the alignment of the solar system indicates Ross Perot stands a decent chance of being elected president.

The stock market, like George Bush and Bill Clinton, may take a tumble in November according to planet-watchers, some 4,000 of whom started meeting here yesterday for the biannual meeting of the American Federation of Astrologers, one of the world's largest such gatherings.

In his examination of the planets' positions, and the cosmic forces they will exert, astrologist Mohan Koparkar, who is on the federation's board of governors, said Clinton's star will fall, Bush may be due for a setback, while the Texas billionaire Perot -- if he decides to run -- will get lucky.

"Ross Perot, his chart indicates probably one of the better opportunities,'' the India-born Koparkar, 44, told Reuters.

"But it will be more a matter of luck for him just happening to be at the right place at the right time in the right environment,'' he added.

Clinton, born under the Leo astrological sign, will falter after relying too much on the force of his personality, and will end up regretting his mistakes, Koparkar said.

Bush's planetary chart indicates setbacks may occur in December, after the election, but he will be at a "crossroads'' and the astrologist said he has a 30 percent chance of being re-elected.

Koparkar said the apparent reversal of Mars' direction points to a financial collapse at the end of the year, another sign that Bush is out and Perot, but not Clinton, will be in.

"We have already seen Clinton doesn't have the personal glory that goes with becoming president, leaving us not many choices,'' Koparkar said.

Chicago astrologist Joan Kellogg, also on the federation's board of directors, showed astrologers' insight into the elections was by no means uniform.

"Perot is kind of a dark horse. It's just not very clear right now for him.

But Bush has a very good chart,'' she said.

Mundane prognostications on the upcoming elections and the stock market are only two of a nearly infinite variety of topics analysed by the star-gazing group.

Lectures, workshops and group seminars will be held on everything from personal relationships to weather forecasting during the five-day conference at a downtown hotel.

Kellogg says her IBM-compatible computer spits out charts in a mere 30 seconds that she analyses for her clients seeking celestial guidance. It used to take at least half an hour to calculate by hand.

"If you have an astrology programme, you plug it into your Apple or Commodore or IBM-campatible and your up,'' Kellogg said.

"An astrological chart is the blueprint of the soul, so we're talking about a metaphysical discipline that has practical applications.

She said a lot of astrologers were not surprised by the recent California earthquakes, having predicted a catastrophe. -- Reuter Ross Perot.