Introduction

The Fate Periods in Chinese Astrology, of which really there are only a total of 8 and which each last a different period of years, constituting a total of about 180 years. For the purpose of comparison, 12 periods of 180 years equate to an ‘Age’ in both Vedic (Indian) and Arabic Astrology, which together form the basis of what we know today as ‘Western Astrology’.  For instance, we are slowly progressing towards the ‘Age of Aquarius’, although technically that doesn’t really start until about

2070 but we are beginning to experience the initial influence of this Astrological Age which lasts around 2,160 years.  Actually, the periods of 180 years and, indeed, 2,160 years are not exact, since no planets and stars return to their exact same position in the heavens after each revolution around their sun in the case of planets and the central black hole in the case of stars and constellations. Interestingly, Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity described these inexact cycles.  Twelve ‘Ages’ constitute nearly 26,000 years and this whole cycle of an ’Age’ reflects the Precession of the Equinox which is, effectively, the earth’s continual cyclical wobble on its own geographic axis.

The Xuan Gong system used to calculate the 8 Fate Periods actually refers to the ‘Heaven Ch’i’. Thus, the beginning of the Periods is earlier than normally expected when using the San Yuan system. The San Yuan (which literally translated means 3 Periods) relates to the manifestation of Heaven Ch’i on earth.  The 3 Periods are, of course, 60 years each relating to the cycle of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, totalling the same 180 years.  The San Yuan system therefore has 9 Fate Periods of 20 years each and this is the system which is commonly used and includes a Fate Period 5, which the Xuan Gong system doesn’t since, in Chinese Metaphysics, the number 5 indicates the Heaven Ch’i on Earth and that number was only used by the Emperor in the past.

Thus, the 9 Fate Period in the Xuan Gong system, relating to Heaven Ch’i, commences at the Winter Solstice of 2016 and effectively that Ch’i is fully manifested on earth by 2024 in the San Yuan system. However, because the 9 Fate Period is one of the most powerful and the longest (27 years) in the Xuan Gong system, it was noticeable that its effects were even being seen as early as 2012, before it really began and well before it fully manifested on earth.

The Nine Fate Period

In the case of Chinese Astrology, it is not only useful to calculate the effects of a particular year, whether that be at a personal level or a geopolitical level, but also for longer periods which are known as ‘Fate Periods’. This current Fate Period, which we have just entered, is known as the ‘Nine South Fate Period’. Technically this Fate Period began at the winter solstice of 2016 and lasts for 27 years.

However, since it is the longest and arguably the most powerful of all nine of the Chinese astrological periods, its influence was already noticeable towards the end of 2012. Although the astrology of each year offers a more poignant view, the influence of the Fate Period is far stronger and pervades throughout.

Unfortunately, the Nine Fate Period is all about dictatorial government and war, primarily ‘economic war’, although all wars are caused by economic imbalances. As one philosopher I came across mentioned “If goods don’t cross borders, armies will!”. Naturally, this kind of governmental control will result in increased regulations, including the attitude regarding taxation, on the population as a whole, as well as governments trying to introduce further regulation on major corporations. The whole period reflects a very masculine and aggressive attitude.

For the benefit of students of Chinese philosophy, the Nine Fate is all about ‘Metal’ and ‘Fire’ elements, where ‘Fire’ represents emotion and ‘Metal’ money, economies, banking and stockmarkets.

Of course, ‘Fire’ is also volatile – it burns down and can then flare up again, so we can expect some volatility in stockmarkets during the whole of this period but there will be tremendous opportunities for those prepared to dip in and out of markets, effectively buying when the market has undergone a correction and selling after the subsequent rise. These movements are quite predictable using complex astrological predictions. The whole ‘Nine Fate Period’ seems to be one where people are influenced to make irrational and emotionally based decisions, particularly, but not exclusively, financial ones, which isn’t surprising, since ‘Fire’ represents outwardly expressed emotions.

It’s worth looking at the last time we had a Nine Fate Period, which was from 1837 to 1864 and coincided with the peak of the British worldwide Empire in the Victorian era. Now, I haven’t examined the stock or property markets in that period but the actual peak of that Empire, which had developed primarily for economic gain, could well be timed at around 1857/58, the time of the ‘Indian Mutiny’. India was the ‘Eastern Pearl’ in the Empire and whilst it took India 90 years to achieve political independence, the wars which continued to ensue during the second half of the 19th century severely depleted the economic reserves of the UK, culminating in the ‘handover’ of world leadership to the USA after the First World War without actual conflict between Britain and America, which was possibly the first time in history that a new Empire began to grow and an old one wither without conflict between the two powers involved. Naturally, the growth of the ‘US Empire’ wasn’t without conflict or, for that matter, stockmarket (and property market) volatility. It’s interesting to compare the period during which these two Empires existed, which was about 100 years, and it could well be said that the peak of the new US Empire was around the time of the Korean and, in particular, the subsequent Vietnam war. South Korea is still a vassal state of the US, even though its inhabitants probably don’t consider being influenced and controlled in this way.

I was even more surprised by the recent withdrawal by the US and other western interests from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021.  It caused me to relook at the demise of the ‘British Empire’ and that research resulted in me deciding that it probably began around the end of 1841 when the armies of both the East India Company and divisions of the British Army were defeated in what has become known as the ‘First Afghan War’.  It’s almost exactly 180 years later that the US was effectively defeated by the Taliban causing the withdrawal in August 2021.  Indeed, the few months difference probably relates to the fact that no astronomical and therefore astrological cycles are exactly the same length, so a few months difference over a period as long as 180 years effectively confirms this.  This withdrawal could well be the catalyst ending the worldwide influence of the US as the major power.

Once I’d realised this strange ‘coincidence’ relating to the withdrawal of our armies from Afghanistan, which was just as chaotic as that in the mid-19th century, although at least this time the western armies were not massacred as previously happened, I began to consider other major developments in the middle of the 19th century and compare them to current difficulties which people seem to be experiencing.  Currently, a lot of major companies are finding that their staff are working under considerable stress and thus having to take time off to deal with their ‘mental health’ issues. From the astrological point of view of the Nine Fate Period which, as I’ve mentioned, is all about emotional ‘Fire’ element and effective ‘burn out’, it struck me that this was being created by the increase in electronic communication connecting the whole world.  The ‘Fire’ element certainly represents electricity and it is the ‘Water’ element which represents communication and travel.

‘Water’ clashes ‘Fire’ and in too great a quantity completely extinguishes it. Everyone expects to be able to communicate with each other via all the usual and social media methods and expects a very rapid response.  This is certainly causing a great deal of mental/emotional stress.  Back in the mid-

19th century, it was the development of the internal combustion engine which increased the worldwide communication, particularly with regard to trade, since the development of this technology powered trains, ships and subsequently cars and aeroplanes.  Once again, worldwide communication was rapidly developed and increased, which must have been stressful for many ordinary people.  Of course, the internal combustion engine was all about the use of ‘Fire’ and ‘Metal’ and this certainly increased economic development in a similar way to the electronic communication that we are using and rapidly developing today.  The medical profession worldwide is recognising this problem and referring to it as a ‘mental health’ issue.  Management of one’s time and organisation is becoming increasingly important.

This Fate Period certainly relates to China’s ‘One Belt/One Road’ policy, now known as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, which is its attempt to influence and grab more ‘wealth’. Actually, this description of a road or belt is perhaps a rather pleasant way which the Chinese government have described their intent to become much more involved with the trading conditions in the West. As Chairman Mao pointed out “If we wish to avoid war with the West, we must trade with them”, although how that trade is managed is quite another matter. It has been compared with the Silk Road of ages past but this is no ‘silky’ approach, although this ‘road’ has led to considerable conflict for well over a thousand years. Indeed, the modern ‘road’ could be more likened to a metal arrow or shotgun directed towards the US and passing right through India, Pakistan and the Middle East, which certainly seems to be what is happening. The usage of the word ‘belt’ in China’s description of its action is rather intriguing if it intends to ensure the West ‘tightens its belt’!

One thing which will be very important is self sufficient food production, which Britain has successfully reduced and even minimised in its greedy attempt, albeit apparently initially successful, to create one of the world’s most influential financial centres in London. Total lack of its ability to be self sufficient in food production puts it in a vulnerable position, particularly now it has ceased to be a ‘member’ of Europe, although the EEC is rapidly developing its own economic problems, which are probably unsolvable within the single currency regime. Once again, for the benefit of students, the importance of introducing the ‘Earth’ element in order that the previous mentioned element of

‘Fire’ supports it and it in turn supports ‘Metal’ element, preventing the clash between ‘Fire’ and

‘Metal’ cannot be overemphasised so growing one’s own organic food, whilst not a total solution, will certainly be a very helpful activity.  The ‘Earth’ element relates to the human and animal population in general and food in particular. Of course, food can be split between the various varieties such as meat (animal produce – ‘Earth’ element) and vegetables (‘Wood’ element) and can also be split between the different kinds of taste relating to each element.

Incidentally, the Nine Fate relates to the south, i.e. the ‘world Ch’i (energy)’ is coming from the south to the north, so northerly parts of a country or continent are likely to benefit with further economic growth and political power. For instance, Scotland is certainly enjoying greater political independence and will probably seek even more.

The astrological charts show that the West, led by the US, is infiltrating the East and attempting to ‘control’ (or at least heavily influence) it, primarily by increased investment and trade between the West and China (the leader of the East), as well as ever increasing use of other Eastern nations, such as India, by the UK and Europe, probably due to past colonial ties.

Unfortunately, the charts show that both China and the West is ‘cursed’ during this whole period, which is not a very fortuitous situation! Neither will totally succeed.

In the past, China has attempted to expand its political and economic influence worldwide three times in its history but they’ve all been unsuccessful. It’s almost as though China was never meant to be the world leader/conqueror, although it certainly appears that America will not succeed in this venture over the long term. Astrologically, it appears that China is attempting to prepare much longer term and long-lasting goals, whereas the West is taking short term action in answer to each ongoing financial crises and America would seem to be lurching from one minor crisis to another on some kind of learning curve, without actually changing its socio-economic attitude.

The whole period most certainly indicates fever (‘Fire’), affecting the respiratory system (represented in Chinese Medicine by the ‘Metal’ element), which is exactly what the ‘flu viruses have done for at least the last few years. I have noticed that quite a number of clients/patients have suffered from the apparent effects of the influenza vaccination in this way, so it’s by no means certain that the vaccines developed don’t have certain side effects and those effects seem to have been infectious! The ‘Fire’ element of the Nine Fate also indicates that the energy moves and changes quickly, which is becoming particularly noticeable due to all the different methods of electrically based communication. It seems people feel under pressure and are perhaps getting confused by all the facilities to over communicate. From a health point of view, this seems to be increasing hypertension (i.e. blood pressure rising!), as well as mental illness, which is hardly surprising since the head is, of course, represented by ‘Fire’ element.

Both the West and the East (including the north-east/Russia) seem to be trying to ‘melt’ each other’s economies and are hell bent on increasing their own wealth, primarily by following the usual old patterns of behaviour. Unfortunately, the charts show that this won’t work and that different solutions need to be found.

Both China and the UK will eventually succumb to a sort of financial standstill, whilst the Eurozone appears to be collapsing completely, which is probably a good description of where the Euro is leading and the possible breakup of the EU could lead to the sort of economic conflict that its creation was intended to prevent. Contrary to popular economic opinion, usually predicting Italy and in the past, Greece, being the ‘sick patients’ of Europe and the Euro, the charts indicate that it could be Spain, Portugal and even possibly Ireland (Eire) which are the countries which try to break away during this Nine Fate Period.

America’s problem in the long run is that support for its assets (oil, manufacturing etc) is ‘attacked’ and weakened so its prime concern as the Fate Period progresses is unemployment and job creation but it has difficulty finding the right way of doing this. In addition, the US chart does show that the

‘East’ brings illness to the ‘West’, which might also effect female reproductive systems, as well as respiratory problems, although some illness prevails worldwide on all charts. Subsequent to initially preparing these predictions in 2016, I’ve had reports via my contacts at the World Health Organisation

that many women have found a side effect of the recent flu vaccines used to try and cure the virus which created the pandemic is that their menstrual cycle and reproductive ability have been affected.

Economy

Perhaps now would be a good time to digress and look at what has been happening economically. Since the Second World War and very actively since the 1960s, the US has pursued a policy of lending money to developing countries, specifically those with natural resources. However, it’s often lent sums far larger than can ever be repaid and in some cases so large that the interest charged can’t be serviced! In return, these countries are ‘forced’ to use American corporations to build the infrastructure (roads, railways, bridges, electricity etc) so that American corporations can plunder those natural resources. In some cases, the money never actually goes to the countries involved and when it does, it’s soon back in American hands. Of course, the GDP of such countries appears to improve but really the only people in the developing countries involved who benefit are the influential who are usually relatively well off to start with and particularly the country’s leaders. Those leaders who ‘rebel’ tend to have rather nasty and, in some cases, fatal, accidents. It appears to be a far more successful policy than the ‘gunboat diplomacy’ used by the British Empire in the 19th century, although that ‘Empire’ too used similar strategies epitomised by the East India Company and its like. Now, under Chairman Mao, China doesn’t appear to have chosen to adopt a similar policy but since his demise, communist China has developed a hidden (but not very well) capitalist structure, tightly controlled by those in power. Consequently, having seen the success of this US policy, it has copied it initially in Africa and subsequently South America and elsewhere. Indeed, its next course of action certainly involves India and Pakistan and may well involve the ‘String of Pearls’ (island states) in the ocean to the south, as is indicated with its pursuit of power in the South China sea. This does not bode well for Taiwan (who has previously been protected by the US) all the way round to Indonesia and, since there has always been jealous conflict between China and Japan, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that develop in the future.  What was surprising was the politically aggressive visit of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan in early August 2022.  It was hardly surprising that the Chinese reacted by a demonstration of their military capabilities and how those could be easily directed at Taiwan. The most likely reoccurrence of hostilities in this area would seem to be shortly after the solar eclipse which passes over some of the land located close to Taiwan on 20th April 2023. This comment is based on some research that a good friend of mine, who practised Western Astrology, undertook.  He researched solar eclipses when they pass over land going back

250 years and realised that when this astronomical event occurs, the countries over which the eclipse passes are usually subjected to war shortly afterwards.

Since power and wealth is the ultimate goal, it seems China has been taking the attitude ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’. It all came to a head in 2014 when the Euro and Japanese Yen were devalued, resulting in China devaluing the Yuan in late 2015, causing a significant correction in the US stockmarket, since both countries have each other as major trading partners. That led to China being included in the basket of currencies (US Dollar, Euro, Sterling, Yen and now Yuan) to calculate the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), which is the world currency issued by the IMF, and which is strongly influenced by the US political administration, which, in turn, is influenced by Wall Street. This situation has occurred despite the fact that the Yuan didn’t really qualify, since China didn’t really have sufficient depth of reserves, although it has steadily been buying gold during the last decade. Effectively, it was a political decision to try to create a more level playing field for the continual trade war between West and East.

It would be nice to think that the movers and shakers of the international political and corporate powers could all come to a sensible agreement but as history recalls, that just doesn’t happen. The world financial crash of 2007 to 2012 (and longer) was due to a world credit bubble and that was

predated by the Wall Street panic related to one heavily geared company, Long Term Capital Management, which had to be bailed out in 1998. 10 years previously, similar prevailing excesses led to the stockmarket crashes of 1987 and 1989 and the economic problems, which didn’t recover until around 1995. In fact, ever since we steadily came off the Gold Standard after the Second World War and adopted fiat (fictitious and illusionary) national currencies, of which the SDR is plainly an international one, credit bubbles have grown and burst, causing major financial panic and hardship to vast numbers of people worldwide.

Stockmarkets

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume stockmarkets reacted in a way closely connected with the economies of the countries in whose markets their shares were listed, although, in the case of the Dow Jones on Wall Street and the FTSE100 in London, the companies listed trade worldwide, so the whole global economy would have to be considered.

However, this is just not the case. Stockmarkets react to Behavioural Economics, Behavioural Psychology and varying mathematical models relating to Complexity Theory. Effectively, Carl Gustav Jung’s ‘Collective Unconscious’. This isn’t the unconscious thought of a worldwide or even national population but that of its investing members, influenced by the advisors to governments, the international financial bodies, such as the IMF and World Bank, as well as international banks, all of whom are influenced by major international corporate bodies, of which the banks are themselves members, along with powerful political lobby groups, such as those representing farming, fisheries, oil, steel and manufacturing in general etc. BUT all of them are influenced by their own astrology and the general astrology related to the markets, whether they realise it or not.

In years gone by, before we were all so interconnected, different countries stockmarkets reacted much more directly to the prevailing local conditions but nowadays they often move in unison, primarily due to the ease of international trade and communication, particularly the movement of money (‘Metal’) electronically (‘Fire’). Naturally, certain sectors can and do react differently, depending on international political agreements and arrangements, such as the oil price collapse in 2018, created by Opec and Russia, seemingly to combat production from US shale exploration, followed by the price hike resulting from a misguided approach by Germany towards the Russian oil trade once Russian decided it needed to access the southern ports of Ukraine.

Nevertheless, astrology can (and is accurately used to) predict share price movements (and that of stocks and bonds) of different countries’ stockmarkets, based on the astrology of the winter solstice immediately preceding the year in question and then that of various months and even days and hours. As mentioned above, the winter solstice occurs in different times in different stockmarket locations and sometimes on different days, so they can have significantly different charts and the same applies for key dates relating to specific months. Just using the prevailing local market indices, such as those of the S&P500 and the FTSE250, it is possible to accurately predict major movements and dip in and out of equity markets or even go long or short on the index price and make considerably greater profits than just staying in a market for the long term.

The financial crisis that emerged in September 2008 could really be traced back to events around the summer solstice, another key date annually, of the previous year, 2007. I used Chinese Astrology and predicted that the peak of the FTSE250 here in the UK would be 21/06/2007, although, as far as I recall, it actually peaked on 19/06/2007, just three days earlier. Since then, by just going in and out of the markets and not even getting involved with futures options, the funds invested have multiplied by well over 700% and in the previous 2 years had already doubled, so over 16 years or so since 2004 the value has risen 1400%.

The only person I’ve ever heard of definitely using astrology for this is George Soros, although I’m told it is used by some financial firms, such as hedgefunds on Wall Street and probably in London too.

UK

The astrological charts show the UK, since the commencement of this Fate Period, is entering a new beginning and the country is in a changing and delicate time. In 2016, Brexit (the departure of the UK from membership of the EU) was the main problem being thought about and discussed by political and corporate leaders and plainly for the UK was a new beginning, having been a member since 1973, although not a member of the European currency. Certain aspects of the chart indicate that there was too much on everyone’s mind to be properly considered and paint an image of rain, thunder and lightning, which certainly describes the negotiations between the UK and European Union and that unless there is a significant change in the strategy of both sides, the situation will lead to danger and chaos.

Looking at the Yi Jing Da Guas of the Winter Solstice of 2016, there appears to be a massive mountain to climb so that unless all the peripheral details and past attitudes are ‘Swept Away’ it will be very difficult to concentrate on the core issues and reap any rewards. Indeed, the whole ‘story’ is analogous to the cuckoo laying its egg in another bird’s nest so that its chick pinches all the food from the other chicks, i.e. pinches the Ch’i (energy/money), which is a perfect analogy describing trade wars.

All of these prognoses could well be used as metaphors for the Nine Fate Period. Regulations are certainly being imposed at the moment and that certainly seems to be the ongoing likelihood during the next 20 years or so and unless many previous attitudes are ‘swept away’ so that the deeply buried core problem of a more equal and just, both financial and social, society emerges, there will be strong resistance by the ‘masses’ causing the imposition of even more harsh regulations, regardless of the intended outcome.

Europe

Europe or, at any rate, Belgium, where the EU parliament is based in Brussels, and Western Europe in general but excluding Spain, Portugal and Eire, who all have similar charts to the UK, appear to be quite aggressively trying to keep the status quo. At any rate, that’s how the European parliament seemed to be reacting regarding the issue surrounding Brexit in 2017 and perhaps that’s how they saw things for the immediate future. The key economic and therefore political situation was to ensure that capital reserves remained intact and concentrate on trying to maintain the unemployment rate and even improve it, particularly with regard to the southern states (countries). The energy is very impure, mixed and unfinished and repairs and improvements to the whole structure are vitally required.

Finally, towards the end of the Nine Fate (2044), danger seems to be in the offing with the more northerly states becoming more prosperous but at the expense of the southerly ones, who are energetically drained. It may well be that Europe does survive in its present format until 2044 but the One Fate Period begins then, showing that everything must start again but that probably means some members leaving and inevitably issuing their own currency, resulting in severe devaluation to allow those with primarily agricultural economies some chance of recovery.

China

China is an entirely different situation to the UK and Europe, although, strangely enough, it has some similarities to the latter, or at least will have.

China’s chart shows that patience is required and it is a time to plan carefully and not act too hastily, which could well be its undoing in the long run. The ‘image’ is of rain in the heavens, which is not necessarily a bad omen, since without water no crops will grow. The situation could be likened to the term ‘rain stopped play’, which every cricket fan here in the UK will recognise instantly! In China’s case, the whole intention was about building capitol with the creation of jobs but also attacking its competitors in the West with its ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ but if it doesn’t stop and think carefully, it most certainly won’t be successful.

It seems that what is happening in the immediate future is exactly the same as Europe, so things are not what they seem and the rapid economic progress, in particular, appears to be coming to a halt. Their hopes and expectations just don’t materialise, leading to an economic and political situation very similar to that experienced by Europe at the moment.

This seems to indicate that had China taken a more conciliatory and accommodating approach to its worldwide competitors, success could have been achieved but by initially taking an aggressive and, to some extent, underhand approach, it ends up in a mess with a new leader(s) challenging for power and an increase in social unrest in a number of parts of the country. The present leader, incidentally, is likely to fall ill during the later part of this Fate Period (which is not too surprising, since he was born in 1953), but will almost certainly try to maintain power and control longer than is good for the country. Arguments about job creation and growing unemployment appear to be the cause of the social unrest, so it isn’t just political manoeuvring.

As I mentioned earlier, there have been three previous times in history when China had the chance to

‘rule the world’ and it looks as though this fourth attempt is going to be unsuccessful too.

USA

It is plain that the US is implementing unreasonable regulations, both on its population and its wealth creating corporations, causing, amongst other things, a reduction of capital reserves. A perfect example of this is the challenge by the US regulators on Google for running an ‘illegal monopoly’ regarding searches and advertising. These sorts of challenges, which are also being addressed to other major worldwide influential corporations, such as Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and Apple will naturally bring some stockmarket volatility. It appears to be purely thinking about itself, which I guess is what President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ is all about! America, and apparently its previous leader, acted in an uncivilised and bullying fashion, which is exactly highlighted in the astrological chart for the US.

Plainly a long-term plan is needed with much concentration on the detail. Lurching from one tweet to another was always unlikely to achieve success! The image is ‘Thunder over the Mountain’. Thunder is short lived, whereas the Mountain is there for a very long time. Taking things steadily and accepting that change will (and must) happen is by far the best solution. It’s all about money, the economy, capital resources and, perhaps most important of all, unemployment!

Unfortunately, this situation continues despite subsequent leaders attempting to be much more sincere. The US is in a very difficult situation, which has been caused by the unreasonable regulations at the beginning of this Fate Period and these are certainly not just related to the pandemic. The‘powers that be’ have been imposing regulations on the corporate sector and that restricts the growth of a capitalist economy, even if they are an attempt to ensure some kind of socially just moral behaviour and reasonable competition. The boards of companies cannot behave in this way in such a competitive world if they intend to satisfy the desires of their shareholders. China may well have been doing much the same thing but that is by careful discussion between government and corporate bodies, facilitated, to some extent, by the government becoming shareholders in some of those major corporations. Of course, this ‘happy liaison’ is created by fear but then all leaderships seem to succumb to that tactic sooner or later! Warren Buffett suggests that unconditional love is the only philosophy to adopt, even in a competitive world but there doesn’t seem to be much of that on an international scale for the next 20 years.

Dictatorial Government & Taxation

I thought I would mention a couple of interesting situations regarding the imposition of regulations, firstly by the UK government and then a major corporation.

Whilst none of us want to see blatant tax evasion, tax avoidance by legal means is perfectly reasonable and, as far as major international corporations are concerned, directors would be in dereliction of their duties to shareholders if reasonable legal arrangements weren’t made to minimise taxation. Consequently, many companies hive off their IP (intellectual property rights) to subsidiaries based in a tax haven and then charge any royalties paid to those subsidiaries from their main trading companies based in the US, UK and Europe against their profits, thus reducing their corporate tax liabilities in those jurisdictions. Having said that, quite a number are beginning to ensure they pay at least some taxation so they don’t upset the relevant governments or have the tax authorities undertaking investigations.

However, a strange situation has recently occurred in the UK relating to a specific tax avoidance scheme for individuals, known as an ‘Employee Benefit Trust’, which enabled individuals to effectively obtain tax free income by means of loans from foreign domiciled trusts in tax havens. The UK HMRC have decided to treat these loans as income, despite the fact that these avoidance schemes have never been tested in any court and technically loans should not be treated as income. Even so, they are applying that taxation retrospectively from when someone originally joined a scheme and this is very much against the spirit of the law here in the UK. Furthermore, this has  been achieved through Executive Order of the government without legislation being passed by parliament, which is a rather unusual antidemocratic move. This retrospective legislation is unheard of in the UK and certainly emphasises dictatorial government, regardless of one’s (or their) views on tax avoidance/evasion measures.

The UK government’s intention to change the exit agreement from the EU is another dictatorial and internationally illegal action, which could well be its undoing when trying to negotiate future trade deals with other nations.

I heard of another rather interesting situation yesterday from an author friend of mine. Apparently Amazon have written to smaller publishers, at least here in the UK, indicating that they won’t be stocking their books in the future. This coming from the major corporation who originally set out to ensure that all books were available, particularly those from relatively unknown authors and small publishers. They receive notification of the ISBN as soon as the book is published and before it is printed, when they initially note it as ‘unavailable’ until they have received some copies or can access them. An interesting bit of dictatorial rule from a supposed ‘free marketeer’.

Nine Fate Period Summary

Initially as the energy and influence of this Fate Period waxes, the US will think it’s got the upper hand but once this energy fully manifests after 2024, China and the East will prosper more rapidly. The recent US decision to sell Taiwan US$180 million worth of torpedoes is not going to help relationships between the two major nations and recently the Australian government policy of following Trump’s lead condemning China as the cause of the virus leading to the pandemic has already had trade repercussions with China applying an 80% import tax on barley and refusing to accept meat from four abattoirs in Melbourne due to ‘erroneous paperwork’, as well as further ongoing economic and legal restrictions.

China’s more restrictive laws, which it is implementing in Hong Kong, are another reaction against the West, particularly since this territory is often the route of investment into China.

A much more nuanced diplomatic approach is going to have to be required by the US and the countries it primarily influences if we want to avoid ongoing very difficult trade wars.

The astrological charts of the Winter Solstice of 2016 show that the whole Nine Fate Period will be a massively difficult ‘learning curve’ for the world as a whole unless reasonable co-operation can be achieved. There is some evidence to indicate that a female leader might be able to strongly influence that cooperation or, at any rate, a leader with a less aggressive masculine attitude than currently prevails but I’m afraid that I don’t think President Trump or, indeed, Boris Johnson is that leader, as the voting public in the US and Members of Parliament here in the UK have realised!