An excerpt from the Regulus Q2 2025 Financial Astrology Forecast on April 13, 2025.
Transcript edited for print.
This was followed shortly thereafter by Trump declaring economic independence. His goal is to restructure the global economic order, even if it means triggering short-term market pain or a recession. He wants to force fair trade through punitive reciprocity, reassert U.S. industrial dominance, shift capital back into American manufacturing and supply chains, de-risk the economy from geopolitical entanglements, and use tariffs as leverage—not negotiation tools. Policy by design, not by tweets.
Ending the Globalization Era
Now, the main reason for this goes back to the year 2000. Before China joined the World Trade Organization, America was the largest trading partner for the majority of countries on the planet, including Russia. But by 2024, you could see that China had become the largest trading partner for most—about 80%—of countries globally. So, what Trump is really doing is ending the era of globalization that started around 2000 and peaked in 2024. He’s ending free trade and globalization.
U.S. Played by the Rules, Others Didn’t
This chart makes it crystal clear: the U.S. has played by the rules of free trade while our G20 partners have stacked the deck with sky-high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Countries like Argentina, India, and China are imposing 3 to 5 times more trade restrictions than the U.S. Meanwhile, American industries are left wide open to foreign competition. So now, Trump is reversing that. Obviously, that’s a massive challenge, but it’s been brewing for a while.
The Trump 2.0 Tariff Initiative
So we see the Trump 2.0 tariffs going into effect by April 5th. He announced universal 10% tariffs on most imports into the United States, a 20% tariff on goods from the European Union, and a 34% tariff on all imports from China. Exceptions included Canada, Cuba, Mexico, North Korea, and Russia. And you can see that nodal alignment right on the Midheaven–IC point.
Now, the nodes have to do with the 19-year business cycle. When the nodes are very active in a mundane horoscope, it usually signals a shift in the business cycle. And right now, the nodes are changing signs.
Tariff Retaliation and a Trade War Unleashed
This was followed by the White House confirming an additional 104% in tariffs on China. These were in retaliation for what they called reciprocal tariffs that were imposed in response to long-term cheating on trade. So yeah, we’re seeing a trade war really break out.
U.S. equities exploded higher when Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days–for all countries except China. This was something Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, supported. Bessent said, “The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction.” So now, they are going to be punished.
Market Surges Followed by a New China Tariff Strike
Then the Dow surged 3,000 points, the biggest rally in five years, after Trump raised the tariff charge to 125%. That policy pivot sparked a buying panic. The S&P 500 surged 1% even without news, then Trump announces the 90-day tariff pause—and boom, markets take off.
But then China struck back, escalating with 125% tariffs on U.S. imports. They also signaled that they’d ignore future tariff retaliation if the U.S. continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods. That led to the April stress escalation.
Liberation Day Proclamation and Bond Market Disruptions
In the days after the April 2nd Liberation Day Proclamation, we saw a broadening and deepening of market stress. Swap spreads—a second-order indicator—started flashing warning signals. By midweek, dislocations in the long end of the U.S. Treasury curve raised serious concerns over systemic stability.
Then came the reveal: a significant put strike emerged Wednesday afternoon, triggering a rapid de-escalation—everywhere except China. So now, with roughly 6% of the Trump 2.0 era behind us, market conditions remain as uncertain and opportunistic as ever.
So, what’s really going on here?
Not Just China: The Real Story Behind Market Stress
By midweek, the long end of the Treasury curve was showing dislocations, raising serious concerns over systemic stability. People might say the market downturn was due to China escalating tariffs, but the bigger issue was the massive dislocations in the long end of the Treasury curve.
This was the April stress escalation. The Treasury yield spread between the 10-year and 3-month inverted in February. It went positive, then inverted again, then back to positive. And when it’s negative, that signals these dislocations.
This is very important. Let’s correlate what was going on between April 2nd and April 8th. Something in the bond market was upsetting and unraveling the stock market.
Volatility Explodes: Big Swings in the S&P Signal Trouble
Look at the intraday range for the S&P 500. One day it’s 8%, then 7.3% the next. Huge moves—massive volatility. That tells us something bigger is at play beyond the trade war, and it has to do with the Treasury yield spread.
History Repeats: Inversions, Rebounds, and Recessions
Historically, every time we have a yield curve inversion—and then it reverts to normal, from negative back to positive—we enter a recession. We saw this in 2019 during the Trump administration. The yield curve went negative, the stock market was climbing. Same thing in 2006–2007: stock market booming, then yield curve inverts, and boom—the Great Recession.
And now? Same thing. The yield curve went positive, then negative, then positive again. That tells us the April stress escalation, triggered by the U.S.–China trade war, was just the trigger. What it revealed is something much more fundamental is shifting—something in the economy. The economy is slowing down. People feel it. That’s why market sentiment is changing.
Solar Eclipse Selloff Wipes Out $5 Trillion
We also saw the post-solar eclipse impact: $5 trillion wiped out in the S&P. The worst two-day plunge since March 2020. A selloff that slashed over $5 trillion in value.
What the Bond Market Reveals That the Stock Market Misses
But the bigger issue—and this is why we’re talking about this—is the bond market. The bond market is 2.5 times the size of the stock market. The stock market can take down an economy, but the bond market? It can take down governments—state and federal.
And right now, the bond market is breaking. The $29 trillion bond market just suffered its worst weekly loss since the turmoil that led to the Fed intervening in 2019. What’s happening now is very similar to what played out in 2019. Back then, the bond market sensed something was wrong in the second half of the year.
Bond Markets Saw the Pandemic Before the Public Did
And it was. Later, we found out the first COVID case occurred at the Wuhan lab in late August and died in October. During that time, the virus was spreading across China. We didn’t realize it was a global pandemic until January. But the bond market knew. It was already reacting.
Same thing in 2006–2007. Remember? Cab drivers were getting rich buying real estate. Strippers were flipping homes—three to five homes every four months—and getting wealthy. And then, bang.
Biden Stimulus Fueled Markets While Main Street Suffered
Now look at this—during the Biden administration. You want to blame Trump? Fine. But let’s be clear: the data shows the Biden administration knew we were in serious trouble. What they did was juice the markets while things were going from bad to worse economically.
And if you work outside Silicon Valley, you know how many corporations and institutions are cutting budgets, laying off staff. People are freaking out, and this is accelerating. This started arguably back in 2022.
And when did the market really take off? 2022. We had a brief bear market, then the market was juiced by stealth stimulus. But beneath the surface, the main street economy—which the bond market reflects—was signaling something was seriously wrong.
And even over the past 39 months of the Biden administration, we’ve seen Ray Dalio’s All Weather Portfolio—one of the best constructed out there—underperform with a negative 20.58% return. People are getting hurt. Their pensions, investments, Roth IRAs—they’re taking hits. Because the bond market is telling us something bigger is going on.
The Real Crisis: Basis Trade Unwinding and Hedge Fund Risk
Again, it’s the bond market—not the stock market. Right now, the stock market might be in a correction, but the real crisis is brewing in the bond market. And it’s due to the unwinding of the basis trade by highly leveraged hedge funds. That’s the issue.
These hedge funds are causing major volatility and pushing yields higher. That’s a bigger risk than the Trump trade war with China. So when people say, “Oh, it’s Trump,” no—Trump needs to correct this deep-rooted problem. Because we’ve been on an unsustainable economic path since, well, at least 2016. And that’s part of the reason he got elected in the first place.
To watch the full forecast webinar and gain in-depth astrological insights on global markets, key economic events, and investment strategies, register for the Regulus Quarterly Financial Astrology Forecasts today.
William Stickevers is a strategic astrological advisor with nearly four decades of experience, known for his data-driven forecasts and 85%+ accuracy rate. He combines advanced astrology, economic analysis, and historical trends to provide high-level insights for investors, business owners, and independent thinkers worldwide.
William’s predictions—such as Bitcoin’s rise in 2010, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the 2024 U.S. Electoral College outcome—have made him a trusted voice for those seeking clarity in an uncertain world.
He is the founder of the Global Transformation Astrology (GTA) Membership and Regulus Quarterly Financial Astrology Forecasts and has advised clients across 28 countries. William has also appeared on Coast to Coast AM, The Unexplained, and other media outlets, and spoken internationally from Tokyo to Munich.
Learn more about his programs, consultations, and reports at www.williamstickevers.com.
