Financial Astrology
In addition to forecasts for individuals, astrology may be implemented to a variety of areas. The astrological technique of analyzing and forecasting company and finances is economic astrology, also called astro-economics. This is done in two main respects. One is to watch star motions in the sky and to understand the tendencies and occurrences that they indicate and that affect the universe. The other is to diagram and interpret horoscopes for individual companies, nations or economic companies.
By creating a horscopic graph for a nation in general, this horoscope will show a variety of stuff-not just their economics. Pay special regard to its 2nd house, sun, Jupiter, and Saturn on the financial elements of a nation horoscope, however, most occurrences and nation specifics also have financial implications. When you produce a full horoscope diagram for a company, the deadline on which you decide the horoscope. The horoscope map presents the entire life when it is founded by a company, while the date when it is introduced to the stock markets shows how much it costs and so forth.
Financial Astrology addition forecasts individuals astrology implemented variety areas The astrological technique analyzing forecasting company finances economic astrology called astro economics This main respects One watch star motions sky understand tendencies occurrences affect universe The diagram interpret horoscopes individual companies nations economic companies creating horscopic graph nation general horoscope variety stuff economics Pay special regard 2nd house sun Jupiter Saturn financial elements nation horoscope occurrences nation specifics financial implications When produce horoscope diagram company deadline decide horoscope The horoscope map presents entire life founded company introduced stock markets costs Astrology applied multitude fields forecasts individual persons One field financial astrology called astro economics astrological method analyze predict matters business finance There major ways One observe planetary movements sky interpret trends events imply wide influence The chart horoscopes specific businesses countries financial ventures interpret Observing planetary movements sky easy astronomical tables programs revealing long advance making predictions hundreds years easy interpret complete horoscope chart specific business country starting location needed obvious buried history Business horoscope chartsWhen horscope chart country horoscope multitude country economics For economic aspects country horoscope pay specific attention 2nd House moon Jupiter Saturn events particulars country economic consequences When complete horoscope chart business choose chart decides perspective horoscope founding company horoscope chart presents life introduction stock market fares Houses company horoscopesThe astrological Houses complete company horoscope chart represent setting specific field activities They generally speaking ProfileEconomy balance profitInternal communicationPersonellStrategyProductionAssociatesExpensesExpansionCompetitionGoodwillShortcomingsZodiac signs company horoscopesThe Zodiac signs complete company horoscope chart represent qualities tendencies They generally speaking Aries challenging aggressiveTaurus conservative concreteGemini communicative superficialCancer caring sensitiveLeo dominant proudVirgo careful minuteLibra negotiating formalScorpio hidden confusingSagittarius impatient visionaryCapricorn deciding controllingAquarius profound originalPisces confused submissivePlanets company horoscopesThe planets complete company horoscope chart represent acting forces kinds Observe astrological purposes sun moon components treated planets components astrologers Their characteristics generally speaking Sun basic driveMoon longingMercury curiosityVenus affectionMars aggressionJupiter luckSaturn dutyUranus contemplationNeptune fantasyPluto catharsisAscendant attitudeMedium Coeli imageAspects company horoscopesThe aspects complete company horoscope chart represent relations interaction acting forces represented planets aspects astrologers Their characteristics generally speaking conjunction fusionopposition separationtrine harmonysquare conflictsextile cooperationCombining componentsAlthough difficult components horoscope bringing readable picnic The complete horoscope chart constructed exact astronomical mathematical formulas interpreting individual astrologer differ The principles astrology clear general Finding meaning specific case horoscope understanding express concretely challenge client consult astrologer How interpretation explained examples The components horscope combined influence planet explained characteristics sign House aspects form planets Mars Aries 2nd House imply drastic action ends meet company economy extent adventurous high risk Jupiter sign House company tendency sudden high incomes sort blue extent business continuously great Jupiter trine Venus 6th House Leo income explained creative working environment company based pride quality production There unique patents production Also Houses planets interpreted The 6th House Virgo tells production company detailed complicated elaborate work Pisces troublesome disorganized Taurus slow competent And hope deduct tables reach interpretations Prediction transitsThe complete horoscope chart lot company future consequence characteristics time For predicting specific ordinary future events transits They planetary movements sky forming aspects planets complete horoscope chart For Mars sky passes position Ascendant Capricorn chart implies crisis forces company redefine profile presents defend public accusations question competence control All aspects significance transits conjunction opposition uch published financial markets astrology years article selective draws attention highlights work exhaustive review pick themes understanding financial astrology practise astrology generally Some names missing published subscription newsletters generally publish predictions methods arrived predictions provide references readers methods people discussed article understand methods discussed One studies link market prices astrological aspect Krohn published Modern Astrology 1912 astrology economy prices metals industry proxy strength economy economic growth demand industrial metals Copper Zinc Iron higher prices Looking period 1850 1906 graph prices major aspects marked considered Jupiter Saturn Jupiter Uranus aspects finds interesting correspondences analyse rigorously short length data series looked Mars aspects Saturn Uranus finds repeatable pattern highs trine lows squares opposition Markets changed writing longer hold Mars Uranus heliocentrically pattern respects Krohn His work attempt document financial astrology arguing astrological theory trines mark highs squares lows testing theory market Evangeline Adams active early 20th century She popularise astrology famous financial astrology advice banker financier Morgan Although publish explanation methods number client readings detailed prediction Sugar 1st June 1898 Karen Christino analysed material published What Evangeline Adams Knew 2004 exploration Adams methods The prediction Sugar based transits natal chart August 1887 EST New York clear event chart Adams paid attention movements Moon trading day Although financial predictions Adams New York Stock Exchange chart national charts financial work unfortunate detailed methods working renowned financial astrologer lost learnt Christino book nocopy Sepharial Walter Gorn Old published book financial astrology The Law Values 1912 facsimile paperback edition published Cosimo Classics 2007 Like early workers area treated mundane astrology indicators general economy countries traditional sign assignment countries Krohn assumes good economy increase share prices time Economies financial markets changed greatly years share markets longer react time economy addition individual countries viewed isolation timing factors Sepharial proposed longer hold true standard astrological symbolism meanings rigorous analysis disappointing astrologer testing actual market moves Krohn The Arcana Stock Share Key collection writings privately circulated subscription published editions Sepharial individual companies Noon incorporation charts stock market Noon chart specific stock exchange New York May 1792 Noon LMT The main technique Solar Arc Directions set indicators examples proper validation indicators The indications reliable Perhaps evaluated current markets James Mars Langham published Planetary Effects Stock Market Prices 1932 1938 Cyclical Market Forecasting Stocks Grain Langham relied transiting aspects forecasting individual shares incorporation charts companies 1935 Jensen published Astro Cycles Speculative Markets included technical analysis price charts ideas Gann astrological timing For interested Gann ideas Jensen explanation price charts trend lines clearer Gann Jensen astrological indications Langham transits incorporation stock exchange charts Both Langham Jensen approach standard aspect qualities trines favourable squares negative standard planet qualities Jupiter increasing prices Saturn depressing prices One problems early work astrological indicators verification told transits examples systematic attempt reliable indicator Sepharial Another point beware early work nature markets time Many companies quoted stock exchange 1930 industrial manufacturers heavy engineering companies builders cars tractors Now 21st century high technology communications companies The symbolised Mars Saturn Mercury Uranus This stock markets general react transits years Some early work repeated context modern share markets Louise McWhirter writing late 1930s produced interesting work She looked economic activity correlating lunar node cycle economy strongest Moon North Node Leo weakest Aquarius This validity correlation stock market weak noticeable economy USA She analysed number modifying factors Jupiter Saturn aspects Node aspects Uranus McWhirter detailed analysis economic activity USA period 1850 1938 Although analysis solely USA provide analysis economy suggests areas Her work stock market New York market based transits market inception chart Each month New Moon chart calculated transiting planets aspects fall natal chart relation angles houses natal chart considered McWhirter rectified chart New York Stock Exchange Midheaven 24PI28 Ascendant 14CA17 These angles proposed generally agreed chart set May 1792 40N45 73W57 morning chart favoured rectified charts Ascendants 26CA13 11LE39 proposed writers Finally McWhirter looked forecasting share price individual companies transits incorporation chart More Bill Meridian transits trade chart effective work discuss Gann enigma actively investing markets wrote techniques early 1920s early 1950s For famous market investors commodities wrote number books courses technique surprisingly astrology work His emphasis technical analysis tools price charts patterns writing fixed periods days days year fractions year fixed numbers years Many periods correspond astrological cycles factions cycles details Gann astrology satisfactorily clarified researchers One techniques Uranus Neptune aspect occurred March April period predicted affect rainfall flooding Mississippi Delta cotton growing area cotton crop price year cardinal ingresses halfway points fixed signs Sun planets There lot material Gann astrology internet summarise article interested readers search Web beware speculation financial astrology test investing Moving post 1945 period Donald Bradley active astrological mid 1940s onwards remembered championing Sidereal Zodiac 1948 short book Stock Market Prediction The Planetary Barometer How Use book developed called Bradley Sideriograph predict Stock Market weighted sum transiting aspects excluding Moon matter Tropical Sidereal zodiacs difficult complete explanation book hard summary For planet angular separation planet planet note degree orb Conjunction Sextile Square Trine Opposition weighted depending aspect orb Squares oppositions negative sextiles trines positive The weight conjunction varies depending planets involved When aspect orb distance planets degrees subtract divide result finally multiply result aspect exact orb degrees The combinations separated intermediate long term cycles combinations Jupiter Pluto considered long term cycles medium term cycles Finally declinations Venus Mars assign positive northern declinations negative southern declinations Add values Venus Mars divide Add values long term cycles divided multiply number Then add values intermediate term cycles Venus Mars declination final number Bradley Sideriograph day Many people investigated Bradley model improve included degree degree aspects included Chiron Ceres degree degree aspects There debate conjunctions positive negative There consensus accurate model adding individual indicators simplistic interact work Williams triple planet configurations midpoints aspected planet Sun Mars triggering outer aspects However Bradley model attempt create comprehensive astrological model financial market One famous financial astrologers 20th century Cmdr David Williams His book Financial Astrology reprinted 1982 AFA looked astro economics astrology stock market One major contributions multiple aspects multiple planet patterns systematic Everyone familiar Grand Trines Squares Grand Cross patterns Williams considered mixed patterns Saturn opposition Uranus negative market Jupiter trines Saturn time negative nullified discusses successful predictions astrological indicators failures suggests reasons failures Many astrologer researchers dynamics financial markets mid 1950s onwards looked fixed period cycles Williams looked astrological cycles The year cycle reported number cycles researchers Nodal cycle years stock market lows Node Libra Aries highs Node Cancer Capricorn reported sequence Mars Jupiter conjunctions oppositions superior inferior conjunctions Sun Mercury analysed zodiac aspects occurred zodiac placement aspect considered The Mars Jupiter cycle reliable equity market conjunction opposition high degrees Mars degrees Jupiter Mars degrees Williams book Financial Astrology worth study interested astrology markets Thomas Rieder published Astrological Warnings Stock Market 1972 Like number modern financial astrologers Williams Rieder contributions understanding multi planet patterns financial markets For retrograde stations Mars tend produce market falls outer planet square opposition outer planet trine sextile fall larger The timing indicator station square opposition aspect The station acting trigger aspect stock market Rieder looked double harmonic cycle Mars This year cycle Mars zodiac Every alternate retrograde station powerful return double cycles Clifford Matlock astrological circles introduced interesting ideas 1977 book Man Cosmos considered equities relation number cycles aspects modern view cycles develops book Perhaps time cycles symmetric series aspects structure addition emphasised multi cycle nature markets cycles length simultaneously operation interacting combining produce irregular aggregate considered lunar cycles Sun Moon cycle Moon zodiac Moon Node cycle cycle Moon apogee point furthest earth Although cycles small amplitude individually lengths phase time reinforce cancel times Moon cycle times Moon cycles strong Interestingly Sun Moon Moon Node cycles structures They tend turning points position cycle asymmetric nature astrological cycles market rise slowly thirds cycle falls cycle One observation Matlock investigated Sun Moon cycle differs details depending zodiac Sun This finding neglected researchers prove fruitful area investigation Finally Matlock considered conjunctions oppositions Sun Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Mars Jupiter Saturn Neptune The strongest days prior aspect All cases average market rise days Bill Meridian number interesting contributions financial astrology study appeared 1985 Journal Astrological Association looked Mars Vesta cycle This earliest studies asteroids The period cycle years quoted year cycle His analysis Dow Jones The market peak Mars degrees Vesta Mars degrees Vesta Meridian notes update original article website billmeridian articles files marsvesta htm turning points drifted degrees times Many earlier writers astrological cycles assumed cycles symmetric high point point cycle degrees Meridian finds falling phase Mars Vest cycle degrees long rising phase degrees long looked great Sun Moon cycle Dow Jones billmeridian lunar htm extensive easily point work classic considered kind work periods cycle changed time nature market changed Another contribution Meridian stock trading charts individual companies There number charts predictions share price company start business incorporation initial public offering IPO shares shares traded stock exchange Meridian argues trade chart discusses number examples charts transits trade charts book Planetary Stock Trading III The details individual stock trading astrology large subject falls scope article Readers interested consult Meridian website book The Magi Society based group developed natal financial astrology based patterns planets trines squares planets rectangular pattern trines sextiles Their methods explained website magiastrology includes number lessons Magi Astrology Important developments practice emphasis declination aspects weight aspects longitude heliocentric geocentric aspects Chiron major financial planet transiting patterns predict markets equity markets transits incorporation trade charts companies Some techniques Magi Astrology strange sight worth exploring website Charles Harvey foremost astrologers late 20th century Although undertook considerable mundane financial astrology presented conferences days Consequently accessible material teaching keen harmonics researched number higher harmonic aspects relation financial markets addition standard fourth sixth harmonic aspects area Harvey interesting work Mike Harding triggering slow moving aspects faster planets Jupiter Saturn trine 1989 triggered Sun week Black Monday crash 19th October Triggering continuing theme financial astrology collaboration Harding helped understand stock markets react ways transiting Ascendant Midheaven change sign aspect planets change feel day emotional response traders Because difference angle positions London New York feel moment centres This work investigated interested researchers Graham Bates jointly authored book Money Markets developed ideas cycles aspect triggering Matlock Meridian Bates treated astrological cycle planet zodiac planets complete degree sequence moves series aspects Cycles symmetric major moves highs lows occur traditional aspect points notes details cycle depend market simple Sun zodiac cycle Sun Moon cycle vary FTSE100 equity Dow Jones Rieder double cycle Mars alternate retrograde stations powerful Bates detailed cycles graphs double cycles Mercury Uranus Sun Mars Moon Jupiter triple cycle heliocentric Mercury zodiac clear market movements repeat cycle cycles This area deserves study Finally Rieder Williams Harvey Bates notes market timing outer planet aspects Jupiter Saturn dependent triggering faster planet typically Sun This area deserves Improvements astrological timing market moves detailed study triggering Most researchers discussed Krohn Adams Matlock manual calculation hand analysis time consuming activity limited scope The advent opened possibility astrologers conducting depth long data series This facilitated financial astrology software developed late 1980s This review complete mentioning pioneering writers financial astrology software Robert Hand Bill Meridian produced AstroAnalyst Astrolabe Software 1987 Although astrology programs designed financial astrology 1989 Alphee Lovoie Air Software produced Market Trader program These programs integrated price series aspects cycles making detection aspects turning points simple visual Since number programmers produced software aimed traders Suggestions researchThose wishing contribute understanding financial astrology number areas repay investigation Rather multiple asset categories multiple markets easier progress defined area chosen FTSE100 share price Gold Dollar Euro exchange rate The techniques topics deserve work Testing techniques proposed Sepharial Langham Jensen context modern stock markets Changes aspects cycles depending zodiac placement aspect cycle planets Multiple planet patterns aspect modifies connected aspect Aspects Midpoints neglected area Higher harmonic aspects prime number series 5th 7th 11th Intra day transiting angles changing sign aspecting planets market geographical locations Sub harmonic cycles double cycles triple cycles Triggering outer planet aspects faster moving planets Disentangling multiple cycles Moon 0AR Moon North Node Moon Sun interact cancel reinforce Financial Astrology ZodiacPage
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Sepharial (Walter Gorn Old) published his first book of financial astrology, The Law of Values in 1912 (a facsimile paperback edition was published by Cosimo Classics in 2007). Like many of the early workers in this area, he treated it as mundane astrology, looking at indicators for the general economy in various countries (using the traditional sign assignment of countries) and like Krohn assumes that what is good for the economy will increase share prices at the same time. Economies and financial markets have changed greatly over the last 100 years and share markets no longer react at the same time as the economy. In addition, individual countries cannot be viewed in isolation, as once they could, so the timing factors that Sepharial proposed no longer hold true. He uses standard astrological symbolism and meanings, but provides no rigorous analysis of the results. It is disappointing that such a well-known astrologer provides far less testing against actual market moves than does the much less well-known Krohn.
In The Arcana or Stock and Share Key (a collection of writings privately circulated by subscription but recently published in various editions), Sepharial looks at individual companies using Noon incorporation charts, and at the stock market using a Noon chart for the specific stock exchange (New York 17 May 1792 Noon LMT). The main technique he used was Solar-Arc Directions: again, just a set of indicators with a few examples, no proper validation of the indicators. The indications may be very reliable, or maybe not; we cannot tell from the information he gives. Perhaps they should be re-evaluated in current markets …
James Mars Langham published Planetary Effects on Stock Market Prices in 1932, and in 1938 Cyclical Market Forecasting Stocks and Grain. Langham relied primarily on transiting aspects and, for forecasting individual shares, on the incorporation charts of companies. In 1935 L J Jensen published Astro Cycles and Speculative Markets. He included both technical analysis (price charts similar to the ideas of Gann) and astrological timing. For those interested in Gann’s ideas, Jensen’s explanation of price charts and trend-lines is much clearer than Gann’s! Jensen’s astrological indications, like Langham’s are mainly transits to incorporation and stock exchange charts.
Both Langham and Jensen took an approach that used standard aspect qualities (trines favourable, squares negative, etc.) and standard planet qualities such as Jupiter increasing prices, Saturn depressing prices. One of the problems with much of this early work is that it gives astrological indicators but provides little verification. We are told what the transits mean, and perhaps given one or two examples, but there is no systematic attempt to show how reliable an indicator is (as with Sepharial above). Another point to beware in all the early work is that the nature of markets changes over time. Many of the companies quoted on the stock exchange in the 1930 were industrial ones, manufacturers, heavy engineering companies, builders of cars or tractors, etc.. Now, in the 21st century, many will be high technology and communications companies. The former might have been symbolised by Mars and Saturn, the latter by Mercury and Uranus. This means that the way stock markets in general react to transits may be very different now from 75 years ago. Some of this early work could usefully be repeated in the context of modern share markets.
Louise McWhirter writing in the late 1930s produced some very interesting work. She looked first at economic activity correlating with the lunar node cycle: the economy was strongest when the Moon’s North Node was in Leo and weakest when it was in Aquarius. This still has some validity, although its correlation with the stock market is quite weak there is a noticeable effect on the economy, particularly that of the USA. She analysed a number of modifying factors, such as Jupiter and Saturn aspects to the Node, and aspects from them both to Uranus. McWhirter provides a detailed analysis of economic activity in the USA for the period from 1850 to 1938. Although her analysis is solely for the USA, it does provide a thorough analysis for that economy, and so suggests areas for further research.
Her work on the stock market (but just the New York market) is based on transits to a market inception chart. Each month, the New Moon chart is calculated and the transiting planets aspects to each other, and where they fall in the natal chart (particularly in relation to the angles and houses of the natal chart) are considered. McWhirter uses a rectified chart for the New York Stock Exchange, which has the Midheaven at 24PI28 and the Ascendant at 14CA17. These angles are different from those others have proposed; however, it is generally agreed that the chart should be set for 17 May 1792 at 40N45, 73W57. A morning chart is usually favoured and rectified charts with Ascendants of 26CA13 and 11LE39 have both been proposed by other writers.
Finally, McWhirter looked at forecasting the share price of individual companies by transits to their incorporation chart. More recently, Bill Meridian has found that transits to the first trade chart are more effective; work I will discuss below.
W D Gann is an enigma. He was actively investing in various markets and wrote about his techniques from the early 1920s to the early 1950s. For one of the most famous market investors, particularly in commodities, who wrote a number of books and gave courses on his technique, we know surprisingly little about how he used astrology in his work. His emphasis was on technical analysis tools: price charts and patterns within them. In his writing, he used fixed periods; for example 30 days, 45 days, a year, fractions of a year, fixed numbers of years. Many of these periods correspond to astrological cycles and factions of cycles, but the details of Gann’s astrology have not been satisfactorily clarified by researchers. One of his techniques we are reasonably sure about is that if a Uranus-Neptune aspect occurred in the March/April period, it was predicted to affect the rainfall and thus flooding in the Mississippi Delta cotton growing area, and so the cotton crop and its price later in the year. We also know that cardinal ingresses and the halfway points (15 of the fixed signs) were also important, particularly for the Sun, but possibly also for other planets. There is a lot of material on Gann and his use of astrology available on the internet. To summarise it would be an article in itself and interested readers should search the Web, but beware, there is also much speculation. As with all financial astrology: test it before investing with it.
Moving to the post 1945 period, Donald Bradley was active in astrological research from the mid-1940s onwards. He is best remembered for his championing of the Sidereal Zodiac and his 1948 short book Stock Market Prediction: The Planetary Barometer and How to Use It. In this book, he developed what is called the Bradley Sideriograph to predict the US Stock Market. It used a weighted sum of all the transiting aspects excluding the Moon (it does not matter if you use the Tropical or Sidereal zodiacs). As it is difficult to find a complete explanation (his book is hard to obtain), I give the following brief summary.
For every planet, take the angular separation between that planet and every other planet, and note if it is within a 15-degree orb of a Conjunction, Sextile, Square, Trine, or Opposition. If so, it is given a weighted value depending on the aspect and the orb. Squares and oppositions are negative, sextiles and trines are positive. The weight for a conjunction varies depending on the planets involved. When there is an aspect within orb, take the distance between the two planets (in degrees), subtract it from 15 and then divide the result by 15; finally multiply the result by 10. So, an aspect that is exact gets a value of 10 and when the orb is 15 degrees a value of zero. The 36 combinations are separated into intermediate and long-term cycles, with the 10 combinations of Jupiter through Pluto considered the long-term cycles and the other 26 the medium-term cycles.
Finally take the declinations of Venus and Mars, assign a positive value for northern declinations, negative for southern declinations. Add the values for both Venus and Mars and divide by two. Add together all the values from the 10 long-term cycles, (divided by two), and multiply this number by 4. Then add all the values from the 26 intermediate term cycles and the Venus and Mars declination and this final number is the Bradley Sideriograph on a day.
Many people have investigated Bradley’s model and tried to improve it; some have included 30 degree and 150 degree aspects, others have included Chiron and Ceres, and others added 45 degree and 135 degree aspects. There is much debate about which conjunctions are positive and which negative. There is no consensus on how accurate the model is. It seems likely that just adding-up the individual indicators is too simplistic: they interact (see the work of Williams below), and other triple planet configurations, such as midpoints aspected by another planet, or Sun/Mars triggering of outer aspects are important. However, Bradley’s model is important as probably the first attempt to create a comprehensive astrological model of a financial market.
One of the most famous financial astrologers of the latter part of the 20th century was Lt Cmdr. David Williams. His book Financial Astrology (reprinted in 1982 by the AFA) looked at both astro-economics and the astrology of the stock market. One of his major contributions was to look at multiple aspects; he seems to have been the first to look in detail at multiple planet patterns in a systematic way. Everyone is familiar with Grand Trines, T-Squares, or Grand-Cross patterns, but Williams considered mixed patterns: for example Saturn opposition Uranus is usually negative for the market, but if Jupiter trines Saturn at the same time, the negative effect is nullified. He discusses not just the successful predictions of his astrological indicators, but also the failures, and suggests reasons for the failures.
Many non-astrologer researchers into the dynamics of financial markets, particularly from the mid-1950s onwards, looked at fixed period cycles; Williams also looked at these but related them to astrological cycles. The 9.2 year cycle, reported by a number of cycles researchers, he related to half the Nodal cycle (18.6 years) with stock market lows following the Node at 0 Libra and 0 Aries, and highs following the Node at 0 Cancer and 0 Capricorn.
He reported results for the sequence of Mars-Jupiter conjunctions and oppositions, and for the superior and inferior conjunctions of the Sun and Mercury. He also analysed where in the zodiac these aspects occurred, and was one of the first to suggest that zodiac placement of an aspect should be considered. The Mars-Jupiter cycle is one of the more reliable ones: the equity market makes a low at the conjunction and the opposition and a high about 70 degrees after the low, so with Mars about 70 degrees ahead of Jupiter and with Mars 250 degrees ahead.
Williams’s book, Financial Astrology, is well worth study by anyone interested in the astrology of markets.
Thomas Rieder published Astrological Warnings and the Stock Market in 1972. Like a number of modern financial astrologers, such as Williams (above), Rieder made important contributions to our understanding of multi-planet patterns in financial markets. For example, retrograde stations of Mars tend to produce market falls; however, if there is an outer planet in square or opposition to it, and no outer planet trine or sextile to it, the fall is much larger. The timing indicator was the station, not the square or opposition aspect. The station was acting as a trigger for the aspect.
In his research into the US stock market, Rieder also looked at the double or ‘sub-harmonic’ cycle of Mars. This is the four and a half year cycle of Mars twice round the zodiac. Every alternate retrograde station was found to be particularly powerful. I will return to double cycles later.
Clifford C Matlock is not well known in astrological circles but introduced some interesting and important ideas in his 1977 book Man and Cosmos. He considered US equities in relation to a number of cycles and aspects, like others before him, but did this within a very modern view of cycles (which he develops in the first half of the book). Perhaps for the first time, cycles were seen not as a symmetric series of aspects but as having a structure of their own. In addition he emphasised the multi-cycle nature of the markets saying that: “… there are many cycles of different length simultaneously in operation, interacting and combining to produce an irregular aggregate.”
As an example of this, he considered four different lunar cycles: the Sun-Moon cycle, the Moon through the zodiac, the Moon-Node cycle and the cycle of the Moon to its apogee (the point where it is furthest from the earth). Although all four cycles have quite small amplitude individually, they have different lengths, and so will move in and out of phase over time: sometimes they will reinforce each other and sometimes they will cancel out. So there will be times when there seems to be very little effect from any particular Moon cycle but other times when Moon cycles are strong. Interestingly, the Sun-Moon and Moon-Node cycles have similar structures. They tend to have turning-points at about the same position in each cycle, and show the asymmetric nature of many astrological cycles: the market tends to rise slowly for about two-thirds of each cycle and then falls quite quickly for about a third of each cycle.
One observation of Matlock’s should definitely be investigated further. He found that the Sun-Moon cycle differs in its details depending on where in the zodiac the Sun is placed. This finding has been neglected by many researchers and could prove a very fruitful area of investigation.
Finally, Matlock considered conjunctions and oppositions of the Sun with Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and of Mars with Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. The strongest effect was during the 30 days prior to the aspect. All cases showed an above average market rise in that 30 days.
Bill Meridian has made a number of interesting contributions to financial astrology. In a study that first appeared in 1985 in the Journal of the Astrological Association, he looked at the Mars-Vesta cycle. This was one of the earliest studies to look at asteroids. The period of the cycle is about 3.9 years, which is very similar to the often-quoted 4-year cycle. His analysis was done using the Dow Jones index. The market tends to peak when Mars is 90 degrees ahead of Vesta, and makes a low when Mars is 240 degrees ahead of Vesta; although Meridian notes in an update to the original article on his website (http://billmeridian.com/articles-files/marsvesta.htm) that the turning points have drifted back by about 15 degrees in recent times. Many of the earlier writers on astrological cycles had assumed that cycles are symmetric: that the high point and the low point in the cycle are 180 degrees apart. Meridian finds that the falling phase of the Mars-Vest cycle is 150 degrees long, and the rising phase 210 degrees long. He has also looked in great detail at the Sun-Moon cycle in the US Dow-Jones index (http://www.billmeridian.com/lunar.htm). As the results are extensive and easily available, I will just point-out that this work is a classic example of the detail that needs to be considered in this kind of work, and the need to look at different periods to see how the cycle might have changed over time as the nature of the market changed.
Another contribution by Meridian is in stock trading using the charts of individual companies. There are a number of possible charts that could be used to make predictions about the share price of a company: start of business, incorporation, the initial public offering (IPO) of the shares, or when the shares first traded on a stock exchange. Meridian argues that the first trade is the important chart and discusses a number of examples of such charts and the effect of transits to them. He provides over a thousand first trade charts in his book “Planetary Stock Trading III”. The details of individual stock trading using astrology is a large subject and falls outside the scope of this article. Readers interested in this should consult Meridian’s website and book.
The Magi Society are a US based group who have developed a way of doing natal and financial astrology based on patterns between the planets; not just trines, T-squares, etc. but for example four planets in a rectangular pattern but not necessary of trines and sextiles. Their methods are explained in detail on their website: www.magiastrology.com which includes a number of lessons in ‘Magi Astrology’. Important developments in their practice are an emphasis on declination aspects (giving them as much weight as aspects in longitude), use of both heliocentric and geocentric aspects, and the use of Chiron as a major financial planet. As well as using transiting patterns to predict markets (particularly equity markets), they also use transits to the incorporation and first-trade charts of companies. Some of the techniques of Magi Astrology may seem strange at first sight, but are worth exploring through their website.
Charles Harvey was one of the foremost astrologers of the late 20th century. Although he undertook considerable research in mundane and financial astrology, he presented most of his results at conferences and ‘research days’. Consequently, there is little accessible material. We do know from his teaching that he had a keen interest in harmonics and researched a number of higher harmonic aspects in relation to financial markets (in addition to the standard first, second, third, fourth and sixth harmonic aspects), and that this is an important area for further research.
Harvey did some interesting work with Mike Harding on the triggering of slow moving aspects by faster planets and noted how the Jupiter-Saturn trine of 1989 was triggered by the Sun on the week-end before the Black Monday crash of 19th October. Triggering is a continuing theme in financial astrology.
A further important collaboration with Harding helped us understand why different stock markets react in different ways. He showed how the transiting Ascendant and Midheaven, as they change sign and as they aspect the different planets change the ‘feel’ of the day and the emotional response of traders. Because of the difference in angle positions between, say, London and New York, the feel of any particular moment will be different in the two centres. This work should be investigated further by interested researchers.
Graham Bates, in his jointly authored book Money and the Markets developed ideas about cycles and about aspect triggering. As with Matlock and Meridian, Bates has treated an astrological cycle (of a planet through the zodiac or between two planets) as a complete 360-degree sequence of moves, not as a series of aspects. Cycles are not symmetric, and major moves, or highs and lows do not always occur at traditional aspect points. He also notes that the details of a cycle depend on the market; so even a simple Sun zodiac cycle, or a Sun-Moon cycle will vary in detail between the UK FTSE100 equity index and the US Dow Jones index.
As noted above, Rieder found a double cycle of Mars, with alternate retrograde stations being particularly powerful. Bates has taken this further and shows detailed cycles graphs for the double cycles of Mercury-Uranus, Sun-Mars and Moon-Jupiter and the triple cycle of heliocentric Mercury through the zodiac. To be clear, the market movements do not repeat every cycle, but only over the two or three full cycles. This area deserves much more study.
Finally, as Rieder, Williams and Harvey found, Bates notes that the market timing of outer planet aspects such as Jupiter-Saturn is dependent on triggering by a faster planet, typically, the Sun. This is another area that deserves much more research. Improvements in the astrological timing of market moves may well come from a more detailed study of triggering.
Most of the researchers discussed above: from Krohn and Adams up to Matlock, had to use manual calculation and hand analysis: a very time consuming activity that seriously limited the scope of their research. The advent of the PC has opened-up the possibility of astrologers conducting in-depth research on long data-series. This has been facilitated by the financial astrology software that has been developed since the late 1980s. This review would not be complete without mentioning some of the pioneering writers of financial astrology software.
Robert Hand and Bill Meridian produced AstroAnalyst for Astrolabe Software in 1987. Although there had been other astrology programs for the PC, this was the first specifically designed for financial astrology research. In 1989, Alphee Lovoie of Air Software produced the Market Trader program. These programs integrated price series with aspects and cycles, making the detection aspects at turning points, for example, simple and visual. Since then, a number of other programmers have produced such software, often aimed at traders.
Suggestions for further research
Those wishing to contribute to our understanding of financial astrology have a number of areas that would repay investigation. Rather than trying to look at multiple asset categories or multiple markets, it is easier to make progress if a well-defined area is chosen, for example, the UK FTSE100 share index, or the price of Gold, or the US Dollar / Euro exchange rate.
The following techniques and topics deserve further work:
- Testing of the techniques proposed by Sepharial, Langham, Jensen, etc. in the context of modern stock markets.
- Changes in the effect of aspects or cycles depending on the zodiac placement of the aspect or cycle planets.
- Multiple-planet patterns and how one aspect modifies a connected aspect.
- Aspects to Midpoints (a very neglected area).
- Higher harmonic aspects, particularly the prime number series of 5th, 7th, 11th, etc.
- Intra-day transiting angles, changing sign and aspecting planets, and how this affects the market in different geographical locations.
- Sub-harmonic cycles (double cycles, triple cycles, etc.)
- Triggering of outer planet aspects by faster moving planets.
- Disentangling how multiple cycles, for example Moon to 0AR, Moon to North Node, Moon to the Sun, etc. interact, cancel-out or reinforce.
