part 2
WD Gann became the only Financial Astrologer of his time. A quote in the Journal of Commerce on the 15th January 1921 states, âHis calculations are based on the Science of letters, Numbers and Astrologyâ. It has been said that Gann used planes to inspect crops, however this is highly unlikely as he knew in advance what the market was doing. This is proven in âTunnel thru the airâ where he forecast the exact top and price of cotton on 8th September 1927 at 24.40 (page 196), also on page 208 of âHow to make profits in Commoditiesâ for the exact time and price. He also forecast that the stock exchange would close due to panic selling on 3rd October 1931, the low was on 5th October and the market rallied from 85.51 to a high of 119.15 on 9th November 1931 as predicted in âTunnel thru the airâ on page 321 to 323. The book was published on 9th May 1927. It was possible that the planes were a tax deduction and he flew the money he made to a South American bank account.
Since his death, W.D. Gann has become something of a legend in financial circles. His capacity to make big financial gains (both on the market, the Cuban lottery and horse racing) gave him a reputation for uncanny foreknowledge of market trends. The rumour circulates even now that he would enter his numbers at the Cuban lottery on one date and fly to Cuba on the day of the selection in his private plane flown by his young female pilot to pick up his winnings without waiting for prior notification. He is said to have predicted WW1 in 1914 and the resulting panic in stocks. In March of 1918 he predicted the end of the war and the Kaiserâs abdication. He predicted improvements in business in 1921 and in November 1928 he forecasted the end of the Bull Market in stocks for September 3, 1929. He was often dead right in the 20âs and 30âs regarding the price variations in cotton and wheat. In 1935, of 98 trades in cotton, grain and rubber, 83 trades showed a profit. His percentage of profitable trades was often 90% and higher. Stories of this sort have led speculators and traders to ask just how it was that he achieved his stunning successes.
Gann was the author of numerous books on trading in which he hinted at his secret, yet upon close study of his works, the real secret eludes us. Instead, Gann himself suggests a mystical source for his methods. In one of his books. âThe Magic Word,â Gann promises âhealth, happiness and prosperity through the magic word, Jehovahâ. He treats the reader to a baffling pilgrimage through the most mystical parts of the Bible, often repeating himself and frequently asserting that, in some way (which he never makes explicit), Jehovah (which he calls âthe Lost Wordâ) is the key to the good things in life.
Numerous hints in Gannâs writings alert the astute reader to his Masonic membership. The allusion to Jehovah as the Lost Word in the work cited above, for instance, is recognisable to Royal Arch Masons. W.D. Gann was a member of Commonwealth-Stella Lodge No. 409, Free & Accepted Masons, New York City. Yet his Masonic career is not the key to his successes on Wall Street. He was made a Mason on December 15, 1922 and âraisedâ a Master Mason on March 27, 1923. He âdemittedâ, ie. Dropped his Masonic affiliation in 1939. Gann himself was reported as saying that his âbiggest discoveryâ was made in New York City in 1908. Whatever his secret, he discovered it long before his was a Mason.
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Interview with Mr. Gann:
Since all great swings or movements of the market are cyclic theyact in accordance with periodic law."
1
"Every movement in the market is the result of a natural law, and aCause which exists long before the Effect takes place and can bedetermined years in advance. ... Everything moves in cycles as a resultof the natural law of action and reaction. By a study of the past, I havediscovered what cycles repeat in the future."
2
"... everything works according to past cycles ... history repeatsitself in the lives of men, nations and the stock market."
For the past ten years I have devoted my entire time and attentionto the speculative markets. Like many others, I lost thousands of dollarsand experienced the usual ups and downs incidental to the novice whoenters the market without preparatory knowledge of the subject."I soon began to realize that all successful men, whether lawyers,doctors, or scientists, devoted years of time to the study andinvestigation of their particular pursuit or profession before attemptingto make any money out of it."Being in the brokerage business myself and handling largeaccounts, I had opportunities seldom afforded the ordinary man forstudying the cause of success and failure in the speculations of others. Ifound that over ninety per cent of the traders who go into the market without knowledge or study usually lose in the end."I soon began to note the periodical recurrence of the rise and fallin stocks and commodities. This led me to conclude that natural lawwas the basis of market movements. I then decided to devote ten yearsof my life to the study of natural law as applicable to the speculativemarkets and to devote my best energies toward making speculation aprofitable profession. After exhaustive researches and investigations of the known sciences, I discovered that the Law of Vibration enabled meto accurately determine the exact points to which stocks or commoditiesshould rise and fall within a given time. The working out of this lawdetermines the cause and predicts the effect long before the Street isaware of either. Most speculators can testify to the fact that it is lookingat the effect and ignoring the cause that has produced their losses."It is impossible here to give an adequate idea of the Law of Vibration as I apply it to the markets, however, the layman may be ableto grasp some of the principles when I state that the Law of Vibration isthe fundamental law upon which wireless telegraphy, wirelesstelephones and phonographs are based. Without the existence of thislaw the above inventions would have been impossible
