The big May 17 critical reversal date, which involved both Venus and Neptune turning retrograde, seems to unfolding in characteristic fashion. First off, there has been great volatility this past week. If one looks the currency markets for instance (after all, Venus is one of the planets that rules “money” and “currencies”), one will see a rather wild week in price behavior. Every day the market flip-flopped. On Monday itself, most currencies were strongly up against the Dollar. On Tuesday they were down. On Wednesday they were back up to the levels of Monday. On Thursday they opened sharply lower, back to the levels of Tuesday. On Friday they again opened strong, back to the highs of week posted Monday. And then they sold off again by the close of Friday. The same type of drama was evident in Treasury Notes (USA) and precious metals, except in these markets, prices actually went just a little higher on Friday than they registered on Monday, the actual reversal date. It seems that in typical Neptune fashion, rallies gave the impression that they were going to be strong, only to fizzle out once they met resistance defined earlier.

The situation in the stock markets of the world was actually a little clearer last week in regards to the critical reversal date. Almost every index we track made a new cycle low last Monday, or at least tested an important low that formed a few days or weeks earlier. However, following that low, none of these markets made such an impressive rally that they have yet crossed back above their 25-day moving average, a necessary criteria to strongly suggest that this is the start of at least a new primary cycle, if not a new 50-week cycle.

In Europe, the German DAX index fell to 3710 on Monday, May 17, as both Venus and Neptune turned retrograde. It was the lowest level seen since March 24 when the DAX bottomed at 3692.40. Last Monday was thus a double bottom chart formation. However the rally that has followed was only to 3883.20 on Wednesday, well below the 25-day moving average, and the close for the week was only 3831.80. On the plus side, the technical oscillator on the daily chart looks very positive, having started to rise now from very oversold levels. Thus, last Monday holds the promise of being a primary cycle trough, and possibly a double bottom to the 50-week cycle. The London FTSE and Swiss Stock Index exhibited very similar patterns, with lows on Monday that remained above the March 24 lows, and bullish patterns on the daily oscillator. Only the Netherlands AEX index did take out the lows of last March. But like the DAX, FTSE, and Swiss Index, the lows of Monday held for the week, and thus created a case of bullish intermarket divergence, on a critical reversal date. We like to see this type of technical divergences occur right on critical reversal dates. But like the others, the AEX also has to close above the 25-day moving average to start demonstrating stronger technical signals that the lows are probably in. And with the geocosmic signatures coming up this week, we cannot be certain that the market will continue higher from last Monday’s low. More on this later.

The market behavior in the Far East was not significantly different than Europe, except all took out the lows of last March on May 17. But then like European indices, all rallied afterwards, with most maintaining their rallies to new weekly highs on Friday. In Australia, the All Ordinaries Index bottomed Tuesday morning at 3346.80, its lowest price since February. But it closed at a relatively strong 3394.20. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell all the way to 10,918 last Monday, its lowest level in 8 months, But it too snapped back sharply to close the week at 11,576, just 26 points off the high for the week. The Japanese Nikkei also fell hard to a new multi-month low on Monday at 10,490. But like the others, it too staged an impressive rally to close the week much higher, at 11,976, just six points of its high for this week. Yet all of these indices failed to rally enough to cross above their 25-day moving averages. Still, their oscillators turned sharply up from oversold levels, which is encouraging for the idea that Monday’s critical reversal date could hold.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 9862.80 on Monday, May 17, This was slightly higher than the 9852,20 low of May 12, the prior week, but still within three trading days of the May 17 geocosmic critical reversal date. The NASDAQ Composite, however, fell to 1865.40 on Monday, which represented a new 6-month low. Thus the DJIA and Composite also are exhibiting a case of intermarket bullish divergence, where one (Comp) made a new low, but the other (DJIA) did not. The Composite also has a bullish looking oscillator pattern, with rising momentum now. The DJIA looks a little weak in comparison, with not so robust an oscillator bounce from the lows of last Monday. And both markets still remain well below their 25-day moving averages, which is necessary to break before we can begin to confirm the low is in.

In all stock indices, then, we see some positive signs relative to the geocosmic situation. All made lows, or double bottoms, last Monday, right on the exact date of the two retrograde planets. Most are exhibiting bullish oscillator readings from those lows. Now in the past, we have seen numerous examples of Venus retrograde correlating with either a primary cycle trough or crest, and then reversing the opposite way to form the opposite type of cycle near the direct date. We see this type of pattern more with stocks, relative to the Venus’ retrograde period, than to any other market or any other retrograde planetary period (well, I do anyway J). If it happens this time, then we have to be aware that all of these world stock indices could continue to rally into the 10-day period around June 30, when Venus turns direct again.

Technically we need to be aware that almost all of these markets have now defined double bottom support zones. That means the lows formed earlier in the week probably have to hold, or important support breaks. If that occurs, then the market suddenly resumes a very bearish posture, perhaps into late June when Venus turns direct. There is reason to think this could happen too, and again it lies within the study of geocosmics mostly and technical studies secondarily. Let’s consider the geocosmic picture.

For this week, there are two important Level One geocosmic signatures, and either could send this market into chaos. The first is Mars conjunct Saturn, near the Sun of the United States of America and President George Bush’s natal charts. This aspect takes place on Tuesday at 12:37 AM, EST. Mars and Saturn combinations are frequently associated with stress and frustration on the part of world leaders, and possible threats militarily. What happens when one tries hard to get their way (Mars), and meets resistance (Saturn)? Something could break or snap. The result could be anger, and acting out of frustration. It is a time requiring patience and a cool head. That’s not likely to prevail, because two days later, on Thursday morning May 27, the Sun squares Uranus. This is a signature of possibly unexpected surprises, taking one out of control. This is an aspect that might be symbolized best as an earthquake, or a tornado, something that arises suddenly and without warning, and creates all kinds of disruption or chaos.

In terms of financial markets, price swings can be very wild under these aspects. Either the recent rally can continue into the middle of these signature (mid-week) and then reverses right back down. Or prices may start to fall into the middle of the week, and then suddenly reverse right back up again. If May 17 was a 50-week cycle trough, then I would expect the later scenario. That is, a pullback into mid week, and then a resumption of the rally, with even more gusto than exhibited last week. But if May 17 wasn’t the 50-week cycle trough, then I would anticipate the former, and a break below the lows of last Monday, as prices come crashing down several hundred points in the DJIA. This “crash” scenario would support the idea that the highs for decade are in. These two signatures are then followed by the Sun square Jupiter the following Monday, the Memorial Day holiday here in the USA. Although not a Level One type, any Sun-Jupiter aspect can be accompanied by large down or up days close by. Traders may take, or vacate, large positions ahead of this holiday that celebrates our war heroes, thus causing such large price swings. Usually holiday weeks are favorable for U.S. stocks. But in this case – given the state of the world and all the focus on war-like themes still playing out – there may be more than the usual amounts of worries about safety in the world, and in particular in the USA.

It should be an interesting week, heading into the holiday. Stay alert, and maintain self-control. Losing your temper will not likely gain you any favors. On the other hand, sticking to the plan, and working diligently on important projects, can result in much needed progress, and can even result in brilliant new ideas and creative thoughts. Just make sure your timing is right. The Sun-Uranus aspect oftentimes indicates a good idea, but bad timing in presenting it.

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.