Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1990

Six expert astrologers independently attempted to match 23 astrological birth charts to the corresponding case files of 4 male and 19 female volunteers. Case files contained information on the volunteers' life histories, full-face and profile photographs, and test profiles from the Strong-Campbell Vocational Interest Blank and the Cattell 16-P.F. Personality Inventory. Astrologers did no better than chance or than a nonastrologer control subject at matching the birth charts to the personal data; this result was independent of astrologers' confidence ratings for their predicted matches. Astrologers also failed to agree with one another's predictions.

Correlation Journal, 2014

Editor in chief: Wout Heukelom. Guest Editor and Principal Compiler: Geoffrey Dean Sub-editor: Bert Terpstra. Production Rudolf H. Smit Publisher: Wout Heukelom and Cygnea van der Hooning, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 364 pages. Hardback. Price: €25 plus €10 postage. Available via PayPal Contact: wout.heukelom@hetnet.nl Astrology under Scrutiny is probably the first coffee table book for astrology sceptics. It’s a high-quality hardback book of over 200,000 words, printed on glossy paper, and accompanied by detailed graphs, photographs and illustrations. Astrology under Scrutiny (AuS) is divided into four sections: (1) Summaries of the best 110 articles from Dutch astrological research journal Astrologie in Onderzoek (1977-2003), (2) Astrology My Disaster by Rudolf Smit, (3) the history of the lifework of the Gauquelins, and (4) the largest (containing over 60% of the content): The case for and against astrology. Most of this last section is so controversial that it deserves more than a general review in Correlation. So the focus of this article is The Case for and against Astrology, referred to herein as The Case. ____________________________________________________ Contents Proposers of the Case: Dean and his team Their case in a nutshell The core myth: “Hundreds of scientific tests have solved the puzzle.” Meta-Analysis of matching birth charts to owners Using White Swans to camouflage Black Swans Lunar ‘effects’ Red Hair & Mars Rising Omission of Inconvenient Data Divination Natural Astrology The Origins of Astrology: Observation or Invention? Quote mining and circular reasoning The 110 Best articles in Astrologie in Onderzoek Smit and the Placebo effect The Gauquelin Research and the Parental Tampering Conjecture Who will read Astrology under Scrutiny? Conclusion Acknowledgements References

Abstract—In traditional astrological frameworks of interpretation, resonances between positions of astrological planets in the birth charts of friends (called “candidates” and their “partners”) are assumed to play a decisive role. In the study presented here, this general claim is investigated at diff erent levels of sophistication. For this purpose, five main hypotheses are formulated, all of which are different versions of the general assumption that there are more resonances between birth charts of friends than can be expected randomly. The material on which the study is based is taken from a questionnaire concerning the dates of birth of candidates to whom the questionnaire was distributed, as well as those of their partners. Having gained interesting results with partially supporting evidence, but also with elements that did not support the hypotheses, the experiment was repeated with a second sample. It failed to replicate the results of the first experiment.

Correlation, Astrological Association Journal of Research in Astrology, Vol 20 (2), 2002

This paper is the result of research conducted on a database of the horoscopes of Australian parents and their children. The work was stimulated by Michel Gauquelin's hereditary work, which I judged had not really considered the traditional horoscopic associations that can link one chart to another. These associations, such as rulership of a planet over a sign, exaltation and angularity, are additional ways in which an astrological influence can be represented from one generation to another. This research paper explores these types of relationships. The results indicated that the astrological concepts of old rulership seem to be more influential than new rulerships when establishing a correlation between the charts of parents and their children. This held true over a range of different experiments. However, the most interesting result of the entire project came from the ancient Greek disused technique called the noddings of the Moon. This produced surprisingly strong results when the mother's chart was considered. The data was also examined focused on the gender of the child, as well as their order of birth. This proved to be quite important, with a consistent emphasis over most of the research questions showing that the first-born child's chart contained a greater frequency of correlations.

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Shawn Carlson's 1985 study, published in Nature, which ended with a devastating verdict of astrology, is scrutinized. The design of Carlson's study violated the demands of fairness and its mode of analysis ignored common norms of statistics. The study's piecemeal analysis of sub-samples avoided testing the totals for astrological effects, as did the neglect of test power, effect size, and sample size. Nevertheless, a correct reanalysis of Carlson's two astrological tests reveals that astrologers matched profi les of the California Personality Inventory to natal charts better than expected by chance with marginal signifi cance (threeway forced choice, p = .054), and that a positive result was replicable by a different assessment method (10-point rating, p = .04). The results are regarded as insuffi cient to deem astrology as empirically verifi ed, but they are suffi cient to regard Carlson's negative verdict on astrology as untenable.

International Astrologer, 2011

The astrological premise regarding effects differs from classical scientific concepts, yet is scientific in principle and scope. Symmetrical processes take precedence over causal processes, and influences should be viewed as interactions between individuals. Astrological effects have been demonstrated to be amplified by ranks of eminence, and longstanding studies of this remain unrefuted. The basis for the belief that science has repeatedly falsified astrology is critically examined. Forer effect arguments, the most commonly cited evidence, are found to be based on tests of selectively assembled non-astrological artifacts, which normal science would eliminate as bias. The acclaimed 1985 Carlson study, which dealt a devastating blow to astrological research, is found to be equally biased. It ignores its own test design, which when actually followed provides significant support for astrology.

Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2022

As it has been shaped by improvements in its tools and methods, and by its discourse with critics, I describe how the astrological research program has advanced through three stages of modelling and design limitations. Single-factor tests (for example, the many Sun-sign–only experiments that have been published) are typically underdeterministic. Multi-factor tests, unless they are very well designed, can easily become overdeterministic. Chart-matching tests have been vulnerable to confirmation bias errors until the development of a machine-based, whole-chart matching protocol that has objectively produced evidence of high effect-sizes. A meta-analysis of recent results shows the rapid advancement and how to further improve the results. The value of the program is not only to corroborate the taxonomic counterfactuals of astrological “cookbooks,” but to extend their explanatory reach by the comparison of astrological postulates and inferences with philosophies in other disciplines in terms of quantifiable processes and emergent effects.

ABSTRACT: This paper is focused on how meaning is drawn from a natal horoscope based on interviews with contemporary western astrologers who work with natal horoscopes. Some authors of astrological texts suggest that the activity of reading a natal horoscope for a client evokes mystery or the divine. Many astrologers think that reading a chart is a ritual. This paper proposes a different approach, that of creativity, and suggests that reading a natal horoscope is a secular creative endeavour. A glossary of astrological terms is included at the end of the paper.