Red Alert on Mars, NYSE & DJIA

Red Alert on Mars, NYSE & DJIA

• By Mark Lerner
  
  Dateline: Sunday July 10, 2005 -- I am writing this short feature just three days after the London Bombings and my Top Story on that crucial subject. In that feature, I explored the coming Mars retrograde station on October 1, 2005 at 23+ Taurus. However, the main focus for that story was on Mars functioning in a volatile way politically, socially and regarding national charting.
  
  
  
  I started thinking about other ways the coming Mars turnaround will be affecting individuals, humanity, governments and the world-at-large. My intuition reminded me about the importance of the chart from May 17, 1792 when the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) first came into being. [Note: See that chart and a special feature on the NYSE in our Mundane Astrology section on the main home page. You may also want to read the feature in the Daily Astrology Calendar section about Planetary Stations to understand more about the importance of stationary celestial bodies.]
  
  What I want to do for the moment – and I will undoubtedly add more postscripts to this report in the weeks to come – is (A) present the chart for the exact time that Mars will make its retrograde station on October 1, 2005 and (B) offer some suggestions for all of us in watching the economic news and trends as we near this fateful time arriving in the early fall.
  
  The Mars station is calculated for 6:05PM EDT and based in New York City – not only where the NYSE is located, but what most people consider the financial capital of the world. [There will also be a Mars direct station on December 9, 2005 at 11:05PM EST (focusing on 8+ Taurus).] You will notice that Mars is located in the second house – traditionally associated with individual assets, material resources, savings, banking, etc. Nationally, the second house can refer to the way the country works with material assets and resources, banking operations and savings, and, to some extent, real estate and property-land values. Mars itself is a giver of life and acts in a leadership capacity (rulership of Aries); it also connects to courage, acts of bravery and the ability to endure life-threatening conditions (rulership of Scorpio). Yet in ancient and medieval times, Mars was also known as a malefic influence. Here we see it resonating with rash and reckless behavior, foolish bravado, immature and adolescent actions (shadow side of Aries). And Mars can bring death or destruction through extremism, expressions of anger-rage-volatility and violent moods that cause a person to go off the deep end in trying to wound others (shadow side of Scorpio).
  
  Mars has many other meanings connected to independent-separative-egocentric activity, personal energy, drives, passions, desires, emotions, muscular strength, acute situations, fevers, burns, accidents, altercations and battles of the will. In general, Mars placed in the second house in New York implies that powerful forces are being unleashed in the financial sector of the nation’s life. More worrisome is when we compare the Mars retrograde station degree (23+ Taurus) to the Mercury and Pluto placements when the NYSE came into being. Mercury was retrograde and located at 23+ Taurus for the birth of the NYSE. Slow-moving, distant and extreme Pluto was located at 23+ Aquarius for the birth of the NYSE. Therefore, the NYSE – and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) that has been used as a kind of barometer of activity for the NYSE for a long time – has a permanent, intensive and potentially adversarial exact square between Mercury and Pluto. The Mars retrograde station of October 1 precisely triggers the NYSE Mercury in a conjunction and the NYSE Pluto via square! And we should really add several days before and after the October 1 date for the orb effect.
  
  Now October has traditionally been the major month for extreme volatility for the NYSE and DJIA. The two great collapses for the NYSE/DJIA were in October 1929 (leading to The Great Depression) and October 1987 (the biggest percentage loss ever). Here we have the Mars station retrograde on the symbolic “doorway,” first day of October and yet also influencing the entire month. What will Mars bearing down on the NYSE Mercury and facing off against the NYSE Pluto mean for USA financial markets, our Federal Government, the perpetual War on Terror, and financial markets around the globe? Mars does have a strong link to inflation, rising interest rates, debts and losses. The potential for a major conflagration (remember Mars is the “red planet” and is associated with fires, heat and burning) in economic markets is enormous. Plus – the Mars retrograde station degree (23+ Taurus) is precisely igniting the Ceres discovery placement from January 1, 1801 (when this largest asteroid was first sighted by the Sicilian astronomer Piazzi on the initial day of the nineteenth century).
  
  What most people don’t realize is that when the USA was born on July 4, 1776, its only stationary celestial body is Ceres (8+ Pisces). Ceres is linked to Mother Earth and Mother Nature, land, agriculture, farming, grains, labor, parent-child relationships, nurturance, food and productivity. Just realizing this remarkable tie – that the Mars station strikes the Ceres discovery placement, that America is the “bread basket” (wheat-corn-oats, etc) to the world, and has Ceres extra potent in its horoscope – makes us aware that some profound and life-altering changes can occur starting in late September and early October of this year.
  
  Here is one “what if”: Imagine a toxin entering the food chain or grain-producing region of the nation, perhaps starting in the Great Plains. Suddenly, out of one grocery chain in a major city in the Midwest, several people are rushed to the hospital experiencing a rare and fatal illness. It’s determined that the problem is linked to a poison – possibly introduced by a terrorist faction of Al Qaeda. Furthermore, this compromises the ENTIRE grain industry in the USA – meaning that our bread, grains and flour sources are all suspect. Women – who more so than men are the shoppers for food around the nation – are put into a state of fear and panic. After all, think of the ramifications concerning contamination of our COMPLETE supply of bread, grain and flour. While we could purchase these items from other countries, the costs would be exorbitant and the prices would rise as the demands from U.S. consumers skyrocketed in the weeks and months after the disclosure. We could also avoid these products and still eat, but there would still be constant worries that other food items might be affected in the future or at any time via Al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. “If it happened once, it can happen again!” – that might be the rallying cry for a new national group called WUDAN (Women United Demanding Answers Now!)
  
  Now I am just thinking out loud here. I do advise every reader to scroll further down on our main home page until you come to the red box that contains a story I wrote four years ago about the coming USA Progressed Mars Station Retrograde in July 2006. America’s Mars has never been in reverse. What could be happening is that transiting Mars from October 1 to December 9 (in the real sky) becomes a warning signal of what to expect starting around July 2006 when the USA Progressed Mars starts doing backstrokes in Libra for many decades to come!
  
  Here are also three more astrological patterns to consider as we move closer to October 1, 2005. (A) The Sun’s placement on that day will galvanize the last Jupiter station direct on June 5, 2005 at 8+ Libra. This implies that the Mars turnaround will be bigger (Jupiter is the largest planet) and more powerful than we might suspect. (B) The Mars retrograde station degree (23+ Taurus) is 150 degrees to the NYSE Jupiter at 23 Libra. This points again to the large-scale economic shift that could accompany the celestial stoppage as the month of October unfolds. (C) The station of Mars ignites an almost precise Pythagorean Triangle at the birth of NYSE. This triangle involves Mercury at 23+ Taurus, Pluto at 23+ Aquarius, and Jupiter at 22+ Libra. A Pythagorean Triangle is composed of one 150-degree aspect, a 120-degree trine and a 90-degree alignment. When you reduce the sides of such a triangle through fundamental mathematics, you are left with a classic 3-4-5 triangle. Pythagorean Triangles are not easy to define and actually refer to mysterious and highly secretive energies at work. There was an exact one of these triangles – including Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus – when President Kennedy was assassinated. On the October 1, 2005 date, there is an added potency because it is the day of a Venus-Mars opposition and therefore Venus at 23+ Scorpio reinforces the entire configuration. Will the Venusian presence mellow things out or simply increase the voltage of extreme changes to the national economy?
  
  Also – if the NYSE becomes adversely affected by the Mars station of October 1 – triggering the NYSE Mercury-Pluto square – this, too, can set off other repercussions within that chart. For example, Mars for the NYSE is located at 18+ Virgo. That just happens to be the Sun placement for when the World Trade Center was struck by the two jets on the morning of September 11, 2001. There is a deep and permanent connection between the events of 9/11 (solar energy) and the NYSE martial energy via a bridge at 18+ Virgo. On September 11, 2007, there will be a Partial Solar Eclipse that activates the Sun for the World Trade Center disaster and the NYSE Mars position. Will we once again see calamity of some kind on that tragic sixth anniversary? By that time construction might be underway or even completed on a new WTC complex rising up from lower Manhattan.
  
  As mentioned earlier, I plan to continue adding special paragraphs to this feature in the weeks and months ahead until we see a clearer unfolding of the Mars movement this fall. Note the following: Six planets will station from October 1 to December 24 – Mars, Neptune, Mercury, Uranus, Saturn and Venus (with Mars and Mercury stationing twice). Add on a Juno retrograde station on November 1 (22+ Gemini) crossing the USA natal Mars and squaring our natal Neptune (mass confusion and deception) – plus a Vesta retrograde station on November 18 (23+ Cancer) within 1 degree of America’s natal Mercury (business, trade, communication and transportation) – and the fall season has all the makings of an extremely turbulent crossroads for our nation, world financial markets, and the future of terrorist movements affecting us and humanity. Let’s also keep in mind that the first in a series of three Jupiter-Saturn squares will happen in December 2005 (from Scorpio to Leo). I will have much more to say about this confrontation between the largest planets in the solar system in the months ahead.
  
  Stay tuned to this web channel for late-breaking developments!
  
  Update – August 1, 2005: Add these two time-periods to your list of martial, “red alerts” coming up for this fall. (A) The week of October 17 – that starts with a Partial Lunar Eclipse at 24+ Libra-Aries that squares the USA Mercury (24+ Cancer) from July 4, 1776 within 1 minute of arc! Mercury is one of the main ruling planets of world trade, business conditions, market ups and downs, communications and transportation. During the two days thereafter – Tuesday October 18 and Wednesday October 19 – the transiting Moon will conjunct the Mars retrograde station placement at 23+ Taurus from October 1. The transiting lunar orb often acts as a collector of cosmic energies and trigger for mass-public volatility – particularly if Mars is involved in some way. (B) A little less than one month later, Mercury stops and turns retrograde at 11 degrees of Sagittarius on Monday November 14, the Full Moon happens on Tuesday November 15 (exactly igniting the Mars station retrograde at 23+ Taurus from October 1!), and Uranus turns stationary direct at 7 Pisces also on Tuesday November 15. This looks like one of the more “violently unusual” times of the entire year when uncertainty reigns and shock waves abound.
  
  Note: This Full Moon of Tuesday November 15 hits 23 Scorpio-Taurus 46 – within 1 minute of arc of the NYSE Mercury in Taurus! Therefore, at two successive Full Moons in October and November, the USA Mercury and NYSE Mercury are being zapped almost exactly. This kind of precision timing based on heavenly motions coincides with national or global events that strike humanity like a devastating tsunami. Be prepared for extreme repercussions rippling through the economic-political-social-religious-governmental-military enclaves in America. The NYSE midpoint chart is also presented down below the Mars Retrograde Station chart for your convenience. Notice that the NYSE Mercury/Jupiter midpoint at 8+ Leo will be struck by transiting Saturn when the Mars retrograde station happens on October 1. Mercury and Jupiter – the two key ruling planets of the four mutable signs (Gemini; Virgo; Sagittarius; Pisces) – are major controlling influences of the world business environment.
  
  When the first of three potent Jupiter-Saturn squares begins on December 17, 2005, their face-off will activate 10 degrees and 45 minutes of Scorpio (Jupiter) and Leo (Saturn). This is precisely where the NYSE Mercury/Neptune midpoint is located (10 Leo 45)! The Mercury/Neptune midpoint for the NYSE can equate with massive chaos and confusion, illusions and deceptions. With Jupiter and Saturn – the two largest planets in the solar system – simultaneously pulverizing this point in the zodiac as we near the end of 2005, we may be witnessing an enormous psychic meltdown in economic market psychology, direction and confusion. In other words, great bewilderment will be spreading throughout the investor community due to large-scale events that are seizing hold of the American public and drastically changing how we conduct business on a daily, weekly and monthly level.
  
  All of the dates mentioned in the last few paragraphs should be marked in red in your personal calendar. Stay on target, remain calm and focused, and avoid disasters – self-inflicted or due to circumstances beyond your personal control. After the October 18-19 lunar crossing of the Mars station from October 1, the Sun will merge will Jupiter (Saturday October 22). Normally, such a solar union with Jupiter suggests opportunities knocking, good fortune and success, but Jupiter is also the largest planet in the solar system and often signifies BIG market or economic shifts. The Monday (November 21) following the celestial turbulence of November 14-15 finds the Sun entering Sagittarius at the start of Thanksgiving Week. However, that evening the Moon conjuncts Saturn in Leo almost exactly at the same that Saturn stops and makes a retrograde station.
  
  Again, the nation’s financial network, world markets and economic trends need to be watched like a hawk. And the New York City subway system -- including underground police patrols -- need to be on extra alert particularly in regard to sabotage near train stations around the actual site of the New York Stock Exchange and the surrounding areas. Forewarned is forearmed!
  
  Update: August 16, 2005: Here’s another reality to ponder concerning the approaching Mars stations in October and December 2005 affecting the NYSE. On September 23, 2005, the NYSE will experience a Jupiter Return. Such a return can only occur every 12 years and this one happens within a week of the Mars retrograde station. While Jupiter often relates to opportunities knocking, success and prosperity, it appears more often connected to LARGE-SCALE REALITIES and anything BIG – as Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. This could mean a BIG surge in prices and upward movement within the DJIA or in an opposite direction.
  
  Amazingly, the NYSE Jupiter return happens three days after a potent, awkward and rather nerve-wracking Saturn-Uranus 150-degree aspect in the sky from Leo to Pisces, two days after the same type of challenging alignment between Mars in Taurus and Jupiter itself in Libra, and just as Jupiter moves 135 degrees to Uranus. This latter pattern is within 1 minute of exactitude in the Jupiter Return chart (see this horoscope down below).
  
  To further increase the financial anxiety at this moment, note that Venus in Scorpio is within two degrees of squaring its higher octave planet – Neptune. That 90-degree link will occur on September 24. Mercury (so powerfully associated with business, trade and communications) moves 150 degrees to Uranus and 135 degrees to Mars on September 24. As if to add to the poignancy of the entire situation, this Jupiter Return and the surrounding planetary upheavals occur on the anniversary for the discovery of Neptune (September 23, 1846) and the sacred zodiacal portal of the Fall Equinox (Sun reaching 0 Libra). Venus – as ruling planet of Taurus – has always had a strong rapport with personal assets, savings and material resources. Neptune – the higher octave to Venus – has much to do with global economic waves that influence national stock markets, currency fluctuations and the entire mood of major corporate and international investors.
  
  Update August 22: The challenges just keep on manifesting! Look below at the Midpoint Sort that makes up the lower portion of the Mars retrograde station chart for October 1, 2005. In the first column of that sort, the entry just above the Mars position reveals that the transiting Saturn/Uranus midpoint is 23 degrees and 18 minutes of Taurus. Therefore, the station of the red planet strikes within 4 minutes of arc of the combined Saturn and Uranus archetypal energies and principles!
  
  We have already seen how explosive the area around 23 Taurus is and now we add more provocative "fuel to the fire." Saturn (conventional and traditional vibrations) links with Uranus (revolutionary and shocking vibrations) and Mars triggers their disturbing and unruly rapport.
  
  Update September 1: If you are reading this and have not yet read the article on Hurricane Katrina in our Top Story section, you must read that story to cross-reference what I am sharing there with everything in this feature. In addition, let's add one more cosmic reality to the Mars puzzle and potential disasters of the next few months.
  
  There is a star in the constellation Eridanus the River that is known as Zaurak or Zanrak -- a probable mis-spelling that may have originated with the great book Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation by Reinhold Ebertin and Georg Hoffman (1971). This star has an ecliptic intercept at 23+ Taurus in the zodiac and therefore impacts the October 1 Mars retrograde station exactly! Fixed stars have an enormous impact on earthly affairs and humanity; it is just that much of the meaning and understanding has been lost because we are so disconnected from being skywatchers! The ancient astrologer-astronomers of Babylonia, Chaldea, Greece, Egypt, India, China, Rome and the Americas understood the amazing link between the cosmos and the earth. And this included an incredible and in-depth recognition of not only the importance of fixed star impacts on our life, but the actual qualities of these stars!
  
  An intuitive prompting sent me in search of the above-titled star book in my library and I read not only about Zaurak and Eridanus the River, but a lot more. I have owned this book for a very long time and periodically look through it. This star seems to have a very Saturnian effect on people and I mean that in the negative. Therefore, depression, self-doubt, worries, isolation, feelings of abandonment, lonely death and so on are or may be associated with the power of this star -- particularly if it is linked up with key celestial bodies or the angles in a person's birthchart. Nevertheless, the fact that Mars will station conjunct this star on October 1 -- and influencing the week before and after -- is important and needs to now be added to the litany of astrological evidence pointing to a major and severe crisis hitting the American economy and psyche in the months ahead.
  
  
  Update Saturday September 3: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court -- William Rehnquist -- has died tonight at age 80 -- from complications of thyroid cancer. He would have turned 81 on the key date coming up for the Mars retrograde station -- October 1, 2005! Therefore, in a bizarre way, his death is yet another cosmic signpost concerning the significance of October 1, 2005, the coming Mars stations in Taurus and the potential, acute disasters that may be just around the corner affecting our nation.
  
  Keep in mind that his passing will also increase the volatility between Democrats and Republicans in Congress as first John Roberts needs to be confirmed and then the president (a) must nominate a new Chief Justice and (b) another associate justice for the Supreme Court. With a possible review of the Roe Versus Wade decision hanging in the balance again for a more conservative court, this is another battlefield (think red planet Mars here!) that is about to engulf our nation as we approach the dangerous crossroads of Mars stations (October 1 and December 9), potent Full Moons, Eclipses and New Moons, Mercury and Uranus simultaneous stations in November, and the first of three Jupiter-Saturn squares in fixed, power signs on December 17.
  
  Stay tuned to this web channel for more late-breaking updates.
  
  © 2005 by Mark Lerner and Great Bear Enterprises, Ltd. All rights reserved.
  
  Mark Lerner Publisher Earth Aquarius News [For more on Mark’s astrological consultations and services, see the left hand side of the main web page.]