Business Outlook: April 2009
Posted by Steve at 3/24/2009 11:10 AM 
Categories: Business Outlook
Tags: trends outlook business astrology Signs of Success 2009 April Weiss forecast
Categories: Business Outlook
Tags: trends outlook business astrology Signs of Success 2009 April Weiss forecast
Overview
Very little is likely to change this month, particularly with regard to the bottom line. While some companionable solace may be realized in the shared awareness that we are all in a pickle, there's really not much hope of anyone sliding safely into base right now (it's spring, can't resist the baseball metaphor). Net-net money continues to be very, very tight this April and that's just going to cast a pall on a discussion of commerce, obviously.
For those who insist upon being enterprising, the central reality is serving a marketplace hoping for things to get better. Alas, the indications are that the purveyors of goods and services as well as job seekers, shoppers, government regulators, cable business commentators and all the other actors (i.e. every single one of us) in the economic drama are going to toss the dwindling supply of wishing coins down increasingly dry and inhospitable wells. The growing urgency of our collective plight is going to yield acts that are, if not yet patently desperate, at least strained and ill-advised.
In the U.S., a great part of the problem is that our historical heritage encourages us towards risk-taking and rugged individualism, particularly in times of duress. For all the brave virtue in such a perspective, there are times when the unchecked ego simply wreaks havoc with the collective necessity. The indications this month are for a fairly noisy zeitgeist full of individuals all to ready to report what needs to be done immediately in order for things to improve for them.
Even those with a broader social perspective are likely to emphasize the me in commerce this month. Expect grand gestures from those playing at altruism and open-mindedness, self-proclaimed lovers of freedom and their fellow men who are willing to do whatever it takes to make themselves attractive to others. Unfortunately such gestures will tend to come off as patently false, easily exposed as little more than contrived artifices designed to pin down others in relationships with a decidedly one-way reward system.
As downbeat as the preceding sounds, there is some hope for the future here, although not necessarily the sort best expressed in what is purportedly a business column. Throughout history, great thinkers have told us that we have a human problem with ego attachment that causes us, among other things, to identify transitory wants as essential needs. There's really no telling how much traction may be here, but there is at least a clear opportunity brewing for people to free their spirits from materially-based and socially-restrictive value systems (at least a little bit) and to get in touch with a deeper reality, one in which creativity, compassion and service form the basis of truly collective human progress.
It is also, finally, spring. The auguries suggest that the song of the season this time around is not the sweet chirrup of the robin, but rather the broad mimetic genius of the mockingbird. Being first is great, and there's always room for pluck and originality, but the real hope of rebirth at the moment lies in a lot less twittering and a great deal more virtuosity.
History Rhymes
"Shantih shantih shantih." - If, like me, you made the macabre choice of majoring in English Literature, then you might recognize the final line of one of the most influential of modern poems, The Waste Land, published by T.S. Eliot in the year 1922. A complex, downcast work, the poem is a an indictment of the declining tenor of Western civilization and its failing capacity for spiritual regeneration. The word "shantih" is the Buddhist term for "peace," and the poem makes some 'argument' for prizing the Eastern philosophy's ideals of empathy and self-control. What calls out astrologically is the resonance of the current time period with one (March 1950) in which T.S. Eliot appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in concurrence with the publication of his collected works. There's also the matter of the poem's famous first few words, "April is the cruellest month..."
Deep Blue bests Kasparov - Perhaps no issue is as central to contemporary culture as the role granted to mankind's technology. Far more than the stuff of science fiction, there is much in the real world riding on the determination as to whether man or his electronic creations should be the lead dog in the evolution (and management!) of our increasingly complex civilization. Those who are rooting for the circuits had perhaps their best PR day ever when in 1997 an IBM computer, named Deep Blue, became the first computer ever to best the world's reigning chess champion, Garry Kasparov, in a six-game match (2 wins, 1 loss, 3 ties). While the computer's victory was certainly newsworthy enough, just as instructive was the match's aftermath. Kasparov actually claimed that the computer "cheated," by which he meant that it played with such intelligence and creativity that there just had to be some human intervention in the moves. IBM hardly cleared up the matter when it had Deep Blue dismantled shortly after the match, although it later published the computer's purported computations. What do you think? Or don't you think much anymore?
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - For one magical instant between the Jackson 5 childhood and the massive production values of the MTV years, Michael Jackson was a young singer/songwriter with nothing but talent and unlimited potential. Do yourself a favor and head on over to YouTube and catch the title song from this 1979 album, the first over which he had creative control. Talk about mockingbirds, virtuosity and the potential of spring!
((By the way, if you read last month's Business Outlook you were given a remarkable heads-up on the University of Arizona basketball team that, as I write this, is headed to the NCAA basketball tournament round of Sweet 16. Most pundits thought that the school should not even qualify for the tournament, but now these Wildcats are being universally written about as the "Cinderella" team, which is also eerily resonant if you read the "History Rhymes" section in last month's Business Outlook post. Yay astrology!))
Strange Days
April 7 - Your intuition may be especially powerful today...and that's good news. Although the background environment may seem a little disturbed there is potential profit in listening to your muse and playing a hunch. Activities and products involving water, walking and wonderment are favored.
April 14 - There is a definite energy buzz in the zeitgeist today, although conceivably it's because people are freaking out about only having a day left to file their taxes. In any event the key today is the word "unusual," and whether you are the sender or the receiver there's no getting around the fact that these are strange days indeed.
April 25/26 - The worst kind of astrology is the dire prediction, as even the very best of astrologers is guessing a little. And yet, astrologically speaking, there is so much that could go wrong this weekend, or just seem wrong, that one is well-advised to consider the virtues of ignorance and avoidance. Truly the obsessed are out on the streets (particularly on Sunday), and confrontation can sometimes be a real crackup...and that's bad news.
For questions and personal consultations, please contact me at : smw@stevenmarkweiss.com.
Very little is likely to change this month, particularly with regard to the bottom line. While some companionable solace may be realized in the shared awareness that we are all in a pickle, there's really not much hope of anyone sliding safely into base right now (it's spring, can't resist the baseball metaphor). Net-net money continues to be very, very tight this April and that's just going to cast a pall on a discussion of commerce, obviously.
For those who insist upon being enterprising, the central reality is serving a marketplace hoping for things to get better. Alas, the indications are that the purveyors of goods and services as well as job seekers, shoppers, government regulators, cable business commentators and all the other actors (i.e. every single one of us) in the economic drama are going to toss the dwindling supply of wishing coins down increasingly dry and inhospitable wells. The growing urgency of our collective plight is going to yield acts that are, if not yet patently desperate, at least strained and ill-advised.
In the U.S., a great part of the problem is that our historical heritage encourages us towards risk-taking and rugged individualism, particularly in times of duress. For all the brave virtue in such a perspective, there are times when the unchecked ego simply wreaks havoc with the collective necessity. The indications this month are for a fairly noisy zeitgeist full of individuals all to ready to report what needs to be done immediately in order for things to improve for them.
Even those with a broader social perspective are likely to emphasize the me in commerce this month. Expect grand gestures from those playing at altruism and open-mindedness, self-proclaimed lovers of freedom and their fellow men who are willing to do whatever it takes to make themselves attractive to others. Unfortunately such gestures will tend to come off as patently false, easily exposed as little more than contrived artifices designed to pin down others in relationships with a decidedly one-way reward system.
As downbeat as the preceding sounds, there is some hope for the future here, although not necessarily the sort best expressed in what is purportedly a business column. Throughout history, great thinkers have told us that we have a human problem with ego attachment that causes us, among other things, to identify transitory wants as essential needs. There's really no telling how much traction may be here, but there is at least a clear opportunity brewing for people to free their spirits from materially-based and socially-restrictive value systems (at least a little bit) and to get in touch with a deeper reality, one in which creativity, compassion and service form the basis of truly collective human progress.
It is also, finally, spring. The auguries suggest that the song of the season this time around is not the sweet chirrup of the robin, but rather the broad mimetic genius of the mockingbird. Being first is great, and there's always room for pluck and originality, but the real hope of rebirth at the moment lies in a lot less twittering and a great deal more virtuosity.
History Rhymes
"Shantih shantih shantih." - If, like me, you made the macabre choice of majoring in English Literature, then you might recognize the final line of one of the most influential of modern poems, The Waste Land, published by T.S. Eliot in the year 1922. A complex, downcast work, the poem is a an indictment of the declining tenor of Western civilization and its failing capacity for spiritual regeneration. The word "shantih" is the Buddhist term for "peace," and the poem makes some 'argument' for prizing the Eastern philosophy's ideals of empathy and self-control. What calls out astrologically is the resonance of the current time period with one (March 1950) in which T.S. Eliot appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in concurrence with the publication of his collected works. There's also the matter of the poem's famous first few words, "April is the cruellest month..."
Deep Blue bests Kasparov - Perhaps no issue is as central to contemporary culture as the role granted to mankind's technology. Far more than the stuff of science fiction, there is much in the real world riding on the determination as to whether man or his electronic creations should be the lead dog in the evolution (and management!) of our increasingly complex civilization. Those who are rooting for the circuits had perhaps their best PR day ever when in 1997 an IBM computer, named Deep Blue, became the first computer ever to best the world's reigning chess champion, Garry Kasparov, in a six-game match (2 wins, 1 loss, 3 ties). While the computer's victory was certainly newsworthy enough, just as instructive was the match's aftermath. Kasparov actually claimed that the computer "cheated," by which he meant that it played with such intelligence and creativity that there just had to be some human intervention in the moves. IBM hardly cleared up the matter when it had Deep Blue dismantled shortly after the match, although it later published the computer's purported computations. What do you think? Or don't you think much anymore?
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - For one magical instant between the Jackson 5 childhood and the massive production values of the MTV years, Michael Jackson was a young singer/songwriter with nothing but talent and unlimited potential. Do yourself a favor and head on over to YouTube and catch the title song from this 1979 album, the first over which he had creative control. Talk about mockingbirds, virtuosity and the potential of spring!
((By the way, if you read last month's Business Outlook you were given a remarkable heads-up on the University of Arizona basketball team that, as I write this, is headed to the NCAA basketball tournament round of Sweet 16. Most pundits thought that the school should not even qualify for the tournament, but now these Wildcats are being universally written about as the "Cinderella" team, which is also eerily resonant if you read the "History Rhymes" section in last month's Business Outlook post. Yay astrology!))
Strange Days
April 7 - Your intuition may be especially powerful today...and that's good news. Although the background environment may seem a little disturbed there is potential profit in listening to your muse and playing a hunch. Activities and products involving water, walking and wonderment are favored.
April 14 - There is a definite energy buzz in the zeitgeist today, although conceivably it's because people are freaking out about only having a day left to file their taxes. In any event the key today is the word "unusual," and whether you are the sender or the receiver there's no getting around the fact that these are strange days indeed.
April 25/26 - The worst kind of astrology is the dire prediction, as even the very best of astrologers is guessing a little. And yet, astrologically speaking, there is so much that could go wrong this weekend, or just seem wrong, that one is well-advised to consider the virtues of ignorance and avoidance. Truly the obsessed are out on the streets (particularly on Sunday), and confrontation can sometimes be a real crackup...and that's bad news.
For questions and personal consultations, please contact me at : smw@stevenmarkweiss.com.
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