We have a small, tight, but potentially powerful cluster of geocosmic signatures unfolding December 6-12. First we find Venus in opposition to Saturn on Saturday, December 6. Since Saturn and Capricorn (the sign that Venus is in) represent the possibility of worrisome economic news, it is not surprising that many stock markets started pulling back at the end of last week, after rallying into Wednesday and Thursday. Indeed the release of the U.S. monthly employment numbers on Friday morning was not as strong as had been expected. Yes, there was growth in the employment numbers, but well off the estimates of most analysts. Maybe this idea of a non-employment economic recovery has some merit. With Venus remaining in Capricorn until December 22, perhaps these concerns stick around for a couple of weeks.

On Monday there will be a full moon, and it makes a T-square to Jupiter, while the Sun also conjuncts Pluto, a pattern that will be in effect all week. As most astrologers know, Jupiter in a hard aspect is a time when things can get exaggerated. With Pluto in a hard aspect, there is a tendency to become a bit obsessed with “worst case” scenarios, whether economic, political, or military. The combination of a full moon involving Jupiter and Pluto in hard aspect can coincide with the release of a lot of frustration, or resentment. The combination does not lend itself to a time of compassion, or urge for peaceful resolutions. To the contrary, hatreds may be expressed now, as in bolder terrorist threats. But it is a time of fanaticism and false bravado, and this can lead to poor judgements in action. It can also be a time of cruelty to others, ironically in a season when we should be tolerant and understanding of one another. But that is how hatred and fanaticism oftentimes work out. On the one hand, all of us need to be a little more cautious this week, being alert to the potential for violence and cruel acts.

But in terms of markets, the Jupiter-Pluto-full moon week may mean sharp price movements. If the worry of the investment community continues through Monday, it may begin to gather momentum into mid week, or even a little later. I don’t think it will continue for long, though, just yet. The Sun squares Jupiter on December 10 has a history of correlating with at least major cycles (intermediate-term cycles) within only 6 trading days. So if markets are declining now, they will likely end that decline sometime this week, and bounce back again by the following week. I don’t see the danger so much in the markets as I see it more in terms of world tensions. Only if there is a powerful terrorist attack will it rock the markets more than 4%. Although there is that possibility this week, I think it is more in the form of verbal spewing of intense hatred and threats right now. A more serious and more dangerous time might be right at the end of the year when the Sun-Mars-Saturn T-square forms.

World stock markets were again mostly higher last week. In Europe, the German DAX posted a new yearly high of 3894.80 on Thursday, before closing the week at 3841.70. Both the daily and weekly momentum indexes are high, so one has to still be on alert that a rather sharp decline is still ahead sometime soon. No other European markets that we track made new highs. The FTSE came close and settled at 4367. The Netherlands AEX got up to 339.80 on Wednesday, and settled at 334.60. The Swiss Stock Index got very close to a new high, reaching 5456.30 on Thursday, but then sold off to close the week at 5365.10. All of these indices are showing signs of topping soon, as all continue to be in overbought territory, according to technical studies I follow.

In the Far East, none of the indices we track made new highs. But the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong did stage a strong rally, rising form 11,662 on November 21, to 12,481 on Monday and Wednesday. This is just slightly below the yearly high of 12,537 recorded back on November 4. The Japanese Nikkei also performed well, rising to 10,552 on Tuesday. This is up considerably form the multi-week low of 9684 back on November 20. It closed the week at 10,373, and appears to have more room to rally. The All Ordinaries of Australia also rallied last week, reaching a high of 3235.90 by Friday, after posting a low of 3170.50 back on November 21. It closed near the high of week, at 3232.

In America, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite posted new highs for the year on Wednesday. The DJIA reached 9942, but then sold off modestly to close the week at 9862.70. The NASDAQ Composite briefly exceeded the 2000 mark intraday on Wednesday, but then sold off more forcefully to close the week at 1937.80. In the process, the momentum indicator on the NASDAQ has turned down. We shall see if that becomes a leading indicator for the DJIA and other indices this next week.

Once again both the Euro and Gold recorded new all-time and 70year highs respectively on Friday, As stated last week, “The stock market may be dismissing the potentially dangerous inflationary reports on the economy and the political situation in the U.S.A. But the precious metals and currency markets are quite aware of the possibility, and therefore they probably offer better long-term investment opportunities than stocks. They may also be more realistic about what is really occurring in today’s world economy.”

One other area of note concerns my prior emphasis upon the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception that will be in effect again starting December 30, and lasting through the year 2010. Uranus and Aquarius represent the world, the masses of humanity. Neptune and Pisces represent the urge for peace, and the end of violent acts by humanity against one another (especially terrorist acts). The combination suggests, to me, a growing new peace movement on the planet. This past week, the Geneva Accord was presented in Geneva, Switzerland. One of my subscribers is a banker in Switzerland, who is involved in this process. He writes, “… (that this accord) which tackles many of the most contentious issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians, was drafted by a group of Israelis and Palestinians frustrated by the failure of their governments to engage in peace efforts after more than three years of military conflict.” One of the speakers at this accord was none other than Nobel Peace recipient and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who said, “It is unlikely that we shall ever see a better foundation for peace. The people support it. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace.”

There is hope for world peace, as naive as it seems today. And Jimmy Carter is right, I think. The majority of the people on this planet truly want peace, and political leaders may be the primary obstacles to it. Carter may be too old to run for president again in the U.S. But as long as people like him continue to actively work to bring peace on earth, and as long as caring citizens of countries like Palestine and Israel – whose leaders are at war with each other - are willing to meet and forge outlines of how peace can be attained, there is hope this decade. It is “in the stars” and I believe it is in our hearts as well.

Next fall (September 22-28, 2004), Jupiter, Sun, Mercury and Mars will all ingress into the peace-oriented sign of Libra together. Jupiter will continue in a three-passage series of a trine aspect to Neptune from late November 2004 through August 2005. This is a potent peace-oriented signature, taking place during the mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune (peace movements). And it will be interesting to see if the power for such an effort lies more in the grass roots movement of the world populace, whose involvement is growing, as indicated by the efforts like the Geneva Accord. Or will the power remain in the hands of the very few political leaders who wish to maintain their role as obstacles to this process, thereby effectively costing humanity a remarkable cosmic and global opportunity? Can there be such a thing as a successful peaceful revolution? If we take the literal interpretation of Uranus (revolution) in Pisces (peaceful), one has to think it is possible, despite how unrealistic and naïve it seems today. Maybe it takes a miracle of religious proportions, which is also the nature of Uranus in Pisces. Maybe it just takes enough people believing they can make a difference if they network together and try, which is yet another combination of the principles of Uranus and Neptune in mutual reception. It is going to be a very interesting decade ahead for us. And there is no limit to what can be conceived or accomplish during this mutual reception, except by our own fears, which unfortunately may also be in plentiful abundance, but not in equal measure to our hopes as indicated by these celestial signatures.

For those who are interested, the Forecasts for 2004 book is now completed. It is at the printer’s and will be ready for shipment on December 15. If you wish to pre-order this book and get it before Christmas, please go to our web site at www.mmacycles.com. It should be an interesting year, and there is a great deal of information (forecasts) on the 2004 U.S.A. presidential election, as well as various stock and financial markets.

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.