The annual total of births fell substantially in Hong Kong in the past 20 years, and the average fertility level of 0.9 births per family has now fallen below the notional replacement rate for the existing population. Nevertheless, short run periods of high birth rates have occurred, particularly in the Dragon Years of 1988 and 2000. This rise in fertility may be related to zodiacal beliefs about fertility and the presumed favourable time for births, but this needs to be investigated more systematically.

Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514-1574) was central to the development and popularization of Copernicus’ heliocentric theory. He is most well known for the first published account of the theory, the Narratio Prima in 1539, and his persuasion in obtaining Copernicus’ manuscript for publication, De Revolutionibus (1543). Rheticus’ poem ‘Concerning the Beer of Breslau and the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac’, written circa 1542, sheds light on two aspects of Rheticus’ early involvement with the heliocentric theory. The poem helps us understand the approach to astrology which would prove decisive in Rheticus’ acceptance of the heliocentric theory and offers a glimpse into Rheticus’ association with Wittenberg’s controversial group of young poets. This relationship significantly injured Rheticus’ career and the heliocentric theory in turn.

Geoffrey Dean gave an account of three tests of his Parental Tampering Hypothesis (PTH) that I had suggested to him that he conduct. He concluded (Dean 2000): “Three tests, three hits. I rest my case.” I scrutinised Dean’s procedure and found that his first test failed to support PTH (about planetary effects on desired days). He obtained the desired hit by reversing the hypothesis post hoc so as to accommmodate the new “prediction” to his result. The second test also had negative results (about a purported dependence of planetary effects on “seeing conditions” at the time of birth). Again Dean reversed his critic’s hypothesis so as to make a hit out of this failure. The third test failed no less (about combining all informative planetary effects rather than suing the dominant effect only). Dean obscured his actual finding. In sum, the three tests failed to prvide evidence for PTH. The present result is consistent with those of four earlier scrutinies. No further test is necessary to conlcude that Dean’s claim that Gauquelin effects are man-made artificact is utterly mistaken.

This paper analyzes the role of Israel Hiebner’s Mysterium Sigillorum (1651) in the astrological reform program of late seventeenth-century English astrologers. Hiebner was a professor of astronomy and mathematics at Erfurt, and the translation of his tract into English in 1698 was considered to be a landmark event among reforming and scientific astrologers such as Henry Coley and John Gadbury. In the face of astrology’s declining reputation among learned elites, Coley and Gadbury wished to cleanse their discipline of superstitious dross and illustrate it was ‘experimentally true’ via Baconian induction as well as by incorporation of discoveries in astronomy and natural philosophy. Hiebner’s insistence on accurate planetary observations in making astrological sigils, his use of maps in Hevelius’ Selenographia as guides in stamping his medical amulets, as well as his detailed and precise lists of ascendant planetary aspects thus was appealing to these astrological reformers. This paper also analyzes the role of the Mysterium Sigillorum in the ‘English Sigil War,’ a larger debate that existed among astrological physicians and natural philosophy about the role of these medals in medical healing.

The first part of this series (Wackford 2000/2001) was written as a one-off paper concerned only with the trigonometric determination of the angles in a circumpolar horoscope. As such it did not fully explore issues of upper and lower culmination, leaving instead an open question that will now be addressed. This paper continues examination of the semi-arc system (North 1986, Wackford 2002/3b), its applicatioin in the Polar regions and relationships between this method and the diurnal and seasonal cycles.

The influence of significant strands of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century esoteric thought on the surrealist movement has often been noted, though has been little studied. Part 1 of this paper summarises current opinions on the esoteric interests of the surrealists in general and André Breton in particular. Part 2 includes an interview with Breton on astrology conducted by Jean Carteret and Roger Knare in 1954 and published in the French astrology journal L’Astrologue in 1968, reproduced by permission of André Barbault.

This article is based on a talk given to the Research Conference of the astrological Association in November 2002. The author argues for a non-causal explanantion of the working of astrology and bases his argument on the evidence of “entanglement”, the simultaneity effect of transits, the lack of evidence for any physical connection and the lives of Gaquelin’s professionals. He goes further in proposing that a real “secondary world” exists allowing not only the selection of birth times by the “star-born” but also the successes of Alexander technique and the “Inner Game”. Finally, he suggests that this concept of the secondary world has been anticipated by the ancient Tao beliefs, and that the scientific and Tao views are complementary.

To test whether astrologers using the whole chart can predict E (extraversion) and N (emotionality) in ordinary people, the charts of 160 subjects with extreme scores on the EPI were judged by 45 astrologers from beginners to recognised experts. The atrologers judged the direction (+ or -) of E and N, and indicated how confident they were in each judgement. As a control another 45 astrologers made the same judgements by simply guessing. The result was 5400 judgements each of E and N, the same number of controle judgemenrts, anda further 1500 judgements from a sub-test of 39 astrologers and 14 palmists. For both E and N the agreement among astrologers was very poor (mean kappa .10 for direction and .01 for confidence), and the hit rate was at chance level (mean 50.3% vs 51.0% for controls vs 50% expected by chance), showing if anything that judgements were made worse by looking at charts. Judgements made with high confidence were no better than those made with low confidence. Supposedly crucial factors such as technique, experience, use of intuition, and birth data accuracy made no difference.

The discovery and development of the cyclical index is presented. The paper discusses how to use this model and its possible value in predicting events and, in particular, wars. It is argued that the index is seen to provide a valuable guide to major eras of world stability, the peaks, and world discord, the troughs. The importance of the planets Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto within this model is also presented.

Once daily and for an instant, there can be no single ecliptic degree rising at the Arctic or Antarctic circles. It is therefore possible that a horoscope cast for one of these latitudes might have no Ascendant. At other places within the Polar Circles, horoscopes might have Ascendant and MC in conjunction or opposition. This paper explains why such phenomena cause the collapse of some methods of house division while leaving others virtually unaffected.