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Because of my knowledge of the existing studies I was repeatedly asked to provide a summary of the positive research results supporting astrology. I am glad to do that although it will take months to complete. The purpose of this list:
(1) Whenever someone does research in a field, it's absolutely necessary to be first aware of the present situation, so you don't re-invent the wheel and don't make the mistakes of the past again. A comprehensive list of references is clearly missing.
(2) Several great studies are completely unknown and very hard to access, e.g. because much of the astro research is not contained in the scientifiic databases, or they were only published as a doctoral thesis in German and not in any journal.
(3) In the scientific literature there is an (implicit) bias against astrology, this list has an explicit bias *pro* astrology.
(4) Several studies just await successful replication, the list shall serve as the starting point for people in interested in finding a good research topic. Needless to say the odds of getting positive results are much higher if at least an exploratory or pilot study was already conducted.
I plan to write abstracts on the supporting scientific (or at least 'half-scientific') sources. Hopefully Lee Lehman is setting up the website with a content management system, then everyone can work on the content and it's becoming a community project by all CORA members.

links:

From Manfred Zimmel (updated continuously)

  • ADELSBERGER, H 1971 Statistische Untersuchungen über die Astrologie. Vienna: dipoma thesis, University of Vienna
    description: A diploma thesis that found statistically significant differences between the birth horoscopes of stillborn and 'normal' babies, e.g. the living babies have more Moon-Venus aspects and less Mars-Pluto. However, the overall results are mixed, not all significant differences are in the expected direction.
    interpretation: a completely unknown study & a unique design, not so easy to replicate perhaps
  • BÖRKLIN, W & MEES, U 1988 Ist politischer Konservativismus astrologisch erklärbar? ZfPuGdP 30 (1-4): 217-225
    description: Persons with 4 or more planets in earth signs are politically more conservative than persons without a planet in earth (N=1794). Comparing just earth sun signs (34%) to all other sun signs (66%) did not result in significant differences in political attitude.
    interpretation: a very sound study that could be easily replicated (no birth times necessary)
  • BROSCH, S, FEMBEK, M & STEINBÖCK, M 1994 Astrologie und Esoterik für die Chef-Etage. Top-Gewinn Jänner: 16-24
    description: The sun signs of managers of Austrian small companies "GmbHs" (N=27.684, male N=23.712, female N=3.972) were analyzed. In the total and male sample the sign Aries is dominant, the results look very significant (P<0.1%) although there was no statistical test performed. The female managers do have a very different pattern: the Venus-ruled signs Libra is dominant, with a large distance Taurus and Pisces, also (co-) ruled by Venus. Most female managers are in the traditional female/ Venus sectors like haircutters, beauty/ massage salons, fashion stores, market gardens, and so on.
    interpretation: a very sound study that could be easily replicated (no birth times necessary). It's crucial to make a distinction between the sexes as their patterns are often just the opposite, a reason why many studies with about equal weight of men and women don't get results. This might be a reason that profession studies were quite positive compared to other studies because in many professions one sex is dominating, in older studies men in general (as in the Gauquelin studies).
  • COOPER, H 1973 Occupation and season of birth. JoSP 89: 109-114
    COOPER, H & SMITHERS, A 1975 Birth patterns among American army officers. JoSP 97: 61-66
    SMITHERS, A & COOPER, H 1978 Personality and season of birth. JoSP 105: 237-241
    SMITHERS, A & COOPER, H 1984 Social class and season of birth. JoSP 1: 79-84
    description: Three different samples from the UK and US (n=2.186,n=12.000, n=12.000 - source: either Who's Who or official army statistics) the sun sign Scorpio is dominant among soldiers (p<0.1%). In the two larger samples you also have the signs Taurus and Gemini significantly underrepresented. The distribution among women is different, a pattern that can be seen in many studies.
    interpretation: Probably the best piece of astrological research, and yet nearly unknown! In Scorpio is ruled by Mars and Pluto, the traditional war planets. The difference to Scorpio is that Aries as a spring sign wants is focused on its own goals and authority and is not easily willing to accept the authority of someone else. Replications are actually not necesssary because we have multiple successful replications. The birth patterns of female soldiers are very different than of male soldiers, the gender difference is very important in many studies!
  • Dichev, Ilia D. and Janes, Troy D., "Lunar Cycle Effects in Stock Returns" (August 2001). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=281665 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.281665
    abstract: We find strong lunar cycle effects in stock returns. Specifically, returns in the 15 days around new moon dates are about double the returns in the 15 days around full moon dates. This pattern of returns is pervasive; we find it for all major U.S. stock indexes over the last 100 years and for nearly all major stock indexes of 24 other countries over the last 30 years. In contrast, we find no reliable or economically important evidence of lunar cycle effects in return volatility and volume of trading. Taken as a whole, this evidence is consistent with popular beliefs that lunar cycles affect human behavior.
    interpretation: I lectured with one of the authors (Ilia Dichev from Bulgaria) at the ISAR conference 2003 in California. I talked to him, he said that he wanted to continue to work on that topic but the university would not accept this type of ground-breaking and innovative research... whenever something works in astrology, it must not be replicated or pursued further, universities are stopping that... He is currently the only business professor with a serious interest in that topic (to my knowledge). http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/CV/dichev.pdf
  • HUEBER, B 1997 Empirische Untersuchung über den Gehalt astrologischer Symbolik in Übereinstimmung mit erlebter Situation. Vienna: dipoma thesis, University of Vienna
    description: 50 participants were keeping a diary for 30 days (N=1500) and rated their mood every day, e.g. level of aggressiveness for Mars.  As expected the mood under Saturn transits is bad compared to normal 'average' mood, and better under Jupiter transits (t-test). Aspects used: 0°, 90°, 120°, 180°. The effects of Saturn are strongest (p<1%), Mars and Jupiter are weaker (p<5%). At a higher age the effect of Jupiter is felt als physical healing.
    interpretation: A simple yet very promising study design. One of the few studies that fully aligns with astrological expectations!
  • LANDSCHEIDT, T 1989 Sun-Earth-Man: A Mesh of Cosmic Oscillations. NCGRJ Winter, 11-19
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1992 Der goldene Schnitt: ein kosmisches Prinzip. Meridian 1: 37-40; 2: 31-35
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1993 Extension of the Gauquelin Effect to Sun, Mercury, and the Outer Planets - Theory and Practice of Golden Aspects. Paper presented at the 9th London Astrological Research Conference, 13-14 November 1993. Correlation 12 (2): 7-8
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1994 Astrologie: Hoffnung auf eine Wissenschaft? Innsbruck: Resch
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1995 Cosmic Cycle Analysis: A New Tool For the Prediction of Market Movements. Cycles June/July 
    LANDSCHEIDT, T ? Golden Section: A Building Block of Cyclic Structure Link
    Landscheidt's work can't be summarized in a sentence, he has created a kind of neo-astrology that is backed well by statistical studies. One of the most outstanding findings is that celibrities from the "Who's Who" do have their suns predominantly in Golden angles to the Galactic Center at 27° Sagittarius. Golden angles are calculated using the Golden mean (0.382 : 0.618 = 0.618 = 1), one of the Golden angles is 360° x 0.618 = 222.5°.
    Another key finding of Landscheidt concerns the Gauquelin sectors, which are surprisingly
    (1) in the cadent houses and not in the angular houses
    (2) only apply to Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn, but not to Sun, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune & Pluto
    Landscheidt proves
    (1) beyond the shadow of a doubt (odds 1: 6 million) that the Golden cross is the real factor that explains the minima & maxima of the distribution
    (2) of *all* planets
    (3) the center windows are much smaller than the traditional astrological hourses and statistical significance thus much higher.
    The Gauquelin studies are *the* most extensive research project of the social sciencies spanning several decades and involving numerous skeptical committees, in my opinion Landscheidt's input is by far the most important to explain the patterns that are only partly in accordance with the astrological expectation.
    ...
  • MERRIMAN, R 1982 The Gold Book: Geocosmic Correlations to Gold Price Cycles. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    MERRIMAN, R 1985 Forecasting Trends in Commodity Futures with Astrology. NCGRJ 1: 21-22
    MERRIMAN, R 1992 The Sun, the Moon and the Silver Market: Secrets of a Silver Trader. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    MERRIMAN, R 1997 Geocosmic and seasonal correlations to major revearsals in stock indices: A Quantitative Pilot Study. Kosmos 26 (4): 17-20
    MERRIMAN, R 1998b The Effect of Eclipses on the U.S. Stock Market: Myth or Reality? IA 27 (2): 20-24
    MERRIMAN, R 1999 The ultimate book on stock market timing volume 2: Geocosmic correlations to investment cycles. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    description & interpretation: Ray Merriman has published many books with very simple (principally) quantitative studies of astrological factors in the financial markets, although not fulfilling scientific standards. One could perform statistical tests on the existing studies, but this not too easy for various reasons.
  • Piccardi, G.: Chemical Basis of Medical Climatology, Charles Thomas, Springfield, 1962
    Piccardi, G.: Exposé Introducif" in Symposion Internationale sur les Relations Phénomenale Solaire et Terrestriale, Brussels, 1960
    Piccardi, G.:  Über den Einfluss elektromagnetischer Strahlung auf die Wismutchlorid Fällungsreaktion nach Piccardi
    , Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    Piccardi, G.: Correlation between the rate of growth of rice seedlings and the p-indices of the chemical test of Piccardi a solar hypothesis, Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    Piccardi, G.: Statistical analysis of Piccardi chemical tests, Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    description: A leading researcher in this field was professor Giorgio Piccardi, the head of the department of physical chemistry at the University of Florence, Italy (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Piccardi; an English Wikipedia entry is not available). According to Piccardi, two chemical substances do not always react the same way as one would assume, even if the conditions in the laboratory are identical. In 1939 he discovered that these alterations are by no means random but they depend on cosmic factors like solar activity, lunar phases, position of the earth with respect to the Galactic Centre and especially the position of the two largest bodies in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn. In hundreds of thousands (!) experiments he could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that, for instance, that the chemical reaction speed of bismuth oxychlorid and distilled water has a very powerful connection with solar activity (correlation coefficient r~0.9, r=1.0 is the theoretical maximum). Piccardi remarked that, "it has never occurred to chemistries that not all hours are equal. And if they have been thinking about that, they never expressed their thoughts because it's too dangerous."
    http://www.rexresearch.com/piccardi/piccardi.htm
    interpretation: Other researchers have successfully replicated the results, see http://www.borderlands.com/journal/lunar.htm and http://www.cifa-icef.org/halberg/halberg_32_eng.html. These results are 'hard' in a scientific understanding and actually don't need to be replicated again, so this is one of the key pieces to mention as proof. As all other powerful astrological effects, this one was kept under wraps and is ignored by the scientific community.
  • Robotti, Cesare & Krivelyova, Anya, "Playing the Field: Geomagnetic Storms and the Stock Market" (October 2003). Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Working Paper No. 2003-5b. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=375702 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.375702
    abstract: Explaining movements in daily stock prices is one of the most difficult tasks in modern finance. This paper contributes to the existing literature by documenting the impact of geomagnetic storms on daily stock market returns. A large body of psychological research has shown that geomagnetic storms have a profound effect on people's moods, and, in turn, people's moods have been found to be related to human behavior, judgments and decisions about risk. An important finding of this literature is that people often attribute their feelings and emotions to the wrong source, leading to incorrect judgments. Specifically, people affected by geomagnetic storms may be more inclined to sell stocks on stormy days because they incorrectly attribute their bad mood to negative economic prospects rather than bad environmental conditions. Misattribution of mood and pessimistic choices can translate into a relatively higher demand for riskless assets, causing the price of risky assets to fall or to rise less quickly than otherwise. The authors find strong empirical support in favor of a geomagnetic-storm effect in stock returns after controlling for market seasonals and other environmental and behavioral factors. Unusually high levels of geomagnetic activity have a negative, statistically and economically significant effect on the following week's stock returns for all U.S. stock market indices. Finally, this paper provides evidence of substantially higher returns around the world during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity.
  • Schiemenz S 2003 Planetenstellungen und der Geist des Menschen: Statistische Untersuchungen über heliozentrische Planetenaspekte. Munich: Buch und Media Verlag
    Schiemenz S 2006 The Positions of Planets and the Human Spirit: The real background of astrology.
    Books on Demand
    Schiemenz S 2007 Ergänzung zum Buch "Planetenstellungen und der Geist des Menschen".
    Aalen: Kosmobiologische Akademie Aalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., Sonderausgabe von Mitteilungsblatt 2007/144
    http://www.astrologysoftware.com/resources/articles/listarticles.asp
    http://www.astrologysoftware.com/resources/articles/getarticle.asp?ID=83
    description: Using heliocentric astrology, successful writers, politicians, soccer players, F1 racers, and politicians all do have the same success constellations,  the troika (3 planets linked by conjunction) and the grand trine (P<0.1%).
    interpretation: An excellent piece of work that is addressing questions of practical relevance (who will win?), with many successful replications. Uses heliocentric analysis which is completely ignored in astro research. And: the effect sizes are one of the biggest found in studies!
  • TRENKWALDER, R 1982 Die Persönlichkeitsdimension "Extraversion - Introversion" im Zusammenhang mit astrologischen Kategorien. Vienna: PhD dissertation, University of Viena
    description: Two birthdates were picked where according to traditional astrological theory you would expect a lot of extraversion (a lot of fire) resp. intraversion (a lot of earth). The persons born on these date were contacted, their addresses were received from a public register (Magistratisches Bezirksamt), they filled out a questionnaire and the analysis confirmed the hypothesis.
    interpretation: An interesting study that is hard to replicate today due to the data protection laws.
  • URBAN-LURAIN, M 1984 Astrology as Science: A Statistical Approach. Tempe, AZ: AFA
    description: Master's thesis. Mark developed a model for alcoholics based on one AA group with the aid of multivariate analysis and successfully applied this model to another AA group, being able to identify the alcoholics.
    interpretation: Multivariate analysis is a completely new approach in astro research and due to the inherent complexity of astrology probably the right method.
  • Van de Moortel, Koen: Love at first sight. http://www.astrovdm.com/attract.htm (also published in the ISAR journal)
    description: Based upon previous experience, Koen assumed the following hypothesis: "People having a major aspect between their natal Moon (geocentrical longitude) and the inquirer's will be found more attractive to the inquirer. The same yields for Venus and Mars." Result: "The hypothesis that there is a relation between synastry aspects and attraction or sympathy, seems to be confirmed. The data show a consistent pattern that allows us to estimate the level of significance in the order of 5% or better. Of course, we see that if we would have left out the sextiles, we would have had a much better result (0.1, 2 and 1% significance)! But we have to play fair and stick to the hypothesis. In case of a replication, the hypothesis could be fine tuned by excluding the sextile aspects, since they didn't contribute to the positive result at all."
    interpretation: a creative design that confirmed the traditional astrological theories almost 100%, including the lack of importance of the sextile
  • Zheng, Lu, Yuan, Kathy Zhichao and Zhu, Qiaoqiao, "Are Investors Moonstruck? - Lunar Phases and Stock Returns" (September 5, 2001). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=283156 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.283156
    abstract:This paper investigates the relation between lunar phases and stock returns for a sample of 48 countries. We find strong global evidence that stock returns are lower on days around a full moon than on days around a new moon. Constructing a lunar trading strategy, we find that the magnitude of this return difference is roughly 4.2 percent per annum. Since lunar phases are likely to be related to investor mood and are not related to economic activities, our findings are thus not consistent with traditional asset pricing theories that assume fully rational investors. The positive association we find between lunar phases and stock returns suggests that it may be valuable to go beyond a rational asset pricing framework to explore the psychological effects of investor behavior on stock returns.
    interpretation: From a scientific perspective probably the best paper on the effect of the moon.
  • ZIMMEL, M 1997 Die Metaphysik des Saturn: Von der Verwendbarkeit esoterischer Konzepte für die Managementpraxis unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Wirtschaftsastrologie. Vienna: dipoma thesis, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
    ZIMMEL, M 1999 Wenn Himmel und Erde sich vereinigen: Esoterik und Astrologie in der Wirtschaft.
    Regensburg: Kern
    abstract: The diploma thesis analyzed the differences in the incorporation horoscopes of 3.528 successful companies with a good credit rating and 1.801 bankruptcies, with rather surprising results. While the results were highly significant (p<0.1%) in statistical terms, the expectations were only partially fulfilled. Among the resuls in accordance with the expectation is that the successful companies do have more planets in the signs of rulership. The signs Sagittarius and Capricorn were surprisingly very positive, and this pattern was confirmed by the moon which is independent from the sun (although too weak to be significant).
    interpretation: with my knowledge today, the study design could be improved a lot.
  • Zimmel, M 2004 Studie zur Wirkung von Progressionen http://www.amanita.at/d/lesen/d-0409-atx.htm
    description: A small study testing the effect of solar arc and secondary progressions on daily data of the Austrian Traded Index (ATX) 1993-1998, to check whether exact progression dates do coincide with major trend reversals with an orb of +/- 7 trading days. Results: only the solar arc progression was statistically significant (P=0.5%) in timing reversals, the secondary progression produced slightly more hits than expected but not statistically significant (P=35%).
    interpretation: a study very easy to replicate

TAO model by Richard Schulz

The TAO (technical aspect oscillator) is a mathematical oscillator derived from selected (mathematically) and weighted (mathematically) planetary aspects (planets angular separation, astronomically determined). Over any given period of time, it has both postive and negatives values that average zero. These positive and negative numbers arise from a mathematically derived aspectarian (positive and negative numbers assigned to every 360 degree planetary aspect)(logarithmic). The input is the angular separation of the selected and wieghted planets. The output is the TAO 2, a mathematically weighted moving average of the raw TAO values. There are, at any time, planetary aspects. There is, at any time, an SP 500 values. These are two independent variables. The SP 500 is a value of stocks. The TAO is theorized to be a measure of global human psychology, as related to a Human wealth effect.

The Null Hypothesis:
There is no correlation between the TAO 2 values and the SP 500 values.

The Pearson Product Moment Correlation for two independent variables is applied. For n=900, bi-weekly data for the period 1/1/1999 through 12/31/2006, r=0.68. The null hypothesis is rejected to greater than 1:10,000 against chance.

Therefore, it is theorized that planetary aspects interrelate with the SP 500, a crude measure of global human psychology. The Physics are Unknown. String Theory may be possible physical mechanism, with its added dimensions. Four dimensional Time/Space is not sufficient to explain these reuslts.
Replication, with many added measures, is welcomed.

By Maria Mateus

I currently have all the studies listed but the summaries are pending the construction of the dadabase that my partner was building for them.

By David Cochrane

To introduce myself to the group: I am primarily interested in
(1) developing and promoting the development of astrology software, have made great advances in this regards especially in recent years, and I plan to implement some of Richard Schulz's TAO methods, for example, soon, and recently developed software to implement Bonatti's rules of war to determine the winner of games as assembled, organized, analyzed, researched, and implemented by Lee Lehman, and
(2) developing astrological theory and research methods that can integrate seemingly disparate astrological ideas as well as scientific and mathematical concepts into a coherent picture, and also either eventually provide objective validation of astrology or at least a determination that a purely objective validity does not exist.
Links to some of the pilot studies and research studies that I have done are:
http://www.astrosoftware.com/Proveast.htm
http://www.astrosoftware.com/AstroLocalityArticle.htm
http://www.astrosoftware.com/DISCOVERY.HTM

The third link above is, I think, the most important, and at least just as important is a study on gold prices that I conducted which I have not uploaded to our website yet. There are links to several articles on new theoretical foundations and perspectives on astrological theory that are a basis for this research at http://www.astrosoftware.com/AstrologyArticle.htm

Research proposals by Manfred Zimmel

The only thing we have to take care of is to distinguish between a fishing expedition (pilot study) and a 'real' study testing a hypothesis, and a replication. Only after successful replications we have a 'hard' finding. There is a good pilot study in a similar field by the way (by Koen Van de Moortel http://www.astrovdm.com/attract.htm).
The four founding members (Peter Marko, Richard Schulz, David Cochrane and myself) agreed on the goals as follows (giving my understanding): we wanted to create a new research organization with *the* leading experts in the field, but only with members with good astrological knowledge and not scientists/ skeptics with an implicit or explicit bias against astrology. The extreme case are skeptics, many of them neurotic fighters of everything that sounds paranormal...
Most members are professional astrologers, so we support objective/ quantitative research, and our focus is not on theoretical questions of academic (like "Can astrology be real?") but on practical research helping our fellow astrologers and helping to establish a firm empirical base for astrology, with a beneficial impact on the reputation in science & society. We are open to new theories, of course, but not focused on re-inventing the wheel. We have made many pre-scientific observations or half-scientific private studies ourselves, based on our experience as astrologers. E.g. David's excellent lecture in Denver on the part of fortune and new ways to test compatibility of partners.
When we talked in Denver I was repeatedly told that I know such a great number of research studies, that's why I have agreed to work on that the next months -> http://www.amanita.at/sub/cora.htm. There is a vast number of unknown treasures in astrological research, mainly due to the implicit negative bias of scientists at universities against astrology. Almost all studies in psychological natal astrology have failed, but that's completely different with all other approaches. Let's do anything else but psychological natal astrology where the odds are against us (and I am quite sure I know why, more than one reason...). On the other hand, applying astrology to chemistry (Piccardi) we get extremely high correlations, much stronger than in human astrology (r=0.9).

It's wonderful to have so many different talents & resources on board, including software programmers like you and Peter Fraiss or marketing experts Ed Snow with research experience. Horary astrology for is the big joker for future research, especially with sports events and then Lee's battle model. Peter Fraiss talked about implementing a full horary model in his software years ago. In general, I am skeptical of astrologers making assessments and prefer computer models for many reasons:
(1) The real experts have a full house of clients and don't have the time to participate, we will only get the 2nd and 3rd row mostly.
(2) You only can have a rather small sample size.
(3) Everything depends on the astrologers participating, so replications are in danger of failing, a frequent phenomenon.
(4) Organizing this kind of a study is much more costly and requires much more organization than a simple computer studies- but we don't have the monetary & human resources of universities.

Like the study about political conservativism, the future for me is to test a summarizing model (e.g. 4+ planets in earth) against data, not isolated factors which are usually very weak. In financial astrology we have a great many quantitative but half-scientific studies (like Ray Merriman or Bill Meridian), it wouldn't require much to 'upgrade'.

Yes and no, we want to be the contra part to the official literature with its (implicit) anti-astrological bias. You find the negative studies everywhere (in the official databases and so on) and they don't need to be re-stated again by us - at least that's not a priority for us with our (explicit) bias pro astrology. The positive studies are very scattered and not easy to access at all, many of them completely unknown. And when you have 100 negative studies, you still have 1000 potential designs with a positive outcome (perhaps), but every positive study is an excellent *direct* opportunity for a successful replication - this element is almost always missing (with few exceptions) . The reason lies at hand: e.g. Ilia Dichev (author of the moon paper http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=281665&rec=1&srcabs=283156) told me at the 2003 ISAR conference that after his study published he was offered two choices: either to stop publishing on astrology or to leave university! That is happening all the time and thus *THE* missing link in astro research imo.

Research proposals by Didier Castille

  • 1-marriages
    The experiment I carried out was based on French vital records providing date of birth of spouses (no time of birth). It showed that marriages between man and woman having conjunct suns are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That need to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    Possible research project organization : data gathering + methodology critics + replication
  • 2-heredity
    The experiment I carried out was based on French vital records + French population census.
    French vital records provide date of birth of father + mother + child (no time of birth). It showed that children having sun conjunct to father's sun (or mother's) are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That needs to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    French population census provides date of birth of father + mother + children (no time of birth). It showed that families (according to family size) where children having sun conjunct to father's sun (or mother's) are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That needs to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    Possible research project organization : data gathering + methodology critics + replication
  • 3-compatibility research
    Experiments above show facts and do not approach the personal meaning of such important events in one's life as getting married, having a child or relationships with children.
    That would be interesting to organize a survey offering spouses or parents or families the opportunity to express how they feel involved in such marital/parental relationships; to be compared with birth charts, of course.
    Maybe that kind of research has already been done, I don't know, I'm just proposing a quantitative/qualitative track...
    Possible research project organization: build a questionnaire with astrologers and psychologists + determine the sample (size, demographic characteristics, etc.) + solicit astrologers for developing the survey with their clients + capture the data + compare the results with charts
  • 4-Astrology books
    About 10 years ago, Gunter Sachs organized a experiment which is rather easy to replicate and whose results could be interesting. He asked a publisher of sunsign astrology books (one book per sign) to let him know the amount of books that have been sold according to the sign; he showed that the best-sold book was Scorpio... Is it the same in different countries?
    Possible research project organization: organizing contacts with publishers in different countries + replication

Excerpt from Peter Marko's paper in progress

Marko, P 2008 Lunar Favourites: A statistical study of the relationship between the Moon's longitude and the performance of public favourites in British horse racing. Unfinished & unpublished paper.
abstract: Scientific research into sports astrology is the objective study of relationships between celestial configurations and sporting contests. In this paper we examine the performance of betting favourites in British horse racing with respect to the longitudinal position of the Moon at the time of the event. The findings presented here provide strong support for a lunar effect in both the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, the size of which generally becomes greater with increasing divisions of the zodiacal circle. Some of the results of similar research done in the past were generally confirmed. The methodology employed in this study not only enables researchers to unambiguously replicate our results but also provides a model for the objective verification of certain astrological techniques and theories.

Scientific research into astrology has been plagued with numerous problems in the past (Dean 1977). Despite the relatively high activity level of researchers, scientific evidence in support of astrological tenets is scant and unacknowledged by the scientific community. Among the most common obstacles to research are, for example:

  • Inadequate understanding of the scientific method and design of experiments, mostly by astrologers;
  • Insufficient astrological background, mostly by scientists and skeptics;
  • Focusing on complex areas rather than studying the basics;
  • The peculiarity of planetary movements as viewed from Earth, which results in astronomical artifacts that invalidate many statistical studies;
  • The questionable accuracy of raw data (e.g., uncertain birth times);
  • The ambiguity of interpretation (e.g., the definition and measurement of various character traits);
  • The unavailability of sufficient amounts of data required for statistical verification; and
  • Inadequate resources available for conducting scientific experiments in astrology (e.g., researchers, specialized tools, forums, publishing venues, funding).

Research that examines sporting events in reference to celestial phenomena (sports astrology) overcomes most of these obstacles:

  • The timing of sports events is exact and well‑documented;
  • There is an abundance and variety of events to study, which makes statistical analysis meaningful; and
  • The outcome of each contest is unambiguous, which provides ample opportunity for making testable predictions.

For this study, we have chosen to examine the relationship between the performance of betting favourites in British horse racing and the longitude of the Moon at the time of the races. Horse racing was specifically selected because of the short duration of each contest, which assures that astrological factors are focused and stable. The zodiac was selected primarily due to the simplicity of calculations. Finally, the Moon was selected because it moves relatively quickly through the zodiac, which makes differentiation of races by longitude possible. The objective of the study is to determine whether any correlation exists between the performance of betting favourites in horse racing and the longitude of the Moon.

No scientific research of this type has been done that we are aware of. Few astrological studies of horse racing or other sports betting favourites have been published in the past: Sepharial (c1912), Robson (????), Butaney (1963), Barron (1976), and Frawley (2007). However, with one exception, these publications cannot be considered scientific because they lack published research methods and results. They can neither be checked for correctness nor replicated, and the findings are simply proclaimed without evidence.

Butaney (1963) gives a method for selecting horse racing favourites based on astrology, which involves the use of Vedic lunar mansions (nakshatras) among other factors. This was not a scientific study, but the material will be useful for contrasting it with our findings.

Baron (1976) conducted a computer‑assisted study of betting favourites for 14,503 horse races at racetracks in Toronto, Canada, during the period 1966‑74. A total of 1,183 factors (consisting of the zodiacal positions of, and the angular distances between, the planets, points or midpoints) were tallied with respect to whether the favourite won or lost a particular race. The ratio of wins over losses for each factor was determined and the resulting significance calculated. The most significant 88 factors thus obtained are presented in the book. While this is pioneering work into scientifically examining the astrology of betting favourites in sporting contests, the study is flawed on several counts.

Statistical studies of zodiacal signs have been numerous. Some of the more significant efforts in this area include: Kolisko (1936), Fagan (1950), Bradley (1950, 1957a, 1957b, 1964), Field (1964), Thun (1964), Gauquelin (1967, 1969, 1974), Gleadow (1968), Firebrace (1969), Addey (1969, 1976), Van Deusen (1970), Black (1976), Mayo et al (1978), Overbeck (1980, 2008), Sachs (1998), Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001).

Of all scientific research into astrology, the work by Michel Gauquelin and his wife, Françoise, has unquestionably been the most methodical and exhaustive, and received the most attention by astrologers, skeptics and scientists. Gauquelin's diurnal planetary effects, and especially the so‑called Mars effect, have generated much controversy and caused heated debates on astrology up until this day (e.g., Dean 2006, Ertel 2006). However, Gauquelin was unable to demonstrate a statistically measurable effect of the signs of the zodiac on earthly affairs (Gauquelin 1974).

Fagan (1950) and Bradley (1950), and later Gleadow (1968) and Firebrace (1969), have studied the zodiac in terms of mundane events (e.g., rainfall patterns), character, and profession. They have presented some, albeit disputed, evidence for the effects of the sidereal zodiac. Bradley (1950) also examined the Sun's distribution for 2,492 clergymen in 30 different zodiacs, using longitude offsets in one‑degree increments. He found that 22 zodiacs were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Field (1964) and Van Deusen (1964) independently examined the birth dates of a number of professional groups. They both found that each group exhibited a characteristic frequency distribution in the tropical signs, which depended on the particular profession under study. The distributions were generally in line with traditional astrological expectations.

Addey (1969, 1976) introduced harmonic analysis to sign studies, and found that frequency distributions over the zodiacal circle reveal more when the traditional twelve‑fold division is discarded and replaced by harmonics (i.e. division of the circle by any integer).

Black (1976) found significant deviations from chance (p = 0.05) in the Sun's distribution in three of the four zodiacs tested for a group of clergymen, birth data for which was documented by Bradley (1950). This study included all combinations of 27 and 28 lunar mansions with starting points of 0º Aries and 0º Taurus (sidereal zodiac, Fagan‑Bradley ayanamsha).

Overbeck and Overbeck (1980) attempted to refine and replicate Black's findings by adding the tropical zodiac and the Lahiri sidereal zodiac in their study. They found that the Sun's distribution was significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) in seven of the twelve zodiacs tested. Recently, Overbeck (2008) undertook an even more thorough study, this time examining the Moon's distribution in 27 lunar mansions using 25 different zodiacs for twelve groups of people, birth data for which was extracted from the Archives Gauquelin. The author found that 57 of the 300 data sets tested were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001) give a thorough overview of the research into crop yields in relation to the Moon's sidereal longitude, including the work of Kolisko (1936) and Thun (1964). According to the authors, repeatable and statistically significant evidence exists for sowing and harvesting by the Moon's fourfold rhythm in accordance with the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) of the sidereal constellations.

While the findings from all this research would leave the reader with the impression that the effect of signs is well established, none of these studies in fact have received mainstream scientific acceptance. The reasons for this are manifold, but the discussion of these would go well beyond the scope of this study.

In this paper, we will attempt to undertake a definitive statistical study of the zodiac while addressing most of the criticisms against astrological research so far. Building on the ideas of Bradley and Addey, we will take the researches of Black and the Overbecks into the domain of mundane events. We will observe the longitudinal positions of the Moon for horse races conducted in Britain between 1988 and 2006, and examine their relationship to the performance of betting favourites. During the course of this study, we will employ various divisions for the zodiacal circle and as well examine the possible effects of different starting point offsets for the zodiac. It is hypothesized that the Moon's longitude has no effect on the outcome of horse races or betting patterns exhibited by the public, and so no significant deviations from chance are expected to be found in the data. For the purposes of this paper, we are not concerned with meaning (astrological or otherwise) but only whether there is a measurable effect on horse races in terms of the zodiac. This effect must be established first prior to any possible examination of meaning.

Butaney (1963) gives a method for selecting horse racing favourites based on astrology, which involves the use of Vedic lunar mansions (nakshatras ) among other factors. This was not a scientific study, but the material will be useful for contrasting it with our findings.

Baron (1976) conducted a computer assisted study of betting favourites for 14,503 horse races at racetracks in Toronto, Canada, during the period 1966 74. A total of 1,183 factors (consisting of the zodiacal positions of, and the angular distances between, the planets, points or midpoints ) were tallied with respect to whether the favourite won or lost a particular race. The ratio of wins over losses for each factor was determined and the resulting significance calculated. The most significant 88 factors thus obtained are presented in the book. While this is pioneering work into scientifically examining the astrology of betting favourites in sporting contests, the study is flawed on several counts .

Fagan (1950) and Bradley (1950), and later Gleadow (1968) and Firebrace (1969), have studied the zodiac in terms of mundane events (e.g., rainfall patterns), character, and profession. They have presented some, albeit disputed, evidence for the effects of the sidereal zodiac. Bradley (1950) also examined the Sun's distribution for 2,492 clergymen in 30 different zodiacs, using longitude offsets in one degree increments. He found that 22 zodiacs were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) .

Field (1964) and Van Deusen (1964) independently examined the birth dates of a number of professional groups. They both found that each group exhibited a characteristic frequency distribution in the tropical signs, which depended on the particular profession under study. The distributions were generally in line with traditional astrological expectations.

Addey (1969, 1976) introduced harmonic analysis to sign studies, and found that frequency distributions over the zodiacal circle reveal more when the traditional twelve fold division is discarded and replaced by harmonics (i.e. division of the circle by any integer).

Black (1976) found significant deviations from chance (p = 0.05) in the Sun's distribution in three of the four zodiacs tested for a group of clergymen, birth data for which was documented by Bradley (1950). This study included all combinations of 27 and 28 lunar mansions with starting points of 0º Aries and 0º Taurus (sidereal zodiac, Fagan Bradley ayanamsha ).

Overbeck and Overbeck (1980) attempted to refine and replicate Black's findings by adding the tropical zodiac and the Lahiri sidereal zodiac in their study. They found that the Sun's distribution was significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) in seven of the twelve zodiacs tested. Recently, Overbeck (2008) undertook an even more thorough study, this time examining the Moon's distribution in 27 lunar mansions using 25 different zodiacs for twelve groups of people, birth data for which was extracted from the Archives Gauquelin . The author found that 57 of the 300 data sets tested were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001) give a thorough overview of the research into crop yields in relation to the Moon's sidereal longitude, including the work of Kolisko (1936) and Thun (1964). According to the authors, repeatable and statistically significant evidence exists for sowing and harvesting by the Moon's fourfold rhythm in accordance with the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) of the sidereal constellations.

Addey, J.M. 1969. Seven‑thousand doctors. Astrological Journal, XI.4.
Addey, J.M. 1976. Harmonics in astrology. Green Bay: Cambridge Circle.
Alova 2007. Lax or parallax? ISAR International Astrologer, 36.4 (Sagittarius 2007):35‑36.
Baron, G. 1976. The crowd chooses. Toronto: G. Baron.
Black, M. 1976. Lunar zodiacs - Statistical analysis. The Constellations 2.2 (Dec 1976)
Bradley, D.A. 1950. Profession and birth date. Minnesota: Llewellyn.
Bradley, D.A. (Allen G.) 1957a. Unveiling a new tool - Entering a new era in mundane forecasting. American Astrology, May 1957:2‑7, Jun 1957:42‑47, Jul 1957:32‑37.
Bradley, D.A. (Allen G.) 1957b. Your powwow corner. American Astrology, Sep 1957:42‑44, 69.
Bradley, D.A. (Allen G.) 1964. How to Unvex a Vexed Question! American Astrology Magazine, Aug 1964. http://www.spiritualrealist.com/ASTROLOGY/ABOUTSIDEREALASTRO/Garth%20Allen%20Unvex%20The%20Vexed.asp
Butaney, T.G. 1963. Forecasting winners. Bombay: T.G. Butaney.
Dean, G. et al 1977. Recent Advances in natal astrology. Subiaco: Analogic.
Dean, G. 2006. Comment from Dr. Geoffrey Dean on Prof Suitbert Ertel's Planetary effects brought down to earth. Correlation 23(2):53.
Ertel, S. 2006. What is true and what untrue? Response from Prof. Suitbert Ertel to Dr. Geoffrey Dean's Comment. Correlation 23(2):58.
Fabricand, B.P. 1979. The science of winning: A Random Walk on the Road to Riches. Florence: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Fagan, C. 1950. Zodiacs old and new. Los Angeles: Llewellyn Publications.
Field, P. 1964. 50 thousand birthdays. La Selva Beach: Saratoga Publishing Co.
Firebrace, R.C. 1969. Astrological statistics. The Astrological Journal 11.4:8‑13.
Frawley, J. 2007. Sports astrology. London: Apprentice Books.
Gauquelin, M. 1967. Cosmic clocks:From astrology to a modern science. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company.
Gauquelin, M. 1969. The scientific basis of astrology. New York: Stein and Day Publishers.
Gauquelin, M. 1974. Cosmic influences on human behavior. London: Garnstone Press.
Gleadow, R. 1968. Your character in the zodiac. London: J.M. Dent & Sons.
Kolisko, L. 1936. The Moon and the growth of plants. Bray‑on‑Thames: Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation.
Kollerstrom, N., and Staudenmaier, G. 2001. Evidence for lunar‑sidereal rhythms in crop yield: A review. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 19 (2001):247‑259. http://www.astro3.demon.co.uk/evidence.htm
Mayo, J., White, O. and Eysenck, H.J. 1978. An empirical study of the relation between astrological factors and personality. Journal of Social Psychology 99:27‑30.
Mendenhall, W. 1975. Introduction to probability and statistics. North Scituate: Duxbury Press, Fourth Edition.
Miller, A. and Brown, J.M. 1999. The complete astrological handbook for the twenty-first century: Understanding and combining the wisdom of Chinese, Tibetan, Vedic, Arabian, Judaic and western astrology. New York: Schocken Books
Overbeck, B. and Overbeck, G. 1980. The sun in the lunar mansions. Cosmocology Magazine 10/11. http://members.toast.net/overbeck/SunInMan.pdf
Overbeck, B. 2008. Ayanamsas - A statistical study. KP Astrology International Journal 1.1 (Feb 2008). http://members.toast.net/overbeck/AyanStat.pdf
Robson, V. ????. Astrological racing notes. Manuscript.
Sachs, G. 1998. The astrology file. London: Orion Books.
Sepharial (Old, W.G.) c1912. The silver key: A guide to speculators (1995 facsimile edition). Santa Fe: Sun Publishing
Thun, M. 1964. Nine years observation of cosmic influences on annual plants. Star and Furrow 22 (Spring 1964).
Van Deusen, E.L. 1970. Astrogenetics. Garden City: Doubleday.
Ziemba, W.T. and Hausch, D.B. 1987. Dr. Z's beat the racetrack. New York: William Morrow & Co.

Uncommented references (from Manfred Zimmel)

Abbrevations
Ah Astrologie heute: Zeitschrift für Astrologie, Psychologie und Esoterik
APP Astro-Psychological Problems
Correlation Journal of Research into Astrology
HM The Humanist Magazine
J Journal
JoGR Journal of Geocosmic Research
JoP Journal of Psychology
JoSE Journal of Scientific Exploration
JoSP Journal of Social Psychology
IA/ Kosmos The International Astrologer: An ISAR pulication (früher: Kosmos)
MA The Mountain Astrologer
Meridian Meridian: Fachzeitschrift für Astrologie
NCGRJ Journal of the National Council of Geocosmic Research
P Psychology
PaID Personality and Individual Differences
Ph Psychologie heute
POTTENGER, ARM POTTENGER, M (ed) 1995 Astrological Research Methods Volume 1: An ISAR Anthology. Los Angeles: International Society for Astrological Research
PP Personnel Psychology
PRe Psychological Reports
PRu Psychologische Rundschau
QdZ Qualität der Zeit
SI The Skeptical Inquirer
ZfP Zeitschrift für Personalforschung
ZfPuGdP Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie
ZS The Zetetic Scholar

A

B
BASLER, H 1998 "Die Akte Astrologie" von Gunter Sachs aus Sicht der mathematischen Statistik. Skeptiker 11 (3): 104-111
BERGMANN, A 1992 L'astrologie, outil d'aide à la décision pour géstionnaires? Cahiers de documentation et de recherche en gestion de resources humaines. Unveröffentlichter Forschungsbericht: Universität Lausanne, HEC
BERZINS, M 1993 The astrology Hamilton matching experiment. NCGR Memberletter: July, 2: 17
BÖER, W, NIEHENKE, P & TIMM, U 1986 Lassen sich "Unfäller" astrologisch diagnostizieren? Ein exploratorisches Experiment. ZfPuGdP 28 (1-2): 56-65
BÖER, W 1992 Kommentar zum "Astrologischen Zuordnungsexperiment mit Ärzte-Horoskopen". ZfPuGdP 34 (3-4): 222-224

C
CARLSON, S 1985 A double blind test of astrology. Nature 318 (6045): 419-425
Clarke, D, Gabriels, T & Barnes, J 1996 Astrological signs as determinants of extroversion and emotionality: An empirical study. JoP 130 (2): 131-140
CULVER, R. & IANNA, P. 1984 The gemini syndrome: A scientific evaluation of astrology. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus
CURRY, P 1982 Research on the Mars Effect. ZS 9 (Mar): 34-52

D
Dahlstrom, W, Hopkins, D, Dahlstrom, L & Jackson, E 1996 MMPI findings on astrological and other folklore concepts of personality. PRe 3: 1059-1070
DAVIS, T 1995 The Nature of Research. POTTENGER, ARM: 55-62
DAVIS, T 1995 My Approach to Astrological Research.POTTENGER, ARM: 71
DAVIS, T 1995 A Bit of History. POTTENGER, ARM: 72-74
DAVIS, T 1995 Advice for Budding Astrological Researchers.POTTENGER, ARM: 105-109
DAVIS, T 1995 Research Projects with Untimed Data.POTTENGER, ARM: 151-154
DAVIS, T 1995 Heliocentric Research 1979-1993. POTTENGER, ARM: 355-374
DAVIS, T 1995 Validating Astrology with Timing Techniques. POTTENGER, ARM: 409-410
DEAN, G. 1977 Recent Advances in Natal Astrology: A Critical Review 1900-1976. London: Analogic, The Camelot Press, Astrological Association and The Urania Trust;
DOUGLAS, G 1984 A Theoretical Prediction from the Gauquelin Findings. APP March
DOUGLAS, G 1997 All the presidents' character traits. Kosmos 26 (2): 42-56

E
ERTEL, S 1986 Wissenschaftliche Qualität und progressive Dynamik im Gauquelin-Paradigma. ZfPuGdP 28 (1-2): 104-135
ERTEL, S 1987 Further grading of eminence: Planetary correlations with musicians, painters, writers. Correlation 7 (1): 4-17
ERTEL, S 1988 Gauquelins Planetenhypothese: Stein des Anstoßes oder Prüfstein der Vernunft? PRu, 39 (4): 179-190
ERTEL, S 1988 Raising the hurdles for the arthletes' Mars Effect: Association co-varies with eminence. JoSE 2 (1)
ERTEL, S 1988 Relating planetary aspects to human birth: Improved method yields negative results. Correlation 9 (1): 5-21
ERTEL, S 1989 Purifying Gauquelin's "Grain of Gold": Planetary aspects defy physical interpretation. Correlation 8 (1): 5-23
ERTEL, S 1990 Verdacht eines demographischen Artefakts: Replik auf Anmerkungen zur Planetenhypothese. PRu 41 (1): 52-53
ERTEL, S 1990 Nachruf auf Michel Gauquelin (1928-1991). ZfPuGdP 33 (1-2): 55-62
ERTEL, S 1992 Ist der Mondeffekt bei Gauquelins Schriftstellern zweifelhaft? Notizen zur Wiederholungsstudie Arno Müllers. ZfPuGdP 34 (3-4): 225-231-+
ERTEL, S 1992 Ist der Gauquelin-Effekt zu erklären? Eine Stellungnahme zu Arno Müllers Deutung der planetarischen Effekte. ZfPuGdP 34 (1-2): 80-88
ERTEL, S & KURTZ, P 1992 Update on the "Mars-Effect". SI 16 (2): 150-160
ERTEL, S 1993 Planetarische Eminenzeffekte: Verwirrende und entwirrende Befunde. ZfPuGdP 35 (1-2): 90-104
ERTEL, S 1993 Puzzling eminence effects might make good sense. JoSE 7: 145-154
ERTEL, S 1995 Die Stärke des Gauquelin-Planeteneffekts: Arno Müllers Bilanz korrekturbedürftig. ZfPuGdP 37 (1-2): 3-27
ERTEL, S 1994 Mars effect uncovered in French skeptics' data. Correlation 13 (2): 3-16
ERTEL, S 1995 Benefits from Citation Counts For Studies on Eminent Samples. POTTENGER, ARM: 332-340
ERTEL, S 1995: Re-Examination of the Gender Differences of Ordinary People, as Claimed by J.F.Ruis. Correlation 14 (2): 3-6
ERTEL, S & IRVING, K 1995: The Tenacious Mars effect: Dissection of three attempts at ist refutation. London: Urania Trust
ERTEL, S & DEAN, G 1996 Are personality differences between twins predicted by astrology? PaID 21 (3): 449-454
ERTEL, S 1998 Scrutinity of Gunter Sachs' excursion into astrological research. Letter to the Editor. Correlation 17 (1): 44-49
EYSENCK; H & NIAS, D 1986 Astrologie: Wissenschaft oder Aberglaube? München: Dtv
EYSENCK; H 1986 Die wissenschaftliche Erforschung der Astrologie und die Forderung nach "naiven" Versuchspersonen. ZfPuGdP 23 (2): 89-93

F
FINCK, M von 1984 Untersuchung zur Übereinstimmung von psychiatrischen und astrologischen Daten. Bonn: Diplomarbeit, Universität Bonn
FODOR, B. 1990 Relationship between the Myers-Briggs Type Preference & Astrological Factors in Birth Charts. Unveröffentlichter Bericht
FOURIE, D, COETZE, C & COSTELLO, D 1980 Astrology and personality: Sun-sign or chart. South African JoP 10 (3-4): 104-106
FOURIE, D 1984 Self-attribution theory and the sun-sign. JoSP 122 (1): 121-126
Fuzeau-Braesch, S 1992 Are personality differences between twins predicted by astrology? Comment. PaID 13 (3): 455-457
Fuzeau-Braesch, S 1992 An empirical study of an astrological hypothesis in a twinpopulation. PaID 13 (10): 1135-1144

G
GAUQUELIN, M 1957 Der Einfluß der Gestirne und die Statistik. ZfPuGdP 1: 102-123
GAUQUELIN, M & GAUQUELIN, F 1979 Star U.S. sportsmen display the Mars effect: A comment on the Kurtz-Zelen-Abell experiment. SI 4: 31-43
Gauquelin, M, Gauquelin, F & Eysenck, S 1979 Personality and position of the planets at birth: An empirical study. British J of Social and Clinical P 18 (1): 71-75
Gauquelin, M 1980 The "Mars-effect": A response. SI 5: 58-62
GAUQUELIN, M, GAUQUELIN, F & EYSENCK, S 1981 Eysenck's personality analysis and position of the planets at birth: A replication on American subjects. PaID 2 (4): 346-350
GAUQUELIN, F 1984 Psychologie der Planeten: Astrologie und Persönlichkeit. Freiburg i Br: Aurum
GAUQUELIN, F 1985 A new look at aspects APP 3: 4-8
GAUQUELIN, F 1987 What is the meaning of a chart when the birth is not a natural one? APP 2: 30-35
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 What do we mean by "Research"? POTTENGER, ARM: 11
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 The Need for Skepticism and Objectivity. POTTENGER, ARM: 76-77
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Planned Procedure vs. Fishing Experiments. POTTENGER, ARM: 128-131
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 The Search for Objective Data Sources and References. POTTENGER, ARM: 132-133
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Descriptive Statistics. POTTENGER, ARM: 177-182
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Spurious or real statistical significance. POTTENGER, ARM: 183
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 The astronomical cycles. POTTENGER, ARM: 199-200
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 The Statistical Problems. POTTENGER, ARM: 234-237
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 The Character Traits Controversies. POTTENGER, ARM: 330
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Measuring Eminence. POTTENGER, ARM: 331
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Gauquelin Sectors. POTTENGER, ARM: 347-350
GAUQUELIN, F 1995 Occupations and Vocations. POTTENGER, ARM: 398-400
GAUQUELIN, M 1982 Zodiac and Personality: An Empirical Study. SI 6 (3): 57-65
GAUQUELIN, M 1983 Kosmische Einflüsse auf menschliches Verhalten. Freiburg i Br: Bauer
GAUQUELIN, M. 1984 Profession and Heredity Experiments: Computer Re-analysis and New Investigations of the Same Material. Correlation 4 (1)
GAUQUELIN, M 1985 Astrological aspects at the birth of eminent people. Correlation 5 (1): 25-35
GAUQUELIN, M 1986 "Neo-Astrologie": Ein Überblick ueber ein vierzigjähriges Forschungsprogramm. ZfPuGdP 28 (1-2): 76-86
GAUQUELIN, M 1986 Planetare Einflüsse auf Persönlichkeit und Lebensweg. Freiburg i Br: Aurum
GAUQUELIN, M 1987 Die Wahrheit über die Astrologie. Freiburg i Br: Bauer
GAUQUELIN, M 1988 is there a Mars effect? JoSE 2 (1): 29-51

H
Hamilton, M 1995 Incorporation of astrology-based personality information into long-term self-concept. J of Social Behavior and Personality, 10 (3): 707-718
HAMPSON, S, GILMOUR, R & HARRIS, P 1978 Accuracy in self-perception: The fallacy of personal validation. British J of Social and Clinical P 17 (3): 231-235
HUME, N & GOLDSTEIN, G 1977 Is there an association between astrological data and personality? J of Clinical P 33 (3): 711-713

I
ILLINGWORTH, D & SYME, G 1977 Birthdate and femininity. JoSP 103 (1): 153-154
IRVING, K, McPHERSON, M, PIERCE, D & URBAN-LURAIN, M 1998 Astrology and Science. Correlation 14 (2): 45-58

J
JACKSON, M. (1979): Extraversion, neuroticism and date of birth: A southern hemisphere study, Journal

Because of my knowledge of the existing studies I was repeatedly asked to provide a summary of the positive research results supporting astrology. I am glad to do that although it will take months to complete. The purpose of this list:
(1) Whenever someone does research in a field, it's absolutely necessary to be first aware of the present situation, so you don't re-invent the wheel and don't make the mistakes of the past again. A comprehensive list of references is clearly missing.
(2) Several great studies are completely unknown and very hard to access, e.g. because much of the astro research is not contained in the scientifiic databases, or they were only published as a doctoral thesis in German and not in any journal.
(3) In the scientific literature there is an (implicit) bias against astrology, this list has an explicit bias *pro* astrology.
(4) Several studies just await successful replication, the list shall serve as the starting point for people in interested in finding a good research topic. Needless to say the odds of getting positive results are much higher if at least an exploratory or pilot study was already conducted.
I plan to write abstracts on the supporting scientific (or at least 'half-scientific') sources. Hopefully Lee Lehman is setting up the website with a content management system, then everyone can work on the content and it's becoming a community project by all CORA members.

links:

From Manfred Zimmel (updated continuously)

  • ADELSBERGER, H 1971 Statistische Untersuchungen über die Astrologie. Vienna: dipoma thesis, University of Vienna
    description: A diploma thesis that found statistically significant differences between the birth horoscopes of stillborn and 'normal' babies, e.g. the living babies have more Moon-Venus aspects and less Mars-Pluto. However, the overall results are mixed, not all significant differences are in the expected direction.
    interpretation: a completely unknown study & a unique design, not so easy to replicate perhaps
  • BÖRKLIN, W & MEES, U 1988 Ist politischer Konservativismus astrologisch erklärbar? ZfPuGdP 30 (1-4): 217-225
    description: Persons with 4 or more planets in earth signs are politically more conservative than persons without a planet in earth (N=1794). Comparing just earth sun signs (34%) to all other sun signs (66%) did not result in significant differences in political attitude.
    interpretation: a very sound study that could be easily replicated (no birth times necessary)
  • BROSCH, S, FEMBEK, M & STEINBÖCK, M 1994 Astrologie und Esoterik für die Chef-Etage. Top-Gewinn Jänner: 16-24
    description: The sun signs of managers of Austrian small companies "GmbHs" (N=27.684, male N=23.712, female N=3.972) were analyzed. In the total and male sample the sign Aries is dominant, the results look very significant (P<0.1%) although there was no statistical test performed. The female managers do have a very different pattern: the Venus-ruled signs Libra is dominant, with a large distance Taurus and Pisces, also (co-) ruled by Venus. Most female managers are in the traditional female/ Venus sectors like haircutters, beauty/ massage salons, fashion stores, market gardens, and so on.
    interpretation: a very sound study that could be easily replicated (no birth times necessary). It's crucial to make a distinction between the sexes as their patterns are often just the opposite, a reason why many studies with about equal weight of men and women don't get results. This might be a reason that profession studies were quite positive compared to other studies because in many professions one sex is dominating, in older studies men in general (as in the Gauquelin studies).
  • COOPER, H 1973 Occupation and season of birth. JoSP 89: 109-114
    COOPER, H & SMITHERS, A 1975 Birth patterns among American army officers. JoSP 97: 61-66
    SMITHERS, A & COOPER, H 1978 Personality and season of birth. JoSP 105: 237-241
    SMITHERS, A & COOPER, H 1984 Social class and season of birth. JoSP 1: 79-84
    description: Three different samples from the UK and US (n=2.186,n=12.000, n=12.000 - source: either Who's Who or official army statistics) the sun sign Scorpio is dominant among soldiers (p<0.1%). In the two larger samples you also have the signs Taurus and Gemini significantly underrepresented. The distribution among women is different, a pattern that can be seen in many studies.
    interpretation: Probably the best piece of astrological research, and yet nearly unknown! In Scorpio is ruled by Mars and Pluto, the traditional war planets. The difference to Scorpio is that Aries as a spring sign wants is focused on its own goals and authority and is not easily willing to accept the authority of someone else. Replications are actually not necesssary because we have multiple successful replications. The birth patterns of female soldiers are very different than of male soldiers, the gender difference is very important in many studies!
  • Dichev, Ilia D. and Janes, Troy D., "Lunar Cycle Effects in Stock Returns" (August 2001). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=281665 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.281665
    abstract: We find strong lunar cycle effects in stock returns. Specifically, returns in the 15 days around new moon dates are about double the returns in the 15 days around full moon dates. This pattern of returns is pervasive; we find it for all major U.S. stock indexes over the last 100 years and for nearly all major stock indexes of 24 other countries over the last 30 years. In contrast, we find no reliable or economically important evidence of lunar cycle effects in return volatility and volume of trading. Taken as a whole, this evidence is consistent with popular beliefs that lunar cycles affect human behavior.
    interpretation: I lectured with one of the authors (Ilia Dichev from Bulgaria) at the ISAR conference 2003 in California. I talked to him, he said that he wanted to continue to work on that topic but the university would not accept this type of ground-breaking and innovative research... whenever something works in astrology, it must not be replicated or pursued further, universities are stopping that... He is currently the only business professor with a serious interest in that topic (to my knowledge). http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/CV/dichev.pdf
  • HUEBER, B 1997 Empirische Untersuchung über den Gehalt astrologischer Symbolik in Übereinstimmung mit erlebter Situation. Vienna: dipoma thesis, University of Vienna
    description: 50 participants were keeping a diary for 30 days (N=1500) and rated their mood every day, e.g. level of aggressiveness for Mars.  As expected the mood under Saturn transits is bad compared to normal 'average' mood, and better under Jupiter transits (t-test). Aspects used: 0°, 90°, 120°, 180°. The effects of Saturn are strongest (p<1%), Mars and Jupiter are weaker (p<5%). At a higher age the effect of Jupiter is felt als physical healing.
    interpretation: A simple yet very promising study design. One of the few studies that fully aligns with astrological expectations!
  • LANDSCHEIDT, T 1989 Sun-Earth-Man: A Mesh of Cosmic Oscillations. NCGRJ Winter, 11-19
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1992 Der goldene Schnitt: ein kosmisches Prinzip. Meridian 1: 37-40; 2: 31-35
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1993 Extension of the Gauquelin Effect to Sun, Mercury, and the Outer Planets - Theory and Practice of Golden Aspects. Paper presented at the 9th London Astrological Research Conference, 13-14 November 1993. Correlation 12 (2): 7-8
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1994 Astrologie: Hoffnung auf eine Wissenschaft? Innsbruck: Resch
    LANDSCHEIDT, T 1995 Cosmic Cycle Analysis: A New Tool For the Prediction of Market Movements. Cycles June/July 
    LANDSCHEIDT, T ? Golden Section: A Building Block of Cyclic Structure Link
    Landscheidt's work can't be summarized in a sentence, he has created a kind of neo-astrology that is backed well by statistical studies. One of the most outstanding findings is that celibrities from the "Who's Who" do have their suns predominantly in Golden angles to the Galactic Center at 27° Sagittarius. Golden angles are calculated using the Golden mean (0.382 : 0.618 = 0.618 = 1), one of the Golden angles is 360° x 0.618 = 222.5°.
    Another key finding of Landscheidt concerns the Gauquelin sectors, which are surprisingly
    (1) in the cadent houses and not in the angular houses
    (2) only apply to Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn, but not to Sun, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune & Pluto
    Landscheidt proves
    (1) beyond the shadow of a doubt (odds 1: 6 million) that the Golden cross is the real factor that explains the minima & maxima of the distribution
    (2) of *all* planets
    (3) the center windows are much smaller than the traditional astrological hourses and statistical significance thus much higher.
    The Gauquelin studies are *the* most extensive research project of the social sciencies spanning several decades and involving numerous skeptical committees, in my opinion Landscheidt's input is by far the most important to explain the patterns that are only partly in accordance with the astrological expectation.
    ...
  • MERRIMAN, R 1982 The Gold Book: Geocosmic Correlations to Gold Price Cycles. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    MERRIMAN, R 1985 Forecasting Trends in Commodity Futures with Astrology. NCGRJ 1: 21-22
    MERRIMAN, R 1992 The Sun, the Moon and the Silver Market: Secrets of a Silver Trader. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    MERRIMAN, R 1997 Geocosmic and seasonal correlations to major revearsals in stock indices: A Quantitative Pilot Study. Kosmos 26 (4): 17-20
    MERRIMAN, R 1998b The Effect of Eclipses on the U.S. Stock Market: Myth or Reality? IA 27 (2): 20-24
    MERRIMAN, R 1999 The ultimate book on stock market timing volume 2: Geocosmic correlations to investment cycles. West Bloomfield MI: Seek-It
    description & interpretation: Ray Merriman has published many books with very simple (principally) quantitative studies of astrological factors in the financial markets, although not fulfilling scientific standards. One could perform statistical tests on the existing studies, but this not too easy for various reasons.
  • Piccardi, G.: Chemical Basis of Medical Climatology, Charles Thomas, Springfield, 1962
    Piccardi, G.: Exposé Introducif" in Symposion Internationale sur les Relations Phénomenale Solaire et Terrestriale, Brussels, 1960
    Piccardi, G.:  Über den Einfluss elektromagnetischer Strahlung auf die Wismutchlorid Fällungsreaktion nach Piccardi
    , Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    Piccardi, G.: Correlation between the rate of growth of rice seedlings and the p-indices of the chemical test of Piccardi a solar hypothesis, Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    Piccardi, G.: Statistical analysis of Piccardi chemical tests, Zeitschrift: International Journal of Biometeorology, Verlag Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    description: A leading researcher in this field was professor Giorgio Piccardi, the head of the department of physical chemistry at the University of Florence, Italy (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Piccardi; an English Wikipedia entry is not available). According to Piccardi, two chemical substances do not always react the same way as one would assume, even if the conditions in the laboratory are identical. In 1939 he discovered that these alterations are by no means random but they depend on cosmic factors like solar activity, lunar phases, position of the earth with respect to the Galactic Centre and especially the position of the two largest bodies in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn. In hundreds of thousands (!) experiments he could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that, for instance, that the chemical reaction speed of bismuth oxychlorid and distilled water has a very powerful connection with solar activity (correlation coefficient r~0.9, r=1.0 is the theoretical maximum). Piccardi remarked that, "it has never occurred to chemistries that not all hours are equal. And if they have been thinking about that, they never expressed their thoughts because it's too dangerous."
    http://www.rexresearch.com/piccardi/piccardi.htm
    interpretation: Other researchers have successfully replicated the results, see http://www.borderlands.com/journal/lunar.htm and http://www.cifa-icef.org/halberg/halberg_32_eng.html. These results are 'hard' in a scientific understanding and actually don't need to be replicated again, so this is one of the key pieces to mention as proof. As all other powerful astrological effects, this one was kept under wraps and is ignored by the scientific community.
  • Robotti, Cesare & Krivelyova, Anya, "Playing the Field: Geomagnetic Storms and the Stock Market" (October 2003). Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Working Paper No. 2003-5b. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=375702 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.375702
    abstract: Explaining movements in daily stock prices is one of the most difficult tasks in modern finance. This paper contributes to the existing literature by documenting the impact of geomagnetic storms on daily stock market returns. A large body of psychological research has shown that geomagnetic storms have a profound effect on people's moods, and, in turn, people's moods have been found to be related to human behavior, judgments and decisions about risk. An important finding of this literature is that people often attribute their feelings and emotions to the wrong source, leading to incorrect judgments. Specifically, people affected by geomagnetic storms may be more inclined to sell stocks on stormy days because they incorrectly attribute their bad mood to negative economic prospects rather than bad environmental conditions. Misattribution of mood and pessimistic choices can translate into a relatively higher demand for riskless assets, causing the price of risky assets to fall or to rise less quickly than otherwise. The authors find strong empirical support in favor of a geomagnetic-storm effect in stock returns after controlling for market seasonals and other environmental and behavioral factors. Unusually high levels of geomagnetic activity have a negative, statistically and economically significant effect on the following week's stock returns for all U.S. stock market indices. Finally, this paper provides evidence of substantially higher returns around the world during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity.
  • Schiemenz S 2003 Planetenstellungen und der Geist des Menschen: Statistische Untersuchungen über heliozentrische Planetenaspekte. Munich: Buch und Media Verlag
    Schiemenz S 2006 The Positions of Planets and the Human Spirit: The real background of astrology.
    Books on Demand
    Schiemenz S 2007 Ergänzung zum Buch "Planetenstellungen und der Geist des Menschen".
    Aalen: Kosmobiologische Akademie Aalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., Sonderausgabe von Mitteilungsblatt 2007/144
    http://www.astrologysoftware.com/resources/articles/listarticles.asp
    http://www.astrologysoftware.com/resources/articles/getarticle.asp?ID=83
    description: Using heliocentric astrology, successful writers, politicians, soccer players, F1 racers, and politicians all do have the same success constellations,  the troika (3 planets linked by conjunction) and the grand trine (P<0.1%).
    interpretation: An excellent piece of work that is addressing questions of practical relevance (who will win?), with many successful replications. Uses heliocentric analysis which is completely ignored in astro research. And: the effect sizes are one of the biggest found in studies!
  • TRENKWALDER, R 1982 Die Persönlichkeitsdimension "Extraversion - Introversion" im Zusammenhang mit astrologischen Kategorien. Vienna: PhD dissertation, University of Viena
    description: Two birthdates were picked where according to traditional astrological theory you would expect a lot of extraversion (a lot of fire) resp. intraversion (a lot of earth). The persons born on these date were contacted, their addresses were received from a public register (Magistratisches Bezirksamt), they filled out a questionnaire and the analysis confirmed the hypothesis.
    interpretation: An interesting study that is hard to replicate today due to the data protection laws.
  • URBAN-LURAIN, M 1984 Astrology as Science: A Statistical Approach. Tempe, AZ: AFA
    description: Master's thesis. Mark developed a model for alcoholics based on one AA group with the aid of multivariate analysis and successfully applied this model to another AA group, being able to identify the alcoholics.
    interpretation: Multivariate analysis is a completely new approach in astro research and due to the inherent complexity of astrology probably the right method.
  • Van de Moortel, Koen: Love at first sight. http://www.astrovdm.com/attract.htm (also published in the ISAR journal)
    description: Based upon previous experience, Koen assumed the following hypothesis: "People having a major aspect between their natal Moon (geocentrical longitude) and the inquirer's will be found more attractive to the inquirer. The same yields for Venus and Mars." Result: "The hypothesis that there is a relation between synastry aspects and attraction or sympathy, seems to be confirmed. The data show a consistent pattern that allows us to estimate the level of significance in the order of 5% or better. Of course, we see that if we would have left out the sextiles, we would have had a much better result (0.1, 2 and 1% significance)! But we have to play fair and stick to the hypothesis. In case of a replication, the hypothesis could be fine tuned by excluding the sextile aspects, since they didn't contribute to the positive result at all."
    interpretation: a creative design that confirmed the traditional astrological theories almost 100%, including the lack of importance of the sextile
  • Zheng, Lu, Yuan, Kathy Zhichao and Zhu, Qiaoqiao, "Are Investors Moonstruck? - Lunar Phases and Stock Returns" (September 5, 2001). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=283156 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.283156
    abstract:This paper investigates the relation between lunar phases and stock returns for a sample of 48 countries. We find strong global evidence that stock returns are lower on days around a full moon than on days around a new moon. Constructing a lunar trading strategy, we find that the magnitude of this return difference is roughly 4.2 percent per annum. Since lunar phases are likely to be related to investor mood and are not related to economic activities, our findings are thus not consistent with traditional asset pricing theories that assume fully rational investors. The positive association we find between lunar phases and stock returns suggests that it may be valuable to go beyond a rational asset pricing framework to explore the psychological effects of investor behavior on stock returns.
    interpretation: From a scientific perspective probably the best paper on the effect of the moon.
  • ZIMMEL, M 1997 Die Metaphysik des Saturn: Von der Verwendbarkeit esoterischer Konzepte für die Managementpraxis unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Wirtschaftsastrologie. Vienna: dipoma thesis, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
    ZIMMEL, M 1999 Wenn Himmel und Erde sich vereinigen: Esoterik und Astrologie in der Wirtschaft.
    Regensburg: Kern
    abstract: The diploma thesis analyzed the differences in the incorporation horoscopes of 3.528 successful companies with a good credit rating and 1.801 bankruptcies, with rather surprising results. While the results were highly significant (p<0.1%) in statistical terms, the expectations were only partially fulfilled. Among the resuls in accordance with the expectation is that the successful companies do have more planets in the signs of rulership. The signs Sagittarius and Capricorn were surprisingly very positive, and this pattern was confirmed by the moon which is independent from the sun (although too weak to be significant).
    interpretation: with my knowledge today, the study design could be improved a lot.
  • Zimmel, M 2004 Studie zur Wirkung von Progressionen http://www.amanita.at/d/lesen/d-0409-atx.htm
    description: A small study testing the effect of solar arc and secondary progressions on daily data of the Austrian Traded Index (ATX) 1993-1998, to check whether exact progression dates do coincide with major trend reversals with an orb of +/- 7 trading days. Results: only the solar arc progression was statistically significant (P=0.5%) in timing reversals, the secondary progression produced slightly more hits than expected but not statistically significant (P=35%).
    interpretation: a study very easy to replicate

TAO model by Richard Schulz

The TAO (technical aspect oscillator) is a mathematical oscillator derived from selected (mathematically) and weighted (mathematically) planetary aspects (planets angular separation, astronomically determined). Over any given period of time, it has both postive and negatives values that average zero. These positive and negative numbers arise from a mathematically derived aspectarian (positive and negative numbers assigned to every 360 degree planetary aspect)(logarithmic). The input is the angular separation of the selected and wieghted planets. The output is the TAO 2, a mathematically weighted moving average of the raw TAO values. There are, at any time, planetary aspects. There is, at any time, an SP 500 values. These are two independent variables. The SP 500 is a value of stocks. The TAO is theorized to be a measure of global human psychology, as related to a Human wealth effect.

The Null Hypothesis:
There is no correlation between the TAO 2 values and the SP 500 values.

The Pearson Product Moment Correlation for two independent variables is applied. For n=900, bi-weekly data for the period 1/1/1999 through 12/31/2006, r=0.68. The null hypothesis is rejected to greater than 1:10,000 against chance.

Therefore, it is theorized that planetary aspects interrelate with the SP 500, a crude measure of global human psychology. The Physics are Unknown. String Theory may be possible physical mechanism, with its added dimensions. Four dimensional Time/Space is not sufficient to explain these reuslts.
Replication, with many added measures, is welcomed.

By Maria Mateus

I currently have all the studies listed but the summaries are pending the construction of the dadabase that my partner was building for them.

By David Cochrane

To introduce myself to the group: I am primarily interested in
(1) developing and promoting the development of astrology software, have made great advances in this regards especially in recent years, and I plan to implement some of Richard Schulz's TAO methods, for example, soon, and recently developed software to implement Bonatti's rules of war to determine the winner of games as assembled, organized, analyzed, researched, and implemented by Lee Lehman, and
(2) developing astrological theory and research methods that can integrate seemingly disparate astrological ideas as well as scientific and mathematical concepts into a coherent picture, and also either eventually provide objective validation of astrology or at least a determination that a purely objective validity does not exist.
Links to some of the pilot studies and research studies that I have done are:
http://www.astrosoftware.com/Proveast.htm
http://www.astrosoftware.com/AstroLocalityArticle.htm
http://www.astrosoftware.com/DISCOVERY.HTM

The third link above is, I think, the most important, and at least just as important is a study on gold prices that I conducted which I have not uploaded to our website yet. There are links to several articles on new theoretical foundations and perspectives on astrological theory that are a basis for this research at http://www.astrosoftware.com/AstrologyArticle.htm

Research proposals by Manfred Zimmel

The only thing we have to take care of is to distinguish between a fishing expedition (pilot study) and a 'real' study testing a hypothesis, and a replication. Only after successful replications we have a 'hard' finding. There is a good pilot study in a similar field by the way (by Koen Van de Moortel http://www.astrovdm.com/attract.htm).
The four founding members (Peter Marko, Richard Schulz, David Cochrane and myself) agreed on the goals as follows (giving my understanding): we wanted to create a new research organization with *the* leading experts in the field, but only with members with good astrological knowledge and not scientists/ skeptics with an implicit or explicit bias against astrology. The extreme case are skeptics, many of them neurotic fighters of everything that sounds paranormal...
Most members are professional astrologers, so we support objective/ quantitative research, and our focus is not on theoretical questions of academic (like "Can astrology be real?") but on practical research helping our fellow astrologers and helping to establish a firm empirical base for astrology, with a beneficial impact on the reputation in science & society. We are open to new theories, of course, but not focused on re-inventing the wheel. We have made many pre-scientific observations or half-scientific private studies ourselves, based on our experience as astrologers. E.g. David's excellent lecture in Denver on the part of fortune and new ways to test compatibility of partners.
When we talked in Denver I was repeatedly told that I know such a great number of research studies, that's why I have agreed to work on that the next months -> http://www.amanita.at/sub/cora.htm. There is a vast number of unknown treasures in astrological research, mainly due to the implicit negative bias of scientists at universities against astrology. Almost all studies in psychological natal astrology have failed, but that's completely different with all other approaches. Let's do anything else but psychological natal astrology where the odds are against us (and I am quite sure I know why, more than one reason...). On the other hand, applying astrology to chemistry (Piccardi) we get extremely high correlations, much stronger than in human astrology (r=0.9).

It's wonderful to have so many different talents & resources on board, including software programmers like you and Peter Fraiss or marketing experts Ed Snow with research experience. Horary astrology for is the big joker for future research, especially with sports events and then Lee's battle model. Peter Fraiss talked about implementing a full horary model in his software years ago. In general, I am skeptical of astrologers making assessments and prefer computer models for many reasons:
(1) The real experts have a full house of clients and don't have the time to participate, we will only get the 2nd and 3rd row mostly.
(2) You only can have a rather small sample size.
(3) Everything depends on the astrologers participating, so replications are in danger of failing, a frequent phenomenon.
(4) Organizing this kind of a study is much more costly and requires much more organization than a simple computer studies- but we don't have the monetary & human resources of universities.

Like the study about political conservativism, the future for me is to test a summarizing model (e.g. 4+ planets in earth) against data, not isolated factors which are usually very weak. In financial astrology we have a great many quantitative but half-scientific studies (like Ray Merriman or Bill Meridian), it wouldn't require much to 'upgrade'.

Yes and no, we want to be the contra part to the official literature with its (implicit) anti-astrological bias. You find the negative studies everywhere (in the official databases and so on) and they don't need to be re-stated again by us - at least that's not a priority for us with our (explicit) bias pro astrology. The positive studies are very scattered and not easy to access at all, many of them completely unknown. And when you have 100 negative studies, you still have 1000 potential designs with a positive outcome (perhaps), but every positive study is an excellent *direct* opportunity for a successful replication - this element is almost always missing (with few exceptions) . The reason lies at hand: e.g. Ilia Dichev (author of the moon paper http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=281665&rec=1&srcabs=283156) told me at the 2003 ISAR conference that after his study published he was offered two choices: either to stop publishing on astrology or to leave university! That is happening all the time and thus *THE* missing link in astro research imo.

Research proposals by Didier Castille

  • 1-marriages
    The experiment I carried out was based on French vital records providing date of birth of spouses (no time of birth). It showed that marriages between man and woman having conjunct suns are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That need to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    Possible research project organization : data gathering + methodology critics + replication
  • 2-heredity
    The experiment I carried out was based on French vital records + French population census.
    French vital records provide date of birth of father + mother + child (no time of birth). It showed that children having sun conjunct to father's sun (or mother's) are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That needs to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    French population census provides date of birth of father + mother + children (no time of birth). It showed that families (according to family size) where children having sun conjunct to father's sun (or mother's) are significantly more frequent than expected. No other synastric aspects have been emphasized by experiment.
    That needs to be replicated by using data coming from another country.
    Possible research project organization : data gathering + methodology critics + replication
  • 3-compatibility research
    Experiments above show facts and do not approach the personal meaning of such important events in one's life as getting married, having a child or relationships with children.
    That would be interesting to organize a survey offering spouses or parents or families the opportunity to express how they feel involved in such marital/parental relationships; to be compared with birth charts, of course.
    Maybe that kind of research has already been done, I don't know, I'm just proposing a quantitative/qualitative track...
    Possible research project organization: build a questionnaire with astrologers and psychologists + determine the sample (size, demographic characteristics, etc.) + solicit astrologers for developing the survey with their clients + capture the data + compare the results with charts
  • 4-Astrology books
    About 10 years ago, Gunter Sachs organized a experiment which is rather easy to replicate and whose results could be interesting. He asked a publisher of sunsign astrology books (one book per sign) to let him know the amount of books that have been sold according to the sign; he showed that the best-sold book was Scorpio... Is it the same in different countries?
    Possible research project organization: organizing contacts with publishers in different countries + replication

Excerpt from Peter Marko's paper in progress

Marko, P 2008 Lunar Favourites: A statistical study of the relationship between the Moon's longitude and the performance of public favourites in British horse racing. Unfinished & unpublished paper.
abstract: Scientific research into sports astrology is the objective study of relationships between celestial configurations and sporting contests. In this paper we examine the performance of betting favourites in British horse racing with respect to the longitudinal position of the Moon at the time of the event. The findings presented here provide strong support for a lunar effect in both the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, the size of which generally becomes greater with increasing divisions of the zodiacal circle. Some of the results of similar research done in the past were generally confirmed. The methodology employed in this study not only enables researchers to unambiguously replicate our results but also provides a model for the objective verification of certain astrological techniques and theories.

Scientific research into astrology has been plagued with numerous problems in the past (Dean 1977). Despite the relatively high activity level of researchers, scientific evidence in support of astrological tenets is scant and unacknowledged by the scientific community. Among the most common obstacles to research are, for example:

  • Inadequate understanding of the scientific method and design of experiments, mostly by astrologers;
  • Insufficient astrological background, mostly by scientists and skeptics;
  • Focusing on complex areas rather than studying the basics;
  • The peculiarity of planetary movements as viewed from Earth, which results in astronomical artifacts that invalidate many statistical studies;
  • The questionable accuracy of raw data (e.g., uncertain birth times);
  • The ambiguity of interpretation (e.g., the definition and measurement of various character traits);
  • The unavailability of sufficient amounts of data required for statistical verification; and
  • Inadequate resources available for conducting scientific experiments in astrology (e.g., researchers, specialized tools, forums, publishing venues, funding).

Research that examines sporting events in reference to celestial phenomena (sports astrology) overcomes most of these obstacles:

  • The timing of sports events is exact and well‑documented;
  • There is an abundance and variety of events to study, which makes statistical analysis meaningful; and
  • The outcome of each contest is unambiguous, which provides ample opportunity for making testable predictions.

For this study, we have chosen to examine the relationship between the performance of betting favourites in British horse racing and the longitude of the Moon at the time of the races. Horse racing was specifically selected because of the short duration of each contest, which assures that astrological factors are focused and stable. The zodiac was selected primarily due to the simplicity of calculations. Finally, the Moon was selected because it moves relatively quickly through the zodiac, which makes differentiation of races by longitude possible. The objective of the study is to determine whether any correlation exists between the performance of betting favourites in horse racing and the longitude of the Moon.

No scientific research of this type has been done that we are aware of. Few astrological studies of horse racing or other sports betting favourites have been published in the past: Sepharial (c1912), Robson (????), Butaney (1963), Barron (1976), and Frawley (2007). However, with one exception, these publications cannot be considered scientific because they lack published research methods and results. They can neither be checked for correctness nor replicated, and the findings are simply proclaimed without evidence.

Butaney (1963) gives a method for selecting horse racing favourites based on astrology, which involves the use of Vedic lunar mansions (nakshatras) among other factors. This was not a scientific study, but the material will be useful for contrasting it with our findings.

Baron (1976) conducted a computer‑assisted study of betting favourites for 14,503 horse races at racetracks in Toronto, Canada, during the period 1966‑74. A total of 1,183 factors (consisting of the zodiacal positions of, and the angular distances between, the planets, points or midpoints) were tallied with respect to whether the favourite won or lost a particular race. The ratio of wins over losses for each factor was determined and the resulting significance calculated. The most significant 88 factors thus obtained are presented in the book. While this is pioneering work into scientifically examining the astrology of betting favourites in sporting contests, the study is flawed on several counts.

Statistical studies of zodiacal signs have been numerous. Some of the more significant efforts in this area include: Kolisko (1936), Fagan (1950), Bradley (1950, 1957a, 1957b, 1964), Field (1964), Thun (1964), Gauquelin (1967, 1969, 1974), Gleadow (1968), Firebrace (1969), Addey (1969, 1976), Van Deusen (1970), Black (1976), Mayo et al (1978), Overbeck (1980, 2008), Sachs (1998), Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001).

Of all scientific research into astrology, the work by Michel Gauquelin and his wife, Françoise, has unquestionably been the most methodical and exhaustive, and received the most attention by astrologers, skeptics and scientists. Gauquelin's diurnal planetary effects, and especially the so‑called Mars effect, have generated much controversy and caused heated debates on astrology up until this day (e.g., Dean 2006, Ertel 2006). However, Gauquelin was unable to demonstrate a statistically measurable effect of the signs of the zodiac on earthly affairs (Gauquelin 1974).

Fagan (1950) and Bradley (1950), and later Gleadow (1968) and Firebrace (1969), have studied the zodiac in terms of mundane events (e.g., rainfall patterns), character, and profession. They have presented some, albeit disputed, evidence for the effects of the sidereal zodiac. Bradley (1950) also examined the Sun's distribution for 2,492 clergymen in 30 different zodiacs, using longitude offsets in one‑degree increments. He found that 22 zodiacs were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Field (1964) and Van Deusen (1964) independently examined the birth dates of a number of professional groups. They both found that each group exhibited a characteristic frequency distribution in the tropical signs, which depended on the particular profession under study. The distributions were generally in line with traditional astrological expectations.

Addey (1969, 1976) introduced harmonic analysis to sign studies, and found that frequency distributions over the zodiacal circle reveal more when the traditional twelve‑fold division is discarded and replaced by harmonics (i.e. division of the circle by any integer).

Black (1976) found significant deviations from chance (p = 0.05) in the Sun's distribution in three of the four zodiacs tested for a group of clergymen, birth data for which was documented by Bradley (1950). This study included all combinations of 27 and 28 lunar mansions with starting points of 0º Aries and 0º Taurus (sidereal zodiac, Fagan‑Bradley ayanamsha).

Overbeck and Overbeck (1980) attempted to refine and replicate Black's findings by adding the tropical zodiac and the Lahiri sidereal zodiac in their study. They found that the Sun's distribution was significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) in seven of the twelve zodiacs tested. Recently, Overbeck (2008) undertook an even more thorough study, this time examining the Moon's distribution in 27 lunar mansions using 25 different zodiacs for twelve groups of people, birth data for which was extracted from the Archives Gauquelin. The author found that 57 of the 300 data sets tested were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001) give a thorough overview of the research into crop yields in relation to the Moon's sidereal longitude, including the work of Kolisko (1936) and Thun (1964). According to the authors, repeatable and statistically significant evidence exists for sowing and harvesting by the Moon's fourfold rhythm in accordance with the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) of the sidereal constellations.

While the findings from all this research would leave the reader with the impression that the effect of signs is well established, none of these studies in fact have received mainstream scientific acceptance. The reasons for this are manifold, but the discussion of these would go well beyond the scope of this study.

In this paper, we will attempt to undertake a definitive statistical study of the zodiac while addressing most of the criticisms against astrological research so far. Building on the ideas of Bradley and Addey, we will take the researches of Black and the Overbecks into the domain of mundane events. We will observe the longitudinal positions of the Moon for horse races conducted in Britain between 1988 and 2006, and examine their relationship to the performance of betting favourites. During the course of this study, we will employ various divisions for the zodiacal circle and as well examine the possible effects of different starting point offsets for the zodiac. It is hypothesized that the Moon's longitude has no effect on the outcome of horse races or betting patterns exhibited by the public, and so no significant deviations from chance are expected to be found in the data. For the purposes of this paper, we are not concerned with meaning (astrological or otherwise) but only whether there is a measurable effect on horse races in terms of the zodiac. This effect must be established first prior to any possible examination of meaning.

Butaney (1963) gives a method for selecting horse racing favourites based on astrology, which involves the use of Vedic lunar mansions (nakshatras ) among other factors. This was not a scientific study, but the material will be useful for contrasting it with our findings.

Baron (1976) conducted a computer assisted study of betting favourites for 14,503 horse races at racetracks in Toronto, Canada, during the period 1966 74. A total of 1,183 factors (consisting of the zodiacal positions of, and the angular distances between, the planets, points or midpoints ) were tallied with respect to whether the favourite won or lost a particular race. The ratio of wins over losses for each factor was determined and the resulting significance calculated. The most significant 88 factors thus obtained are presented in the book. While this is pioneering work into scientifically examining the astrology of betting favourites in sporting contests, the study is flawed on several counts .

Fagan (1950) and Bradley (1950), and later Gleadow (1968) and Firebrace (1969), have studied the zodiac in terms of mundane events (e.g., rainfall patterns), character, and profession. They have presented some, albeit disputed, evidence for the effects of the sidereal zodiac. Bradley (1950) also examined the Sun's distribution for 2,492 clergymen in 30 different zodiacs, using longitude offsets in one degree increments. He found that 22 zodiacs were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) .

Field (1964) and Van Deusen (1964) independently examined the birth dates of a number of professional groups. They both found that each group exhibited a characteristic frequency distribution in the tropical signs, which depended on the particular profession under study. The distributions were generally in line with traditional astrological expectations.

Addey (1969, 1976) introduced harmonic analysis to sign studies, and found that frequency distributions over the zodiacal circle reveal more when the traditional twelve fold division is discarded and replaced by harmonics (i.e. division of the circle by any integer).

Black (1976) found significant deviations from chance (p = 0.05) in the Sun's distribution in three of the four zodiacs tested for a group of clergymen, birth data for which was documented by Bradley (1950). This study included all combinations of 27 and 28 lunar mansions with starting points of 0º Aries and 0º Taurus (sidereal zodiac, Fagan Bradley ayanamsha ).

Overbeck and Overbeck (1980) attempted to refine and replicate Black's findings by adding the tropical zodiac and the Lahiri sidereal zodiac in their study. They found that the Sun's distribution was significantly different from chance (p = 0.05) in seven of the twelve zodiacs tested. Recently, Overbeck (2008) undertook an even more thorough study, this time examining the Moon's distribution in 27 lunar mansions using 25 different zodiacs for twelve groups of people, birth data for which was extracted from the Archives Gauquelin . The author found that 57 of the 300 data sets tested were significantly different from chance (p = 0.05).

Kollerstrom and Staudenmaier (2001) give a thorough overview of the research into crop yields in relation to the Moon's sidereal longitude, including the work of Kolisko (1936) and Thun (1964). According to the authors, repeatable and statistically significant evidence exists for sowing and harvesting by the Moon's fourfold rhythm in accordance with the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) of the sidereal constellations.

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Abbrevations
Ah Astrologie heute: Zeitschrift für Astrologie, Psychologie und Esoterik
APP Astro-Psychological Problems
Correlation Journal of Research into Astrology
HM The Humanist Magazine
J Journal
JoGR Journal of Geocosmic Research
JoP Journal of Psychology
JoSE Journal of Scientific Exploration
JoSP Journal of Social Psychology
IA/ Kosmos The International Astrologer: An ISAR pulication (früher: Kosmos)
MA The Mountain Astrologer
Meridian Meridian: Fachzeitschrift für Astrologie
NCGRJ Journal of the National Council of Geocosmic Research
P Psychology
PaID Personality and Individual Differences
Ph Psychologie heute
POTTENGER, ARM POTTENGER, M (ed) 1995 Astrological Research Methods Volume 1: An ISAR Anthology. Los Angeles: International Society for Astrological Research
PP Personnel Psychology
PRe Psychological Reports
PRu Psychologische Rundschau
QdZ Qualität der Zeit
SI The Skeptical Inquirer
ZfP Zeitschrift für Personalforschung
ZfPuGdP Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie
ZS The Zetetic Scholar

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