REVIEW AND PREVIEW
Tempting as big short-term price swings are …investors should pay close attention to long-run shifts that Russia’s moves will intensify, because they probably mean more inflation and slower growth. – James Mackintosh, “Invasion Holds Long-Run Lessons for Investors,” Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2022.
The stunning reversal in world equity markets on February 24 occurred right in the middle of the two-event passage of the Venus/Mars conjunction, February 16-March 6.
With the threat of the Russian invasion dominating equity markets since the recovery rally that ended February 11, world stock indices found a bottom on February 24, the day after Russia actually launched its full scale military attack on Wednesday evening, February 23. That low now represents the steepest decline in many markets since the panic of the Pandemic Panic in March 2020. However, by Friday, one day later, most major indexes were sharply higher, supporting the market timing analysis given in our recent webinar last Sunday, February 20.
There was a mini-panic again last week as war broke out. In the U.S. for example, all three major indices fell below their lows of January 24. The DJIA fell to 32,274, its lowest level since March 25, 2021. That represents a drop of 12.65% since the all-time high of January 5 at 36,952. In the NASDAQ nearby futures, the decline was even greater. It fell to 13,025, its lowest mark since May 19, 2021, but the decline represented a loss of 22.32% from its all-time high of 16,767 on November 22. By Friday, the next day, the DJIA and NASDAQ futures had gained back more than 1800 and 1150 points, respectively.
The price moves were just as dramatic in precious metals, Crude Oil, and grains. On news of the invasion Wednesday evening/Thursday morning, Gold exploded to 1976.50, a level not seen since September 16, 2020. But one day later, it collapsed back below 1885. Silver also exploded to a new multi-month high of 25.67 on Thursday, its highest mark since August 4, 2021. By Friday, it was trading under 24.00. Crude Oil surpassed $100 on Thursday, something not seen since July 2014. One day later, it was testing 90.00, a 10% decline, which wasn’t too dramatic for this market given that this “war” has a lot to do with oil and natural gas.
The activity in the grain markets, however, was truly dramatic. Wheat, for instance, soared to 951, its highest price in nearly 14 years. Perhaps this wasn’t so surprising either, given that Ukraine is a large Wheat growing nation, and Russia is one of the largest wheat growing nations in the world. These extremely high energy and food prices can easily support Russia in light of the economic sanctions being imposed upon it. But if these commodities continue to fall as fast as they did on Friday, they could also quickly bankrupt Russia and turn its populace against their leaders, which ought to offer western leaders an idea of what they can do to counter this unwarranted aggression against a nation that did not seek or cause violence and war in any form.
In addition to Wheat, Soybeans also skyrocketed to a high of 1765, just short of its all-time high of 1794 made in September 2012. By Friday, one day after these highs, Soybeans had plunged to 1585 and Wheat down to 841. I think western leaders may be seeing the light of what course of action they must take if they have any hope of shutting down this threat to human rights and freedom made so painfully clear by last week’s cruel events.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS
Actual sunspot counts have now exceeded predictions for 15 straight months. The monthly value at the end of December 2021 was more than twice the forecast, and the highest in more than 5 years. Dr. Tony Philips, “Solar Cycle 25 Update,” https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2022/01/09/solar-cycle-25-update/, January 10, 2022.
I must state (and my family supports that as well): Whatever someone may call this event, – in reality this is WAR. Whatever someone may specify the goals of this war, – in reality this is the war against UKRANIANS. Whatever someone says about this war, this is SHAME for Russia. I do not know what is the outcome and when it will end, I know only one Hegel’s saying that the old mole of history digs slowly, but surely. Being 100% Russian, I say: Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine! Sergey Tarassov, to his financial astrology software study group, www.timingsolutions.com, February 25, 2022.
Bravo, Sergey, for your courage in voicing such a powerful stand!
The war is real. It is not some theoretical ideological exercise. The following is a communication between myself and a graphics’ design artist we use, but I have never met him in person, and he is from Ukraine. He is someone I have come to know, respect, and trust over the years. This exchange over the past two days will give you a sense of what it is like being Ukrainian and living under the dire situation of today. Imagine yourself in a similar situation.
RM: Hi KA. I think of you often today and hope you are safe.
KA: Thank you for your email and empathy! I really appreciate it! Last few weeks everything was more or less quiet, but today early morning many, many military and infrastructure objects throughout the whole country were destroyed by air or missile attacks. I got up after sounds of explosions. That’s unbelievable! Nobody knows what will be further. My country is much appreciated by support of US, UK, Canada, Australia and EU governments.
RM: Thank you for letting me know. I think I speak for most Americans and people of many nations: we stand by Ukraine in this terrible offense. I only wish our governments could and would provide more military and defensive support. It is unbelievable that one man could unleash such destruction and harm onto the world.
KA: Thank you for your wishes Ray! I also wish other countries provided more military defense. We stayed one on one with the second biggest army in the world, and it’s quite a scary situation. I suppose they won’t stop until they’re done. We hope for the better. Thank you again for your support! This is very precious to me! Hope to get in touch with you soon!
So, let’s talk war and markets in terms of geocosmic studies. Venus and Mars, peace and war, are in an unusual conjunction zone right now. Since Venus just turned direct on January 29, it has been moving more slowly than Mars as seen from Earth. In fact, mars passed Venus on February 16. But now, as of today, Venus has gotten back to a speed where it will soon pass Mars on March 6. However, what is most interesting is that on March 6, when Venus passes Mars, both will leave the sign of Capricorn (where they conjoined on February 16) and enter Aquarius.
You may remember that at the height of the pandemic in March 2020, Mars and Saturn both entered Aquarius (the same degree as Venus and Mars next week). And on December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn had both just ingressed from Capricorn into Aquarius, again on the same zero degrees. This is truly a “super-charged degree” of the heavens now. Thus, in the study of astrology, this is a major development, portending a new “Aira” (because they are moving into Aquarius, an air sign) in the arc of human history. Most commentators purport the idea that the world is devolving back into powerful authoritarian governments. That may be true at the present moment, but I tend to disagree longer-term. The movement of all these planets from Capricorn (authoritarianism themes) to Aquarius implies the beginning stages of a more enlightened world population that will place more value on human rights, equality, and freedom (Aquarius) – not less. It is the end of an old cycle, which can be very difficult and resistant to change, and the beginning of a new cycle, which is readying to give birth. I would think that within one year of the Saturn/Neptune cycle in February 2026, the current model of Russian governance will implode, as it has done consistently throughout history whenever Saturn and Neptune conjoin (every 36 years).
But back to the markets and war. As Mars moves towards Pluto on March 3, the drums of war beat loudly. As Venus and Mars leave Capricorn for Aquarius on March 6, signs of peace and a reduction in violence emerge. As Mars then moves towards Saturn on April 8, the agreements may be violated or re-interpreted and twisted to imply something very different than most everyone understood, and the war drums beat again. But as Jupiter applies to Neptune on April 12, another step towards peace can take hold.
It could end there and the situation starts to stabilize. However, it may not stabilize for long again, because on May 10, 2022, Jupiter will move into Aries for the greater part of the next year, which coincides with a greater demand for war machinery and weapons (and companies that produce them). On top of all of this, the U.S. continues undergoing its Pluto return, which presents an even more enormous challenge to the role and leadership of the U.S., both militarily and economically.
How will all of this affect financial markets? That will be the subject of a special stock market report I will issue on Monday, February 28 to all subscribers and participants of last weekend’s webinar (see Announcements below). Suffice it to say at this time that as Jupiter applies to Neptune, we have a case for a speculative frenzy. It can be either irrational exuberance and hysteria, possibly leading to panic (or both), if not careful.
For now, our attention is focused on next weekend, March 4-7 +/- 1 week, when Venus and Mars will conjoin Pluto, and also March 18-21 when Venus and Mars will square Uranus. This entire period from February 16-March 21 is one of the most important geocosmic time bands of the year.
As Vice-President Kamala Harris said recently in her meetings with European leaders, this is “a defining moment” for the future of the world. She could be right.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: There will be a special MMA Report on the U.S. Stock Market issued to all subscribers of all MMA reports and those who attended or who have purchased a copy of the Forecast 2022 webinar given last week. All U.S. indices fell to new cycle lows this past week, taking out their lows of January 24. What does this mean? A review of what was discussed in the webinar and the last issue of MMA Cycles Report, and what these new lows mean in the context of intermediate-term cycles will be covered in this special update. If you are not a subscriber to any MMA Cycles reports or did not attend the webinar last week and would like a copy of this special report and update, simply go to the MMA website at www.mmacycles.com > Shop > “Subscriptions” or “Webinars” and sign up and you will receive this report when it is released Monday night. This is a very important juncture for the stock market relative to cycles and geocosmic signatures as discussed in the recent webinar. It may be the best set up of the year.
NOTE 2: THE ANNUAL WORLDWIDE WEBINAR and Address on Forecast 2022 with Raymond Merriman just took place on FEBRUARY 20, 2022. It went very well (about 2.5 hours) and the recording is now available and highly recommended to view if you were not present. This broadcast updated financial markets since the Forecast book was written in November 2021, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Euro, Corn, Soybeans and Bitcoin. The cost for the recording is $55.00 and includes the slides of the presentation. For more information or to order, go to Forecast 2022 Webinar.
NOTE 3: THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+ written by Pouyan Zolfagarnia will be released the next week, March 7, one week later than previously scheduled due to our special report being written for Monday, February 28.
NOTE 4: TODAY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, join Gianni Di Poce on MMA’s weekly 10-15 minute YouTube video on the geocosmic climate related to financial markets. These video presentations review the market activity of the past week and offer a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the next week and beyond. Like this free weekly column, there will be no cost. You may subscribe to our YouTube Channel today and get alerts when each geocosmic market review is ready for viewing!
NOTE 5: There have been several updates recently added to the FAR for Galactic Trader software program. If you own this program, and wish these updates, please let us know at customerservice@mmacycles.com. We have also completed an optional addition to the FAR program called “The Geocosmic Gold Plot Calendar Graph.” This is a visually attractive calendar graph depicting the geocosmic signatures for any period of time that have a high correlation to reversals in financial markets (especially stock indices) per the studies conducted in “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles.” This is the basis for MMA’s Level 1, 2, and 3 geocosmic signatures, and is used to determine our geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs). The cost of this optional program to the FAR software is $195. For more information and an illustration of the 2021 Calendar graph, please click here.
EVENTS
March 4: Ray Merriman will join Gianni di Poce on MMA’s weekly 5-10 minute YouTube video discussing the geocosmic climate related to financial markets. These video presentations review the market activity of the past week and offer a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the next week and beyond. Like this free weekly column, this video is intended to be educational and there will be no cost. You may subscribe to our YouTube Channel today and get announcements when each geocosmic market review is ready for viewing!
March 18, 7:00 PM MST (9 PM EST): Financial markets and Gold update for China. This webinar will focus on the outlook for the Chinese Shanghai Composite (SSE) and Gold. The presentation will be simultaneously translated into Chinese by NoDoor School for its students and listeners. It will give an astrological overview for the geopolitical conditions in effect in 2022 (without getting political) that are likely to affect all nations of the world. For our Asian and Pacific Rim clients and readers, the broadcast will take place at 10:00 AM Beijing time, on Saturday, March 19. The cost is $55.00 and includes the slides and recording of the presentation. If you are attending and have questions, you are encouraged to send them to us by Wednesday, March 16. A link to make reservations to attend is available here. Or you can email us at customerservice@mmacycles.com to register.
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.” 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. The focus will be upon stock markets, precious metals (Gold and Silver), and Bitcoin, and how to integrate astrology with cycle studies to attain optimal market timing skills. Visit https://isar2022.org/schedule/ for further information and register for a great event!
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.