If you've been following the headlines lately, you probably already know that, as usual, all that stuff was predicted in my annual and monthly forecasts - long before they gave you the scoop over at CNN Interactive or MSNBC. Most recently, for example, there's been "a major credit event in January-February, under the auspices of the next Saturn-Pluto square that takes down industries, banks and maybe even a country . . . for a time, this will likely strengthen the dollar and depress US equity markets, as investors seek a safe haven." If some of those words sound familiar, you've been following the news these past few weeks. In fact, that's a direct quote from my 2010 World Forecast Highlights - published last year.

My 2009 World Forecast Highlights spoke of the connection between "criminality, terrorism, (and) military conflict" and the current Mars Maximum cycle – in effect from late 2009 into spring 2010 – and recommended that we "be aware of the heightened potential for violence, irritability, haste and conflict, and act accordingly. In particular, the period around the Mars retrograde and direct stations (December 20, 2009 and March 10, 2010) are among the peak points in this kind of potential, as well as the day of the Sun-Mars opposition (January 30, 2010)." Since this cycle began, there’s been a whole rash of such things, from the November 5 Fort Hood massacre to the Christmas Day suicide bomber attack on a Northwest airliner coming into Detroit – which, fortunately, failed. The "fires, clashes, crashes and explosions that are par for the course under this sort of Mars close pass", as described in my forecast, have also been much in the news - including most recently the massive, deadly explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown CT on February 7.

On the geophysical front, the 2009 forecast also made mention of a strong storm and seismic potential for "December 28 into early January 2010," with a map showing a danger zone sweeping "northeasterly across southeastern Australia" – which is right where the Solomon Islands lies, and right where a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit on January 4. Solar eclipses come with wider risk windows, which is why my 2010 World Forecast Highlights describes the January 15 eclipse as having "an effective shock window that runs from the 8th through the 22nd, in terms of its connection with disturbances in the skies, seas and crust of our home planet. (Significant storms and seismic activity are likely.)" Of course, everyone now knows what happened. On January 4, the Solomon Islands shook to a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, and then got hit with a 3-meter tsunami, leaving thousands of islanders homeless. Note the December 31 SuperMoon eclipse’s astro-locality map in my 2009 World Forecast Highlights, which shows what I describe as a danger zone sweeping "northeasterly across southeastern Australia" – a zone that includes the Solomon Islands, as you can see from the map. And then, just over a week later, as the solar eclipse shock window opened up, came the 7.0-magnitude quake that devastated Haiti on January 12.

Earlier last year, the (bear) market rally in world equity markets that began in March was clearly spelled out in my forecast for that month - published in February 2009. The 2008 economic upheaval and the outcome of the US Presidential Election are a couple more cases in point. A notable prior example came when the Moon attained its cyclic peak declination just as Hurricane Katrina, one of the most powerful storms on record, tore into the US Gulf States in 2005: a combination that came as no surprise to anyone who read my August forecast for that year. And no one will forget the monster Richter 9.0 quake off the coast of Sumatra (December 26, 2004), which set killer tsunamis radiating out across the Indian Ocean - snuffing out 300,000 or more lives all around coastal South Asia to as far away as East Africa. My December forecast that year warned a month in advance that a major geocosmic stress window (with a heightened "risk of storms, flooding and seismic upheaval") would be in effect "from the 23rd through the 29th, associated with the full moon at 5 Cancer on the 26th (the same day the Moon reaches its maximum north declination)." That wasn't just a freak coincidence, as illustrated by the onset of the 2003 Gulf War II "a few days either way of the March 3 new moon or March 23 Pluto station," as predicted. What's next? Get an overview of 2010 as a whole with a look at my 2010 World Forecast Highlights. Or, closer to hand, maybe February is of more immediate interest. The latest Website Of the Week puts astrological computing power right in your hand, if you're an iPhone astrophile.

For lots more websites devoted to the real cosmic craft, check out the Astrology Section of the just revised Astropro NetSelect Directory - a sun sign-free zone, like Astropro itself. (Well, I do make allowances for sites that treat sun signs in humorous fashion - but that's appropriate.)

Want the latest on astrological conferences and conventions, plus astrology newsgroups, mailing lists and email newsletters on the Net? There's no better source than Astropro's Cosmic Connections, the Tees Reitsma compendium. Although she was a bit of a tease in her day, her name is pronounced "Tace" - rhymes with grace, the state she had to be in to keep on top of all this information. Tees generously agreed to let Astropro host her own website, which after Tees' death was maintained for years by Janneke Maat, and then for some time by Sandra Van Loveren. By mid-2008, it fell on me to keep it going. It's a resource I'm delighted to make available with the assistance of this succession of wonderful women because . . . well, because it's as current, complete and comprehensive a guide as I've found anywhere online.

You'll find lots of additonal free astrology features too, including Signs and Constellations and Precession, the Movie as well as other articles on selected astrological topics and a fair number of astrological reference tables: 20th Century SuperMoons and Blue Moons (all eight types), 3000 year major planetary cycles, a guide to astrological symbols, etc.

If finding what you want or need on the Net is driving you nuts, and nothing else at Astropro will do the trick, then check out the Search Center: scads of search engines and site selectors; "directory assistance" (find email or snail mail addresses, phone numbers and the like); plus news, weather and sports, and general reference too. It's my own personal home page on the Web, so I like it to be as handy as possible.

Collect notable charts and/or data? Then please do see the February Horoscopes of the Famous & Infamous, with dozens of historic and celebrity natal charts free for the downloading. (But don't dawdle, because the complimentary chart links there expire March 1st.) Scores more charts await in the March collection, where the free links expire on April 1. Want more? Check out the FEATURES menu for a listing of all these monthly celebrity data pages: no chart freebies for the other months, but hundreds of celebrity data you can use to calculate your own.

If I've forgotten anything here, or if you haven't visited in a while, be sure to scan the updated contents page for a complete outline of everything on-site, or try the even more detailed site map. And if you're completely lost, try finding your way via the FAQ, or check in at the Help Center!

  
FEB 8 UPDATE I'm pretty excited about the latest Website Of the Week, which to my way of thinking is the long awaited "killer app" for iPhone astrologers. For the rest of us, Cosmic Connections gets an update in the Conferences Section, to keep you on track with astrology all over the world and the World Wide Web. And Astropro's NetSelect Directory gets the customary fortnightly refresher, putting lots of online resources just a click or two away.

The 1st American State Bank of Minnesota became the sixteenth bank this year to be shut down by federal regulators on the latest "Freaky Friday". (For details, see the FDIC website.) I've been saying all along that hundreds of banks will fail before it's done, despite all the best intentions and massive financial infusions from federal authorities. "Official" US unemployment statistics caught up months ago to my forecast of a "double-digit unemployment rate that awaits many of the G-20 nations (including the US) in 2009-2010". Just last week it was announced that the US unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent, even as major world equity markets took a hit exactly as predicted in my 2010 World Forecast Highlights. Now's about when things should start improving for a time, as detailed in my 2010 Forecast. I'm not seeing signs that we're out of the woods, mind you: just a bit of a clearing coming up.

You can always get a handle on where things are headed with a look at my February forecast, or the 2010 World Forecast Highlights. You're welcome to order your own personal copy of the 2010 World Forecast Highlights if you like, either the print version for USPS delivery ($40) or a PDF version for email delivery($20). (Both editions include material that isn't in the free online version.) You're welcome to order by mail or phone as always, using check or money order or major credit cards. (See contact details below.) Or use the PayPal option, if you're a PayPal account holder.

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (MasterCard/Visa only) 1-800-527-8761 data/fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA on the World Wide Web at www.astropro.com