The astrology of the Facebook IPO

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

by Lynn Hayes Please note that the URL of this blog has changed and update your bookmarks.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Facebook stock occurs at 11 am today, May 18 2012. This is considered such a momentous offering that Mark Zuckerberg rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange today.

Venus, governing the accumulation of money and values, has just turned retrograde which often creates a reversal in the common thinking around the stock market. When Venus began to slow down in anticipation of its retrograde turn the stock market began its downward slide (other Venus retrograde periods have seen increases, so it has more to do with a change in viewpoint than a particular direction the markets take).

We also have Saturn getting ready to change direction in late June. That is over a month away, but Saturn has already slowed down and will travel only a degree or so before it turns direct on June 25th. Saturn is the planet that provides us with a reality check. It does not suffer fools gladly, nor does it reward excessive optimism and speculation.

There is plenty of optimism floating around because the Sun has just conjoined Jupiter, the planet of optimism and good fortune. Astrologer Grace Morris suggested that timing the IPO to begin after 10:45 am would put the Sun/Jupiter conjunction in the 10th house (representing the public exchange). But Jupiter is not always as beneficent as it may appear. Jupiter can cause us to become complacent and overreach, especially since Leo is rising on the ascendant of the IPO chart. The Leo ascendant is perfect for the kind of bigger than life event this IPO has become. And the Moon in Taurus right at the Midheaven, the peak of the chart, favors activities of finance and securities.

Still, the planetary energy is ripe for disillusionment with Neptune, the planet of hopes and dreams, in a challenging square to the Nodes of the Moon which point the direction to our fate. This is a combination of factors that can be quite treacherous in an electional chart for a new business venture.

I am not a financial adviser! But if I were, I would probably stay clear of the Facebook IPO.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial adviser and this post represents merely my comments based on the astrology of the IPO. It should not be construed as financial advice of any kind.

Wild swings in financial markets and a look ahead

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Lynn Hayes

The US stock market has been manic-depressive lately, swinging from wild highs to abysmal lows.

Mercury began to station (its apparent motion slowed down to a crawl) on August 2nd and it turned retrograde on August 4th. On August 2nd the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 266 points, and the next day it recovered some ground.

All retrogrades seem to bring about some kind of reversal in the stock market – sometimes the market will swing higher rather than lower. But this retrograde occurred as Uranus (sudden change) and Pluto (destruction/regeneration) came within one degree of a challenging square formation and the sense of instability and potential for crisis was universal.

Then aggressive Mars entered the emotional sign of Cancer on August 3rd and emotions took over the reactions of investors. The Dow went up on the 3rd, and then with the retrograde turn of Mercury on the 4th plunged over 500 points. This has been a market of reactivity which is not surprising when you consider that when Mars entered Cancer it began to face off in challenging aspects to Uranus and Pluto, setting off the fears of instability and change. And let’s not forget the Full Moon on August 13th which evidently heightened those fears and resulted in a drop of 630 points.

After Mars passed through the window of the aspect to Uranus and Pluto there were a few days of calm, but yesterday, with Mars within three degrees of a challenging aspect to Saturn (the voice of anxiety) the market fell another 400 points.

Using astrology to predict stock market movement is a science that involves more than just an examination of planetary formations. Each company has its own chart, and the leadership of each company has their own chart, and all of this has to be set against the backdrop of the overall emotional climate in each country. I am certainly not qualified to give financial advice based on the astrological indicators, but with Mars approaching that square to Saturn over the next few days I think it’s unlikely that we will hit any kind of bottom until after that aspect culminates on the 25th.

Over the next week or so Venus and the Sun leave optimistic Leo for Virgo, a sign that is more conservative in nature. But before leaving Leo Venus and the Sun oppose mysterious and confusing Neptune on the 21st-22nd which could lead to a lack of clarity in Monday’s opening markets, especially since the shift in signs will occur immediately after the Neptune aspect.

Then on the 24th and 25th the Moon, in emotional Cancer, conflicts with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto which does not bode well for any kind of optimism in the markets which is the force that tends to push prices higher. The Moon conjoins Mars on the 25th as it forms that exact square to Saturn (reality check) , but a number of positive aspects late in the day on the 25th and 26th suggest that the mood will begin to lighten.

By the time the markets open on the 29th the mood should be more favorable. But this is NOT, I repeat NOT, to be taken as financial advice. This is merely an astrological weather forecast and you never know when an unforeseen storm could arise!

Financial news and the US Saturn Return

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Lynn Hayes

As I wrote a few weeks ago, we are in the middle of the second phase of the Saturn Return in the US chart. The Saturn return occurs every 28-30 years in a chart – whether of an individual, a marriage, or a nation – and requires that we learn the hard lessons of life in a material world. Saturn insists that we keep our eyes open and nose to the grindstone, and develop positive habits that will help us to become successful.

The Saturn return in the US chart has brought with it the usual challenges, both financial and of a more subtle nature – the kind of “malaise” that came with the last US Saturn Return.

The Wall Street Weather website is one of the best sources for financial astrology. Deborah writes:

“Shock” and “surprise” were the words used to describe the market’s reaction Monday after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the outlook on the USA’s long term credit rating from “stable” to “negative” over concerns that the U.S. will delay addressing medium to long-term budgetary challenges until after the 2012 presidential election. Yet the real “surprise” was that the market was surprised since S&P (as well as Moody’s) had warned on January 13 that the USA’s outlook might be lowered in the future.

Those early warning shots were fired as Mars in Capricorn conjoined the USA’s natal Pluto, indicating serious and substantive action must be taken now to reduce the USA’s enormous debt mountain. Pluto in the sector of the USA chart representing the nation’s wealth and the overall economy reflects that a large amount of government spending is kept secret (“black budget”) and off the balance sheet. Government debt generates wealth for a select group of individuals and corporations (the plutocrats) who benefit from government (Capricorn) spending and bestowing all types of tax subsidies and loopholes for their benefit.

The ratings agencies’ warning came as Pluto in Capricorn was opposing the USA’s natal Jupiter for the first time in the nation’s history, indicating that the U.S. debt burden has become so large that decisions must be made to curtail its growth.(1) Reaching these decisions will force the nation to deal with the very deepest and most divisive ideological and philosophical issues of our time.

This challenging transit to the US chart of Pluto opposing Jupiter is just the continuation of a bigger cycle involving Pluto and the US Sun and Midheaven. There’s no doubt that the US chart is undergoing a major Plutonian realignment under this influence, but the opposition to Jupiter will make it impossible to ignore or deny.

With Venus facing off with Pluto over the next few days I would expect financial matters to be dicey. Venus rules not only relationships but also the things we value, including our valuables and money, and Pluto demands that we go deeper into the psyche and address imbalances of power or areas of life in which superficiality has led to problems.

All of us who are American citizens are affected by the US Saturn Return, and we must be exceedingly practical with regard to our connections to our American community. Saturn wants us to work hard and be awake to our responsibilities, making this a good time to volunteer for causes we believe in (Pluto opposing Jupiter) and build a stronger foundation for the future.

Are we headed for another financial bubble?

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Lynn Hayes

Uranus will change signs this week, moving into Aries on Friday March 11th. Because Uranus rules sudden changes and shocking events, when it changes direction or changes signs it often signifies a radical shift in financial markets.

With the stock market reaching historic gains, some analysts are debating that we are approaching another bubble, and others argue that the market is more normal now after two years of artificially low prices.

The shift from Uranus into Aries is likely to bring with it a surge of courage that will infect everything in our lives with an increased proclivity to take risks. Unlike Jupiter and Sagittarius, which imbue us with confidence and faith that all will end well, Uranus desires change and in Aries that change comes with an aggressive quality that thrives on danger. I suspect we will see the return of day trading and this sort of investment behavior that almost invariably spells trouble.

The surge of Uranus in Aries will be followed by the confusion of Neptune’s movement into Pisces a few weeks later (April 5). With Neptune in its own sign, the way will not seem as clear and one’s idealistic vision will appear more real than what the mind knows to be true. Neptune’s last journey through Pisces (1848-1862) coincided with the California Gold Rush, in which “gold fever” swept the nation.

If I were giving financial advice, which I am not, I would continue to recommend being extremely prudent under these influences. I personally believe that the danger of a global collapse is probably behind us, but the danger of becoming infected with illusion is probably not. Stable investments in tangible assets such as metals, actual real estate (rather than REITs), companies that are actually producing things and making real money – these are the places I’ll be putting my own money over the next months. But this is not investment advice!

Friday’s Jobs Report is Less Worse News than Usual

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Lynn Hayes

We are in a rare period right now where there are no planets in retrograde motion. John McCormick’s excellent research from his classic book, “The Book of Retrogrades” reports that all planets are “direct” (moving forward) only eight percent of the time. Retrograde planets tends to cause us to look backwards in whatever area of life a particular planet rules. With all planets moving forward, we can see some real progress for a couple of weeks.

That could shift on the 20th when Mars turns retrograde, something that only happens every two and a half years or so. But for now, it appears that the economy in the United States may be turning a corner with a Jobs report that cites statistics showing that the bleeding of US jobs is slowing.

It’s hard to call that really good news, but the Obama administration will take good news where they can find it, and there is a report that they are discussing using the repaid TARP money to stimulate more job production.

Uranus changed direction on December 1, a shift that nearly always brings a surprise of some sort and a reversal in the financial markets, and this one witnessed a 111 point rise in the Dow on the 1st. The week following the Uranus shift has brought erratic highs and lows as investors swing from optimism to pessimism on a daily basis. In fact today, the Dow shot up 150 points in the first 15 minutes, and then the rally dissolved and the Dow closed up only 23 points.

Jupiter (positive thinking and optimism) is fast approaching a conjunction to Chiron (wounding and healing) and Neptune (spiritual longing and idealism) that is likely to create a sense that we are moving through the healing process and ready for the next step. I believe that this euphoria will last, on and off (fueled by shifts in Mars movements) until February when we have a double whammy of Saturn/Pluto and Chiron/Neptune challenges.

For now, though, I and my investments plan to enjoy the party.

Pluto Rx and the market goes wild

Posted on April 2, 2008 by Lynn Hayes

Pluto turns retrograde April 2 heading back towards Sagittarius, and already the stock market surges.

Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday as investors rushed back into stocks, optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and that the economy is faring better than expected.

I said before that the last pass of Pluto through Sagittarius would bring one last wave of optimism, and here it is, right on schedule.

‘A Nation of Enrons”

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Lynn Hayes

This was in my inbox today. Those of us who follow astrology will not be surprised to read from the Motley Fool that the corporate culture is collapsing under the influence of Pluto (breakdown and transformation) in Capricorn (business, achievement, capitalism):

Half a decade ago, the entire nation was shocked when award-winning “innovator” Enron turned out to be little more than a cash-shredding pyramid scheme. The crucial failing for investors was Enron’s use of opaque, “mark-to-market” accounting. The problem comes when the market is batty (or doesn’t exist), so you instead mark your assets to a model, especially one that’s wrong, either because you made an error or because you based it on exceedingly generous assumptions.

In the end, we learned that Enron’s accounting was pretty much mark-to-fairy-tale, with the company booking enormous gains from assumed future profits on schemes (like bandwidth trading) that sounded great, but had little chance of producing anything besides headlines.

You might think we’d learned our lessons about fantasy accounting after Enron, but you would be wrong. Things actually got worse. The infection moved to the comfy-sounding “homeownership” market. Against a star-spangled, feel-good backdrop touting the “American Dream,” our recent mark-to-model mania tripped up a lot more than one big company. In fact, it swept through the entire banking world. (Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is not the first to choke on lousy, poorly modeled mortgage-backed securities “income,” and I’ll eat a Miami condo if it’s the last.)

Billions of dollars down the drain

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Lynn Hayes

The United States has a history of valuing money over people. Pluto in the US (Sibley) chart is in the second house of financial wealth and resources, and the compulsive (Pluto) need to acquire could be its undoing. Transiting Pluto is square the Midheaven of the US chart, and this event will reverberate in Pluto’s natal house which in this case is the second house.

Not only are we spending billions of dollars in Iraq, but we’re also now spending billions of dollars to bail out failing banks, money that of course will be repaid by the taxpayers. And since Bush’s tax cuts have cut the tax rate of the wealthiest Americans, that burden will be shouldered by what is left of the middle class. This commentator says:

[T]he Fed might be fighting yesterday’s war, when the problem seemed to be a liquidity crisis. The Fed first lowered interest rates to facilitate borrowing. No luck; long-term rates were immovable. It then made funds available to credit markets for very short periods on attractive terms. No luck; credit markets remained frozen. So now we have the offer of $200 billion of high-quality assets to replace those of lesser quality. Tune in after a few weeks to find out if this has significantly eased credit markets, or merely created a bit of euphoria in stock markets.

Meanwhile, the Fed’s critics are saying that the enemy is no longer liquidity, but the threat of insolvency. We have already had billions in write-offs, and hundreds of billions more of such “marking to market” is coming. So steep will these write-downs be that the banks will find they are bust – what they owe to depositors and creditors exceeds the value of their shriveled assets. Unless they can get more capital, say the doom-mongers, they will have to shut their tellers’ windows.

So far, sovereign wealth funds have put up that capital, but even they do not have deep enough pockets to shore up the entire American banking system. Faced with a systemic collapse of the banking system, the government can do one of two things. It can flood the economy with cash, driving up inflation and the nominal value of the assets underlying bank loans. Lenders would get repaid, but in depreciated dollars. Fear of just such a devaluation has driven up gold to $1,000 an ounce, and the dollar down to record lows.

Or the government can nationalize the debt owed to the banks. Taxpayers’ funds would be conscripted, and pumped into failing financial institutions to prevent their collapse. Sound like … what 32 of 51 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal say is now somewhere between likely and certain?

Encouraging more borrowing may have worked under the expansion of Pluto in Sagittarius, but it won’t work for Pluto in Capricorn. Americans are sensing the Capricornian contraction and tightening their belts. Folks, we’re in for a bumpy ride.

The Funny Thing About Uranus and the Markets

Posted on March 12, 2008 by Lynn Hayes

(Please refrain from scatological jokes here!) On Monday the stock market rose over 400 points, the biggest single day rise since 2002, confirming the predictions of noted astrological money expert Ray Merriman who, noting the falling markets at the New Moon which was conjunct Uranus on Friday, predicted for this week:

For this week, Venus will enter Pisces March 12, followed by Mercury doing the same March 14. More Pisces. More confusion and uncertainty. This is followed by Venus starting its translation to the Saturn-Uranus opposition, starting with its opposition to Saturn on March 15, and culminating with its conjunction to Uranus on March 28. The roller coaster may pause this week, but more steep slopes could be ahead March 15-28. Of course with the new moon conjunct Uranus this past Friday, a sudden and sharp rally is also possible, for it can be counted on for one thing: it does what most people do not expect.

The one thing you can expect from Uranus is the unexpected, making it impossible to make astrological predictions when Uranus is involved. The New Moon/Uranus conjunction was in Pisces where it is idealistic and compassionate but with a tendency towards delusion. The rise in the markets came about due to a huge infusion of cash (transiting Jupiter (expansion) forming a sextile to Uranus and the New Moon) from the Federal Reserve, acting with the European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank. I’ve read enough conspiracy theory to be very concerned when this kind of global banking cartel begins working to control the world’s financial markets, particularly as Pluto begins its travels through Capricorn, the sign of banking, financing, and large corporations.

The philosophy behind most conspiracy thinking is that a few people behind the major banking elites control the wealth of large nations and now, with globalization, the wealth of the entire planet. While conspiracy theorists often go beyond the realm of logic to prove their point, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that they are not so crazy. In collusion, the world’s central banks can easily manipulate the financial markets to rise and fall and even crash, virtually at their whim. When the peasant population (most of the rest of us) put all of our faith into these systems, and all of our life’s savings, there is devastation that results when the system crashes as it did back in 1929. Small banks go under – the large ones eat up the small ones and the cycle continues.

Pluto is stationary now at 1 degree Capricorn preparing to retrograde on April 2 and it will re-enter Sagittarius on June 12 where it will remain until the end of November. I believe it could be a wise move to collect your winnings during this last Sagittarian period and then walk away from the table. The next few years could be very rough.

Astrological Musings by Lynn Hayes

Thoughts on planetary influences that affect our inner and outer worlds

Category Archives: Financial Markets