S&P 500 vs. True & Mean Lunar Nodal Speed | September to December 2026

Financial markets correlate closely with the 4–14-day cycle of the True Lunar Node (North Node/Rahu) as it moves through its retrograde, stationary, and direct phases. This cycle is best illustrated by charting the True Lunar Nodal Speed against, for example, the S&P 500, where "speed" refers to the node's geocentric motion, measured in degrees of longitude per day.

 

Last station: Sep 04 (Fri) 03:57, Retrograde (Rx) → Direct. Next: Sep 07 (Mon) 03:12, local maximum

(+0.0190°/day), then Sep 09 (Wed) 15:18, Direct → Rx. True = Mean on Sep 13 (Sun) 07:35 ( EDT).

 

The True Node is predominantly retrograde, with a negative speed averaging −0.053°/day. It regularly slows, stations (speed = 0°/day), and briefly turns direct, reaching speeds of up to +0.0015°/day, before resuming its retrograde motion. These stationary periods are most pronounced and prolonged near eclipse seasons, which occur roughly every 173 days, when solar perturbations of the lunar orbit are strongest.

Around eclipses, the lunar nodes can shift rapidly between direct, retrograde, and near-
stationary motion, coinciding with sentiment extremes and elevated market volatility.

Expect potential short-term changes in trend when the True Lunar Nodal Speed (blue solid line in the charts above):

► changes direction, shifting from retrograde to direct and back (speed = 0°/day); or
► reaches a maximum or minimum extreme

► equals Mean Nodal Speed 

 

Depending on the season, most True-Node speed swings last 7–8 days (69%).

 

Retrograde (Rx) → Direct repeats every ~13.5 days (6.7–15.8). 

 

Direct is a short poke (~3.6 d); retrograde is the body (~9.9 d); together they make the ~13.5-day station clock. 

 

2026 Q1 — Daily OHLC bars of the S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed;

 annular solar eclipse Feb 17, total lunar eclipse Mar 03.

 

2026 Q1 — 4-hour OHLC S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed. 

Blue wave is True Node speed on price scale; dashed blue is speed = 0 (direct above, retrograde below); red dashed is mean speed. Blue dates are stations/extrema in ET. Red vertical dates are True speed = Mean speed. Gold = solar, purple = lunar eclipse. 

 

 Q1 2026: True Lunar Nodal Speed at 0°/Day, at Extremes, and Equal to Mean Nodal Speed.

 

However, neither the daily nor the 4-hour chart follows the node. They may answer it, late or early by a bar or two on the 4-hour chart, and sometimes not at all. There hardly is any 1-to-1 correlation. What the speed curve is good for is identifying the hours when a crowd's appetite changes. A station (speed through 0°) is the useful alert: the True Node has stopped adding longitude or stopped subtracting it. That pause often appears as a change of character in the next one to three 4-hour bars—wider range, a failed break, or the first close that refuses the prior drift—rather than as a guaranteed reversal print at the exact minute.

Extrema serve a different purpose. A deep retrograde minimum represents a maximum rate of withdrawal; in Q1, the January 16 and January 30 lows, and in Q3, the July 12 and July 26 lows, fell within or just behind washout clusters already underway. The signal is not "buy the timestamp." It is "the selling has reached a dated climax window; now wait for the 4-hour structure to stop making lower lows after that window." The brief direct maxima are weaker. They last only a few days and often mark nothing more than a pause within an existing drift. Trading them as tops is therefore unreliable; in this sample, they more often mark a pause in the existing drift than a reversal of it.  

  

2026 Q2 — Daily OHLC S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed.

 

2026 Q2 — 4-hour OHLC S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed. 

 Q2 2026: True Lunar Nodal Speed at 0°/Day, at Extremes, and Equal to Mean Nodal Speed.

 

True nodal speed equal to mean speed is mostly a mid-wave event, not a turn. Red dates on these charts sit on the slope, not at the crest. Use them as confirmation that the osculating node has fallen back in step with the secular drift, which on the 4-hour chart tends to coincide with a continuation bar rather than a reversal. The April 2026 stretch is the clearest illustration of slope over event: from the April 4 minimum through the April 10–11 station and maximum, the 4-hour market rose with the wave. May 30 is the counterexample: a deep minimum against a market that only chopped at the highs. A minimum that does not meet a 4-hour breakdown is not a trade.

Delay is the practical rule. Weekend stations (e.g. March 21, May 30, June 14) spend their first reaction in Sunday–Monday futures and only then in the cash session; do not treat the Saturday timestamp as a Monday open. Intraday, the usable lag is one to six 4-hour bars. July 31 into August 2 is the best sequence in the file: station, then maximum, while the 4-hour S&P left the July hole and ran. September 4, 03:57 EDT, retrograde to direct, presents the opposite texture—an event at the local high, followed by a fade in the later bars of the same day. The same class of event, two market answers. The distinction is the 4-hour structure already in place when the node arrives. 

 

2026 Q3  — Daily OHLC S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed;

total solar eclipse Aug 12, partial lunar eclipse Aug 28; last S&P 500 bar Sep 04.

 

2026 Q3 — 4-hour OHLC S&P 500 vs. True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed. 

 

  

Q3 2026: True Lunar Nodal Speed at 0°/Day, at Extremes, and Equal to Mean Nodal Speed.

  

Used as a short-term timing method, then: ignore lobes shorter than six days; treat the seven-to-eight-day swing as the holding window; take stations as tempo alerts and extrema as climax windows; and require the next 4-hour bar to confirm. 

 

2026 Q4 — Nov 09 16:45 is the deepest Rx of the year (−0.241°/day)—furthest from the mean.

 

 

 Q4 2026: True Lunar Nodal Speed at 0°/Day, at Extremes, and Equal to Mean Nodal Speed.

(Date and Time calculated for New York City, ET).

 

And, as always, what is being practiced here is attention and precision, not prediction: any market still has to print a reversal in its own highs and lows. Used this way, the inflection points and crossings in the True and Mean Lunar Nodal Speed curves may serve as a reminder to pay closer attention during the upcoming nodal events listed above. But for a short-term trader simply looking to make money in the markets, better to ignore them altogether and focus on market structure, price action, and risk management instead  (Williams, Unger, Huddleston, Burke).

 

See also: 

TPR (2026) - S&P 500 vs. True Lunar Nodal Speed.

The Saturn-Rahu/Ketu Conjunction Blueprint of Market Cycles | Allen Reminick

At the heart of this predictive system is a simple yet profound observation: the Moon's conjunction with the lunar South Node (Ketu) tends to produce bullish market behavior, while its conjunction with the North Node (Rahu) signals bearish pressure. 

This 1646 engraving by Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher is an astronomical calculating tool from his book Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae (The Great Art of Light and Shadow). Known as the Eclipse Dragon, the diagram maps and predicts solar and lunar eclipses. The beast's winding body represents the ecliptic plane, as eclipses occur only when the Moon intersects this path. The dragon's head on the left marks the ascending North Node, historically called "Caput Draconis." Its coiled tail on the right signifies the descending South Node, or "Cauda Draconis."

Fifteen years of statistical validation show that buying during Moon-Ketu conjunctions and selling at Moon-Rahu conjunctions yields a 70% win rate over two-week periods in the S&P 500. The critical caveat is that even when the statistics suggest shorting during Moon-Rahu alignments, the prudent approach avoids counter-trend positions in a bull market. The deeper principle is that the nodes serve as polarity points: Ketu represents contraction and Rahu expansion, each exerting a predictable gravitational influence on market psychology.

Saturn-Rahu Synodic Cycle: The Explosive Bull Catalyst

The strongest evidence for planetary influence emerges from the 11.4-year Saturn-North Node synodic cycle (11.4045 years = 4,165.443 days). When the angle between them measures approximately thirteen degrees—as on March 01 (Sat), 2025 [exact 2025 Saturn–North Node conjunction: on April 14 with the mean node, on April 21 (Mon), 2025 with the true node], preceding the March 30th low—historical back-testing reveals extraordinary consistency. Over 110 years, every occurrence of this specific angular relationship produced an explosive rally shortly thereafter. The 2025 rally from the April lows demonstrated the pattern with remarkable precision, following the template established in 1992, 2003, and 2014, each separated by the 11.4-year interval.

The predictive power extends beyond price action into geopolitical correlation. The same Saturn-Rahu alignment that preceded the 2025 market low also maps to the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, the Gulf War in 1991, and Ruhollah Khomeini's rise to power in Iran in 1979. Four cycles later, on February 28, 2026, Ali Khameini was murdered on the exact day another cycle began. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 aligned with this cycle, while its formation sixty-nine years earlier also fell on the same pattern. The 2025 Straits of Hormuz crisis mirrors the Dardanelles crisis of 1878—precisely 148 years, or thirteen synodic cycles, apart—with both involving naval deployments to keep strategic waterways open.

Saturn-Ketu Conjunction: The Bearish Counterpoint

The opposite nodal alignment—Saturn conjunct Ketu—produces the mirror image: severe bear markets every 34 years, or three Saturn-Rahu cycles. The October 11th, 2007 conjunction in Leo [exact Saturn–Ketu conjunction October 12 or 23, ephemeris-dependent] marked the exact high of the Great Financial Crisis. 

Three cycles earlier came the 1974 bear market, triggered three days after President Nixon's resignation. Three cycles before that, the 1940 crash unfolded as Hitler's European campaign intensified. Each occurrence produced a waterfall decline of approximately twenty percent, establishing durable lows that, crucially, were followed by recovery to new highs within five years—a pattern suggesting that the 4,800 level on the S&P in April 2025 will hold as a long-term floor.

Symmetry of Opposites: Market Inversion Mechanics

When Saturn-Rahu and Saturn-Ketu conjunctions occur at opposite zodiacal points, the market responds with striking symmetry. The 2007 high, generated by a Ketu conjunction, corresponds to the 2025 low produced by its Rahu counterpart, inverting the Great Financial Crisis into an upside-down mirror image. 

 

The recent S&P rally was driven by the Saturn‑Rahu synodic cycle: On March 1, 2026, a high formed with a thirteen‑degree angle between Saturn and the North Node, followed by a low on March 30. This exact thirteen‑degree angle recurs every 11.4 years, and back‑testing over 110 years shows that every occurrence produced an explosive rally soon after the corresponding high. Crucially, from every Saturn‑Rahu low, the market is invariably higher five years later, with no exceptions, even when intermediate bear markets appear, as in 1957 and 1969. The synodic period of 11.4 years shifts through different zodiac signs, requiring a full thirteen cycles—totaling 148 years—to return to the identical starting position. On a short‑term basis, Moon‑Ketu conjunctions are bullish and Moon‑Rahu conjunctions are bearish, yet in a bull market one must never counter‑trend short on the Moon‑Rahu signal. 

The 17.5-year interval—1.5 times the 11.4-year cycle—aligns the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse, the worst phase of the decline, with the most explosive portion of the 2025 rally. On November 21 (Fri), a secondary low followed by a six-week bounce, maps precisely to current market positioning, providing a roadmap for the coming months: a continuation of the rally into September, punctuated by a July dip.

The 34-Year Cycle: Structural Superiority Through Zodiacal Rotation

While the 11.4-year Saturn-Rahu cycle demonstrates impressive predictive capability, the 34.2-year cycle exhibits greater longevity and structural integrity. The reason lies in zodiacal position: the 1991 conjunction occurred at the beginning of Capricorn [Jan 21 (Mon), 1991, while the 2025 alignment in the sidereal system occurred at approximately two degrees of Pisces]—a sixty-degree rotation. 

 

34.25-Year Saturn–Node Cycle Overlay: Weekly Dow versus the same chart shifted back 34.25 years (three Saturn–North Node synodic cycles of 11.4045 years each). The April 2025 low maps directly onto the December 1991 low, the 2007–09 financial-crisis decline aligns with the 1974 crash, and the 15 October 2014 low coincides with the 30 March 2025 low at 97 percent correlation on five-minute bars. The longer-term fidelity arises because the 1991 conjunction occurred at the start of Capricorn while the 2025 conjunction fell near 2° Pisces sidereal—a 60° rotation that preserves the cycle’s structural integrity far beyond isolated 11.4-year repetitions. Project the pattern forward from 34 years ago for the continuing roadmap.

This sixty-degree planetary shift, equivalent to one-sixth of the zodiac, preserves the cycle's periodicity across extended timeframes with 95% correlation. The April 2025 low corresponds precisely to the December 1991 low, with identical swing structures, while the 2007–2009 financial crisis maps to the 1974 crash, demonstrating that the thirty-four-year interval captures both the 11.4-year cycles and their sixty-degree rotations.

Jupiter-Saturn Supra-Cycle: The Grand Synthesizer

Above these cycles operates the Jupiter-Saturn synodic cycle, completing every 19.85 years and remaining in the same elemental sign for 250-year epochs. The 60-year cycle—three Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions, approximating 59.6 years—provides the most reliable long-term market template, with 1965 aligning perfectly with 2025 and 1966 with 2026. 

Multiplying the three cycles yields a 178-year interval connecting the 1842 Opium Wars to the current opioid crisis in the US, with trade direction reversing from west-to-east to east-to-west. The same 178-year span links Mexico's 1828 independence and subsequent invitation to American settlers with today's immigration crisis, demonstrating that these cycles govern not merely market prices but the collective human drama itself.

Human Element: Consciousness Embedded in Cosmic Structure

The patterns repeat because human nature remains constant. The same emotions, fear and greed, and cognitive biases that drove traders in 1878 continue to drive traders today. Planetary configurations serve as signposts—mathematical markers of where collective consciousness directs its attention and emotional energy. 

 

Partial Solar Eclipse (August 12, 2026) and Partial Lunar Eclipse (August 28, 2026) over New York. Moon-Rahu and Moon-Ketu conjunctions occur once per Draconic Month (~27.2122 days) at each node. The most critical conjunctions occur when the Moon aligns with a node near a syzygy (New or Full Moon), producing solar or lunar eclipses—for example, March 3, 2026, Ketu: Total Lunar Eclipse; August 12, 2026, Rahu: Total Solar Eclipse; August 28, 2026, Rahu: Partial Lunar Eclipse. 

Recognizing this structure dissolves the apparent chaos of markets into ordered pattern. The trader ceases to be a victim of random events and becomes an informed participant in a cosmic drama, understanding that the script was written not in Washington or on Wall Street, but in the mathematics of the solar system itself. As the ancient aphorism states: "As above, so below." Markets, far from being disconnected from natural law, operate as its most transparent expression.

Reference:
Allen Reminick (May 30, 2026) - The Hidden Math of Markets. (video)

 

The divine Macroprosopus reflected as the
earthly Microprosopus within the ouroboros.

See also: 
Margo Amala (August 11, 2026) - August 2026 Eclipses: Financial Markets & Monetary Regimes. 

TPR (2026) - 2026 US Stock Market Forecast Based on Jack Gillen's Principles. 

TPR (2026) - The S&P 500 vs. True Lunar Nodal Speed.

August 2026 Eclipses: Financial Markets & Monetary Regimes | Margo Amala

The August 2026 eclipse season is a potentially significant period for markets, monetary systems, geopolitical developments, and political leadership. The August 12 (Wed) total solar eclipse at 20° Leo centers sovereignty, executive authority, leadership, and public power. It belongs to Saros 126, historically associated with recessions, financial dislocations, geopolitical shocks, and leadership transitions. The August 28 (Fri) Pisces lunar eclipse completes the current Pisces series, marking the culmination of a decades-long Pisces cycle and a transition away from themes of uncertainty, ambiguity, and systemic fluidity.

Leo-Pisces / Saros 126 Eclipses and Major Events, 1836 to 2026. 

The Leo–Pisces axis and Saros 126 repeatedly coincide with major political and financial turning points. In 1971, a Leo–Pisces eclipse sequence preceded the August 15 Nixon Shock, which ended dollar convertibility into gold and transformed the international monetary system. In 1980, the cycle coincided with Reagan's defeat of Carter and a major silver-market peak. In 1990, a Saros 126 eclipse occurred shortly before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. In 1998, the Leo–Pisces transition coincided with the final phase of the dot-com boom. In 2008, Saros 126 preceded the Lehman Brothers collapse by approximately 45 days. Earlier monetary precedents include the 1836 Specie Circular, the 1893 Silver Purchase Act, and the 1931 sterling crisis preceding Britain's abandonment of the gold standard.

Partial Solar Eclipse (August 12, 2026) and Partial Lunar Eclipse (August 28, 2026) over New York.

Saros 126 has a reported historical correlation of approximately 75% with recessions occurring within two months of the eclipse. Equity-market behavior tends to show a two-stage pattern: relatively positive short-term performance followed by slower deterioration over subsequent months, consistent with a rolling recession or delayed structural repricing rather than an immediate collapse. Individual equities can experience corresponding leadership and valuation inflection points; Tesla, for example, is currently associated with a breakdown around a 20-week cycle low.

Eclipse Paths of Saros 126 from 1179 to 2459.

Precious metals occupy a central position in the historical pattern because major Leo–Pisces and Saros 126 periods repeatedly coincide with monetary-system transitions. The 1971 Nixon Shock is the principal precedent: the eclipse sequence coincided with a fundamental redefinition of money, monetary convertibility, and control of the global monetary system. Comparable historical episodes include the 1836, 1893, and 1931 monetary disruptions. Gold and silver are currently approaching or experiencing a 20-week cycle low, creating a technical timing point within the broader monetary-cycle pattern. The key issue is therefore not merely metal-price volatility but a potential reassessment of currency, monetary authority, and the role of hard assets.

August 12, 2026 Solar Eclipse Map of Path on earth.

 

Historical backtesting of Saros Series 126 and the 19-year Metonic cycle reveals a sharp decoupling between equity markets and underlying macroeconomic conditions:

► Recession Risks: Dating back to 1828, 75% of total eclipses in Saros Series 126 (8 of 12) preceded an economic recession within two months. This aligns with the Lunar Nodes shifting into the Aquarius-Leo axis—a movement historically correlated with business cycle troughs.
► Equity Trajectory: Following Metonic cycle eclipses, short-term equity performance is overwhelmingly bullish, boasting positive market returns 87.5% of the time at 1 month and 75% at 3 months. However, returns decay steadily to 50% at 6 months and 37.5% at 12 months, signaling a gradual market roll-off rather than an immediate crash.

The geopolitical expression is concentrated around sovereignty, resources, territorial control, and strategic chokepoints. Astrocartographic emphasis includes Greenland, associated with resources and energy; Spain, associated with immigration and political leadership; and the Strait of Hormuz, associated with Saturnian restriction, strategic blockage, and constrained movement. Mars in Cancer reinforces protectionism, defensive nationalism, territorial concerns, and emotionally charged public reactions.

 

The central historical analogy is 1971, when a Leo–Pisces eclipse sequence coincided with a fundamental monetary-regime change and a structural transformation in precious metals. August 2026 combines the same eclipse-axis symbolism with a Saros 126 recession signal, a 20-week precious-metals cycle low, heightened geopolitical constraints, and visible questions surrounding political and monetary authority. 

The principal risk is therefore a synchronized transition across equities, precious metals, currencies, leadership structures, and geopolitical power rather than an isolated eclipse-driven market move.

Reference:

Margo Amala & K.M. Garland (August 11, 2026) - August Eclipse Season & Market Rotation. (video)

 

 

One of August's most concentrated astro-timing windows.

The August 12 eclipse hits Greenland and cuts directly through Reykjavík, Iceland. Look out for major moves in Arctic geopolitics, climate impact, rare earth mining.

Profits and losses in the DJIA during the four phases of the Moon.

 

See also:

Fred Espenak (2012) - Eclipses and the Saros.

TPR (2026) - The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node. 

TPR (2026) - Louise McWhirter’s Forecasting Theory: The US Stock Market Through 2028.

TPR (2026) - 2026 US Stock Market Forecast Based on Jack Gillen's Principles.

Corn and Cotton: Long-Term Cycle Projections | Sergey Tarassov

Analysis of Corn and Cotton identifies a ~17.75-year cycle consistent with Edward R. Dewey's work, but also closely aligned with the 18.6-year Lunar Node cycle.

The pink-shaded chart background marks the out-of-sample projection of Corn through 2036.

 

Treated as an external and irregular cycle, projections built using the Lunar Node framework outperform standard spectral projections, highlighting the importance of adhering to method rules and analytical discipline.

The pink-shaded chart background marks the out-of-sample projection of Cotton through 2050.

In monthly Cotton prices, the commonly cited ~17.75-year cycle appears to be variable rather than fixed, evolving from roughly 17.4 years historically to about 19.3 years in recent data—closer to a 19–20 year Metonic-like rhythm. Modeling the cycle as dynamic and incorporating multiple overtones produces a more accurate representation of historical price movements than a simple fixed sine wave.

Reference:
Sergey Tarassov (July 12, 2026) - Corn Cycle Analysis: 17.75-Year Cycle and Lunar Node Influence.

Sergey Tarassov (June 17, 2026) - Variable Long-Term Cycle in Cotton Prices: Wavelet and Harmonic Analysis.

S&P 500 Strong Breakout Above All-Time High | Al Brooks

The daily chart of the SPY has broken above the all-time high. While this is positive for the bulls, the rally is becoming increasingly climactic, raising the likelihood of near-term profit-taking. Today is forming a climactic bull bar following yesterday's doji bull bar. That doji increases the probability of a pullback to yesterday's high within the next one to three trading days.

 

SPY (daily bars) — Close as of Friday, April 17, 2026: Three pushes and daily closes above the January all-time high.

» There are a lot of varying opinions about how the market moves, such as the Wyckoff method, Elliott Waves, Stacey Burke Trading, Steve Mauro’s BTMM, etc. However, one thing that all of these methods and models have in common is that the market moves in three pushes. After the third push in one direction, price typically moves into consolidation. During the second push, retail traders often assume the trend will continue and rush in. This creates a trap, where liquidity builds through clustered entries and stop-loss orders during the consolidation phase. By the third push, price is often already forming part of a broader peak (or trough) reversal pattern. « 

Cameron Benson, 2023.

The bulls are hoping for a close near today’s high, above the prior all-time high, while the bears are aiming for a selloff that leaves a tail above today's bar. Overall, the bulls have managed the rally well; however, it is now reaching a climactic stage, and risk for bulls is elevated. This increases the odds of a pullback over the next several bars and may limit further upside in the coming days as bulls begin taking partial profits.

Reference:
Al Brooks (April 17, 2026) - E-mini Strong Breakout above All-Time High.

 Al Brooks: Wedges and other Three-Push Reversal Patterns.

 

Three weekly pushes off the March 30-31 major low and reversal.

See also:
Cameron Benson (2023) - Three-Push Reversal Patterns.

TPR (April 13, 2026) - The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node. 

TPR (April 9, 2026) - Bradley Cowan’s Lunar Cycle Projection Methodology Applied to the S&P 500. 

Jeffrey A. Hirsch (April 10, 2026) - DJIA Up in 77.3% of April OpEx Weeks Since 1982.

The S&P 500 vs. True Lunar Nodal Speed

Financial markets correlate closely with the 4–14 day cycle of the retrograde–stationary–direct motion of the True Lunar Node (North Node). This cycle can be depicted best by charting the Speed of the True Lunar Node against the S&P 500 (where "speed" refers to the geocentric motion in degrees of longitude per day).

S&P 500 (daily) versus True (solid blue) and Mean Lunar Node Speed (dashed red)(Dec 2025 to Jun 2026).

On March 30, 2026 — the date of the major stock market low shown in the chart above — the True Lunar Node was positioned at approximately 3°–4° Pisces (retrograde) in the Buttonwood Agreement NYSE natal chart (May 17, 1792, 8:52 AM LMT, New York). Using the Placidus house system, it fell in the 11th house, the sector governing groups, large-scale public participation, collective sentiment, international alliances, and speculative market trends driven by the masses.

True Nodal Speed Thresholds as Potential Short-Term Trend-Change Signals

Expect potential short-term changes in trend when the True Lunar Nodal Speed (blue solid line in the chart above)

     ► changes from retrograde to direct and back (speed = 0)
     ► reaches maximum and minimum extremes

  

True Node Speed Extremes, Stations, and Retrograde–Direct Reversals

The absolute maximum of the True Lunar Nodal Speed is approximately +0.0015 degrees of geocentric longitude per day (brief direct motion); the absolute minimum is -0.1074 degrees per day (peak retrograde motion). Standstills (stations) of the True Lunar Node occur when its geocentric speed in longitude momentarily reaches zero, as it oscillates around its mean retrograde motion due to solar and planetary perturbations. 

 

True Lunar Node speed data generated by eph1.

 

The Predominantly Retrograde Motion of the True Lunar Node

The True Node is predominantly retrograde (negative speed, averaging –0.053°/day) but regularly slows, stations (speed = 0°/day), and briefly moves direct (positive speed, up to +0.0015°/day) for hours to days before resuming retrograde motion. These stations are most pronounced and prolonged near eclipse seasons (roughly every 173 days), when solar perturbations on the lunar orbit are strongest.

The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node (solid blue line)
and the Speed of the Mean Lunar Node (blue dashed line), 2014 to 2016.

 

Equinox Windows and Elevated Geomagnetic Activity

In addition to the phenomenon of eclipses, there is a period of approximately ±2 weeks around the equinoxes, when Earth crosses the ecliptic from south to north (spring) and vice versa (fall). During these intervals, geomagnetic activity tends to be relatively strong, though highly variable and unpredictable, as solar emissions impact both hemispheres in an unbalanced manner.

 

 The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node (solid blue line), November 2015 to April 2016.

 

The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node and Eclipse Crash Windows, October 2014 to December 2015. 

 

Solar–Lunar Perturbations, Nodal Instability, and Market Volatility

The physical wobbling and oscillation of the Moon in its orbit around Earth and the Sun are driven by square aspects and conjunctions in both longitude and declination relative to the Sun and Earth. Around solar and lunar eclipses, the lunar nodes undergo rapid transitions between direct motion (speed above zero), retrograde motion (below zero), and near-standstill phases (at or very close to zero), as indicated by the blue-shaded time frames in the charts above. During these periods, financial markets commonly exhibit sentiment extremes and elevated volatility.

 

The ~86.5-Day Moon Wobble and Potential Market Stress Windows

Approximately every 86.5 days, a so-called Moon Wobble occurs when the Sun is conjunct, opposite, or square (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) to the True Lunar Node. The lunar node begins wobbling about two weeks before the exact event and remains unstable until roughly one week afterward. When coupled with solar or lunar eclipses, the wobble effect can be extended. As the Sun approaches conjunction or opposition to the lunar node, its motion is nearly blocked (as indicated by the bluish shaded areas). These periods are potential crash windows in financial markets. 

 

The S&P 500 versus the Sun conjunct, opposite, and square (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) to the True Lunar Node, 2011 to 2015. 

 

The 18.613-Year Retrograde Precession of the Lunar Nodes

The Moon's Nodal Wobble refers primarily to the retrograde precession of the lunar orbital nodes—the points where the Moon's orbit intersects the ecliptic plane. This line of nodes completes a full 360° cycle westward (retrograde) relative to the vernal equinox in approximately 18.613 years, at a mean rate of about 19.35° per year or 0.053° per day.

 

True-Node Oscillation and Solar Gravitational Perturbations

This "wobble" or instability in nodal speed reflects heightened perturbations when the Sun's gravitational influence on the Moon's orbital plane is strongest. The True Node may exhibit rapid fluctuations in direction and speed (retrograde-stationary-direct), magnifying energetic or disruptive effects in observational contexts. Mean nodes remain steadily retrograde but also decelerate noticeably.
 

The Draconic Month—also known as the nodical or draconic lunar month—has a mean length of 27.212220 days (27 days, 5 hours, 5 minutes, and 35.8 seconds) and is one of the five distinct lunar orbital periods used in astronomy and astrology.

Lunar Standstills and the Variation in Extreme Declination

This Precession causes the Moon's maximum declination to vary between roughly ±18.3° (minor lunar standstill) and ±28.6° (major lunar standstill) over the cycle, influencing eclipse patterns, tidal extremes, and the apparent "wobble" in the Moon's orbital orientation as viewed from Earth. A secondary, shorter-term perturbation arises from solar gravitational effects, causing the True (osculating) Node to oscillate around the mean node by up to about ±1.5° with a dominant period of roughly 173 days.

 

Major and Minor Lunar Standstill Extremes

The Moon's Extreme Declinations represent the annual instants of greatest northern (positive) and southern (negative) geocentric declination, which delineate the progression of the 18.613-year lunar standstill cycle. These events reach their peak values (±28.43°) during the major lunar standstill in 2025 and their minimum values (±18.33°) during the minor lunar standstill in 2034.

The Moon's Extreme Declinations and Standstill Cycle, 2025 to 2035.

These values reflect the combined effects of the Moon’s orbital inclination (≈5.15°) and the 18.613-year nodal precession relative to the ecliptic. During major standstill years the extremes approach the sum of the obliquity of the ecliptic (≈23.44°) plus the orbital inclination; during minor standstill years they approach the difference. The listed times mark the precise moments of zero declination rate of change (local extrema).

Eclipse Seasons and True-Node Motion

Eclipses occur when the Sun aligns closely with the lunar nodes (conjunction or opposition) near a new or full Moon, aligning the Sun, Earth, and Moon in three dimensions. Around these times—typically twice yearly in eclipse seasons separated by about 173 days—the True Node's geocentric motion slows markedly, often becoming stationary or briefly direct (positive speed) before resuming retrograde motion.

 

The Draconic Year and Solar Returns to the Lunar Nodes

As observed from Earth, the Sun crosses both lunar nodes as it travels along the ecliptic. The interval between successive returns of the Sun to the same node is known as the draconic (or eclipse) year, approximately 346.6201 days. Hence, there are about 12.74 draconic months in one eclipse year, and 13.42 draconic months in one tropical (or solar) year. 

 

Equinox–Node Alignment and the Lunar Standstill Cycle

Equinoxes mark when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, aligning its apparent position with the intersection of the ecliptic and equator. The lunar nodes' alignment with equinox points modulates the Moon's Extreme Declinations and Standstill Cycles. When a node coincides near an equinox, it accentuates the 18.613-year nodal cycle's effects on lunar rising/setting azimuths and tidal variations. The True Node's oscillatory behavior can interact with these seasonal alignments, though without the pronounced speed reversal seen at eclipses. 

 

See also:

TPR (2012 to 2019) - The S&P 500 versus the Speed of the True Lunar Node (more historical chart examples). 
TPR (April 9, 2026) - Bradley Cowan’s Lunar Cycle Projection Methodology Applied to the S&P 500.

TPR (February 4, 2026) - 2026 US Stock Market Forecast Based on Jack Gillen's Principles.