Insight in Market Movements

MMA COMMENTS FOR WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 8, 2010

Review and Preview

The financial markets liked the start of the first really heavily populated time band of geocosmic signatures for this new year. Perhaps it is because the first part contains so many aspects to Venus. As discussed previously, Venus is translating the unfolding T-square between first Uranus, then Saturn and Pluto, March 3-11. Treasuries and Gold made a multi-week high under the first aspect, which was Venus in conjunction to Uranus on Wednesday, March 3. But equity markets, Silver, and Crude Oil continued soaring right into Friday. The technical picture looks very positive. However, that is usually the case when markets are rising as they enter into a prolonged period of intense geocosmic activity. As stated in last week’s column, “All in all, February was indeed a rather benign month for stocks, crude oil, and precious metals following their lows of February 5. But now comes March, where the geocosmic picture is not so benign.”

Short-Term Geocosmics

This week is significant for many of the reasons given in last week’s column. Venus will be trine to Mars on Sunday, March 7, marking the end of the soft and harmonious aspects. Venus will then enter into opposition with Saturn on Tuesday, March 9, and square to Pluto on March 11. These later two signatures pertain to concerns regarding the continuing debt explosion around the world, and the increased possibility of default by some nations.

But this week is also significant because Mars will now end it retrograde motion on Wednesday, March 10. The station is taking place in zero degrees of Leo, in a trine aspect to Venus, which is moving from Pisces into Aries. This is a very “passionate” set up, indicating that people have strong feelings or beliefs they are willing to fight for. But with Mars stationary, the agreeable desires of Venus are likely to be trumped by the aggressive and forceful nature of Mars and Aries. It could be a week of higher volume than usual on the stock exchanges, which in turn could lead to large price ranges, especially in commodities.

At the time Mars started its retrograde motion back on December 20, the Senate passed its version of the Health CareReform bill. Shortly after, it died. Everyone seemed to give up on it. But this column suggested it was not dead, it would come back due to the retrograde principle of Mars. And indeed it has not only been resurrected, but may even pass into law within the next couple of weeks.

In “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles,” the studies presented therein demonstrated that Mars direct – not Mars retrograde – has a very high correlation to cyclical culminations in equity markets, within an orb of 7 trading days. We are in that time band now, and equity prices are indeed rising to new monthly highs. Just as Mercury and Venus stationary dates can correspond to a change in investor psychology and economic policies, so can Mars. However, in the case of Mars, the change is oftentimes more in terms of political or military changes of strategies, which can then affect financial market prices.

One other note of interest. I oftentimes refer to Mars retrograde as the “Falkland Islands” aspect. You may remember in February-May 1982, when Mars was retrograde, Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, which was under the dependency of the United Kingdom. It was at that time I came to understand that the aggressor under Mars Rx is usually the loser, for Argentina suffered a humiliating defeat. Now, under the current Mars retrograde, the Falkland Islands are again caught in a sovereignty dispute between UK and Argentina.

Longer-Term Thoughts

“The White House argues that, despite the negative poll numbers, Americans will like the (health care) measure if it becomes law.”

And therein is the problem. It is not that Americans don’t want a health care reform law passed. They do, according to polls. But they don’t want this health care reform bill passed as it is currently written, and they don’t want the government telling them they will like it even if they don’t understand it now. This is the issue of “arrogance” that plagues this administration getting anything done – the idea that despite what Americans are saying they want and don’t want, the White House acts like “Father knows best.”

But as much as Democrats don’t seem to be listening to the American people, neither do the Republicans. In spite of the fact that most Americans want a health care reform bill passed, Republicans seem entrenched with the idea of not letting anything happen. They are getting the reputation of being the party of “no” for a reason. So we have a powerful force to ram something into action against the collective will (Democrats), pitted against the proverbial immovable object (Republicans). They call this “gridlock.” v In terms of Mundane Astrology, this period of “gridlock” may be identified as the opposition of Saturn and Uranus (2008-2010). There was hope, via the study of Mundane Astrology, that gridlock would end as Saturn moved into Libra (October 29, 2009 through October 5, 2012). After all, Saturn is exalted in Libra. Both Saturn and Libra hold dear the importance of fairness and justice, of finding a path that will garner the support of opposing sides. But there can be a downside to Saturn in Libra too. It can be resistant to “big” change, or a tendency to seek the perfect “right balance.” The result is that nothing is moved significantly for fear of creating an imbalance, or the perception of being unfair or unjust.

In terms of market behavior, Saturn in Libra can be “range-bound.” Prices may trade within a range, for investors are reluctant to commit to something that may lead to a loss of control. Saturn is a “control freak,” and Libra is a “fairness-balance freak.” So, unless a clear majority favors one path over another, conditions can remain at an impasse. Hence, gridlock.

But into this equation we will soon have to input Jupiter and Uranus moving into Aries, both in opposition to Saturn in Libra. Uranus has already been opposing Saturn since the election of November 4, 2008, but from Pisces. Now it will move into Aries, a much more demanding sign compared to the sensitive quality of Pisces. This phenomenon will start up in late May, early June, and will be off and on through March 2011. Jupiter and Uranus in Aries are not going to be content with “no action.” To the contrary, this combination can be highly combustible. The operative dynamic may be “I want more and I want it now.”

On the positive side, Jupiter and Uranus can be highly inspired and inventive. It is possible to suddenly have a breakthrough on a completely new way to solve a problem. This is why last week’s column suggested that perhaps politicians need to wait for Jupiter and Uranus in Aries to arrive (May through September) before passing this health reform bill, for the symbolism suggests a breakthrough. Yet prior to that time (now), and even again from September 9, 2010 through January 22, 2011, Jupiter will be in Pisces, which rules matters like health care. So in one sense, President Obama is correct when he says “Now is the time” to do this reform. Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces is the time when compassion for those who have no health insurance is at a peak. But the problem is that the majority of people are against the form of the bill as it now stands. It appears it needs to be modified further before the majority of people get behind it. Astrologically, the transits suggest this could happen May-September. But of course, politicians in favor of any health care reform bill don’t want to wait until a time that is so close to the mid-term elections in November. It’s too risky in terms of their careers.

But politics and the cosmos don’t always work in harmony. Mars turns direct this week, in Leo. That means that the Mars principle will be unusually strong. And Leo is the leader. Hence we can anticipate a powerful surge from the White House to push this bill through now. For after all, in typical Mars-in-Leo fashion, “The White House argues that, despite the negative poll numbers, Americans will like the (health care) measure if it becomes law.” Father knows best. But the children will likely rebel when Jupiter and Uranus enter Aries. The cries of rebellion may even start in the next two weeks as the Sun enters Aries, the natural home of Mars, and a precursor of what Jupiter and Uranus in Aries will be like.

It’s going to get hot, very hot. They say that some like it hot. My guess is that equity and commodity markets will, especially speculators. But I wouldn’t want to be a political incumbent at this time, and even more so come November.

Announcements

Market Timing Digest March issue is due to come out March 7. This month's issue may be one of the hottest of the year and may become the one issue we will refer to many times later on. Why? Read more here!>>

Ray's next private meeting for MMA subscribers will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge (Boston) Massachusetts, on March 1 at 11:00 AM. There is no cost for yearly subscribers of MMA or SOS reports, or for any subscribers of our daily or weekly reports. For all others, the cost is $295.00. This special meeting will last about 2-1/2 hours. It will follow the NCGR conference on “Planetary Revolution: Geocosmic Alchemy II”, taking place February 25-28. Attendance is limited to about 15 persons, and reservations are suggested. Ray: "There is nothing as exciting and informative as a gathering with MMA subscribers (to me), because they come from very interesting walks of life, from the fields of finance, banking, government, military, intelligence agencies, academia, psychology, internet technology, and astrology." During this special gathering, subscribers may ask any questions they wish, or they may make any statements that the group may then discuss. Great trading ideas tend to arise from this format. Please contact us at 1-248-626-3034, or email Merrimans office if you would like to be a part of this special meeting, as seating is limited. For information on what these meetings are like, read a review of my winter tour of Europe, where I met several subscribers at two separate meetings, in Amsterdam and Zurich.

The Forecast 2010 book is still available as long as supplies last.
NEW! This year, the Dutch version “Vooruitzichten 2010” is the first edition translated for the Dutch market ever. With an extra chapter about the AEX, including the horoscope for The Netherlands in relation to the rare astrological aspects in 2010.

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Disclaimer & State of Purpose

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.