Surveys conducted over the past several years prove that the belief in astrology is increasing despite repeated attempts on the part of skeptical movements to show the inconsistency of astrological thought as opposed to scientific experience. From the perspective of physics or biology, such inconsistencies are easily detected. The principal anti-astrological arguments have not fundamentally changed since Ptolemy and are regularly trotted out today. However, without rehashing these eternal arguments like that of the equinox precession, it is child's play to reveal the absurdity of the astrological word next to the laws that science has illuminated. Thus, one may easily conclude that if people continue to believe in the effect of the planets or zodiac signs on their character, qualities, flaws, behavior, and even future, it must be that the concerns of astrology are situated outside the field of science.
Before trying to clarify the ways in which astrology may be considered today, it is essential to emphasize its origin. Astrology emerged from a most ancient and harmonious model which dominated occidental culture for centuries up to the inception of modern times. This global vision governed all universal phenomena by several simple and rational principles. In particular, the planets, or "wandering stars", the moon, and the sun were animated, even divine beings, whose movements inscribed concentric, interlocking spheres that formed a protective shell around the earth. Everything between the Earth and the stars' fixed limit constituted a living being based on a system of correspondence, sympathy and harmony. The visible phenomena of nature were entangled with invisible forces. Reality included both the natural and the supernatural. The inner order of an individual mirrored that of the sky while being subjected to the restrictions of the sublunar realm of generation and corruption. The moral and physical constitution of a given individual, as well as the pathological predisposition of his temperament, depended on the state of the sky and the mutual relations between the planets at the moment of his birth.
At the beginning of the XVII century, this system of thought was contradicted by new phenomena which could not be integrated into the previous vision of the world. A novel mode of thinking emerged, defined with a mechanistic conception of knowledge and symbolized by the clock and automaton. Nature became an immense machine - a notion which would influence all areas of thought. The brilliant success of mechanistic science relegated astrology to oblivion until the end of the XIX century. Today, regardless of renewed popularity and attacks by skeptics, astrology barely interests scientists beyond historical curiosity about another of science's errors.
However, with the emergence of a new physics which has called into question the mechanistic conception of a universal machine, the limits of rationality have suddenly burst. Today, we are witnessing an intellectual revolution in which the old dualities of body vs. mind and soul vs. matter no longer have the same meaning. In particular, quantum physics has found evidence of a mysterious indivisibility of matter - better known as non-locality. The enigmatic nature of non-locality stems from its opposition to classical physics by which the world may be understood through its division into minuscule parts such as molecules, atoms, and nuclei. This latter approach reaps results when one ignores the intimate texture of things, turning a blind eye to a particle's level of reality as translated in the infinitely small figure of Planck's constant. At this minuscule level, one must use a new form of physics, namely quantum physics. Quantum physics reveals the non-separable nature of matter and thereby presents its ultimate indivisibility. As a conclusive experiment has shown, the separation in space of two previously united particles fails to truly divide the particles, for they remain in instantaneous correlation with each other. In fact, the measurement of one particle significantly affects the other, as if unity perseveres even at great distances. Since this correlation is instantaneous, it cannot be explained by an interaction propagated at the speed of light which, at 300,000 km/s, still takes a certain amount of time.
The above-mentioned experiment leads to the conclusion that each point in the universe is connected to all other points at the quantum level. Such a phenomenon seems reminiscent of the universal interdependence described by the ancients and by which all parts of the universe are in sympathy - a concept mirrored in astrology's insistence on universal interdependence. Some, ignoring the conditions of validity of this non-locality, have unfortunately used the experiment to affirm that the new data brought forward by modern science grants astrology a scientific dimension. Leaping at this opportunity, others have even tried to show that astrology is a science and elaborate on theories inspired by physics or biology. As with the proponents of any new scientific theory, one might ask them: "do you have proof of what you advance?" "Have you observed phenomena or conducted experiments to verify your theory?" If such is the case, these studies should be published in specialized reviews and subjected to the analysis and criticism of scientists. Micro and macro cultural and natural rhythms have undergone this process and are now recognized as examples of veritable scientific research. The submission of its theories to experimentation and observation, has also allowed the recent discipline of chronobiology to become a science which accounts for the cyclical determinism of geocosmic phenomena. In the same spirit, recent conferences were presented with works that demonstrate the influence of the lunar and solar cycles on humans. The belated interest in this type of phenomenon on the part of the scientific community is partially due to a perceived relationship with astrology which casts studies in a negative light. Here, the great scientist Galileo may serve as an example to skeptics. In the XVII century, Galileo refused to consider any possible effect of the moon on the earth's tides, relegating such speculation to the realm of astrology as opposed to that of science. Today, of course, no one would deny the effect of the moon on tides and numerous other earthly phenomena.
To the extent that they respect the scientific method, works which aim to elucidate correlation or causal links between the cosmos and human beings are valuable, even if they are inspired by astrological motivations. But by no means should they be confused with astrology. What then may they prove? Quite simply that the laws of physics, chemistry and biology function when applied to geocosmic phenomena. This approach stands in great contrast to the attitude of astrology's defenders who champion their theories with an absolute lack of proof. Such apologists only serve to further confuse a world so adrift in fragmented knowledge that it has become extremely difficult to reflect on the conditions of validity and the significance of one's own discipline.
Those who are inclined to believe in astrology are, to some extent, comforted by the proof-less theories peddled by many of its adherents. In fact, their tactics are far from limited to the astrological milieu. Faced with a public that is fond of fascinating theories which push the limits of space, matter, and time farther and farther, certain researchers go spinning out of control. Their theories introduce notions like the soul and the psyche which science did away with in the course of its development. Of course, such reintroductions into the modern scientific method explain everything relating to mind and matter. While these scientists are ignored or upbraided by their colleagues, their aura is celebrated among astrology's amateur public. Science has been burdened with a negative connotation since the Second World War. Thus, being an object of reproach in the scientific world may reward one with a certain amount of sympathy. Take, for example, the physicist Jean Charon who is esteemed for his writings and whose work on relativity was revered by his peers. Later, Charon came to endow the electron with a soul. In the same vein and with a greater connection to astrology, the biologist Etienne Guillé began by the observation and scientific analysis of metal traces susceptible to fixation on DNA. These same metals were traditionally linked to the seven planets. Subsequently, Guillé defined "vibratory energies" with frequencies that are measured by a pendulum. Regrettably, no scientific publication mentions Guillé's theories nor any associated experiments or observations by which they might have been proven. Moreover, it is questionable that experimental protocols could ever be conceived of allowing for the objective observation of an electron's spiritual properties or the vibratory energies of DNA. Objection might also be raised over falsifiability or the economy principle by which arbitrary and useless entities must not be introduced in a theoretical model. In any case, it is clear that such theories may be those of philosophy or metaphysics, but certainly not of science.
Other attempts to prove astrology have adopted a different tactic. Abandoning the research of celestial influence and causality, some use statistics to show a correlation between the state of the sky on an individual's chart and his comportment. The skeptical movements, sometimes in collaboration with astrological associations, are especially fond of this approach. In every case, the results have invalidated any astral influence on human personality or destiny. Numerous examples of this type of experimentation may be found in "The Skeptical Inquirer". Astrological journals and conferences include a plethora of works which attempt to link a case of alcoholism with the configurations of the planet Neptune or an example of genius and aspects of the planet Uranus. As these studies are rarely based on more than fifteen cases, they have no statistical value. Furthermore, they are never placed in the hands of experts for a first and second assessment. While lacking in depth, such works manage to cloud the issues and furnish astrology with a falsely scientific dimension.
At this point, we might turn to two recently scrutinized studies that seem to move towards the verification of astrology. Madame Suzel Fuzeau-Braesch, research director at France's National Center for Scientific Research, has demonstrated that 238 pairs of twins with nearly identical charts, but for their ascendants, display behavioral differences which correspond to the meanings of their ascendants. Out of 238 responses, these studies reveal 153 which are favorable to astrology. Henri Broch, physics professor at the University of Nice, has exposed myriad deficiencies in Fuzeau-Braesh's work, such as a dearth of numerous parameters, a refusal on the part of the researcher to communicate precise information on the procedures and statistical methods used, hypothetical births, and so on.
An analogous attempt, albeit on a larger scale, was the work of Michel and Francoise Gauquelin. In 1955, these two researchers attempted to show the link between the position of the planets at the moment of birth and certain human traits. The most striking link studied was the "Mars Effect" by which the position of the planet Mars at the moment of birth would have an effect on athletic prowess. Almost thirty years later, in 1981, The French Committee for the Study of Paranormal Phenomena, created, among others, by Nobel laureate Alfred Kastler, worked with the Gauquelins on the same problem. This succeeding study expanded on the original by enlarging the sample. It was hence revealed that, by weeding their sample, the Gauquelins had managed to find significant deviations from the standard. However, when the sample was augmented by the CFEPP, the standard deviations vastly diminished, tending towards zero. Once again, the polemic over the Gauquelins' work is not resolved and studies continue to be carried out. For instance, Suitbert Ertel, psychology professor at the University of Göttingen, has shown that the Mars Effect increases with an athlete's eminence.
In the anticipation of further studies based on the above mentioned works, one might concede that they seem to corroborate a particular relationship between celestial phenomena and the personalities of certain human beings. Nonetheless, one cannot fail to note the weak results in favor of astrology: only 153 affirmative responses out of 238 in the twins study. Those who have truly contemplated astrology and examined their birth map will recognize that, in the deepest regions of their interiority, astrology is "true." The sensation of psychic coincidence experienced with regard to the universe has been present since the dawn of time and has failed to be eradicated by three centuries of scientific materialism. An astrological phenomenon does exist and the birth chart reflects the deepest fathoms of the human soul. Why then does this phenomenon not find substance in statistical studies?
Author: Alain Nègre
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