REVIEW AND PREVIEW
South Africa has lifted a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew on people’s movement with immediate effect, believing the country has passed the peak of its fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the omicron variant, a government statement said on Thursday. “All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level,” a statement from the special cabinet meeting held earlier on Thursday said. – “South Africa Lifts Curfew, Says Omicron Wave Has Peaked,” Reuters, December 31, 2021
It was a good closing week on a good year for world equity markets.
After falling to multi-week lows on December 20, the first trading day after the very important Venus retrograde of December 19, the “Santa Claus,” “End-of-the-Year” rally finally kicked in. In some cases, like the U.S. and Switzerland, stock indices posted new all-time highs. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE soared to its highest level since the March 2020 pandemic crash. In most others, it was a secondary rally that fell short of making a new all-time high.
Gold and Silver also had a very good week. Gold soared to 1828.70, its highest level in over a month. Silver rallied to 23.48 on December 28, its highest mark since posting its double bottom at 21.41 on December 15, and also its highest price since November 26. The price action was similar in Crude Oil, which soared to 77.44 on December 20, its highest mark since November 26 and sharply up from its primary cycle trough of 62.43 on December 2.
Bitcoin showed some promise going into the final Saturn/Uranus waning square of December 24 when it rallied to 52,104 on December 27, its highest price since the selloff on December 4 down to 42,101. But then it fell back into its congestion zone of 45,000-50,000. Ethereum did not make a new multi-week high during this same holiday period. Instead, it re-tested its 3504 low of December 4 when it fell to 3584, its secondary low on December 30.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
Trump, who is fully vaccinated, told Fox News that he received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For those still hesitant to receive a COVID vaccine, Trump said: “You have to embrace it. You don’t have to do it, and there can’t be mandates and all those things, but you have to embrace it.” Trump said getting Americans vaccinated is “really a matter of tone” instead of mandates.– Brooke Singman, “Trump ‘Very Appreciative’ and ‘Surprised’ Biden Acknowledged His Administration’s COVID Vaccine Success,” www.foxnews.com, December 22, 2021.
Maybe he’s changing. But one has to be surprised not because Biden praised Trump, which was indeed a very nice gesture, but because Trump acknowledged that achieving a healing between the divisive political ideologies that plague America is a “matter of tone.” He is right, of course. But does he have any idea that the major reason he lost the 2020 election had a lot to do with his tone? Oh, sorry! Of course! What was I thinking? He lost because the election was stolen. It was fraudulent and rigged. And the “tone” that continues today as a result of that unverified claim continues to fester like salt in a wound that will take a long time to heal until he moves on and accepts or forgives.
Yet, as outlined in the Forecast 2022 Book, there is hope that the nation will now be able to embark on a more common-sense path of moderation, with less attention given to extremist and divisive narratives from both sides of the political spectrum. The cosmic hope comes from the early stages of the Jupiter/Saturn cycle that is now underway, plus the fact that a majority (five) of the seven outermost planetary cycles are now in their waxing (growth) phase for the first time in over 20 years.
Looking at the market through the lens of geocosmic studies as we enter the new year, we cannot help but be impressed with the performance of global stock indices throughout the three-passage series of the Saturn/Uranus waning square. The first passage was on February 17, 2021, which correlated with multiyear highs in China and Japan’s stock markets. The second passage was June 14, which was nearby to the primary cycle crest in each of those same stock markets. The third and final exact passage just ended on December 24, and once again, stock markets are rising.
The Saturn/Uranus waning square is a very challenging aspect – one of the most challenging and difficult in the study of astrology – that most astrologers anticipated would be bearish for equities. On the contrary, the stock markets of the world were bullish throughout the entire 11 months, which supports two axioms expressed over and over again in our research. First, astrological aspects do not always manifest solely or directly in the field of financial markets. In this case, the world was seriously challenged in other areas than equity markets, such as with additional waves of COVID-19 affecting travel and leisure and a number of other sectors of the economy. There were serious disruptions in the supply chain of essential goods and materials like computer chips affecting automobile production and sales, certainly consistent with the themes of Saturn and Uranus. This, in turn, led to a sudden, unexpected rise in inflation.
The second axiom is that geocosmic signatures are by and large not bullish or bearish but rather representative of “changes in direction,” or “reversals,” given a reasonable orb of time dependent on the length of the planetary cycle. The fact that many of the world stock indices have made new all-time highs under the longest of the planetary cycle that was in effect in 2021 suggests a stronger possibility that there will be a significant reversal (decline) as Saturn starts to separate from its square to Uranus. But will it be immediate? Not necessarily, because these two planetary powerhouses will return to within one degree of this same aspect in September-October 2022. Technically, they have made their last exact square aspect for this series. But in astrology, a 3-degree orb can still be considered influential. This matter and its implications are discussed in greater detail in Forecast 2022.
We now leave the three-star geocosmic reversal zone of December 24-27, which requires at least a 2week orb of time due to the length of the Saturn/Uranus cycle. This time band also contained the very important Venus retrograde of December 19. Both Venus retrograde and Saturn/Uranus square have a very high correlation to primary cycles or their secondary lows or highs within 12 trading days. We note that December 20 could qualify as secondary lows in most world stock indices to the primary cycle lows of December 3. But so too can the rallies of last week qualify as secondary highs to all-time highs of November. This is where technical studies and chart pattern recognition studies can be very useful.
We know something cosmically important just happened December 19-31, according to the tenets of astrology. We suspect important announcements from central banks will come out while Venus is retrograde through January 29 and maybe close to the midpoint of that passage, which is next weekend (January 8-9). We know major changes in banking are already underway, as discussed for this aspect in the Forecast 2022 Book, given that banks will need to switch from Libor rate-setting of new contracts for loans which will affect everything from mortgages to car loans (thank you subscriber John H for this info from Bank of England). And we know inflation is far from over as Jupiter now enters Pisces on its way to conjoin Neptune on April 12.
It’s good to know these things. It’s good to know astrology. It gives one a sense of greater understanding and tolerance for what is going on here, as it coincides with the symbology of what is taking place in the heavens. In this season of goodwill and personal reflection, it is good to be reminded that nothing brings me closer to God or an awareness of a creative, divine intelligence and order than the study of the stars and their correlation to cycles in human activity.
To each and every one of you, may you have a wonderful and prosperous New Year!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: The Forecast 2022 Book is now out! Those who pre-ordered prior to December 10 have likely received the book by now, as have all those who ordered the eBook edition. However, those who ordered after December 10 may still be waiting for delivery as the delivery of additional copies to us by both the mailing house and the printer has been delayed due to matters outside of our control. The mailing hose delivery is due this week, and the printer’s delivery is due at the end of this week. Just as soon as we receive them, they will be sent out to those who ordered after December 10. Our apologies for the delay, but as forewarned prior to December 10, any orders received after that date would not be able to be mailed out by the mailing house and would have to wait until we received the additional copies sent to us after December 20, which would probably suffer delays due to the holiday season, which has unfortunately turned out to be the case this year.
In any event, the book is mostly out, and the feedback has been very positive from readers
And what a year ahead as I see it! In this year’s Forecast, you’ll discover:
The importance of the Pluto return in the United States’ chart and its conjunction to the U.S. natal Moon.
How Saturn in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus will come close to an exact conjunction for the final time, and its relationship to protest movements, urge for individual freedoms and equality, fights between tech companies and government, and issues that lie ahead for outer space exploration.
The New “Era of Moderation Brings Success” begins (and the dangers of the extremism in 20222023 in politics, economics, and equity markets)
The outlook for Financial and Commodity Markets in 2022, including The US Stock Market, T-Notes and Interest Rates, Gold and Silver, Bitcoin, Currency Markets, Grain Markets, and Crude Oil, Critical Reversal Dates for 2022…
Is the U.S. safe?
The Future of Inflation
PLUS! Much, much more. The Forecast 2022 Book makes for an excellent gift for your favorite market follower or astrologer/student/friend!
The cost of Forecast 2022 is $55.00 plus shipping (no shipping costs for eBook version). Order both the print and eBook (Forecast 2022 Bundle) for only $75, a savings of $35. Order now before the remainder of this year’s edition sells out! There will be no additional reprints. When they are gone, they are gone. And four of the last seven years have sold out.
This year’s printed versions of Forecast 2022 will also be available in these languages from the below affiliates:
German: https://www.mma-europe.ch
Japanese: https://www.toushinippou.co.jp/
Chinese: www.nodoor.com/
NOTE 2: Each foreign translation of Forecast 2022 has a section on that nation’s stock market that is not in the English or other nation’s Forecast Book. Yet we are aware that some readers and investors may be interested in the stock markets of these other nations but do not wish those editions in the other nation’s language. Therefore, we make those stock market outlooks available in English as a separate service for $35.00 each. The overseas market reports for 2022 that are available separately in English include: Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite, and the German DAX plus Zurich SMI indices. Each is available in PDF format at $35.00 each. Each report is about 9-11 pages, with their monthly charts as of November 2021 and a list of their critical reversal dates for 2022.
NOTE 3: The Trends for the Twelve Signs 2022 Book is available now in eBook format! The print edition will be mailed out mid-December, at the same time as the Forecast Book. Find out what lies ahead for your sign in 2022! In fact, it identifies many specific birthdate ranges in addition to the 12 signs that are in store for a remarkable year. This very popular annual sun sign book is written by Antonia LangsdorfMerriman and Raymond Merriman. Trends for the Twelve Signs 2022 covers the health and relationships outlook for each sign (by Langsdorf) and the business, career, and overall psychological outlook of each sign for the year (by Merriman). The cost of this book is $25. You can save $10 by purchasing both Forecast 2022 and Trends for the Twelve Signs 2022 together, Forecast 2022 Ultimate Bundle for $70. This makes for an excellent gift for your family or friends who follow astrology and wish to know what to expect for the coming year based on their Sun sign. It is quite good!
EVENTS
January 14, 2022: Zurich, Switzerland: Trends for 2022, sponsored by AstroData, and featuring Claude Weiss, Alexandra Klinghammer, Monica Kissling, Verena Bachman, Antonia Langsdorf, Raymond Merriman, and others. This special event will be given online due to COVID-19 meeting restrictions that have been implemented in Zurich at the present time. For more information, contact AstroData at www.astrodata.com.
February 20, 2021: The Annual Worldwide Webinar and Address on Forecast 2022 with Raymond Merriman. Save the Date! Details and reservations to be announced in early January.
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.