Astrology for investing

Astrology makes it into the mainstream media in interesting ways and this week was a collective GASP, HORROR about the Gen Z love of astrology and their use of it for stockmarket investing.

So does astrology work for investment decisions?

Well yes, and no. There is a dedicated branch of Financial Astrology that analyses planetary combinations and cycles and studies how they correlate with financial markets. For instance the the 4 year cycle of Mars and Vesta seems to predict good times for buying and selling and it matches with more conventional financial forecasting theories. 

You can study ‘birth charts’ for businesses, stock exchanges and CEOs, and find good insights. But this is complex stuff, and difficult to form solid predictions with.

The thought of using astrology to gain an insight into the markets has a seductive lure -  like time travelling and stealing next week’s lotto numbers. ‘Serious’ and ‘respectable’ people (called economists) forecast and predict financial markets all the time. They employ a variety of techniques to gain an edge. 

Does any of it work? Well… not really. In the same way that economists incorrectly predict interest rates, market direction and housing prices, astrologers struggle to predict financial outcomes reliably enough to ensure financial success.

What IS interesting is combining a range of strategies. If you’re someone who understands finance (not me!) and you speculate that two business look promising, then astrology can find extra information that may just give you the nuance you need for making good decisions.

And crypto, with it’s clear launch dates (and clear birth charts) seems like a more promising area for astrological tracking. There’s a bunch of opportunistic astrologers already doing it. I follow some, and find their insights pretty interesting. 

Have I bought shares based on astrology? Yes. And I’ve lost money. Have I bought crypto based on astrology? No. It’s too risky for me. But I’ll leave you to make your own financial decisions.

And PS. Shame on The Project TV for their appalling coverage of this topic this week. It’s actually an interesting story, but they did the usual sensationalist coverage, with lots of tarot card jokes and a general condescending sense of scorn. Tarot and Astrology are totally different things, but somehow ‘journalists’ are allowed to be ridiculously incompetent when researching astrology stories - ie, they never do any research at all, and further the ignorance that stops people understanding how valuable this ancient practise is. Sigh.