (this time in Virgo and Pisces). This combines with the Moon at 29º Pisces square Uranus at 28º of Sagittarius.

In mundane charts (political charts) the Moon represents the common people. You can only interpret these aspects as restlessness amongst the people.

But by August Saturnian principles (square Pluto on the Midheaven) will gain the upper hand (Saturn exalted in Libra, Jupiter in Aries weaker). "

Someone speaks from the audience:"Does this mean we will see revolt in Spring and government clampdown in the summer?"

Maggie:"Yes."

Murmurs around the room. I think about Capricorn and authority. I think about Tiananmen square. I also think about when I travelled in South America 1989-90. Being in an Argentinian supermarket and hearing the announcement "from now on all our prices are double" as people rushed to the tills. Seeing shops crowded in Brazil on the 23rd of each month because that was when people got paid. If you waited any longer, your wages became worthless and you could not buy food. During this trip, I only ever changed $20 at a time. No point changing more, it was worth half the next day.

Maggie continues:"The events of the next three years are tied in with the Jupiter/Saturn cycle. But there is hope in 2010, a progressed Sun trine Jupiter in the US chart and Obama's chart.

For Obama's 'first' inauguration the Jupiter return is cazimi. Obama may be able to pull off some Jupiterian trick for the USA. Not the case for the UK though. Brown is the wrong leader for these times, he has no earth in his chart and a stellium in Pisces and Uranus will be on his Venus in April. You need a Leo leader which is what Obama is."

Jack takes over with the financial hard stuff: "Money is harder to get hold of the UK. The pound is collapsing. The dollar is rising so in the US you have deflation. 

"Toyota cut salaries today. You can't have inflation if you have no money to spend. But the deflation phase will finish this year. 

Food prices are up in supermarkets. Anything that requires credit will lose value.

Hyper-inflation is self-feeding. When normal inflation goes above 25% it spirals.

As governments behave irresponsibly our currency becomes worthless. Commodities such as food, paintings, gold become worthwhile.

All Western currencies will lose value. 

Inflation, as interest rates rise, there will be problems selling government bonds. Quantitative easing won't work and will lead to severe destruction in the stock and housing markets.

In 2012 Pluto will conjunct the UK Sun."

"What about the Olympics?" I ask.

Jack nods: "Yes exactly. The Olympics will require money."

He continues:"The banks will be fully nationalised. Then when interest rates are high enough people will start saving, they will spend again. China is bailing out its economy from savings. "We are bailing out ours on credit.

"Taxes will go up. A quick way to raise taxes is on housing. You can't run away from houses. Pensions will be severely affected."

"Already have" retorts one older woman in the audience.

Jack: "Bank controls will come in."

"What's that?" asks an astrologer.

"The banks will limit access to your own money. They are already doing this in Eastern Europe. Banks will say 'you can have £100 or £200 a day'."

An audience member:"I remember in the 70s when you went abroad you were only allowed to take £30". I remember this too.

"We will see more scams, Madoff type scams and draconian government measures to combat them which will limit freedoms. Pakistan has an on-going civil war, is a nuclear country and I think Russia will have to invade.

There will be protectionism. Brown is saying there won't be so we know they are thinking about it. And a new concept 'commodity chauvinism'..."

Baffled looks all around...

"That is when countries who have resources, who have stuff to sell, will refuse to. The UK only has banking and insurance service to sell. We are running out of oil.

"There is a story about a Roman legion who with an ounce of gold could buy a new suit of clothes. An ounce of gold is now worth approximately £700...in other words a new suit of clothes.

"Buying gold is not easy. It works on price rise and is priced in dollars. An ounce last August sold for £450. Today it's £660 but with commission it is £718. If you had bought gold last August your money stayed safe."

"So are you suggesting we keep lumps of gold in the house?" I ask.

Maggie:"Well I bought gold and yes they post it to you in a jiffy bag. Where to keep it is another problem"

Another lady complains: "Diamonds have devalued. And gold can go down."

Jack:"In 1999, 2000 Gordon Brown sold all our gold at a knock-down price." 

Sighs of dismay in the room. My father sent me an email saying "New Labour sold our gold at about $265 an ounce".

Jack:"This year then, rallying markets, dollar down, inflation, silver will beat gold. Here is my advice for the future:

• keep your job. Stick with your dreadful boss. Remember if you change, last in, first out.
• get out of debt.
• if you are in debt, tie into a fixed rate. Don't worry if it looks like a bad deal at the moment, interest rates will go up.
• limit cash in banks
• have cash and food stored if there is a hiccup in the system
• look to building local networks
• put 10% of your assets into gold and silver
• invest in gun stocks
• invest in agricultural farming products (ETF's), fertilizers, pesticides, organic farming
• invest in alternative energy
• invest in conservation
• invest in Uranium. I know I said that last year and it has gone down but I still believe it. It will be needed for nuclear power plants which are being built everywhere.
• invest in commodities; metals, (copper), oil, anything real. China bought 18% of Rio Tinto zinc.
• don't invest in insurance companies or banks
• don't be complacent. It won't be alright. Rallying won't last, the debt structure is still there. There may be a feel good this year (Jupiter/Neptune) but next year...all government actions are screaming something's wrong. Stock markets are down 50% since 2007.
• look to what has real value for you personally.
• Counties I predict will do well are 1)Norway 2) Canada 3) Australia. Why? Because they are resource rich.

Buying silver is difficult in the UK because it's VAT rated. 

Paul Volker and Warren Buffet think life is terrible. They know."

At the end of this talk people sat slumped, seemingly stunned in their chairs. I tried to talk to Jack Kenny afterwards but was interrupted by a woman who demanded to know what I had been doing with my iPhone. When I explained I had live tweeted the talk, she became agitated, suspicious.

"Why are you telling these people this? Do you know them? You are telling everyone our secrets. You are a spy."

"Well this is part of my community" I tell her "I feel I should spread the word."

Finally I lose patience with her and tell her to back off

"You are not being very Aquarian about this" I say.

In the pub afterwards I sit with my astro mates.

One says "What I don't understand is if this guy is a financial wizard then how come he is not wearing a Saville row suit?"

"So you think he is being a bit of a doom merchant?" I ask.

People don't want to believe him. Many astrologers are quite spiritual, and prefer to think positive. I'm not so sure. All I know is I have had more reactions from Twitter than ever before although some say:

"You've really depressed me."

Others said "I'm off to buy gun stocks and Uranium."

One said "I heard from a government source that the UK will be locked in 2010. Nobody in, nobody out."

How does that Chinese curse go?

 "May you live in interesting times".

(1) See also this bloggers view.

Pluto in Capricorn

Thinking, thinking, thinking. Pluto in Capricorn is, ok, world financial melt-down. But, Capricorn is the sign of old age. Maybe there will also be a transformation of how we view and treat old (er) people. What with the population as a whole getting older. High time. We've been obsessed with youth since the sixties.

Now all the people born in the 60's will have natal Pluto in Virgo...so this transit will be trining their natal Virgo's. They are in their 40's and were probably hoping for a last decade of earning well to prepare for their retirement. This is not going to happen.

Trying to work it out...what to do...it would seem the smart idea to sell your property, especially if you have a large mortgage, because otherwise you will soon be in negative equity. I'm also thinking freehold. No flats. And a garden. And digging a well, keeping chickens, growing vegetables, all that self-sufficiency stuff. Maybe learn to shoot. In some ways it's better to live in a city when things get tough, there is more to scavenge. But in the countryside, you've got land. In the last war, the people in the countryside did better. How bad is it going to get?

You can feel the fear around as everything crumbles, true Pluto style. Need to build up again from the roots, the foundations. This is what immigrants have been doing for years. They have the skills. So in a few years when Pluto enters Aquarius, will we all be living in communes?

Are we headed for a Minsky moment? http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/

My friend Dvd says "Nothing is happening. Some fictional zero's are moving from one computer to another."

I'm going to quote from Merriman, the financial astrologer (link in side bar):

"If you want to succeed in the next 15 years, you have to get past the urge to hype, past the urge to feed into fear, past anything that is not real… and be accountable. If you want to succeed, you will have to be patient, dedicated to something beyond yourself, and able to apply all the spiritual and life lessons you have learned over the past few decades in your daily life. It is no longer about “me,” and what others can do to help “me” get what “I” want, regardless of whether I really deserve it or not. It’s about the world, the group you belong to (socially or professionally), and how you can contribute to the greater whole. Anyone who thinks they can make it on their own will find out… they are alone, and it will be a lonely place. Everyone will need a little help from their friends, as the Beatles once sang, and to get it, you have to be a friend and give a little help. This is the message of Uranus and Neptune in mutual reception (2003-2011). This is the message of Pluto crossing the Galactic Center and Solar Apex (2007-2009). This is the message of Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto forming a T-square to one another, and all entering cardinal signs (2008-2014) for the first time since 1930-1931. It is the message of Saturn and Pluto in the downside of their cycle (2001-2020). It will require conscientious regard for the impact one’s actions will have on the well being of all others with whom one is associated. It is possible to succeed big time, of course, but not by the same means used in the past.

… We are now in another “down phase” of the Saturn-Pluto cycle from 2001-2002 through 2020. If history repeats (and so far it has), budget surpluses will give way to greater budget deficits, higher interest rates, higher taxes, and a more difficult economic and equity-investing environment. We are in the midst of an 18-year period where individuals are to be encouraged to save their money, protect their capital, and not focus on “capital appreciation” through the stock market (investing in companies that are not your own). Gone are the days of annual double-digit returns through equity investments. Oh, there may be a year here and there whereby the overall stock market performs well. But the years of little gain - or even of loss - tend to be more numerous now, especially when adjusted for inflation. On the bright side, one can anticipate that the stock market (and the economy) will bottom out sometime before the end of 2021. A great investment opportunity looms ahead – for those who have the cash (and courage) to invest when prices are at extremely attractive levels. That is likely to happen within 18 months of Saturn in its waning square to Pluto (November 15, 2009-August 21, 2010 +/- 18 months), or when they return to conjunction (January 12, 2020, +/- 18 months). Whichever happens to be the lowest low will tell us whether there is a dominant 72- or 90-year stock market cycle (see “Stock Market” section). But even if the lowest level in stock indices is realized in the first instance, the stock market and economy are not expected to break out to the upside until the conjunction period is reached (2018-2021)."

Playing Ftse

http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/2008/09/27/protest-on-wall-street-no-bailout-for-billionaires/

Loving this story. People are waking up.

Last night at the Carter Memorial lecture on The State of Astrology Today at the Astrological Lodge, a roomful of astrologers (is there a better collective noun? a degree of astrologers? a wheel of astrologers?) discussed the future while watching the FTSE/New York stock exchange descend. "They've just voted no to the bail out" someone reported. Thank God. No hasty decisions on a Mercury retrograde.

Full report on the Carter lecture in the next post.