MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING FEBRUARY 23, 2025

By MMA Analyst Pouyan Zolfagharnia

 REVIEW

“President Trump’s global tariffs are illegal, the Supreme Court ruled Friday, in a stinging repudiation of a signature White House initiative.

 The 6-3 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, removes a tool of diplomatic pressure that Trump has aggressively wielded to remake U.S. trade deals and collect tens of billions of dollars from companies importing foreign goods. The ruling didn’t directly address whether the government will have to pay back the tariff revenue it has already collected.”

—By James Romoser and Gavin Bade, “Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Global Tariffs,” The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2026.

Whilst analyzing the Winter Ingress chart for the Forecast 2026 book, I observed:

The square from the Sun is indicative of friction and conflict between the aims of the president and those of the Federal Reserve Board (Neptune) and members of Congress (Saturn). Symbolically, there will likely be a political struggle rooted in the financial markets or monetary policy, and an erosion of trust and confidence in financial governance. On the public level, there may be frustration with Congress and legislators (the eleventh house) or with the president (Sun in the eleventh), who is unable to act effectively due to financial constraints (Saturn–Neptune in the second).

It would appear that the constraints are not strictly financial, but rather legal.

News of the ruling had little impact on the financial markets, which have had a relatively muted week, with very little change from last week’s report. The bearish intermarket divergences noted in prior weeks remain in effect. The February 10 ATH in the DJIA remains intact, whilst the S&P500 has not been able to take out its January ATH, and the Nasdaq has not been able to take out its October ATH. The intermarket divergence was evident in Europe too, as the UK’s FTSE and Swiss SMI set new ATHs, whilst the German DAX has not taken out its January ATH.

It was a similar picture in Asia, with the Japanese Nikkei not able to take out the previous week’s ATH, whilst the Chinese tech-heavy Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) have both failed to take out their respective January highs. The ATHs of two weeks ago remain intact for India’s Nifty, whilst in Australia, the ASX has finally taken out the October highs and formed a new ATH. It’s a very similar picture in the Americas, with Argentina’s Merval continuing to find resistance, whilst Brazil’s Bovespa index put in a new ATH last week. The South African JSE index is yet to take out the January ATH.

Silver continues to consolidate following its blow-off top, whilst Gold is holding up much better. The crypto markets continue to consolidate in a bearish flag pattern, whilst Crude Oil remains on a bid as geopolitical tensions build in the Middle East. Saturn, the planet of contraction and restriction, has now moved out of Pisces, the sign that rules over Crude Oil. As noted in prior reports, my expectation is for Crude Oil to rally and break out of the long-term bearish trend that has been in effect since Saturn entered Pisces in March 2023. It is worth noting that the transit of Saturn has had a similar dampening effect on the grain markets, which are ruled over by the opposing sign of Virgo. Soybeans, Wheat, and Corn have all dropped 50-60% from their 2022 highs. With Saturn’s ingress into the fire sign Aries last week and the conjunction with Neptune, I would anticipate a rally in the grain markets, too. This will place pressure on inflation.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

“After holding the line on prices for several months, companies—big and small—have begun a new round of increases, in some cases by high-single-digit percentage points. Companies had raised prices last year after tariffs hoisted costs. Yet starting in the fall, many firms held off on increases and sometimes offered discounts to capture holiday shoppers.”

—By Ruth Simon, “The Break Is Over. Companies Are Jacking Up Prices Again,” The Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2026.

As I have been warning via my reports in MMA newsletters, and contrary to what President Trump would have us believe, tariffs are inflationary. Saturn may have been keeping inflation worries in check, but Friday’s Saturn-Neptune conjunction may have marked the low.

Last week, we also had the highly anticipated solar eclipse. Eclipses tend to have a more pronounced impact when they occur in the orb of a person’s natal planets, and especially the natal Sun. Look out for important events in the lives of people whose birthdays fall within 3 days of a solar eclipse. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is a notable case. Arrested on his birthday, two days after the eclipse struck his eighth-house cusp—the realm of hidden forces, trauma, taboo subjects, power struggles, loss, fear, entrapment, and disgrace—he illustrates the negative expression of this house. At its best, however, the eighth house signals the recognition that change is necessary when a path has clearly run its course.

Over the coming week, Mercury will be going retrograde on February 26, followed by a powerful Mars square to Uranus the following day. These are important reversal signatures that form part of the upcoming critical reversal date of February 26–March 2. To understand what this could mean and our outlook on various markets over the coming year, tune in to the Forecast 2026 Webinar this Sunday (see details in the announcement section below).

LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS AND OPINION

David Frost: Do you feel that your people let you down, or that you let your people down?

Shah: First of all, when we say the people, we cannot talk about all the people. That’s absolutely not true. I can say that the silent majority remained silent. And if I let my people down, it was for the purpose that I tried to explain, that a king cannot be a dictator and that a throne could not be based on blood. This is my only explanation for what it is worth.

David Frost: Did your people let you down? Do you think?

Shah: Well, the majority remained silent

David Frost: Is the worst thing about being here [in exile in Panama], thinking of your homeland?

Shah: Well, here or anywhere outside my country is the same. The question is that you cannot stop thinking about your own country.

David Frost: What do you miss the most about it?

Shah: What I miss, or what makes me really cry, is that we could have been this year, or surely by the end of 1982, something quite viable…and what are we now? What has it [the revolution] served? The religion? Democracy? Human Rights? The rule of the people?”

—Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah’s last TV interview with David Frost, recorded on Contadora Island, Panama, and broadcast in the U.S. on ABC on 17 January 1980.

It is indeed hard to stop thinking about one’s country and loved ones, even after 36 years, and having spent most of my own life outside of Iran.

Most astrologers use the April 1, 1979 chart to represent modern Iran, when Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed the Islamic Republic in a 3:00 pm radio broadcast in Tehran following a national referendum and the adoption of a new constitution. That chart places the Sun in Aries.

I prefer the February 1, 1979 chart, when Khomeini returned to Tehran and stepped onto the runway at Mehrabad Airport at 9:33 am to cheering crowds. In my view, this marked the true beginning of the Islamic Republic — a dictatorship in formation. This chart places the Sun in Aquarius, conjunct Mars and Mercury, resonating with the revolutionary ideology of the regime. It also helps explain the regime’s emphasis on nuclear and ballistic missile programs — Aquarian principles intensified by the Sun–Mars conjunction — as well as the recurring unrest and internal protests for freedom that continue to shake Iran’s foundation.

The February chart has the Sun at 11° Aquarius, Mars at 9° Aquarius, and Mercury at 6° Aquarius. The Sun represents the national identity and its leadership. Mars, as the planet of warfare, represents its armed forces. Mercury represents its media and press, public discourse, commerce and trade, transportation and communication networks, internet, and diplomacy.

Transiting Pluto is now in Aquarius and slowly approaching Iran’s natal Mercury, Mars, and Sun. Pluto symbolizes transformation—death and rebirth, power and control, collapse and regeneration. Following the sequence of contacts, Mercury is reached first, suggesting diplomacy and negotiations will be the initial arena of exhaustion. As Pluto advances to Mars, military force becomes the next phase. Ultimately, when Pluto reaches the Sun, leadership itself is transformed or falls.

Pluto is currently within a 30-arcminute orb of conjunction to Iran’s Mercury, reflecting the regime’s recent internet blackout—an attempt by Plutonian authority to sever Mercurial communication—even as diplomatic efforts unfold. Looking ahead, Pluto will conjunct Iran’s Mars by 2029 ±2 years and the Sun by 2030 ±2 years. Based on this natal pattern, the expectation is that the Islamic Republic ultimately falls within that time frame. Depending on when military action escalates, the chart suggests the potential for a prolonged conflict.

This week is also important because transiting Mars will fall on President Trump’s descendant, opposite his Mars/Ascendant. Transiting Mars also squares Uranus in the heavens, which falls on the President’s MC. He, and he alone, sits in a position to determine whether or not to launch an attack on Iran, and he has given a deadline that begins later this week, under this Mars/Uranus aspect, and the start of another Mercury retrograde cycle. February 26-March 20. What happens over the next 10 days could have a significant impact on several financial markets, particularly Gold and Silver.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: LAST CHANCE!!! THE MMA ANNUAL FORECAST 2026 WORLDWIDE WEBINAR WITH RAYMOND MERRIMAN WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, STARTING AT NOON EST. You won’t want to miss this one! From the comfort of your home or office, you can tune in to this live event. This broadcast will address the three major geocosmic configurations this year and how they are impacting global geopolitics, national politics, the war cycle involving the U.S. (and other nations), and the renaissance in technology. A look at the geocosmic calendar for 2026 outlines the most important geocosmic critical reversal dates and how they tie into the intermediate- and long-term financial market cycles for Silver, Gold, T-Notes, Crude Oil, stock markets, Soybeans, and Bitcoin. The charts of the U.S., China, Iran, President Donald Trump, and the Federal Reserve Board will be examined in relation to these three major planetary configurations, with a scenario of where this is all leading to in 2026. If you are unable to attend live, the video recording will be available the following day. The cost of this special three-hour webinar is $60. Registration for the Forecast 2026 webinar is now open. Save the date! Sign up now!

 NOTE 2: ONE MORE WEEK FOR THE BEST DEAL! MMA’S 2026 TRADERS’ RETREAT WILL TAKE PLACE MAY 20–24, 2026, IN LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA!!! Pre-register by March 1 and save big bucks!!!

 This special four-day event will focus on trading strategies for position and short-term traders in 2026. It will cover the unique, research-based MMA methods for identifying primary, half-primary, major, and trading cycles. It will then apply those market-timing techniques (cycles and geocosmic studies) to the current situation in stock markets, Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, currencies, interest rates, and grain markets, with strategies for each on both a short- and intermediate-term basis (one week to 12 months ahead).

There will also be special presentations and interactive discussions on current and future world conditions through 2032 that are likely to affect financial markets. These will be led by world-class mundane astrologers Claude Weiss (Switzerland), Christeen Skinner (UK), Christof Niederwieser (Germany), Pouyan Zolfagharnia (UK), and Raymond Merriman (USA). Joining them on MMA timing methodology and trading strategies will be MMTA Director Wiebke Held (Germany) and MMA analysts Wyatt Fellows (USA), Ulric Aspegrén (Switzerland), Gianni Di Poce (USA), and MMA Trading Coach Rita Perea (USA).

Registration is now open, with special early-bird discounts. The presentations will also be available via Zoom for those unable to attend in person, and recordings (along with PowerPoint slides) will be available immediately after each day’s presentations to all attendees. For the schedule, registration, speaker bios, topic descriptions, and hotel information, please click here. The MMA Annual Investment and Traders’ Retreats are incredible events! Don’t miss it if you can make it.

 NOTE 3: THE MMA DAILY OPTIONS REPORT WITH DEREK PANAIA has been performing extremely well in its first month, with recent successful trades involving Bitcoin (IBIT), Silver, T-Notes, Crude Oil, and Soybeans. Subscribers who have followed these strategies have more than paid for the cost of this new service. This new daily options service focuses on the S&P (still waiting for the ideal setup), Gold, Copper, T-Notes, Soybeans, Bitcoin, ETFs, and other markets where special situations arise that may benefit from options strategies. The service includes intraday updates, sometimes multiple times per day, depending on market conditions. Ray Merriman also provides market-timing commentary within this service. In fact, this is where Ray is spending most of his time discussing trading strategies in 2026 as they arise.

The cost is $360 per month or $3600 per year until June 30, when the special launch price will end. For those who already subscribe to the current MMA Daily Report, which is issued at the end of each trading day for the next trading day, the cost of adding Derek’s new Daily Options Report is only $140 extra per month. For more information on this new service, click here. Order now at the special launch price to get in on the action of options trading if you are an active trader!

NOTE 4: The February issue of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+, edited by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, and the MMA Monthly Grain Cycles Report, edited by Wyatt Fellows, will be issued this week.

NOTE 5: THE (ORIGINAL) GOLD BOOK: GEOCOSMIC CORRELATIONS TO GOLD PRICE CYCLES is now available as an eBook. This was the first financial market-timing book by Raymond Merriman (1982), which put financial astrology on the map. It was also the first book to conduct formal quantitative research studies on any financial market in relation to planetary cycles (there were several earlier studies on lunar cycles, but none on planetary cycles and stations until this book). It brought together Wall Street and astrology and revolutionized the field of financial market timing by demonstrating the correlation between market cycles and planetary cycles as reversal signals. As a result, the topic became one of the most attended subjects at financial and astrology conferences worldwide in 1983. This classic book has been out of print since 1984, except as a collector’s item occasionally available through Amazon. It is now available as an eBook for the first time! 324 pages, $95. Click here to order.

 NOTE 6: THE JUPITER REPORT — YOUR MOMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY! The Jupiter Report is written by Raymond Merriman. It is a 30- to 40-page report that all traders (and even non-traders) will find highly valuable. It identifies the times during the year when Jupiter transits are highlighted in your natal chart and explains the meaning of Jupiter’s transits to your natal planets and angles over a 14-month period (including one month before your order date and one month after the year ends). As an added bonus, each transit is ranked on a scale from –3 to +3 in terms of favorability for trading. Traders may find this especially valuable! Would you like to know when you are under a +3 transit and therefore most likely to experience trading success? Or a –3 transit, with a stronger-than-usual potential for misjudgments and losses? The cost of a personal 14-month Jupiter Report based on your birth data is $69.

 NOTE 7: THE MMA SOLAR-LUNAR APP OFFERS REVERSAL SIGNALS FOR THE DJIA, NASDAQ, GOLD, AND SILVER. It is an ideal tool to have in your back pocket if you are a short-term swing trader looking for high-probability dates that identify isolated lows and highs in these markets. Please note that this should not be used as a standalone system. It works best as an adjunct tool when cycle lows or highs are due, when a market is in a technically overbought or oversold condition, or when it is exhibiting intermarket bullish or bearish divergence relative to a related market. The app is currently available only on Apple devices (iPhone and iPad). To learn more about the MMA app, click here. To order, go to the Apple App Store and search for Merriman Solar/Lunar Reversals.

 NOTE 8: RECORDINGS OF MMA’S SPECIAL SIX-WEEK COURSE ON “THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GEOCOSMIC STUDIES FOR FINANCIAL MARKET TIMING” ARE NOW AVAILABLE!!! Led by Gianni Di Poce and supported by Ray Merriman, this course is designed to teach students the basic principles of planets, signs, and aspects (including retrograde and direct stations) as used in MMA’s market-timing methodology — one of its most important tools. The course explains which planets and signs rule the various sectors of the economy and financial markets. In addition, it covers how to use an ephemeris and astrological software (Solar Fire) for important routines such as calculating charts, generating transit “hit lists,” and identifying signs, ingresses, planetary stations, and aspects — the essential cosmic features necessary for determining market reversal periods.

The course is especially useful for those interested in taking the two-year program offered by the Merriman Market Timing Academy or for anyone wishing to deepen their astrological knowledge. The cost for these six introductory lessons, each lasting about two hours, is $300. This is a great opportunity to learn basic astrology from a master economic astrologer! Click here to order now!

 NOTE 9: THE NEW AUDIOBOOK OF EVOLUTIONARY ASTROLOGY: THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL THROUGH STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS, by Raymond Merriman, written in 1993, is now available! It is narrated by Thomas Miller, who has a great voice and also broadcasts MMA’s free weekly column. The first edition of Evolutionary Astrology, originally published in 1977, introduced this remarkable subject to the astrological community, where it has since become one of astrology’s major branches of study. Get ready to listen to the original work on Evolutionary Astrology that brought a spiritual perspective to the study of astrology from the late 1970s through today. To order the book (hardcover or eBook) or the audio recording, please click here.

 EVENTS

 FEBRUARY 22, 2026: MMA’S ANNUAL FORECAST 2026 WEBINAR WITH RAY MERRIMAN. Details are above. This webinar will be presented entirely in English and will cover the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Soybeans, Crude Oil, and other markets, as time allows. Don’t miss it!

 MAY 20–24, 2026: MMA’S NEXT INVESTMENT RETREAT, LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA. SAVE THE DATE!!

Registration is now open, with a special early-bird $600 discount for those who register by March 1. The presentations will also be available via Zoom for those unable to attend in person. The theme of this event will focus on market timing and trading, but there will also be coverage of longer-term cycles, with strategies for all! It’s going to be great!

SEPTEMBER 3, 2026: A UAC PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP ON FINANCIAL ASTROLOGY BY RAYMOND MERRIMAN, 1:00–5:00 PM. This workshop will take place at the United Astrology Congress (UAC), the largest astrological conference in the world, which is held every four to eight years. More than 150 world-class astrologers will be presenting. The conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Chicago. In addition to the workshop, Ray will present two lectures during the six-day event: one on mundane astrology, “What Is Happening in the World from an Astrological Viewpoint,” on September 5, and another, “The U.S. Stock Market: Timing Tools and Outlook,” on September 7 (Labor Day). For more information, visit www.uacastrology.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 of educating the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they occur. 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 those movements 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, 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 cycle analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and 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 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) 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.