With the  lunar eclipse alone there is the threat of Earth movement and threatening weather patterns. At the time of writing, New Orleans is already under rain barrage and two earthquakes have been recorded: one off the coast of Australia and the other in Indonesia. Natural disaster could also coincide with heliocentric alignments on 17th, 19th and 29th July.

 

 

 

Many people recognise that the naval stand offs in the Straits of Hormuz could easily escalate. Though caution will hopefully prevail, Mercury returns to a critical degree on August 15th - simultaneously triggering a 'naval' degree of the US chart. That this is also a Full Moon gives strength to the possibility of action.

 

 

In the April Full Moon letter I showed how the cycle that eventually brought Queen Elizabeth to the throne was at work again in 2019 and that she - and the UK - would likely experience constitutional crisis. 

 

Boris Johnson is a Gemini whose star certainly seems to be rising. It's not hard to imagine given his chart for July 23rd, that he will be celebrating that night. when the result will be declared is positive. Yet by the end of the year, if he does get the job he so covets, he might wish it were otherwise. I did suggest to a colleague some weeks ago that I thought another general election was more likely than not. (November 7th ?)

 

How amazing is it  that the new 'Brexit' date of October 31st finds Mercury stationary retrograde once again - just as it was for Mrs May's Brexit day on March 29th. Yet before we even get to October 31st there are important dates to negotiate - any one of which could see that 'deadline' altered.

 

The Moon's monthly series of occultations of Saturn doesn't conclude until December. It might yet be December 7th - when Mercury returns to that retrograde degree and after Jupiter arrives in Capricorn that there is clear indication of the way forward.

 

 

Meanwhile a stellium (grouping) of planets in Virgo suggests that the British Pound will be under pressure through August and especially in the last days of that month.

 

 

It is not abnormal for indices in the West to be down around a lunar eclipse - and especially with Mercury retrograde. The next turning point should be reached on August 1st. Note too that just before the next Full Moon (August 15th), the Sun and Venus conjoin in Leo only a couple of days after both Jupiter and Uranus arrive at stations. This suggests much volatility. Going back one Venus cycle, we see that indices surged in the week leading into the Sun-Venus conjunction. There is, of course, no guarantee of a repeat. What can be said is that movements are likely to be above normal and that traders would be well advised to consider this as well as their regular technical analysis.

 

 

Whatever happens in August, the probability is that indices will stay high into September. I have less confidence about the rest of the year. (90 years on from the crash of 1929 and echoes may yet be heard).  Evidence of a move would support my thinking that gold will reach a peak in February-March 2020.

 

I would expect to see this on Monday 12th or Tuesday 13th August when heliocentric Mercury moves into Taurus.