Is the World headed for a recession? Let’s take a look at what is a recession, how could it be tied to Astrological trends, and how can we surf through this a little easier with some savvy tricks!
On January 1, 2025, I published my 2025 Financial Forecast on YouTube. In this hour-long presentation, I pointed out and predicted, based on the upcoming Astrology, that I saw a possible 36-month downturn, in not only the United States economy, but Globally. A recession is a downturn for two quarters or six months of any given year. A depression is anything that extends beyond that period of time.
Economies, planets, the Sun and the Moon, even Life itself follows particular cycles. Astrologers are keen to look back through history and compare cycles and planetary alignments to find patterns in order to predict the possibilities of the future. One of the biggest financial indicators historically is tied to the North and South Nodes of the Moon and the 9- and 18-year cycles they follow.
Back in 2022-2023, when the North Node was in Taurus, South Node in Scorpio, I had made particular announcements that economies would begin to go in a downward trend. Venus or Mars aspects would trigger one-off volatility. When the Nodes entered Aries/Libra in 2023 through early January 2025, I noted that we would see inflation along with the struggle for balance. Aries is Ruled by Mars (inflation) and Libra is Ruled by Venus (money) respectively. January 11, 2025, the Nodes shifted once again into Pisces/Virgo, typically indicating the results of the previous two periods. This trend lasts until July 26, 2026, followed by another shift into Aquarius/Leo for the next 18 months indicating historically when economies hit “rock bottom”. This was a cycle observation from Louis McWhirter who predicted Stock Market cycles back in the 1930s. Here is a depiction of her cycles:
What is a recession and how will it affect you? How can you prepare and position yourselves to get through an economic recession or depression?
As it is evident from increasing prices and interest rates, market volatility, continued losses loom daily, the threat of tariffs, the reversal of laws and protections, the loss of tens of thousands of jobs; a vibrant and recovering economy was decimated in just 7 short weeks that will continue to trend downward let us look at the positive aspects first. Higher interest rates for those who have savings or money market accounts. A recession can be good for the economy because it allows businesses to restructure efficiently, correct market imbalances by eliminating weak competitors, reduce investment costs significantly, increase savings rates among consumers, and foster innovation through new business opportunities. While recessions are challenging periods marked by economic contraction, they also present unique opportunities for restructuring, market correction, cost reduction, increased savings, and innovation. By leveraging these advantages effectively, both businesses and individuals can position themselves for success in the recovery phase that follows.
How does a recession hurt the consumers like you and me? A recession affects people in numerous ways, impacting their employment, financial stability, access to credit opportunities, healthcare access, mental health, and overall quality of life. The loss of employment, which could lead to the loss of one’s healthcare benefits and home greatly affects overall mental health.
What can you do now to help get through this period and make it easier?
Look at your budget and spending – Everything will come down to need versus want.
- The Budget- the first thing would be to assess where you are right now financially. How much is your income? What are you spending your money on? You can pull a history of your spending accounts. Categorize your spending by essentials versus non-essentials. Essentials include housing, utilities and food. Anything outside of your mortgage/rent, electricity, heat and groceries would be considered non-essential.
- Communications- This would include your phone and internet. Can you switch to a lower cost device? Can you switch carriers or reduce a plan? This would require much consideration as these could greatly affect many aspects of your life. Less expensive options may not be cost effective in the long run if it hurts your business or quality of life.
- Dining Out- this category offers a huge opportunity for cost reduction. Take a look at how much is being spent on all food and beverages purchased outside of your groceries. Are you spending $10 a day for Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee? Even $5 each workday would be $107 per month in savings by making your own coffee and taking it with you. Where can you reduce your dining out by even 1 day per week and making your own food.
- Unnecessary Shopping – take a look at what and how much are you buying. Amazon splurges are easy, but do you really NEED it?
- Subscriptions- This was a huge saving category for me. I looked at everything I was subscribed to when I went through my budget. I canceled many subscriptions that I was not even using. I just had them in case I wanted to use them. I also looked for ways to reduce my costs on the subscriptions that I truly wanted to keep. Streaming services have big opportunities to change your plan or provider. I keep tweaking this category as time goes on. I put reminders in my calendar to periodically review my subscriptions and different plan options. This month alone, I was able to reduce my monthly payments by $50 per month just by reevaluating the plan levels of some of my services. Questions to ask yourself when looking at subscriptions would be Do I use this at least once a week? Can I reduce my plan if I really want to keep it? How would eliminating this affect the quality of my life?
- Donations- many of us love and support certain causes, and in a time of economic recession, those who need donations typically increases. This would be a personal consideration. Pick your favorite charities and set a budget for how much you are willing to donate on an annual or monthly basis.
- Transportation – Reassess your transportation needs and modes. Are you willing to drive a more economic and less expensive vehicle? Can you refinance your loan to a lower interest rate? Can you walk or bike more often to reduce gasoline costs? Can you take public transportation.
- Vices- One thing I noticed during previous recessions is the “Vice” industry typically thrives during recessions and depressions. Vices include alcohol, tobacco, gambling, drugs and sometimes food and shopping. These are consumable activities that often bring comfort during trying times. Become aware of your own temptations and how much is being spent in these areas.
- Entertainment- this could fit into many of the above categories. I would recommend findings ways to entertain yourselves for free. There are so many opportunities for free activities and day trips that cost next to nothing. Get togethers can be just as fun if everyone brings something. Get creative. The great outdoors also offers a wonderful way to exercise, keep yourselves grounded and offers a feast for the eyes and senses all for free or for a small park entrance fee.
- Review investments- I would recommend consulting a financial planner. Opportunities exist to reallocate your designations. You may want to reconsider day-trading if you cannot afford to lose possibly large sums of money. This could be a great opportunity to make some lower priced investments as markets are lower and would recover nicely in the coming years.
- Build an Emergency fund – with all the savings from adjusting your budget and spending, start an emergency fund in a savings or money market account. During a recession, interest rates on these accounts tend to go up, making your profit margin even higher.
- Pay down high-interest rate credit cards and loans. Take a good look at how much interest you are paying on your outstanding debt. Many credit cards that were below 20% interest rates a year ago are now well over 30% now. Once you have determined your outstanding balances and the rates on each, decide how to tackle paying these down or off all together. There are different methods which include paying down the lowest balance first and then reallocating the extra month funds to the next lowest balance. You could also focus on paying down the highest interest rate debt first and then reallocating those funds to the next highest rate card.
- Stop accumulating debt. Try not to use credit cards for purchases. If you pay with cash or debit for everything, it will be easier to stay within your budget.
- Diversify your Income Sources- This could involve taking on freelance work, starting a side business, getting a side-job, or investing in passive income opportunities such as rental properties or dividend-paying stocks. Having additional income sources can provide financial security if one primary source is affected by a recession. Get in the mindset that no job is beneath you. Restaurant, Bar, Cleaning and Retail skills are priceless during times like this.
- Enhance Skills and Education- Invest in yourself by enhancing your skills and education relevant to your career field. Pursuing additional training or certifications can make you more marketable and less vulnerable to layoffs during economic downturns. Networking with professionals in your industry can also open up new job opportunities should the need arise. There are a myriad of free online training and education opportunities.
- Maintain Good Credit- pay all bills on time. Good credit is essential especially if you need to obtain or use credit in an emergency situation.
- Update your resume- It is always a good idea to have your most recent resume handy. Periodically check for job listing where you may either earn more money or stay employed during an economic downturn.
- Stay abreast and informed of economic trends. Check out my 2025 forecast to explain some of these trends.
Hopefully this will give you some information to strengthen your knowledge and your wallet for the future. Many of these tips are handy to utilize even in strong economic years.
Take a look at my financial forecast where I predict a possible 36-month economic downturn based on the Astrology of the times.