An attempt is made to explain the Gauquelin Effect as an artefact of real solar and lunar effects. At the time the author based his argument on the absence of variations in the strength of the Gauquelin Effect during conjunctions of antagonistic planets such as JU and SA. This seemed to imply that the planets had no direct influence on the birth process, however since then such effects have been found when planetary sector frequencies were plotted across the JU-SA conjunction cycle, (Douglas (2006)).
Although the author has moved away from the radical position that the planets have no influence except via their effects on the sun, this paper is still useful for its discussion of implications of planetary conjunction cycles, and for the preliminary presentation of data on the variation of birth freuqncies in the Gauquelin Professional datasets across the hours of the solar day, and across the lunation cycle. Table 1 reveals that while Painters and Musicians are born more frequently between midnight and 2.00 AM, with a subsidiary peak at 8-10 AM, there is a progressive shift to later birth times for Scientists and Actors/Politicians, still with 2 peaks. Sportsmen and soldiers have a single peak clustering around 6-10 AM.
These patterns were later used to support the belief that solar effects have been neglected in studies of the Gauquelin data, and that the variable of birth order may be another dimension of these phenomena. The solar influences were later seen as consistent with some rules of measuring planetary strength used in Greek and Roman times, but neglected by modern astrologers.

An endeavour was made by the two Gauquelins to show that excellence in certain professions could be related to planetary-day distributions within the birthdata. The suicide of Michel coincided with some particularly devastating criticisms from European and American sceptics groups, following the perception of certain flaws in his methodology. The suggestion that there might, after all, be some truth in the Gauquelin thesis arises from further data-collections made in the 1990s by the German emeritus professors Muller and Ertel. Birthdata collections of physicians, artists (painters) and athletes are here discussed.

The purpose of this study is to look at the perceptions that police staff have of the influence of the full moon upon the work that they do. This will be a qualitative investigation into the underlying belief that the full moon does have an effect on human behaviour.
The objectives were to discover the extent of any existing perception of a full moon effect, assess staff understanding of the phenomenon, outlining what they thought was happening and to place the phenomenon in a contemporary context.
The use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews provided a qualitative approach to the investigation, and must be viewed as a ‘snap-shot’ of views in one police control room where the culture may be seen as specific to that working environment.

Astrology and Astronomy have been present in the history of Brazil since its ‘discovery’ – the Brazilian flag was designed according to astronomical (and astrological) standards. This paper will look at the astrology of our native people. There has been significant progress in studies on Brazilian ethno-astronomy, especially on the astronomical lore of the Guarani nation. Lastly, the paper will provide an overview of Astrology in Brazil today as an accepted academic subject, as a profession and as a professional help for businesses.

The type of thinking employed in astrology is at root non-positivistic and metaphorical, a combination which, as a study in-itself, is academically acceptable only as a literary, poetic or imaginative exercise. Treated as a mode of knowledge this thinking is usually denigrated as a leftover remnant of naive idealism or worse still, occultism. There therefore exists an abyss between the prevailing epistemology and astrologers who understand that their practice concerns real knowledge of the world. Can – and should – the academy bridge the gap, or will the astrologers tumble into it?

An academy is defined as a higher or specialised school, or a society for the promotion of science or art. Rooted in Plato¹s Athens and continuing through the Renaissance to the present day, the academy has always conjured images of a select group of scholars devoted to the exploration of what Plato called “the eternal realities”. But any such group constellates innate and archetypal tensions, not with the “outside world” but also with similar groups each of which may feel it has the “only” claim to knowledge, thus generating inevitable psychological repercussions, both problematic and creative.

I would like to suggest a re-reading of the work of Pierre Bayle, concerning his assertions of the scientific status of History, and emphasizing in particular his critique of astrology in the writings dealing with comets which were translated into English in 1708. Those who have written about Bayle’s thinking have not understood that when Bayle deals with comets he is actually looking at the way they had been previously viewed by historian, and by religion. I therefore take the opposite standpoint to those who consider that Bayle’s proposals on comets are no more than a pretext through which to approach other subjects. Indeed it is better, I feel, to re-position Reflections on Comets in the line which we would call astro-history, and to place it closer to the critical work of Claude Duret, published in 1595, a century earlier. Speaking of pretexts, it must be understood that the debate on astrology and its effects on events is an integral part of a larger debate on History which is, at its heart, similar. Moreover, it is no accident that Bayle, from the opening pages of his Reflections, fiercely criticizes historians before even beginning to develop his critique of astrology. This critique is not as superficial as we might be led to believe; it involves a methodology which Bayle shows to us in great detail, and which aims less at traditional astrological knowledge, in which comets have a somewhat secondary role, than at those works which will not accept such a traditional view about astrology at all, except with certain reservations. In many cases, the word ‘comet’ can be replaced with any astral configuration without Bayle’s argument losing its pertinence.

Astrology is often referred to as a symbolic language. Does this make it different from an ‘ordinary’ language, and what are the implications of describing it as such? In short, what makes one form of language more ‘real’ than another? The talk will introduce Wittgenstein’s concept of ‘language games’ to explore how language can be used in various ways to describe our experience of the world. This will address many confusions regarding concepts of ‘causes’, ‘principles’, and ‘underlying laws’ which are often used to bolster the scientific, as well as the astrological paradigm, which is itself an increasing victim of psychologism. Also drawing on other ideas from the philosophy of language we shall place the language of astrology within a wider frame. This will raise the question as to the extent that astrology itself can usefully contribute to the debate that dominates much current philosophical thinking on the nature and experience of language.

This paper will look at a topic hitherto equally neglected by classicists and medieval historians: the manner in which medieval scholars (including many churchmen) found a way of fitting the classical pagan deities back into Christianity through the medium of planetary magic. This enterprise lasted from the twelfth to the eighteenth century, and is one of the lost themes of the history of European religion

The Triple Moon Goddess of contemporary New Age thought has much deeper roots than is commonly believed. This paper demonstrates how Akkadian astrological tradition appears to have been incorporated in the development of a triple Moon goddess during the Hellenistic era. It offers an example of the way that astrological knowledge can be important in the practice of historical research.