Twenty Facts!

Sorry for the interruption between the Compatibility! posts but while I was searching the net I found these interesting facts about astrology that I thought I should share with you.

· Seventy-five per cent of astrology readers are women, according to a study by the website,stariq.com.

· Astrologers claim that the moon has the same effect upon humans, as it does upon the ocean. If the moon can affect the huge tides it cannot fail to affect the human body, which consists of 75 per cent water. The moon is also associated with provoking deep emotions and humans when the emotionally charged are brought to tears. The moon's powers are also thought to affect women's monthly menstrual cycles.

· A third of Americans believe in astrology. Executives and professionals are the fastest-growing group of believers, according to a study by USA Today.

· After the American president, Ronald Reagan was shot, his wife Nancy employed an astrologer to forecast his future safety.

· The most famous astrologer is Nostradamus, who is said to have predicted events such as the Second World War, the assassination of the American President John F. Kennedy and, most recently, the attack on the World Trade Centre.

· A search for astrology on google.com brings up nearly 2 million websites.

·  The Zodiac was originally a natural agricultural calendar that dated the sowing of crops, harvesting, etc. by the rising and setting of the stars (especially Sirius), and the Pleiades or other recognizable constellations.

· The Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences in Seattle, USA, is the first institution in the western hemisphere to issue BA and MA degrees in Astrological studies. The first courses started in July 2000. They cost $5000 a year and consist of a home study programme with a one-week symposium at the Seattle campus once a term. The college is named after Johannes Kepler, the noted German mathematician and astronomer who also practiced astrology.

· The words, astrology and horoscope are the most searched topics on the Internet, according to a 1999 study by searchterms.com.

· Astrology is thought to be both a science and an art. It claims scientific status because it requires mathematics and an understanding of Astronomy. It is an art because interpretation is necessary to bring the different aspects together and formulate an idea of the individual's character traits and tendencies

· In the middle ages, a number of Catholic popes were intimately familiar with astrology: Sixtus IV was the first pope to draw and interpret a horoscope, Julius II choose his coronation date astrologically, and Leo X and Paul III relied heavily on astrologers for advice.

· Adolf Hitler is thought to have used an astrologer throughout the Second World War.

· The practice of astrocartography looks at how you are affected by your geographical location. It is believed that, by comparing your birth chart to different areas in the world, the area where you will be most successful and happy can be determined.

· According to a 1999 survey, Americans spend $100 million a year on astrology. · Astrology offers an explanation for crop circles. The crop circles occur in cereal and grain, which is the signature of Virgo. Virgo, is the grain mother who feeds and nourishes the earth, not only with crops but with the new direction of our beliefs, she asks that we exercise discernment.

· There are 6,000-8,000 professional astrologers in the United States.

· German astrologer, Frau Elsbeth Ebertin, was given Hitler's birth chart by a female fan in 1924. She accurately predicted that he would become Fuhrer.

· Science presents many arguments against astrology. It is argued that your genetic characteristics are developed from conception and not birth. Astrologers, according to scientists, ignore matters such as the gravitational force of non-solar bodies e.g: asteroids and comets, the motion of the sun in respect to other stars and the wobble in the earth's rotation axis, which has by now shifted the sun signs by 1 or 2 constellations.

· Former White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan said: "It's common knowledge that a large percentage of Wall Street brokers use astrology."

· A research group into the critical study of astrology has been set up at Southampton University. PhD students attached to the group are currently researching alcoholism's link to Jupiter, the correlation between prostitutes and their date of birth and also the link between women's infertility and correlations of Jupiter and Saturn.

And now that we are done with these facts, which I hope you liked I will continue with the Compatibility! posts.

The facts were taken from a newspaper article from THE TELEGRAPH. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3573123/Twenty-facts-about-astrology.html)