Monday Sept. 23 is the fall equinox, which tends to mark market turning points, says Susan Gidel.

The fall equinox — when the Sun enters the sign of Libra — occurs at 3:50 am EDT on Monday, Sept. 23. To legendary trader W.D. Gann, this change of seasons was one of 10 days he watched each year for a change in trend.

Indeed, the S&P 500 has made turns near these seasonal shifts for the last year, including:

  • High at 2940.91 on Sept. 21, 2018
  • Low at 2346.58 on Dec. 26, 2018
  • High at 2860.31 on March 21, 2019
  • High at 2964.15 on June 21, 2019

This Sept. 23, watch for potential trend changes in gold and 10-year Treasury notes as well because of the way transiting planets hit significant planets in their first-trade horoscopes.

Monday, Sept. 23

  • High in Gold: The main planet in gold’s natal horoscope that often is activated at the time of market highs, Mercury, is getting hit from three directions by four planets. Transiting Mercury and Venus are at a 90-degree square, while Mars is 120 degrees away. The Moon is directly opposite gold’s natal Mercury. In addition, the Sun is at 00 degrees of Libra, marking the fall equinox. Resistance in the December contract is at the planetary price conversion level of $1,545 per oz., then $1,573-$1,581.
  • High in S&P 500: On the fall equinox, the Sun and Mars are both aligned with the first-trade position of Jupiter in the S&P 500 natal horoscope. That connection spells the possibility of ultimate joy, so a market high. In addition, the index’s natal Moon is activated by a square from the transiting Moon and opposition from Mercury and Venus. Certainty, the all-time high at 3027.98 (at Pluto’s price conversion level of 3028) could provide resistance. Jupiter’s price conversion level of 3058 is the next resistance level higher.
  • High in 10-year Treasury notes: Two planets with a history of being activated at market highs—Mars and Saturn—are both in play on Monday. As it does every year on the fall equinox, the Sun is directly aligned with the market’s natal Mars, one of the four important corners of the natal horoscope’s “mystic rectangle.” Transiting Mercury is conjunct the market’s first-trade Saturn. Finally, the transiting Moon is square to the first-trade Moon. Resistance in the December contract is at 132-03 to 132-30, the Uranus price conversion level.

Tuesday, Sept. 24

  • High in Soybeans: As the Sun enters Libra, the position of the Sun and Mercury in the market’s first-trade horoscope chart are both activated. On Tuesday, the transiting Sun is conjunct natal Mercury while transiting Venus and Mercury are conjunct the natal Sun. Look for resistance in November beans at the Mercury-Sun planetary price conversion levels of $9.03-$9.12 per bushel. The Venus level of $9.38 is next higher.

Friday, Sept. 27

  • Low in Euro FX: Venus, the ruler of money, is the lynchpin in identifying market turns in Euro FX. On Friday, transiting Venus and Mercury are directly opposite the position of Venus in the first-trade horoscope for Euro FX futures. In addition, the transiting Moon and Mars are 120 degrees apart from the first-trade Mars position. Support in the December contract is at 1.1070, Saturn’s price conversion level, then the Venus level at 1.0980.

Last Week’s Scorecard (through Wednesday’s close)

Pretty Darn Good

  • High in Gold on Friday, Sept. 13: Gold prices successfully tested the $1,492 per oz. lows from earlier in the week for a modest rally to $1,519 in the December contract.
  • High in S&P 500 on Friday, Sept. 13: The highest print for the week was the day before as the S&P 500 rallied to 3020, within 8 points of the all-time high. On Friday, the high was slightly lower, at 3017. The market is meeting resistance at the planetary price conversion levels of 3003-3010, with all closes in the last week below 3010.

Off the Mark

  • High in 10-year Treasury note on Friday, Sept. 13: This was not a high, but rather the low of the move from highs set on Sept. 3 at 132-130 in the December contract.

The position of planets in the sky as they relate to their positions when a market first began trading can provide clues to potential trend changes. The energy is strongest on the days noted in this post, but it is not unusual for the effect to be seen a day or two either side. See backgrounder “Market Analysis with Astrology” for further information. 

Susan Gidel is editor of the Red Letter Trading Days newsletter.