A reader wondered: “Is astrology more or less accurate than Jim Cramer?” She suggested that we check by reviewing the monthly stock market predictions of SootheSayer Linda Schurman, available back to August 2004. As an astrologer, Linda Schurman states that her “profession is all about cycles…” The table below quotes forecast highlights from the cited source and shows the performance of the S&P 500 Index over various numbers of trading days after the publication date for each item. Grading takes into account more detailed market behavior when appropriate. Red plus (minus) signs to the right of specific forecasts indicate those graded right (wrong) based on subsequent market behavior, while red zeros denote any complex forecasts graded both right and wrong. We conclude that:
- Over the period of available forecasts, Linda Schurman has been generally very pessimistic on prospects for the U.S. economy.
- We do not understand astrological forecasting processes, so we cannot characterize how she makes stock market predictions.
- Her July 2006 entry notes that “…my record on predicting month-to-month changes in financial markets is pretty abysmal…” Since that month, the stream of her predictions for the U.S. stock market has gaps, with occasional laments that massive manipulation “interferes with normal cycles” and makes financial markets unpredictable.
- Linda Schurman’s forecast sample is moderate, as is confidence in the measurement of her accuracy.
See Guru Grades for a snapshot of the accuracy of various experts in predicting the direction of the U.S. stock market, including links to evaluations of the commentaries of other individual market pundits and gurus.
| S&P 500 Index | ||||||
| Date | Comments from: Linda Schurman via SootheSayer.com | 21-Day Return | 63-Day Return | 126-Day Return | 254-Day Return | |
| 8/1/12 | …the stock market will do better than expected as there is a lot of cash out there in the accounts of the 1% that will move, defensively, into U.S. stocks. | 1.8% | 2.7% | 10.0% | 22.9% | + |
| 6/1/12 | …financial markets around the world will likely be very troubled this month into early July. | 6.8% | 10.4% | 10.8% | 28.6% | – |
| 12/1/11 | My take is that there will be radical swings up and down in financial markets with this month being mostly bullish… | 2.6% | 10.0% | 2.7% | 13.6% | + |
| 4/1/11 | Mars hits a square with Pluto between the 11th and the 12th, precipitating another crisis and more bad news for the economy. It will likely have little effect on financial markets. | 1.8% | -0.9% | -12.9% | 5.0% | 0 |
| 2/1/11 | Our illusions are coming to an end and the spin with regard to our economic “recovery” will be challenged. …Whether or not the “cabal” can hold financial markets together is always a looming question, but this month would point to a loss of control. | 1.8% | 4.1% | -1.6% | 2.9% | – |
| 12/1/10 | Although rising earlier, between the 6th and the 7th, financial markets could be very unsteady… | 4.3% | 8.5% | 9.0% | 3.2% | – |
| 11/1/10 | This month, …it will appear that the economy is “recovering” and look quite bullish for the stock market. Nov. 18th, Venus goes direct in Libra, trine Neptune and Jupiter goes direct in Pisces, possibly signaling market highs.. | 1.8% | 8.6% | 8.6% | 4.5% | – |
| 10/1/10 | …there will be some downs this month, but not extremely so, and a low may be reached around the Full Moon on the 22nd. …there will be a run up into November… In December, we go into a “whip lash” reversal… | 3.3% | 9.7% | 15.7% | -1.9% | – |
| 7/1/10 | The normal stock market cycles do not apply at this time… It will try to come back early in this month, but will likely fall dramatically toward the second half of the month through September. The rest of this year will see huge fluctuations and swings. | 9.6% | 11.4% | 11.4% | 30.2% | – |
| 4/1/10 | …both stock and bond markets will likely take a hit in May when Saturn is opposed both Jupiter and Uranus and square Venus. | 2.1% | -12.5% | -2.8% | 13.1% | + |
| 1/1/10 | …another major stock market crisis in the US… | -3.2% | 4.8% | -9.7% | 12.7% | – |
| 12/1/09 | Financial markets are likely to be up this month… | 0.6% | 0.9% | -0.9% | 10.4% | + |
| 10/1/09 | The transiting lunar nodes are hitting the U.S.A. Mercury/Pluto opposition and Saturn will square the galactic center, moving financial markets downward, especially after the new moon in Libra on the 18th. I do not like to make predictions with regard to financial exchanges because there is massive manipulation… | 0.6% | 9.4% | 14.4% | 12.7% | – |
| 6/1/08 | Expect frequent and crazy fluctuations in markets this month. Watch for trend changes between the 19th and 20th… | -7.3% | -6.1% | -35.9% | -32.0% | + |
| 5/1/08 | It is really tough to know what to do with your money in these turbulent times. Grandma’s mattress looks pretty good right now! | -2.0% | -9.2% | -33.5% | -36.1% | + |
| 4/1/08 | …a climate of conflict that emphasizes conflicting signals and crazy fluctuations in direction. There will likely be a great deal of fear and attempts to deleverage to meet margin calls in the world of hedge funds and derivatives. …the Federal Reserve and…the Department of the Treachery, will attempt to pull out all the stops to control things and may very well be able to calm things down by the 28th… | 2.9% | -6.7% | -11.5% | -39.1% | + |
| 2/1/08 | …there will be another general asset selling…between the 18th of Feb. and the 9th of March. | -4.9% | 1.3% | -9.2% | -40.4% | + |
| 12/1/07 | Jupiter goes into Capricorn on the 19th and will be there through Jan. 5th, 2009. This is another bearish sign for the stock market. | -1.7% | -9.9% | -6.4% | -42.6% | + |
| 11/1/07 | News will come out that is likely to boost the Dow again. | -2.4% | -7.5% | -6.7% | -33.3% | – |
| 10/1/07 | By all rights, the stock market should correct itself, but “the cabal” will do whatever it can to stave it off. …Things are bad no matter what the Fed does. The real economy and real people now know they have been shafted! | -1.0% | -4.4% | -11.4% | -28.0% | + |
| 9/1/07 | …the consequences of the roulette wheel economy comprised of sub-prime mortgage lending, notional derivatives contracts valued at around $500 Trillion, and many financial corporations controlled by the reincarnated robber barons will present themselves to us in the form of market crashes and sell-offs, the bottom of which nobody can predict! …stay in cash for the time being… There will likely be global panics that take your breath away. | 3.4% | -0.6% | -10.9% | -16.6% | – |
| 8/1/07 | …I predict the slide of both financial markets and gold again in September. | -0.6% | 5.1% | -7.5% | -14.8% | – |
| 7/1/07 | July 23rd through August 2nd will be a tough time for financial markets… | -3.5% | 0.5% | -2.7% | -16.9% | + |
| 6/1/07 | …the Dow will likely continue its frothy upward momentum until a sell-off in July. | -1.1% | -4.7% | -4.4% | -10.4% | + |
| 5/1/07 | …this frothy, bull market…will have a crisis this month……real trouble will accompany the severe crises in September. Until that point, expect whiplash! From May 25th to June 22nd, the Dow may reach new “highs”. | 3.0% | -0.8% | 3.3% | -5.3% | + |
| 4/1/07 | Markets will be in trouble this month through the 10th, and again between the 23rd through the 28th. …In spite of all the negatives, I still think financial markets will hold on through June. Much more serious threats to global financial stability will arrive by September. | 5.0% | 5.5% | 7.2% | -3.8% | – |
| 3/1/07 | …financial markets will show strength between now and June. | 1.3% | 9.1% | 2.1% | -5.4% | + |
| 2/1/07 | …the Dow will reach new highs between March and June… | -5.0% | 3.5% | 1.4% | -7.6% | + |
| 1/1/07 | Financial markets look bullish the first week of the month and may hold up till around the 12th. Mars is conjunct Pluto between the 12th and the 14th signaling a high probability of a sell-off. The period of March through June of “07 looks bullish for Wall Street… | 2.2% | 1.5% | 7.6% | 0.0% | – |
| 12/4/06 | By December 9th…a very bullish direction through the first week of January. …in January (between Jan. 8th and the 14th) there will likely be a sell-off in financial markets. | 0.0% | -1.2% | 7.7% | 6.8% | – |
| 11/1/06 | There will be fairly dramatic fluctuations this month and the many crises coming to a head may take the market to a low. However, there will be enough good news in December to suggest a frothy Bull Market. …By the Autumn of 2007, we will likely be in a recession. By 2010 we will be experiencing a Depression. | 2.1% | 5.9% | 10.1% | 11.1% | – |
| 10/1/06 | The stock market highs that were made last month are setting us up for a fall by the end of this month. …November’s planetary squares would suggest market “corrections” until the end of the month. …in December, we will likely be back in Bull Market territory again. | 3.5% | 6.5% | 8.0% | 17.0% | – |
| 8/1/06 | …bearish for financial markets in general. | 2.6% | 8.4% | 13.2% | 15.5% | – |
| 6/2/06 | …financial markets in general are poised for a hit between now and the end of August and it may be better to be in a cash position on the sidelines… | -0.6% | 1.2% | 8.6% | 15.7% | + |
| 5/1/06 | The first week of May looks bullish for Wall Street… Markets may come down more in the second half of the month. | -2.7% | -2.0% | 6.4% | 15.4% | + |
| 4/7/06 | Between the 9th and the 14th, the Mercury/Mars/Pluto configuration hits in late degrees of mutable signs, usually bringing the stock market sharply downward. | 2.3% | -2.3% | 4.5% | 12.1% | – |
| 3/1/06 | Financial markets should be down somewhat this month but seriously down between April 7th and April 15th… | 0.7% | -2.4% | 0.8% | 8.1% | – |
| 2/1/06 | …the “plunge protection group” will have a difficult time propping up the Dow and the Nasdaq. | 0.4% | 2.4% | -0.9% | 12.9% | – |
| 1/1/06 | From Jan. 9th through the 19th, I expect financial markets to be bearish. | 0.2% | 2.3% | 0.9% | 11.4% | – |
| 12/1/05 | Most of this month will see a strong momentum in the stock market that is likely to bring the Dow back up to 11,000. | 0.3% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 11.9% | – |
| 11/1/05 | The controlling and powerful “cabal” will have to work hard to keep the markets up this month… | 5.1% | 6.6% | 8.7% | 13.4% | – |
| 10/1/05 | This month will experience extreme fluctuations in the stock market… | -2.0% | 1.8% | 5.8% | 10.3% | + |
| 9/1/05 | …the stock market will be weaker this month until the last week when it will likely head upward into October. | 0.4% | 2.3% | 5.4% | 6.4% | – |
| 8/1/05 | The stock market may start down, fluctuate in the middle of the month, and likely end with an upward momentum. | -2.2% | -4.6% | 4.0% | 3.6% | – |
| 7/1/05 | Financial markets should be moving upward through the 8th, but may come down toward the end of the month… | 4.2% | 2.8% | 5.0% | 6.7% | – |
| 6/1/05 | This month seems mixed for the stock market and the upward momentum may stall toward the end of the month. …behind-the-scenes manipulators make short term forecasting of financial markets very difficult. | -0.9% | 0.8% | 4.6% | 5.2% | + |
| 5/1/05 | The stock market is in a bearish cycle that will continue into June. | 3.4% | 6.2% | 1.4% | 12.9% | – |
| 4/1/05 | Here in the U.S.A., financial markets will be rising this month, especially from April 4th through the 24th. | -0.9% | 2.3% | 3.7% | 11.3% | – |
| 3/1/05 | This month will be a down time for the stock market… | -2.5% | -1.0% | -0.4% | 6.3% | + |
| 2/1/05 | …there is more optimism this month than last month, but the results are mixed. …March this year that looks extremely negative for the stock market… | 1.8% | -2.3% | 3.9% | 6.3% | + |
| 1/1/05 | The stock market will be unsure of itself this month; more down than up. | -0.7% | -2.2% | -0.6% | 5.9% | + |
| 12/1/04 | The stock market will be uncertain and cautious… …on the 12th…a down market, although not a “crash”… …the market will likely rise into January. | 1.7% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 6.2% | – |
| 11/1/04 | …the market will fall on the 8th, rise on the 11th, and fall again on the 29th. | 5.4% | 4.5% | 2.8% | 7.5% | – |
| 10/1/04 | Up until the 14th, we should see stock market highs. On that date…we should see stocks fall. They should rise again on the 18th… | -0.1% | 7.3% | 3.7% | 7.3% | + |
| 9/1/04 | …stay out of the stock market this month. | 2.3% | 6.1% | 9.4% | 10.1% | – |
| 8/1/04 | …just let the bear do its damage through the end of September. | -0.2% | 1.9% | 5.9% | 12.5% | – |
| 7/1/04 | Although the stock market may take a hit during the first week, this month looks like a “Summer Rally”… Take your profits this month. Starting around the middle of August through the end of September, there may be a significant sell off… | -2.0% | -1.3% | 7.5% | 6.7% | – |
