tion and angularity as additional ways that an astrological influence can be represent-
ed from one generation to another. Brady’s research paper published in Correlation
(July 2002) explores these types of relationships, and her results indicate that the
astrological concepts of old rulership seem to be more influential than new rulerships
when establishing a correlation between the charts of parents and their children. She
found that these correlations hold true over a range of different experiments. Howev-
er, she claims that the most interesting result in the entire project is the ancient
Greek disused technique called the Noddings of the Moon. This gives surprisingly
strong results when the mother’s chart is considered. Nevertheless, the data can also
be examined via sorting by the gender of the child, as well as order of birth. Brady has
found that the emerging patterns reveal a greater frequency of correlations in the
charts of the first-born child than those born later. Brady’s research is a rare attempt to
investigate ancient astrological claims employing modern methods.
Another RGCSA project is that of Pat Harris who is exploring the success and
failure of fertility treatments in connection with planetary transits (specifically Jupiter
and Saturn) to significant positions in the recipients’ natal charts. In particular, using
three study groups recruited through Internet fertility treatment websites, support
groups, such UK publications as Childchatand Childas well as, for a phase 2 study,
women’s magazines, newspaper coverage on the research and the website of Jonathan
Cainer (http://stars.metawire.com), Harris is endeavoring to test the null hypothesis,
namely, that astrological factors have no influence on the results of fertility treatment.
She is exploring the possibility entertained by such psychologists as Hans Eysenck,
Carl Jung, and Alan Smithers that astrological correlates can be used as predictors of
personal functioning, and in particular Harris is continuing the research into statisti-
cally significant connections suggested by Jackson (1986) and Millard (1993). In psy-
chological terms, Greene and Sasportas (1987) argue that Saturn is traditionally asso-
ciated with states of anxiety, while Valentine (1991) identifies Jupiter more or less as
Saturn’s positive counterpart representing optimism and confidence. The second
phase is planned through the Fertility Unit of the Homerton NHS Hospital in Lon-
don to test that such psychological factors as anxiety and depression (also using the
Problems Relating to Infertility Questionnaire, the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Mea-
sure, the Beck Depression Inventory II, etc.) will not predict success or failure in IVF
treatments. The Problems Relating to Infertility and the Pregnancy and Birth Experi-
ences Questionnaires include sections on astrology, birth data, and the subjects’
knowledge of astrology. Consequently, Harris’s systematic research represents an
important contribution not only to knowledge of the validity or invalidity of astrology
as a diagnostic tool but also more widely to the psychological/cultural knowledge of
astrology by the study participants.
Relationship between Astrology and Science
The relationship between astrology and science conforms in general to that
between religion and science. In particular, there has appeared to be a sort of religio-
cultural war between scientists and astrologers with unsophisticated passions clouding
objective judgment on both sides. As Victor Mansfield put it, “Unfortunately, the dis-
cussion of astrology, both by scientists who criticize it and those who uphold it, is
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Contemporary Academic Study of Astrology