Weekly column: Mercury and Venus retrogrades ignite trickster market whipsaws

Review

Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after the disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in PHP sent website operators around the world scrambling to protect their systems.

—AJ Vicens, “PHP Developers Issue Updates to Fix Vulnerabilities, Says Flaw Was Found in 2024,” Reuters, October 21, 2026.

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with its largest fine ever for its business practices. “The lies extend beyond Facebook’s data practices as well,” the judge said, adding they went to “the heart of Facebook’s core business practices.”

—Kali Hays, “Meta Fined $25bn for ‘Lies’ over User Data Privacy,” BBC, October 22, 2026.

It’s earnings and Mer#cur>=y retr0gr@dz season again, already.

It’s also Forecast 2027 season, as the early chapters of next year’s fifty-first annual markets and astrology almanac are morphing into physical form. Thus, Ray asked me to pitch in this week while the MMA analyst team burns up their keyboards on this very important edition, which begins looking beyond the “Aries Vortex” of the last three volumes. (The audiobook recording began this week as well.)

Or perhaps the team realized that Mercury turns retrograde in the fixed water sign of the Scorpion within hours of this column’s release, and Venus moves backward into its own airy turf of Libra Sunday morning, U.S. time. That is ahead of an approaching Full Moon in Taurus on Monday and month-end trading next Friday, all just before Halloween itself. As any worthy scorpion knows, hiding in a shoe is often better than unnecessary public exposure during such spooky times. (Be sure to shake your shoes out before you trade over the next three weeks!)

Whatever the real reason, this Scorpion (October 30) is happy to crawl out from under the rock for a look at the markets and the weeks ahead, however things may land. Carrying the retrograde theme throughout, we’ll include a “Scorpion’s Retrograde Survival Guide” in the third section of this week’s column. We’ll need it because news broke this week of a massive security scare involving PHP, a behind-the-scenes programming language that makes about 75% of the world’s websites interactive. The issue was discovered two years ago, but its disclosure this week prompted webmasters around the globe to scramble for an urgent fix. Perfect timing.

Mercury didn’t wait to stamp its retro-signature on the markets either, as odd divergences defined the week’s trade. Tech continued unwinding, and money moved into healthcare, energy, and real estate—the week’s top three sectors. Who would have ever picked that lineup six months ago?

The tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped −0.7% on the week while the odd bedfellows of the DJIA and the Russell 2000 were up 0.4% and 2.0%, respectively. Another divergence: the S&P 500 was off −0.46% while the S&P equal-weighted RSP ETF was up 1.23%.

In yet another pre-Trickster signature, U.S. Treasury yields tanked while Crude Oil rose on mounting Persian Gulf tensions, creating another positive/negative divergence. Metals and grains were lower, as were most Pacific Rim indexes, with the Japanese Nikkei losing 8,500 points since its October 6 high. Bitcoin also lost its mid-week bid, falling from $84,843 to near $81,175 Friday.

A sleeper to keep your eye on is the Triple-C credit spread. This is how much of a premium bond investors demand in order to hold the riskiest corporate debt. That index touched 13% this week, up from 8.5% a year ago. While well below Great Recession highs, it could suggest potential cracks in the credit system.

A non-sleeper was the $25 billion fine a New Mexico judge slapped on Meta for deceiving Facebook users (that’s most of us) about their data privacy practices. Meta plans to appeal. Shame on you, Zuck, but we’re not really surprised. Meta met instant karma Thursday with a 7% haircut.

Short-term geocosmics

But I am not responsible for the consequences.

—Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey), The Mask (1994)

Mercury and Venus retrogrades will dominate the short-term geocosmics next week, as Saturday’s pre-dawn Mercury station (technically 3:12 am EDT) has been approaching all week. Then, just as Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) magically transforms in The Mask, Mercury morphs into mythical Loki, “The Trickster,” for its final “backwardation” of 2026.

Come Monday, markets could get even more zany, so watch broadly for broken “rules,” unpredictable technical indicators, flip-flops every 1–4 days, and possible over-reactions—particularly as this Trickster cycle begins at the headwaters of the Q3 earnings-season waterfall. Nearly 700 companies are set to report next week. Then Venus, now halfway through its reverse trek, kisses Scorpio goodbye late Friday night, October 23, with the final Scorpio Venus Star Point (where Venus conjoins the Sun every eight years in a sign), ending a century-long cycle that began in 1926. The next Venus Star Point in Scorpio won’t occur again until 2181.

Then we have Monday’s Full Moon in Taurus (also Venus-ruled), and the November 3 midterm elections seemingly set to add to the volatility.

Ray’s Lunar Rhythm for Stocks and Gold could be a handy accompaniment during this time, as long as the Trickster doesn’t warp its time-tested rhythms. The MMA Cycles reports will help keep you updated, and Ray is also active on X (formerly Twitter) with excellent up-to-date comments as well.

Longer-term thoughts (and opinion)

A pressing question for any market-cycle student is when the anticipated crest of the 18-year cycle in the DJIA could occur. Each passing week gets us closer; that’s certain.

Speaking of Ray’s X posts, here’s a quote from a recent one addressing a reader’s question about the October–November 2026 and February–March 2027 periods. Ray said, “I find this interesting for many reasons. First, the 18-year cycle is now in its 17th year. So it’s old and a top is due, but exactly when is the question.”

[Note: There is a three-year window, or “orb,” on either side of the 18-year period in MMA cycles work.]

“Second, since the low of March 9, 2009, the DJIA has appreciated 750%. The record appreciation from 18-year low to high has been 783.5%, so we are already in the second strongest bull market in history and nearing that record.”

Then later:

He went on to note that the October 3 Venus retrograde is an astrological signature that “correlates with 50-week cycles in about 50% of cases, which is high.”

And then:

“So, in answer to your question of a possible crash this Oct-Nov, I would say a crash or top of importance followed by a steep decline is very possible Sep-Nov. It’s also the mid-term election period when emotional intensity will be at a high. You never know which primary cycle high will be the final one until it breaks hard. But this period has my attention as a strong possibility.”

In closing, as promised, a “Scorpion’s Retrograde Survival Guide” to help keep you on the straight and narrow through at least mid-November:

1. Watch a YouTube highlights loop from The Mask, with Mercury as the Trickster in mind. It will get you in the right mindset for this double-retrograde.

2. Be extra Scorpio-skeptical of what you (think you) see in the markets until at least November 13. False breakouts, misleading technical signals, and irrational reactions could become the order of the day. Both planets also have post-retrograde shadow periods that can keep things off-balance a few more weeks. And remember that even the Trickster occasionally tells the truth.

3. If you can’t stomach three full weeks without a trade, think short-term. Ray advises taking profits early, perhaps after 1–4 days, and avoiding complicated hedges that could compound losses or confuse the dickens out of you. Don’t let a green trade turn red while hoping for more.

4. Or, simply lie low at least until both planets turn direct on November 13. Use the time to build your Santa-rally shopping list rather than getting chopped up in the chaos.

Good luck out there! Stay close to all the MMA resources for guidance and get your Forecast 2027 ordered now…before Mercury spins backward on you, risking your copy getting lost in the mail. (The price goes up November 1, just one week away.) The direct link is below in the Announcements.