Astrology: Ray Merriman - MMA Weekly Stock Report

It is Mercury Retrograde, May 26-June 19, and typical of the trickster’s reputation, buy and sell signals were quickly aborted in a series of “fake outs.” Not only that, but heliocentric Mercury was in Sagittarius last week, which tends to coincide with exaggerated price movements in many financial markets. As stated last week, “But this week begins yet another strange transit. Heliocentric Mercury now begins its passage through the volatile sign of Sagittarius, June 1-12. Usually financial markets will commence a powerful 3-8 day rally or plunge during this time band. Add to that the observation that markets which are rising from the time Mercury turns retrograde will usually suffer a sharp collapse around the 8th calendar or trading day, and you get a picture of some fireworks likely to unfold this week. The 8th day of Mercury retrograde coincides with June 3-5. June 3 is also the new moon day – a Gemini new moon. Gemini is an erratic sign in terms of market behavior too, so it all points to a very volatile trading week coming up.”

Some may question the usefulness of such a forecast. After all, it suggested that prices could be all over the place. But in fact, that is exactly what this combination means, and that is exactly what happened last week. It is no climate in which to make a recommendation, for the trading climate is highly erratic under such Mercury placements. Those markets that were down for 3-8 days suddenly reversed and rallied, Those that there were up, suddenly reversed and plunged.

Take the stock market, for instance. In the USA, the stock market was down 5 trading days, from the prior Thursday, May 29, through Wednesday, June 4, right into our reversal time band of June 3-5. The market rallied over 200 points the very next day. But then, typical of Mercury Rx and heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius, it reversed right back and fell nearly 400 points on Friday! How does one trade that? You can’t, except as a day trader. Sometimes the best advice is to stand aside certain time bands that are so volatile and unstable. And so it is that our motto during these periods is to “take profits too soon.” Don’t stay with a position expecting the market to behave in normal fashion. It doesn’t do that under Mercury retrograde, and especially when heliocentric Mercury is in Sagittarius. It doesn’t do it under hard aspects to Uranus either, which is coming up next week.

But lest one think this only applies to the stock indices of the world, think again. Look at Crude Oil. It fell from an all-time high of 135.09 on May 22 to a low of 121.84 on Thursday, June 5. It looked like the all-time high might be in. But then suddenly, out of nowhere, helio Mercury in Sagittarius strikes, under geocentric Mercury retrograde, and crude oil reverses on a dime and oars to anew all time high of 139.12 the next day! Similar sudden and dramatic changes also occurred with currencies, precious metals, especially Gold, and grains. Corn, for example, soared to another new record high last week, in line with our expectations as outlined in our subscription reports.

We are not out of the woods yet, concerning this most peculiar and unpredictable time band when sudden reversals of large price magnitude can take place. Yes, I know everyone wants a market prediction –a summary of what will happen in the opinion of a Financial Astrologer. But it is just not possible during this type of unstable geocosmic climate except to say: it will be wild and crazy. It will be a time when a lot of money can be made very quickly – or lost just as quickly. And the astrological explanation for this lies not only with both the heliocentric (retrograde) or geocentric (in Sagittarius sign placement) of Mercury. It also relates to the translation of both the Sun and Venus in square to the approaching Saturn-Uranus opposition, a condition that is in force May 22-June 13. We saw this condition happen twice earlier this year. The first time was in January, when many world indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to their yearly lows. We also saw it in March, when many other world indices, like the NASDAQ Composite, fell to their yearly lows. And her it is a third time, and once again markets are plummeting and could very well be testing those same lows again by the end of next week (or even the week after), when this translation period ends. This all a preview of how the markets will likely behave during the forthcoming opposition of Saturn and Uranus, November 4, 2008 through July 26, 2010. Saturn defines the boundaries of support and resistance. Uranus breaks through them.

Every so often I get mail from readers that remind me that the purpose of this free weekly column is not always clearly understood. That seems to happens a lot more often when Mercury is retrograde. This is not a report whose purpose is to give trading recommendations, or investment advice. The purpose is to educate readers in the principles and value of astrology as a tool to understand market climate and geopolitical conditions in the world. It is a free report whose purpose is to educate and enlighten others about the study of astrology, especially financial astrology. I write it because I want to advance the understanding of this wonderful art-science that is so terribly misunderstood, and even unfairly maligned, by those who are ignorant of the subject. So many people falsely believe that astrology doesn’t work only because it shouldn’t work. They never took the time or made the effort to find out the basis for their belief, which is usually nothing more than a groundless opinion.

If you are sincerely looking for specific recommendation on trading or investing in financial markets, I offer subscription reports for that purpose. They are not free, and this is not a plug for that. I write this only as an explanation to those who may have a misunderstanding of what this free weekly report is about… to those who want it to be a trading report. I have trading reports for that purpose. They are designed to help one make money in these times, by applying the principles of financial astrology to the cyclical and technical studies. But if you are utilizing this free weekly report as a source by which to make such decisions, you are taking a very large risk. In fact, I think it is dangerous to do so, especially in times like these, even though I receive countless letters from readers who tell me they do just that and make a lot of money and they thank me for it. I am happy for them, but in all honesty, this column should not be used as a sole trading tool by anyone. It should be used by those who wish to enhance their understanding of how astrology – Financial Astrology - works.

I bring this up because occasionally a reader will write to complain that this free weekly report isn’t specific enough for him or her to trade by. Duh! If you are sincerely interested in specific trading ideas, then consider taking out a subscription to a report that is designed for trading, or investing. But don’t mistake the purpose of this free report for that purpose. It has never presented itself as such, and it should not be assumed that its purpose is so.

As an aside, complaining comes under the auspices of Virgo the sign, and Saturn the planet. Saturn is now in Virgo through October 2009. Expect a lot of complaining by others. Expect a lot of blaming. And make an effort to be accountable for the intentions behind your efforts. That and the value of hard and honest work, are the lessons of Saturn in Virgo.

If you are an active short-term trader, you may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with short-term trading recommendations. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, T-Notes, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report. For more information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034. In the words of one of our subscribers: “I recently subscribed to your weekly report and am finding it to be excellent and a very useful companion to the MMA Cycles Report. I can't imagine now managing my investments without them.”

My next Market Timing Workshop will take place at “The Blast Astrology Conference” in Sedona, AZ, on Saturday, September 20th, 2 pm to 6 pm. Cost is $145.00 if signed up by August 15. The title will be “Introduction to Financial Astrology and Market Timing.” For more information on this workshop, go to http://blastastrologyconference.com/schedblast2.html. It ought to be a “Blast!”

The German version of “Merriman on Market Cycles: The Basics” is now in print. It is also a revision of the earlier work in English. For more information on this book, please go to our German web site at www.mma-europe.de.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose:

Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to predict 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 oftentimes report 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 will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s 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 these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

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 assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.