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.

Please note : The Forecast 2014 Book is out. The archive of the Forecast 2014 speech is available for viewing on line until January 14. A DVD and/or CD of the same speech will be available in the first week of January. It will also be available via download of a streaming video (no postage). The speech went extremely well. For more information on ordering these products.

The Market Week in Review :

Usually something as large and powerful as a Grand Cardinal Cross doesn't produce a specific event exactly when it hits. But last week, very close to the time of the exact Grand Cardinal Square, something significant did happen. The Ukrainian military shot and killed several alleged Russian militants in Eastern Ukraine on Thursday evening (as USA markets were closing). Russia immediately activated thousands of troops just across the border. Gold and Silver, which had been dropping to their lowest levels in two months, immediately reversed. Gold gained back over $30.00 and Silver nearly 100 point (98 cents) in just a few minutes. Stock markets around the world began to sell off on Friday.

Now, as Mundane Astrologers and observers of world events, we can attempt to piece together what this means and what it portends for the future. Will Russia step back and ignore this conflict. No, not likely, not with the Mars (aggression and assertion) part of the Grand Cardinal Square sitting right on the natal Sun of Vladimir Putin (October 7, 1952, 9:30 AM, St. Petersburg, Russia, according to several astrological sites). More than likely, he is emboldened by his recent success and huge popularity at home. He is not likely to accept this Ukraine military act and walk away. Will the United States and/or Europe come to the defense of Ukraine if Russia does exert force in this conflict ? No, that is not likely either. If not, what is the next step if Ukraine tries to stop the Russian advance to take over the country, under the pretext that it is only defending its Russian speaking supporters ? Well, that will probably turn out to be an expression of the dark side of Pluto in a T-square aspect to Mars and Uranus. It could get brutal and ugly.

So in all liklihood, the end is near for Ukraine as we now know it. We can try to find positives about this, and we can try to reinterpret this with a constructive outcome in the end, but Mars-Pluto doesn't really go for win-win outcomes. With that combination, someone wins, and someone loses - badly. There is no mercy, not on Earth when it is caught between Mars-Pluto-Uranus.

This leads us to the next question: what is next ? Does it end here, as Putin has said time and time again ? Or does it escalate ? Here is my take on it. It doesn't end here, for the Grand Cardinal Cross is the turning point, not a resting point or a one-off event. So the real challenge next, as I see it, will be for NATO. Is NATO relevant ? Do the members really stand for what they espouse, which is to defend against any threat to one another's sovereignty ? If you are looking for something positive, something hopeful down the road that comes from this feigned and failed USA and European diplomacy that was unable to stop this escalation of conflict, it may be this : it may empower NATO to finally come together and be something it was designed to be in this world -a family of nations that would protect one another in times of danger. And make no mistake : this is a dangerous time, as every Mundane Astrologer will tell you, and probably has been telling you for quite some time. Diplomacy would be preferred if it worked. But clearly, it isn't working. That is the reality. The sounds of war are increasing, not decreasing, with every false hope of words from diplomats, even those who threaten, and especially those who threaten but then do not act upon their own threats.

My take is that this is an exceptional time for the leaders of NATO nations to have a high profile summit, come together, reaffirm their commitment to one another, and devise a well-thought-out plan for dealing with any "next steps". There doesn't have to be any "next steps" of a march towards World War III. After all, this current tension began under Mars retrograde, and in the end, those who take the role of aggressors tend to lose - badly. The primary hope for humanity right now is to stop this march towards a world conflict, because if it continues, it will divide the world sharply - more sharply that we witness today. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had it right on April 15, when he stated, "We need to train and exercise more together, for instance the NATO Response Force and the EU Battle groups, so that we stand ready for whatever the future may bring".

Best Trades of the Past Week :

Our best trades of the week in the weekly subscription report were in stock indices, which advised : "Position traders are flat and may sell short above 16,550 if offered with a stop-loss on a close above 16,700. Aggressive traders... may also sell short Tuesday-Thursday if Monday's high is taken out and at a price of 16,500 or better, with a stop-loss on a close above 16,700". Perfect. The high was 16,565 on Tuesday, April 22, and it closed the week at 16,361. The June S&P advice was, "Position traders ... If not short, look to get short Tuesday-Wednesday at 1880-1885, with a stop-loss on a close above 1905. Aggressive traders ... (may) sell short at 1880-1885 on Tuesday-Thursday, if making new weekly highs then too, with a stop-loss on a close above 1905". The high was 1880.75 those days, and on Thursday it topped out at 1882.50. It closed the week at 1860. The weekly program also got short near the high of the week in June NASDAQ futures. Our trades in the metals (cover shorts in GLD and go long in weekly support) worked out very well too.

Our best trades on the daily reports were in precious metals. Tuesday's report stated for May Silver, "Aggressive traders are flat and may buy at 1925 +/- 5, with a stop-loss on a close below 1900 or 1920, depending on your risk allowance". The low that day was 1928.50. It closed the week at 1971.50. In case there was any doubt, a special report was sent out to subscribers of all reports Tuesday morning, 10:20 AM, which stated, "These are all bullish triggers, and they were all covered in our daily, weekly, and monthly reports. Thus, we now issue a buy signal for aggressive traders in both metals, with a favorable risk-reward stop-loss based on a close below these lows. In fact, the buy signals were already executed in the daily reports of Gold, GLD, Silver, and SLV this week". Gold closed the week at 1303.60 after falling briefly below 1270.

For more information on the daily or weekly market reports, please follow this link, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

Last week's and previous columns stated that this particular passage of Uranus and Pluto- the fifth of the seven - "... may be the most important of all because in opposition aspects, the slower moving planet is the most dominant in terms of collective psychology. Thus, Mars is now in opposition to Uranus, making Uranus the dominant planet. However, Jupiter is also in opposition to Pluto, making Pluto the dominant force. Together, Uranus and Pluto are at their most potent expression right now, this week. It doesn't mean an event occurs this week (although it might, like an earthquake, terrorist attack, another burst of violence by someone with a mental disorder in possession of a firearm, which is all symbolic of this aspect). It just means the psychological pressure peaks this week, and afterwards, it begins to decline. But not by much, because Venus will then come and touch off this same signature in mid-May". Thus, over the past two years I have attempted to guide readers through the dynamics of this powerful planetary aspect. And now, here it is, in its fullest expression. This is the reality of Uranus and Pluto, and you can spin it however "airy-fairy" you want, but Pluto takes no prisoners, makes no bargains when it senses it has the advantage. Sometimes, as the Ukrainian soldier said a few weeks ago, "...you have to fight if you want peace". To that I would say, sometimes you have to exert your own power if you don't want others to walk over you. Strength is the message that Pluto understands, and only from a position and expression of strength can the forces of destruction be halted when Mars and Pluto are on the march.

There will be a window of opportunity over the next two weeks as the Sun begins its journey through the more practical sign of Taurus, as it leaves the assertive/aggressive sign of Aries now. There are no major geocosmic signatures coming up that correlate with market reversals until after May 10. Either the escalation of tensions that exploded this week continue into then, or there is a pause, and the tensions resume after that time if there is no progress.

Longer-Term Thoughts :

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity". - Martin Luther King, Jr.

One of the most frustrating experiences for a person who has studied and understands a subject well, is to discuss that subject with someone who is ignorant of it, has not studied the subject one iota, but has a strong opinion about it and tries to pass themselves off as someone who understands it. Experience teaches every one of us that you cannot change the mind of someone whose facts are based upon what they want to believe, and not upon any actual study or experience to support their illusion and pretense of knowledge. They simply don't know that they don't know. And I suspect that frightens them because it implies things happen over which they have little or no control - perhaps because they have such little confidence in themselves or faith in a spiritual path. Those who study and understand astrology know this reality only too well.

Case in point and question to readers who have an understanding of astrology: how many of you have been challenged about the validity of astrology this past week because the "Grand Cardinal Cross" didn't cause a war or a financial market collapse by Wednesday? How many of you actually predicted a war or a great financial market collapse would happen exactly during the Grand Cardinal Cross of April 20-23? If you are a student or professional astrologer, who understands the principles of astrology, my guess is that none of you did either of those things.

And this brings up another important point: a person of ignorance about a subject is prone to make projections based upon their illusion of facts. In their view, nothing of importance happened during the Grand Cardinal Cross because they didn't see it. Which begs the question: what were they looking for? Was it a deadly earthquake? Was it the outbreak of a war right then? Was it a stock market collapse or economic panic right then? That is not how astrology works, or rather how the universe works. That is how the ignorant, with issues of projection, think it works. However, astrology is not fatalistic or fortune-telling, nor is a student of astrology a psychic or prophet, as one who is ignorant of the subject tends to project.

So let's briefly review what astrology is and how it works - real astrology, not "sun sign astrology" as presented in newspapers, magazines, and several internet sites that have their own separate function. When a long-term planetary configuration unfolds, such as the Grand Cardinal Cross of last week, it refers not necessarily to an outward event, although it can and sometimes does. It refers to a peak of different psychological and behavioral dynamics, symbolized by the planets and signs involved, that attempt to combine with one another. Sometimes this results in a decision that has lasting consequences not realized until later on. Sometimes it pertains to a height in conflict. Sometimes it is the manifestation of consequences that had been building for a long period of time. Very rarely is the event or decision an isolated type that pertains only to that specific moment of time. In other words, prior to the cosmic event, the dynamics have already been building up, and after the cosmic gathering has reached its peak, the consequences can still unfold in stunning events related to those goecosmic dynamics.

The Grand Cardinal Cross of April 20-23, 2014 was the peak of a giant T-square of Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto that began in August 2013. The central part of that T-square is the Uranus-Pluto waxing square that lasts through March 2015 (and began in June 2012). Now briefly suspend your beliefs about astrology for a moment and ask yourself: have the pressures and conflicts of the world been escalating or diminishing over the past several months as we entered the Grand Cardinal Cross part of these major geocosmic patterns last week? Do the developments in Ukraine strike you as something unimportant, a non-event that will have no future consequences to the course of world history ?.

The Grand Cardinal Cross of last week was the second peak within the greater Cardinal Climax of 2008-2015. The first peak was in late July-early August 2010. It might be instructive for Mundane and Financial Astrologers - and really, for everyone who has an opinion about how astrology works - to review what happened then. Like now, astrologers were fascinated about the great cardinal T-square that formed when Jupiter and Uranus moved into Aries, in exact opposition to Mars and Saturn which has just moved in Libra, and all four squared Pluto in early Capricorn. Many important decisions were made at the time, but because there was no one horrific event (which no professional astrologer ever stated would absolutely be the case) the ignorant once again proclaimed that astrology does not work. But they weren't watching. During this period of time, the Federal Reserve Board made the decision to not end its first quantitative easing effort, but instead pursue a more aggressive QE2, thus setting off the world-wide currency wars that continue today. Furthermore, the Fed's decision to intervene in financial markets and engineer short-term interest rates down to 0-.25%, indefinitely, saved the banks, but devastated retirees and middle class savers. It dramatically altered the entire foundation of the financial system throughout the world. That was also the time that the Financial Regulatory Reform Act" passed in the USA, which is greatly altering how banks now conduct business. As stated in this column at the time, "One day we may look back and say, 'Aha! That's when we passed that law that changed everything. That is when the 'Era of the Regulators' began".

In retrospect, were those important acts and was that an important time? What is occurring now is just as significant. Maybe we can't see it all right now, but if you are Financial or Mundane Astrologer, I think there is no doubt in your mind that what we are experiencing will one day be seen as monumentally important to the future course of humanity. The stars and planets and the entire fabric of this stunning universe that we inhabit is not just for aesthetic or scientific appreciation. Here is a question: did life here actually begin from an event out there, as scientists ascribe to today ? I ask, because to an astrologer, the cycles of life here (human activity) correspond to so many cycles out there (planetary orbital cycles). It's all connected, to science, religion, faith, philosophy, even logic. Only the ignorant fail to understand this because... they don't know that they don't know. After all, ignorance is bliss.

To be continued (next week).

Announcements :

We are pleased to announce that very soon, we will be posting our weekly columns in India. MMA-India will be directed by MMTA Apprentice Nitin Bhandari, and will include subscription services to all of our reports, as well as availability of all of our books. We will keep our readers from India informed as progress is made on this new initiative.

MMA's weekly and daily reports have been extremely accurate and profitable over the past several weeks, especially in equity indices, crude oil, and precious metals. 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 Daily Market reports. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or weekly basis. These weekly reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, Euro-Yen cash, T-Notes, Crude Oil, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Gold and Silver, plus GLD and SLV (the Gold and Silver ETF's). 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. For more information, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034. These reports are extremely valuable to those who trade ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds). And since early December, these reports have been extremely profitable. As subscriber and trader R.B. of Albuquerque, NM writes, "You have been on an incredible run for a while ; I have never seen anything like it". Well, when everything lines up just right...

Course 5 of the MMTA (Merriman Market Timing Academy) was a great success ! This course, titled "Trading and Investing Planning: Combining Market Timing Studies and Price Objective Calculations", was held March 24-27, 2014, in Troy, Michigan. This course focused on several topics. The first was the development of a weekly and daily trading plan, based on cycles, geocosmic signatures, and solar-lunar combinations. Real-time strategies took place every morning and at the end of the trading day. Then, longer-term market cycles, longer-term planetary cycles, and calculations of price objective targets for long-term cycle tops and bottoms, along with their patterns and sub-cycles were addressed. From there, the lessons moved into intermediate- and shorter-term price calculations. The DVD and LMS (on line version) of the course will be available at the end of April, via www.merrimanmta.com. The cost of this 4-day course is $3600.

MMTA Course 6 will take place June 2-5, 2014, also at the Michigan State University Management Education Center (MEC) in Troy, Michigan. This course will focus on short-term calculations of daily and weekly support/resistance, and trading plans to go with it. These plans will combine our knowledge of market timing tools, including cycles, geocosmic critical reversal dates, and solar-0lunar combinations. For more information, please call 1-248-626-3034, or visit the MMTA website.

The first year of MMTA (the Merriman Market Timing Academy) is now completed! The courses (all 4 together, or separately) are available via our LMS website-uploadable venue (no postage), or in DVD, to those who wish to become students of MMA's methodology. Each course comes with a full workbook (90-130 pages each). For a complete description of these courses - and those yet to come - please visit www.merrimanmta.com , or call 1-248-626-3034.

Our 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.
Two-issue trial subscriptions are available for this service for $50.00, which includes the current issue and the next month's as well.
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.

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.

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.

Upcoming Events :

June 2-5, 2014 : MMTA Course 6 : "Advanced Support-Resistance Calculations for Trading".

August 25-28, 2014 : MMTA Course 7 : "Combining Technical Studies, Cycles, and Critical Reversal Dates for Traders".

September 25-28, 2014 : The ISAR International Astrology Conference, Phoenix, AZ. This will be the "big one" next year with dozens of well-known international astrologers present ! Mark your calendars and plan to attend it. Information will soon be available at www.iasastrology.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.

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 theBest 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 identifiesBig 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 thatextra 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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