MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 9, 2026

 REVIEW

By Pouyan Zolfagharnia, MMA Analyst

“Prolonged geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could disrupt South Korea’s chip industry, a top South Korean politician has warned. The widening conflict threatens to choke off shipments of critical materials used in semiconductor production, and saddle chip makers with higher energy bills.”

—Jihye Lee, “Korea Warns That Prolonged Middle East Conflict Could Hurt Chip Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2026.

With the Saturn-Neptune conjunction on the world axis degree, the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important trade routes, has been closed. This has sent Crude Oil prices sharply higher, with cascading effects across the global economy. Higher energy costs feed into nearly every product, raising inflation expectations. Global equity markets and risk assets sold off accordingly, while Crude Oil was the standout asset of the week, rallying over 30%. With oil supply-demand dynamics shifting towards the U.S., we have seen a resulting rally in the Dollar.

With Neptune strongly activated, no one could be blamed for feeling confusion about why there is a war, what the objectives are, and who is in a stronger position as the war evolves. All countries involved have placed heavy restrictions on journalists, making it hard to verify reports. Depending on the news agency you follow and the algorithms on your social media, you may believe that the ‘other side’ is being obliterated. Over the next few weeks, I think Crude Oil prices will serve as the best barometer of how well either side is faring. We will see a very sharp drop in prices as soon as the United States and Israel gain control of the conflict.

Our forecast for equity markets to sell off into the 50-week trough is in play, and if you are interested, I would highly recommend following the weekly and monthly reports that will be published this week. The one positive signal is the bullish intermarket divergence between the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, and the DJIA. The Nasdaq has not taken out the February 6 low, whilst the other two have.

Whilst all global equity markets have sold off this week, the surprise has been the drop in precious metals, which are often considered the “safe-haven” trade. At one point on Tuesday, Gold dropped 7.8% and Silver 19.1%, demonstrating that, even in times of financial distress, precious metals are not immune to market forces.

The only other asset class that appears to have escaped unscathed is the grains. Subscribers to our grain report, written by MMA President Wyatt Fellows, are well-positioned for the anticipated rally in these assets.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

The following section from the Crude Oil chapter of Forecast 2026 summarizes the past week well:

As noted in Forecast 2025, “The important geocosmic events relating to Crude Oil during 2025 will be the fact that Saturn will leave Pisces, and the ingress of both Saturn and Neptune over the vernal axis, which will take place numerous times during 2025 to 2026, going out with a bang at the Saturn–Neptune conjunction on February 20, 2026. With heavy and restrictive Saturnian energy lifting as early as May 2025, we should see a rally in Crude Oil prices.” We got a preview of what is to come, between May and June 2025, with the Iran–Israel 12-day war, which sent Crude Oil rallying 41.8%. It’s worth noting that Israel did not target any of the Iranian petroleum infrastructure during the attacks. However, Iran immediately threatened to block (Saturn) the Strait of Hormuz (Neptune), should the war escalate. These concerns remain heightened as we enter 2026.”

It certainly went out with a bang, and Crude Oil prices have now rallied by over 60% since the recommended entry point (late November to mid-December 2025). The Middle East was also highlighted using astrocartography as a key region within the Capricorn ingress chart, since the Saturn-Neptune conjunction was on the MC of this region of the world.

Over the coming week, we have Venus translating the Saturn-Neptune conjunction on March 7-8, and Jupiter stationing direct on March 10. With both Jupiter and Neptune as co-rulers of Crude Oil activated, this market is likely to continue dominating the headlines.

LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS AND OPINION

“In front of a packed chamber of Arab leaders last May, President Trump declared that the era of American-led regime change was over. “In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built,” he said in Riyadh, deriding the “Western interventionalists giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.””

—By Vera Bergengruen and Meridith McGraw, “Trump Spent Years Denouncing U.S. Intervention. Now He’s Toppling Foreign Leaders.” The Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2026.

Is it possible to determine whether a leader is more likely to take a nation into war using astrology? In the Forecast 2026 book, Ray Merriman analyzed the chart of Donald Trump in relation to the U.S. founding chart and noted: “Donald Trump’s natal Sun-Lunar North Node and Uranus are in a conjunction to Mars in the U.S. chart, as shown in the enclosed figure… This is a powerful combination and describes the president’s role as Commander in Chief. One could say this is his primary role, even destiny, as president of the U.S. His destiny is closely aligned with that of the U.S. military.”

This observation raised an interesting question: Do strong contacts between a leader’s natal chart and their nation’s chart activate the planetary symbolism within the national horoscope? To explore this idea, I examined U.S. presidents who initiated major offensive wars and checked whether their natal planets formed hard aspects (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) to the U.S. natal Mars at 20° Gemini. In mundane astrology, Mars represents military power, aggression, conflict, and the nation’s capacity for action. This was my sample population:

1. James Madison – War of 1812 against Britain
2. James Polk – Mexican-American War of 1846
3. William McKinley – Spanish-American War 1898
4. Woodrow Wilson – World War I
5. Franklin Roosevelt – World War II
6. Harry Truman – Korean War
7. Dwight Eisenhower – Vietnam War
8. George H. W. Bush – Gulf War
9. George W. Bush – Iraq and Afghanistan War

The results were striking. In every case, the U.S. natal Mars was activated by a hard aspect from the president’s natal planets or nodes. In 78% of cases (7 out of 9), the contact was a conjunction, directly igniting the nation’s Martian principle. A particularly interesting pattern appears in the charts of the two Bush presidents and Donald Trump. Trump’s Sun, Uranus, and North Node are conjunct the U.S. Mars. George H. W. Bush had his Sun conjunct U.S. Mars, while George W. Bush had Uranus and the North Node conjunct U.S. Mars. In all three cases, the same natal planets activate the same point in the national chart. Notably, each president initiated military action in the Middle East. Another timing pattern also emerged: all three presidencies coincided with Jupiter transiting Cancer and Leo, as examined in the Jupiter in Leo chapter of Forecast 2026.

An additional observation is that presidents more often associated with diplomacy and peace had natal planets conjunct the U.S. Venus, the planet of harmony, diplomacy, prosperity, and social cohesion. Examples include:

• John F. Kennedy (natal Pluto conjunct U.S. Venus) – resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
• Gerald Ford (natal Pluto conjunct U.S. Venus) – the final phase of the Vietnam War and détente with the Soviet Union.
• Barack Obama (natal Venus conjunct U.S. Venus) – recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, restoration of relations with Cuba, and the end of the Iraq War combat mission.

These correlations suggest that planetary contacts between a leader’s chart and the national horoscope may symbolically activate specific themes within the nation’s psyche. Mars symbolizes war and Venus diplomacy, the two opposing forces shaping the destiny of nations. Perhaps the best combination would be both planets activated together.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

—Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Chapter 3

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE U.S./ISRAEL/IRAN CONFLICT WILL BE ISSUED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, TO ALL THOSE ON THE MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN DISTRIBUTION LIST. If you are not on this list and wish to receive a copy of this special report by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, please click here and sign up to receive it. There is no charge. This special report will examine the horoscopes of Iran and conclude why one is a better fit than the others. It will examine the current conditions of this conflict with thoughts on how it will progress, which other nations may become involved, and its impact on the Crude Oil market. Is this the start of World War III, or will it be a limited regional conflict? The key may be whether China gets involved or not. Watch your inbox for this special report by one of the world’s finest mundane astrologers.

 NOTE 2: THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE MMA MONTHLY CYCLES REPORT WILL BE RELEASED THIS WEEK, MARCH 6-7. With the stock market declining as we enter the time band for the primary and 50-week cycle lows, this will be a very timely report. Additionally, Crude Oil is making another huge run-up as the conflict with Iran escalates and threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz. Each issue includes our outlook for the U.S. stock market (DJIA and S&P), Gold, Silver, Copper, Treasuries, the Euro currency, Crude Oil, and Soybeans. The MMA Monthly Cycles Report also provides MMA’s original geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs) and solar/lunar reversal dates for traders over the next several weeks, as well as trading strategies for both position and aggressive short-term traders.

If you would like to try a one-month subscription, you can sign up for the March report for only $35 — or save by ordering a three-report or twelve-report subscription.

NOTE 3: THE MMA’S 2026 TRADERS’ RETREAT WILL TAKE PLACE MAY 20–24, 2026, IN LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA!!! Pre-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).

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 special discounts for early-bird registration. The early-bird pre-registration discount ends April 1 (save $300). 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, and hotel information, please click here. Please note that as of March 1, 40 of the 45 rooms being held for MMA attendees have already been reserved at the Rikli Balance Hotel. The MMA Annual Investment and Traders’ Retreat is an incredible event! Don’t miss it if you can make it.

NOTE 4: THE MMA ANNUAL FORECAST 2026 WORLDWIDE WEBINAR WITH RAYMOND MERRIMAN TOOK PLACE ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22. It was one of our best webinars ever! Recordings are now available and offer valuable guidance on the long- and intermediate-term outlook for many markets, including stock indices, Bitcoin, T-Notes, Crude Oil, Soybeans, Gold, and especially Silver. Furthermore, this broadcast addressed this year’s two major geocosmic configurations and how they are influencing global geopolitics, national politics, the war cycle involving the U.S. and other nations, the renaissance in technology, and the shift away from autocratic leadership toward more frequent nonviolent protests by large populations around the world. A look at the geocosmic calendar for 2026 outlines the most important geocosmic critical reversal dates and presents a scenario of where this is all leading in 2026. The webinar lasted slightly more than three hours. The cost of the recording is $60 and includes the PowerPoint slides. Order the Forecast 2026 webinar recording now while the information is still hot!

 NOTE 5: THE MMA DAILY OPTIONS REPORT WITH DEREK PANAIA continues to perform extremely well, with additional successful trades just realized involving Bitcoin (IBIT), T-Notes, and the rise in both Crude Oil and Soybeans. 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), Gold, Copper, T-Notes, Soybeans, Bitcoin, ETFs, and other markets where special situations 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 within 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!

NOTE 6: THE NEW MMA MONTHLY CRYPTO REPORT IS COMING!!! It will launch on the evening of Wednesday, April 8! Each report will cover a cyclical and macro overview by Gianni Di Poce on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and one other cryptocurrency that will change over time, depending on which is in greatest demand, starting with Cardano. Pouyan Zolfagharnia will then provide the geocosmic overview and explain how it ties into the cycles, using his stunning graphics.

How to trade cryptos other than through ETFs is a subject that will be covered in a special instructional webinar to take place at noon on the day of the launch (April 8). This FREE WEBINAR will also cover how to use this new monthly crypto report for maximum value. Ray Merriman will host this webinar, which will include Gianni, Pouyan, and MMA President Wyatt Fellows. The webinar is free, but you must sign up ahead of time to receive login instructions. An invitation will be sent shortly to everyone on the distribution list for this free weekly column. SAVE THE DATE — APRIL 8!!! You won’t want to miss this if you are interested in cryptos! Details coming shortly.

NOTE 7: 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 the first book to conduct formal quantitative research studies 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 8: 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 when 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 and losses? The cost of a personal 14-month Jupiter Report based on your birth data is $69.

 NOTE 9: 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 10: 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 a master economic astrologer! Click here to order now!

 NOTE 11: 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!!! Starts at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Details for registering coming soon.

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

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, 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!

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. The conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Chicago. In addition to the workshop, Ray will present two lectures during the six-day event: one on mundane astrology, “What Is Happening in the World from an Astrological Viewpoint,” on September 5, and another, “The U.S. Stock Market: Timing Tools and Outlook,” on September 7 (Labor Day). 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.