As you have seen from the webinar and from Exercise 3, there are ten Seasonal Dates that we watch each year. These dates can vary by a day or so each year, so it is important to know the correct days to be watching each year. With that in mind, in this exercise you will find the correct Seasonal Dates to watch for the next 12 months, starting from June, 2016.
You will need to go to the appropriate month in the ephemeris, find the third column (Sun Times), and note the correct degree reading. Remember, the March, June, September and December dates occur at the changing of the signs, the moment the count moves from 29 degrees in one sign to 30 degrees/0 degrees in the next sign. The February, May, August and November dates occur at the 15 degree or halfway point of the relevant sign.
Don’t be intimidated by this, it is actually easy to do. Simply find the approximate date in the ephemeris, eg 22 June, then work out where the actual “zero” degree occurs. Depending on which market(s) you trade, you may wish to use an ephemeris that is timed to your market (eg New York for the NYSE or Sydney for the ASX), but for this exercise, just use the Swiss Ephemeris provided in the handouts.
The Swiss Ephemeris is timed for midnight Universal Time, which is 10am Sydney time at time of writing on 29 April, 2016. For this exercise, find the date when the actual 0 or 15 degree point is TOUCHED. For example, 20 June is 29 degrees, 6 minutes, 21 June is 0 degrees, 3 minutes, and 22 June is 1 degree, 0 minutes. There are 60 minutes in a degree. 21 June is the closest to 0 degrees, 0 minutes, however the actual zero point would have been touched late on 20 June, so we will use 20 June for 2016.
For the January and July dates, you will need to use the link provided in the webinar (and below). Note that these dates are timed to your local time – in my case, Sydney.
http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/perihelion-aphelion-solstice.html