Summary
The McWhirter Cycle framework uses the Moon’s North Node (lunar nodal cycle, 18.6 years) to forecast US business activity and stock market behavior. Published in Louise McWhirter’s 1938 book “Theory of Stock Market Forecasting.” The core principle: when the North Node enters Aquarius, the US experiences its business cycle low (land price depression). As the Node transits backward through Capricorn and Sagittarius, business returns to normal. Secondary planetary factors (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus in Gemini) further lift or depress the US business curve.
PSE’s Phil Anderson uses this framework alongside the Financial Timetable to explain WHY each year within the 18.6-year real estate cycle takes on its specific character (A through K).
Core Mechanism
- The North Node completes one backward transit through all 12 zodiac signs every 18.6 years (~1.5 years per sign)
- When North Node is in Aquarius = US land price depression / business cycle low (K position on Financial Timetable)
- When North Node is in Leo = US economy at strongest, high stock prices (H position)
- When North Node is in Cancer = US real estate at peak prices (Cancer = home/nesting)
- Recovery from K (Aquarius) to normal business curve takes 3 North Node sign transits = ~4.5 years (the “4 years up from the bottom”)
Historical Validation (North Node into Aquarius = US economic lows)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1896 | Major US economic depression, post-Panic of 1893 |
| 1914 | WWI start, US economy low |
| 1933 | Great Depression bottom |
| 1952 | Post-Korean War adjustment |
| 1970 | Nixon recession, stagflation begins |
| 1989 | S&L Crisis, real estate bust |
| 2008 | Global Financial Crisis |
| 2026 | Projected next US real estate/economic low |
Secondary Factors
Factors that LIFT the US business curve:
- Jupiter in Gemini or Cancer (every 12 years, ~1 year in each sign): 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2024 — all notable bull market years
- Note: Jupiter in Gemini 2024 may have provided additional lift to 2024 bull market
Factors that DEPRESS the US business curve:
- Saturn in Gemini (~every 30 years, 2.5 years in sign): 1853, 1883, 1913-14, 1942, 1972, 2001, ~2030
- Uranus in Gemini (~every 84 years, 7 years in sign): 1691-97, 1774-81, 1858-66, 1941-42, 2025-2032 — correlated with every US war in history
Connection to US Birth Chart
Phil Anderson notes these transits are significant because they relate to the US Declaration of Independence chart (July 4, 1776 — Gemini/Cancer prominent). This is why Gemini transits are particularly powerful for the American economy.
Louise McWhirter Identity
There is some speculation that “Louise McWhirter” was a pseudonym — she is untraced before and after 1938, and her office was reportedly on the same floor as W.D. Gann’s office. The book may have been authored by Gann or an associate. This remains unresolved.
Key Sources
- 2020-02-28-feb-2020-forecast-class-phil-session2-north-node — Phil’s core McWhirter presentation
- 2020-02-28-feb-2020-forecast-class-phil-sessions3b-4 — Historical walk through McWhirter + Financial Timetable
- 2019-10-28-anderson-unencumbered-sydney-part2 — McWhirter/Java Sea connection
- 2020-02-28-feb-2020-forecast-class-audience-questions — McWhirter 2025-2030 forecasts
Open Questions
- Was Louise McWhirter actually W.D. Gann?
- How exactly do planetary secondary factors modify the primary North Node timeline?
- What is the precise mechanism linking lunar nodal cycles to real estate cycles (astronomical vs. tidal/behavioral)?
Visual Evidence
Slides illustrating McWhirter cycle methodology, North Node timing, and financial cycle forecasting.
18-19 year cycles — text slide about the lunar nodal cycle and McWhirter framework.
Source: PSE Video
Multiple economic cycles — McWhirter cycles shown alongside other major cycle frameworks.
Source: PSE Video
The 5 cycles — PSE’s five-cycle model including McWhirter in the framework.
Source: PSE Video
Six cycles — PSE’s expanded cycle framework including McWhirter and planetary.
Source: PSE Video
1, 4, and 10-year cycles — short-cycle framework used in McWhirter timing analysis.
Source: PSE Video