The Leo New Moon Solar Eclipse - August 1, 2008
by Kaye Shinker

New Moon forecasts show general trends for the month, here is the overview of the month ahead

The New Moon August 1, 2008 at 6:12 am EDT is also a Total Solar Eclipse. - The eclipse is visible over mid-Russia and Western China.

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2008Aug01T.GIF is the URL for the NASA web site that shows the path of the eclipse.

The aphorism that foretells the effect of the eclipse for the geographical location where it is visible:"The weather of that day will stay that way". This means that if it is warm and sunny, it will be unseasonably warm and sunny in that area for at least the next six months. Therefore, the area would suffer a drought.

The eclipse of August 7, 1999 was at 18 Leo and visible in parts of Russia.  Eclipses visible in Russia often presage dramatic political change. Vladimir Putin replaced Boris Yeltsin as leader of Russia January 2000. This eclipse is near the same degree of Leo as the July 31, 2000 eclipse. Aquarius and Leo eclipses tend to generate Earthquakes where the phenomena is visible.

In the Textbook for Financial Astrology, Book 1,  I mention the statistics that show a down day for the Dow near the date of the eclipse.  90% of the time an eclipse sends markets down for several days. This particular eclipse is in a fixed sign and therefore the down days may continue for several weeks or months.   Read Randall's weekly analysis of the markets.  He has been right on for months.

Price of Oil
Here is the problem with this eclipse. In Textbook 4  I give the Gusher at Spindle Top as the chart for oil. Jupiter has been conjunct the Sun of this chart most of 2008.

However, Saturn is moving into a conjunction with the Mars of the event.  During June and July of 2008 we have experienced transiting Saturn and Mars moving into a conjunction and the market has gone down as a result of everyone world wide being very thrifty. Saturn will make a conjunction to Spindle Top Mars August 31- September 16. I would assume that oil prices move down and usually the Dow moves up. Therefore, when I write the Virgo New Moon column that is my expectation and this particular eclipse will be a short down and a quick up.

The Leo eclipse
The eclipse appears at 11 Leo and promotes the completion of projects started on the February eclipse at 17 Aquarius. This applies to personal projects as well as corporate projects.

The group of individuals born between 1944 and 1948 are ready to retire just as the eclipse hits their Pluto encouraging them to divest themselves of their material possessions. Garage sale signs will sprout in your local parkway.

The public is feeling rather powerful since an attitude of efficient driving has brought down the price of oil. Traders should be aware that the public has a few more ideas about fuel efficiency. Remember the public brought down the banks because they perceived that housing was over priced. They will do the same to oil and food.

This eclipse finds folks focusing their attention on entertainment. People move through the next six months in a holiday mood. They feel good and are ready to share simple entertainment's in the neighborhood. With interesting local events as well as the Olympics and National elections encouraging conversations the neighbors are ready to party, cheer and laugh.

Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
The attitude of thrifty behavior permeates the Americas. Saturn in the 2nd promotes thrifty behavior among corporations as well as ordinary people. Complaints about the waste of tax payers money thrive on the Internet. Local taxing bodies are told to cut back and those running for office are getting the message. The dollar is slowly gaining in value and confusing the players in the commodities markets. The financial markets are in the dog days of August.

Mars is also in the 2nd house finally moving away from its conjunction to Saturn. Workers are committing a lot of energy to earning money. They are working as efficiently as possible while following the directives of managers to keep fuel costs as low as possible. This will keep the oil tankers spinning around in the ocean and possibly bring oil prices down further. The military complex is seen as a vast black hole consuming far too many barrels of oil.

Pluto appears in the 5th
Please excuse my current soap box mantra:
"To solve the problem of childhood obesity, take away the school bus and school lunches."

Maybe school boards will consider both when faced with the high cost of diesel for the buses and the high cost of food for the lunches. If ever the school boards wanted to take control of their finances and do something worthwhile for the students, now is the time.

In addition to children, the fifth house is about gambling whether in a casino or on the stock exchanges. Scandals involving professional and amateur mafia types erupt. Investigative reporters will actually write about interesting news.

Work is plentiful
Jupiter is in the 6th Workers feel healthy and have more than enough energy to accomplish what ever task they are assigned. Public service workers are aware of possible cut backs and are eager to please. They even have a cheerful attitude.

All it takes is a little creativity and ingenuity to get the job done. Neptune is in the 7th and opposed Venus.
Some traders are just way too creative. I will continue with my other mantra "forensic accounting required" The regulatory bodies such as the SEC need to trust their clever employees and investigate. Neptune is opposed to Venus suggesting that too many speculators earned too much money. It is not hiding in the back porch freezer, but possibly the Cayman Islands.

Uranus in the 8th
Finally the government is actually collecting taxes from places they never anticipated. Back to School shoppers are spending their rebate checks. If junior has to walk to school, he will need a cell phone and a book bag on wheels. Actually taxpayers have been working day and night for the past few months and now the tax receipts are coming into the treasury. Some medical insurance carriers are decreasing their premiums adding to the taxable income of corporations. A very healthy population does not request medical attention.

Goldilocks loves London and plans to attend with the mayor the opening of the Hadrian exhibit at the British Museum.  She has been corresponding with the Three Bears who have invited her to return to Wall Street. However, she prefers an economy that is 'just right' and mama bear put all the porridge in the refrigerator.