Basic HTML Version
by
Robert Ginskey
SOMETHING
FOR
EVERYBODY
}"
Your~lity
ls uniqu• in
t!Mt
•t
time8
~
are
oulgOing, friendly, 80·
cil1ble, while 11t otMr úmes you show
8if1M ofbemg reserved. stand-<Jfflsh. al–
m08t
introwrttJd.
You hllve
an
inde¡xm–
<Nnt strelllc
•nd
ere
s/ceptkel of otMrs
who .,, unt.hin/cing
11/ld
dogn~~~úc
in t.hllir
epproach. You "'" O(Hin to SUf1!111Stion,
but usu11lly you like to do t.hings your
w11y. You believe it is unwíse to be too
/ran/c in dealing with others. You prefer
a
cer111in 11mount of chllnge
•nd
vsriety
11ndbecome frustrllted when hemmed in
by restríctions 11nd ••cessivelimitaúons.
You he
ve
11 goodpersonslity 111 11 whole,
but you need to compensare for the few
areas
where you
ere
somewhst wesk.
You hsve 11 number of sbllities you 11r11
not fui/y using and thls fsilurs to employ
your c8p8bilities is sometlmes
8
source
of frustrstion. You possess
11
strong
need to
be
11ccepted, end you t.hrive on
pr11ise and
the
expressed spproval of
your frionds.
oes
the above description lit
the
rNI
you7 Would you PtiV
money to have sucn • cnarec–
er analysis or horoscope per–
ormed?
Millions of people have onvested a
great deal of tome and money in obtaon–
ing and faithfully acting upon theor
own
unique horoscopes. Their very lives,
tloey sincarely believe. are destined by
v
thes~ars.
Origino of Astrology
Man has always sought to understand
tha influence of unseen and mysterious
!orcas upon his destiny An inscription
dating from as early as 2500 B.C. has
been found on a s1one cyhnder
10-
8
dicating that a " propitious time" had
arrived for building a temple.
Near the beginning of the first millen–
nium B.C.. the Babylonians became fas–
einated by the possibility of foretelling
the 1\Jture by means of omens and signs
on the heavens. But
the ..
omen teeh–
nique" for dealing
with the
stars and
tloe future preeeQed
the
invention of tha
Zodiae and the horoscope by severa!
hundred years.
About
800
a.c..
the various scanened
beliefs about celestial omens began to
take on a new significanee. Court as–
trologers exerted a powerful influenee
on the affairs of men. and the
heavens
were constantly consulte<! for clues to
thefuture.
In lact.
it
was
just sueh astrologers
that tloe prophet Oaniel .encountered in
Nebuchadnezzar's
court.
"Then csme in t.he magicians. the as–
trologers, t.he Chaldeans. and the sooth–
sayers:
and
1
told the dream before
them; bu
e
rhey did not make known unto
me the interpretation thereof"
(Dan. 4:7).
Daniel found the astrologers totally
ineffective. But their practicas persisted,
and by the fifth century B.C. .the zodiac
and its constellations were well estat>–
líshed, complete with 'personal horo–
scopes.
The
Ap~eal
of Astrology
Astrology has continued to fascinate
man for many .centuries. Though at
times its popularity
has
waned. it
is
now
enjoying a remarkable renaissanca.
The reason? Success: according to fa.
mous circus showman P. T. Bamum.
invofves ··a 1itde something foc every·
body." 01 course. it was also Bamum
who
said. "There·s a sucker
born
every
minute: · But,
in
the case,of astrology,
both of Bamum's observations would
seem to be strikingly appropriate.
In a recent
study.
psyehologists C. R.
Snyder and R. J . Schenkel conducted
an experiment
in
which subjects
were
gfven identiCal ' 'hOroscopes.·• similar to
tloe
one
at the beginning of tlois artiele.
Some subje(:ts were not asked anythong
about their birth prior to the handing
out of the "horoscopes: · Others were
asked the year and month of birth. and
still others were asked tloe year. month,
andday.
Alter reading their horoscopes. all the
pertoeipents rated how elosely "their"
tloroseope deseribed ttleor personalit ies
on a fiv6110int scale.
The
averege reting
for ·those
who
gave no inforrnatoon
about their borttl date
was
3 .24.
For
those
who
gave tha year and month it
was 3 .76, whole lor those who gave the
year, month, and day it was 4 .38.
In ottlerwonfs. tha "accurecy" ol the
phony
horoseope
depended on
how
mueh inlormation the subject was re–
quired to give.
lf
the subject gave the
year. month and day of birth. then ha or
she just "knew" the resulting horo–
scope must be more aceurate. We can
only speeulate at the petceived "accu·
racy" if the hour and minute ol birth
were given es welll At the rate of in–
creaselisted abovo. the "accuracy" rete
would be nearly 5.00.
This study strongly supported tha as–
sertion that peoples' belief in the accu–
racy ol horoscopes is fer (Tiore important
than any inherent insight horoseopes
might claim to provide.
In a corroboroting study. psy–
ehologlsts B. Silverman and M. Whit–
mer asked 130 students and faculty to
rate themselves on a list of personality
traits such as aggressiveness. creativity.
ambition and adaptability. Each was
asked to neme a clase froend who was
callad upon to make similar ratings of
the subjeets' nature In addition, each
student and feculty member follad out a
personality test. Finally. each provided
hos exact name and place
of
borth so that
his pertieular horoseope " sogn" could
be deterrnined and hos personaloty
pre–
dicted.
Analyses of the results found
no
tia
between the subjects' self-deseriptoon.
their friends' deseriptoon. or their ratongs
on the psychological test to tha eharee–
teristoes ascribed to them by the
horo–
scopes
In view of such studoes. why do
people continue to placa sueh con–
fidenee in horoscopes and astrological
signs? What motivates millions of indi–
viduals to seek advicelrom the-stars?
The Occult Personal ity
Many factors contribute to tloe grow–
ing interest in the oceuft. and astrology
in perticulaf. The disillusionment with
seienee as the penaeea for the worid's
problems
is
eertainly one. factor. But the
primary reason people'llim'f<f astr6logy
is that it gives them tloe-feeling that they
are a untque individual.
with
a
Sl8ftSitl
of
purpose and power. and that they have
a
certaih amount of control over the
futura.
Sueh desires
are
not wrong in them–
selves. lndeed. everyone has a desire to
undarstand his or her unique potential,
and almost everyone has ponderad the
purpose of lite. But those who have
what might be called "the occult per–
sonality" are totally misguided. The an·
swers are simply not written ín the stars.
lt is good to searcn beyond the ptlysi–
cal. to seek real meaning in the uní–
verse. lt is good to inquire into the
fundamenta l essence of human lile. to
find reason for personal existence. But
to dabble in the oceÚit and astrology is
to look in the wrong place.
The Bible labeis astrology as a form of .
idolatry: "Take ye tloerefore good heed
unto yourselves ... lest thou lift up
thine eyes unto heaven. and when thou
seest the sun. and tloe moon. and the
stars. even all the host of heaven. stloul–
dest be driven to worship and serve
•them . . ... (Deut. 4 : 15. 19).
The prophet lsaiah wamed, "Let now .
the astrologers. the stargazers. the
monthly prognosticators, stand up. and
save thee frorn these th¡ngs that shall
coma upon thee. Behold. they shall be
as stubble; the tire shall bum tloem"
(lsaiah 47: 13-14).
Yet despite such wamings, astrology
will always have a certain appeal to
those
who
are frustrated. insect!re. and
gullible. And quite possibly, no amount
of evidenee and no amount of exhorta–
tion will
ever convince a true believer in
astrology that it
is
in fact a vain and
futile exercise in wishlul and wistlul
thinking. O
WEEK ENDINO MAY 3. 197S