MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 30, 2026

REVIEW

 By Ray Merriman

 Please note that all major U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday, April 3, in observance of Good Friday

 U.S. stocks fell sharply, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average in correction territory, or more than 10% off its February high. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is on track for its worst monthly performance since 2022.

The latest declines come as the Trump administration suggests it is gearing up for a longer confrontation in the Middle East. Trump has given Iran a 10-day extension, until April 6, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping or face strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.

— Caitlin McCabe, “Dow Falls 800 Points, Landing in Correction Territory,” www.wsj.com, March 27, 2026.

 What is truth? Grok 1: “Truth is reality.” Grok 2: “Truth is reality — without the bullshit.”

— X post by Elon Musk, last week.

 Global stock indices continued to fall hard last week following more uncertainty and inability (or unwillingness) of the U.S., Israel, and Iran regarding any agreements. There was hope early Monday morning, March 23, before the U.S. markets opened, when President Trump announced that progress was being made in negotiations with Iran. The Dow Jones futures soared from a low of 45,472 about 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement to 47,210 right afterwards. However, Iran denied the statement, saying that no constructive talks were taking place. Nevertheless, the hint of a settlement from that false hope led to a huge rally in U.S. stock indices that fizzled quickly, causing them to decline for the remainder of the week, with many falling to new multi-week lows by Friday.

Precious metals also fell sharply at the start of the week. Gold started the week falling to 4100 in the nearby April contract, its lowest mark since November 24. Two days later, it was above 4600. Then it pulled back below 4350 into Thursday before starting another rally back above 4550 on Friday. Silver also fell to a multi-month low on Monday, March 23, which was a 3-star geocosmic critical reversal date. Unlike stocks, the lows of March 23 held in Gold and Silver.

The situation in BTC also turned bleaker last week. After posting a six-week high above 75,000 the prior week, Bitcoin plunged back to the 65,000 area on Friday. It now looks vulnerable to lower prices as we transit through the bearish lunar phase of Bitcoin’s prior history. Our prior special report calling for BTC to fall to the 30,000 area by October remains intact, although a close above 77,000 may negate that forecast.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

 “When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals.”

 ― Edward Snowden

 We are coming out of the Sun’s translation over the Saturn/Neptune conjunction, March 22-25. Next up is Mars translating the Saturn/Neptune conjunction April 13-19. The March 22-25 period appears to have timed the low in Gold and Silver just right (so far) as both bottomed on Monday, March 23. But the second passage (Mars) highlights the difficulty with the war conflicts that just can’t seem to find an off-ramp.

This is consistent with the analysis we provided at the time the strike was launched on February 27, when Mercury was retrograde, and the Moon was void-of-course, suggesting this conflict would not go according to plan. It is still unclear what the goals are, other than removing the regime, whose leadership has indeed been removed. But the regime itself remains in control, and the shipping lanes for crude oil have been blockaded through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a surge in oil prices that, in turn, threatens inflation throughout the world. Astrologically, this appears to continue through the Mars translation to Saturn and Neptune, April 13-19. If not settled by then, frustrations may reach an even more untenable boiling point, leading to an even greater “shock and awe” display of military might. Mars conjunct Saturn is seldom a safe and comfortable period when tensions are rising.

This week begins the ingress of transiting heliocentric Mercury into Sagittarius, March 29-April 9. This likely coincides with sharper price swings in financial markets, and oftentimes an impressive rally in Gold. That is, in 70-75% of historical cases, Gold has rallied and formed a short-term peak in that time band. However, in about 20% of cases, it is the opposite, where Gold gets slammed down hard and forms a significant low.

With the Sun and other planets lining up in Aries, and with Mars approaching the Saturn/Neptune conjunction, all while Helio Mercury enters Sagittarius, it is more likely that the war and combative rhetoric will escalate over the next 2-3 weeks. These are not usually de-escalation geocosmic factors. And it also coincides with transiting Saturn making a T-square to President Trump’s natal Mercury/Neptune square, which I discussed two weeks ago in this column. It is not the best time to make decisions or new announcements based on what one “feels” in their bones. Misunderstandings or misinformation tend to abound.

 LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS AND OPINION

 The sun was rising early Monday (March 23) on another bleak day for markets. Oil prices were climbing. Stock futures were sliding. A rout in government bonds was showing no signs of abating. Then President Trump took to social media.

— Dan Goldfarb, “Stocks Were Headed for a Rout, Then Trump Hit Social Media,” The Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2026.

I’ve traded futures markets for five decades. There is ZERO doubt in my mind that Trump money was behind this buying. There is NOOOOO law that prevents the Trump machine from manipulating futures markets.

— Peter Brandt, March 23, 2026, on X, @PeterLBrandt replying to the following post:

5 minutes before Trump’s announcement: $1.5B notional worth of S&P 500 (ES) futures [was] bought in a single clip. $192M notional of oil futures (CL) sold. More than 4x-6x any other trade size during the market close.

— Adam Cochran, @adamscochr on X

There is no market timing tool, nor any knowledge of fundamental or technical analysis signals, that can yield greater financial gain from any specific trade than the corrupt and unethical practice of insider trading. And there is no higher level of this corrupt practice than that which takes place in the hallways or private meetings of a nation’s highest elected officials and their cronies who receive market-sensitive information (leaks) before it is publicly announced. In the field of mundane astrology, there is no greater astrological correlation to corruption and unethical behavior than a hard aspect between Saturn (government, authority, which sets the rules and laws) and Neptune (deception in its “lowest” expression, faith and trust in its “highest” expression). The 36-year conjunction of Saturn and Neptune took place on February 20 and has an orb of influence of about 11 months.

Yet we also keep in mind that the knowledge Saturn is beginning to separate from Neptune now, freeing up the latter to enjoy the benefits of the double sextile to Uranus and Pluto that Saturn has dominated over the past year as the faster-moving of the two planets. That is, both Saturn and Neptune were at the midpoint of the Uranus/Pluto trine (sextile to both) since last summer. But Saturn, being the front planet and “blocking” the light (or expression) of Neptune (like an eclipse), has dominated the narrative during these times and events. In Aries, there has been the threat of war. But now Saturn starts to move out of that midpoint and double sextile orb, while Neptune remains there into 2028, at which time Saturn also moves from Aries to Taurus. On its highest collective level, Neptune is a planetary archetype for peace, not war. And Taurus wants nothing to do with combativeness or disturbances to its quest for security and safety. Thus, the cosmos is messaging us that we are moving from war to peace between now and 2028, in my opinion.

This transition requires patience in allowing the process to work itself out without turning to violence. Neptune’s release in Aries suggests that the real change will be led by those who follow and lead a path of non-violence. Studies show clearly that violence does not lead to change, but rather to further erosion of freedom and rights, as people demand security and safety, which is the highest duty of leadership to its people. But people who are willing to give up their freedoms for greater security in the face of escalating violence and leadership are often only too willing to make that bargain. Yet with non-violent protests, those in control are also more than willing to give up their demands for greater controls (and live with the limited controls they already have) as their heavy-handed behaviors leading to unprovoked violence are exposed.

This will be the process (as I see it) for humankind as both Saturn and Neptune continue their new cycles, ingressing into the sign of Aries, and Neptune gains greater and greater force in the macrocosm as it remains the midpoint to the Uranus/Pluto trine (and Saturn separates).

As above, so below. The cycles in the cosmos reflect back as cycles in human activity. That’s the reason why the study of cycles is so valuable as a forecasting tool. It is reality without the bullshit.

For a look at MMA’s newest advances in AI, visit https://youtube.com/shorts/hflYxcSO7I0?feature=share

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: SUBSCRIPTION TO THE NEW MMA MONTHLY CRYPTO REPORT IS NOW OPEN!!! The first issue will launch on the evening of Wednesday, April 8! Each report will feature a cyclical and macro overview by Gianni Di Poce on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and one additional cryptocurrency selected based on current market interest, starting with Cardano. Pouyan Zolfagharnia will then provide the geocosmic overview and explain how it ties into the cycles. Together, they will share strategies for both position and shorter-term trading in cryptocurrencies.

Are you new to the crypto world? Do you wonder how to trade cryptos via wallets, futures, or ETFs? These and other topics will be covered in a special instructional webinar to take place at 2 PM EDT on the launch date of the new monthly report (April 8). This FREE WEBINAR will also explain how to use the new monthly crypto report for maximum value. Ray Merriman will host this webinar, joined by Gianni, Pouyan, and MMA President Wyatt Fellows. We will take questions, but not on forecasts, as these will be covered in the report issued that evening. The webinar is free, but you must sign up ahead of time to receive login instructions. Click here to register at no cost!!! SAVE THE DATE — APRIL 8!!! You won’t want to miss this if you are interested in cryptocurrencies!

NOTE 2: THE NEXT “SPECIAL MMA OPTIONS WEBINAR” WITH DEREK PANAIA, HOSTED BY RAYMOND MERRIMAN AND WYATT FELLOWS, WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY, APRIL 12, AT 1:00 PM EDT.

 Here’s how it works: Ray will be the emcee. He will introduce Wyatt, who will provide the outlook on cycles and geocosmic turning points in six markets (S&P, Gold, Crude Oil, T-Notes, Soybeans, and Bitcoin). Derek will then present options strategies with the best risk/reward potential based on Wyatt’s analysis and his own interpretation of additional supporting factors. Ray will ask questions and add input for clarification as he deems necessary. Derek will then continue providing updates via the Daily Options Report afterward to subscribers.

This Options Webinar will last approximately 2.5–3 hours. The cost is $125. However, it will be offered at no cost to current subscribers of the MMA Daily Options Report as of April 12. To those who sign up for the webinar, this $125 fee will be credited if they subscribe to the Daily Options Report by April 15. The new MMA Daily Options Report has been very active and successful since it first launched on January 15. It is the perfect complement for active traders who also subscribe to the daily and weekly MMA reports, as it builds on the outlooks in those reports and monitors them on a daily or as-needed basis to identify optimal option trades that arise intraday or intraweek within those forecasts. Derek will guide subscribers through the strategy behind each trade as it develops. It is an excellent way to experience MMA’s methodology operating in real time!

The cost for the April 12 Options Webinar is $125. The cost to subscribe to the Daily Options Report is $360/month, or $3600 per year until June 30, after which time prices will increase. So, lock in these special prices before June 30 and save!!!! To register for the April 12 MMA Options Webinar, click here. To sign up for the MMA Daily Options Report with Derek and Ray, and receive the April 12 webinar for free, click here.

Note: Keep in mind that options trading is speculative. This webinar and the new subscription service that follows are designed for speculators who have a basic understanding of options. For those who do not, MMA offers a recording of Derek’s webinar on option principles, available on its website.

 NOTE 3: LAST WEEK FOR THE BEST RATE!!! THE MMA 2026 TRADING AND INVESTMENT RETREAT WILL TAKE PLACE MAY 20–24, 2026, AT THE RIKLI BALANCE HOTEL IN BLED, SLOVENIA, OVERLOOKING THE STUNNING LAKE BLED IN THE JULIAN ALPS. Register by April 1 and save $300!!!

 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). This retreat will also cover the setup and steps to take for applying MMA’s solar/lunar reversal dates for very short-term aggressive trades in Bitcoin, stocks indices, and precious metals.

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 sessions 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 a $300 early-bird discount available through April 1. 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, hotel information, and the booking code, please click here. Please note that all 45 rooms reserved for MMA at the Rikli Balance Hotel are currently booked. We have a list of other hotels within walking distance and are compiling a waiting list for the Rikli Balance Hotel. In fact, five rooms have been added this past week and three were filled. If you find hotel rooms are filled, you can book a room at another hotel and cancel it within 72 hours of arrival if a room becomes available at the Rikli Balance Hotel (they probably will). Please note that the retreat will be offered via Zoom as well for those who cannot attend in person, and recordings will be available shortly after each presentation.

The MMA Annual Investment and Traders’ Retreat is an incredible event! Don’t miss it if you can make it!

NOTE 4: THE MMA DAILY OPTIONS REPORT WITH DEREK PANAIA continues to perform extremely well, and additional trades are setting up as we come out of our March 20–23 three-star CRD. Subscribers who followed these strategies have more than paid for the cost of this new service. This new daily options service focuses on the S&P (setting up for our next trade now), Gold (also setting up for the next trade now), Copper, T-Notes, Soybeans, Bitcoin, ETFs, and other special situations that 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 as part of 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! All active subscribers as of April 12 will get a free invite to the April 12 Options webinar (see above).

NOTE 5: THE FAR FOR GALACTIC TRADER SOFTWARE PROGRAM HAS JUST FINISHED A NEW UPGRADE!!! We can now do solar/lunar weighted value studies for any market by isolating or omitting any planet that is retrograde! For instance, we can now compare solar/lunar values for any market when Mercury (or Venus, Mars, or any planet) is retrograde or direct, or both. This is important because we have noticed that when Mercury is retrograde, the lunar values for Bitcoin perform differently in many cases than when Mercury is direct. If you don’t own the FAR for Galactic Trader program, which is key to doing MMA research studies on identifying turning points in any financial market, and wish to know more about it, please click here. The cost is $1895 (end-of-day version) and includes Jeanne Long’s Galactic Trader software, featuring extensive W. D. Gann trading tools that she created.

NOTE 6: THE (ORIGINAL) GOLD BOOK: GEOCOSMIC CORRELATIONS TO GOLD PRICE CYCLES is now available as an eBook. This was the first financial market-timing book written by Raymond Merriman (1982) that put financial astrology on the map. It was also the first book to conduct formal quantitative research on any financial market in relation to planetary cycles (there were several earlier studies on lunar cycles, but none on planetary cycles or 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 7: 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 if 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 that can be costly? The price for a personal 14-month Jupiter Report based on your birth data is $69.

 NOTE 8: 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 9: 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 an excellent economic astrologer! Click here to order now!

 NOTE 10: 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

 APRIL 8, 2026: SPECIAL FREE WEBINAR ON HOW TO USE THE NEW MMA MONTHLY CRYPTO REPORT!!! Save the date!!! It starts at 2:00 PM EDT. See Note 1 above for registration details.

APRIL 12, 2026: THE NEXT MMA OPTIONS WEBINAR. Starts at 1:00 PM EDT. See details above.

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

Registration is now open, with a special early-bird $300 discount for those who register by April 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, including how to calculate and use solar/lunar reversal cycles. But there will also be coverage of longer-term cycles, with strategies for all! It’s going to be great!

JUNE 21, 2026: MMA’S ANNUAL MID-YEAR MARKETS UPDATE WEBINAR. Save this date, too! Details to sign up will be released soon.

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, and over 1500 attendees will be present. The conference will be held at the Marriott Downtown Chicago Magnificent Mile hotel. In addition to the workshop, Ray will present another lecture during the six-day event, on mundane astrology, titled “What Is Happening in the World from an Astrological Viewpoint,” on September 5. 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.