Gold has taken flight Wednesday night following a lackluster performance during the regular session. The sharp rally projects most immediately to 1218.50, which would be a gain of nearly $24 over the last settlement price. Night owls should position from the long side because of the upside potential that remains. All should note, however, that a decisive push past 1218.50 — i.e., to 1220.10 or higher — would hint of more strength to come. A Hidden Pivot at 1223.60 would become a logical target at that point, or possibly even 1237.50 if bulls rampage.______UPDATE (10:14 a.m. EST): When a rally blows past a target, as gold has done this morning with a pop to 1244.40, it means the rally cycle isn’t over. The ‘Matterhorn’ at 1308.00 looms, but it is now a lot closer. If the rally continues, uncorrected, and surpasses 1308.00, I’d infer the bear market begun in the fall of 2011 is over.