Shifting stars skew zodiac signs
By Emily Leung
Nov. 3, 2002 9:00 p.m.
The sky is falling for some astrologists, but many are simply
not looking up.
According to some experts, the Sidereal zodiac, which follows
the exact location of the constellations in relation to the Earth,
is so inaccurate that, for example, those who have been reading the
Gemini horoscope their entire life should actually be reading it
for Taurus.
The basis of this discrepancy is that astronomy as a science is
constantly changing, but the rules of Sidereal astrology for
fortune telling have not.
From the point of view of someone living on Earth, the stars and
the constellations today have shifted from their original positions
2,400 years ago, according to James Randi, internationally known
for his research and founder of the Committee for the Scientific
Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.
This perspective is a result of what is called the “wobble
effect” on the Earth (also known as the “precession of
the equinoxes”).
The center of the Earth spins at a fixed point while the poles
of the Earth wobble, resembling an hourglass figure. This is caused
by the gravitational pull exerted by the Earth’s moon and the
other planets in the solar system.
This imperfect spin as the earth orbits the sun has shifted the
point of view 24 degrees west of the original intersection point
(the vernal equinox) with the ecliptic equator.
Western astrologers adhere to the Tropical zodiac system ““
the same system on which our horoscopes are based.
Tropical astrology is based on the path of the sun traversing
the earth (in relation to the seasons rather than the exact point
of the constellations) and is thus not affected by the wobble
effect.
Only Sidereal astrology, which depends on the earth’s
position with the fixed constellations, becomes inaccurate.
The two zodiacs are no longer in agreement as they were 2,400
years ago when the constellations coincided with the 12-part
division of the sky.
“(Sidereal) astrologers cannot ignore the modern
perspective,” said Robert Rockwell of The Journal of American
Society for Psychical Research.
“It needs to be updated because the world thousands of
years ago isn’t the world it is today,” he said.
The last time astrology was updated was in 1930, with the
discovery of the telescope and thus Uranus and Pluto, Rockwell
said.Â
Previously, analysis of the planets, which also plays an
important role in astrology, involved tracking the movements of the
five planets visible only with the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn) across the sky.
A study by Michigan State psychologist Bernard Silverman showed
that astrologers are ineffective in their predictions.
Silverman looked at the birth dates of 2,978 couples who were
getting married, and 478 who were getting divorces in the state of
Michigan. Most astrologers claim they can at least predict which
astrological signs will be compatible or incompatible when it comes
to personal relationships.
Silverman compared such predictions to the actual records and
found no correlations.
For example, “incompatible signed” men and women got
married as frequently as “compatibly signed” ones.
Other studies showed that it hardly matters what a horoscope
says, as long as the subject feels the interpretations were done
for him or her personally.
One such study distributed a specific horoscope to 150 people
and asked how well it fit them. Ninety-four percent of the subjects
said they recognized themselves in the description.
The horoscope used in the study was the same horoscope for one
of the worst mass murderers in French history.
According to Jerome Lawrence, “Astrology: Myth or
Science,” the stars lead astrologers to incorrect predictions
nine times out of ten.
So why do people continue to believe horoscopes?
“(People continue to believe) because astrology is a
cult,” said Seth Hornstein, a graduate student in the
department of physics and astronomy. “People follow it
without any scientific knowledge.”
However, even despite learning the scientific proof of
astrology’s inaccuracies, horoscope readers continue to
believe.
“I (will) continue to read them everyday,” said
Jenny Chang, a fourth-year psychobiology student. “It’s
nice to have something, however unproven, that can give you a hint
at what life has in store for you.”
