Several years ago the astrologer James Braha made a prediction on Facebook that the price of gold would begin to rise starting in January of 2016. Using the sidereal zodiac, he reasoned that the benefic planet Jupiter was transiting Leo, which in general is good for gold. The true north lunar node (true Rahu), which Braha was accustomed to using in his astrological work, was about to enter Leo in January of 2016. Rahu tends to amplify worldly desires and material gains, especially combined with a benefic like Jupiter, which signifies expansion. The Sun and the sign Leo are especially connected with gold.

Image from https://mythandastrology.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/first-blog-post/

In the revised edition of his book, The Art and Practice of Ancient Hindu Astrology Part II, Braha reports that several Hindu astrologers wrote to him to correct his error in prediction which they claimed was off by one month. He should have used the mean node rather than the true node, they cautioned, because gold rose dramatically in February rather than January of 2016. Braha took their advice, gave up his longstanding practice of using the true lunar nodes, and ever since has been using the mean lunar nodes.

RAHU sculpture from British Museum.
He is a severed head of an asura who swallows the sun. thereby causing eclipses. Rahu is depicted in art as a the head of a serpent which has been severed from its body. Indian astrology regards Rahu as a shadow planet which is associated with materialism, insatiable worldly desires, and obsession.

The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses the Earth’s orbital plane (the ecliptic). The North Node (RAHU) where it crosses from south to north, and the South Node (KETU) where it crosses from north to south. The difference between true and mean nodes comes down to calculation methods: the mean node assumes an averaged, smoothed-out orbit that moves steadily backward through the zodiac at a rate of about 19° per year, representing an idealized theoretical position, while the true node calculates the actual real-time position accounting for all the wobbles and irregularities in the Moon’s orbit caused by the Sun’s gravity, resulting in a more erratic movement pattern. Though they’re usually within 1-2 degrees of each other, in astrology some people prefer the mean node for its imagined consistency and symbolic “average” meaning, while others prefer the true node because it reflects the actual astronomical position. My experience is that stationary true lunar nodes in a solar return almost always signal a dramatically memorable and eventful year.

My preference is to use the true lunar nodes, so I decided to check the claim of the Indian astrologers who “corrected” Braha’s mistaken ways. It turns out that James Braha was correct in his initial assessment of the true lunar nodes, and the Indian astrologers who cautioned him were mistaken. Here is the evidence: I looked up the price of gold in January and February of 2016 and the dates on which the true and mean lunar nodes entered Leo. Here it is in spreadsheet form:

The price of gold at the beginning of January 2016, at the close of the day January 4th, which begins the official listing, was $1082.25. True Rahu (north lunar node) entered Leo on January 10, 2016 and the price of gold began to rise steadily, so that by the end of January 2016, it was 2.75% above baseline. In other words, somone who followed Braha’s advice and invested money in gold at the beginning of January would have realized a 2.75% gain by the end of the month as the price of gold rose slowly but steadily to $1111.80.

The mean north lunar node (mean Rahu) entered Leo on 30 January 2016, and gold continued to rise throughout February but at a faster pace with Jupiter and the true and mean north nodes of the Moon all in Leo. An investor would have been better off following Braha’s advice to invest in gold at the beginning of Janurary rather than at the end of January. Clearly, the ingress of true Rahu into Leo on January 10th had initiatiated the steady rise in the price of gold, which was further enhanced by the entrance of the mean north lunar node into Leo on January 30th.