Recensies The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Volume II, Geocosmic Correlation to Investment Cycles
Reviews
► David Wierzba, Willow Financial, Atlanta, GA
Once in a great while a truly revolutionary trading book is published that creates and redefines a method of analysis. Past examples would include Technical Analysis of Stock Trends by Magee and Edwards in 1948, or New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems by Wells Wilder in 1978. A new book has just been published that is just as revolutionary for the method of financial astrology. In his new book, The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Vol 2: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles, Ray Merriman takes astrological analysis of markets to a new level with his excellent and incredibly in-depth research.
Mr. Merriman researches geocosmic signatures back to the 1790's, and has found 16 that correlate 100% of the time with major cycle turns in the stock market. Incredibly there are 35 geocosmic signatures with an 80% or greater correlation to major market turns. The next 40 years of future turn dates are very generously provided, out to 2040. When was the last time an investment book was published with a shelf life of forty plus years?
The focus of the book is clearly investor-oriented with its focus on longer-term cycles. Everyone who owns a share of stock or a mutual fund should read the chapter entitled "The Very Long-Term Trends in the U.S. Stock Market." Quoting from that chapter: "If the pattern of the first instances were to repeat, the U.S. stock market would lose 80-90% of its value over the next 3-7 years." It may be coming up in our lifetime, and this book tells you when and backs it up with copious research.
► Zipporah Dobyns, Ph. D., Jamul, CA, Editor: The Mutable Dilemma
Recent work with chaos and complexity studies has shown the value of "models" of complex systems. Astrology was humanity's first universal model. The patterns in the sky offer us a key to time, to the changing seasons in nature and in the affairs of humans. In this carefully researched book, Ray Merriman provides the basics of financial astrology correlated with the major cycles in the U.S. stock market. Both astrology and financial markets are highly complex subjects which feature a variety of cycles. Novices in either or both fields may feel overwhelmed by the potential details, but Ray does a great job in presenting clearly the basic principles in both fields while showing their historical correlations. The outer, slower planets are the featured players: Jupiter to Pluto plus the lunar nodes.
Volume I in Ray's series laid out the foundation for his work, tracing historical cycles in the U.S. and Japanese stock markets and explaining modern technical analysis. A Volume III is promised which will feature the inner, faster planets and shorter market cycles. But Volume II can stand alone, offering solid advice for investors, that extra "edge" that can make a real difference in results.
► Lukman Clark, Signal Hill, CA, The Future Works, and member of ISAR
I just finished Volume II of The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles, by Raymond A. Merriman. It is everything I was expecting and looking for, and is a landmark in research.
The reason I call this a landmark is as follows. For all of the pseudo-scientific theories and proofs of the major schools of economics and business, e.g., the Chicago School, the underlying philosophies are those of Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer. These philosophies are the "invisible hand" of the market and the social darwinistic notion of the "survival of the fittest" in the economic jungle. Today, these are folded together and expressed neutrally as "market efficiency." This theory of market efficiency states that market prices reflect all known information in an ultimately rational way. The Efficient Markets theory is mechanistic and portrays economic activity as a huge computing machine that is constantly processing information and spitting out rational prices, even if the activity does not appear rational to we limited mortals.
Ray Merriman's research points to a perhaps different and more organic dynamic underlying the markets. In fact, we probably should speak of organic markets instead of efficient markets. This book demonstrates that just as organisms have their biological rhythms, the markets have their cycles...and that these cycles correlate with the greater rhythms of the solar system which supports organic life in this neck of the woods. Ultimately, explanations such as "survival of the fittest" and "efficient markets" are tautological. Everything is after the fact and these philosophies have little predictive power on their own.
► Walter J. Bressert, Chicago, IL , world-renowned cycles analyst
"Raymond Merriman has written an exceptional book on the correlation of stock market cycles with planetary alignments that is of tremendous value to market analysts and investors. This is not astrology. It is a well researched and easy to read correlation of stock market tops and bottoms with planetary movements. Some historical matches are as high as 90%.
Read his book with an open mind and you will quickly realize that you can use it to help improve your long-term stock market timing, and to gauge the duration of long-term trends. If you often consider the possibilities of what the stock market is likely to do over the next 10 - 15 years, read this book. It will help you anticipate longer-term tops and bottoms of the stock market, and point out some time periods when you should be out of the market. With so much gloom and doom published today about the world economy it was very refreshing to read Merriman's longer term outlook for 2000 - 2015, based on well researched historical precedent. This book is a MUST for the serious investor."
► Carol Mull, Indianapolis, IN, Publisher of The Astro-Investor newsletter
Raymond A. Merriman is doing a series of books on cycles in the U.S. stock market and on their correlations to the angular positions of the planets. Volume 2 is now available and it is called: Stock Market Timing: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles.
Volume 2 of the series explores the relationships of the longer U.S. market cycles to the slower moving planets, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn, and to the Moon's North Node. It is statistically and scientifically correct and very thorough.
The data in this book do show that these correlations do indeed exist. That is, certain planetary phenomena parallel the mood swings of humankind. These moods and emotions of traders and investors influence their market activities, causing market prices to go up or down. Thus, market trends can be forecasted, with enough accuracy to be useful, from geocosmic correlations, especially when combined with technical methods. So, this book is a must for the serious investor.
Mr. Merriman is devoted to researching and teaching the ways of market fluctuations. I suspect that this series of books on Stock Market Timing will be a centerpiece of his life's work. These books also have the value of proving that earthly affairs are in harmony with cosmic movements.
► Dr. Thomas Drake, Santa Fe, NM , Editor of the Gold FaxLetter and President of Tenorio Research
I really think this (Volume 2) will be a great book for non-astro folk who want to see what it can offer them without having to learn astro per se, as well as for the "astro-enabled." Going to be a classic series for decades!
► Geraldine Hatch Hannon, Venice, CA , Broker, and former book reviewer for The Mountain Astrologer
Dear Ray,
Congratulations many times over! Words can't even begin to express how extraordinary I think this volume is. You have indeed handed over to us investors and market timers a blue-chip portfolio of substantive and ground-breaking research and information. This book is phenomenal!
►Reviewed by Marion D. March, Encino, CA, Aspects Magazine
This is Volume 2 of a projected five-part series on the Stock Market by Ray Merriman. In Volume 1, reviewed in Aspects Magazine in the Winter 1998 issue, the concept of cycles in the United States and Japanese stock markets was introduced. Also in that book the study of "patterns" and "phases" showed how to narrow the expected time frame of certain cycles.
In this Volume the author examines the relationship of geocosmic (astrological) signatures to long term cycles in the U.S. market. And interestingly enough, some of the astrological "signatures" seem to have the highest correlation to timing the most significant types of cycles. Merriman carefully helps us identify these cycles in order to determine time frames of likely market turning points.
For astrologers, this book is a great source of information about how certain planets seem to affect the economy. From Jupiter through Pluto, Merriman leads us through an array of data, tables, charts and maps. Even the Moon's Nodes seemed to have an effect on the stock market. A most interesting book for those who are curious about the subject of investing.
►David Marantette, Editor of the Weekly Goldstock Letter and Weekly Dear Dow Letter, Hanalei, HI
Well Researched. Well Laid Out. Well on the Leading Edge.
Well, well, well, Ray Merriman has done it again.
Some may wonder if the position of the planets can effect your investment results. There are many of us who waver about accepting astrological ideas but still wonder if there isn't something there. You will find many intriguing examples of well-researched planetary movements and economic events. The correlations are beyond coincidence. The correlations are repetitive.
Therefore if the planetary positions repeat themselves, the economic events are likely to repeat as well.
This book is not one to be read by the masses. It will, however, be read by those who are not afraid to learn some different and useful approaches to making money in the markets.
If you want more than just bringing Pluto and Neptune to the breakfast table, Ray's work is full of well-documented examples of planetary positions predicting future events. Some say history is the place to look for future events. If so, The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, the book with the humble name, is full of future history.
Many today are looking for answers in the many predictions of Nostradamus. These predictions should be fulfilled in the next 10 years. Ray Merriman's new book on market predictions will no doubt be much more accurate.
►Ken Gillman, Editor: Considerations Journal
The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Vol. 2: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles by Raymond A. Merriman.
Volume 1, Cycles & Patterns in Indexes, was briefly reviewed in Considerations XIII: 1. It contains an exhaustive study of all known cycles effecting the US and Japanese stock markets. The present volume continues from where the previous volume ended, demonstrating that these generally accepted cyclic fluctuations of the market are highly correlated with specific aspects between pairs of planets. 20
The planets used are Jupiter and Saturn, in aspect to each other and to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto The aspects examined are the major ones, namely the conjunction, sextile, square, trine, and opposition (waxing and waning aspects are treated separately) for Jupiter aspects, and these plus the waxing and waning semi-square and sesquiquadrate for Saturn aspects. Ray identifies the date and Zodiacal position when each of these aspects occurred, describes the associated market movement at the time, and decides whether or not it is connected with an underlying four-year or greater cycle.
For example, the waxing Saturn and Uranus square, which we will experience again this summer, previously occurred at five times: in 1770-71, 1818-19-20, 1860-61-62, 1909-10 and 1951-52. From his analysis of the associated movement of the market, the Ray concludes that this aspect is correlated to a four-year or greater cycle in US stock prices, hitting either a top or trough within three months of the aspect being exact. He also notes that this particular "geocosmic signature" (a euphemism used for the benefit of the book's potential audience) is correlated with very powerful mundane events, such as wars. In addition to this commentary, Ray computes indices of the aspect's relative strength and consistency in terms of the probability that it is defining a market top or bottom.
The results of this exhaustive analysis are exciting. The two strongest aspects are Saturn conjunct and oppose Uranus, both of which he finds to be consistently associated with comparable market activity over the 200-year period. He also finds another fourteen aspects that similarly have a 100% correlation to four-year or greater cycles in the US stock market.
Others in the past, Thomas Reider is one example, have attempted to relate interplanetary aspects to changes in the market. Ray Merriman's innovation is to relate these same aspects to the underlying cycles that drive the market rather than to its up-down ephemeral fluctuations.
Having identified which interplanetary aspects correlate with which of the different underlying cycles (these were clearly defined in Volume 1), Ray provides several detailed examples of how, when more than one is occurring in the same period, as will frequently occur, these "causal" aspects and cycles can be combined to explain past trends and to predict future fluctuations in the overall market.
There is an enormous amount of valuable information provided here. It is presented in an easy-to-follow manner with ample commentary. No prior knowledge of astrology is required, indeed this book is aimed at investors and traders (hence its hefty price), not at astrologers. Nonetheless, the more one knows about the underlying symbolism of the planets involved and the inherent meaning of the different aspects within each interplanetary aspect cycle, the better one can appreciate the validity of the results that are given in this book.
Mastering the contents of the current volume and combining it with the cycles described in the previous one is not a simple task. But then making money in the markets is not easy either. Use of this book should make the task easier. It is highly recommended for all financial astrologers.
Ga terug naar het boek: The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing - Vol. II
Geocosmic Correlation to Investment Cycles