This is what I’ve been warning about as Saturn and Pluto create an atmosphere of doom and gloom:

Stocks and interest rates tumbled Wednesday as investors around the world took a bleaker view of the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 265 points, its biggest drop in six weeks, and all the major indexes fell more than 2 percent. The yield on the Treasury’s 10-year note fell to its lowest level since March 2009 as investors worried about the economy and avoiding stocks sought the safety of government securities.

Companies across a wide range of industries dropped Wednesday. Only 442 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while 2,627 fell, a sign that investors expect all businesses to suffer if the economy continues to weaken.

Investors’ gloom deepened a day after the Federal Reserve said it would begin buying government bonds as a way to stimulate the economy. News of slower industrial growth in China and a disappointing economic indicator in Japan helped send stocks plunging first in Asia, then in Europe and the U.S.

Saturn was the planet of death before Pluto came along, and Saturn and Pluto are not the most joyful of planets.  Saturn is all about reality testing, and Pluto seeks to destroy anything that is corrupt and rotting, so when the two of them meet in an energetic square we can generally expect the mood to dim.  

I don’t see this as a bad thing, because it’s important to face the reality (Saturn) of the current worldwide economic situation rather than have blind hope for a return to the unrealistic growth of the past twenty years.  For investors this might turn out to be a very good thing, as the exact square of Saturn to Pluto, which occurs August 21, will likely be the bottom of the trough of investor confidence and promises to offer some good deals on stocks.  (Please note:  This is NOT financial advice!!!)

On the personal level, this is the final phase of the cycle which is usually less stressful than the beginning of the cycle, when the energy coming in has not yet been assimilated.