MMA WEEKLY - Financial Astrology commentary, Financial Market Analyst and Market Timer

The printed version of Forecast 2014 will be translated into several different languages again this year 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 : "Your work is essential to anyone who is serious in this field. I can't thank you enough for it".

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 are starting to react to the devastating consequences of the world wide debt explosion, as anticipated by the approaching Uranus-Pluto waxing square aspect that begins its first of seven passages this month, June 2012. It would be one thing to say, "I told you so". for surely those of you who have been reading this column over the past year are fully aware that this 33-month geocosmic signature will be in effect June 2012-March 2015. You know that these two planetary powerhouses came within 1 degree of exactness last July-August, 2011, when the agonizing compromise to finally raise the USA debt ceiling was finally passed, only to be followed by the first downgrade of the USA triple A credit rating in its history by S&P's rating agency the next week. Stock markets around the world plummeted.

But it is an entirely different matter to figure out what to do in this type of financial crisis if you are not a trader or one who is comfortable shorting world stock indices. Truly, there are no safe, risk-free investments available anywhere, for the first time in generations. Oh, you will hear more than usual amount of hype for "deals of the century". but that only points out the increase of scams that will be thrown at people who still have money but don't know what to do with it (you know, the 1% who are about to be hit with massive taxes, along with the rest of us, a fact that is equally behind this meltdown that is underway).

The key is to "protect your capital". which is the mantra anyway when Saturn is in its waning phase to Pluto (2001-2020). It's not like the waxing phase (1947-1966, 1982-2001) when the mantra was to "invest your capital" in things like stock markets. It is totally different now, especially since Saturn reached its waxing square to Pluto in 2010 and the Federal Reserve began its quantitative easing programs to not only keep short-term rates down close to zero, but to the point now that the 10-year Treasuries are closing in on a paltry 1.5%, a record low in yields.

The way things are going, you may soon have to pay the banks interest to hold your savings, for the rule book on intelligent investing that has reigned for centuries has been turn upside down on its head. You were taught to save your money and invest in property all of your life, only to see that by doing so in the past five years has resulted in a nightmare of terrible losses in your net worth and earned interest income. But unbeknownst to government leaders, it has also resulted in a 16% decline in federal revenues between 2008 and 2011 too, only adding to the mountain of USA (and world) debt. Savers and property owners have been punished, although that trend is nearing its end according to my understanding of Financial Astrology, as the Moon's North Node has left the depression signs of Aquarius and Capricorn. And now it is about to hit the world stock markets again.

Welcome to the first of 33 months of Uranus square Pluto. You will never be the same, nor will the world have a clue as to what to do because :

• things aren't the same so there is nothing to refer to this unless you go back to the last Uranus-Pluto square of 1931-1934, when leaders had no clue what to do, and

• 2) the things that will work require patience and a long-range plan, and politicians don't have patience because voters don't have patience. But here is the good news : late 2012 (after the election) through 2013, there is an astrological time window when a long-range practical plan to stop this bleeding can be developed. It will take 5-8 years (until Saturn and Pluto converge in January 2020) to see the results from the sacrifices that will be required in this plan. In the meantime, a question to seriously ask is : why do we need banks ? And what should their proper role be in a healthy economy and society that values democratic principles and equality ? Pluto rules debts and banks, and Capricorn rules government. Pluto in Capricorn holds the key to turning this corner, and that corner is usually reached by the middle of the 15-year transit, which happens in 2015 (the actual 248-year transit of Pluto in Capricorn is in effect 2008-2023).

It is interesting to note that as stock markets around the world got hit hard last week, the precious metals markets took off to the upside. God was up $60.00/ounce just on Friday alone. In the last week, it was threatening to break below its triple bottom at 1520-1540. By Friday, it was up to 1630. So, Mr. Central Bankers : do you still think Gold is not real currency, real money ? As stated all along. Gold has no where to go but up in the long-term as long as currency markets are unstable. And the European currencies are in deed unstable as Europe struggles to find a way to support the banks of the Euro Zone and prevent potential bank runs in some of its member nations. Its all part of the last eight years of the Saturn-Pluto waning phase, and especially strong now that Uranus (planet of crisis) will enter into an exact square to Pluto (Planet of death, debt, and rebirth).

Best Trades of the Past Week :

Over the past few weekly columns, I have been inserting trading recommendations we have made to our subscribers. Readers seem to like this type of information as to just how accurate these reports have been in many cases. I think I will just add a new feature to this column called : "Best Trades of the Last Week".

Weekly subscription report for last week, May 28 on DJIA : "Position traders may look to sell short at 12,610 or higher with a stop loss on a close above 12,750. Aggressive traders may look to sell short at 12,610 or higher with a stop-loss on a close above 12,750". The high of the week was 12,611. It closed the week at 12,118. It doesn't get any better than this - anywhere.

Daily report for May 21 for Gold : " Aggressive traders are also long with a stop-loss now on a close below 1540. Let's take handsome profits on 1/3 of these now, and look to buy back if prices drop to 1540-1555". On May 21, Gold topped out at 1599. On May 23, it dropped to 1532.80, but never closed below 1540. Today, Friday, June 1, Gold is up to 1630 and this trade is now up about 80/contract in one week.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

The most heavily populated time band of some of the most powerful geocosmic signatures of 2012 will take place June 23-29, including the first passage of Uranus in waxing square to Pluto, Venus and Saturn both turning direct, and Jupiter in a waxing square to Neptune. These are the kind of signatures that can correspond to a market meltdown. This time band represents the strongest "magnet effec". of all coming up, a force that just increases in its energy, resulting in a collective psychological climax during that period, +/- one week.

Prior to that, we have quite a setup developing this week (and the next week) too. On Monday, June 4, there is a lunar eclipse, with Venus retrograde square Mars, and Neptune turning retrograde. It is a time of potential hysteria, and a challenge to find the truth about accusations that will be thrust upon unsuspecting parties. It is a strange time for love - lots of activity, but who can you trust ? On Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Venus will make its very rare occultation (eclipse) with the Sun. The past two times this happened were 1761-1769, and 1874-1882 (in the midst of the last Uranus-Pluto in waxing square, and the longest economic depression in the history of the USA). It happens in pairs that are 8 years apart. The first part of this pairing occurred in June 2004.

On Thursday, June 7, the Sun will form a combative square to Mars. The following Monday, June 11, Jupiter will begin its one-year sojourn through Gemini, while Mercury forms a T-square to the Uranus-Pluto square, This is yet another signature of a potential "plung". day for stocks, and another preview of what to expect during the entire Uranus-Pluto square of June 24, 2012 through March 17, 2015.

Longer Term Thoughts :

I had a good week. But why wouldn't I ? After all, Jupiter in late Taurus is approaching a favorable trine to my natal Ascendant in late Virgo, and it is crossing into my ninth house of education, seminars, and travel.

So here I was Monday night, in New Orleans, sitting at a table with 10 of my dearest friends in Astrology and Finance, at the grand Regulus Banquet that occurs on the last night of every UAC gathering. For those who are unfamiliar with UAC (United Astrology Conference), this is the largest gathering of professional astrologers and students of astrology in the world. It takes place every four years (election year) and is host to about 1500 practitioners from over 50 countries. It is truly a remarkable and high energy event that last 5 days and delivers about 300 lectures on 18 different tracks, including Financial Astrology.

On Monday night, the Regulus Banquet takes place. Five Regulus Awards are presented for contributions in five different areas. This is Astrology's equivalent to the Oscars in the movie world. There are five candidates for each award. I was up for the Regulus Award in Research, Discovery, and Innovation. I was excited, as was everyone at my table. But I didn't get it. It went to Robert Blaschke, a good friend and a truly original thinker who passed away a few months ago. I know Robert well enough to know he wouldn't mind me saying this but... never run against the recently deceased.

So OK, that was that and I was happy it went to Robert. He was deserving of this award. Later on the last Regulus Award was for "Enhancing Astrology's Professional Image". a category that I had previously been awarded in 1995. To my surprise and delight, this award this year went to Chris McRae of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Chris served as my Vice-President when I presided over ISAR (The International Society of Astrological Research) in 1998-2008, and she continues in that role to the current president today. In her acceptance speech, she gave a special acknowledgement to all of the help I gave her in developing the professional aspect of her role in astrology. It was very special and moving moment which more than made up for my slight disappointment in not receiving the Regulus Award for Research. I was happy and feeling Jupiter's benevolent position in my chart.

But it wasn't over. There was one more award to give that superseded all of the other five Regulus awards. It was a Lifetime Achievement Award, which had been granted to only three astrologers prior to this UAC. Unbeknownst to any of us, there were to be two of these lifetime achievement awards granted this night. Halfway through the introduction of the first of these two awards, I suddenly realized that they were talking about... me ! Wow ! What a surprise - and honor !! I - along with my dear friend and colleague Michael Lutin of Vanity Fair fame - was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award by our colleagues for our lifetime contributions to the field of astrology. I am truly humbled for this recognition.

And by the way, the conference closed with a specially selected panel on the 2012 USA presidential election. I was the emcee of this closing panel, as I was in 2008 when all six panelists selected Barack Obama as the likely victor in that year's election. Once again, all five of this year's panelists cited their reasons why Barack Obama would win again. I asked each of them to give their probabilities for their forecast. They ranged from 70% (Claude Weiss of Zurich) to 90+%. They also mostly agreed that the results of this year's election would be contested, and not fully known for several days afterwards, much like in 2000. Mercury was retrograde on Election Day in the disputed results of 2000, and it will be again on Election Day 2012. I concluded the panel's discussion by stating that in November 2012, we will know if astrologers are truly very, very good at this, or very biased from a liberal standpoint.

Maybe most astrologers are liberal, and maybe I am more conservative than most (although I think of myself as an independent and moderate). But, in my view, I am not so nearly confident of an Obama victory as my colleagues. My studies favor Obama with perhaps a 55% confidence level, and that could change if the economy continues to go down, especially with Uranus (upsets and change of leadership) to Pluto (economic hard times and debt). My own final forecast on this election will be made around September 20. I need to see how voters and candidates react to this Uranus-Pluto signature before I make up my mind.

In the meantime, it was good to be with this community of brilliant thinkers over the past week. It once again shows that people of different ideologies can get along, can respect one another, and can have a productive dialogue. If only Congress and the White House could observe the astrological community at work... Yes, even Capricorns and Aries can get along.

To be continued... (next week)

Announcements :

!!! We have now added the Gold (GLD) and Silver (SLV) exchange traded funds (ETFs) to the markets we now analyze in our daily, weekly, and monthly subscription reports. We do this because so many subscribers now use our reports to trade ETF's rather than future contacts. The initial feedback has been very positive, so we will now make this part of the each report.

The DVD of the Denver Workshop on Financial Market Timing is now available. This financial markets workshop offers a completely unique and original perspective, integrating :
1) Market Timing studies
2) Price Objective calculations
3) Technical Analysis
4) Pattern Recognition studies
5) Trend Analysis.

The primary focus of this workshop is on Market Timing Studies, particularly Cycles Analysis and Geocosmic Studies, as leading indicators that identify when to anticipate a reversal in all financial markets. Gold and the U.S. stock market are studied in great detail, especially regarding their current status. There is a wealth of timely and valuable information in this DVD, especially pertaining the forthcoming Venus retrograde period (May 15-June 27), the forthcoming Uranus-Pluto square of June 24, 2012, lasting through March 2015, and the important Jupiter correlation to stock market cycles coming up August-November 2012 and March-May 2013.
The cost for this 4-hour DVD workshop is $180.00 plus postage. To order, or call Amber at 1-248-626-3034. If you are a trader or investor who appreciates the value of market timing - especially in the next few months - this is a presentation you will not want to miss! .

We are down to the last couple of DVD's of the "Forecast 2012" webcast, which went extremely well. Perhaps it was our best webcast ever, according to feedback received. The cost for one of the remaining copies is $59.95 plus postage. To order go to our home page and scroll down to the announcement. For those ordering CD's, a PDF file of the charts will be emailed along with the order. "I just wanted to say that Ray's presentation was EXCELLENT! Great presentation and the WEBINAR was outstanding. Once again...THANK YOU !" Matt M., trader, Boulder, CO. on making reservations.

NEW! Now available Mini-Congress 'Outlook for 2012' on CD !!! Recordings of the congress "Outlook for 2012", held January 21, 2012 in Amsterdam, are now available on CD, with audio and PDFs of PowerPoint slides. All lectures are spoken in English.
The following presentations are included on this CD :

1) 2012 End Time of Dawning by Irma Schogt (20 minutes) ;

2) Happy New Year by Drs. Karen Hamaker-Zondag (20 minutes , regarding ECB and Federal Reserve Board) ;

3) 2012 = The Center of the Storm by Antonia Langsdorf (20 minutes, regarding Mayan calendar and astrology);

4) Forecast for 2012 by Raymond Merriman (1 hour).

Total length 2 hours, with PowerPoint slides sent online in a PDF document. Cost is $55.00 plus postage. Please go there, or www.mmacycles.com for ordering info.

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 information 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 !. The comments and reviews are starting to come in, and we will post them here over the next few weeks".I am a long time Merriman Market Analysis Newsletter reader. It has never ceased to amaze me how accurate those levels are given in the newsletter. I often wonder how Ray calculates those levels. By setting up my trades using those levels together with his timing methodology, I have profited greatly. I sincerely feel that Volume 5 of the series finally gives the whole investment community the full story about Ray's lifetime work and the complete description of his financial astrology methodology. It will be a great treasure to all serious market participants". Kenneth Laio, Trader and Chief Technology Officer, Sequoia Media Inc., Beijing, China.
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 and read more comments.

The monthly MMA Cycles report and its companion MMA Japanese Cycles and MMA European Cycles reports 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.

- This report covers our long term analysis of 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. If you are not a subscriber, you can check this service out on a 2-month trial basis for only $50.00.

Upcoming Events :

June 23 : Amsterdam : A special 5-hour workshop on "The Gold Market : Forecasting the Price of Gold and Silver" 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Hotel Park Plaza Victoria. Amsterdam, Damrak 1-5, Amsterdam 1012 LG, Netherlands. Sponsored by Schogt Market Timing. This is a special workshop on precious metals you will not want to miss!!! Cost is €345 ex VAT. Subscribers of any MMA reports (trials excluded) receive a 15% discount. For further information, please go to, or call 31 (02) 294 415 917, or by fax at 31 (02) 294-415-918 to register for an exciting event in one of the world's most exciting cities at the most exciting time of the year : the first Uranus-Pluto square will be taking place then, right near the summer solstice! This will be special, and a great opportunity to meet some very impressive market timers who will be present. Register now as seating is limited ! .

August 2-6, 2012 : Midwest Astrology Conference, in Ann Arbor, MI, Holiday Inn. Pre-seminar workshop on Financial Astrology and Financial Market Timing with Raymond Merriman on Thursday, August 2. Featuring over 20 astrologers, including Michael Lutin, Chris McRae, Bob Thibodeau, Dennis Fairchild, Monica Dimino, Richard Smoot, Grace Morris and others. For more information, call 303-828-5445, 303-604-2777, or email macasrtrology@yahoo.com, or go to http://macastrology.tripod.com.

September 15-16 : Troy Michigan. OLMTA - the On-Line Market Timing Academy - will conduct it pre-curriculum introductory workshop on "Basic Principles of Geocosmic Studies for Financial Market Timing". This will be an introductory course on how to read an ephemeris and how to calculate a critical reversal date. It is open to anyone, but understanding this material is mandatory for anyone entering the MMA mentor-apprenticeship program that will officially start in March 2013. This introductory workshop will be available as a live webinar too. The cost is $300 to subscribers of any MMA subscription report, or $395 to others. For further information, please contact or ordersmmma@msn.com.

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/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.

Top of the page