Reportedly, W.D. Gann constructed his legendary Financial Time Table on August 8th, 1908, without the use of an ephemeris. Gann himself was quoted as saying that this was his greatest market discovery. The table is entirely based on the moon’s north node, which completes a full cycle every 18.6 years. This is the same cycle that Louise McWhirter used to predict the stock market.
To
mimic the Lunar Declination Cycle, Gann simply alternated a sequence of
+19, +18, +19, +18, etc., years across the top to achieve an average
length of 18.6 years. However, he ultimately noted that an adjustment
would be due by December 25th, 1989. The below table adjusted the
pattern according to the ephemeris and extended the pattern into the year 2121:
According to Gann, his Financial Time Table predicts years of recessions, depressions, high stock prices, panics, low stock prices, speculative periods, stock market crashes, labor strikes, and more. The legend at the right of the table reads as follows:
A - Extreme low stock prices, strikes, repression, despair, and beginning of new business generation for 18-3/5 years. 4 years of rising stock prices and improving business, markets bare of goods. Young men becoming prominent.
B - High stock prices.
C - Panic
D - Low stock prices.
E - High stock prices.
F - Panic
G - Low stock prices.
H - Very high stock prices most prosperous year, waste over extravagance, most money in circulation, much speculation.
J - Major Panic-CRASH! 4-years of falling prices, business stagnated, breadlines, soup kitchens, despair, and unemployment.
K - Same as A plus strikes, unemployment, many prominent deaths.
Gann’s Financial Time Table remains a highly debated topic in the trading community, with strong opinions on both sides. Supporters of the table praise its apparent predictive accuracy, citing its alignment with major market events such as the 1929 stock market crash, the 1987 panic, and the 2020 COVID-19 crash—particularly when adjustments are made to account for time shifts. They also point to its foundation in cycle-based forecasting, especially the 18.6-year lunar node cycle, which has parallels in established economic research, including real estate cycles. This cyclical approach lends some credibility to Gann’s methods. Moreover, Gann’s own trading history adds to his mystique: in 1909, he reportedly executed 286 trades, of which 264 were profitable, suggesting a potentially effective system, possibly tied to his financial time table.
However, skeptics raise several concerns. One of the main criticisms is the lack of transparency in Gann’s work. His writing style is often described as cryptic and esoteric, which some interpret as a deliberate effort to obscure his true methods. This suspicion is further fueled by the fact that Gann profited significantly from selling trading courses—some costing up to $5,000, the equivalent of about $50,000 today—leading critics to suggest his primary income may have come from teaching rather than trading. Alexander Elder and others have pointed to the relatively modest size of Gann’s estate at his death (around $100,000 in 1955) as evidence against the long-term success of his financial strategies. Critics also argue that basing a predictive system solely on the 18.6-year lunar node cycle oversimplifies Gann’s broader approach, which included tools like Gann angles and planetary transits.
W.D. Gann also observed what he referred to as the “decade cycle.” In his various commodity and stock market courses, he described the decade cycle as follows: By studying the yearly high and low charts and reviewing a long period of time, you will identify the years in which bull markets culminate and the years in which bear markets begin and end. Each decade, or 10-year cycle, which is one-tenth of a 100-year period, marks an important campaign. When referring to these numbers and years, Gann meant the calendar years.
To understand this, study the periods from 1891 to 1900, 1901 to 1910, 1911 to 1920, 1921 to 1930, and 1931 to 1939. The ten-year cycle continues to repeat, but the greatest advances and declines occur at the end of the 20-year and 30-year cycles, and again at the end of the 50-year and 60-year cycles, which are stronger than the others.
Year
1. A year in which a bear market ends and a bull market begins. 1901, 1911, 1921.
2. The second year is a year of a minor bull market, or a rally in a bear market will start at some time. 1902, 1912, 1922, 1932.
3. Starts a bear year, but the rally from the second year may run to March or April before culmination, or a decline from the 2nd year may run down and make bottom in February or March, like 1933. 1903, 1913, 1923.
4. The fourth year is a bear year, but ends the bear cycle and lays the foundation for a bull market. Compare 1904, 1914.
5. The fifth year is the year of Ascension, and a very strong year for a bull market. See 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935.
6. The sixth year is a bull year, in which a bull campaign which started in the fourth year ends in the Fall of the year and a fast decline starts. See 1896, 1906, 1916, 1926.
7. Seven is a bear number and the seventh year is a bear year because 84 months or 840 degrees is 7/8ths of 90. See 1897, 1907, 1917, but note 1927 was the end of a 60 year cycle, so not much of a decline.
8. The eighth year is a bull year. Prices start advancing in the 7th year and reach the 90th month in the 8th year. This is very strong and a big advance usually takes place. Review 1898, 1908, 1918, 1928. (2008 did not follow this pattern, which is where a little real estate cycle knowledge was helpful in this instance.)
9. Nine is the highest digit and the ninth year is the strongest of all for the bull markets. Final bull campaigns culminate in this year after extreme advances and prices start to decline. Bear markets usually start in September to November at the end of the 9th year and a sharp decline takes place. See 1869, 1879, 1889, 1899, 1909, 1919 and 1929, the year of the greatest advances, culminating in the fall of that year, followed by a sharp decline.
10. Ten is a bear year. A rally often runs until March and April; then a severe decline runs to November and December, when a new cycle begins and another rally starts. See 1910, 1920, 1930.
