The Celestial Wheel Vedic Commentary   January 1 -- 31, 2009     Back To The Celestial Wheel

January 8, 2009

Review -- A Holiday Season Heads-up

     The December 26 Celestial Wheel opened with A Holiday Season Heads-up, stating, The next several days until New Years will be somewhat uncertain and possibly conflicted.  Then, the all-important perceptional Moon was weak and badly afflicted, destructive Saturn ground to a stop to turn retrograde and both mental Mercury and loving Venus were in transition as they changed signs.  Even astrology virgins can grasp the sense of instability

     Here are the predictions and the results

Earth crust events often occur as Saturn's influence for structure shifts   

     12/26  Earthquake felt throughout the area, centered near Quincy (CA)

     12/26  Nineteen injured in southwest China earthquakes

     12/27  Earthquake Reported in Lancaster Country (PA)

     12/27  Small Earthquakes In Yellowstone

     12/29  Earthquake Hits Afghanistan

     The above articles show a burst of earthquakes in the U.S. and the East.  Also, the Yellowstone earthquakes could become destructive, Quake swarm at Yellowstone may signal blast. 

...refocusing and reorganizing your priorities for the new year

     Four clients asked for Chart Updates during the holidays.  A common thread ran through their views -- dumping real estate, getting rid of credit cards and not caring about FICO scores.  These clients are all finding a new path ahead.  Splicing their comments together, here's what they said,

     This year-end article concurs.  Piggy banks fly off shelves in freshly frugal U.S. , U.S. savings levels have increased markedly in recent months as households adjust to a yearlong recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

     While dramatic attitude change is necessary for individual economic survival, and ultimately required and positive for our debt-ridden country, it depresses the economy.  John Maynard Keynes called this the Paradox Of Thrift -- when times are tight, we're inclined to save instead of spend.  But if we don't spend, we're not buying goods and services that keep people employed.  So more people lose jobs, and then don't have money to spend, which results in further job losses. And the spiral continues.** 

     An analogy is a glass of draft beer that is actually 1/2 foam.  With some the foam already melted away (property price drops), consumers have realized they were taken advantage of.  Having finally looked closely at the glass, they understand there's more foam yet to go, and they're not willing to take further losses.  The grim reality is that, for most markets, your home is only worth it's replacement cost, as explained in the October 11, 2008 Celestial Wheel.  An alternative value measure is what your home was worth in 2002.  

     This is not, by the way, the same issue as the You're Fired Suzi Orman! in the December 26 Celestial Wheel.  The concern expressed there was Suzi's lack of social consciousness -- the urgent need to put our shoulders to the wheel, to each do our part, in even small ways, to support the economy from the bottom-up.

     While the past holiday season's planetary instabilities stimulated these clients to downsize their personal economies, there's another planetary karma for rejecting Second Gilded Age financial abuses.  This was explained in the November 29, 2008 Celestial Wheel.  The U.S. has finished its gluttonous ten year Moon Dasa (planetary cycle), and on November 30, 2007 entered its seven year Mars Dasa,

(*To learn about this astrologer's experience in fighting criminal credit card banks, see the June 3, 2007 Celestial Wheel, the section Interruption By More Chicanery.)

(**This was previously discussed in the July 14, 2007 Celestial Wheel,  "However, these actions in themselves are a type of self fulfilling prophecy for recession.  Personal financial conservation now reduces spending and thereby hastens and worsens upcoming economic setbacks.   Yet, truly what choice is there?   This house of debt cards upon which the economy has grown cannot stand, and you aren't responsible for propping it up.")

... economic concerns, especially in regard to governmental actions -- central banks interventions to forestall the global economic decline.

     That specific result didn't occur, although this article,  Holiday Sales Drop to Force Bankruptcies, Closings, explains how the drop in retail sales will soon result in corporate failures escalating.

     What did happen in regard to government, of course, is the Israel/Gaza conflict, Analysis -- Gaza offensive set to boost Israel's Livni.  While Israel's chart wasn't badly afflicted over the holidays, the instability was enough to bring violence.  Too, Israel is experiencing Sadi Sati, the 7 1/2 year period when restrictive Saturn crosses the houses around the Moon -- transforming the life.  The failed 2006 invasion of Lebanon and the current Gaza violence are part of that process and includes losing public (global) support for its violences.  The August 18, 2008 The Challenging Summer Of 2008 explained,

     The Prime Minister election in Israel is February 10.  Tzipi Livn may very well prevail.

Review Summary

     These events and circumstances set the stage for The Big Blizzard Of 2009 -- explained in the next section.     

     The rash of earthquakes is more of an alert to upcoming change than significant events.  There is, however, some risk of the Yellowstone earthquakes becoming more severe.

     People are shifting their personal strategies to eliminate debt and rebuild savings, which will put more homes on the market and reduce consumer spending -- exacerbating the economic slowdown.  This will also result in more stress upon the financial sector.

     Poor holiday sales will also harm the economy in coming months as retailers fail.

     The Israel/Gaza violence may continue for some time.  A positive result would be Tzipi Livn becoming Prime Minister, for a woman is better able to bring a peaceful resolution to this now 60 year cycle of violence.

The Big Blizzard Of 2009

     The December 21 In-depth Celestial Wheel, Global Economic Trends For 2009, identified and mapped, via a timeline graph, a period of severe economic stress -- called The Big Blizzard Of 2009.  Below is that Timeline.

    It begins with a very difficult Mercury retrograde from January 12 to 31.  Mercury is also close to toxic Rahu -- the head-of-the-dragon eclipse point.  Rahu over-stimulates Mercury, causing anxiety, distrust and feeling rushed.  Communications of all kinds are thereby harmed more than usual.  Computers are vulnerable, the recent spam increase will persist, banking and other transactions can fail or get mixed up.  Certainly avoid executing any contracts and use care in all communications.

     Next, there's wealth destruction and some violence in the Rahu/Mars/Jupiter conjunction, which begins January 27 and lasts until March 6.  The peak is February 8 through 16.  (Note: that is made more difficult by Mercury being in the middle of this stressful conjunction throughout its duration.)  This is a truly significant conjunction, and to understand how potent, consider it will be the first time since 9-11 that these three planets have been in direct association.

Fall -- Winter 2008-09Timeline 
(The Big Blizzard Of 2009)

    Finally there's a solar eclipse January 26 and later a lunar eclipse February 9.  Eclipses do what the word means -- block.  Adding eclipse instability and voiding qualities to the above planetary harms is a wild card of planetary energy.

     These overlapping planetary harms result in true tangle of karma -- so complex the Celestial Wheel has thus far only specifically predicted a rise in oil/gas prices.  This, by the way, has already begun with Russia again in conflict with Ukraine over the natural gas pipelines to Western Europe:  12/28/08 Russia Again Warns of Gas Supply Disruption and 1/2/09 Russia cuts off gas deliveries to Ukraine.

     Some guidance as to how these challenges will actualize can be gleaned from the holiday season events.  Expect: consumer spending to fall off a cliff; real estate values to shrink further; the financial sector to be stressed again; industries directly and indirectly affected by consumer spending to suffer; and continued Mideast instability.  This last would further stimulate oil/gas prices.

     Certainly too, Obama will have his hands full upon taking office January 20.  Up front for Obama is the Mercury retrograde harms to communications that will delay Congressional agreement on the stimulus package.  So, he'll be back peddling to catch up on his first day in office.

January 25, 2009

     The following was emailed directly to subscribers,