January 2006

Happy New Year!

I offer up a great set of New Year’s resolutions that may sustain us through all the challenging years ahead:

1. Search diligently for the truth and strengthen your resolve to face it. Do not let yourself be anesthetized, fooled, or sidetracked.
    
2. Realize that we have the intelligence and power within ourselves as individuals and within the context of democratically assembled groups to change our lives for the better, to an extent way beyond our current imaginings.
    
3. Understand that Love will prevail of its own accord when we release ourselves from the agonizing prisons of fear that we ourselves have erected.
    

The Year Ahead:

Saturn in Leo will continue its journey to enlighten us about our leaders and, frequently, the picture will not be pretty! We have to go beyond the "cult" of individual personality and realize that the multinational corporations and banking and financial firms have had a free hand to do whatever they please for a long time now, through many presidential and congressional terms. The vast majority of people in the U.S. and throughout the world are losing their jobs, their land, their water supplies, their property rights. Instead of an all-out effort to invent a new source of energy and campaign for conservation, the giant oil companies are swimming in profits as prices are skyrocketing for consumers. They are pressing even harder to take over the Middle East (as demonstrated by the war in Iraq) and bleed every last drop of oil out of the ground. As for democracy, we now have electronic voting machines that can and have been hacked, lending a giant question mark surrounding the validity of any recent election.

Uranus in Pisces (that will be in the sign until 2011 has offered up oil and gas inflation, healthcare price increases to the point of endangering the whole system, catastrophic weather conditions unprecedented in modern times, and "holy wars" between religions not seen for hundreds of years. It has also brought with it, as I predicted in previous newsletters, the emergence of women into positions of global power. Recently, Germany elected a woman prime minister and Liberia elected a woman president. It has raised the issue of the rights of gays and lesbians to marry and be absorbed into society with its privileges rather than living on the sidelines. Social liberties versus social chaos will continue to be debated throughout this transit.

Neptune in Aquarius (transiting this sign until 2011) is "spinning" the ideal of democracy abroad (Bush’s current reason for the invasion of Iraq) while working to terminate democracy in the U.S.A. with unauthorized spying by the NSA and authorized violations of our constitutional rights with the Patriot Act. At the moment, democracy is a threatened species! In August of this year, Saturn will oppose Neptune, bringing these matters to a head and probably lead to evacuating many of our troops from Iraq.

Pluto in Sagittarius (its transit began in 1995 and will end in 2008) has led to a virtual worship of capitalism, in a wave of privatization, speculation, and concentration of wealth into the hands of the upper two to three per cent of the world population. Pluto spawns a kind of demonic possession of the "sign" it transits and Sagittarius signifies globalization, travel, worldwide information networks, religion, and the stock market. Gambling is now a national obsession, whether in Las Vegas or on Wall Street. As stock prices level off and go down and currencies, especially the dollar, reflect instability, gold prices are rising to levels not seen since the late 1970’s. As Pluto enters Capricorn in 2008, the party is over and worldwide depression is likely. We will have our troubles in 2006, but the economy will hold on for two more years. The real estate market, ruled by Sagittarius, will soften further but not totally crash. Pluto in Sagittarius has symbolized a giant credit/debt bubble that may be the greatest in modern history. The government budget deficits threaten to bankrupt the country. Individual mortgage and credit card debt in the U.S.A. has families living on the edge of the cliff. The most recent "bankruptcy reform" law passed by Congress last year all but removes an individual’s ability to modify or liquidate his/her debt. In two more years, the economic "grim reaper" will appear on the scene to collect his due!

This year, some seriously troubling planetary placements need to be carefully watched. From the end of February until April 14^th, transiting Mercury in Pisces will be square Pluto that is placed at 26 degrees Sagittarius, the "center of the galaxy". It retrogrades from March 2^nd through March 25^th, conjunct Uranus and is square Pluto again on April 14^th. To make matters worse, Mars is transiting Gemini (the sign of Uranus and Mars in the U.S.A. chart), opposing Pluto between the 7^th and 8^th of April. In addition, on March 14^th, there is a lunar eclipse at 24 degrees of Virgo on the Neptune of the U.S.A. and a solar eclipse on the 29^th. I expect monsoon type rains flooding the east coast of the U.S.A., a serious volcanic eruption, a possible attempt by terrorists to attack the U.S.A. again, significant crises around oil (possibly an oil spill), accidents on ships at sea, and the breaking of a significant government conspiracy scandal. Whew!

And Now January:

Financial Markets:

Last month, I correctly predicted that gold would have a "correction" but would make a big comeback in January. This month, the precious metal will make new highs. Venus retrograde in Capricorn forming a sextile with Jupiter in Scorpio is bullish for gold and precious metals. I thought the stock market would do a little better than it did in December. The fact that the Dow ended on a low shows more than ever that people are waking up to the fundamentals of reality rather than the "spin" so often heard on the financial channels. From Jan. 9^th through the 19^th, I expect financial markets to be bearish. I also expect to see oil and gas rise again and some bad weather systems across the country in this period.

The softening of the real estate market is far worse than people think because most of the jobs added to the economy in the past three years have been in the real estate sector! The transit of Mars in Taurus (building and renovation) has symbolized rebuilding on the Gulf Coast due to hurricane Katrina. This has also supplied temporary employment. Mars goes into Gemini Feb. 18^th through April 14^th which is bearish for building and real estate. That said, I still believe the property market will recover somewhat in May.

Allen Greenspan is leaving as Chair of the Federal Reserve and will hike interest rates one more time as he vacates his position. His successor, in my opinion, will be unlikely to raise interest rates to any large extent as he knows he would topple the economy. He will be the unfortunate inheritor of a financial infrastructure headed for collapse.

The War:

This month will bring more of the same tragic violence in Iraq. The recent election further crystallized the hatreds of the factions for one another and their inability to cooperate with one another. The American public’s desire to get out of the country will increase.

Pres. Bush will be unable to fend off all the scandals involving corruption and illegal maneuverings to "wire" the citizens of the nation. Most of all, the public resentment will grow with regard to our continued occupation of Iraq. Worse case scenario: Pres. Bush may be making plans to invade Iran.

Weather & Travel:

The above-mentioned period of the 9^th through the 19^th may be risky for travel due to stormy weather across the nation. Temperatures will go down from Jan. 23^rd through Feb. 9^th as Mercury transits Aquarius and is opposite Saturn.

Final Thoughts:

I am actually optimistic as I see more "whistle blowers" emerge and have the guts to expose the lies, abuses, and downright crazy behavior of people in power. Books and films are available now, telling truths that have long been hidden away in the closets of those who thought they were immune to criticism. People are organizing themselves and communicating over the internet, using their constitutional rights to dissent and openly communicate what they think, feel, and know.

As tough as the road is ahead of us, I believe there is a core of strength at the heart of the American ideal of freedom and a concern for one another that transcends the era of selfishness we are witnessing at this historic point. We need to see ourselves in a time of transition from a greedy, consuming civilization, exhausting its resources, impoverishing its people, poisoning its environment, to a new human experiment, respectful of the earth and of one another, honoring invention and creativity, and living in peace!

Have a beautiful and courageous 2006!

Linda

Linda Schurman