STARFIRE

August 2010

August 2010- THE SEASON FOR ADJUSTMENT Click on the image for a larger view. NOTE: Image will come up in a new browser window.

THE SEASON FOR ADJUSTMENT

Saturn entered Libra July 21st, focusing our attention on finding a balance, making those adjustments that ultimately bring harmony into our business and personal affairs. Libra’s affinity for balance and harmony shows up in all three of its primary subjects: arts, justice and relationships.

Saturn is well placed and strong in Libra, more expressive than in its natural signs (Capricorn and Aquarius). Nevertheless, the old Kabbalah axiom that there is no creation without destruction is a good concept for any Saturn transit through a zodiac sign.

Relationships may end. Unbalanced bank accounts may get overdrawn. Court cases get media attention either because sentences were strict or because cases were pled out or dismissed unexpectedly. Sometimes it’s hard to see the positive effects of a Saturn transit until it ends.

A society can be out of balance from either excess or lack, and after a long recession, Saturn adjustments are likely to show up in economic improvements even as they focus attention on flaws in relationships and the need for social and judicial reforms. For example, new jobs are only created after the beginning of economic recovery. Old inventories get depleted (Saturn), bringing in cash and the need for new production. Or the pressure from voters gets federal money released for services that require new workers. Saturn’s adjustments are not limited to depletion.

Saturn in Libra is right on time for the natural improvement in the United States economic cycle we track with the nodes of the Moon. It’s been reliable since 1776 and appears to be reliable now even though the basis for our economy has changed radically over the centuries. We can expect slow, but thorough recovery based on real needs and adjustments to meet actual demand until late 2011 or the first half of 2012.

Astrological standards require three indicators as the foundation for a prediction. This fall and winter, we have plentiful indicators for the slow, painstaking work of building new economic foundations. Remember, this stage of recover isn’t based on speed and new records; it’s time to stabilize the walls, test the markets, renegotiate business relationships, find stability again.

Jupiter went retrograde July 23rd, slowing sales and marketing. Jupiter retrograde is an annual trend, one that has contributed to slow holiday sales in recent years. This year Jupiter will go direct on November 18th, early enough to give a real boost to holiday marketing, advertising and shopping.

Uranus, the planet of windfall profits and innovation, is already retrograde and will go direct December 6th, in time to add extra fuel to the holiday spending fires. Expect ebooks and other electronics to lead the market this holiday; Mercury will be retrograde and retarding sales in some other areas.

Jupiter (expansion) and Saturn (contraction) are the primary business planets, but Uranus itself is often considered to be the most important business planet because it does create large markets, big ideas, and big profits. Uranus dipped into Aries earlier this year, giving us a hint of the next big business cycle, but it will return to Pisces August 14th and stay there until March 12, 2011. Uranus in Aries will provide the imagination and innovation needed to establish the economic recovery, but it will take up to a year for it to settle into Aries and demonstrate the new economic health. So expect economic trends to take a firm new direction by March 2011, but prepared to give recovery a few more months for regional growth and new trends. The market leaders of the new recovery are likely to include industries that were not among the leaders before the last recession. Look to Uranus in Aries, for example, for the ideas that will make alternative fuels (whether wind, solar or battery) viable and affordable.

But what about the smaller planets?

Mercury will be retrograde from August 14th to September 9th and again from December 10th to December 30th. Merchants and vendors need to stock up for early sales with the greatest seasonal growth between November 18th and December 6th. (Uranus retrograde doesn’t seem to retard shopping; its main impact is on ideas, which are more plentiful when it’s direct and more strategic when it’s retrograde.)

If you’re a shopper instead of a merchant, the next few months have some rocky shopping days. I like to shop with Jupiter retrograde because less active marketing and advertising means merchants have to sell by lowering prices. The next few months will provide good buys on last year’s models and housing that’s been on the market too long; by spring, many of those bargains will be long gone (although the precise timing is regional).

When Mercury’s retrograde, smart shoppers only buy what they need that day. After Mercury goes direct September 9th, shopping is safe until Venus goes retrograde October 8th. Venus retrograde is tricky because what looks like a bargain is frequently a white elephant Venus retrograde is also the time for evaluating both personal and business relationships; buying a major product while Venus is retrograde may tie you to warranty services with a company you no longer like.

But Venus and Jupiter both go direct on November 18th, so there’s plenty of safe shopping time before the holidays.

With Saturn in Libra, you’ll want to look carefully at your relationships with the merchants from whom you’re buying. In a time of recovery, personal relationships often make the difference in value, and savvy companies with leaders who have weathered storms before are your best places to buy now. The exception would be innovative markets, where the new business may be the one with the best ideas.

Mary O’Gara, Ph.D.