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Page 2 of 3 ReviewThe Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles by Raymond A. Merriman. West Bloomfield, Michigan: MMA Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-930706-28-5. Softcover, 439 pages.
Raymond Merriman has done it again. With his usual style and finesse, this master trader and market analyst has put together a massive piece of research that is at once deliciously arcane and eminently practical, incredibly comprehensive and wonderfully accessible, broad in its vision and absolutely rigorous in its reasoning.
As the third volume in an encyclopedic five-volume examination of the cycles at work behind the movements of the markets, Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles narrows the scope taken by Merriman's first two books in this series. Volume 1 looked at market cycles from a broad perspective, from 13-week cycles to cycles lasting four years or longer. Volume 2 began Merriman's canvass of the geocosmic dynamics that relate to market cycles -- the interaction of planetary energies in our solar system and their impact on earthly affairs. Geocosmic studies were long exclusively the domain of astrologers' obscure speculations, but are now (as Ray Merriman so ably demonstrates) a vital, increasingly essential tool for any serious market technician.
While volume 2 dealt only with the longer-range geocosmic cycles, those involving the planets beyond the orbit of Mars, this current volume focuses as well on the synodic cycles of the heavenly bodies nearer the Earth, including the Sun, Venus, and Mars. Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles also features an excellent section on the retrograde and direct signatures of all of the planets from Mercury through Pluto. The whole book is organized in a logical, easy-to-follow format, making it truly useful as a reference work.
Because of its particular focus, this volume is especially serviceable for active traders, as its name implies. Due to the duration of the planetary cycles included in the book, however, it is aimed more at short-term position traders or swing traders rather than at day-traders. Even so, anyone who is actively involved in the equities markets and who wants to gain a unique technical advantage would be well advised to keep this book handy.
What's especially nice about this book is the way Merriman combines meticulous research with pragmatic recommendations. In dealing with the various planetary combinations that can impact market dynamics, for example, he not only explains the underlying energies at work-- he also cites historical examples of the geocosmic interactions, lists the dates when those interactions will occur again, and offers a quick paragraph of capsule advice for the trader who wants to consider the planets in an operative trading plan.
This is definitely a book that warrants a prominent place on the shelf nearest your trading station. But that doesn't mean that it's a volume that deserves to gather dust. Put Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles to work as an active part of your trading analysis and this book will quickly pay for itself many times over. What more can any trader ask?
- Tim Bost
Editor, Financial Cycles newsletter, Sarasota, Florida
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