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The Berg Timer™, its History and Calculation

An Indicator For Forecasting Solar, Weather, Climate, Seismic and Economic Activity

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

What's in a Name?

Childhood Experiences
Age 5 to 10, motivation
Age 11, abstraction
Age 13 to 15, vigor
Age 16 to 18, apathy
Age 19 to 24, the prodigal scientist

Beginning My Studies
Astrologer extraordinaire
To find a career
Cave man.

The Berg Timer Method Takes Shape


The key to its use was its proper display.
No preliminary conclusion

Discovery
For example
Why does it work?
About Astrology

Conclusions & Reflections

My Work In the Bible Code

Acknowledgements

I dedicate the discovery of The Berg Timer Method to my family, without whose faith,
support, and tolerance this work could not have been accomplished. Specifically,

to grandmother Herrald, whose cooking warmed the heart of an energetic youth;


to grandfather Herrald, who knew that everything always moved in cycles;
to grandmother Berg, who taught me the value of integrity;
to grandfather Berg, whose kindness I'll always carry with me;
to Uncle Bob, who loved life;
to Uncle Fletch & Aunt Ginny, who give new meaning to the game of bridge;
to my brother Jeff, sister-in-law Kris, and nieces/nephews Jeff, Jenny, Krisi, Sarah, and
Andrew, from whom I receive much joy and happiness;
to my Capricorn father, from whom I learned the value of hard work;
to my Aquarian mother, who's my best friend;
to my wife Tina and sons Gregory and Brian, who inspire me to continue;
to the Lord, who provides the steps so that I may determine the way.

Thank you all.

What's in a Name?

I recently received a call from one of my Whole Earth Forecaster subscribers. He


ordered The Berg Timer and wanted to know how long it would take to get "the key to the
universe". I thought at the time, what a great name that would have been.

A name for what I do is a lot more simple. I am an astrometeorologist or astrobiologist, a


student and researcher of the way the planets and sun interact to affect physics and
biology. The Home page gives a detailed cause/effect of how the sun affects our
weather. So, since the Berg Timer can forecast solar activity, it can also forecast
weather. When you can forecast weather for anywhere in the world, well, you can
forecast a lot of other things.

What isn't affected by weather?


My first work began with an interest in astrology and then trying to forecast the ups and
downs of the stock and commodity markets. This work led me into discovering the Berg
Timer and noticing that it could forecast weather. The Berg Timer Method forecasts
times of climate change, and the financial markets seem to be affected both through
weather's effect on commodity production and through weather's effect on human
psychology. What better barometer of human psychology is there than the markets?

I had a tiger by the tail.

The Berg Timer (BT) can forecast temperature, precipitation, atmospheric circulation and
cyclones/hurricanes, and almost all forms of economic activity, e.g., the stock market,
commodity markets, interest rates, loans, production, housing, literally everything related
to either weather or human behavior (which is just about everything!). BT also does a
good job of forecasting planetary variables such as earthquakes, El Nino and solar
flares. The physics of this isn't clear. The mechanism responsible for the effect of
astronomical tides upon the planets and sun may be something other than gravity and
electromagnetism or a possible combination of both, like Einstein's unified field
theory. It's energized me into thinking more in terms of science as a whole, rather than
separate parts. There's something here for the solar physicist, the meteorologist, the
farmer, the medical doctor, the psychiatrist, the financier, the chemist, the
environmentalist, the government policy makers . . . it goes on and on. I've always felt
that I've had a tiger by the tail with this thing. What isn't related to the weather? If you
can forecast the weather, well, you've got your hands full! And I have.
Many physicists are studying planetary tidal effects on solar activity and weather. They
mostly put it into the subject of gravitational tidal theory. I think it's something totally
different. I believe it's new physics. My methodology is presented here for forecasting all
natural cycles in our environment.

What I'm presenting here is new science. I do believe it is new physics.

And God said,


Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night;
and let them be for signs,
and for seasons,
and for day,
and years.

The Holy Bible, Genesis I:14.

Childhood Experiences

Age 5 to 10, (1959-1964) motivation

I'd look out of our upstairs window every night to see if he was in his backyard using his
telescope. More often than not, he wasn't. But during the day we'd sometimes have lunch
together on his back porch and he'd let me go down to his basement workshop and watch
him grind lenses to make his homemade telescopes. He had charts of the solar system and
planets taped to the wall and I could sense the intense interest he had in his work.

He was tall and thin with thick, snow-white hair and he wore black-rimmed glasses. I
admired his quiet pursuits of astronomy. He was happy and willing to share his time with
me, but he didn't talk much. He was always consumed in his work. I think after he let me
view the moon one night with his new homemade telescope, he vowed to himself never to
let me around again. I think I asked too many questions for his liking. But even one look
would have been enough for me. Never before had I seen the detail of the moon's craters
so lifelike. And it was moving! I was hooked.

When we neighborhood kids played hide-and-seek, I was never found because, above his
workshop, just above the foundation of his house, was one of those crawlspaces that
nobody I know has a use for. I found a use for it. I was never found hiding there by my
friends. I found a use for the solar system, too, that nobody else found.

Age 11, (1965) abstraction

When I reached the sixth grade, my curiosity in astronomy was again aroused by a
comment from my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Jett, a wise old lady, who always made me
keep my fingernails clean. We were talking about atoms and molecules in class, and she
made a remarkable analogy. She equated the solar system to an atom with its electrons
revolving about the nucleus like planets around the sun. That opened up my awareness to
the size of things and to the potential for the universe's interrelatedness. There was an
order to things.

Age 13 to 15, (1967-1969) vigor

Grades 7-9 were good years. I went to a good public school, with good teachers, and
made good grades. My classmates were also highly motivated. We were all interested in
science and space. Star Trek was the new show on TV. I think the motivation and high
achievement of my friends affected me more than my teachers. We shared common
scientific interests and ambitions. I'll remember those three years as being the most
academically positive of my childhood.

Age 16 to 18, (1970-1972) apathy

My high school years were 1970-72. I went to a good school but lacked the self-direction
and motivation of my junior high years. It was probably a combination of being a
teenager and the times in which we were living. The school was literally jammed with
students. The hallway between classes was like a sardine can. Vietnam was raging. Girls
looked better than they did in junior high. And then there was that invenerable cure-all
for the disease called homework . . . the automobile. This was not the best of
environments for concentrating on one's personal goals.

Age 19 to 24, (1973-1978) the prodigal scientist

My first years at the University of Nebraska were not much different from high
school. As with most, I was uncertain of a career choice. I started in Journalism to
prepare for entering my father's advertising business. Not that advertising isn't exciting
and monetarily rewarding, but somehow I knew I wouldn't be happy in the advertising
business. If there's such a thing as a born-again scientist, I think I experienced it on a
December day in 1973.

I was waiting for a plane connection in the Denver airport on my way back from visiting
my brother, Jeff, and his wife, Kris, for Christmas. He graduated from the U.S. Naval
Academy in 1972, and was stationed in San Diego. I strolled into the magazine store and
was looking for something to read when I spotted one, lone, paperback manual on how to
cast horoscopes. I thought it might be fun. So I thumbed through it. I liked the order and
the exactness of it. It seemed like, right then and there, I picked up where I'd left off four
years ago in junior high. It turned on my scientific interests again. I knew it instinctively
as I read the first page. The order, reliability, exactness, and predictability of planetary
movements dominated my every thought for the next seven years of my life. I quit the
university in 1976 with one semester left until graduation. I knew what I wanted to do
and another semester to wait was too long. Looking back, I guess quitting school was a
statement to myself of how sure I was of where I was going. An education is certainly a
very good thing and I'm grateful for it. I learned great skills in college, writing, liberal
arts and some science and business which would help me in my journey. But I knew that
what I found would take me on a different road, a road where a degree in Journalism was
just not necessary.
Beginning My Studies

Astrologer Extraordinaire

I taught myself all the intricacies of planetary motions, astrological charting, and
horoscope interpretation. In fact, my knowledge of astrological traits was so thorough
that I could often guess a person's astrological sign by observation. I remember guessing
a young coed's astrological sign at a fraternity party, on the first try. I guessed she was a
Taurus because of her sturdy physique and her slow and deliberate way of moving. There
are certain traits that are almost always present within each sun-sign. It's very easy to do
once you know what to look for. There's really nothing mystical about it at all. On a
cruise I noticed that our captain acted and even looked like my college roommate. I told
him I knew he was a Pisces. I was right. At an airport ticket counter I asked the agent if
she was a Libra. With an amazed look she said 'yes!', and then I explained that I knew
Libra well because my high school girlfriend was a Libra. It's just a matter of
observation.
By my late college days I was convinced that season of birth had an effect on human
beings and so I began to wonder about its implications on a broader scale. I felt like I was
being led to something. No . . . driven.

To Find a Career

If astrology worked on an individual basis I knew it should work somehow on a larger


scale. I wanted to apply astronomical cycles to general trends in the world as a whole.

My basic thinking was that I had to make some kind of synthesis of how planetary
movements affect things in general such as weather, economics and health. As far back
as I could remember, I was always intrigued by the financial quotes page of the
newspaper. I knew there must be a way to forecast stock market prices using natural
cycles. And the weather, too. I was determined to discover a way to forecast the two
most complex systems in the world, the financial markets and the weather.

I first tried to apply planetary cycles to economic cycles and the stock market. I figured
that if planetary positions affect people then they must affect the movements of the stock
market (and if I could figure it out, I knew that I would have a job for the rest of my life
since the stock market will always be there).

Cave Man

1977-1981 marked the beginning of a sort of self-imposed exile from the human race. My
brother was particularly worried about me. He would ask, "What are you doing?" "Are
you Ok?" I sacrificed much for my work. Friendships went by the wayside. Every
moment of my waking life (and often sleeping life) was occupied with thoughts of how
the planetary cycles worked. I wanted to make one indicator which would show the tug
and push of planetary rhythms when applied to various world-wide events like weather
and economic activity.
My first work started with comparing geocentric (Earth-centered) planetary angles to the
stock market. I charted all the traditional astrological angles (0, 60, 90, 120, 180) in
horizontal time graphs using a different colored pencil for each angle. Then I lined that
up to the stock market to see if any certain angle correlated with the market. My bedroom
walls were covered with stock market/planetary angle charts. Although I couldn't find
any relationship, one thing stood out.
When conjunctions occurred, when two planets were together in the same degree of
longitude, the stock market usually reversed direction. This was a major discovery, but
conjunctions occurred infrequently and there was much stock market activity for which I
could not account. I couldn't see any effect of the other angles that affected the stock
market, besides the conjunction.

My reading of The Jupiter Effect by Plage and Gribbin changed the way I approached my
research. That book changed my research from an Earth centered to a Sun centered
perspective. The planets' positions aren't affecting the Earth in particular, they are
affecting the sun, which then affects us. So I walked away from the geocentric, Earth-
centered philosophy into a more all-inclusive, heliocentric, Sun-centered view of things. I
re-did everything I'd previously done in geocentric figures, with heliocentric numbers. I
did a couple months in heliocentric and immediately found better alignment to the stock
market than with geocentric numbers. I believed then that the sun was being affected by
the planetary alignments, which in turn affected Earth (although I now believe that this
BT effect is not the Sun affecting the solar system, but a universal effect on all planetary
bodies).

The planets-affecting-Sun-affecting-Earth theory drew me to the study of solar data and


relating it to planetary cycles. I wasn't a physicist, but I could chart statistics, and solar
statistics compared to planetary cycles were showing startling similarities. Conjunctions
usually caused increased solar activity (there are published papers supporting this claim as
shown below).

Since conjunctions worked, I figured there must be other planetary relationships to the
markets and the sun. Even though the traditional astrological angles didn't work, maybe
other angles would. If the market made tops when, for instance, the angle of 43.8 degrees
occurred, I had to have a way of knowing it. So instead, of doing a numbers game on
each possible angle, which would involve infinite possibilities, I decided to actually draw
out each planetary relationship in terms of cycles. This necessitated a visual format for
my analysis.

The Berg Timer Method Takes Shape

The Key To Its Use Was Its Proper Display

Another book which had an effect on my work was the well know Cycles by Edward
Dewey, from The Foundation For The Study of Cycles. I was looking for a way of
combining all the planetary cycles so that I could see the interrelationships between the
cycles. It would have to be some sort of line plot or oscillation plot. On page 116 of
Cycles it describes the effect of combining several oscillating cycles into one cycle. That
gave me the idea to plot the planetary cycles into an oscillating line chart. So I set up a
graphic chart with y axis from 0 to 180 degrees (two planets are never more than 180
degrees apart). The 'x' axis represented time.

I charted each planetary pair based on their longitudinal differences. I started with the
slowest moving planets (Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto) since they should show the
longer market trends. I looked up each planet's longitude in an ephemeris. If Jupiter's
longitude were say 120 degrees on January 1, and Saturn's longitude were 140 degrees
longitude on January 1, I would enter a dot on the graph on January 1 at the 20 degree
point. This point represents the difference between Jupiter and Saturn longitudes on Jan
1. I would do the same for each Jan 1 for as many years as I wanted. The next chart
shows how a hypothetical graph of the Jupiter/Saturn relationship for eleven years might
look.

When the line is at "0", which occurs on the third year, that means that Jupiter and Saturn
were in conjunction, that is, they both were in the same degree of longitude. When the
line is at 180 this means that the two planets were 180 degrees apart and is called an
"opposition".

I then went on to plot all the other major planetary pairs, e.g., Jupiter/Uranus,
Jupiter/Neptune, Jupiter/Pluto, Saturn/Uranus, Saturn/Neptune, Saturn/Pluto,
Uranus/Neptune, Uranus/Pluto and Neptune/Pluto. When I finished I got something like
the graph below.
You'll notice the ones going almost straight across. Those are the cycle lines of the
slowest moving planet comparisons, Uranus/Neptune, Uranus/Pluto and Neptune/Pluto.

No preliminary conclusion

After I plotted all ten of the longitude comparisons of the five slow moving planets, I now
had a cycle-line drawing which represented, at any moment in time, the interrelationships
of the major planets. I believed now that if there were anything to this planetary angle
effect on the stock market, this should show it.

I analyzed the market with respect to the major planetary cycles to see what was
happening with the planet angles at important market tops and bottoms. As mentioned
earlier, the market made important tops at conjunctions, but I could find no correlation
between the market and the traditional astrological angles (45, 60, 90, 120 degrees). I
also added up the cycles vertically and averaged the cycles to get one cycle and that didn't
show any similarity to stock market activity either. It didn't look like I was going to find a
correlation between planetary angles and the market, aside from the conjunction effect.

In addition to the major planets, I also did the minor planets hoping they would show
minor market changes, even if the major planets didn't. This undertaking took about a
year and involved calculating and charting all 28 of the possible planetary pairs for a 10-
year period, by hand. Still, I could find no correlation.

I agonized over this realization for some time. I'd worked for several years making
hundreds of cycle charts by hand, and even reworking years of charts over and over again,
combining different planetary mixes (This was before the personal computer. All the
calculations and cycle line drawings were done by hand on graph paper).

Maybe some planets worked and others didn't? Nope. I found the exclusion of any planet
of no help.
Maybe just the Moon and other planets? Nope. The inclusion of the Moon just made it
more confusing.
Maybe just the Moon? Nope.
Maybe I should also consider the planets' latitudes (declination)? Nope. Declination
didn't matter.
Maybe I should also consider how close the planets were to the sun (aphelion,
perihelion)? Nope. No help.

I could find no other correlation between planetary angles and the stock market, besides
the conjunction. I even analyzed horoscopes of the New York Stock Exchange to predict
market turns, like traditional astrology. I found no correlation.

About six months went by, during which time I laid aside my work and considered
starting a new career. Once in a while I'd think of new combinations of planetary angles
and tried them out. Still nothing worked---until the winter of 1980.

Discovery

I remember well, November 19, 1980. It was about 1:45 PM. I was sitting on the edge of
my bed, thinking about those damn cycles, as usual.

I remembered that, on my major cycle graph, the market changed direction when two of
the cycles intersected. So I went back to the major planet cycle graph to confirm my
memory, and it was so. The market usually reversed direction when two cycle lines
intersected. It didn't matter at what degree of longitude they intersected. Whenever they
intersected, the market usually reversed direction. I knew immediately that this was the
indicator for which I was looking. But what was the rationale for this? It was very
simple.

What the intersections of cycle lines represented were times when two planets were
heliocentrically longitudinally equidistant from a third. So if, say, the Uranus/Pluto cycle
line and the Uranus/Venus cycle line intersected, that meant that Uranus was
longitudinally equidistant from both Pluto and Venus at that moment in time. Those three
planets could be said to be in a state of symmetry or Harmonics.

The Berg Timer Method combines all the possible harmonics made by all the planetary
positions. Whenever two planets are longitudinally equidistant from a third, a planetary
harmonic exists. . . it doesn't matter at what angle, 61, 98, 56.3, 129.46, whenever two
planets are longitudinally equidistant from a third, a harmonic exists which has power to
affect solar activity, Earth environment, and you and me.

For Example

The Berg Timer Method makes it possible to see every angular harmonic occurrence at
any moment in time. Whenever the planets align themselves up into a harmonic
relationship, the intersections of planetary cycle lines show it. There are times when as
many as nine cycle lines intersect on the same day, making for a very strong harmonic
day. This occurred on January 14, 1973. Let's examine what happened that day.
Mercury was at 267 degrees heliocentric longitude, Venus 245, Earth 115, Mars 224,
Jupiter 290, Saturn 78, Uranus 200, Neptune 245, and Pluto 182. At first glance, it
doesn't look very significant. However a little math shows that:

* Venus and Mars were 21 degrees apart, and Mars and Neptune were 21 degrees apart.
* Venus and Neptune were 0 degrees apart (conjunction).
* Venus and Jupiter were 45 degrees apart, Neptune and Jupiter were 45 degrees apart,
and Neptune and Uranus were 45 degrees apart.
* Venus and Earth were 130 degrees apart, and Earth and Neptune were 130 degrees
apart.
* Neptune and Mercury were 22 degrees apart, and Mercury and Jupiter were 22 degrees
apart.

Is it a coincidence that within one day of January 14, 1973 the stock market made the
exact historic peak of the 70's stock market rise to 1,050, a peak that lasted for eleven
years? When The Berg Timer is strong, the market usually reverses direction.

This particular harmonic day also demonstrated itself in other ways. January 15 was an
exact turning day for U.S. temperatures. They hit a peak on the 15th and then abruptly
turned colder. In Omaha, temperatures on January 14-15 were in the 50's. A week earlier
they were 10 below. A week later they were down to 10 degrees again.

Strong BT is indicative of developing weather fronts. Long-term (on a yearly basis)


when BT is strong it means temperatures have bottomed and will move higher. Two basic
regions of Earth react oppositely to BT. Some areas react positively with daily BT, others
negatively. The timing of major weather/atmospheric movements can be predicted by
BT. I'm just beginning to fathom the complexity of this world weather organism. But it
appears as though Earth's major weather reaction to the Berg Timer is like the two
sections of a tennis ball or baseball, with one section of Earth reacting positively and the
other negatively to changes in solar activity. This is probably due to Earth atmospheric
circulation and its relationship to solar activity.

Strong BT days usually indicate the occurrence of severe storms in both winter and
summer. Strong BT days evidently affect atmospheric circulation and ocean temperature
(via solar activity), causing the Jet Stream to dip down into the U.S. interior, generating
storm systems. Low yearly BT correlates with low U.S. precipitation and drought as in
1975, 1988 and 2001/2002. For more information on how BT indicates weather for your
part of the world please visit the Weather section.

Why does it work?

Strong Berg Timer days affect the solar and planetary atmospheres. I did previously, but
now, in light of research correlating solar activity to Earth weather, I do not view this as a
phenomenon of an astronomical tidal affect on the Sun which then affects the planets.

I see the planets and solar atmosphere the same in the Berg Timer context.
Viewing the solar system as a whole, the most plausible cause for the BT effect seems to
be electromagnetic in nature; the planets' magnetic fields may interact with the solar wind
in a way in which we are not yet aware. Einstein spent the last 25 years of his life trying
to combine gravity and electromagnetism into a unified field theory. Perhaps the Berg
Timer Method may enhance work on that subject, acting as a catalyst for new studies in
celestial physics.

Most currently held theories of planetary effects center around their tidal effect on the
sun. I quote below some statements made by physicists and other professionals who have
presented their theories concerning the effect of planetary angles on the sun. Most of the
papers deal with the subject from a gravitational/tidal point of view. There seems to be
general agreement that the planets have a tidal effect on the sun. However, I don't believe
the gravitational effect of the planets is strong enough to account for the empirical
correlations I've found between BT, the sun, weather and our biosphere. It's something
new, probably new physics.

The Berg Timer Method is tempting us to pursue a new, very subtle force of the
universe. In fact, I think that this "force" can be better described as an "unforce". An
anti-matter force. A force of the spaces between matter.

Below are attempts at planetary effects theories . . .

"This work shows not only a good correlation between planetary synodic period
resonances with solar activity period, but also a rough correlation between the variations
of the resonance period resulting from orbit eccentricity and the variations of the sunspot
period."
Robert M. Wood, McDonnell Douglas, Nature, Vol 255 (May 22, 1975).

"There seems to be a definite relationship between the orbital periods of the planets and
the periodic nature of the sunspot cycle, and the relationship depends on a non-linearity in
the solar energy conversion system."
R.A. Burear & L.B. Craine, Electrical Eng., Wash. St. Univ., Nature, Vol 228 (Dec 5,
'70).

"It is found empirically that solar activity is preceded by planetary conjunctions. A long-
range prediction technique has been in use for 2.5 years, which predicts flares and proton
events months in advance."
J.B. Blizard, Denver University, American Physical Society Bulletin #13, June 1968.

"The relationships set forth here imply that certain dynamic forces exerted on the sun by
the motions of the planets are the cause of the sunspot activity."
Paul D. Jose, Aerospace Research, USAF, The Astronomical Journal, Vol 70 (April
1965).

"In summation, after more than 25 years of research in this field of solar system science, I
can say without equivocation that there is very strong evidence that the planets, when in
certain predictable arrangements, do cause changes to take place in those solar radiations
that control our ionosphere.
I have no solid theory to explain what I have observed, but the similarity between an
electric generator with its carefully placed magnets and the sun with its ever-changing
planets is intriguing. In the generator, the magnets are fixed and produce a constant
electrical current. If we consider that the planets are magnets and the sun is the armature,
we have a considerable similarity to the generator. However, in this case, the magnets are
moving. For this reason, the electrical-magnetic stability of the solar system varies
widely. This is what one would expect."
J.H. Nelson, short-wave radiowave analyst, RCA communications, Cosmic Patterns,
1974.

"Professor Wood has elaborated on the various tidal influences due to Venus, Earth, and
Jupiter in detail. When all three planets are aligned their combined tidal effects add
together on the sun's surface. Wood then calculates the magnitude of their tidal influence
in order to get the height of the gravitational tide raised on the sun by the three planets at
any time in the future or past. It was then a simple matter for him to compare the tidal
height with sunspot activity over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The results show
that the relation between sunspot activity and these tidal influences is completely beyond
question.
Dr. E. Opik has shown that Wood's tidal gravitational effects should raise a tidal flow
on the sun of over one-half of the sun's rotation of 560 km in a horizontal direction which
may suffice to trigger off some unspecified instabilities leading to sunspot activity. No
one has yet proposed a specific and detailed mechanism for the
interaction of planetary resonances and solar activity characteristics. This would require a
complete magnetic-hydrodynamical treatment of the external tidal and the inertial forces
within the Sun.
One alternative model in particular seems a strong rival to the direct tidal theory. That
is the possibility that changes in the position of the Solar System center of mass play a
significant part in determining the level of solar activity. As the planets, especially the
giants, move around the sun they swing it backwards and forwards and around like
circling ice skaters holding hands with one another.
Torque effects have also been discussed, notably by R.M. Wood and by Blizard, in
connection with the link between planets and sunspots, with partial success when applied
to the 22-year cycle. Perhaps more than one of these mechanisms is operating, but there
seems to us no doubt that some physical mechanism does indeed link the positions of the
planets to solar activity. . ."
John R. Gribbin, editor of Nature, and Stephen Plagemann, Institute of Theoretical
Astronomy, England., The Jupiter Effect, 1976.

About Astrology

. . . a word about astrology. When I learned the truth and value of astrology, it gave me
the confidence to pursue the planetary effects further and to eventually develop The Berg
Timer. Astrological interpretation and meaning is based on centuries of behavior
observation related to season of birth. Its practice is as old as human civilization. Such a
long history of observation demands a certain degree of respect. Observation is a
legitimate means of scientific study, and very often the starting point of serious research.

Be that as it may, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my opinion that testing and
experience has required me to distrust the following astrological practices:

---Most astrology emphasizes the planetary angles of 0, 60, 90, 120, and 180 degrees and
characterizes them as "good" or "bad" or "difficult" in horoscope interpretation. In my
opinion, Nature is neutral, and shouldn't be characterized as good or bad. Nature is good
or bad depending upon our point of view (rain is good for the farmer but bad for the
golfer). The characterization of planetary angles as good, bad, easy, hard, difficult, or
whatever, should be deleted from astrological interpretation. They are just forces,
inherently neither good nor bad.
---Natal chart progressions. This is the practice of figuring a person's important life
events based on movements of the planets immediately after birth. There isn't any logic
behind it and I've personally found it to be unreliable. Life events are best forecasted by
comparing planetary transits of a natal chart.
---Electional astrology. This attempts to predict "good" times for starting things. Again,
angles aren't good or bad. And there is no evidence.
---Locational astrology. This is the theory that each "place" has its own astrological
imprint and that one can find a compatible place to live by using this. Again, I've seen no
evidence for this. It is impossible to go about researching this theory.
---Astrological charting of non-living things like countries, places, events, corporations,
etc. Planetary positions do not affect a piece of paper such as a corporation or
contract. There are obviously good times for beginning businesses based on local and
national economics (which BT can forecast). But there is no reason to believe that a
country, a corporation or a grand opening is affected, in and of itself, by planetary
positions. They are not living, breathing, things. This is another area where astrology has
gotten itself way out in left field.

Evidence has shown, and all astrologers agree, that the basic nature and personality of an
individual can be known through the planet and sign placements in the natal horoscope,
and that the present and future tendencies of individuals and generations can be known
based on planetary transits. That's simple, basic astrology. It works, and it will always
work. In my opinion, any exercise outside of that is unknown, untested, and unproven
territory.

I've found astrology in relation to eras of time to be frequently on the mark and a
fascinating area of research. For instance, my generation was born with Neptune in Libra,
denoting a period when indecision and naivety could be experienced with respect to
religion. Indeed, my generation was one which was deceived by various religious
activities, as was evident by the promulgation of religious cults in the 1970's. And its
mark as "the flower power" generation is very typical of the peaceful Libran's
personality. There are many other examples of the validity of generational
astrology. Again, astrology affects living breathing natural things, not corporations or
Uncle Roger's car.
The Whole Earth Forecaster newsletter began in 1981, starting the long road to
discovery. It was through the newsletter that I first presented most of the analysis and
correlations now provided on the website www.justgoodtiming.com. I continue to add to
my findings on the website. There is no end to this work. Like I said, it is like having a
tiger by the tail.

How To Calculate The Berg Timer

(All calculations and charting was done by hand when I first began my work. I have since
developed software spreadsheets using Excel which calculate BT automatically in seconds
which previously took me several days to do by hand.)

We'll go through every step here and do one week of the indicator. You can, of course, do
as much time at once as you want when you start doing it yourself. However, we're
dealing with lines here that have to be seen well, so the smaller the time scale the
better. The process will take some getting used to in the beginning. Even with a
computer to help in the calculations, it takes about an hour to do one month. Once you
get the hang of it though you should be able to do one year in about 2 days. And of
course you can go as far as you want into the future as you want, data availability
permitting. The heliocentric ephemeris I use is the one published each year by the U.S.
Naval Observatory called the Astronomical Almanac (called the American Ephemeris and
Nautical Almanac prior to 1981). Most university and public libraries should carry it in
the government documents department. There are sources for heliocentric data further out
than one year, probably at a local astrology book store. And there are many online
sources for this data, some provided in the Links section.

Figuring the cycles

The first thing to do is get the Astronomical Almanac (for longitude data online
visit: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/). Here, I'll do the time discussed previously--January 11 to
January 17, 1973. I always like to copy the pages I need rather than use the whole
book. It's much easier working with separate pages than a whole book, especially since
you often have to shuffle from page to page.

The Julian Date is a scientific number denoting the date. Latitude is not used. Latitude
refers to the degrees the planet is north or south of the solar equator. Radius Vector,
Orbital Longitude, and Daily Motion are also not used. We only use Longitude.

First we calculate and plot all the planet cycles except Mercury. Mercury is done
separately because it moves so fast. Listed below are each of the planet cycle
relationships we'll now calculate and plot. I suggest scratching them off as they're
done. This is important so you don't forget what you've already done:

Venus-Earth Earth-Mars Mars-Jupiter Jupiter-Saturn Saturn-Uranus


Venus-Mars Earth-Jupiter Mars-Saturn Jupiter-Uranus Saturn-Neptune
Venus-Jupiter Earth-Saturn Mars-Uranus Jupiter-Neptune Saturn-Pluto
Venus-Saturn Earth-Uranus Mars-Neptune Jupiter-Pluto
Venus-Uranus Earth-Neptune Mars-Pluto Uranus-Neptune
Venus-Neptune Earth-Pluto Uranus-Pluto
Venus-Pluto Neptune-Pluto

There are 28 cycles here. Mercury will add another 8 making a total of 36 cycles in all.

First make a graph with the horizontal 'x' axis divided into six equal sections for Jan 11-
17. The vertical 'y' axis should be divided into 180 degrees with 180 at the top. Graph
paper should be used that has enough horizontal lines to represent each of the 180
degrees. The paper should be large enough to be able to distinguish 180 vertical points,
which might mean a sheet of a size substantially larger than 8 1/2 x 11. The size depends
on what kind of graph paper you find available. However, the larger the better. The
larger it is the easier it will be to work with and see what you're doing. You'll also need a
mechanical pencil with thin lead, the thinner the better (I use .5mm) and a metal straight-
edge. Wooden rulers get dirty and their edge wears out.

First we'll do Venus-Earth. The order in which you chart the cycles doesn't matter. You'll
notice that for Earth there is a different listing than with the other planets. For some odd
reason the Astronomical Almanac doesn't list the heliocentric positions for Earth. Instead
it gives the note: "The heliocentric ecliptic coordinates of the Earth may be obtained from
the geocentric ecliptic coordinates of the Sun given in section 'C' by adding + or - 180
degrees to the longitude." So listed for Earth is the Sun ephemeris to which we have to
add or subtract 180 degrees to get the Earth longitudes.

The longitude of Venus on January 11, 1973 is about 238 degrees, 55 minutes, or 238.9
degrees (since the Almanac doesn't list Jan 11 longitude, I subtracted the Jan 10 longitude
from the Jan 12 longitude, divided that value by 2, then added that value to Jan 10
longitude).

The longitude of Earth on January 11, 1973 is found by looking at the Sun, 1973, table
and finding the column called "Long. for Mean Equinox of Date". As the above
instructions said, to find Earth's heliocentric longitude take the solar longitude value and
add or subtract 180 degrees. The Solar value for January 11, 1973 is 290 degrees, 37
minutes, or 290.6 degrees. When 180 degrees is subtracted from 290.6 degrees, we get
110.6 degrees, which is the Earth longitude value we want.

Drawing the cycles

The difference between Venus and Earth longitudes (238.9 minus 110.6) is 128.3
degrees. So on the graph we'll place a reference dot on Jan 11 at 128.3 degrees. We do
this calculation for each day for Venus-Earth and get seven dots. Connect the dots. That
line is the cycle line representing the heliocentric longitudinal distance between Venus
and Earth for the period.

This same process is then done for each of the remaining 27 planetary cycles listed
above. So next find the difference between Venus and Mars longitudes for each
day. Then plot those values on your chart and connect the dots.
There are certain "rules of the road" to observe while doing the calculations:

*If you subtract two of the longitudes of the planets and you get a number greater than
180, subtract that number from 360 to get the right number to plot.

*If you subtract two of the longitudes of the planets and you get a number less than 0 but
greater than -180, multiply that number by -1 to make it positive.

*If you subtract two of the longitudes of the planets and you get a negative number less
than 180, add 360 to get the right number to plot.

Simply put, the product of subtraction of two longitudes should always be between 0 and
180 for plotting.

Now Mercury has to be done, on a new graph. The 8 cycles for Mercury are:

Mercury-Venus Mercury-Jupiter Mercury-Neptune


Mercury-Earth Mercury-Saturn Mercury-Pluto
Mercury-Mars Mercury-Uranus

When the graph is finished you should have eight lines drawn.

Counting the Intersections

This is the fastest, simplest, and most rewarding part of the project. As you count the
intersections you'll start to see how planetary angle harmonics acquire form. You will
now be, essentially, seeing into the future. In front of you will be an indicator which will
tell you when the coming weather and stock market reversals will occur, when hurricanes
will be generated, when El Nino/La Nina will occur, when wars will be likely. You are
now seeing the future tides of nature unfolding with cold scientific exactness,
measurement, and calculation. You are now doing what immeasurable cultures have
crudely been doing since man first walked upon the earth, and attempted to measure time
and the seasons. This is the new Macro Astrology . . . the forecasting of weather and
atmospheric system movements, times of geological disturbances, peculiarities of human
and animal behavior, even times when viruses and bacteria are more active and
abundant. Down through time, astrologers have satisfied themselves with following only
six, ten, or twenty planetary aspects in their work. Here you are looking at all possible
planetary angle harmonics which is able to forecast the ebb and flow of all natural
phenomena.

You've probably noticed by now that there are times in the charts when all the cycles
converge at one time. These are times of strong planetary harmonics. What we simply do
now is to count the number of intersections between the lines that occur each day, that is,
the number of times any two cycle lines cross during each day. Make a simple bar chart,
divided into each day, and add up the number of intersections occurring each day.
We'll start with the 28-cycle sheet. On Jan 11 there was 1 intersection made. So on your
graph paper make a bar chart indicating 1 for Jan 11. On Jan 12 there were 0
intersections, so leave Jan 12 blank on your bar chart. On Jan 13 there were 0
intersections. On Jan 14 there were 11 intersections, so put a bar line 11 high for Jan 14
on your bar chart. On Jan 15 there was 1 intersection. On Jan 16 there were 3
intersections.

You probably want to know how I counted the intersections when four cycle lines came
together all at once on Jan 14. If you look at it arithmetically, there are "laws of
intersection". Two cycle lines coming together can only make one intersection,
obviously. Three cycle lines coming together make three intersections. However, four
cycles coming together make six intersections and five cycles together make ten
intersections. So when four of the cycles came together on the 14th, six intersections
were made.

Now we add the Mercury intersections to this bar chart. Based on the 8 Mercury Cycles
Graph, Jan 11 has one intersection and Jan 15 has one intersection.

This is the complete Berg Timer Methodology.

The Whole Earth Forecaster newsletter began in 1981, starting the long road to
discovery. It was through the newsletter that I first presented most of the analysis and
correlations now provided on the website www.justgoodtiming.com. I continue to add to
my findings on the website. There is no end to this work. Like I said, it is like having a
tiger by the tail.

Conclusions

The Berg Timer Method appears to best forecast those indices related to major
atmospheric circulation like El Nino, wind, temperature, precipitation, and
cyclones/hurricanes. Other things include tornadoes, health, Earth atmosphere, magnetic
indices, cloudiness, air quality, ozone strength, and earthquakes. All these things, of
course, have individual idiosyncrasies. I remember as a child just sitting in my backyard,
that all the living things, trees, insects, plants, have their own time responses to the
environment. Aside from the obvious effects of the seasons, I believed then, and I know
now, that there is a universal force, or "unforce", that is the impulse to which all living
things, and the environment, react. And they can all be predicted by the Berg Timer.

Admissions to psychiatric hospitals are higher on signal dates (high BT days), but I
haven't studied admissions to hospitals in general (data is very difficult to obtain). Air
quality refers to particulates, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and
lead. I haven't studied this area thoroughly, although I have studied ozone and found it to
be very much related to BT. Since air quality is, to a great extent, dependent on weather,
the other indices may very well show similar fluctuations.
Major earthquakes are forecasted by BT too. Some scientists believe that the angular
momentum of the atmosphere has a torque effect on the earth, causing seismic activity. If
this is the case, BT's correlation to earthquakes may be an atmospheric link. It's
interesting to note here that the scientific method of calculating the length of day (in
milliseconds) by using very-long-base interferometry correlates well with BT. They put
instruments in various parts of the world, and reference Earth's position with respect to
fixed star positions. This way they are able to calculate the length of day in
milliseconds. The variation in length of day has been theorized to be caused by the tug of
the atmosphere, the drag of the atmosphere upon the earth. If this is the case, and if BT is
able to forecast atmospheric angular momentum, then it logically follows that BT can
forecast length of day variations and earthquakes, which it can.

Reflections

Throughout my 35 years of studying planetary motions and their effects upon the sun and
Earth, one thing has stood out, the scientific community's reluctance to accept anything
related to planetary motions. This is a deep-seated prejudice going way back to the
origins of present day astronomy. Originally, astronomy and astrology were
one. Astronomy de-linked itself from astrology when astrology became "popularized"
and unscientific. But, in doing so, astronomy also de-linked itself from a basic truth, that
planetary motions affect things. Many current astrological beliefs are false, in my
opinion, as discussed previously. However, my work has empirically proven that
planetary motions DO affect Earth's weather, geophysics and biosphere, a notion now
blasphemous to most scientists simply because it sounds like astrology. I'm afraid that
most scientists have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Some scientists say that the
sun does not affect Earth's weather. Can you believe that? This is how far much of
science has turned its back on the natural cycles all around us.

However, the astrological truth is still managing to find its way into science. Some
scientists have found, empirically, that the gravitational forces of the planets affect solar
activity. Others claim that it's electromagnetic. Whatever the mechanism, the science for
planetary motions affecting us will eventually be proven. It will be a new science,
probably a new physics. It's only a matter of time. The astronomical community will
react, vehemently at first, to this new science, as scientists react to all new science.

Scientists who ignore or refuse to accept it will be left behind. The only future for
astronomy is to work with the truth that planetary motions affect us. Astronomers should
be trying to figure out why it works instead of hiding their heads in the sand and ignoring
it. Ignoring it won't make it any less true.

Their are many possible areas for further study and application of the Berg Timer. The
largest problem now facing us is not whether or not there is evidence for its usefulness. I
have shown that BT correlates well with many things, especially solar flares and El
Nino. The problem is getting over the hump of equating my work with astrology. My
work is not astrology. It is cold, hard scientific data, presented as Nature intended. The
motions of the planets are God's symphony. His music. Understanding the notes of that
music should be the business of science.

There is no exact cause/effect proof to account for BT's effect, with the science we now
have. I don't think we have the instruments necessary to monitor the 'power' these
planetary motions represent. The Berg Timer may be condemned to remain as one of
those things that works, but is not 'acceptable'. That leaves BT in the company of
Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. Good company.

It's my opinion that the final discovery of this relationship WILL be very simple. But
first, before the discovery is made, something has to be overcome.

The sciences are too specialized and self-absorbed. We're not going to advance off of this
earth until the sciences begin to act as one; all branches of science should be working
together to bring a comprehensive understanding to all that we've discovered. There are
so many facts, and there's so much data out there that needs to be boiled down, distilled,
and made fit for all to use. My work has brought this deficiency to my mind countless
times. In researching the many different indices and the Berg Timer, what strikes me
most profoundly is how delinked everyone is. There is so much good study and work
going on, but everyone is in their own cubicle. We desperately need to tear down the
walls and start interrelating with each other. This is the next great scientific advancement
that needs to be made in order for us to progress. We need to distill the various branches
of science into an understandable whole. That is science's next great challenge.

I do see a day when The Berg Timer will be proven legitimate. In centuries to come,
when we venture out to other solar systems, the Berg Timer can be applied to each solar
system. If those systems' planetary harmonics also coincide with that system's solar
activity and terrestrial weather, a conclusive case can be made that the Berg Timer
works. Already I have made convincing cases for the Berg Timer's extraterrestrial effect
on Moonquakes. As we explore all our planets, we will find that they all share the same
timing of their weather systems and seismicity. What a beautifully organized and tuned
universe it is in which we live! I have empirically proven that BT is probably a primary
cause of all planets' weather. It's a new physics. But, really, it's just a modernization of
that which our oldest ancestors already knew. Our awareness of the broad application of
BT will only grow with time. The evidence will only get better as we explore every
planet and other solar systems.

There has been proof for planets around other stars in our galaxy. It'll be interesting when
we find out what the average planet count is for a solar system. According to the Berg
Timer Method, if a solar system has only two or three planets, that system's solar and
terrestrial weather will be relatively quiet, compared to a sun with nine planets. If the sun
and weather of a two-planet solar system is quieter, that would be another indication of
the validity of the Berg Timer Method.

Even though other solar systems are within reach, we all know that star exploration is a
long way off. However, someday, like the old man's telescope next door, the Berg Timer
Method will motivate some young explorer to prove that, yes indeed, the Berg Timer isn't
just a name, it's the key to the universe.

The Beginning

My Work in The Bible Code

I watched with fascination the television series called The Bible Code, mostly on The
History Channel and The Discovery Channel. You may have seen it too.

The Bible Code is a computer analysis of hidden words in the Bible. By skipping a
certain number of letters, it is possible to find clusters of words describing events and
persons in history (and the future), clusters which defy chance probabilities of those
words occurring together. Their analysis yielded historical findings concerning the World
Wars, Hitler, Bin Laden, Israeli history, Popes, etc.. The Bible Code technique was
successfully used to forecast that the Israeli prime minister would be assassinated. The
warning went unheaded and the prediction occurred as forecasted.

Who could skip the chance to see if ones own life or work is in the Bible? So I bought a
Bible Code extracting program on the internet and below is what I found. Using the
original Torah Old Testament I made searches for words that apply to my work (I don't
know Hebrew, the program translates it for you). I was quite startled with what I
found. Below is shown the matrix.

Between Genesis 1:5 and Genesis 4:8 is a strong clustering of relevant words to my name
and work. In the exact middle, of course, is "sun". Immediately surrounding and
intersecting "sun" is "market", "science", "whole" and "earth". The professional Bible
Code analyzers say that words high in the matrix, close together and crossing words, are
the most significant. You can see below the strong clustering of words around the middle
word "sun". "Larry" is crossed by "astronomer". The word "berg" is in the second row,
one of the three highest words, the other two being "rain" and "wind", which interestingly
enough, are among the most reliable indices which the Berg Timer is able to
forecast. The words "whole" and "earth" cross and are placed just above "sun".

It's also interesting that "sun" and "earth" are the only words that occur without a
skip. Also, the middle letter of the word "sun" and the last letter of "berg" are touching
and both "sun" and "berg" occur in the exact center from left to right.

Not shown are other words I've found later, like Jupiter, Saturn, flare, lightning and
scientist. I don't know what the probability is of this congruence of words. I take it as
being meaningful since many Bible scholars have concluded this to be reliable.

Most interesting to me is the fact that my favorite quote from the Bible is enclosed in my
matrix, a quote which I inserted in my first Berg Timer method booklet published in 1981,
long before I or anyone else knew anything about the Bible Code. That quote is:
"And God said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from
the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.'"
Genesis 1:14.

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