When Mercury retrograde 2024 threatens traders: how esotericism has taken over the cryptocurrency market

The beginning of December this year brought a surprising discovery – a buzz on Twitter around an application generating a “Life K-line Chart.” The fortune-telling tool, which seemingly served only for fun, attracted over 300,000 users in three days. The first post about the app garnered 3.3 million views. Even more remarkable – within 24 hours, a token with the same name was created. The phenomenon seemed absurd to outsiders, but for the cryptocurrency community, it was a natural extension of something that had been simmering beneath the surface for years.

Esotericism: from Wall Street secrets to the public arena

The history of secret interest in mysticism among finance professionals goes back a long way. On Wall Street, legendary figures like W.D. Gann combined astrology with market trend analysis, predicting stock market changes. George Soros admitted in his work to relying on instinct – specifically, on back pain as a signal of market risk.

However, between the 20th century and today, there was a fundamental difference: speculators never publicly admitted to being guided by esotericism. It was considered a defamation of professional reputation. One could personally believe in feng shui or consult with fortune-tellers, but admitting to it among industry colleagues meant losing credibility.

The world of cryptocurrencies broke with this convention. Here, where the very nature of the business has a touch of mysticism, traders openly discuss Bitcoin birth horoscopes or the influence of planetary cycles. An astrologer with 51,000 followers regularly publishes forecasts based on the “birth horoscope” of the (cryptocurrency, from the Genesis block timestamp of January 3, 2009). His analysis combines planetary positions – Saturn in retrograde is associated with a bear market, Jupiter with bull peaks.

Discussions about Mercury retrograde 2024 or the influence of moon phases garner thousands of interactions. People are unashamed to share their “K-line life charts” or discuss when they should or shouldn’t open positions. Esotericism has moved from the underground to the mainstream social media.

The source of fear: uncertainty instead of risk

Why does a trader need a horoscope? The answer lies in the fundamental difference between risk and uncertainty, proposed by economist Frank Knight in 1921. Risk is measurable probability – rolling dice with known odds. Uncertainty, on the other hand, is the unknown that cannot be measured – in the crypto market, no one knows when a crash will come.

The cryptocurrency market operates 24/7, all year round. A single tweet can wipe out billions of dollars in market capitalization. Projects disappear overnight. Traders are in a constant state of uncertainty, and here lies the problem – uncertainty paralyzes more strongly than known risk.

When you cannot measure a threat, your brain instinctively seeks “false certainty.” Esotericism is an ideal tool for this purpose. Instead of analyzing complex macroeconomic data or whitepaper articles, you can open a daily horoscope and get a clear cue: today you don’t trade because of Mercury retrograde.

Studies from the University of Michigan in 2006 showed that returns during a full moon were 6.6% lower than during a new moon across 48 stock markets. Not because the moon truly influences prices – but because collective belief changes trader behavior. When enough people sell during a full moon, declines actually occur. In the world of cryptocurrencies, this collective fear is amplified – especially during bear markets, when traditional fundamental analysis loses significance.

Cognitive biases reinforcing the illusion

Esotericism persists not because it works, but because our brain will always find a way to convince us of it. Confirmation bias – a classic cognitive error – is a key mechanism.

If you believe that a full moon means a crash, you’ll remember every decline after a full moon and forget the days of growth. When your “K-line life chart” predicts a bull run, you’ll attribute every small increase to the forecast coming true, and drops will be seen as “market noise without trend impact.”

Twitter and other social platforms amplify this effect. A post: “I went long on ETH based on tarot, earned 20% in three days” – gets thousands of shares. Traders who lost money following tarot don’t post their failures. The community thus only sees cases of “fulfillment” of esoteric predictions.

When BTC drops sharply, a trader looks for an explanation. Technical analysis talks about breakouts, economists mention interest rates – everything too complicated. Esotericism offers a simple answer: “Saturn in retrograde, the market is entering a bear phase.” This explanation spreads quickly because it requires trust, not knowledge.

Most importantly – esotericism is unfalsifiable. If you lose money despite a horoscope favoring trading, the master will reply: your personal horoscope is unique and requires a different approach. If you make money – of course, it proved correct. Tarot shows “large fluctuations” – regardless of direction, it can be interpreted as a forecast.

Community instead of answers

The ultimate reason for the popularity of esotericism in the crypto world is its social function. Discussions about technical analysis end in disputes. Discussions about esotericism? Never – because there’s no right or wrong, only shared experience.

“Is your K-line life chart accurate?” – a question everyone enjoys discussing. It doesn’t require specialized knowledge, doesn’t lead to conflicts. When you write in the chat: “Today Mercury retrograde, waiting for a better moment,” someone responds: “Me too, we’ll get through this wave together.”

Pew Research studies from 2025 show that 28% of American adults use astrology or tarot at least once a year. Esotericism has long ceased to be a marginal phenomenon – it is a common psychological need. The cryptocurrency market simply elevated it from “private use” to “public arena.”

The Life K-line Chart: comfort during turbulent markets

The popularity of the December app doesn’t stem from its accuracy. It expresses something that every trader feels but doesn’t admit – our control over the market is as illusory as control over our own fate.

When you see a bear market in your “Life K-line Chart,” you don’t sell everything. But when you actually lose, your psyche feels relief: it’s not my fault, it’s an unfavorable cycle in the horoscope. When you miss a rally – you’ll be comforted by the thought that it was written in the stars.

In this market, which never closes and is full of uncertainty – we don’t want to predict the future. We seek psychological support that allows us to stay at the table.

Esotericism in the crypto world isn’t a mistake – it’s a human attempt to find at least an illusion of control in a world of complete uncertainty.