I've been told that Gann was very private about his office. He absolutely forbid anyone from entering it. He wanted to protect his secrets. But one document he kept in his safe. That document was a manuscript by Professor Weston of Washington, D. C. It was written in 1921 (part 1) and 1923 (part 2), four to six years before Gann published his Tunnel Thru the Air, Or Looking Back From 1940, Tunnel Thru the Air contains, in coded form, Gann’s explanation of how to use planetary cycles to trade stocks and commodities.
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He told his own family that it was all they ever needed to learn his market secrets. Many Gann students have labored very long and hard (yes, me, too) to decode Gann's writing. Gann loved to write in the abstract style of the Biblical mystics, whom he admired. Much of what is written in the Bible is information about planetary cycles. It is hidden in census counts, symbolic imagery, and heavily coded to escape notice of the casual reader. While one can dig out this material, it takes time, an ephemeris, and a lot of work. Gann had it much easier. What you are about to read is the paper Gann kept in his safe.
Take your time and read it carefully. It’s one of the best papers ever written on the market.
After you read it, I'll point out some interesting things about it.
[...] First, this is clearly the foundation of Gann’s use of the 10 year cycle, and its multiples. Second, this is historically a fairly early use of Fourier sequences, and far more mathematical than just using financial astrology. This is no surprise, since it is well known that Gann was a very good mathematician. It is also a source of many of his ideas that market movements follow geometric rules.
[...] It is also quite interesting that Weston actually proposed two different versions of the ten year pattern. The first is his computation, using 50 years of data, of a series composed of 20 , 28, 10, and 14 month components, to which he adds a Venus term. In this system he cites use of heliocentric positions. We'll call this first method "Weston’s Curve’.
A most interesting point made in this method is Weston’s discovery that the planetary cycles tend to slip to synchronize with the earth’s annual cycle. I discovered this in my own work, and was sure it was an original discovery. So much for that vanity!
The second method I call “Weston’s Snowflake.” In it he proposes a sequence of turning points in the Jupiter-Saturn cycle that divides it into 10 irregular parts. Interestingly, Weston claims that this is a geocentric system. We'll show in a moment that it was not. But this “false lead” may have been intended for those whom Weston feared would learn his secret. Gann obviously made good use of Weston’s methods.
A most interesting point made in this method is Weston’s discovery that the planetary cycles tend to slip to synchronize with the earth’s annual cycle. I discovered this in my own work, and was sure it was an original discovery. So much for that vanity!
The second method I call “Weston’s Snowflake.” In it he proposes a sequence of turning points in the Jupiter-Saturn cycle that divides it into 10 irregular parts. Interestingly, Weston claims that this is a geocentric system. We'll show in a moment that it was not. But this “false lead” may have been intended for those whom Weston feared would learn his secret. Gann obviously made good use of Weston’s methods.
[... Weston used] the 0, 18, 54, 90, 126, and 180 degree points of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle as turns. One can quickly see the problem with using this geocentrically. Almost all of the points are triple points, as the earth moves around the sun, giving multiple views from which to measure the angle between Jupiter and Saturn. The problem becomes one of which points to use.
[...] It took only one look at using this rule heliocentrically to convince me that Weston used it that way. Obviously, W. D. Gann watched these outer configurations to be alert for the deviations they might cause in the Jupiter-Saturn cycle. You are advised to do the same.
Quoted from:
Hans Hannula (1993) - Gann's Greatest Secret.
See also:
L.H. Weston (1921 & 1923) - Being a Treatise on the Geometrical or Chart System of Forecasting in which is explained the principles of the art, and, in this lesson no. 1, giving demonstration with the price curve of potatoes in U.S.