REVIEW AND PREVIEW
“This fresh chill has descended amid fears that the market is heading for a crypto winter. Although at $21,800 Bitcoin is still some way off its June lows of under $19,000, volatility is once again wracking the market.” – usannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown as reported by Jenni Reid, “ Sudden Crypto Market Drop Sends Bitcoin Below $22,000,” www.cnbc.com, August 19, 2022.
The Federal Reserve says it is going to keep raising interest rates. Wall Street thinks it’s bluffing. –Akane Otani, “Wall Street Bets the Fed is Bluffing in Inflation Game,” Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2022.
Global stock markets reached a new cycle peak last week, on August 16-17 in most cases, coinciding with the Sun’s T-square to Saturn/Uranus August 11-15 and the favorable Venus trine Jupiter on August 17. The high of August 16 in several stock indices also coincided with the ingress of heliocentric Mercury into Sagittarius, August 16-29.
This time, instead of an acceleration of the new bullish trend in equities, the Uranus aspects corresponded to a reversal. When Uranus is highlighted, you never know if it will be a breakout of support or resistance as was the case during the first of these three highlighted Uranus periods on August 1 (for Uranus has no respect boundaries like support/resistance), or a reversal as noted last week.
Interestingly enough, the high of August 16 was a breakout above the downward trendline connecting the two previous primary cycles in the DJIA, an indication that the low of June 16-17 (Venus square Saturn period) was a cycle greater than a primary type. But typical of Uranus, the breakout then suddenly reversed, and a corrective decline began. Now we will see if next week’s powerful Uranus signatures (the third in August) will lead to a reversal in the opposite direction, or an acceleration of the decline below important support areas that will be discussed in our weekly subscription reports.
Major reversals were also noted in other markets last week. Silver for instance, reached a new cycle high on Monday, August 15 at 20.87. By Friday, it was down over 9% to a low of 18.92, right in line with our weekly and daily reports. Gold also fell last week, but its cycle high was the week before on August 10, right before the second set of Uranus aspects began on August 11. Bitcoin also made its cycle high of 25,201 on August 15. By the end of the week, it was testing 21,000, its sharpest decline since the lows of June 18. Crude Oil was a study in opposites. It made a new cycle low on August 16 and has started a new rally since then. This is not going to bode well for those who claim inflation has peaked.
All in all, it was a very Uranian, disruptive, week in which markets did not go as many expected. They reversed suddenly and sharply. Another Uranian time band is scheduled to start later this week or into the next. The time for boredom is over.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
There are many benefits for small business in the Inflation Reduction Act. Among others: 1.) It isn’t funded by small business 2.) The R&D tax credit doubles. 3.) The IRS funding will not target small business. – Rhett Buttle, “Five Truths About How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Help Small Business and Working Families,” www.forbes.com as presented on www.bettersmb.com, August 15, 2022.
It’s (the Inflation Reduction Act) good stuff, but it has to be paid for. So, who will be paying? It’s not going to be just “the wealthy.” It will be small businesses as well. The Inflation Reduction Act will actually increase inflation — or at least raise the costs and reduce revenues — for many of us and in three big ways. Gary Marks, “Three Items in the Inflation Reduction Act That Will Hurt Small Businesses,” The Washington Times, August 16, 2022.
Last week’s downturn will likely bring a lot of bears out of their recent hibernation, for the worry of higher interest rates, higher inflation, and a recession is still very much in the air. But I also think there is an understated case of FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – in the minds of many who missed the strong rally since the lows of June 16-17, especially as Saturn (fear) approaches its fourth and final waning square to Uranus September 21-28. Actually, it’s a battle of two fears – fear of recession leading to another stock market collapse (bearish) and fear of missing a chance to get on board of a new bull market that just started eight weeks ago (bullish). Based on what happened during the previous three passages of Saturn square Uranus in 2021, when the stock market soared to one new all-time high after another, my bias is with the bulls for now.
However, I cannot rule out a sharp corrective decline as we head into the third series of Uranus signatures starting this week. On August 24, Uranus will turn retrograde. Venus will then follow in a T-square with both Saturn and Uranus, August 26-28. In between, on August 27, the new Moon in Virgo will square Mars. This identifies a powerful geocosmic critical reversal zone that ends with a Venus/Saturn opposition on August 28. One of our basic financial astrology rules is that any market declining into a hard Venus/Saturn aspect is a candidate for a buy, especially if the low is just a correction in a greater bullish trend. We will be identifying those markets qualifying this set up in our daily and weekly reports for subscribers as we get there.
LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS
“Always remember, child, that to think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral you down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline, training, is about. So, train your mind to dwell on sweet perfumes, a touch of this silk, the tranquility of dawn. Then, at length, you won’t have to make such a great effort and you will be of value to yourself.” – James Clavell, “Shogun,” Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1994.
This quote is for all who are struggling to maintain a positive attitude about the future, when the current reality of the world seems to be in such dire straits. You can’t ignore the reality, but unless you can change it, there is little benefit in worrying about it, which your mind, if left to itself, will do.
One geocosmic factor that allows me to think more positively about the future is the realization that all the outer planets will be changing signs soon. This is very rare and represents a sea change of the human predicament, as described before. That is, Pluto moves from Capricorn to start its 20-year trek through Aquarius beginning March 23, 2023, just two weeks after Saturn leaves Aquarius and begins its three-year passage through Pisces. Uranus will begin its exit out of Taurus and into Gemini over the next eight years in 2025, while Neptune leaves Pisces and starts a 14-year journey through Aries starting in 2025. On February 20, 2026, Saturn will conjoin Neptune in 0°Aries, forming a double sextile to Uranus and Pluto, which will be in a favorable air trine aspect to one another.
I think these long-term cyclical cosmic ingresses are indicative of a renaissance for humanity, an end to the fears of “the end times.” And an awakening to a new world in which the heaviness (and the psychologically “heavy” leaders) of the past leave the world stage that they have dominated for far too long. The next generation of leadership will bring a new spirit, and as with all cycles, the first phase may be rough at first but they are exciting and bullish, to borrow a market expression. I think the financial world could first witness a serious setback followed by a serious financial revival, somewhat similar to the “Information Superhighway” communications’ revolution of the 1990’s. I don’t know specifically how this will unfold, but my knowledge of astrology and the historical correlation of planetary cycles to cycles in human activity makes me confident that the world will begin a very different and more adult-like path related to the events of 2023-2026.
It will be worth hanging around to witness this, possibly even contributing to this soon-to-be emerging paradigm shift.
NOTE: There may not be a column issued next week due to my participation in the ISAR Conference taking place in Denver August 25-28. I will be giving my one and only live one-day workshop there on August 25. See “Events” below
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: FORECAST 2023 SPECIAL OFFERS ARE NOW UNDERWAY! Written by Raymond Merriman, the preliminary outlook is that 2023 will be another very important year, with Pluto starting its 20-year transit through Aquarius. Although 2022 is not yet over, several forecasts made in the 2022 book have already unfolded. For a review of the Forecast 2022 Book so far, please visit our Scorecard. It is impressive!
This Annual Forecast Pre-Order Event will run through October 31 and will include our once-a-year sale discounts on both the annual Forecast Book, print and eBook, and MMA Subscription Reports. You may pre-order Forecast 2023 at the discounted rate of $45. And the best deal on MMA Subscription Reports is offered at this time! Save big bucks off any subscription ($275+) with purchase of Forecast 2023.
After the pre-order event ends, the price for Forecast 2023 will increase to $55 on November 1st. We have worked very hard to keep our Forecast price the same for the past 10 years – no price increase due to inflation (yet)!
Want to save even more on Forecast 2023? Sign up for any subscription report between now and September 16th to be upgraded to our Active Subscriber Club. Club members receive a discount code to pre-order Forecast 2023 for only $35!
We will again publish an individual book dedicated to the yearly trends for the twelve individual signs. The book, Trends for the Twelve Signs 2023, will be written by Antonia Langsdorf-Merriman and Raymond Merriman. Antonia has written an annual Sun Sign book in German for the past several years, based on interviews conducted with Raymond beforehand. We will follow a format this year where Langsdorf will cover the health and relationships outlook and Merriman will cover the business, career, and overall psychological outlook of each sign for the year. The cost of this book will be $25, with a further discount if ordered together with the Forecast 2023 Book.
We offer discounts to our Forecast Fan Club Members and our Active Subscriber Club members. Check out our page on Forecast Club Levels to learn more about these discounts.
This year’s printed and eBook versions will also be available in these languages:
German: www.mma-europe.ch/ or email at info@mma-europe.ch
Japanese: https://www.toushinippou.co.jp/
Chinese: www.nodoor.com/
We created an updated list of our most common Forecast FAQs to help this Forecast season.
NOTE 2: THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+ written by Pouyan Zolfagarnia will be released this week, August 24. The mid-month addendum to the MMA Cycles report is only available for subscription to those who also subscribe to the MMA Monthly Cycles Report. If you wish to try this month’s addendum, along with the August issue of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report (which featured a special long-term update on Gold), sign up online at the link above. Cost for both reports together is $55. That will give you both the most recent copy of the MMA Cycles report and the MMA Cycles Report addendum coming out this week.
NOTE 3: IT’S OUT! The new MMA ETF Monthly Cycles Report was launched on August 17! Written by MMTA director Gianni Di Poce, this report will cover SPY (S&P stock market), GDX (Gold), BITO (Bitcoin), TLT (Treasuries), USO Crude Oil ETF), XLV (Health groups), XLK (Technology), and XHB (home builders, real estate). Now you can get our cycles and geocosmic outlooks for the most popular and traded ETFs, which trade like stocks on the major exchanges. A great compliment to the monthly MMA Cycles Report.
NOTE 4: TUNE INTO MMA’S NEW WEEKLY YouTube Channel on the geocosmic climate related to financial markets hosted by MMTA Educational Director Gianni Di Poce. New videos are recorded and released every Friday night. These 5-15 minute video presentations review market activity of the past week and offer a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the next week and beyond. You may subscribe to MMA’s YouTube Channel today at no cost and get announcements when each geocosmic market review is ready for viewing! To view this week’s MMA YouTube episode, click here
NOTE 5: ONLY 3 MORE WEEKS! THE MMA 2022 TRADING AND INVESTMENT RETREAT in Troy, Michigan. Hosted at the Michigan State University Education Center, this event will take place both in-person and virtually September 9-11, 2022. MARK THE DATE! This special 3-day event will feature a long-term, intermediate-term, and short-term analysis of several financial markets, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Bitcoin, Euro, T-Notes, and Crude Oil, plus others to be determined. It will also go into depth with the MMA trading plan – how to use the daily and weekly report data points – and how we assess each market and determine the trading strategy for each day based on MMA’s cycles analysis, geocosmic studies, solar/lunar studies, combined with chart patterns, price targets, and technical studies. Raymond Merriman and Gianni di Poce will be leading these discussions and presentations. Pouyan Zolfagarnia will also give a special presentation on the outlook for Silver, and other MMTA graduates will also make special presentations on certain markets that are setting up for a favorable long-term investment.
If you are a short-term trader, or an investor interested in the longer- and intermediate-term outlook, this is a special event you will not want to miss! It is an opportunity not only to see and hear the forecasts for several financial markets, but also an opportunity to connect with those who have studied and apply the MMA methodology of market analysis and market timing. It doesn’t mean you have to be a student to benefit from this event, but you will be able to hear the outlooks of those who do. This is a one-of-its-kind opportunity and a chance to really get deeply into the outlook for the next five years! For information and registration click here. Or drop us an email at customerservice@mmacycles.com.
Please note that we are staying at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Troy, about one mile from the conference center. They will hold rooms for us at the special rate of $139/night until August 26 (this week!). After that they will release any unsold rooms to the public. Call us or email us for the special code to insert for the MMA special rate.
Note: The MMA Investment Retreat will be available both in-person and as a virtual event via Zoom.
NOTE 6: MMA’S DAILY AND WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION REPORTS CONTINUE TO BE HOT! 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 will be interested in MMA’s Weekly or Daily Market reports. The weekly reports give an 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, Soybeans, Gold and Silver, and Crude Oil, and Bitcoin. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as the Euro Currency, Japanese Yen, Bitcoin, 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 and shorter-term aggressive traders. Subscription to the Daily report also includes the Weekly report. And now is the best time to become a subscriber: Sign up for any subscription report between now and September 16th to be upgraded to our Active Subscriber Club. Club members receive a discount code to pre-order Forecast 2023 for only $35!
EVENTS
THIS WEEK! AUGUST 25, 2022: 1:00 PM, Denver, CO, ISAR Conference, 4-Hour Pre-Conference Workshop by Raymond Merriman on “ASTROLOGY AND THE ART OF FINANCIAL MARKET TIMING: HOW TO FORECAST TRENDS AND MARKET REVERSALS.” Here is your chance to attend the only live one-day workshop on Financial Astrology that Ray Merriman is giving this year! Financial markets offer objective means to test astrological validity. The Moon changes signs every 2-3 days and is valuable for short-term trading. Planetary stations and aspects identify longer-term market reversals. Approximately 4-5 times/year, markets will form important highs or lows, which are the most favorable times to buy and sell for position traders. This course provides research studies showing the correlation of astrological factors to short-term and longer-term financial markets. These studies are important to one’s investment and trading planning. The focus will be on stock markets, precious metals (Gold and Silver), and Bitcoin, and how to integrate astrology with cycle studies to attain optimal market timing advantage. Visit https://isar2022.org/schedule/ for further information and register for a great event! For a video description of this workshop via interview between Ray Merriman and Conference Coordinator Laura Nalbandian, click this link: https://youtu.be/kBxYZ_VpckA.
September 9-11, 2022: THE MMA TRADING AND INVESTMENT RETREAT, Troy, Michigan. Hosted at the Michigan State University Education Center, this event will take place both in-person and virtually September 9-11. This special 3-day event will feature long-term, intermediate-term, and short-term analysis of several financial markets, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Euro, T-Notes, and Crude Oil, plus others to be determined. Led by Raymond Merriman, MMA President, and Gianni Di Poce, MMTA Education Director, this retreat will also go into depth with the MMA trading plan – how to use the daily and weekly report data points – and how we assess each market and determine the trading strategy for each day/week based on MMA’s market timing methods. If you are a short-term trader, or an investor interested in the longer- and intermediate-term outlook, this is a special event you will not want to miss! For information and registration, click here. Or drop us an email at customerservice@mmacycles.com.
Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to forecast 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 often cite 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 may affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from the perspective of a cycles’ 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 the psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and their potential effect on financial markets.
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 of this column assume any responsibility whatsoever for anyone’s trading or investment decisions. Readers of this report should understand that commodity futures and options trading are considered high risk.