[Several times on this blog I’ve quoted financial astrologer Ray Merriman, whose readings are familiar to a number of financial institutions and analysts, and who has an uncanny ability to evaluation and predict economic trends. That’s why I was pleased earlier this week to see the financial website Bankrate.com feature Ray (photo below) in an article by reporter Jay MacDonald. Here are some excerpts.]

Wouldn't you have liked a little advance warning about the great market meltdown of 2008?

Ray began writing about it in 1991.

In astro-lingo, it's called a Cardinal Climax. And it's a nasty bugger.

"A Cardinal Climax occurs when three of the four outermost planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and/or Pluto) enter different 'cardinal signs' and thus form what are known as T-squares to one another," Ray says.

"Cardinal signs are the signs that begin each season -- Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Since these far-out planets move so slowly in their orbits around the sun, such a pattern is quite rare. It occurs every 80 to 90 years."

You've probably guessed by now that the last Cardinal Climax occurred in the 1929-to-1934 time frame. Hmmm, Grandpa did mention something about breadlines back then.

But before that, it occurred in 1841 to 1852 and 1759 to 1778.

"Each of these coincide with severe economic downturns and heightened social, even revolutionary, tendencies," Ray says.

If you're keeping an astro-scorecard, Pluto entered Capricorn in January 2008, Saturn will enter Libra in late October 2009 and Uranus will enter Aries in late May 2010. They will be making "hard aspects" to one another through 2015.

"I've been forecasting this period 2008 to 2015 as a daunting challenge for the economy since then, and of course, we now see that this astrological cycle and its correspondence with the same historical themes is once again occurring, right on time," says Ray.

Click here for the complete Bankrate.com article.

Click here for Ray Merriman’s website.

Good financial astrology can be quite interesting because the accuracy of the forecast is quickly quantifiable. Certainly one of the most respected financial astrologers is Ray Merriman of Merriman Market Analyst. Here he points out how the market has been tracking with Venus's path into retrograde and back.

Venus now ends its retrograde motion as it turned direct on April 17. Since Venus rules assets and things of value (like stocks), there is cause to be concerned that the trend that preceded Venus turning retrograde may now return. That would be the bear market. But in many historical cases, a reversal from a high as Venus turns direct doesn’t necessarily result in a decline that takes out the low of the retrograde period. With Jupiter fast approaching its conjunction to Neptune in late May through mid-July, there is a geocosmic basis for thinking that any decline right now may hold above those lows of March 6-10, and then be followed by another rally to higher highs. Jupiter and Neptune are normally very optimistic and hopeful about the future.

This could get eerie. The Dow Jones Industrial Average made a 12-year low on March 6, the day Venus went retrograde. Those lows have held throughout this Venus retrograde period. On Friday, April 17, Venus turned direct. On that same day, the DJIA posted its highest level since March 6. As stated several times since February, “…any market that makes a multi-week high or low around the time Venus turns retrograde could begin a counter-trend move that will last into the time Venus turns direct, +/- 10 trading days. Venus turns direct this week, April 17, so we are clearly in that time band now for a crest of some importance.”

For Ray Merriman's complete forecast for the coming week, click here.