I received an email the other day from someone asking for the five most accurate financial astrologers which I found interesting. There are several well-known financial astrologers including Henry Weingarten who runs the “Astrologers Fund,” and Ray Merriman who is well-known in astrological circles as a master of market timing. Still, I was unable to find any histories of accuracy, although certainly claims of such accuracy are made.

The fact is, when dealing with predictions on financial cycles there are way too many variables to be able to predict accurately:

1. The astrological cycles (transits and progressions) that the financial astrologer him/herself is experiencing.
2. The cycles of the individual investor.
3. The cycles of the individual companies being traded.
4. The cycles of CEOs and other company leaders that instigate various behaviors that affect stock performance.

The only trends that are readily visible to the astrologer are the overall planetary cycles such as the kind that we examine in this column and others. Saturn influences tend to create depressions and Jupiter influences tend to provide expansion. Eclipses generally portend changes in the market, as do Uranus influences.

As I’ve written before here, and here, and here, and here, the stock market over the past year has defied all astrological predictions. Eclipse cycles, square of Saturn (disappointment) to Jupiter (optimism), and the square of Jupiter (expansion) to Uranus (sudden change) have all led astrologers to predict abrupt downturns in the markets beginning last summer. None of us counted on the power of the relentless optimism of Pluto and Jupiter traveling through Sagittarius that has kept the markets buoyant despite challenging technicals.

This doesn’t lessen the importance of astrology, but it does demonstrate the difficulty in making accurate financial predictions using these cycles.