MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING NOVEMBER 2, 2026

REVIEW by Guest Contributor Pouyan Zolfagharnia

More than $2 trillion in market value is set to be wiped from the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 this month, as Big Tech earnings intensified investor scrutiny of whether the billions being poured into artificial intelligence can generate returns quickly enough. The wipeout would amount to slightly more than SpaceX’s entire market value.

—Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan, “Nasdaq Faces $2 Trillion Wipeout in October as AI Spending Fears Deepen,” Reuters, October 30, 2026.

The markets are in the red, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ leading the selloff, having dropped about 8% from its October 6 all-time high (ATH). As noted at the time in this column, “The bearish intermarket divergence with the Dow continues to grow and is now also accompanied by bearish oscillator divergence in the CCI too. These are strong technical indicators for crest formations.” The following was noted in the introduction to the September edition of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report:

Venus retrograde cycles repeat in the same section of the Zodiac every eight years. The previous Venus retrograde cycle in Scorpio occurred between October 5 and November 16, 2018. Shortly before that cycle commenced, the S&P 500 formed a record high on September 21, as the Sun approached the autumnal equinox. It subsequently declined more than 20% into Christmas Eve. That was also the last midterm election held during a Trump administration.

The markets have been more resilient in Europe, with the Swiss SMI actually putting in a new ATH. The UK’s FTSE and the German DAX are also rallying and close to their respective summer highs. The Asian markets continue their weakness, with the Chinese SSE Index leading the way, having corrected 16% from its May high. The Indian Nifty is also down 16% from its February high. The Japanese Nikkei and the Australian ASX continue to consolidate. In Latin America, the big story was President Lula’s reelection, which sent Brazil’s Ibovespa tumbling more than 18% this week.

With Crude Oil back above $100, we saw precious metals hit new yearly lows on fears of further central bank tightening. The crypto market was shaken by news of a record heist as hackers stole approximately $6.3 billion. This was a concern expressed in this column and weekly reports earlier this year, that some form of corruption or major hack usually accompanies a broad sell off into the 4-year cycle low, which at the time we projected would be in October 2026 +/- 1 month. Maybe that big decline isn’t over yet, although our bias remains that the low did happen during the summer. This is likely a secondary low forming, known as a half-primary cycle trough, which we will cover in our monthly MMA Monthly Crypto Report coming out this week, November 4.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

Over the past week, we have been dealing with the impact of Mercury turning retrograde (October 24). In the U.K., we were hit by high winds and storms, which in some parts of the country resulted in power cuts. In Spain, there was another fatal train crash claiming 68 lives.

Over the coming week, whilst Mercury and Venus remain retrograde, there are relatively few other major aspects forming as we head into November and the U.S. midterm elections. A clear outcome may reduce uncertainty in the markets, whilst a disputed or prolonged count could increase it.

However, the geocosmic landscape is seldom quiet enough to offer much-needed respite. Readers may recall that, ahead of the August Solar Eclipse, I noted that the sensitive eclipse degree of 20° Leo would be reactivated by the transit of Mars on November 3 (± 1 week). This signature can coincide with conflict, protests, military action, accidents, fires, confrontations, or decisive action by political leaders. Any significant story that emerged during the eclipse period may now reach a point of escalation. The main story in August was the end of the 60-day deadline set by the MoU between the United States and Iran, which is at risk of being retriggered. Keep an eye on Central America, as the subsolar point for the eclipse was in this region. Colombia suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake two days before the eclipse. It may also be important to note that transiting Mars will also form a T-square to the Mercury–Pluto square in the New York Stock Exchange’s Buttonwood chart of May 17, 1792. This often corresponds to the end of a sharp decline, and will be in effect November 6–20.

LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS AND OPINION

The MMA team is deeply involved in writing Forecast 2027, and this week I wanted to share a sneak preview of the research I carried out for the chapter concerning the Jupiter–Saturn trine aspect. To understand where we are in the cycle today, we first need to go back to where it began, at the great conjunction on December 21, 2020.

The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn has long been considered one of the most important cycles in mundane astrology because it governs the structure of society itself. The doctrine reached us from Sassanian Persia through the astrologers of Baghdad, above all Masha’allah in the eighth century and Abu Ma’shar in the ninth. Abu Ma’shar’s Book of Religions and Dynasties is studied to this day and caught my attention when he ranked the great conjunctions in three orders of importance:

• The ordinary conjunction, every 20 years, speaks of kings, governments, and the fortunes of rulers.
• The mutation, about every 200 years. Each conjunction falls almost exactly a trine from the last, so the meetings stay in signs of the same element for about two centuries before moving into the next. This change of element speaks of the transfer of power from one dynasty to another and from one nation or empire to another.
• The return to fire, about every 800 years. When the series comes back to the fire signs after passing through all four elements, the astrologers are told to expect a new prophet and a new religion, as the impact falls beyond the realm of kings, nations, and empires.

The conjunction of December 21, 2020, was a mutation. After almost two centuries in earth signs, the conjunctions have moved into air, where they will remain for the next 200 years. This speaks not only of a change of rulers, but of a change of dynasties, empires, and nations. A change in empires and nations essentially equates to a period of turmoil and conflict that accompanies a mutation as national borders are redrawn, especially during the opening years. Earth is the element of the tangible: land, industry, commodities, and money backed by something you can hold. Air is the element of the intangible: ideas, information, trade, law, and networks. In an air era, power passes to those who control the flow of information and capital rather than the ground and what it produces.

The tradition also gives the change a geography. In the Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy divided the known world into four quarters, one for each element. A line along the Mediterranean separated north from south, while a longitudinal line through the Arabian Gulf, the Aegean Sea, Pontus (the Black Sea), and Lake Maeotis (the Sea of Azov) separated west from east:

• Fire ruled the northwest, Europe: Britain, Gaul, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
• Earth ruled southern Asia: Persia, Mesopotamia, and India.
• Air ruled the northeast: Armenia, the Caspian, Central Asia, the steppe north of the Black Sea, and Serica, the land of silk, which is China.
• Water ruled the southwest: North Africa, with Syria among its nearer lands.

I was astonished to find that when we follow the mutations through history, power has moved to the lands of each element far more often than chance would suggest:

• Fire, AD 14: Rome at its height.
• Earth, third–fourth centuries: the Sassanian dynasty seizes Persia (224), and the Gupta Empire rises in India in the early fourth century.
• Air, fifth century: Attila’s Huns sweep off the steppe, and Rome falls in the West (476).
• Water, 571: the traditional birth period of Muhammad, followed in the seventh century by the rise of Islam and an Arab caliphate ruled from Syria that conquers North Africa.
• Fire, 769–809: Charlemagne unites Gaul, Germany, and Italy, and is crowned emperor in 800.
• Earth, eleventh century: the Seljuk Turks take Persia and enter Baghdad in 1055.
• Air, 1186–1226: Genghis Khan builds the core of the Mongol Empire across much of Asia; in 1258, Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan sack Baghdad.
• Water, fifteenth–sixteenth centuries: the Ottomans take Constantinople in 1453 and conquer Syria and Egypt in 1516–1517, while Europe takes to the oceans.
• Fire, 1603: the Stuart and Tokugawa dynasties both begin on the same day, and Britain, France, and the Netherlands build their empires.
• Earth, 1802–1842: Napoleon ends the thousand-year Holy Roman Empire, the Industrial Revolution takes hold, and the age of empires anchored to gold begins. This is the weakest fit, as leadership stayed with Britain and later the United States rather than passing to Ptolemy’s southern Asia. However, it is worth noting that both Britain (pre-WWII) and the U.S. (post-WWII) dominated the oil industry in the Persian Gulf.
• Air, 2020: the new era begins. We call it the “New Aira,” a modern-day term coined by MMTA graduate and market analyst, Kat Powell.

The new air era is unfolding on exactly the ground Ptolemy assigned to it. The war over Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia erupted in 2020. In August 2021, the Taliban took Kabul in Central Asia. In February 2022, Russia, the great power of the air quarter, invaded Ukraine, and the war has been fought ever since along the Azov coast and the Donbas, close to the very line where Ptolemy’s air quarter meets his fire quarter. Meanwhile, China, the land of Serica, has become the chief economic rival of the United States.

The last time the conjunctions moved into air, the Mongols rose from the steppe and connected East and West through networks of trade and the use of paper money. It was also during this period (1215) that the Magna Carta was written, a document declaring that the king was not above the law but was subject to the same laws as everyone else. If the doctrine holds, and as Ray puts it, the pendulum of world power is once again swinging from the West towards the East, and this is only the beginning of the transfer.

For a more in-depth analysis of the current and prior Jupiter–Saturn synodic cycle, the seed ideas that were conceived, and how they are likely to evolve and impact different aspects of society at the waxing trine (August 2026–July 2027) and the opposition (December 2029–October 2031), I would highly recommend pre-ordering Forecast 2027.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NOTE 1: THIS IS IT! LAST CHANCE! THE “ANNUAL MMA FORECAST 2027 PRE-PUBLICATION SALE” IS UNDERWAY!!! But it will end this weekend, on Sunday, November 1 (extended by one day because of the weekend). This is your last chance to lock in MMA’s once-a-year discounts on both the annual Forecast book and MMA subscription reports. ORDER NOW AND SAVE BIG BUCKS!

During this pre-order period through November 1, the Forecast 2027 print edition will be available at the discounted price of $55 (the retail price will be $66 after November 1), and the eBook version will be available for $45. The book is approximately 225 pages, measures 8.5″ × 11″and has a glossy paperback cover. After 50 years in print, it has set the standard for all astrological almanacs written today.

The best deal on MMA subscription reports is also available, but will end this weekend! Save 10% on any subscription of $275 or more with the purchase of Forecast 2027. For instance, a one-year subscription to the MMA Daily Options Report will save you over $800 compared with purchasing this popular report on a monthly basis! MMA will also offer a special bundle discount for those ordering both the eBook and print editions of Forecast 2027 for $75. The eBook typically becomes available one to two weeks before the print edition reaches readers, especially those who live overseas. However, many readers prefer the print edition, so ordering both through the Forecast 2027 Bundle makes sense. You will receive the Forecast 2027 eBook on December 15, and your print copy will be mailed as soon as it comes off the printing press around that date.

There is a change in the markets covered this year. The book will offer our forecast for the British Pound in place of the U.S. Dollar. There will also be special sections on Chiron entering Taurus, Jupiter entering Virgo, and the Lunar North Node in Aquarius.

MMA’s annual Forecast book has served students of cycles and markets since 1976. It provides a cyclical outlook on collective world psychology, the economy, geopolitical developments, socio-cultural trends, and potential weather events and natural disasters—as well as financial market projections for the U.S. stock market (DJIA and NASDAQ), U.S. Treasury market, interest rates, Gold and Silver, currencies (the Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, and Japanese Yen), Bitcoin, Crude Oil, and Grain markets. For a more personal overview of the Forecast 2027 book, see the recent video featuring Ray and Pouyan in an interview with Alie Schneider on MMA’s YouTube channel by clicking here. To pre-order the Forecast 2027 book at the special rate, click here.

Now you can also view the recent video with Ray, Wyatt, and Pouyan, in which they discuss the accuracy of the Forecast 2026 book and share some of their outlooks for the 2027 book. To view this new video on “Forecasts versus Reality,” click here.

NOTE 2: ANNOUNCING A VERY AFFORDABLE WAY TO BEGIN LEARNING MMA’S MARKET TIMING TECHNIQUES!!! The recently conducted 3½-hour workshop, “MMA Market Timing Methodology Applied to the U.S. Stock Market,” is now available as a video recording and includes a copy of the PowerPoint slides. Learn about short-, intermediate-, and long-term cycles in the U.S. and British stock markets going back to the late 1600s and their geocosmic correlations. This workshop also projects these cycles into late 2026 and beyond. It is a great way to learn the basic principles of the finest market-timing methods available today. The cost is $145. To order this newly released product, click here.

NOTE 3: THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE NEW MMA MONTHLY CRYPTO REPORT WILL BE RELEASED THIS WEEK, ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4!! Each report features a cyclical and macro overview of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano by Gianni Di Poce. Pouyan Zolfagharnia then provides a geocosmic overview and explains how it ties into the cycles. Together, they share strategies for both position and shorter-term trading in cryptocurrencies. This will be a very timely report, given that BTC’s four-year cycle is being tested again. Click here to subscribe to this new report.

NOTE 4: RAY MERRIMAN’S NEW BOOK, JUPITER AND SATURN TRANSITS: MASTERING THE CYCLES OF LIFE, IS NOW AVAILABLE, AND IT WILL MAKE AN EXCELLENT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR YOUR FAVORITE ASTROLOGER FRIEND! This book covers all the major transits of Jupiter to one’s natal planets and angles, including interpretations of the opening and closing sextile, square, and trine aspects. The Saturn section also includes interpretations of the opening and closing semi-square and sesquiquadrate transits to all natal planets and angles, plus the “Business Cycle” of transiting Saturn through the natal chart. Each transiting aspect is also ranked on a scale of –3 to +3 in terms of its trading and investment potential, which alone is worth the price of the book. The book is 420 pages, measures 6″ × 9″, has a glossy cover, and costs $39.99.

“Jupiter and Saturn Transits: Mastering the Cycles of Life” is a fabulous, comprehensive guidebook rich with humanistic wisdom for astrologers. This book is amazing—exceptional in every way!!

Articulating the Saturn and Jupiter transits to natal planets and angles, Ray places special emphasis on delineating the waxing and waning aspects. His house-by-house interpretation of the powerful astrological energies and influences brilliantly combines useful tips and insightful keywords.

Ray also shares his valuable expertise in financial astrology by including the Financial Ranking for trading with the transits, which makes this book very special!

We are blessed to receive Ray Merriman’s accumulated knowledge in this welcome work. His wisdom is golden and shines through every page.

—Kathy Rose, renowned full-time consulting astrologer and curator of Rose Astrology, with over 40 years of professional practice.

To see other rave reviews by several leading professional astrologers, click here. To learn more about this new book, tune in to Ray’s recent podcast interview with Adam Sommer (click here) or his YouTube video interview with Thomas Miller (click here).

NOTE 5: 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 6: The MMA Weekly YouTube show, “Geocosmic Week in Review and Look Ahead,” with Gianni Di Poce, is conducted on Wednesday evenings! Each 5- to 20-minute FREE episode reviews the previous week’s market activity and the geocosmic signatures that will be in effect for the coming week and beyond.

NOTE 7: MMA’S FREE WEEKLY COLUMN PODCAST IS AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY, APPLE, and AMAZON! Now you can listen to a podcast of this weekly column by Thomas Miller on Saturdays! Thomas has an excellent voice and brings the weekly column to life in a personable and, at times, humorous fashion. Just follow Merriman Market Analyst on Spotify or Apple to listen to all our episodes. A new podcast episode will be released every weekend. This is a FREE service and is available to everyone. Check out our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music. It makes for great listening!

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 bullish or bearish intermarket divergence relative to a related market. The app is currently available only on Apple devices (iPhone and iPad). HOWEVER, IT WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE BY SUBSCRIPTION ON THE NEW MMA WEBSITE TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING USERS OF ANDROID PHONES! To learn more about the MMA app, click here. To download it to your iPhone, go to the Apple App Store and search for Merriman Solar/Lunar Reversals.

EVENTS

MAY 12–17, 2027: THE MMA INVESTMENT RETREAT IN LAKE BLED, SLOVENIA. Save the date and plan to attend! Yes, we are going back to beautiful Lake Bled one more time. If you have never seen this wonder of the world, this might be your last chance to experience it through an MMA retreat. Future MMA Investment Retreats are expected to alternate, beginning the following year, between the United States and Europe. More details and registration steps will be forthcoming by year-end, but plan to register early, as our room allotment has sold out in each of the past two years.

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.