Saturn, Leo to blame for global meltdown: Astrologers

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 11:52:51 AM  Time

MUMBAI: From his base in 's financial capital Mumbai, Raj Kumar Sharma has been tracking the turbulence in the world stock markets and has come to one firm conclusion -- it was written in the stars.

As an astro-finance specialist, he has made a career on predicting whether the Bombay Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Dow Jones or FTSE-100 will go up or down by studying favourable or unfavourable planetary alignments.

Where many blame banks overstretching themselves or inadequate financial controls and policy, Sharma sees a clash between fiery Saturn and its arch enemy Leo as a key factor in the recent financial turmoil.

"Leo is the sign of the sun and the sun is the father in Indian astrology," he told AFP.

"But the son (Saturn) and his father (the sun) don't get along, so whenever they are sitting in the same house together, they always fight and create ill-will and danger in the market," he said.

In late April, Saturn was joined in Leo by Ketu -- a so-called "shadow planet" in Hindu mythology that can indicate failure and loss of wealth.

As Saturn and Ketu fought like "dragons," Sharma predicted a global financial collapse. Mars's arrival in Leo at the end of June stoked the flames further.

And Saturn was again in Leo at the end of August and into September when the financial storm claimed its most high-profile victim.

"That's why Lehman Brothers fell," he said of the investment bank.

Sharma, 48, is one of a number of practitioners predicting market trends here using ancient Indian or vedic astrology. For traders, it can be another tool to use alongside more orthodox analysis.

In other walks of life, vedic astrology is used to determine everything from a new baby's name to decisions on moving house or opening a new business.