The notions of symbolism, archetype and synchronicity in astrology are reviewed in a critical and rational way. It is demonstrated that they can in no way be defended scientifically but are purely literary and “fashionable” notions that undermine the reputation of astrology and fuel the arguments of its critics

The methodologies of social science, particularly those advanced by Eysenck and Nias in their review of critiques of astrological studies, are commended. Since there will be multiple factors influencing behavioural outcomes over the lifefspan, very large subject pools are necessary in order to estimate the contribution of various non-astrological factors. An aproach to human action derived from the work of Parsons is advocated, considering simultaneously cultural, social system, personality and cosmobiological (including astrological) influences. Despite numerous interacting forces influencing human action, it is choices that are determined, not the action itself. Ultimately, we are free agents and our actions are not “written in he stars”.

Birth counts of Gauquelin professionals across time of the day show large dips at midnight. Geoffrey Dean posits that parents avoid reporting that hour at registry offices because of fear of spooky effects (Fears). In Francoise Gauquelin’s view, however, parents merely avoid date ambiguity. In the present study, count of minute-by-minute frequencies of hospital births (1987-1994, N = 320,817) were analysed. Hypothesis: midnight avoidance, if due to Fears, should not occur in records of recent hospital births where parents are excluded from the reporting process. Result: the hospital data did show a considerable lack of births at 0:00 h sharp. For hospital births, only Avoidance makes sense while Dean’s Fears claim cannot apply here. Conclusion: it is inconceivable that Avoidance being traceable in recent hospital birth data, did not also guide 19th Century parents’ birth reports. Dean argued that Fears went along with adjusting their children’s birth hours to auspicious planetary positions so that Gauquelin planetary effects were deemed explainable, largely or even entirely, by occult beliefs. But since midnight avoidance is more plausibly explained by Avoidance rather than Fears, Dean’s seemingly strongest argument for bringing Gauquelin planetary effects down to earth is shattered.

The Mars effect discovered by Michel Gauquelin in the charts of sports
champions is discussed and the controversy this engendered from other scientific quarters is briefly summarised. A summary of the work of Ertel in replicating the Gauquelin study is presented and the author asserts that the Mars effect holds good for people at the top of other professions. The Fourier method of analysing the Mars effect is presented as a more effective way of understanding this phenomenon.

The French sceptics’ (CFEPP’s) test of Gauquelin’s Mars hypothesis with 1066 athletes’ birth data conducted from 1982 to 1993 purportedly showed negative results. I re-analysed this data and found positive indications of a Mars effect which were statistically significant. It turned out that the CFEPP’s attempted refutation of Gaquelin’s claim resulted from biased sampling (preponderance of low eminent athletes) and from biased data analysis (wrong chance expectancy, inferior sector definition, neglected eminence subdivision). The author doubts, however, that an ongoing worldwide spread of the sceptics’ message (“The “Mars effect” doesn’t exist”) will be affected by present counter evidence. Resistance to accepting uncomfortable hard facts is considered an urgent problem for sociologists of science.

After 1700, astrology lost the respect it once commanded in medical circles. But the belief that the heavens influenced bodily health persisted – even in learned medicine – until well into the nineteenth century. The continuing vitality of these ideas owed much to the new empirical and mechanical outlook of their proponents. Taking their cue from the work of Robert Boyle and Richard Mead, a number of British practitioners amassed statistical evidence which purported to prove the influence of the moon upon fevers and other diseases. Such ideas flourished in the colonies and in the medical servives of the armed forces, but their exponents were not marginal men. Some, like James Lind were widely respected and drew support for their views from such influential figures as Erasmus Darwin.

The prosperous ironmonger Samuel Hemmings and King George III were supposedly born at the same hour and died at the same hour after lives showing striking similarities. The original source is said to be a death notice in the newspapers of February 1820 but such a notice could be found. However, a notice was found that mentioned a respectable furnishing ironmonger Richard Speer. It said he was born at the same hour as the King, died near the same time, and to show his loyalty he chose the same day to get married. It makes no menion of his prosperity or of similarities in their lives. But even the simulataneous birth and marriage may be in doubt, because there is no mention of Samuel Hemmings or Richard Speer in the baptism and marriage records for London in the International Genealogical Index. The probability of such a birth and death twin occurring by chancew when corrected for multiple endpoints is unremarkable. The life of George III is unusal, well documented and deserving of astrological study.

My first scientific analyses in medical astrology tested traditional astrological hypotheses (especially the correspondence of the signs of the zodiac with parts of the body, starting from the head down to the feet), which when scientifically tested, do not seem to be confirmed … among 423 patients. The … use of a pathology coding system, required for statistical study, could make further collaboration possible.

The distribution over the diurnal cycle of Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn was computed for both genders of 2824 Gauquelin couples. I found that the distributions of the five “Gauquelin planets” in combination are significantly different between the two genders. Wives have a higher frequency of planets near the Ascendant, especially of Venus.

Full text available at:
http://www.src.uchicago.edu/~gavr1/Season-of-Birth.pdf