Have you been hearing about various apocalyptic prophecies for September? The Shemitah and Blood Moon are tied together in an extreme Judeo-Christian religious prophecy. Then, there’s the New Age prediction for “Mass Ascension” which is surprisingly gaining a lot of traction, which we will get to further on. But first, the Shemitah, which is related to the ending of a seven-year cycle in the ancient Hebrew calendar which is said to correlate with economic and social collapse in the weeks just before or after September 13. Recently, Alex Jones’ Infowars published an article titled “Eerie Statistics Predict Coming Shemitah Market Collapse: Only 8 Trading Days Until Wipe Out Day,” aiming it for around September 15.

Next comes the Blood Moon Prophecy which is based on the culmination of a two-year lunar eclipse tetrad on Sept. 27-28, 2015, and predicted to bring great tribulation in various parts of the world. The idea originated in part with bestselling author and Christian minister John Hagee, whose ideas were surprisingly taken up by some western astrologers too, and even astronomy websites adopted his description of a “Blood Moon” for a total lunar eclipse.

Many people are taking all this seriously, literally stocking up on supplies and heading to the hills. Apparently, also, some investors are preparing. The fear that this kind of prediction engenders is almost enough to really cause a financial panic. I have been getting calls and emails about some kind of “September Event” from concerned friends and clients for months now. I wish it would just stop!

But no such luck. According to Wikipedia, “apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω meaning “uncovering”), translated literally from Greek, is a disclosure of knowledge, i.e., a lifting of the veil or revelation. In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden.” Did you know that apocalyptic beliefs have been on the rise for the past 50 years, probably because our global problems have become too big and we see no way out. In apocalyptic thinking, a divine power or alien race is going to intervene and save us from ourselves, and often it is through a miraculous intervention or catastrophic wake-up call. This time, in September 2015, it’s the Shemitah. Remember three years ago when it was December 21, 2012? I could rattle off at least a dozen such catastrophic predictions I have weathered during my lifetime.

I think it would be good to consider the source when it comes to “Chicken Little” fear-mongering and remember all the thousands of worrisome conspiracy theories and end of world prophecies throughout ancient and modern times which have not panned out. Then understand that this Shemitah prophecy has exploded in the mass consciousness because of a bestselling book by yet another alleged doomsday prophet named Jonathan Cahn, author of The Mystery of the Shemitah and also a book of fiction before that called The Harbinger. Cahn is a Messianic Jewish rabbi and pastor and he believes that through the Shemitah, America will be punished for what he and his disciples believe are our grave moral failures.

With respect to anyone of the Jewish faith, the true shmita (Hebrew, release) is a sabbath year, a seventh year of a seven-year cycle which is a cherished Biblical tradition still observed in contemporary Judaism. Critics of Cahn’s prophecy believe the true Shemitah is meant only to apply to those of the Judaic faith and in Israel. Several trusted Biblical scholars have debunked his theories including those about economic collapse. These alleged “doomsday prophets” like Hagee and Cahn and their advocates seem to have made a fortune selling fear as well as survivalist supplies and equipment, for example, on Jim Bakker’s televangelism show where Cahn has been a guest.

Last but not least, some New Age prophets are joining on the apocalypse bandwagon and predicting some kind of alternative, albeit more hopeful, version of an event which is said to be a large gamma ray (or a “love ray or Wave X”) leading to a “mass ascension” which is supposed to occur in late September which seems to promise the first of a mass frequency shift and awakening in global consciousness. This sounds all too familiar. We have been hearing about this happening for years now, When it does not happen, there is always a reason given, and then it is predicted again shortly thereafter from another New Age prophet.

As far as I know from the teachings I follow of Jnanavatar Swami Sri Yukteswar, the true global awakening of humankind known as Sat Yuga, Age of Truth, is still a long way off, like maybe about 5000 earth years or so. So everyone can take a breath and relax. That said, the divine rishis, yogis and masters of the Far East promise that each individual can attain a state of Union, as in his or her own individual “Sat Yuga,” when spiritually advanced enough.

Regarding a crash in the economy, Mahendra Sharma who is a respected Indian financial astrologer indicated in a recent newsletter that this Shemitah prophecy is nonsense; in this report, he seems to be bullish on the economy. There is a chance for some big global financial change ahead related to the Gold Rush that has been predicted (by astrologer James Braha and others) for 2016. Gold dealers are saying that we will have a market crash in the next 30-60 days worse than 2008 (but they always say things like this to sell their gold, don’t they?).

China’s recent financial issues will continue to rear their ugly heads on and off at least through February 2016. Some financial astrologers have told me that the global economy looks more unsettled in November than September or October 2015, but the one thing I know is no astrologer can predict financial markets accurately all the time, and astrologers never agree in their predictions about markets.

I also believe that fear influences financial markets so the Shemitah could have some negative effects, but probably not the kind of wipe-out crash they are predicting. However, nobody can say with certainty what will happen because much of what will happen in the future is not etched in stone and things “out there” are being manipulated way beyond anything we can understand or control. The solar eclipse on September 13 will have some tendency to stir up fear and worry along with dramatic events for many of us. The super-Moon eclipse on September 27-28 also looks to be a doozy in terms of an immense lunar effect in the days immediately before and afterward. And the two weeks between eclipses is always known to be a time of revelation, when surprising secrets are discovered and new insights unveiled. Stay tuned for more about this in my next post.