MMA WEEKLY - Financial Astrology commentary, Market timing, MMA Cycles, The Merriman Market Analyst

The printed version of Forecast 2014 will be translated into several different languages again this year, and many of these publishers are also offering pre-publication specials as follows :

- Chinese Dutch Deutsch Japanese Russian Spanish Italiano

Each of these will also offer the English version of Forecast 2014, as will our Chinese distributor.

We will start printing comments here from readers of last year's book. The second is "After reading the annual Forecasts and subscribing to MMA Cycles for the past ten years, I can say that Ray Merriman's forecasts are uncannily accurate and indispensable for the preservation of wealth. Nothing else I've seen compares. It is without a doubt the best perspective on the big picture, not just bits and pieces of the picture". W.W., Investor and Teacher, Indiana

Go to the sheet for Downloading the video for the Ultimate book on stock market timing.

The Market Week in Review :

Stock markets around the world continued their sharp advance off their lows of the prior week. As discussed in last week's column, several markets made new multi-year lows on October 4, and others held those multi-year lows made September 12 or September 23-26, making these lows a classic example of intermarket bullish divergence in a geocosmic critical reversal zone. The geocosmic critical reversal date was September 26, +/- 3 trading days. When some markets make new cycle lows then, and others make a lower low a few days later, this is known as a case of intermarket bullish divergence, and is usually followed by very sharp rallies. This last case was no exception.

The most notable cases of this pattern took place in Europe, which is understandable given the instability and uncertainty of their debt crisis, which in turn has led to extreme volatility in their equity indices. Despite the positive hopes that were elicited last week from leaders in Germany and France, the Euro zone debt crisis is by no means close to being resolved. If you consider their chart of January 1, 1999, you will see that their Sun at 10º Capricorn will be hit directly by Pluto in 2012-2014, and squared by Uranus during much of that period and into 2014. In other words, the 126-year Uranus-Pluto square will activate the chart of the Euro zone currency, which implies that a powerful transformation and reform is likely to take place. The rules are about to change, regardless of what the agreement beforehand was. Uranus has never encountered a rule that it likes, and Pluto is obsessed with reforming rules whenever things aren't working well. Sometimes termination or abdication of an agreement is the only solution for Pluto, or so he thinks. And who is going to argue with the god of power ? What Pluto says goes - and if you don't like it, then be prepared for pain until you accept it and make the changes he demands.

But back to Europe's suddenly exciting stock indices.... Since their 2-year lows on September 12 and 23 respectively, the German DAX and Netherlands AEX has exploded up 21 and 19% respectively into their highs of Friday, October 10. Both the London FTSE and Zurich SMI have rallied over 13%. In the Americas, Argentina's Merval Index soared from its yearly low of 2212 on October 4 to 2677 on October 14, a gain of 18% in just one week! The NASDAQ Composites also leaped up 15.7% in the same 10 days, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Bovespa of Brazil rallied nearly 12% in the same one-week time frame. The gains were not so pronounced in Asia and the Pacific Rim, except in Hong Kong where the Hang Seng rallied 16% from October 4-13. China's Shanghai Index, on the other hand, dropped to its lowest level since July 2010 on October 13, before rallying into Friday.

Gold and Silver also had nice gains last week, with Gold trading above 1690 during the week and Silver above 3300. When you consider Gold had dropped to 1535 and Silver to 2615 on September 26, that is a fairly impressive comeback, especially in Silver (26.6%). All of this, however, may be a prelude to the fireworks about to erupt in the next two weeks.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

Hang on to your seats. Here comes heliocentric Mercury entering Sagittarius, October 15-27. We are not talking about geocentric Mercury in Sagittarius, which is the where the planets appear as seen from the Earth, and which is the basis for most ephemerides (tables of planetary positions). We are instead talking about the planetary positions as seen from the Sun, the center of this solar system, and known as heliocentric astrology. I don't know why this particular position of Mercury is such a correlate to huge market swings more than its geocentric counterpart, but it is. And like the rule with Pluto, it is what it is, and if I don't like it, I better adjust or face the consequences of acting on delusionary beliefs instead of experiential realities. My experience is that financial markets make huge price swings about 80% of the time when this set up is in effect.

When the heliocentric transit of Mercury leaves Sagittarius for the more constrained Capricorn, the Sun then enters its powerful opposition to Jupiter (October 28). This is one of the strongest historical correlates to primary cycle culminations in U.S. stock indices, as described in Volume 3 of our "Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing" series, given an orb of 10 trading days. Of course the closer we get to the exact date, the more likely the reversal, especially in this instance because that is also the middle of time band containing several geocosmic signatures extending from October 21 through November 9. Something big is about to happen (isn't that the nature of Jupiter?), perhaps involving the European debt situation and the USA, and my guess is that it will be reflected in the price action of financial markets - especially stocks, currencies, and precious metals. Note that Jupiter will form a trine aspect with Pluto on October 28 too. Pluto - the god of reform and transformation who rules matters like death, debt, and taxes - could coincide with an announcement affecting the banking system or debt crisis. Could the Congressional debt commission come up with an agreement around this time ? Its possible, or something equally big, or maybe even bigger. This could be an event of global importance.

Longer Term Thoughts :

The primary purpose of this column has always been to educate readers about the relationship of planetary cycles to cycles in human activity. The way I go about this task is to study the various planetary cycles currently in effect or coming up, and then go back in history and study what happened under the same geocosmic set ups. As a Mundane or Financial Astrologer, I then report those findings and project possibilities into the future, based on the similarity of themes or events that were present then and now. I then try to determine if there are any deeper similarities present that may have "caused", or coincided with these events and themes.

For example, several years ago I studied long-term stock market charts going back to the 17 th century. I noticed a pattern whereby stock prices tended to rise during the 16-20 year period in which the Saturn-Pluto cycle was waxing (moving from conjunction to opposition). I also observed that in the 16-20 year waning phase of this planetary pair cycle, rallies in stock prices tended to be shorter and followed by many more and deeper periods of decline. So I reported these findings in many articles as well as my annual Forecast Book.

Then I began to further refine these studies to see if there were other common themes or policies enacted that coincided with these periods of economic and market prosperity versus stagnation, and I found there were. For instance, in the prosperity periods of the waxing phase of Saturn and Pluto, government deficits and debt usually went down. So did taxes and interest rates (e.g. 1947-1966, and 1982-2001). During the waning periods, it was the opposite. Government debt and deficits increased, and so did taxes and deficits and interest rates (e.g. 1931-1947, 1966-1982, 2001-2020). I reported this too. The problem is that sometimes these findings didn't agree with a particular political bent. If I said, for instance, that under George W. Bush, the USA government was falling into the very same pattern of increasing federal spending, and hence deficits and debt that plagued previous instances of the Saturn-Pluto waning cycle, I would get emails from conservative readers who claimed I was a flaming liberal. In fact, one of the more conservative web sites in which this column was posted every week terminated my column back in the middle of the Bush era for that very reason : I must be a "left wing radical democrat" and he wanted no such views associated with his site, regardless of the documentation or sources I cited to support my findings.

Today there are several longer-term planetary cycles in force converging all at once in a short span of time. The most notable coming up is the Uranus-Pluto waxing square, which I discussed at great length last week. It will be in an exact waxing square aspect seven times between June 2012 and March 2015. However its influence is apt to felt for at least two years before through two years afterwards (2010-2017). I related this current period to the conjunction aspect that began this 126-year cycle in 1963-1968, a time of tremendous social unrest, populist dissatisfaction with government and authority, and large mass protests. The protests were against both the government and the "military industrial complex", or big business concerns that would profit from the country's military involvement in other countries or cultures. These periods also coincided with the start of steep economic recessions, and in the case the quarter cycle before 1963-1968, the bottom of the "Great Depression" in 1931.

What was not discussed in last week's column was the difference between a first quarter phase (square) of the Uranus cycle, such as this current period, and the last quarter phase (square) of the same cycle, such as took placed in the 1928-1934 instance. All squares are painful, but not all pain is the same, and not all pain ends in loss. The difference, in my understanding of Mundane Astrology as described in "Evolutionary Astrology ; The Journey of the Soul through States of Consciousness", is this : the waxing square, or the first square that follows the conjunction, is akin to the pain of birth. It is a difficult period, but you make it through and then things grow. That is what is happening now. The waning square, on the other hand, is more like the pain of death, or loss, or endings. The matter reaches it conclusion, and it is time to let go and start the process of finding a new way. That was the case in the 1931 square of these two planets. The protests of today, like that of 1963-68, are painful, but part of the birthing process. They can be highly active and combative. The protests of 1931 were different. They didn't come out of a birthing process so much as they were an acknowledgement that an entire system was faltering, was obsolete, and unable to meet the needs of the times. It had to be torn down and rebuilt in order for the world to move forward, and it took about 14 years to do that.

It is with great sadness that I report that this weekly column is being terminated - no longer to be posted - on the StarIQ website after this week, due to "philosophical differences" and the belief that we have to part ways "for the sake of our friendship", as explained to me. This column was founded on the vision of the owners of StarIQ.com back in late 1999, early 2000. It has been a wonderful Jupiter cycle (12 years) of working with both Rick and Jeff, and I wish them both all the success and good fortune they deserve for their efforts in advancing astrological understanding throughout the world over all these years. I shall miss working with them.

To be continued... (next week)

Announcements :

It's that time of the year again ! As in the past, MMA offers a special pre-publication discount rate for those who pre-order the next year's book before October 15, 2011 (we will remove the special offer from the website this Monday, October 17). The special rate for ordering before October 15 is $45.00 plus postage. After that it will increase to $55.00, its normal price. The annual Forecasts Book , written by Raymond A. Merriman since 1976, is one of the most unique, affordable, and accurate glimpses into the coming year. Utilizing the study of cycles and geocosmic factors, this annual Forecasts book outlines forthcoming trends pertaining to political, economic, and financial markets throughout the world. Although 2011 is only a little more than half over, several forecasts made in the 2011 book have already unfolded. For a list of some of these forecasts, please go to our web site. There you can also place your order for the Forecast 2012 Book at the special pre-publication rate now in effect through October 15. Save Big Bucks and Order Now!!!. For translations, see in the upper part of that sheet.

If you are an active short-term trader, or even if you are an investor who likes to keep up with our current thoughts on financial markets, you may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with short-term trading recommendations, (see a sample there, of the weekly). It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis, as I no longer offer personal consultations. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, Euro-Yen cash, T-Notes, Soybeans, Crude Oil, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Both reports provide trading strategies and recommendations for position traders as well as for shorter-term aggressive traders. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report.
If you want more informatio call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.
These reports are extremely valuable to those who trade ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds). In the words of one of our subscribers : "I am really pleased with your recommendations through the Daily and Weekly Trade Recommendations. I have used them to trade gold and silver stocks in my IRA. In the last eight years I increased my account from $60,000 to $712,000. Thanks for your excellent publications". - Bryden C., Small Business Owner, Illinois.

The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 5 : Price Objectives and Technical Analysis is out ! Man, am I happy! It is a surreal feeling to complete a book of this size (over 300 pages), and it's a surreal feeling to see it out in print, at last. It took two years to write this one, which is par for each of the five books of this series that started in 1997. That was around the time I decided I wanted to "tap into the soul of the stock market", like there is such a thing. Turns out there is, in my opinion. But it depends on how you interpret "soul". If you accept that it is a connection between the observable and the intuitive, that patterns do exist and like oracles, they oftentimes do reveal the future, then it exists. This is a book describing the tools that serious traders that I know use. I use them. Many of my subscribers use them, although not that many know how I calculate price targets to go along with market timing. This book identifies the formulas I personally use to calculate price targets, and the trading plans I find that work using these market timing and technical indicators. This book is packed with powerful tools (signals), and if you take the time to learn these tools properly, your chances of being a successful trader will increase tremendously, IMHO. The book is 300 pages, printed in perfect bind format, gloss cover, 8-1/2" x 11" size. The retail price of this new book is $144.00. The publication of Volume 5 will complete the project that started in 1996, and covered approximately 1600 pages of studies and strategies for all types of traders and investors, using our market timing methods. In all, this is a complete and unified approach to analyzing (and trading) financial markets, and especially stock markets. If you are interested in this unique and integrated methodology for analyzing and forecasting stock indices, you can save big bucks by ordering all five volumes, or choice of any four now, or just go to www.mmacycles.com and scroll down to the announcement. If ordering all five volumes, you will save $99.00 !.
For more information on this book, go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnplAS5m2AI, describing this new book. It is "the missing link". You may want to check this video out, as it contains some interesting long-term tips. You can also download that video there.

The monthly MMA Cycles Report and its companions - the MMA Japan Cycles Report and MMA European Cycles Report went out last week. If you are subscriber to any these monthly reports and did not receive it, let us know at once via our email.

- The U.S. version covers the stock market (DJIA and S&P futures), Gold, Silver, T-Notes, Euro and Swiss Franc currencies, grains and crude oil. It also provides the list of geocosmic and solar-lunar reversal zones for the 1-2 months. This report comes out Monday night to subscribers.
- The MMA Japanese Markets Cycles report covers the Nikkei, JGB Bonds, and the Dollar-Yen.
- The new MMA Europe Cycles report covers the German DAX, Swiss SMI, and Netherlands AEX stock indices, each in english only and will be available on Wednesday.
For subscription information, please go to our web site , or call us at 1-248-626-3034.

Upcoming Events :

December 18, 2011 : "Webcast" for Forecast 2012 " A "Virtual On-line Discussion and Forecasts for 2012 with Ray Merriman!" will take place on Sunday, December 18, 2011, starting at 1:54 PM EST. The cost for this live webcast is $45.00. For information to be a part of this event, go to our got to website at www.mmacycles.com, under EVENTS, Or call us at 1-248-626-3034. Instructions to log in will be sent upon making reservations.

January 6-7, 2012 : Zurich Switzerland. Forecast 2012 Symposia sponsored by AstroData.

1°) January 6 lecture on "Uranus Square Pluto : Consequences of the Debt Crisis for Financial Markets". A look at the historical correlation of Uranus-Pluto in hard aspect to world economics, debt, and financial markets. Is this the turning point, or bottom of the debt crisis ? Or is it the point where the consequence of not resolving the debt results in a collapse of the financial system, and the need
to completely rebuild it ? And what might that look like if that is the case ?

2°) January 7 workshop on " Financial Astrology and Perspectives for 2012 " : This workshop will be in three parts. The first will give an overview of the correlation of cycle studies to geocosmic signatures (Financial Astrology). The second will discuss the projection of these studies onto today's financial, markets, including precious metals, equity markets, and currency prices - where are we in the cycle and where are we headed. The third part will be question, answer and discussion. Each participant will be allowed to ask one question. Mr. Merriman will give his answer to it, and then facilitate a limited group discussion on the question, as time allows. The intent will be to make sure everyone has a clear outlook on the prospects for each market in 2012.

Workshop on Financial Astrology: Looking at Gold, Silver, Currencies, and Equity Markets for 2012. Details to be announced shortly at www.mma-europe.ch, or contact ASTRODATA AG, Chilenholzstr. 8, 8907 Wettswil, Switzerland, Tel. 41 (0) 43 343 33 66, or email info@mma-europe.ch.

January 21, 2012 : Amsterdam, Netherlands "Forecast 2012". The date is not yet finalized, but will be shortly, and it will be around this date.

March 1 and 3, 2012 : Hong Kong, China".Forecast 2012" on Thursday, March 1 and a full day intensive on "Financial Market Timing" on Saturday, March 3, with emphasis on Gold, Silver, Currencies, and Equity Markets for 2012. Organized by Earlthorn.Com at the Excelsior Hotel, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Contact Teresa Wong at 852-2529 1211 (phone), or by e-mail at earlthorn@hknet.com. A special 90-minute private meeting with MMA Subscribers will follow the workshop on March 3 .

March 9-11, 2012 : The 8th Annual Balkan International Conference, Belgrade, Serbia. Featuring a workshop on Financial Astrology with Raymond Merriman.

April 19 and 21, Boulder, Colorado".Forecast 2012" with Raymond Merriman, plus a workshop on "Financial Market Timing", focusing on equities and precious metals. Sponsored by ROMA. For more information and registration, contact dralagifts@msn.com.

May 24-29, 2012 : UAC !!! The world's largest astrological conference. Taking place at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel. Go to www.uacastrology.com. There will be an awesome Financial Track, featuring some of the top Financial Astrologers and researchers in the world.

Summer 2012 : San Diego, CA. Topics and date To Be Determined.

The MMA Catalogue of products and services for 2013 is now out!!! You can download it in PDF. The ordering page is the last page of the catalogue. This is especially useful for those outside of the USA, since we do not mail these out by mail unless requested.

We are pleased to announce that the Spanish publication of "Basic Principles of Geocosmic Studies for Financial Market Timing " has just been completed. For more information and ordering, please contact www.lecochonsideral.info/PubliMERRI/Espagnol/Annee2012/semana.html.

We also have our new CD available : "The Cardinal Climax 2008-2015 : Investment Opportunities and Dangers ". This 75-minute CD outlines the most powerful geocosmic configuration of our lifetime : The Cardinal Climax of 2008-2015. This presentation examines the historical, long-term geocosmic signatures that are present 2008-2015, how they correlated to economic crises in the past, and how they will likely impact various financial markets and investment opportunities this time. In fact, many of the themes are already underway. Approximately 75 minutes, with PDF file of charts used: $25.00 plus postage.

I am oftentimes asked for recommendations of a money manager who uses my methods, since I won't manage other people's money. The thing is, almost all money managers I know use their own systems. But many subscribe to my services and share my thoughts about the future of the economy, various financial markets, and how to position one's portfolio along these lines. One money manager who subscribes to our services that I would suggest for those looking to structure a longer-term portfolio, such as a retirement account, is Duke O'Neill of Boulder, Colorado. He can be reached at dukeoneil1@gmail.com, or 1-(303) 545-5837. For those looking for a professional trader of commodity and futures contract might consider Ted Lee Fisher at ted.fisher@comcast.net. Ted is a legend in financial futures and has a seat on the CME. Both are very knowledgeable of the tools I use, of the way I am looking at markets, and yet each makes their own decisions as to exactly when to enter and exit any market. They will be more than happy to assist you.

To the above list, I would also like to recommend long-term MMA subscriber Erwin Brunner of Zurich, Switzerland. Mr. Brunner is the founder of BrunnerInvest AG. One of his five funds was awarded the "Best in-house fund of funds " in the world recently. Mr. Brunner is a former director of the Swiss Banking Corporation (today it is known as UBS), and a general director of Rothschild Bank in Zurich. As an independent wealth manager for high net worth individuals and institutional clients only, he places his clients into the funds of the best performing fund managers in the world, via his own research and experience. For high net worth readers interested in Mr. Brunner's funds, please contact him through www.brunnerinvest.ch.

The newly revised The Sun, The Moon, and Silver Book : Secrets of a Silver Trader, is now out. This is a book that you will use as a reference guide for...many, many years. It identifies all the key Sun-Moon combinations that have a higher (and lower) than expected probability of correlating with 4% or greater reversals in COMEX Silver. It also identifies "Big Range Days " - those days in which the range of Silver is most likely to be 3.5% or more of the price of Silver, which is a great tool for day traders. This book fulfills the dream of all traders: high probability winning trade possibilities, with minimal market exposure. It is that "extra edge ". And Silver is a great market to trade now. The cost is $125.00. For ordering on line.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose : The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language. This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the author’s understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world. It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.

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