Dear Fellow Star-Gazers,

A cosmic view of the month ahead starting with today's Full Moon:

The Unthinkable:

You may remember that last month's Full Moon (April 15th) was also a lunar eclipse - and a 'blood Moon' at that. I thought that sometime between then and the solar eclipse - and probably around 22nd-23rd April that there would be a singular event that brought the world together.

Could we have ever imagined that in that on the night of 14th-15th that over two hundred Nigerian school girls would be kidnapped? - or that it would be long after the extra-ordinary planetary formation in the days leading up to the solar eclipse before the whole world was aware of the atrocity?

Surely there must be resolution before Mars passes back over the position it held at the lunar eclipse - that's June 25th/26th - ages away and agony for their families in the interim.

If there is 'good' news, it is that so many countries have now offered assistance to the Nigerians and that so many are united in their determination to bring this awful situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

I was actually thinking that the planetary formations in these last four weeks would put pressure on the Earth's crust resulting in natural disaster and was particularly anxious about the Last Quarter Moon on April 22nd when the Moon was at perigee. There were indeed earthquakes in Mexico but thankfully nothing that was calamitous even if it was scary to witness.

Today's Full Moon is in Scorpio - the sign through which Saturn is transiting. This is also the sign associated with mining. We awoke this morning to the appalling news that over 200 miners have died in a mine in Turkey. Astro-wise, Venus is at right angles to Pluto playing on the chord of the recent Grand Cross.

These Full Moon letters aren't intended to convey gloom and doom but it does seem that there is a viciousness about this alignment that is resonating on Earth in the form of unimaginable horrors.

Markets:

In the last letter I suggested that we might see an uptrend into May 2ND - which proved to be the case. I had also thought that April 22-23rd would be tender - and indeed there was some negative reaction. The days I thought would be negative (May 7th and 8th)  were quite the opposite however. It may be that we do not see significant negativity until late June (25th and 26th still looking difficult).

I thought too that May 6th would be a significant date for gold and the Bullion chart shows this to have been an interesting date. As yet I am not straying from my opinion that gold has a long way to move - though agree that there might not be significant return until 2017.

The next four weeks:

Mars has been retrograde in Libra since March 1st and stations next week ( May19th/20th). That event is followed by the Sun's move into Gemini and a Last Quarter Moon. Then, on 24th, Jupiter and Saturn reach a geocentric trine. The net effect of all this is that there may well be a change of direction on 21st and that it will carry significant momentum through the rest of the trading week.

The following week shows signs of considerable volatility - especially with regard to the so-called blue-chip companies and with focus on pharmaceuticals and mining stocks. May 27th to 29th could prove a bumpy ride in both sectors.

The next key date after that is the Full Moon (June 13th) when I anticipate strong movements that may be related to a proposed rise in interest rates.

Events:

The second Astro-Finance group is now running  - and proving every bit as interesting as the first. There is now a waiting list for the next course(s! depending on your time zone). Please use the contact form on www.financialuniverse.co.uk to register interest.

The Solstice Webinar (where we look at the coming three months) is on Sunday 22 June 2014 at 15.00 GMT. The cost is £24 (inc VAT). Again, please use the contact form on www.financialuniverse.co.uk to secure a place or email me as below.

I am delighted to announce that there will be a weekend event in Dublin over 19th and 20th July where I will be joined by my colleague Margaret Gray. More news on that next month - though again, please email if you would like up to date news before the next Full Moon letter.

Aside from that, I am looking forward to seeing some of you at the ISAR conference in Phoenix in September and in Toronto in early December.

Do please keep in touch,

As always, hoping you are investing foremost in health, family and friendships - so very important at times of stress,

Until next time,

Yours from the stars

Christeen