As you will know, solar science is still in its infancy and sadly we cannot yet forecast much solar activity. It is interesting to note though that on Tuesday (9^th), a powerful X-flare erupted from departing sunspot 1263. This flare created waves of ionisation in the Earth's upper atmosphere and sparked a minor proton storm around the planet. This flare neatly coincided (?!) with a formidable planetary formation and may have been a factor in last week's extraordinary market movements.

For now, the big, active sunspots of recent weeks are transiting the far side of the Sun so the Earth should be spared bombardment from similar flares. That said, this coming week, the Moon will cross some of the zodiac degrees accentuated during last week's market volatility so that Wednesday could yet prove another day of high drama.

You will recall from an earlier letter that analysis of Jupiter-Saturn phases in the 20^th century shows index lows to occur well past the opposition of these two planets. If history repeats, then the period June 2012 to February 2013 should provide the best opportunity for bargains. For now, the market-place is no place for the novice. True, if you know what you're doing and have an experienced technical analyst to work with you - and if your own chart shows promise for the period ahead - then there will be gains to be made. In the main though, this is perhaps an optimum time to watch and learn.

It is clear that the recent pattern of Jupiter in Taurus, Saturn in Libra and Mars in Gemini did indeed witness another historical repetition: another recession was brought to the West's door - with the Northern hemisphere more affected than the South. Politicians may be slow to concede this but the double dip that the planets indicated does indeed seem to be with us.

There are few rays of sunshine in the coming weeks - indeed, as outlined in the August subscription letter, we should see more currency mayhem in the next two weeks. In that same issue I suggested that politicians and bankers might be recalled from their holidays as they were during the Russian Rouble crisis of 1998. That has now happened in the UK: expect leaders in other countries to follow suit - and for UK politicians who've nipped back to their holiday villas to have to return to Westminster again.

Straight-forward analysis of the Uranus-Pluto cycle underlines the astro-historical pattern to these events. What we have yet to see is the impact this cycle might have on taxation and, in particular, so-called 'off shore tax havens'. The complexity of these arrangements has made it near impossible for them to be deconstructed. Yet as the Uranus-Pluto square tightens and social tensions heighten, these bastions could come under attack. Before the end of August more rumblings of discontent about these ghostly entities may be heard in many regions of the world. Just as sub-prime and quantatitive easing have had their buzzword moments, anticipate the murky world of tax havens to move to the front pages.

In the UK, coverage of the street riots has dominated the headlines - pushing to the inner pages the turmoil on the world markets and in banking stocks especially. With some European countries having now made the short-selling of banking stocks illegal, it might at first seem that the panic is over: and indeed these stocks could recover before the next New Moon (Aug 29^th). The outlook is not quite as rosy for the next Full Moon (Sept. 12^th) and the subsequent last quarter Moon (Sept 20^th) which carries a decidedly negative frequency with regard to this area of trading.

You may remember that I wondered if the recent planetary formations would result in further Earth upheaval: natural disasters. The only story which really caught my eye this last week concerned the discovery of an undersea volcano which erupted off the coast of Oregon. Though the actual event most likely took place a few months ago, geologists have been amazed by this upheaval on the ocean floor (Aug 9^th). Similar fact-finding missions may yet discover more recent activity - and of course it is still possible that Mt Etna, several Icelandic volcanoes, Indonesia's Karangetang and Eastern Russia's Karymsky- all of which have shown signs of activity in recent weeks, will erupt further around the present Full Moon.

Looking ahead, we should wonder about late September when the Moon will be moving ever closer to the Earth. At those times when it configures with planets already in tense formation, pressure on the Earth's crust could give rise to major eruption.

Returning to the markets, there are two other key dates where activity may be abnormal in August: on the eve (22^nd) of the Sun's Virgo ingress we may see a temporary reversal in in food commodity prices. The more alarming date is 27^th - Mercury's direct station which is itself part of a configuration including Uranus and two of the stellar bodies used in the Hamburg system. 27^th is a Saturday so it may be that the effect is felt more in the Far East when markets open after the weekend. This is also a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK which could diffuse any reaction. Even so, investors should be on alert.

Transits to my own chart have rendered the last four weeks a wild ride with family requiring temporary accommodation as building works were carried out. I am ever hopeful that normal working service will be resumed this coming week but there is SO much to catch up on - and a summer flu to get rid of before our holiday.

The files for my trips to Toronto* (November), Florida* and Boston* (next January) are filling up nicely however and I'm looking forward to accessing charts when things settle down. I also need to complete the final edit of the presentation on UK property prices* - rest-assured this task has high priority!

Thanks to my friend, trading analyst and mentor/guru, I think we're almost there with the astro-technical book. Don't expect to hear about this until the Sun moves into Libra but do know that it is on the launch pad!

For now, wishing you good health, safety, and happy holidays,

Yours from the stars

Christeen

*Updated information will be on the website later this week