Some of the world’s most successful traders have used financial astrology for amazing performance in the markets.

But in spite of that fact, many traders are more than a little skeptical when they first learn about the idea of applying astrology to their trading.

That suspicion is understandable, mainly because of the misconceptions evoked by the word “astrology.” It conjures up images of fortune-telling and psychic phenomena, and is most often associated with reading your horoscope in a daily newspaper and talking about your zodiac sign as a conversation starter. But none of those misconceptions have anything to do with financial astrology. It’s not about fortune-telling, and the knowledge that it relies upon has only a tangential connection to the popular emphasis on the zodiac.

UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS

Real financial astrology can help us understand the intricate workings of economic policies, currency manipulations, corporate actions, and the movements of the markets.

In astro-trading, we take the wisdom and insights provided by financial astrology and apply them in pragmatic, disciplined ways to our personal trading.

MARKET CORRELATIONS

It’s actually a very simple process. As an-astro trader, I look for correlations between planetary cycles and the movements of the markets. When I find them, I use their repetitions as a tool for timing my trades.

I study the markets as well as the stars. In fact, much of my time is spent looking for trends and patterns in historical price data as I back-test the effects of various planetary alignments.

REGULAR CYCLES

The planets move in regular rhythms, but because their motion through our solar system takes place at different speeds, their harmonic interactions create a virtually infinite variety of cyclical impulses and angular relationships.

Those complex planetary dynamics repeat at predictable intervals, and when they correspond with highs or lows in the markets, or with shifts in market trends, we can use their repetitions as a tool for forecasting future prices and market movements.

After several decades of observing planetary cycles and their correlations to my own trading experience, I’ve found that specific interactions of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets can correspond with major market highs and lows, with surprising trend reversals, and with precise levels of technical support and resistance.

After extensive back-testing and empirical verification, I’ve used the correspondences between planetary cycles and market movements to develop an advanced stock-trading strategy. This approach has produced a ten-year track record of consistent market out-performance, without any losing years in the Model Portfolio that tracks these trades in the FinancialCyclesWeekly.com newsletter.

BIG IMPACT FROM ECLIPSES

While there are many astrological events that can influence market behavior, one of the most powerful ones is the solar eclipse. We get at least two solar eclipses during the course of each year, but not all of them are visible to us at one specific location. Eclipses appear in the sky in various parts of the world at different times, but regardless of where they are visible, their influence can be observed in moving the emotions that drive the markets around the globe.

For example, the most recent solar eclipse occurred on November 13, 2012. It was visible only in the South Pacific, so dedicated eclipse-watchers traveled to Australia, Fiji, or Chile to witness the event. But even without having observed the show in the sky directly, I’ll be watching the market action in the days and weeks following this eclipse to measure the full extent of its influence.

To help my students and clients who are active in the markets get the greatest possible benefit from this event, I recently put together a long-term trading forecast for this solar eclipse, as well as some perspectives on its historical context, in a monograph titled “The Solar Eclipse of November 2012: Its Impact on the Markets” (available at http://bit.ly/Eclipse1211).

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THE IMPACT

All solar eclipses share some common characteristics, especially in the ways they influence business and the markets. For instance, events that take place just prior to a solar eclipse tend to get a lot of public attention, but tend to work out badly or to bring disappointing results.

That was certainly the case with Facebook (FB), which had its IPO just before a solar eclipse in May, 2012. There was huge interest in the offering and a lot of media excitement surrounding that event, but the over-priced stock tanked during its first day of trading, and has never fully recovered since.

Eclipses can also help us identify key inflection points and trend reversals in the markets. A look at the price history of the S&P 500 shown in Figure 1 immediately reveals how strongly solar eclipses can coincide with important market tops or bottoms.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about eclipses, though, is the fact that their influence isn’t limited to the date of the solar eclipse itself. In some mysterious way, eclipses seem to create resonant fields that remain sensitive to planetary activation long after the eclipse itself has come and gone. As the chart for Gold in Figure 2 illustrates, a solar eclipse can activate potentially profitable short-term price swings each time the Moon returns to the zodiacal location of the eclipse. Sensitive eclipse points can respond to other planetary activations as well.

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While eclipses are important, they are just one of many planetary phenomena that can trigger trading action. But it doesn’t matter whether you’re introduced to astro-trading by a solar eclipse or by some other astrological event. Once you’ve personally experienced the kind of stellar success you can get when you add astrology to your trading, you’re likely to get hooked for good. At least you’re likely to find yourself wondering how you could have ever been so skeptical of the astro-trading advantage!

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[Editor’s note: What do you think about using astrology signals in your trading? Do you have questions for Tim? Post them below. ]