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 :

It's a mad, mad world. But then, what did you expect after so many planets changed signs a week ago ? If you are a Financial Astrologer, you knew something fundamentally important was changing, at least since early September when the Moon's North Node began its 19-month sojourn through Scorpio, or September 19 when the second (of seven) waxing squares between Uranus and Pluto took place, or the prior week when four planets changed signs, including the very important three-year ingress of Saturn into Scorpio. These aren't minor cosmic events. They are huge to a Financial or Mundane Astrologer, and the kind of cosmic transitions that imply fundamental shifts in many aspects of human activity, including financial markets and their long-term trends. Last week was particularly important as we had designated the weekend of October 5-8, +/- 3 trading days, as one of the more important critical reversal periods of this season. It didn't disappoint.

But the picture of distortions arising around the world were surprising nonetheless. In the United States, for instance, equity markets peaked out on September 14 ands 21 respectively in the S&P and NASDAQ Composite, surrounding the Uranus-Pluto square date. But in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prices topped out on - guess what ? - October 5, our exact critical reversal date. By the end of this past week, all three indices were falling below important moving averages, confirming primary cycle crests were in place.

But now switch your attention to Asia and the Pacific Rim. Here you see the Hang Seng of Hong Kong and the All Ordinaries of Australia ending the week at their highest levels in months. Australia's equity index was at a new yearly high. China's Shanghai Index also closed on a new multi-week high, just the opposite pattern as witnessed in the states. India's Nifty Index reached a new yearly high on October 5, the same as the DJIA. But in Tokyo, the Nikkei fell hard all week to a new two-month low and is now challenging its 3-year cycle low of last year.

In Europe, it was equally bizarre. Most markets topped out in mid-September nearby to the Uranus-Pluto square, and continued their decline throughout last week, similar to the S&P and NASDAQ Composite. But in Zurich, the Swiss SMI made new yearly highs last Wednesday, October 9. Go figure. On second thought, don't figure. Just realize that in some parts of the world the boom is on, and in other parts, the boom is turning to bust.

Not only is the luster disappearing off many equity markets of the world (while others look real good), but gold and silver are losing their shine ever since Mars left Scorpio last weekend. It was a great time for our subscribers who traded metals on the long side following our buy recommendations of mid-May and late June, and so far it's turning out to look good as we reversed to the short side early last week.

Best Trades of the Past Week :

The daily report on gold, for Tuesday, October 9, stated : "Aggressive traders are still long with a stop-loss below 1738 after covering 2/3 for healthy profits last week. Let's exit all for excellent profits at 1779-1783 (or better) and even sell short there with a stop-loss on a close above 1786 or 1800, depending on your risk allowance". The high that day was 1785, it closed that day at 1765.80, and it closed the week at 1756.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

This week will begin with a new moon in Libra on Monday, October 15. Normally this would seem to be a positive aspect and a correlate to a crest in equity prices, but as explained in last week's column, that is not always the case. The "good news" may have been the prior week's unemployment drop, and then the decline in unemployment claims that was reported at the end of the last week. But as we look around the world, some markets (in Asia and the Pacific Rim) are making highs going into this new moon.

The major short-term geocosmic signature in effect right now may be Mars in Sagittarius (October 6-November 16). This is a combination of dynamics that suggests very wild markets. Mars represents impulse and aggression, the urge to win at all costs. Mars likes to be "first", and it oftentimes acts before thinking of the consequences. It can be combative and war-like, sometimes believing one can only get his/her way by being the loudest person in the room. And it is in Sagittarius, which relates to the principles of exaggeration and bigness. Sagittarius doesn't like "small". So when loud combines with big and exaggeration, things can get wild and bellicose. It is a combination that lends itself to risk-taking activities as confidence is oftentimes high, but sometimes too high. And here is where the problem comes in. If things don't go the way that one thinks they should, that confidence can turn quickly to hysteria and panic. So with Mars in Sagittarius, financial markets can display powerful rallies or crushing declines, but not likely congestion and small trading ranges.

A good example of Mars in Sagittarius was on display in Thursday night's debate between Vice-President Joe Biden (who is born on the cusp of Sagittarius) and Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan. Joe Biden's performance was - in my humble opinion - classical Mars in Sagittarius. That is, he was extremely confident, loud, and bold. In content, he may have had the better debate. But he was also continuously laughing out loud and interrupting Congressman Ryan, and his overly aggressive behavior probably went over well with his base, but probably cost him points with independents.

Longer Term Thoughts :

"Risks for a serious global slowdown are alarmingly high".

- IMF's World Economic Outlook report, released on October 9, as reported in the Wall Street Journal article titled, "Global Recession Risk Rises : IMF Lowers Growth Forecasts Warns New Downturn Would be Tougher to Tame".

For serious Financial Astrologers, there is an awareness of a major shift now taking place as Saturn moves into Scorpio. This geocosmic event took place on October 5 and will remain in place until September 18, 2015, although it will move into and then back out of Sagittarius December 23, 2014 through June 15, 2015.

When the further-out planets like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto change signs, it tends to correspond with major shifts in collective psychology and activity, according to the principles of that planet and sign. The same is true with the Moon's North Node, which changes signs approximately every 19 months. The Moon's North Node began its 19-month trek in Scorpio just last month, on September 2. Thus the sign (not constellation) of Scorpio is being highlighted, and therefore its primary principles will be front and center. Scorpio, like its ruling planet Pluto, has dominion over the four D's : debt, deficits, downgrades, and default. Furthermore it pertains to changes in the tax codes of many nations. These areas may be closely related.

The concern about these matters is intensified because the planet moving into Scorpio is Saturn. In both Financial and Mundane Astrology (and even classical astrology) Saturn governs the principle of accountability. It represents a time when the consequences of prior actions are finally realized. Thus in the "Forecast 2012 Book", Saturn in Scorpio was described as "The Time of Reckoning" in all matters regarding debt and deficits. It is a time when the full consequences of the world-wide debt explosion will have to be dealt with (or so I interpret it that way). The proverbial "can" cannot be kicked down the road any further. Either difficult decisions or sacrifices will be forced upon governments of the world (i.e. austerity), or else those governments default and/or experience downgrades of their credit standing.

As the new synergy of Saturn (and the North Node) in Scorpio begins to gain traction, the investment community may start to withdraw funds from the market. In market terminology, Saturn rules fear and Jupiter rules greed. The other option is that paper fiat currency becomes very inflated so that its purchasing power drops substantially, thus creating another form of debt, especially for those living on fixed incomes.

There is no easy way out of this, and there are few - if any - risk free investment strategies right now (there are always trading strategies however). There are never "easy ways out" of situations when Saturn and Scorpio are involved, for these are complex signs, intertwining government taxes, regulations, reforms, and banking crises. The last time Saturn was in Scorpio (November 1982-November 1985) the USA went though a difficult savings and loan crisis and scandal. Many land owners (especially farmers) lost their properties due to the high interest rates and inflationary consequences of the prior 4 years. Some well-healed bankers went to prison. It is possible we will see a repeat of some of these activities and penalties again over the next three years.

But 1982-1985 was also the time in which tough decisions, sacrifices, and compromises were made by political leaders of both parties (in the USA). Once those compromises were agreed to, the economies and stock markets of many of the world's nations began one of the longest periods of growth in history. Can we do this again ? Yes, it is possible - if we don't first fall off the "Fiscal Cliff" coming up on December 31, 2012 in the USA, which - by the way - looks a little like Uranus and Pluto in a square aspect.

In the meantime, Saturn moving into a new sign often occurs nearby to a period when the longer-term trend of various financial markets reverse. In 1982, it was the end of the bear market in stocks and Treasuries, and start of new bull markets in each. This time it appears the opposite could happen as both equity and treasury markets are near their all-time highs. Unless, of course, it is realized that the only way out of the exploding debt crisis is to monetize the debt. And that is why, down the road when the "can" is no longer there to kick because it sailed off the "Fiscal Cliff", Gold looms attractive to long-term investors. But we are talking long-term here, and not necessarily the next few months.

To be continued... (next week)

Announcements :

Forecast 2013 Book : Only two more weeks to take advantage of the special pre-publications offer for the Forecast 2013 Book. 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, 2012. We are pleased to announce that the cost of this year's book will remain the same as last year at $55.00. We are also pleased to announce that the special pre-publication rate of $45.00 (plus postage) will available to those who order prior to October 30! Additionally we will offer Forecast 2013 in an e-book format at these same prices, although the e-book may not contain the planetary calendar and ephemeris in the back, as will be the case in the printed hard copy editions. But there will be no postage costs with the e-book. As always, a limited number are printed, so order now, save even more big bucks, and make sure you reserve your 2013 book before they sell out (or you forget)!!!.
To order, you may call MMA offices at 1-248-626-3034, or contact Amber. Or go to our website link. We have also posted a "Scorecard" of this year's forecasts.

We are pleased to announce the completion of "The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 2 : Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles". We expect this book to be in print sometime in September - hopefully in time for the September 15-16 workshop. This means that the special $75.00 pre-order rate will end August 15. At that point, the normal rate of $125 (plus postage) will go into effect. To take advantage of the special pre-order discount price, please go to.

Recently I announced that I will be starting a new direction in life over the next two years, involving a mentor-apprenticeship program on Financial Market Timing and Analysis, according to the unique methodology I have developed over the past 30+ years. I didn't expect any response yet, as we are still developing the format. But... there has been a huge response! We know we are behind the curve on getting out information on this rapidly developing project, but we are working out the details and more announcements will be made shortly. So far we have determined that the training will take place over eight weekends stretching from 2013-2014. The dates for 2013 have now been selected. They are : April 6-8, June 15-17, Aug 10-12, and Oct 12-14. The 2014 schedule will be determined in 2013 . These 8 sessions will be the only time that Raymond Merriman will give this entire training in person. A pplications for the "On Line Market Timing Academy" (OLMTA) are being accepted now. There will be an introductory training session, September 15-16 in Troy, Michigan (see below). For more information, or an application form, please contact Amber Lundsten, call 1-248-626-3034, or go to or scroll down the opening page (next page) of www.mmacycles.com. Raymond Merriman's "Market Timing Academy" (MMTA) will offer a pre-training course on "Beginning Principles of Financial Astrology for Financial Market Timing", September 15-16, in Troy, Michigan, at the Management Education Center of Michigan State University. This 10-12 hour course may be attended live, in person, or via webcast televised to your computer. An archive of this workshop will be available for 30 days afterwards to those who sign up. This workshop will basically train non-astrologers in the use of reading an ephemeris, the table of planetary positions for any given day. This is essential to anyone who wishes to understand how to find a geocosmic critical reversal date for financial markets. This course (or audit of it) is a pre-requisite for anyone entering the MMTA market training course, as developed and instructed by Raymond Merriman. The MMTA two-year training course will begin in April 2013, and will involve 8 weekends of study - 4 weekends each in 2013 and 2014. For more information and registration, please go to www.mmacycles.com (front page, near bottom). We will make announcements as this training program unfolds. The cost for the September 15-16 pre-training workshop is $395.00 ($300 for MMA subscribers). This cost will be deducted from the fee of the two-year training course to those who apply and are accepted into MMTA by October 15, 2012.

Speaking of our weekly subscription reports, we now offer a new one titled : MMA Weekly Treasuries, Soybeans, and Crude Oil Report. This will be a 3-5 page report offering comments, analysis, forecasts, and trading strategy for next week's market activity in the U.S. 10-Year T-Notes (Treasuries), Soybeans, and Crude Oil futures only. List of support/resistance areas, trend indicator points, geocosmic and lunar reversal points for the week, cycles phasing, and recommended buy and sell strategies. The cost is $750/yr or $250/3 months. We will offer a one-month trial subscription for $50.00, available only until August 15, as part of our introduction to this new service. Subscriptions are delivered by downloadable postings on the MMA Website, which is entered via your personal password. It is also delivered via an email attachment to all subscribers over the weekend before the market opens.

The DVD of the Denver Workshop on Financial Market Timing is still 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, and

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 to 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 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.

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 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 :

January 11-12, 2012 : Zurich Switzerland. "Forecast 2013 Symposia" sponsored by AstroData.
January 11 lecture on Forecasts 2013. January 12 will be a special 5-hour workshop on "The Gold Market : Forecasting the Future Price of Gold and Silver". 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM. 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, follow this link or contact ASTRODATA AG, Tel. 41 (0) 43 343 33 66, or email info@mma-europe.ch. 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!.

January 17, 2013 : Amsterdam, Netherlands. "Forecast 2013", Sponsored by Schogt Market Timing. Call 31-(0) 294-415-917 for further more information, Or there.

April 6-8, 2013 : MMTA Course 1 : "Cycles and Chart Patterns in Financial Markets" with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan. This will be the first of eight courses given by The Merriman Market Timing Academy (MMTA). It is available to those who attend onsite, or via a live webcast that will take place from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Saturday and Sunday, as well as Monday from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, followed by a two-hour exam for those wishing to receive a certificate upon the completion of the MMTA entire 8 course program. The raw footage will be available for review for attendees for the 30 days following this course.

June 15-17, 2013 : MMTA Course 2 : "Geocosmic Correlations to Long-Term Cycles in Financial Markets" with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan.

August 10-12, 2013 : MMTA Course 3 : "Geocosmic Correlations to Primary and Trading Cycles in Financial Markets" with Raymond Merriman. Location : MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan.

October 12-14, 2013 : MMTA Course 4 : "Solar-Lunar Correlations to Short-Term Reversals in Financial Markets" with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan.

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.

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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