MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 24, 2025

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NOTE: Ray has a presentation for the Astrology University Summit tomorrow, so MMA Market Analyst Gianni Di Poce will be writing this week’s column. Gianni is also the author of the newly published book titled “Esoteric Economics.” Highly recommended! Gianni can be reached at gianni@mmacycles.com.

Next week’s free weekly column will be written by MMTA Analyst Pouyan Zolfagharnia, as Ray will be traveling back to Scottsdale. Ray will return to write the column of April 4.

 REVIEW

 The European Union (EU) has delayed imposing its first retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. until mid-April after President Donald Trump threatened a 25% tariff increase on all steel and aluminum imports earlier this month, according to Reuters.

 — Pilar Arias, “EU delays imposing first round of retaliatory tariffs against US until mid-April,” www.foxbusiness.com, March 21, 2025.

It was a typical Mercury retrograde week, as stocks started the week rallying, only to reverse, with stocks moving into a low on Friday, which was then followed by a sharp rebound into the close for the weekend. The big question is whether the week’s highs were yet another lower-high with respect to the corrective downtrend in the U.S. If it was, we should be prepared for a breakdown to new lows. In other words, the March 11 low we saw across many markets recently may not hold. However, short-term geocosmics hold the key to what’s transpiring now, as explained below.

In Europe, the major indices have still held their lows since March 11, but most finally paused in their rallies and finished lower in the week, save for the Zurich SMI and the AEX in Amsterdam.

Over in Asia, the Japanese Nikkei managed to finish in positive territory, but it too saw some selling after a high formed mid-week. The Australian ASX was one of the standout performers last week, as it recovered most of the previous week’s losses. The Shanghai Composite sold off for most of the week and finished at the lows. The Hang Seng Index suffered the same fate, but not before starting the week with a solid rally. It also finished near the week’s lows on Friday.

The year-to-date trend of international markets outperforming U.S. markets finally paused last week, and whether or not this trend continues will depend on the political situation in the U.S. Let me clarify: the U.S. market has had its run of outperformance against its international counterparts for years, so some of this recent underperformance is merely cyclical. Plus, we must keep in mind that Europe and China have been much more aggressive in their stimulus lately compared to the United States. Another point worth noting is that Japan is moving in the opposite direction, as it has been tightening its monetary policy.

Gold hit another new all-time high last week but saw some selling into Friday’s close. Silver was lower on the week, as it continues to lag Gold. It’s also been unable to exceed its high from October 2024, which could be a concern in the near term. Copper, on the other hand, closed at its highest weekly level in history. Otherwise known as “Dr. Copper,” this isn’t the most recessionary signal – it may be more appropriate to be in the “economic slowdown” versus “recession” camp if we’re going to listen to this particular base metal. But then again, Copper’s ruler, Venus, is retrograde at the moment, so this could be a false signal, too.

Crude Oil also saw a modest rebound, as this could be an especially sensitive market to all of the Neptunian and Piscean energy coming in the next couple of weeks. Grains finished mixed, with only Corn notching a gain on the week.

In debt and currency markets, T-Notes and the Dollar managed to finish the week in positive territory as Fed Chair Powell signaled more rate cuts could be coming – eventually. The Fed stayed put and left rates unchanged last week, but here, too, the geocosmics give us a clue as to when the next rate cut could occur.

Over in crypto land, both Bitcoin and Ethereum managed to come away with modest gains on the week. The technical and cyclical situation in both of these cryptocurrencies remains compelling – but further confirmation is still needed to instill confidence that intermediate-term cycle lows are complete.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

This isn’t the ideal time to formalize and sign agreements, but out of obligation to one’s partners and allies, the seat at the negotiating table must be kept warm. It’s as if the European Union just wants to buy a little more time on the tariff matter in the hope of a resolution. Note that the retrograde chaos period that’s been in effect since late November comes to an end on April 12, and the next date for retaliatory tariffs is now April 13. How’s that for some geocosmic symmetry?

This week, we have both retrograding personal planets, Mercury and Venus, moving back into Pisces from Aries. This makes for an interesting dynamic because typically, Venus is exalted in Pisces, and Mercury is in detriment in Pisces. However, since they’re both retrograde, it could lead to a temporary inversion whereby communications concerning the general welfare of all (Pisces) lead to progress, but a final and binding compromise (Venus) may not be reached.

And, of course, we cannot neglect the fact that Neptune is in the picture as well, and the god of the sea remains in that final, potent, 29^th degree of Pisces, no less. The importance of Neptune and Pisces when it comes to global trade sometimes gets overlooked in modern discourse, but think about how many goods are shipped across the seas. Jupiter ruled Pisces before the discovery of Neptune, and on its own, Jupiter is a ruler of long-distance, international trade.

In other words, it’s going to be a very Neptunian and Piscean week, emphasized by the personal planets of Mercury and Venus. There is a dense fog of confusion surrounding the markets and the looming threat of a potential recession. But is this based in reality? It’s hard to know what to believe on the surface, which is why transcendence is required in order to discover the facts of the situation. Could it just be that the economy slows down, and we avert a full-blown recession? In the past, such scenarios haven’t been bad for stocks. But on its own, this could be enough to confuse the majority of market participants – there is little comfort in the consensus during times like these.

So, where does this leave us in the short term? Well, there could be some explosive and revelatory developments that emerge – like throwing gasoline onto a fire – once Neptune makes the initial ingress into Aries on March 30. But would such accusations actually be true, or could they be merely designed to incite a retaliatory response? We probably won’t have a better sense of what’s real until Saturn comes back into the geocosmic picture on April 7 via a conjunction with Venus.

The timing of this hard aspect between Venus and Saturn couldn’t come at a more auspicious time. Again, these planets are still in Pisces, but Saturn may offer a chance to add some structure to this fluid and watery environment and start separating fact from fiction. Given the market’s mood is more pessimistic than optimistic at the moment, it appears lined up to turn into a situation where things are not actually being as bad as they seem. It’s the ideal environment for a panic to finally subside.

 LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS (AND OPINION)

Battle lines being drawn

Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

— Buffalo Springfield, For What It’s Worth, 1966, Atco Records

Sales of previously owned homes in February rose 4.2% from January to 4.26 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Industry analysts had expected a drop of 3%…. Sales were 1.2% lower compared with February of last year.

— Diana Olick, “February Home Resales Jump Much More than Expected, Despite Higher Mortgage Rates,” CNBC, March 20, 2025.

Back before the discovery of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, observers of the cosmos were only focused on the planets up to Saturn. The only two outer planets for the classical world were Jupiter and Saturn, and the synodic cycle between these two, which lasts roughly twenty years, is known as the Great Chronocrator.

I want to bring attention to this aspect, specifically within the context of economic expansion and contraction. Jupiter rules expansion, whereas Saturn rules contraction. We had the conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn in December 2020, right in the thick of the Covid pandemic. It was a time of tremendous monetary and fiscal stimulus, but just a couple of years later, in 2022, we saw the Fed embark on its most aggressive tightening campaign in history.

This brought us to the summer of 2024, and specifically, August 19, 2024. It began the central time band of the current Jupiter-Saturn square, which lasts until June 15, 2025. Back in the summer, there was a real concern about an economic slowdown, which led the Fed to panic and cut interest rates by 50 basis points.

The Fed continued with 25 basis point rate cuts until the December 18, 2024 meeting, which was less than a week from the second-of-three square signatures between Jupiter and Saturn. But at that meeting, Powell said the need for further rate cuts is questionable.

The theme thus far around these first two exact aspects has been one of the Fed panicking or reversing their actions. Interestingly, the market is pricing in the next rate cut to be on June 18, just three days after the final Jupiter-Saturn square. Does this kick off the next round of aggressive rate cuts – perhaps until the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in early 2026? Remember, the Fed’s job is to “walk the line” of expansion and contraction and to maintain stability as much as possible.

The characteristics of these three Jupiter-Saturn squares should also be examined, because all three have been unique from one another. The first one, back in August 2024, had Saturn retrograde. In other words, the energy of contraction was off, and it led to a 50 basis point panic cut. But then, in December 2024, Jupiter was retrograde, so the expansion energy was off, and it led to Powell signaling that more stimulus may not be necessary.

But the third and final one in June has both Jupiter and Saturn direct, but in the subsequent signs, Cancer and Aries, respectively. Jupiter (expansion) is exalted in Cancer, while Saturn (contraction) is in fall in Aries. So, what happens when expansion is exalted and contraction is in decline? My instinct says aggressive stimulus – even more than the market is currently expecting. This means interest rates across all timeframes are set to trend lower.

It’s unlikely that we’ll go back into quantitative easing with Neptune set to ingress into Aries on March 30 – Neptune in fire signs has historically been inflationary – and again, the ideal metaphor is like pouring gasoline on a fire. The Fed’s monetary policy tool of QE was a phenomenon associated with nearly two decades of relatively tamed inflation pressures – we’re in a new inflationary paradigm now and must adjust accordingly.

Going from a Jupiter-Saturn square this year to a Saturn-Neptune conjunction next year (on the Fed’s Midheaven, no less) looks to be a recipe for a massive policy error, especially when it comes to inflation. Right now, the market seems to be more concerned with a recession and a rise in unemployment versus inflation. This may well give the Fed a false sense of security that it can proceed and cut rates.

But we can’t ignore the mounting tensions between the White House and the Eccles Building. Pluto will move into the orb of the Fed’s natal Uranus at 5 degrees Aquarius around the same time of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction on their Midheaven. The central bank can’t win with this administration – they’ll be blamed for whatever goes wrong, and it looks like it may become a situation where their independence (Uranus) comes under threat from those Plutonian forces. The monetary rules could very well be rewritten, just as the trade rules seem to be now, too.

 ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: The NEW monthly MMA Technology Cycles Report by Wiebke Held will be issued next week, March 30. The first issue was launched one month ago and prepared readers for an imminent decline in the NASDAQ, which started immediately after that report was released. Wiebke’s excellent two-year research papers were based on extensive studies of long-, intermediate-, and short-term cycles in the NASDAQ spot index (not futures). This report differs in style and substance from the other MMA monthly reports (it is more condensed and less technical). It provides an outlook not only for the NASDAQ but also for the QQQ (ETF) and specific technology stocks such as Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA, TSLA, and Apple. It will also include unique CRDs (critical reversal dates) specific to the NASDAQ, based on Held’s meticulous research. Focusing on the NASDAQ is crucial because of the outsized role technology will play in financial markets — especially with Pluto already in Aquarius for the next 20 years and Uranus about to enter Gemini for seven years starting in July 2025. Additionally, much of this report will be generated by Wiebke’s own AI applications. Truly, this will be an exciting report, highlighting many new features of our technology renaissance. This is the future of market timing applications in this “New Aira.”

If you want to receive the next issue of this new report, sign up now by clicking here.

NOTE 2: The MMA Grain Cycles Report will be issued next week as well. Written by top MMA Grains Analyst Wyatt Fellows, this monthly report is a must for those who trade or farm Soybeans, Corn, and/or Wheat, as Wyatt himself does. These reports are very important now because of the approaching 36-year synodic (conjunction) cycle of Saturn and Neptune, which has a strong historical correlation to long-term cycles in all grain markets. This is a drought cycle. To subscribe to this excellent monthly report, click here.

 NOTE 3: GET READY FOR MMTA4 REGISTRATION!!! STARTS April 15. This is our highly regarded two-year educational and training experience that will change your life and how you view financial markets. Yes, the course is challenging, but it is also very exciting! With this course, you will know where the market is at any given interval of time, and the trading or investing strategy to employ.

These 8 courses consist of 6-7 Zoom meetings (100+ hours of live instruction and interaction with instructors Wiebke Held and MMA analysts such as Pouyan Zolfagharnia, Gianni Di Poce, Ulric Aspgren, Kat Powell, Wyatt Fellows, and, of course, Raymond Merriman.

The classes will meet on Saturdays, 25 times per year, at noon EST, starting September 13, with 1-month breaks in between each course and 2-3 month break for summer. There will also be at least one live, in-person (or online optional) weekend during this period, plus one additional voluntary review session after every course prior to a test. There is nothing else as comprehensive in the field of market timing as the MMTA program available anywhere! It covers MMA’s market timing methodology for long- and intermediate-term investing, plus position and aggressive short-term trading.

Acceptance into the MMTA requires an interview prior to starting. If you are interested in exploring whether MMTA is right for you, let us know and we will set up an appointment to discuss.

Here are just a few of the many very positive reviews from graduates of the last MMTA3 program (2023-2024:

I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for generously sharing your knowledge and teaching it. As you know I am fairly new to trading and joined MMTA3 to learn a system to approach the stock market. Starting the year, I set myself the goal of doubling the money that I had in my trading account thinking, at the time, that this was impossible to do. Thanks to the knowledge and tools MMTA3 teaches, I was actually able to accomplish this goal! In fact, I even exceeded it. WH, Germany

 So thank you Ray and Gianni for the fantastic course material and support, because that’s why I have made money and every dollar for the courses was paid back and more! JL, Netherlands

 This course was truly mind-blowing! I learnt in abundance. Thank you all for sharing the excellent trading data and knowledge. This course is worth more than a college degree and at a fraction of the price too. KL, Australia

NOTE 4: THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report was issued last week, March 20-21. With the “Retrograde Chaos” cycle fully in force but due to end during the next month, and with the midpoints of both Venus and Mercury retrograde coming up March 23-27, and both retrograding over zero Aries and Neptune ingresses into 0 Aries on March 30, this is an important issue for one’s monthly investment plan, especially with the U.S. stock market as well as Gold. Each issue covers our outlook for the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Copper, Treasuries, the Euro currency, Crude Oil, and Soybeans. Trend reversal possibilities are greater than usual as we approach the end of the Venus retrograde in mid-April!!! The MMA Monthly Cycles Report also provides MMA’s original geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs) and solar/lunar reversal dates over the next several weeks, as well as trading strategies for position traders. If you want to try a one-month subscription to the MMA Monthly Cycles Report, you can sign up for the March Report for only $35! Or save by ordering the three-report or twelve-report subscription.

 NOTE 5: THE “JUPITER REPORT“ — YOUR MOMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY — IS NOW AVAILABLE. This newest product 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. It delineates the meaning of Jupiter’s transits to your natal planets and angles over a 14-month period (including one month before your order 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 most valuable! Would you like to know when you are under a +3 transit and, therefore, most likely to experience trading successes? Or a –3 transit with stronger-than-usual potential for misjudgments and losses? You betcha! The cost for your 14-month Jupiter Report is $69. Click here to order!!!

NOTE 6: THE MMA Solar-Lunar App now offers reversal signals on the NASDAQ to all subscribers! The app now provides daily weighted values for four markets: the DJIA, NASDAQ, Gold, and Silver.

This app 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 the DJIA, NASDAQ, Gold, and Silver markets. It is available only on Apple products (iPhone and iPad) at this time, although we are getting close to developing it for Android phones as well, possibly by the end of this year.

To learn more about the MMA App, click here. To order it, go to the Apple App Store and type in Merriman Solar/Lunar Reversals.

 NOTE 7: 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 offers a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the coming week and beyond.

NOTE 8: 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 9: THE Astrology University will be conducting their annual online Astrological Summit this weekend, on March 22-23. The theme will be “Historic Planetary Shifts: Navigate the Dawn of a New Astrological Era,” featuring 12 of the world’s finest astrologers, including Ray Merriman, Steven Forest, Mark Jones, Kelly Surtees, Melanie Reinhardt, Brian Clark and others. Ray’s presentation will be on  ”ENTERING THE “ARIES VORTEX” OF 2025-2026: CHAOS AND OPPORTUNITY” at 2 PM EST, Saturday, March 22. He will include coverage of the charts of the Federal Reserve Board. People Bank of China, the ECB, the chart of the U.S. and Donald Trump, as well as charts and transits of modern-day tech giants. For further information and enrollment, visit https://www.astrologyuniversity.com/summit/ or click here.

EVENTS:

 MARCH 22: “Entering the Aries Vortex: Chaos and Opportunity” with Ray Merriman. The Astrology University Summit on “The New Air and Fire Era.” https://www.astrologyuniversity.com/summit/ Featuring 12 of the world’s top-notch astrologers speaking on “The Big Shift of 2025.” See Announcement above for further details.

 APRIL 15, 2025: Registration opens for MMTA4, our two-year training program that will begin September 27, 2025. The first course is on Cycles – Market Cycles. It will last 8 weeks and cover the most important principles traders and investors alike need to know when identifying the optimal time bands for cycle highs and lows in most financial markets. It is the essence underlying all of MMA’s trading and investment strategies. There is no astrology in Course 1. That starts in Course 2. The coordinator of MMTA4 will be Wiebke Held, and we will soon announce our impressive faculty for MMTA4. Stay tuned!

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 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 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.