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Astrologer Sydney Omarr, American writer, journalist, nationally syndicated astrologer and newspaper columnist, said in 1988: "I refer to it as the world's worst-kept secret that President Reagan relies on astrology."
But it was not just the Reagans!
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the famous astrologer, Sydney Omarr shockingly revealed, the Reagans were not the only well placed Washingtonians to have consulted the stars.
"Omarr told the Journal that both President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger were also "gung-ho" on astrology. " I don't want to reveal my sources at this time," he added. "My background is in journalism. It is unimpeachable. I know this for a fact."
As for Ronald Reagan, like Calvin Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt before him, astrology appeared to be tied into life itself, and important decisions required at least a quick glance to the stars. The Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, insisted that "the signing of the U.S. Soviet treaty eliminating medium-range nuclear missiles" had been signed at 1:30 p.m. on December 8, 1987 based on advise from an astrologer. In addition, many papers reported the story that Ronald Reagan had postponed his inauguration 9 minutes as governor of California till 12:10 a.m. on January 2, 1967 based on astrology calculations."~ Sydney Omarr, The Reagans, and Astrology
If all this is true, and from all indications it is, these US Presidents were following in the footsteps of some other well known individuals.
What some wise men, seers and other well known names have said about astrology
It was in Poor Richard's Almanac that Ben Franklin wrote about astrology, saying: "Oh the wonderful knowledge to be found in the stars. Even the smallest things are written there...if you had but skill to read."
President Theodore Roosevelt kept his horoscope mounted on a chess board in the oval office. When asked about it he would reply, "I always keep my weather eye on the opposition of my seventh house Moon to my first house Mars."
JP Morgan, America's first billionaire, said : "Millionaires don’t use astrology, billionaires do."
Donald Reagan, formerly Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff said: "It’s common knowledge that a large percentage of Wall Street brokers use astrology.”
The Philosopher Plato said : "Perhaps there is a pattern set up in the heavens for one who desires to see it, and having seen it, to find one in himself."
Physicist Albert Einstein said : "Astrology is a science in itself and contains an illuminating body of knowledge. It taught me many things and I am greatly indebted to it."
Physicist Sir Isaac Newton said in defence of astrology, to sceptic Edmund Halley:
“I have studied the matter. You sir, have not”.
The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said : "Astrology is astronomy brought down to earth and applied toward the affairs of man."
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine said : "A physician without the knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician."
Author DH Lawrence said : "Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus?
But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time."
Scientist Louis Pasteur said : "The controls of life are structured as forms and nuclear arrangements, in relation with the motions of the universe."
Mark Twain said: "I was born with Halley's Comet and I expect to die upon its return," and he did.
Mathematician Pythagora said: "The stars in the heavens sing a music if only we had ears to hear."
St. Thomas Aquinas told all who would listen: "The celestial bodies are the cause of all that takes place in the sublunar world."
Sir Francis Bacon, the father of modern science told us, "The natures and dispositions of men are, not without truth, distinguished from the predominance of the planets."
Confucius taught his followers that, "Heaven sends down its good and evil symbols and wise men act accordingly."
Dante called astrology, "The noblest of sciences."
Shakespeare said, in the person of King Lear..."The stars above govern our condition." He follows that with "I was born sir, when the Crab was ascending: all my affairs go backwards."
Goethe wrote an astrological description of his birth..."These auspicious aspects, which the astrologers subsequently interpreted for me, may have been the causes of my preservation."
Dr. Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of psychology said: "Astrology is assured recognition from psychology without further restrictions, because astrology represents the summation of all the knowledge of antiquity. The fact that it is possible to construct, in adequate fashion, a person’s character from the data of his nativity, shows the validity of astrology."
Astronomer, Johannes Kepler,the author of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion wrote, "An unfailing experience of mundane events in harmony with the changes occurring in the heavens, has instructed and compelled my unwilling belief."
Related articles
- Ben Franklin, America's first great astrologer, and the political importance of eclipses.
- Thomas Jefferson and the great American paradox
- Can President Obama 'bridge the great divide'? Saturn opposite Uranus
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Comments
Obama has an astrologer, I know this for a fact via one of my contacts
It is interesting that you try to justify the validity of astrology using a series of quotations, and not from any valid empirical evidence.
Elsa thanks for the info...great to know!!!
And Zapper...I don't know how you got I was trying "to justify the validity of astrology" from a list of quotations??? Even if it is quite an impressive list.
If your intent is to show that Robert Heinlein thought astrology was true and valid, you missed the mark. The text quoted is ambiguous out of context, but in the context of his work, it does the opposite of what you intend.
Using the Heinlein quote to support astrology is insane. He meant that any so-called intellectual who believed in astrology was illogical and nothing he said could be relied on.
I suspect that several of the other quotes are equally invalid, out of context or misunderstood.
Quotations by their very nature are taken out of context. I would agree that the Heinlein quote could be taken either way depending on individual interpretation and bias. However, that in no way indicates the quote is invalid, he said what he said...
If you would like to put it in the "unbiased" context from which it was extracted...feel free. I'd like to know because what I found on line was that even among Heinlein fans there seems to be some ambiguity and a great deal of speculation as to what he really meant and why he said it.
But in any case...this list of quotations was not intended "to justify the validity of astrology" but was given as "an invitation to think, not believe" (to once again quote Robert Heinlein).
Here's another Heinlein quote that resolves the ambiguity of the original Heinlein quote. It comes from his book "Expanded Universe".
"Baseline: fifty-odd years ago astrology was commonly regarded as a ridiculous former superstition, one all but a tiny minority had outgrown. It is now the orthodoxy of many, possibly a majority. This pathological change parallels the decay of public education."
He was also a fan of clear thinking, and basing thought on facts. Another quote, from the same source as the original one, and happens to in passing allude to astrology (and not in a flattering way) sheds more light.
"What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what 'the stars foretell,' avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable 'verdict of history' -- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue.
Eric,
It seems there are "divergent perceptions of his (Heinlein) works and attempts to place mutually contradictory labels on his work".
Thanks for your civil and thoughtful contribution.
Though I would still like to know the context of the quote I used, I'm removing it from the article...I certainly don't want to give credit if none is due.
To other readers who might be following this series of comments...and this is not meant to take anything away from Heinlein... but...while even the most intelligent lay person might consider astrology an orthodoxy i.e. belief system, the vast majority of astrologers consider it a tool much like a microscope is a tool.
Most astrologers do not consider astrology a science, they consider it an art based on scientific facts...the movement of the Earth around the Sun, the movement of the Moon around the Earth and the movement of all the other heavenly bodies as they appear from Earth.
Nor do most astrologers believe astrology is "divine revelation". The stars do not foretell or compel they correspond and reflect.
If you condemn or praise astrology and haven't studied astrology it's just your opinion.
Perhaps a double-blind study is in order, or an examination of a set of people large enough to be statistically significant to see if any patterns emerge.
Perhaps one or more has already been done. If so, this would be a good place to post information about it, or them.
If astrology is no good at making predictions, and no good for drawing (potentially) useful generalizations, there doesn't seem to be any real point to it, in the White House or anywhere else. It would be a "tool" that has no useful applications.
Maybe we can find a Ben Franklin scholar or Confucian or historian of mathematics or whatever who can help whittle down that list of quotes even further.
Eric,
I posted the studies long ago. I've now added links at the end of this article for you. The articles are short due to the confines of the examiner, you can do further research if you're interested and not simply issuing a challenge.
"Western" astrologers don't predict we do forecasting based on personal history and the planetary cycles, much like a meteorologist forecasts weather so we will be prepared for a rainy day, even if the storm fizzles and the day is only overcast and cloudy. And we are very accurate. I will write soon on free-will vs destiny.
I have also linked 3 articles that will give you a bit of information about what a consulting astrologer does,as it seems you are uninformed, astrology reveals more than "useful generalizations"
You might also read "Cosmos and Psyche". This is a book based on 30 yrs. of research by a widely respected scholar that demonstrates the existence of a direct connection between planetary movement and the archetypal patterns.
Elsa P says:
"Obama has an astrologer, I know this for a fact via one of my contacts "
Would this contact have a name? An Email address? I find this to be an astounding and ridiculous charge if false; if true, ominous.
I just happened on the discussion between Eric Harris and Patricia; in the interest of full disclosure, I belong to the same USENET group as Eric Harris, alt.fan.heinlein (which doesn't mean as much as you might think; AFHers argue among themselves as much or more as they do with anyone else).
However, I have to confess to having the sort of belief in astrology held by many young men in the 1970s who thought it might get them closer to young women. But a few classes in college physics tended to undermine even that tenuous faith in astrology. The same math which allows NASA to get satellites from Earth to Jupiter (and points outward) with pretty astounding accuracy just doesn't seem to support any of the pseudoscientific theories I've read in favor of astrology.
Looking back, astrology wasn't even much help with the "getting next to young women" project. The women I wound up dating successfully were incompatible astrologically with me; especially the one I married 32 years ago.
loupgarous, Often I find that the statements made by those who dismiss astrology really show a lack of knowledge and therefore understanding related to modern western astrology.
Science fiction writer, CS Lewis said "The proper study of man is everything". and this is what astrology does best, it's a tool that guides us in a the study of the human condition, both individually and collectively.
Like science fiction astrology could be considered a "literature of ideas" about alternate possibilities based on current realities.
Heinlein said, "a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method." That is also a good definition of astrological forecasting.
Your might want to read my article "Science and astrology: the Mars effect" linked in above arti
loupgarous,
Related to your comments on relationship compatibility, Any good astrologer will tell you "Love is the wild card, play that wild card and any partnership can work, but without it no intimate relationship could survive...no matter how the birth charts look together" astrologer Steven Forrest.
Relationship astrology is very complex, but it's not about will the two of you make it, it's about guidance and about the relationship becoming all it can be. It's about understanding and accepting your partner's needs and how they differ from your own.
And often times it's those places where we are incompatible that become the spark of life in a relationship.
There's no doubt that relationships survive without the benefit of astrology. Astrology alone is not the answer to survival any more than psychology is the answer. What they provides is guidance and support. Love is the answer...love based on commitment, honesty and caring, even when the magic has vanished for a mom
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