The world stock and financial markets react very noticeably to the configurations of the Sun with the large, outer planets, especially Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. One merely has to correlate these aspects for a few years, using an Ephemeris, with a major index such as the Dow, to realise that this statement is true. Although Saturn/Uranus aspects show rough periods of the greatest fluctuations, I have found that, in particular, the diurnal aspects between the Sun and Jupiter are the best short-term indicators.

The markets generally experience growth leading into the trines, sextiles and conjunctions, and depress or even crash on the opposites (and occasionally the squares). I kept meticulous records of newspaper clippings of the world stock market movements during these "Sun/Jupiter" aspect dates between 1996 and 2001, and in almost every instance there was a noticeable general movement that was unmistakeably caused by their interaction.

(I have found that this technique holds a lot of merit when studying the Foreign Exchange markets. The Dollar price versus other currencies tends to follow the Dow Jones index. However, there is usually a lag or delayed reaction of about a week to a month or so.)

An interesting excercise is simply to follow the effects of the Sun/Jupiter opposition each year. There is usually a remarkably visible effect on all of the major world stock markets.

The overriding factors tend to follow that of traditional astrology. Several crashes have occurred when Jupiter opposes the Sun. The year in question is usually a 'jittery' year, as determined by Chinese astrology. These are mainly the years of the Cat, Rabbit and Rooster. In addition, the vacillating month of Libra (October) often adds to a bad configuration. The worst reactions occur in negative magnetic-pole (Yang) years, which are the odd years, for example, 1933, 1969, 1987, 1989, 2001, 2009...

For those who think the markets crashed in August, 1998, perhaps this was only the 'cream off the top'. The sharp drop in September 2001, sparked by the World Trade Tower attack would have made anyone following the Jupiter-Sun cycles a small fortune had they shorted the markets. The Sun sextiled Jupiter on the 2nd of September. The next aspects the Sun made were a square to Pluto on the 5th, a square to Saturn on the 7th and an inconjunct to Uranus on the 14th. As previously mentioned, the aspects made by the Sun following a Sun-Jupiter aspect usually determine the direction the markets take thereafter. In this case, they were all bad, and it would have been wise to have sold stocks near the Sun-Jupiter sextile and purchased put options to make money as it dropped during September.

It is interesting to note that the Saturn-Pluto opposition (in 'Air' and 'Fire' signs) around this time fell on the American Ascendant/Descendant line. On the day of the attack, Jupiter joined this configuration by inconjuncting Pluto. Neptune had moved exactly onto the American South Node, a very evil aspect, as it turned out to be. Alan Meece (in 'Horoscope for the New Millennium' - first printed in 1996) accurately described the events of this time. '... Conflicts such as those in Iran or the Balkans will probably come to a head in 2001. Continuing ethnic strife in Europe seems likely. .. but then comes the combative Saturn-Pluto opposition in the summer of 2001. Uncle Sam will be feeling righteous again in a big way, eager to show other nations the truth. Religious issues and trade embargoes will be involved. .. Turning points in the confrontations come near November 2 and December 22, 2001.(In hindsight: this was the day the Taliban surrendered) After the December date, the U.S. could suffer losses in a serious naval engagement. .. Danger to the president is shown, too. After October, 2002, the outlook for peace starts to improve.'

Looking ahead, one of the next big crash dates could possibly be Black Friday, 14th August, 2009. Here are the reasons, in order of importance. 1. Saturn within orb of opposing Uranus. 2. Lunar node in Aquarius (nadir of the down cycle - Louise McWhirter's theory). 3. Sun opposing Jupiter and Neptune. 4. Mars squaring Uranus.

Please note: Although you can almost certainly expect the markets to seriously deflate around this date, it is likely that the stock markets will generally not be a good place to be during this decade, as the Lunar node moves towards its nadir in Aquarius. However, by knowing when your own transits (and progressions) are good, you can still make money in any market, by going short or long. It is well known that you can often make money a lot faster in a falling market if you purchase put options or bonds at the correct time. You can get a very good indication of these times by following the basic rules discussed on this page. Summarised, they are:-

1. Purchase stocks (or the Dollar - note it lags behind the Dow) as the Sun starts moving within a 10-degree orb of a beneficial Sun-Jupiter aspect (trine, sextile or conjunction).

2. Sell around the date of the good aspect if the outer-planet aspects (to the Sun) following the beneficial Sun-Jupiter aspect are predominantly bad. If they are mostly good, hold on to your shares until roughly the date of the next Sun-Jupiter square or opposion.

3. Sell the markets short leading into the dates of the Sun-Jupiter squares and oppositions. They usually depress around these dates, sometimes dropping on the exact or next day.

4. A good rule-of-thumb is to expect a reversal of some degree on most Sun-Jupiter aspects.

5. Follow your progressions and transits to confirm that you are making your move at a beneficial time. If you don't have the time or interest to do this, simply use the Lucky Days program to time your actions. This alone will give you an excellent advantage, especially when used in conjunction with a good analytical or charting method.