REVIEW AND PREVIEW
Retail spending fell in December at the sharpest pace of 2022, marking a dismal end to the holiday shopping season as rising interest rates, still-high inflation and concerns about a slowing economy pinched American consumers. Sales were also revised lower in November and have fallen three of the past four months. – Harriet Torry, “U.S. Retail Sales Fell 1.1% in December,” Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2023.
It was another very good week for Gold and Bitcoin. Each continued the rallies they began in October-November, near the time that Mars turned retrograde on October 31. All have rallied to their highest levels since then as Mars turned direct last week, along with Mercury.
It wasn’t as good a week for many of the world’s stock indices, however. In the U.S., the DJIA was down 927 points despite Friday’s 330-point rally. The S&P was down nearly 75 points, while the NASDAQ was up slightly more than 60 points.
In Europe, the major stock indices were strong until Tuesday-Wednesday, January 17-18, right in the center of the triple planetary station period of January 12-22. Each sold off sharply after that.
It was a mixed bag in the Far East and Pacific Rim, probably the way the Trickster likes it. China, Hong Kong and Australia all posted strong rallies in their equity markets right until the very end of the week. But in Japan and India, traders couldn’t make up their minds if they wanted to buy or sell – so they did both and basically went back and forth.
Crude Oil rallied to a new monthly high of 82.38, also on January 18, and remained near those highs throughout the remainder of the week. However, the big stories were in Bitcoin and Gold, which both soared to new multi-month highs.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
The Treasury Department began taking special measures to keep paying the government’s bills on Thursday as the U.S. bumped up against its borrowing limit, kicking off a potentially lengthy and difficult debate in Congress over raising the debt ceiling. With the federal government constrained by the roughly $31.4 trillion debt limit, the Treasury Department began deploying so-called extraordinary measures. Those accounting maneuvers will allow … lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the Biden administration roughly five months to pass legislation raising or suspending the debt limit. – Andrew Duehren, “U.S. Nears Debt Ceiling, Begins Extraordinary Measures to Avoid Default,” Wall Street Journal, Jan 19, 2023.
Now we know what might cause a financial panic indicated by the Mars-Jupiter-Pluto T-square in the last half of May as described in the Forecast 2023 Book. You just know Congress will not likely solve this issue until the very last moment, which is projected to be in June. And by late May, when this aspect hits, the hysteria will drive investors into a frenzy.
But in the meantime, we look ahead to this weekend when Uranus turns direct, the last of the triple planetary stations, and possibly the most important. Why? Because with Uranus highlighted, sudden surprises and unusually strong price movements often follow.
On top of that, we are now entering the season of Aquarius, January 20-February 18. The sun sign of Aquarius is, in my opinion, the most dangerous of all sun signs for Silver. This is when the most unexpected and sudden declines take place, especially when the Moon or other planets are also in air signs. With the Moon, we usually get 3-4 of those short-term periods, and at least one of them usually coincides with a sharp sell-off. Will it happen this time? No one knows for sure, but the historical rates of frequency for this to happen are very high. And after all, our work is all about probabilities based on historical rates of frequencies. If a setup occurs during one of those periods, we take action.
LONGER=TERM THOUGHTS
You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high-degree thief
They may call you doctor or they may call you chief
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Bob Dylan, “Gotta Serve Somebody,” 1979, Special Rider Music
Serve somebody. It’s a good policy to question: who do you serve? Who do world leaders serve when they invade other nations, walk off with a nation’s valuable top classified secrets and store them in their homes or garages? Who do public and even non-profit organizations serve when they make policies and initiate acts that are not approved, or even transparent to their members or investors? Who do the political parties or organizations serve when they offer a selection of candidates that do not include choices the populace or members want?
So it is fair to ask those who are leaders: who do you serve? When you do everything within your power to remain in power by not offering choices or awareness of changes being made in policies to those who would be most affected by these changes, who are you really serving?
The theme of service relates to the astrological signs of Virgo and Pisces. Saturn will start a three-year journey through Pisces starting March 7. Wherever Saturn is, therein lies a special challenge to address, for with Saturn, there is usually a sense that something which is needed is lacking. There are not enough of the qualities or sectors pertaining to the sign of Saturn – Pisces in this case – to satisfy the collective.
Pisces is not just service, but it also inspires compassion and sensitivity to the needs and wishes, the hopes and dreams, of the masses. Saturn is the commitment, the promise, to work for that. So what happens when leaders of nations or organizations (or individuals) make promises (Saturn) that appeal to the hopes and dreams of the masses (or individuals), but then they fail to deliver on those promises? Or worse, they actually do the opposite and take advantage of others for their own personal gain? You get allegations of corruption, hypocrisy, and coverups leading to scandals. The consequence is a new wave of distrust in leaders, in these organizations, in those people or entities who betrayed. This is the downside of Saturn in Pisces looming ahead.
This then begs the question of what leaders and individuals can do to counteract this “lack of service” that leads to a sense of betrayal? Saturn has this special characteristic of defining reality, separating truth from intentional deception that has an ulterior motive based on serving oneself. So the solution is really quite simple with Saturn in Pisces: be honest, truthful, transparent, and discerning with others, especially those you have been chosen to serve. Do not be gullible to lies and attempts to mislead (these are the vulnerabilities of Pisces). In other words: recognize that you have to serve somebody – other than yourself. In truth, we are all here to serve one another. And with Saturn in Pisces, one of the most effective ways to honor this is to be transparent and not opaque.
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody,
So when you wake up tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next year, ask yourself: How can I be of service to someone or even the world today? Why? Because actions and their motives have consequences – for you, for others, and for the world. This is the universal law of karma (or God’s will if you are Christian). This is an essential component to the higher challenge of Saturn in Pisces, which is inner peace and eventually world peace. Without authentic service to others, but only to oneself, those hopes and dreams are just that: hopes and dreams that can be crushed via little lies by small-minded people. With Saturn in Pisces, many people will try to elevate themselves to a higher standard of behavior. It will be demanded of them if they are in roles of leadership and have promised to serve.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: REGISTRATION OFFICIALLY OPENS FOR MMTA3 ON MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2023: NOON, MST!!! Stay tuned for a special announcement coming out Monday.
NOTE 2: The audiobook of the abridged edition of Forecast 2023 is now available. Click here to order this abridged edition for only $19.95, or $13.96 if you are an Audible member, or for one credit (no cost) if you have earned Audible credits. Narrated by astrologer Thomas Miller (he does an excellent job!), this audiobook is 5 hours and 34 minutes. It covers all sections of the Forecast Book except the financial markets and the geocosmic calendar and ephemeris in the back of the book. It is an excellent way to listen to the major geocosmic trends underway that are affecting the entire world and nation. When you go to the Audible website linked here, click on the book cover > sample > to hear the introduction. ORDER NOW and load it onto your phone to listen to while you are working out or just taking a walk. It’s a great way to get prepared for the New Year!
NOTE 3: FORECAST 2023 – THE BOOK – is completed In both the print and eBook (English) versions. If you live in the U.S., you should have received it by now. If you live overseas, the actual delivery depends on your postal service.
The price for the printed edition of Forecast 2023 is $66 as long as supplies last. We are down to the last 1 box now. Last year’s book sold out, so order now before they are gone. There will be no additional printings. The price for the eBook edition will remain $55, and will continue to be available even if the printed edition sells out.
This year’s printed and eBook versions of the full Forecast 2023 Book 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/
NOTE 4: Trends for the Twelve Signs 2023 is now available at Amazon.com as an eBook in English and German!!! Click here to order from Amazon. The audiobook via Amazon.com has now been accepted and will be available ANY DAY NOW (We just got the final acceptance on Wednesday that it will be up and ready for purchase within 10 days). There are a lot of excellent sun sign books available each year. However, we don’t think you will find a more insightful and well thought-out book dedicated to the yearly trends for the twelve individual sun signs than this one. It is, in our opinion, the finest of all the 2023 sun sign books. Period. The book, Trends for the Twelve Signs 2023, is written by Antonia Langsdorf-Merriman and Raymond Merriman and is also available directly through MMA, print or eBook edition. The format of this year’s book covers the outlook for health, relationships, business, career, finances, and overall psychological factors of each sign for the year. It includes specific birthdates that are affected by the major geocosmic transits within and to each sign. There is a discount available for those who order the Trends for 2023 book along with Forecast 2023 Book.
NOTE 5: TUNE INTO MMA’S WEEKLY YouTube Channel on the geocosmic climate related to financial markets hosted by MMTA Educational Director Gianni Di Poce. 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 6: THE JANUARY ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+ edited by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, which has become a very popular addition to the MMA Cycles Report (less technical, more visual, high-quality analysis and update on MMA Cycles Report markets) will be issued this week. The mid-month addendum to the MMA Cycles report has very attractive graphics and charts (people love it!) and is very readable. It contains more references and illustrations to geocosmics than most MMA Cycles reports and 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 latest issue of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report, sign up online at the link above. Cost for a monthly copy of both reports 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. For further information and ordering instructions, please click here.
EVENTS
January 21, 2023, Noon, PST: “Outer Planet Shifts in 2023: Crash or Boom” with Gianni di Poce on Zoom for the Astrology University. Cost is $30.00. To register, click here
January 23, 2023: Noon, MST: REGISTRATION OFFICIALLY OPENS FOR MMTA3!!! For more information on this two-year course of financial market analysis and financial market timing using the MMA methodology, see below for March 18. This is your chance to learn how to analyze and identify important time bands for market reversals in financial markets for traders and investors alike. This is the most complete course offered anywhere on the integration of cycles, geocosmics, trend studies, price objectives, chart patterns, and technical analysis. If you want to become a better trader, investor, or an analyst for traders and/or investors, this is the course for you! Stay tuned for how to enroll, starting January 23, the first business day after the new moon gets underway.
January 25, 2023: The first official release of the MMA Grain Cycles report. The analyst of this new report will be Wyatt Fellows, a top MMTA graduate and owner of a large farm operation in Wisconsin. It will cover Corn, Wheat, Soybeans, and Cotton, from both a cyclical and geocosmic outlook, and also with attention to the fundamentals related to grains. He is excellent! He knows his business! To receive this report coming out this week, click here and sign up now!
February 10, 2023: Ulric Aspegrén, MMA Euro Currency analyst, will be the special guest on the MMA YouTube channel hosted by MMTA director Gianni Di Poce.
February 19, 2023, 1:15 PM EST: The Annual Worldwide Webinar and Address on Forecast 2023 with Raymond Merriman. Save the Date! Starts at 11:15 AM, MST, which is 1:15 PM EST, 6:15 PM GMT, 7:15 PM CET. It will be very early in the morning in Australia, Beijing and Tokyo. In the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune into Raymond Merriman’s annual worldwide Forecast 2023 Webinar. This broadcast will address themes from this year’s Forecast 2023 Book, with updates on financial markets since the book was written in November 2022, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil and Bitcoin. Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus access to the video recording of the event. Questions will be answered that are submitted one week before the event if they are deemed of interest to the overall audience. If you are unable to attend live, the video recording will be available the following day. To register, click here.
March 18, 2023: The third MMTA (Merriman Market Timing Academy) since 2013 will commence. This two-year educational and training experience will change your life and how you view financial markets. Yes, the course is challenging, but it is also very exciting and fun! With this course, you will know where the market is at any given interval of time, and the trading or investing strategy to employ. These 8 courses consist of 6-7 zoom meetings (100+ hours of live instruction and interaction with instructors Ray Merriman and Gianni di Poce, including review and preview of current markets each session) over a two-year period, on Saturdays (noon, EST), with 1-2 month breaks in between each course. That is, you will be in 2-hour Saturday sessions 18 weeks/year, two in-person, live weekends, all over a two year period (March 2023-September 2024), plus one additional voluntary review session for each test after every course. There is nothing else as comprehensive in the field of market timing as this program available anywhere! It covers MMA’s market timing methodology for long-term and intermediate-term investing, plus position and aggressive short-term trading. Please note: This will be the last 2-year MMTA program taught by Ray Merriman. Cost is $2500/course, with a discount if registering for the full two-year program. Applications for enrollment will begin January 18 and will be limited to 40 full-time students (last time we had to turn applicants away). Enrollment includes an interview prior to acceptance. Below are just a couple of the many comments received from MMTA 2 graduates. More to come.
I noticed that learning your method, which has made me rather well off, is already leading me to think beyond profits. These courses are worth more than what you are charging right now. So what you are doing will challenge the weight of Gann and Elliot in technical analysis. Vincent W., Bank Career Trader and Head of Foreign Exchange Desk at major bank, Singapore.
“My perspective on the markets, and perhaps life, have changed dramatically since being gifted the privilege of joining MMTA2. I am extremely grateful for having been given the opportunity to learn directly from you.” – Kyle M, MMTA2 graduate, North Carolina, programmer, trader, and high school math teacher.
“Attached is my final research project on the cotton market…as always critiques are welcomed!! Doing these research projects and really dissecting the cotton market during this course has allowed me to trade cotton very successfully over the last year. It is extremely rewarding to do the work and then to watch it unfold according to plan.” – Wyatt F, Wisconsin, MMTA2 graduate, Owner of large family farm operation, and now an MMA analyst.
” MMTA2… was one of the best things I have ever done.” – Renato R, Australia, MMTA graduate.