MMA Weekly Column: April 27, 2020

REVIEW AND SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

Employers are already having a hard time rehiring some employees who are now making much more in jobless benefits. Beyond the damage to life and livelihood, the greatest threat from the coronavirus are policy mistakes that prolong the economic pain. Democrats want to use the pandemic as an excuse to put government in charge of much more of the private economy. Now Mr. Trump wants to limit America’s supply of human talent. If they succeed, we will wake up in 2021 having defeated Covid-19 but at the high cost of a diminished economic future. – “Trump’s Immigration Distraction,” Wall Street Journal editors, April 22, 2020.

Somebody sees the same outlook for the American (and world) economy in 2021 as we have been warning about, based on the three-passage series of waning squares between Saturn (in Aquarius) and Uranus (in Taurus). This one will be especially critical because it follows the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of January 2020. As detailed in our most recent webinars, the seven most serious U.S. stock market declines of the last 120 years have occurred from highs that took place when hard aspects between Saturn/Pluto and Saturn/Uranus unfolded within one calendar year of each other. That happened in 2000-2001, 2008-2009, and is occurring again in 2020-2021.If correct and we may have seen the culmination of the all-time stock market high for a while in February 2020.

An interviewer asked me last week if this possibility of a further economic and/or stock market decline ahead frightens me. To which I replied, “No.” First, we have already experienced the greatest “shock” part of this decline, created by the government’s induced recession in order to combat the greatest health threat of our lifetime, the Covid-19 coronavirus. The lethality of this virus has peaked, according to John Berry, author of “The Great Influenza” on the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, in an interview with Gerry Baker on Fox Business News, April 17. It also fits with my previously forecasted view that a peak in panic would likely be during the three conjunctions of Mars to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, plus the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction, March 20-April 4. Stock markets around the world collapsed and made an important bottom then. Second, I see this idea of a second wave down in the economy and stock market in 2021-2023 as one of those exceptional lifetime buying opportunities. So, rather than fear, I am approaching this period as an opportunity. It feels much better seeing the future as a rare lifetime buying opportunity than a dire, dreaded time of further losses with no escape and recovery, as if the world will end. It’s a cycle, not a termination.

Still, the current market behavior is most interesting, especially if you appreciate symmetry (and what astrologer doesn’t?). Many of the world’s stock indices made multi-year and all-time highs around February 20. They then crashed into their lows one month later, around March 20. Then, they started an impressive rally that topped out one month later, around April 20 (actually April 17-20). Our next three-star critical reversal date (CRD) is scheduled for one month later, the weekend of May 15-18. Are we in store for another severe decline into then? It’s possible, especially when you consider that the rally into the high of April 17-20 (an MMA two-star CRD zone) was approximately a 50% correction of the moved down from the highs of around to the crisis lows of around the March 20 period. But of course, there are other factors to consider, like market cycles. Many market cycles were due to bottom around March 20 (March 20-31 especially), as outlined in the Forecast 2020 Book and our monthly, weekly, and daily subscription reports prior to that low.

As expected from last week’s column, the U.S. Congress passed another large stimulus program after the Sun/Saturn square of Tuesday, April 21 was completed. That day was also monumental in the field of financial markets because the price of Crude Oil declined to -$40/barrel! It’s never been below zero, which means the value of Crude Oil was essentially worthless that day. It wasn’t just a long-term cycle low. It was below a price that no one ever imagined. That was the day before the new moon, which was in square aspect to Saturn, and approaching a conjunction to Uranus. It may be a preview of the type of chaos (and opportunity) coming up in 2021 when Saturn makes its exact square to Uranus.

Aside from Crude Oil, most financial markets were relatively quiet last week, following the pattern outlined in last week’s column based on geocosmic conditions. That is, stock markets and precious metals made their weekly lows on Tuesday, then rallied the next two days as the new moon unfolded, then pulled back a bit into early Friday, before rallying again by the close on Friday, as we head into the Sun/Uranus conjunction this weekend, April 26. It is possible we could see a similar up and down pattern next week as Mercury will square Saturn on Tuesday, April 28, followed by its conjunction to Uranus on April 30. And then the unemployment reports will come out Friday, May 1. After that, the retrogrades of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, May 11-14, are apt to exert their correlation to market reversals in many financial markets.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

No one enjoys perfect safety anytime, anywhere… The country will be required to go through a process – group by group, community by community, sector by sector – as it gradually moves to a safe-enough normal… Because the gradual re-opening will start before mass testing is fully available, mistakes are inevitable. The people will accept imperfection, but only if leaders are willing to acknowledge error and change course. William A. Galston, “America Again Faces ‘Fear Itself,’” Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2020.

Social distancing will give way to millions of years of learned human behavior. People won’t stay cooped up indefinitely… The most persuasive argument for the lockdowns from day one was flattening the curve to avoid collapsing the hospital system. Americans by the millions acceded to that suppression strategy and accomplished its goal…. Post-peak coronavirus will be a battle, but it won’t be D-Day. The whole country just did coronavirus D-Day and we survived. With or without official permission, people are going to self-release from their coronavirus isolation and get back to business. These are not Trumpian mobs. It is not the rise of anti-science. It is humanity re-establishing social equilibrium. – Daniel Henninger, “How We’ll Live with Coronavirus,” Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2020.

The purpose of this column is educational. It is to provide understanding of the correlation of cycles in the cosmos to cycles in human activity, and specifically as it pertains to financial matters and other areas of human activity that directly or indirectly affect the cycles in financial markets (i.e. economy, central banking activity, politics). The purpose is not to forecast the outlook for financial markets (that is the purpose of MMA daily, weekly, and monthly subscription reports), although sometimes these correlations will be applied in this column to get across an educational point. With that in mind, let’s use this weekend’s Sun/Uranus conjunction in Taurus as an educational opportunity to understand the correlation between a cosmic cycles and collective behavior and sentiment.

On Sunday, April 26, the Sun and Uranus conjoin in the sign (not constellation) of Taurus, a cosmic event that occurs approximately once a year, plus 3-5 days. The Sun/Uranus conjunction is one of the most powerful geocosmic correlations to the culmination of primary cycles in stock markets as reported from the studies published in The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles. These studies showed it had an 83% correlation to a primary cycle crest or trough within an orb of 14 trading days. It also showed that it had an 83% correlation to 4% or greater reversals from an isolated low or high that formed within 4 trading days. These are unusually high rates of frequency, which is why the Sun/Uranus conjunction is considered a Level 1 (most consistent and most powerful) geocosmic signature used in our methods of financial market timing.

Our market studies of periods in which Uranus is highlighted (by aspect or station – retrograde/direct) illustrates the erratic, unpredictable, and often chaotic behavior that astrologers have long ascribed to this planet. Without any warning, events or announcements are often made that few expect, leading to abrupt turns in the direction of market prices. Sudden rallies or declines oftentimes happen, and they can be very sharp as well as very brief. These are not easy times for position trading, for one day the market can be very bullish, and the next day it can suddenly become very bearish, especially during this 4-day orb surrounding the Sun conjuncts Uranus. We are in that orb now, and we are witnessing markets opening sharply up or down from the prior day’s close. There seems to be no “flow” to the markets in the past week, but instead abrupt changes, often overnight before the opening.

Now let’s look at the underlying dynamics of this particular conjunction in the sign of Taurus, and how it is corresponding with today’s collective reality. The Sun rules the sign of Leo, and Uranus rules its opposite sign of Aquarius. Thus, the Sun and Uranus are by nature like an opposition, which is a principle of conflict but also awareness. Both Leo and Aquarius are “fixed” signs, which relates to fixed patterns of behavior, which itself is predicated upon fixed or firm beliefs. Their conjunction occurs in Taurus, which is also a fixed sign, making this particular conjunction act like a fixed T-square pattern known to astrologers. Therefore, we see tension arising between expectations and realities that are in a natural conflict. In this case, the conflict can involve security (Taurus), freedom to engage in group gatherings (Uranus), and the drive to do something creative and fun (Sun).

Many in society want businesses and venues for social gatherings to re-open. As Daniel Henninger correctly writes in the quote above, people want to see humanity re-establishing social equilibrium. People want to make plans to travel, to go out and get together in groups. But they also want to feel “safe and secure” (Taurus).They are in conflict about what to do because they do not know when they can feel “free” again (Uranus) and what the costs will be (Taurus) to make a plan, and not have to change it (Uranus). Taurus hates changing plans. The Sun in a hard aspect to Uranus may protest boldly, loudly, and with defiance, even willing to cause disruptions “risk of safety” to others who wish to go about their normal routines.

However, in terms of how this conflict will impact our future plans and activities, one will need to be flexible and nimble. That is always the anecdote for what ails a fixed sign affliction, which this conjunction of the Sun and Uranus in Taurus surely is. The more “fixed” one is with their expectations, and the more one is demanding or unwilling/unable to adapt to or initiate changes due to circumstances outside of their control, the more stressful this becomes. It can lead to disruptive behavior that in turns leads to chaos.

Fortunately, this aspect is in effect for one week. We see the protests last week against mandates for social distancing and other restrictions to re-opening businesses and social activities. But it is important to observe this now because it may be a prelude to the year 2021, where a much more prolonged geocosmic signature will play out with similar themes: the Saturn/Uranus square, also in fixed signs (Aquarius and Taurus).

I also bring this up now because in a couple of weeks, Venus (the ruler of Taurus) will go retrograde (May 13-June 25). This period is not likely to be a quick shot back to “normal” for the economy or for society in general. It is more like two steps forward, one step back, until sometime following late June through the second half of July. With Uranus prominent at the new moon in Taurus, square Saturn (plans) last week, and with Venus about to go retrograde, planning any social activity (like travel, vacations, entertainment) will be challenging because we just won’t know. The rollout of the re-opening of the economy is likely to be uneven, with some countries, some states, and some communities opening before or later than others, with unintended and unexpected consequences to follow.

Venus (social activity, relationships, and money) is turning retrograde in Gemini, square Neptune on May 13, which indicates greater than usual confusion, disillusionment, and even disappointment at having to cancel or change plans, much to the chagrin of those who have a majority of natal planets in fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius). But it is also Jupiter (travel and another indicator of the need for social activity) and Saturn (boundaries, rules, and limitations) going retrograde. Half the world wants to break loose (Jupiter) and the other half wants to scold them for doing so, even make them pay a consequence – a penalty (probably monetary) – for violating rules.

As to how this affects financial markets, Venus and Saturn retrograde (May 10-13) are right up there with the Sun/Uranus conjunction as Level One geocosmic signatures correlating with the culmination of primary or half-primary cycles. Venus retrograde is also a period when central banks often make unexpected announcements or policy reversals that create great activity in financial markets. You may remember that Venus last turned retrograde on October 5, 2018, a time when the Fed started raising interest rates and the world stock markets began a mini-panic into late December 2018. This 19-month geocosmic cycle also occurred on March 6, 2009, which was the bottom of the “Great Recession” stock market decline, the 72-year cycle trough in stocks. Venus was also retrograde when the bottom of the stock market occurred during the Great Depression on July 8, 1932. It is not a 100% correspondence, but its rate of frequency to primary or greater cycles is close to 80% within an orb of 12 trading days.

How should one approach these periods? Looking for opportunities that are sensible, affordable, and of good value, especially in 2021-2022. It is probably not a good idea to invest in a large scale, multi-marketing, worm farm, if you know what I mean. Those who are overly obsessed with fear and rigidity may miss opportunities when they are present. And these are the times when such opportunities arise, and you will likely know it when you see it. But will you have cash and the courage to act?

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NOTE 1: The MMA special webinar on Financial Markets is less than one month away! Where are we now in the long-term cycles of financial markets? This special webinar will take place on Sunday May 17, 2020 at 2 PM EST. This broadcast will address updates on the U.S. stock market, and Gold and Silver by Raymond Merriman, Crude Oil with Gianni Di Poce, and the Euro currency with Ulric Aspegren. We may cover other markets too depending on time and questions from attendees. Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus a video recording of the event. The timing of this presentation is chosen to coincide with our May 15-18 three-star CRD, which involves Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn turning retrograde, which we have marked as one of the most important turning points of the year 2020. If unable to attend live, you can still sign up and receive the video recording on the day following the live event. If you plan to attend, and want certain questions or areas to be discussed, please send us an email before Tuesday, May 12. We will address as many of your concerns as possible during the final 30 minutes of this webinar, after the first part of the presentation is completed.

NOTE 2: The MMA Monthly Cycles Report for April 2020 was released last week. With the recent all-time highs in US stocks registered two months ago, followed by the steepest decline since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 (in less than one month), followed by a huge rally the following month, this is a particularly important time for financial markets. The wild price swings of the past two months were not limited to stocks. Precious metals and Crude Oil are also experienced huge moves. This month’s issue outlined the longer-term cycle labelings that these extreme moves (Jupiter/Pluto) indicate, and what they portend for the intermediate and short-term future. Every issue provides MMA’s outlook for the U.S. stock market, Gold and Silver, Treasuries, Euro Currency, Crude Oil and Soybeans. Each issue also contains MMA’s original geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs) and Solar/Lunar reversal dates over the next several weeks for DJIA, Gold, and Silver, complete with trading strategies for position traders during the next month. If you are not a subscriber to the monthly MMA Cycles Report and wish a copy of our outlook for financial markets, consider a one-month April Report for only $35.

NOTE 3: I was recently interviewed by Tony Howard heads of the Astrology University. I made one date error in this interview, stating that the bottom of the market during the 2008-2009 recession was when Venus turned retrograde on March 6-9, 2008. It was March 6-9, 2009. To see this podcast and interview, here are the links:

When Will It End? The Wisdom of Cycles in Astrology

NOTE 4: It must be my season for interviews. Two weeks ago, I did a podcast with Dr. Sherrill Sellman on her “New WomanWise Radio Program.” The podcast, titled “Astrology and Financial Markets During Changing Times with Ray Merriman” covers my journey into astrology and how it applies to finances is now available for listening at https://drsherrillsellman.com/podcast/audio/LoveCode/LC_041820.mp3. Dr Selman is deeply knowledgeable in immune matters and it was pleasure being a guest speaker on her podcast.

Next week another interview on current times with popular YouTube astrologer Kelley Rosano will be available for viewing. I will provide a link to that one too, which was quite lively and fun, as well as informative. On May 28, I will be the guest presenter for the Denver Trading Group (on-line presentation). On June 4, I will be interviewed by Radio Tokyo on financial markets relevant to Japanese traders and investors.

After that, I expect to retreat as I start the writing of the Forecast 2021 Book and the completion of the new book titled, Super-Charged Degrees: A Mundane Astrological Technique for Forecasting World Changes. With Neptune no longer squaring my natal 3rd house Mercury in Sagittarius, I expect to resume my prolific writing career. I still have a few more research projects I want to conduct and publish before this lifetime’s journey is over.

NOTE 5: It’s a great way to learn the basics of MMA Market Timing Methods! Recently we conducted three 2-hour webinars on how to use MMA market timing methods to improve your market timing and trading skills. These were excellent classes and the feedback was very good! If you are interested in these three classes, the video recordings are now ready for purchase. It is a great way to learn how to use MMA methods for trading, short-term or position trading. The classes focused mostly on the U.S. stock market, but also addressed Gold, Silver, T-Notes, the Euro currency, and Crude oil, showing how cycles and geocosmics relate to tradeable reversals (market timing edge). The individual classes available for sale, at $125 each or $295 for the entire set, which includes the power point slides and access to the video recordings. If you wish to learn more about this course and what to expect, please read our interview with Raymond Merriman where he discusses in great detail what he will teach and who this class will benefit. If you are interested in either the full three-part course, or an individual class, please visit our Education page to sign up.

Note 6: We have a Spring Sale going on now! Check out our Spring Sale shop to see what discounts we are offering through April 26, 2020

 

EVENTS

May 17, 2020: MMA Webinar: Update on Financial markets! See Announcement above.

September 9-14, 2020: The ISAR 2020 Conference in Colorado on “Reimagining the Future.” The largest and most exciting international astrological conference taking place in 2020. With a faculty of over 100 of the world’s top astrologers from 25 different countries, and very dynamic tracks on Financial Astrology, Mundane and Political Astrology, and other topics, this is an event you will not want to miss.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020: Raymond Merriman will be conducting a 4-hour workshop on “Astrology and the Art of Financial Market Timing: How to Forecast Market Trends and Market Reversals.” This course will provide research studies showing the correlation of astrological factors to short- and longer-term financial market timing in stock markets, precious metals, and Bitcoin. It is the only workshop Ray plans to conduct in 2020.

Saturday, September 12, 2020: Raymond Merriman will be presenting a lecture on “The Times, They Are a Changin’ – The Political, Economic, and Monetary Revolution.” It’s not just the convergence of the 20-, 200-, and 800-year long-term Jupiter/Saturn cycles. It is also Saturn in Aquarius, squaring its ruler, Uranus, in Taurus. The convergence of the Jupiter/Saturn cycle in air sign Aquarius symbolizes the dawn of a new socio-economic-political era; the waning Saturn/Uranus square, the demise of an older order. What does this bode for financial markets of the world, and what can you do? We will discuss that in this lecture.

Sign up by April 19 and receive a pre-registration special discount price for the ISAR 2020 Conference. A discount for pre- and post-conference workshops is also in effect until April 19. To register or see more information on this spectacular event, go to go to https://isar2020.org and be prepared to be amazed!

 

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.