REVIEW AND PREVIEW
From the beginning, the intention each week was to try to answer these questions: What’s happening? What’s true? Are you seeing it too? Then we’re not alone! The key is to try to say clearly what you believe to be true, even if it makes people mad. Especially if they get mad – that means you’re over the target. This little space was in the thick of it. What did it feel like? Like what it is, a privilege, to be part of it, to get to say what you see, especially in this of all years. – Peggy Noonan, “A Look Back at the Pandemic Year,” Wall Street Journal, December 26-27, 2020.
Peggy Noonan’s comments above on celebrating 20 years of writing her weekly column in the Wall Street Journal reflects my own approach to writing this column, which started 22 years ago.
The year 2020 started out with a bang and ended with a bang, with a big bang along the way. That is, the year 2020 started with new all-time or multi-year highs in several world stock indices. Then came the pandemic and all indices collapsed 30-45%, except China, whose stock market only dropped 15%. And now, in the last week of that eventful year that will always be remembered for the world-wide pandemic, many stock indices closed out at record or multi-year highs – but not in China.
Stocks were not the only market to make a new all-time high last week. Bitcoin soared to a record high too as it tested 30,000, which is getting close to the level of the DJIA. Gold and Silver enjoyed nice rallies as the Dollar continued to fall to a new multi-year low.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
Republicans should be embarrassed by President Trump’s Electoral College hustle. Mr. Trump is putting his loyal VP in a terrible spot, and what do Republicans think would happen if Mr. Pence pulled the trigger, Mr. Biden was denied 270 electoral votes, and the House chose Mr. Trump as President? Riots in the streets would be the least of it. – “Trump’s Push to Turn 2020 Into 1876,” Wall Street Journal “Opinion” page. December 31, 2020.
The big cosmic event this week will be Mars leaving its ruling sign of Aries for the next sign of Taurus on January 6. Mars in its ruling sign of Aries has been very bullish for world stock markets. It started June 28, 2020, which coincided with the primary cycle low of 24,971 in the DJIA. It is now above 30,600 and at an all-time high. Mars went retrograde in Aries during this period too, September 9-November 14. During that time, the DJIA suffered its longest and steepest decline (September 3–October 30) since the bottom of the pandemic low on March 23. It also corresponds with the onset of the second wave of COVID-19 in Europe and the U.S.
Mars in its ruling sign is strong and bullish. When it goes retrograde in its ruling sign, it is the opposite – it loses its strength and is more bearish. When Mars leaves Aries this week, it may lose its strength shortly thereafter (or maybe just before), for in Taurus, Mars is in its detriment. A planet’s strength is weakened when in its detriment or fall, and Mars is essential to trading activity in financial markets, for it reflects the confidence and ability for traders to establish new positions.
As it enters Taurus, Mars will also join up with Uranus on January 20, Inauguration Day in the U.S. Both will be squared by Jupiter (exaggeration). Uranus is turning direct as well on January 14. This month could be a problem on many fronts. Mars and Uranus together can be very combustible, auguring a time when anger and frustration build, and then spill over into social unrest. It can correlate with unlawful, dangerous, and disturbing activity. In Taurus, a relatively ‘contained” sign, this combination could be like accidentally (or maybe intentionally) turning the heat up on a pressure cooker that has already reached its boiling point. It will be interesting to see if the Taurus influence can contain the explosiveness of Mars and Uranus together, or matters just completely blow up. Whatever happens, the dynamics are very strong through January 28, and possibly into February 17 when the granddaddy of all aspects this year – Saturn/Uranus waning square – makes its first of three passages.
Our focus on both social and market activity will be on the period of January 14-28. It is arguably the most potent geocosmic time band of the year. It can correlate to breath-taking reversals or unbelievable rallies to new heights, or both, in stocks and maybe other markets as well. It is probably a time to consider options trading.
LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS: “THE YEAR OF THE CONTRARIAN”
This will be the year of the Saturn/Uranus waning square. This aspect takes place three times: February 17, June 14, and December 24, 2021. This is the last quarter phase of the greater 45-year Saturn/Uranus synodic cycle, arguably the most important planetary combination denoting the potential for unexpected, dramatic events that alter the course of planned activities with expected results. They likely do not happen as planned or expected.
We will coin 2021 as “The Year of the Contrarian,” What the majority thinks is going to happen in 2021 probably won’t happen in regard to the political, economic, and financial markets of the world. Very little goes as expected. Instead, a whole series of events and decisions unfold that no one expects. Saturn is the plan, the pathway, the traditions. It represents the rules, laws, and boundaries that are in place, socially and politically. Uranus is the rebel, the maverick, the revolutionary, whose efforts will test and even violate any boundaries and limits. Saturn is our history and Uranus our future. The waning square is a clash of dynamics pertaining to each. It is a time of excitement and/or chaos, depending on how one views it all. It can be dangerous, but it can also be exhilarating for those who are inventive and not afraid to think “outside of the box.” However, it can also be very risky if the timing and the delivery are not right.
Every alternating Saturn/Uranus square has coincided with the two steepest stock market declines in U.S. and world history: 1930-31 and 1839-40. Note that they are 90 years apart, hence the potential 90-year cycle referred to in The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing: Volumes 1 and 2.
Here is a blessing as we head into this historically significant planetary pair cycle period, “May you be happy and safe. May you be healthy. And may you be at peace.” – The “Calm” app > Meditate> Inner Peace> Loving Kindness, www.calm.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: THE MERRIMAN MARKET TIMING ACADEMY (MMTA) will begin its two-year program of courses starting January 16, 2021! This is only the second time it has been offered since the first class graduated in 2014! And there will not be another offering for at least two years (we have to complete this one first).
The first course will last 6-7 weeks, via live Zoom meetings from 1-3 PM on Saturdays, Eastern Time, with MP4 recordings of each class available the following Monday. The subject of Course 1 will “Cycles and Pattern in Financial Markets,” with an emphasis on the U.S. stock market. It will also include discussions on cycles in precious metals, currencies, T-Notes, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, and Grain markets. It will not include material on Geocosmic Cycles. That begins in Course 2. Course 1 will explain the patterns and confirming technical and charting signals involved in labeling long-term, intermediate-term, and primary cycles ands their phases. You do not have to have any background in markets or cycles to take this course. We assume each student is beginning with no knowledge, but by the end of the course, each student should know clearly how to label each cycle type, understand what type of pattern is unfolding, know where the market is within each cycle, and the investment or trading strategy to employ at any point within any cycle, just as we perform in the MMA Cycles Reports (monthly, weekly, and daily). If you do not know the MMA market timing methodology, then this course will be an awakening. You will never look at price charts the same ever again. They will now make sense to you. The cost for Course 1 (and any course) is $1800.
MMTA is a rigorous two-year program in the MMA Market Timing methodology of analyzing and trading financial markets developed by Raymond A. Merriman, C.T.A. (registered Commodities Trading Advisor with the National Futures Association since 1982). There will be 8 courses in all, each consisting of 6–7 classes, lasting 2–3 hours each, on Saturday afternoons, starting at 1:00 PM, EST. There will be a one-month break between each course, and a 3-month break between the first and second year of courses.
The course will be taught by Gianni Di Poce, MMTA graduate and apprentice, and Raymond Merriman. The cost for the entire two-year program is $12,000, with a 10% discount if you are a yearly subscriber to one of the MMA subscription reports. It is also possible to sign up for one year ($6600) or even one course ($1800) at a time.
SIGN UP NOW, BEFORE JANUARY 16, 2021!!! Don’t miss your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of MMTA’s educational and training models if you are truly interested in learning the principles and value of financial market timing. There is nothing else like this available today. Please not that this session of the Academy is nearly full. There is now only one opening left before we reach our limit for this term.
To learn more about MMTA, check out the 45-minute video discussion with Raymond Merriman and Gianni Di Poce. Click here. For more information on registration and requirements for enrollment, please visit our MMTA page to learn more about this opportunity to learn market timing the MMA way.
NOTE 2: February 14, 2021, 12:00 PM MST: MMA’S FORECAST 2021 WORLD WEBINAR will take place on Sunday, February 14, 2021, 2:00 PM EST (that’s 11:00 AM PST, 7 PM, GMT, 8 PM CET. 1 AM Mumbai, 4 AM Tokyo, 6 AM Sydney). In the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune into Raymond Merriman’s annual worldwide Forecast 2021 Webinar. This broadcast will address subjects from this year’s Forecast 2021 Book, with updates on financial markets since the book was written in November 2020. The focus will be on the Saturn/Uranus squares of 2021 and their relationship to national and international politics, economy, and financial markets, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, the Euro and U.S. Dollar currency. Under Saturn/Uranus, things do not usually go as expected. It is shaping up to be “The Year of the Contrarian.” Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus access to the video recording of the event. If unable to attend live, you can still sign up, as everyone who orders the Webinar will receive the video recording, following the live event. For more information and registration, go to https://www.mmacycles.com/product/forecast-2021-webinar/ or www.mmacycles.com, Shop> Webinars> Forecast 2021 Webinar.
NOTE 3: The print edition of the Forecast 2021 Book is now out. The e-Book English version has been out for three weeks.
If you have not ordered this year’s book and want a printed copy, you are advised to order ASAP. They will sell out this year. As of January 1, we are down to our last 155 printed books. There is only one printing of copies based on preordered copies prior to December 7. Once they sell out, you may be able to get used copies on Amazon for $100-150. The cost while supplies last is $55.00 plus postage for the print edition (no postage, of course, for the e-Book edition, and they will remain available indefinitely). There is a discount for those who order both the print and e-Book editions together, or for those who order the “Bundle” of Forecast 2021 and “Trends for the 12 Signs 2021.”
This year’s printed and/or e-Book versions of Forecast 2021 are also 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/
In addition to this year’s Forecast book, we are offering a separate publication for those who enjoy the yearly trends for the twelve individual signs. It is titled “Trends for the Twelve Signs 2021,” and written by Antonia Langsdorf-Merriman and Ray Merriman. It, too, is now available in print (approximately 50 copies left). The eBook version is also now available has been sent out! The cost of the “Trends” book is $25, with a further discount if ordered with the Forecast 2021 Book.
NOTE 4: MMA is pleased to announce that it is publishing a new book titled Great Conjunctions: Shifting Times, by one of the world’s leading Mundane Astrologers – Chris McRae of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This a fascinating book on the history of Great Conjunctions involving the outer planets throughout history. It is especially appropriate today because 2020 was such a year exhibiting Great Conjunctions. In fact, the grandest of all outer planet conjunctions – the Jupiter/Saturn synodic cycle – will take place on December 21, 2020, so this book is timely. The insights that McRae provides on these rare but remarkable configurations will make this one of the most valuable additions to the field of Mundane Astrology. The book is due to be released later this month, January 2021. It goes to the printer this week. The cost will be $24.95 plus postage.
NOTE 5: MMA is looking for an additional editor for this free weekly column. We are especially interested in a fact-checker of markets and astrological phenomenon. If you are interested in being one of the three editors of this column, and possibly other market reports we offer, please contact us at customerservice@mmacycles.com.
EVENTS
January 16, 2021: The first six-week course of the 2-year program of the Merriman Market Timing Academy (MMTA) begins! This course is titled Cycles and Their Patterns in the Financial Markets” and is recommended for everyone. It does not require a background or knowledge of astrology. The emphasis will be on long-, intermediate-, and short-term cycles in stock indices plus Gold, but will also cover currencies, treasuries, Crude Oil, and grain markets for investors and traders. It is the best way to learn the language of cycles as it pertains to financial markets, and with this course, you will understand where you are in any given cycle and the trading/investment strategy that goes with that phase of the cycle. Once you take this course, you will look at price charts with a completely different set of eyes. Charts will make sense to you. The cost for this six-week course via zoom is $1800, which may be applied towards discounted rates on future courses and books. The course comes with a workbook and PowerPoint slides along with MP4 recordings of the live classes. For details, see the above announcement, or visit MMTA.
February 14, 2021: The Annual MMA Forecast 2021 Webinar. Noon, MST. See announcement above.
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 a 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 hence potentially affect 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.