Merriman Market Analyst

Review

 Review by Chris Lorenz; Dell Horoscope Magazine, August 2003

STOCK MARKET TIMING-SOLAR/LUNAR CORRELATIONS TO SHORT-TERM TRADING REVERSALS, VOLUME 4; by Raymond Merriman; MMA Publications, PO Box 250012, West Bloomfield, Mi 48325; 2003, 241 pp.(8 ½" x 11"), $95.00, ISBN 0-930-706-29-3.

Virtually all stock-market traders know that the market trends follow patterns that move in cycles. Understanding when a cycle begins and ends is difficult, since there are so many cycles and they have varying lengths. Astrologers have a unique advantage when buying and selling in that they are naturally attuned to cycles, especially the ones that can be correlated to outer planetary combinations. Raymond Merriman is a pioneer in showing exactly which cycles are worth watching.

In the first three volumes of this series, he has also shown where the best likely place is in a particular cycle to enter or exit the market. Subtitled Solar/Lunar Correlations to Short-Term Trading Reversals, volume four of Raymond Merriman’s five-volume series offers some unique astrological clues to help guide the short-term trader. The three previous volumes focused on Merriman’s perceptive methodology for recognizing cycles and the longer trading cycles as represented by the various planetary combinations. Anyone following his logic would not have been caught in the precipitous decline in the NASDAQ and Dow Jones markets beginning in March 2001 since a rare combination of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus was forming then, and showed a high probability that a major reversal was due.

The present volume works with Sun and Moon combinations, and presents a statistical analysis of which pairs offer the best opportunity to get in and out quickly-and make a tidy profit in the process. The Moon changes signs about every two-and-a-half days and so this is the length of the cycle that Merriman is investigating here. This book is not appropriate for long-term investors, but is a terrific advantage for those investors who would take advantage of brief Sun-Moon combinations. The organization of volume four begins with an introduction to the study, which is primarily devoted to explaining his hypothesis-namely, that a four percent filter wave will help identify the best Sun-Moon combinations. This means that the price of the Dow, NASDAQ, or Nikkei averages (the three markets he tracks) will reverse by at least four percent within the astrological time frame. Then Chapter Two in itself is a most wonderful, beneficial summary of what the trader can expect when any planet is in a sign.

To identify the most favorable transits, the author uses a weighted value system, which assigns a number for how often the market breaches the four-percent threshold. For example, Venus in Sagittarius has a weighted value of 126, much higher than any other sign for Venus, but not quite significant enough to make a great trading opportunity. Mercury in Scorpio has a weighted value of 143, which is close to the 150 level and at which point the trader can confidently predict that the market will reverse. He will know that the market will either reach a trough or a top, and can profit by either buying or selling short. The table revealing the highest weighted value for a planet in a sign was the Jupiter section. One sign had a value of 154 and marked a year’s cycles when the reversal would kick in.

The next twelve chapters give the statistics of how well the market did when the Moon was in each of the twelve Sun-Signs. The results are organized into the three markets studied with one section each for the Dow, NASDAQ, and the Nikkei markets. The Sun in Cancer had some interesting, workable correlations, with some very strong reversal patterns noted, as well as some very stable patterns. When the Sun is in Cancer and the Moon is in Taurus, for example, the weighted value is 172, showing a relatively very high probability that the market will reverse at least four percent during this Sun-Moon combination. Also, when the Sun is in Cancer but the Moon is in Virgo, the weighted value is only 34, showing an extremely stable situation, and not a good time to make a short-term killing.

The final chapters summarize the results of the preceding chapters in tabular format, and then offer a plan on how to best use this information. If you are an online trader looking for an astrological advantage to short-term trading, volume four of Merriman’s Stock Market Timing is a best tool, especially when combined with the shorter trading cycles as presented in volume three.