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astrology
This page discusses character identification on the basis
of 'star signs' or astral influences (ie astrology).
It covers -
It
supplements discussion elsewhere on this site regarding
Identity and online afterlives.
introduction
Preceding pages of this note highlighted questions about
use of physiognomy, phrenology or blood group to -
- forecast
that an individual will engage in crime (or have a prediliction
to commit a specific type of crime),
- find
the most suitable partner, or
- determine
an individual's suitability for a specific job or other
role (eg as a cleaner, salesperson, military leader
or farmer).
Notions
of astrological star signs as a useful identifier of character
predate the Enlightenment and - in contrast to belief
in witches or demonic
possession - have been largely unaffected by discoveries
over the past four hundred years regarding astrophysics,
statistics and biology.
Contemporary writers disagree about the meaning of the
term 'astrology', generally taken as referring to some
notion that the position of stars and planets at the time
-
- of
an individual's birth determines that person's temperament
throughout the individual's life
-
of particular events affects, even determines, the outcome
of decisions.
A
person's character and fate is "in the stars",
with a skilled practitioner supposedly being able to determine
the individual's character on the basis of a natal chart
or advise on decisions about hiring, firing, investment,
travel or even colour schemes when repainting a room.
Attempts by figures such as Michel Gauquelin (1928-1991)
and Percy Seymour to provide a statistical basis for assertions
about cosmic influences - through planetary alignments,
soliar radiation, magnetism or otherwise - have not received
strong support within the scientific community.
Gauquelin's L'Influence des Astres (1955) for
example reported a 'Mars effect', with the planet supposedly
being in certain parts of the sky during the birth of
leading sports stars, Jupiter during the birth of actors
and Saturn during that of scientists (a reversal of Renaissance
stereotypes highlighted by Rudolf Wittkower). Forty years
later a study of the 1991-92 English football league suggested
players were nearly twice as likely to be born between
September and November than in the summer months. In contrast
fast bowlers in leading UK cricket teams were more likely
to be born in the first half of the year. Those claims
were debunked.
Critics have understandably scoffed at claims that the
position of "astral bodies" at the time of birth
determine behaviour. Does every person born at a particular
location at the same time - under the same conjunction
of stars - have the same temperament? Clearly not.
application
That scepticism has not however deterred some consumers.
Thomas Sutcliffe sniffed in 2002 that -
what
astrologers actually sell the public is uncertainty.
I don't mean by this simply that what they say is so
vague as to be useless (though that's true). I mean
that what people want from horoscopes is the tingle
of possibility. Here, too, there's a kind of genius
- or perhaps cunning would be a better word. Conventional
commercial wisdom has it that you should always underpromise
and overdeliver. The star-sign business does just the
opposite - it overpromises and underdelivers,
because it has recognised that it will never be called
to account over the discrepancy. For those bored by
the predictable plotline of their lives, horoscopes
offer the glimmer of narrative twist - with their
carefully unspecific talk of "challenges"
and "romantic possibilities". For those in
the grip of uncertainty, on the other hand, the studied
fogginess of astrological guidance offers the consoling
illusion of meaning. What's being sold here is a kind
of psychic plasticine - endlessly malleable into
whatever shape suits you.
practitioners and consumers
How many astrologers are there in Australia? Who are their
customers?
The answers to those questions are not clear. There is
no professional certification of astrologers and no official
registration. Self-reported figures of their clientele
are problematical. As noted in discussion elsewhere
on this site, astrology generates sizeable revenue for
publishers (eg through leading newspapers such as the
London Times) and providers of phone/internet
astrology services.
astrology and law
Regulation of online and offline astrological services
(including publication of horoscopes) is discussed here.
Could someone be legitimately excluded from a job or other
opportunity on the basis of astrology?
In Australia the answer is no. The pseudo-science is not
legally recognised and exclusion would breach federal
and state anti-discrimination law. For example being born
under a particular star signis not an inherent requirement
of work as a physician and exclusion of people with on
the basis of astrology would breach Commonwealth and state/territory
anti-discrimination law.
What of astrology in court?
Australian law does not dignify astrology with recognition.
A claim that someone was not responsible for action because
of a star sign or because of the conjunction of astral
objects at the time of that action would not be successful.
(The individual's belief that she was compelled to act
because of those objects might, of course, be used to
prove that the person was of diminished capacity - in
the same way that courts who make some allowance for people
who receive messages from Mars or from the dead via their
toaster.)
studies
Studies of the astrology business and belief include The
Stars Down to Earth and Other Essays on the Irrational
in Culture (London: Routledge 1994) by Theodor Adorno,
How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World (London:
Fourth Estate 2004) by Francis Wheen and New Age Religion
and Western Culture (Leiden: 1996) by Wouter Hanegraaff.
For historical perspectives see works such as Rudolf Wittkower's
Born under Saturn: The Character and Conduct of Artists
(New York: Random House 1963), 'Astrological physiognomy
from Ptolemy to the present day' by Bernard Eccles in
7(2) Culture and Cosmos (2003) 15-39, Astrology
and the Popular Press: English Almanacs 1500-1800
(Ithaca: Cornell Uni Press 1979) by Bernard Capp, Passions
and Tempers: A History of the Humours (New York:
Ecco 2007) by Noga Arikha
Salient works by Carl Gustav Jung include his Psychological
Types (1923) and Psychology and Alchemy,
conveniently available in the Collected Works
published by Routledge & Kegan Paul, and endorsed
by followers whose enthusiasm outweighs their scepticism
or familiarity with scientific principles.
Other works that have been claimed as substantiating the
hocus pocus include Michel Gauquelin's Cosmic Influences
on Human Behaviour (New York: Stein & Day 1969),
Percy Seymour's The Scientific Basis of Astrology
(Slough: Foulsham 1997) and The Scientific Proof of
Astrology (2004), 'An empirical study of the relation
between astrological factors and personality' by Jeff
Mayo & Hans Eysenck in 105 Journal of Social Psychology
(1978) 229-236. Astrology: Science or Superstition?
(London: Temple Smith 1982) by Eysenck & David Nias
saw Eysenck as psychological gadfly back away from his
earlier enthusiasm for the planets, although apparently
remaining comfortable with beliefs about strong links
between race and intelligence.
Advocacy for astrology as a tool in recruitment and human
resource management includes The Astrological Manager
(London: Anness 1992) by John Alexander, How to Use
Vocational Astrology for Success in the Workplace
(Woodbury: Llewellyn 1992) edited by Noel Tyl.
There is cogent analysis in 'Effects of source prestige
on subjects' acceptance of the Barnum effect: Psychologist
versus astrologer' by Gerald Rosen in 43(1) Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1975) and
'Why horoscopes are true: The effects of specificity on
acceptance of astrological interpretations' by Charles
Snyder in 30 Journal of Clinical Psychology (1974)
577-580.
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