Rudiments of Gann Theory: Science (1)

W. D. Gann expresses the following idea, through his fictional character Robert
Gordon: "... I feel that I already know that there are many pitfalls in the game of
speculation, but if it can be made a science ... success and profits are sure." [1]

Mr. Gann's desire to make speculation (trading or investing) a SCIENCE is

perhaps the most basic concept for the student to grasp. And it was a very early
idea in his mind. Writing before the Ticker Interview, he said, "... I have proved
after nine years of scientific investigation that it is possible to know every move
the markets make." [2]

But how may we operate in the markets according to science? This is what Mr.
Gann says in the Ticker interview: "... to speculate scientifically it is absolutely
necessary to follow natural law." [3] Therefore, according to W. D. Gann, there
is law that operates in the financial markets and it is NOT man-made law; it is
NATURAL law. Isn't Mr. Gann suggesting, then, that without knowing it,
traders and market makers who are on the right side of the market are following
natural law, and therefore it is not the news or the people involved in the
markets that decide whether they will go up or down, but that it is law? Now
that WE know this, even if they do not, what should be our goal? "... the aim and
object of every man who wants to make success in speculation or investing
should [be to] get as much scientific knowledge as possible and then he will be
able to make profits." [4]

This entire discussion may seem to be very useless to some readers, who may be
saying, "Fine, fine. Just give me the rules." But there is a good deal lying under
the surface of this question of making trading "a science". We need a new way of
thinking in order to appreciate Gann theory to its fullest. Haven't most of us,
and perhaps even these readers, from our own experience and from listening to
others, formed certain beliefs about how the financial markets operate that run
contrary to and conflict with the idea of making trading "a science"? If you are
really going to possess yourself of the secrets of W. D. Gann, then you have to
deal with these beliefs. You and he must be on the same wavelength, so to speak,
in order to understand what he is saying.

I went to the barber on the first of May and took with me a little book that I have
known about since childhood, which tells the story of one man's attempt to be in
two-way communication with animals. His adventure began with learning to
communicate with Strongheart, a famous motion-picture dog for whom he was
house sitting for a time. The idea of talking back and forth with animals, of
course, is something -- like learning how to trade consistently on the right side
of the market -- that most people probably do not believe to be possible. While I
was thumbing through the pages, I noticed this statement: "My greatest
handicap in learning how to carry on rational silent conversation with
Strongheart came from an assortment of wrong beliefs about dogs which I had
absorbed from centuries of humanity's wrong thinking about them." [5]

Do we ourselves perhaps have wrong beliefs about how the markets work that
we must first manage to set aside before we can begin to see things from the
Gann perspective?
Isn't all W. D. Gann's talk about science an indication that there is a "hidden
order" in the markets? Mr. Gann makes many extraordinary statements that
tend in this direction. Is the average person able to accept these things without
changing his or her way of thinking first? Some of Mr. Gann's extraordinary
statements are as follows:

"Everything in existence is based on exact proportion and perfect relation. ...

Each TOP or BOTTOM in Wheat, or other Commodities, comes out in
accordance with an exact mathematical proportion to some other TOP or
BOTTOM." [6]

"Every stock makes a top or bottom on some exact mathematical point in

proportion to some previous high or low level." [7]

"All markets are subject to unfailing mathematical law, and I have discovered
how to apply this law successfully to Cotton, Wheat and Stocks. I am able to tell
you exact points to which markets will move up or down. Ask yourself seriously
can you do without advice that is absolutely accurate and reliable. There is no
guess work in my method." [8]

"There is no top and bottom price which cannot be determined by mathematics.

Every market movement is the result of a cause and when once you determine
the cause, it is easy enough to know why the effect is as it is." [9]

"'I figure things by mathematics,' Mr. Gann explained. 'There is nothing

mysterious about any of my predictions. If I have the data I can use algebra and
geometry and tell exactly by the theory of cycles when a certain thing is going to
occur again.'" [10]

"The limit of future predictions based on exact mathematical law is only

restricted by lack of knowledge of correct data on past history to work from. It is
just as easy to figure 100 years or 1000 years in the future as one or two years
ahead, if you have the correct starting point and know the cycle which is going
to be repeated." [11]

"It is a matter of record that the panic of 1931-1932 was the greatest in history
with the most severe declines ever recorded in the history of the New York Stock
Exchange. This prediction was based on my Master Time Factor, which enables
me to tell months and years in advance when certain time cycles repeat and
cause extreme high and low prices. This is enough to convince any man that my
discoveries, based on mathematical science, can be depended upon to forecast
future market movements." [12]

"My calculations are based on the cycle theory and on mathematical sequences.
History repeats itself. That is what I have always contended, -- that in order to
know and predict the future of anything you only have to look up what has
happened in the past and get a correct base or starting point. ... mathematical
science, which is the only real science that the entire civilized world has agreed
upon, furnishes unmistakable proof of history repeating itself and shows that
the cycle theory, or harmonic analysis, is the only thing that we can rely upon to
ascertain the future." [13]

"Remember, I have spent nine years in perfecting a 'system' based on the law of
vibration, and it is the only one that is scientific, reliable and absolutely accurate
at all times, enabling me to tell you exactly where to buy and sell any stocks or
commodities." [14]

"Mathematics is the only exact science. All power under heaven and on earth is
given unto the man who masters the simple science of mathematics. ... The
future is but a repetition of the past. There is nothing new. As the Bible says --
'The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be.' History repeats and with
charts and rules we determine when and how it is going to repeat." [15]

Just as W. D. Gann expresses appreciation of "science" and "mathematics"

throughout his writings, so he denounces unscientific methods.

"Speculators and investors who simply guess, follow tips, rumors, newspaper
talk and so-called 'inside information' have no chance of ever making a success.
Unless they follow some well-defined plan based on Science and Supply and
Demand, they are sure to lose." [16]

"The average trader does not want to hear a painful truth. They want something
in accordance with what they hope for. When they buy a stock they believe all
the news, rumors, views and lies that are bullish, but just let some report come
out that is bad or let someone tell him something unfavorable about the stock he
has bought and he refuses to believe it. It is the truth that will help him and
truth that he should want to hear, not something that will build up his hopes
and cause him losses later." [17]

"You must have machine-like action in order to succeed, and must buy or sell
according to the rules, regardless of what you think or hope." [18]

"You should learn to trade on knowledge, which will eliminate fear and hope.
Then, when hope or fear no longer influence you, knowledge will give you nerve
to trade and make profits." [19]

"After you determine the trend of the market, go with it and regardless of what
you think, hope, or fear, you will make a success. Follow rules to determine the
trend and do not work on hope or guess work. ... You have to trade on good
reasons, on basic facts and rules that have proved successful in the past. Trading
on hope or fear will never help you to make a success. If every man and every
woman that puts in days, weeks, and months in a brokerage office would put in
that same amount of time staying at home, or in their office, studying the past
action of the market, they would make a success and would find that time would
turn into profits in the future." [20]

"You must learn to wait for a definite indication of a change in trend before
buying or selling. You must not guess or gamble on hope or fear. You must have
ability to act and to act quickly at the right time, acting after you have acquired
knowledge and know it is the time to act." [21] What is "acquired knowledge"?
Notice this definition of science in a dictionary of Mr. Gann's day: "knowledge
systematised: truth ascertained: pursuit of knowledge or truth for its own sake:
knowledge arranged under general truths and principles". [22]

Science means that you are dealing with something governed by principle or by
laws; you are looking to understand the cause that is back of the effects that you
see. In the Gann world view, can scientific forecasting and randomness coexist?
Are market movements random, according to Gann theory? Is it the news or is it
natural law that moves the markets, according to Mr. Gann? These questions
give us something to think about.

From this brief examination of the idea of "science," it is evident that if we

aspire to see what W. D. Gann saw, we must begin to think in terms of "natural
law". If we REALLY want to know what Mr. Gann was doing, we must be willing
to set aside our own prejudices and opinions and beliefs and begin to look for
possible explanations within "natural law" for the various (sometimes
perplexing) statements that Mr. Gann makes in his writings.

romeman
May 15, 2017

[1] W. D. Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air, pp. 66-67. Soon after this book was
copyrighted (in November 1927), we find Mr. Gann's firm, which produced his
market-forecasting newsletters, was called "W. D. Gann Scientific Service, Inc."
The earliest advertisements I find using this name were placed on Sunday, Jan.
1, 1928, in the following newspapers: The New Port News of Virginia, The
Detroit Free Press, The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York, and
The Arkansas Gazette of Little Rock, although of course there were likely many
other newspapers in which the ad appeared.

[2] W. D. Gann, The New York Herald, Sunday, April 18, 1909, OROLO
advertisement.

[3] Richard D. Wyckoff, "William D. Gann: An Operator Whose Science and

Ability Place Him in the Front Rank -- His Remarkable Predictions and Trading
Record," The Ticker and Investment Digest, December 1909, p.
53 https://books.google.com/books?id=THcpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA51 .

[4] W. D. Gann, Wall Street Stock Selector, supplemental publicity material,

"Time Factor and Forecasting Method," p. 40.

[5] J. Allen Boone, Kinship with all Life, p. 73.

[6] W. D. Gann, How to Make Profits in Commodities, pp. 34, 32.

[7] W. D. Gann, "Resistance Levels," p. 1.

[8] W. D. Gann, OROLO advertisement, The New York Herald, Oct. 31, 1909.

[9] W. D. Gann, "Natural Resistance Levels and Time Cycle Points," p. 10.

[10] W. D. Gann, The Evening Telegram, New York, Monday, March 5, 1923.
[11] W. D. Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air, p. 77.

[12] W. D. Gann, New Stock Trend Detector, p. 136.

[13] W. D. Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air, pp. 75, 77.

[14] W. D. Gann, OROLO advertisement, The New York Herald, May 9, 1909.

[15] W. D. Gann, "The Basis of My Forecasting Method," p. 1.

[16] W. D. Gann, Truth of the Stock Tape, p. 1.

[17] W. D. Gann, Wall Street Stock Selector, pp. 26-27.

[18] W. D. Gann, "Method for Trading with the Overnight Chart," p. 4.

[19] W. D. Gann, New Stock Trend Detector, p. 7.

[20] W. D. Gann, How to Make Profits Trading in Commodities, pp. 4,6.

[21] W. D. Gann, "Form Reading and Rules for Determining Trends of Stock," p.
1.

[22] Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language

(1907), p. 853 https://books.google.com/books?id=cIIVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA853
.

Rudiments of Gann Theory: Time (2)

According to Gann theory, what is the most important thing to observe when
analyzing markets?

"TIME is the most important factor in determining market movements..." [1]

If that is the case, what should you do about price?

"Get the idea of prices out of your head." [2]

There is some hyperbole here, because Mr. Gann does make calculations of
prices in his writings. But the point that he wishes to make is that your focus
needs to be on understanding everything you can about how time works in the
markets. One thing we might consider is how time is measured.

"MEASURING TIME

"Man first learned to record and measure time by the use of the sun dial, and by
dividing the day into 24 hours of 15 degrees in longitude. The reflection of the
geometrical angle on the sun dial indicated the time of day." [3]

W. D. Gann is reminding us here that time is measured astronomically. Clocks

and calendars are only accepted substitutes for the astronomical events that
define hours, days, months, years, and so on. If we investigate Mr. Gann's
reference to time being measured on the sun dial, we discover that the time on
our clocks and the time on the sun dial are rarely in perfect agreement. In
astrology, a chart done according to sun dial time is said to have been done in
"true local time".

If Mr. Gann deeply believed, as just stated, that "TIME is the most important
factor in determining market movements," then perhaps it becomes easier for
us to understand why he said that he "investigated astrology and kindred
sciences to learn the law of the movements in the markets". [4]

Notice that the discussion here has gone back and forth between astronomy and
astrology. Back of astrology is astronomy. I have seen people say from time to
time that they feel that Mr. Gann used "astronomy" and not astrology when
forecasting the markets, and there is some truth to that statement if the
meaning is that -- often -- he dispensed with the "interpretation" that
accompanies astrology and simply observed the position and the movement of
the planets. But he was certainly an astrologer nonetheless.

The sun, the moon, and the planets are simply the original way of telling time.
They are time markers through their positions and their movements from one
position to another. In the same way, more commonly for most of us, the hands
of a watch or a clock are time markers through their positions and their
movements from one position to another. Astrology understood and used in this
way, with the baggage of "interpretation" ignored, becomes a series of
mathematical calculations and relationships concerning time, rather than
something eerie or spooky. In some cases (notably in his annual forecasts and
surely in his private horoscope work for clients) Mr. Gann certainly used
standard astrological interpretation, but for much of his market work, as
evidenced for example in his private Coffee course, he appears to have used the
concept just outlined.

A long time ago, in the Middle Ages, the matematicus was both an astronomer
and an astrologer. "Kepler was 'Matematicus' at Charles University in Prague.
The title was for the 'astronomer-astrologer' chair there. There was absolutely
no separation between Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology at the time.
Most of Kepler's written work was in the area that we now call 'astrology,' with
only three of his treatises now deemed 'scientific.'" [5] "Galileo, like Kepler, was
a mathematicus, a term which had a threefold meaning as referring to
mathematics, astrology and astronomy." [6] "In Latin, and in English until
around 1700, the term mathematics more commonly meant 'astrology' (or
sometimes 'astronomy') rather than 'mathematics'; the meaning gradually
changed to its present one from about 1500 to 1800." [7] I would say that we
cannot rule out the possibility that when Mr. Gann said, "I figure things by
mathematics" [8], he had a broader meaning in mind than the one commonly
given the word.

The ancient professors of "mathematics" were knowledgeable in many fields.

Indeed, the term was so inclusive that "our Renaissance mathematicus is an
astrologer, astronomer, mathematician, geographer, cartographer, surveyor,
architect, engineer, instrument designer and maker, and globe maker"; indeed,
"a principle function" of their work was "being horologist, i.e. clock maker,
which mostly meant the design and construction of sundials" [9]. If you look
closely, you will see that the name OROLO, used by Mr. Gann in early
advertisements, appears within the word horologist.

The study of "time" involves an understanding of science; this could be one

reason that he considered his forecasting business to be a scientific service.

Incidentally, I find that the idea that astronomy and astrology were a unit had
not perished altogether even in Mr. Gann's lifetime. In the Ottoman Empire, at
the dawn of the 20th century, "astrology and astronomy were considered as one
science under the name 'ilm-i nucum' (the knowledge of stars)" [10].

The Ottoman Empire came to an end about the time that W. D. Gann wrote
Truth of the Stock Tape, which is about 95 years ago. The idea of astrology and
astronomy being "one science" has more or less been lost, even to astrologers,
just as many concepts in astrology have been lost. By this is meant that much
has been discarded or neglected or forgotten rather than being lost in a purely
literal sense. Of course not everyone will find the idea of studying astrology to be
congenial. But some people do. If those people who study late 20th-century,
early 21st-century astrological theory find little or nothing of value in it for
forecasting the markets and do not seem to be getting the results in their
analysis that Mr. Gann got, could this mean that they should turn to works
written in the 19th century and even more so to works written centuries before
that?

One journalist reminds us quite pointedly, "Mr. Gann does not care much for
money except to meet his daily needs, and these are simple. He made a fortune
simply that he might have the leisure necessary for him to follow his ambition
to study mathematics and delve into the knowledge held by the ancients. He
does not want to be regarded as a prophet or a seer, but rather as a man of
science." [11]

romeman
May 15, 2017

[1] W. D. Gann, "Forecasting by Time Cycles," p. 1.

[2] W. D. Gann, Truth of the Stock Tape, p. 126; the italics are Mr. Gann's own.

[3] W. D. Gann, "Nine Mathematical Points for Price Culminations," Master

Eggs course.

The word "culminate" actually has an interesting meaning in connection with

time. In the Webster's Dictionary of 1828, "culminate" is defined in part as "to
come or be in the
meridian" http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/culminate ; noon is
defined as "the time when the sun is in the
meridian" http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/noon . In astrology,
"When a planet is in the mid-heaven, it is said to culminate" (Old Moore's
Monthly Messenger, later the British Journal of Astrology, December
1907) https://books.google.com/books?id=qMQ9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA50 . The
meaning here may be only a simple one: Whatever culminates has finished its
ascent and "changes trend". But this note gives us an opportunity to remark that
Mr. Gann sometimes chose words that have meanings in other contexts.

[4] W. D. Gann, OROLO advertisement, The New York Herald, Sunday, April
18, 1909.

[5] http://www.stariq.com/Main/Articles/P0002563.htm .

[6] http://www.skyscript.co.uk/galast.html .

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics .

[8] The Evening Telegram of New York, March 5, 1923.

[9] https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/why-mathematicus/ .

[10] Bar lhan, The Astrology of the Ottoman Empire, p. 5. A Power Point
slide show exists that discusses Ottoman Sundials, showing something of the
method by which time was told in times
past http://www.walkingshadow.info/Publications/Ottoman%20Sundials%20
NASS%20%28PPTminimizer%29.ppt .

[11] The New York Herald Magazine, Jan. 5, 1919.

Rudiments of Gann Theory: Cycles (3)

According to W. D. Gann, "... everything works according to past cycles ..." [1]

What role did cycles play in Mr. Gann's analysis?

"My calculations are based on the cycle theory and on mathematical sequences.
History repeats itself. That is what I have always contended, that in order to
know and predict the future of anything you only have to look up what has
happened in the past and get a correct base or starting point." [2]

But perhaps there is something besides cycles that we can use instead of cycles
for forecasting?

"... the cycle theory, or harmonic analysis, is the only thing that we can rely upon
to ascertain the future." [3]

How powerful are cycles?

"People believed that the Government by buying cotton, wheat and loaning
money could stop the depression, but when once a cycle is up and prices are due
to decline, nothing can stop them until it has run its course. The same when the
main trend turns up, neither government interference nor anything else can
stop the advance until it runs its course." [4]

This is a very definite statement that, according to Gann theory, there is

"nothing" -- there is not "anything" -- that can stop a cycle until the cycle itself is
scheduled to stop. This is a very good reason to want to study cycles and to know
when the bottom of a cycle and the top of a cycle are due.

"When the time cycle is up, neither Republican, Democrat, nor our good
President Hoover can stem the tide. It is a natural law. Action equals reaction in
the opposite direction. We see it in the ebb and flow of the tide and we know
that from the full bloom of summer follows the dead leaves of winter." [5]

Here again is a very definite statement that Mr. Gann believed that humans do
not create and humans do not control cycles, but rather that cycles operate
according to "natural law" and pay no attention, so to speak, to the actions of
humans. And yet the experts say that predictions do not take account of the
news and therefore no prediction is safe. Surely that is something that can stop
the trend indicated by a cycle?

"My experience has taught me that nothing can stop the Trend as long as the
Time Cycle shows Up-Trend. Nothing can stop its decline as long as the Time
Cycle shows Down. Stocks can and do go Up on bad news and go Down on good
news." [6]

All of these statements tell us that as we read the writings of W. D. Gann, we

want to pay attention to what he says about cycles. Probably his most important
teachings about cycles -- such as what cycles actually work in the markets and
how to apply them -- are not obvious on the surface of Mr. Gann's writings.
Remember this exchange in a journalist's interview with Mr. Gann in regard to a
related discussion, "the time factor":

"I asked Mr. Gann: 'What is the cause behind the time factor?'

"He smiled and said: 'It has taken me twenty years of exhaustive study to learn
the cause that produces effects according to time. That is my secret and too
valuable to be spread broadcast. Besides, the public is not yet ready for it.'" [7]

The job of Gann students is to make themselves "ready" "to learn the cause that
produces effects according to time". A good place to start is to think about and
learn more about cycles that they already know, thus becoming "cycle minded".

romeman
May 15, 2017

[1] W. D. Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air, p. 76.

[2] W. D. Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air, p. 75.

[3] ibid.
[4] W. D. Gann, New Stock Trend Detector, p. 137.

[5] W. D. Gann, Wall Street Stock Selector, 1929 Annual Stock Forecast, p. 17.

[6] W. D. Gann, Forty-five Years on Wall Street, p. 3.

[7] W. D. Gann interview in The Morning Telegraph of New York, Dec. 17, 1922.

Rudiments of Gann Theory: Supply and Demand (4)

According to W. D. Gann, supply and demand is what makes markets go up and

what makes them go down. Traders cannot be successful without this
knowledge, he insists. "Unless they follow some well-defined plan based on
Science and Supply and Demand, they are sure to lose." [1]

Mr. Gann talked much more frequently of supply and demand than do many of
his admirers today.

The very name of his forecasting newsletter was "Supply and Demand Letter,"
indicating the importance of these concepts to him. He once stated that "My
calculations are based on supply and demand and are purely scientific,
mathematical calculations". [2] Anything on which Mr. Gann's calculations are
based, anything that is the basis of Mr. Gann's forecasts, interests us.

There is power in understanding supply and demand, he tell us. Compared to

supply and demand, what your broker has to say or what the latest inside
information might be or what they're saying on CNBC is unimportant. "Ignore
the news, reports, opinions and views of everyone if it disagrees with what the
chart and tape shows, for supply and demand must govern in the end, and if the
selling power is greater than the buying, prices will decline, regardless of bad
crop news or anything else. On the other hand, if the demand, or buying power,
exceeds the selling, prices will advance regardless of good crop news." "Supply
and demand govern the prices of Commodities and all of the buying and selling
is recorded in the prices. If you study price movements correctly, they will tell
you more about what the market is going to do than any broker, newspaper, or
so-called inside information. The time period is the most essential, because time
tells what prices are going to do." [3]

The law of supply and demand is a natural law, according to Mr. Gann: "the tape
and charts ... will point to the correct course of prices according to the natural
law of supply and demand." Remember that Mr. Gann had concluded "that
natural law was the basis of market movements" and that he insisted that "to
speculate scientifically it is absolutely necessary to follow natural law". [4]

You don't need insider information in order to know what big money is doing,
Mr. Gann says. "You can learn what the big operators are doing by being a good
Wall Street detective. You can detect what the 'powers that be' are doing, by a
study of Supply and Demand. The records of the total sales and the high and low
prices of every stock are published daily in the newspapers throughout the
country. There is no secret about it. It is just up to you to follow rules. If you
study Supply and Demand and apply my rules, you can detect the trend and
make money." [5]

According to Mr. Gann, the relationship between supply and demand is what
causes tops and bottoms in the markets. "When a market starts to advance, it
continues upward until it reaches a level where supply and demand are about
equal and prices come to a standstill. Then supply increases until it exceeds
demand, and prices start to decline." [6]

We would love to be able to see the original forecasting letters written by W. D.

Gann, in which he puts these ideas into practice, but these letters seem to have
been lost in the course of time. We are fortunate enough, however, to be able to
see the letterhead publicizing W. D. Gann's Supply and Demand Letter. We find
a letter to John H. Spohn, written Sept. 6, 1927, on this letterhead. The
following phrases appear in the letterhead: "SMALL SUPPLY, LARGE
DEMAND: RISING PRICES" and "LARGE SUPPLY, SMALL DEMAND:
FALLING PRICES". There is also an image of scales, with the scale on our left
weighed down and the scale on the right therefore out of balance to the up side.
[7]

As he explains in his books, "When Supply exceeds Demand, prices decline to a

level where Supply and Demand are about equal. At this stage fluctuations
become narrow and it may require weeks or months to determine which way the
next move will be. When Demand exceeds Supply, prices advance." "Remember
that supply and demand govern prices. When prices move up to new high levels,
there is somebody buying and it is useless to buck the trend. The same applies
when a market is declining. When a market works down to lower levels than it
has been for a long time, the selling pressure is greater than the buying pressure
and you should go with the trend and not against it." [8]

When people ask how to know what price is going to do, Mr. Gann responds
that this is the way. "There is only one way to determine the price movements,
and that is the way I do it, -- by the study of SUPPLY and DEMAND and a TIME
FACTOR. SUPPLY and DEMAND tell what everybody is doing; not one set of
men or the public. SUPPLY and DEMAND show where the balance of power
rests, and if the DEMAND from the public is greater than the SUPPLY from the
so-called insiders, stocks advance, and vice-versa. But remember the public
never run a market for very long, because they are not organized; have no leader
and the final result is a collapse and loss. I study the market daily to determine a
change in SUPPLY and DEMAND and to locate the balance of power, in order
that my subscribers may get the benefit of big moves." [9]

Thus we see that price is intimately related to supply and demand, according to
Mr. Gann.

"PRICE TELLS THE TREND

"Because history does repeat, the price of Wheat or other Commodities tells the
story of the future, because it records the consensus of opinion throughout the
country. Commodities do not go up unless there is increased buying. They do
not go down unless there is increased selling. The price of Wheat or any
Commodity tells what everybody is thinking and what the majority of people are
doing. The price registers Supply and Demand." [10]

In fact, Mr. Gann says, when supply dwindles and demand surges, prices move
quickly up. He states that once the "controlling supply of stocks" has been
bought up, then "buyers find the supply of stocks scarce". At that point, "it does
not require so much buying power to bring about an advance". The result is a
"final grand rush and a rapid advance in the last stage of a Bull Market". [11]

Mr. Gann applied rules of technical analysis in his study of supply and demand.
"Higher Bottoms and Higher Tops. Supply and demand govern market
movements and it requires a greater buying power than a selling power to force
commodities to higher levels. When the selling pressure is greater than the
buying pressure, wheat, soy beans, cotton, and other commodities work lower.
After commodities make bottom and start to advance, if they continue to make
higher bottoms and higher tops, the trend is up. They must make higher
bottoms and higher tops in order to show a strong Bull market." [12]

"... if you keep up all of the indications on the Chart for Lard, consider the
Resistance Levels, the Percentage on High and Low prices, the time periods
between Extreme Low and Extreme High, you will be able to forecast the trend
of Lard without considering the price of Hogs. The price and the time tell the
trend changes and the more you study past records and the movement of Lard,
the firmer you will be convinced the price does show the Supply and Demand
and in the end the Supply and Demand is what determines the price. When
there are more buyers than sellers, prices advance and when there are more
sellers than buyers, prices decline and the price of Lard or any commodity
shows what the majority of people think and what the majority of people are
doing." [13]

No matter how far afield he seems to be going, Mr. Gann always seems to work
his way back to the concept of TIME, and so it is with supply and demand. "The
Bible says 'There is a time for everything.' All the laws of Nature teach this.
There is a time to sow and a time to reap. The four seasons of the year teach us
that there is a reaping time and a sowing time, and that we can not reverse this
order of Natures laws. Man does not try to grow oranges on Greenlands icy
mountains; neither does he expect to cut ice from the tropical rivers in Florida,
because it is out of season, time, and place. It is the same with the stock market.
There is a time to buy and a time to sell, and when this time comes, neither
bunches of bears nor bevys of bulls with hot air, hope, optimism, extreme
pessimism, depression or bad reports, can force prices above or below the zones
of Supply and Demand, out of season. You must learn to go with the tide, and
not against it. Discern the signs of the times, and do not get caught in the
undertow when the tide is flowing out. Those who hesitate and are late in
buying or selling in the last stage invariably have to take losses." [14]

Before closing it might be interesting to note that sometimes Mr. Gann writes of
"supply and demand" and sometimes he writes of "Supply and Demand".
Perhaps we can legitimately wonder if in the first usage he means the common
economic concept of supply and demand and if in the second usage he means
that Supply (when capitalized) and Demand (when capitalized) stand in the
place of something else acting as the cause of supply and demand, whatever that
something else might be.

In W. D. Gann's Jan. 5, 1919, interview with The New York Herald Magazine,
which I discovered in a search of newspaper archives and made public a few
years ago, Mr. Gann made the following statement:

"Some weeks ago I read an interesting article in the Herald on the failure of
astrologers in their predictions regarding the war. Now there is a great deal in
the vibrations of the planets, but to make accurate predictions the great law
behind it all, which the ancients understood, but which they purposely refrained
from putting in their books, as they wanted to keep the secret for themselves,
must enter into the calculation. That is why astrology fails for nothing can be
accurate that is not based on mathematics and so few astrologers are
mathematicians."

In looking around the Internet, I find that this particular statement, of all the
things said in the interview, seems to have captured the attention of many
people who have something to say about Mr. Gann's work. And I find that it is
being seized upon by some people in order to give them opportunity to say
something like, "See, I told you! Astrology doesn't work and even W. D. Gann
rejected it! So stop wasting your time on it."

If it is true that Mr. Gann, by 1919, was rejecting astrology because it "didn't
work," then we should see evidence of this going forward. What do we find?

More than eight years after making the statement "astrology fails," in the year
1927, W. D. Gann wrote his romance The Tunnel Thru the Air. Writing of
Robert Gordon, the book's hero, Mr. Gann says, "... his only faith was in
astrology ... Professor Joyfuls advertisement stated that 'with the science of
Astrology, he could tell when success would start, when trouble would end and
reveal when marriage would take place.' Robert was a great believer in Astrology
because he had found this great science referred to so many times in the Holy
Bible ... He had made notes as he read the Bible at different times where it
referred to Astrology or the signs in the heavens and was thoroughly convinced
that the influence of the heavenly bodies govern our lives ... the great science of
Astrology would throw some light ... Robert had gone deeply into the Bible study
in order to learn more about the great science of Astrology ... He read all the
books he could get on Astrology and began to understand why things had
happened as they had ... Robert decided to write to a famous astrologer in
Canada whom he had heard of ... Robert ... had great confidence in Astrology ..."
(pp. 171, 172, 176, 215, 247). Gordon himself said in the novel, "I believe in
astrology" (p. 66). These statements are far away from saying, "Don't waste your
time on astrology".

Furthermore, we see in the decades after 1919 that he was keeping very detailed
planetary records, for example in his work on commodities and on the Cuban
lottery. And just a year or two before he died, we find him writing to a student,
under nondisclosure agreement, letters about Coffee and Soy Beans, which are
full of planetary references and calculations.

There is no evidence to support the thesis that Mr. Gann abandoned or

condemned the study and use of astrology at any point in his life. There is plenty
of evidence that he was an avid practitioner of astrology from at least 1908,
when he created the Financial Time Table.

If that is so, how should we read this quote? Let me make a few interpolations,
which I think render the meaning exactly:

"Some weeks ago I read an interesting article in the Herald on the failure of
astrologers in their predictions regarding the war. Now there is a great deal in
the vibrations of the planets, but to make accurate predictions [with the use of
astrology] the great law behind it all, which the ancients understood, but which
they purposely refrained from putting in their books, as they wanted to keep the
secret for themselves, must enter into the [astrological] calculation. [The
ancients had a secret that made astrology work every time, but they kept their
secret well hidden. People who use astrology alone will not, cannot, make
successful predictions all the time, because something is lacking.] That is why
astrology [when used alone and not confirmed by the Law of Vibration] fails for
nothing can be accurate that is not based on mathematics and so few
astrologers are mathematicians."

The trader who says, "I don't trade on one indication alone. I require
confirmation from another source," would understand the point that Mr. Gann
is making.

Mr. Gann expresses this idea again in later years. In his Jan. 17, 1931, article on
"The Human Body," he says: "This Law is also backed with astrological proof,
but anything that can be proved in any way or by any science is not correct
unless it can be proved by numbers and by geometry." This says what I believe
the 1919 interview says. Astrology offers proof, but the proof from this thing that
he calls a science in this quote (and in The Tunnel Thru the Air as well) "is not
correct unless" it is confirmed by mathematics.

The theory that I advance here, that Mr. Gann used two things and not one
thing alone, he himself confirms.

We read again in The Tunnel Thru the Air: "My calculations are based on the
cycle theory and on mathematical sequences" (p. 75).

A decade later, in a 1937 article in The Milwaukee Journal, quoted in one of Mr.
Gann's publicity brochures, we find the following: "Mr. Gann was asked how it
was possible to make such an accurate forecast one year in advance. He stated
that it was his own discovery of a mathematical master time factor and cycle
theory which enables him to tell when certain cycles recur ..." ("Learn Before
You Lose," p. 11)

"AND is a conjunction, connective or conjoining word. It signifies that a word or

part of a sentence is to be added to what precedes." Webster's 1828
Unabridged Dictionary [emphasis
added] http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/and

best, romeman

Gann students want answers to questions like these.

Remembering that W. D. Gann said "It is marvelous the knowledge that these
ancients had" (interview in The New York Herald Magazine, Jan. 5, 1919), let us
find an ancient whom we know that Mr. Gann mentioned.

In one of the OROLO advertisements (The New York Herald, Sunday, May 23,
1909), W. D. Gann wrote, "Euclid, the great mathematician, whose work was
perfect, taught that mathematics was the basis of everything, and by it we prove
vibration."

Billy Jones, who bought the Gann archives from Ed Lambert, tells us, speaking
of Mr. Gann, "He examined the ancient books of the Bible, Euclid's Elements,
Greek mathematics, and Babylonians, Egyptian, and Chaladean Astronomy."
(The W D. Gann Technical Review, p. ii) Mr. Jones did not say how he knew
this. Presumably he either read it in notes written by Mr. Gann or knew it
because he owned Mr. Gann's copy of the Euclid book.

If we also will "examine" the Elements of Euclid, we will find mentioned therein,
numerous times, something called "the mean and extreme ratio" or "the
extreme and mean ratio," rendered in these different ways in different
translations.

This is Phi, the Golden Mean, the Golden Ratio, the Divine Proportion, etc. etc.

Hence, if Mr. Gann did not know about Phi, we may conclude that he made a
very poor examination of Euclid.

Then again, if Mr. Gann did know about Phi, we would expect to find
confirmation of this fact somehow encoded within The Tunnel Thru the Air, his
mysterious romance. Tony Plummer claims to have found such proof: See p. 5 of
his book The Law of Vibration: The Revelation of William D. Gann, which you
can legitimately view online courtesy of the publisher Harriman
House https://www.harriman-
house.com/samples/9780857192592_sample.pdf . He claims to find Phi
encoded in the dust jacket and in the layout of the pages in the book. If that is
the case, and if Mr. Gann found that Phi has applications to the financial
markets, we should expect to find and should be able to find Phi encoded in
events within the book.