Physical Evidence for Astrology
Apart from statistical evidence, astrologers also cite the many celestial-terrestrial correlations discovered by physical science. Oysters open and close their shells according to tidal rhythms. To test if this was caused by the action of the tide itself, or by the moon, Dr Frank O. Brown of Northwestern University took oysters from the Atlantic and moved them in darkened pans to Illinois. Within a fortnight, the oysters had adjusted their opening and closing rhythm to what the ride would have been had there been a tide in Illinois, proving that it was the moon, exercising an influence undetectable to the instruments of science, that caused the oysters to open and close their shells, and not the tidal action itself.
In a long series of careful experiments, Brown also showed lunar and solar rhythms to operate under a wide variety of circumstances with a wide variety of organisms. A rat in a darkened cage was twice as active when the invisible moon was above the horizon as when it was below it. The rate of growth of beans and potatoes varies according to extra-terrestrial rhythms. Similar findings have come from experiments in inorganic chemistry. Dr Giorgio Piccardi of Florence University has discovered that the speed at which chemical precipitates form varies according to extra-terrestrial conditions.
Working with emotionally disturbed patients, Dr Leonard J. Ravitz of Duke University showed that the electrical potential of their bodies changed according to the phases of the moon, and moreover, that the amount of change was greatest in those patients who were most disturbed - corroborating the ancient link between the moon and lunacy.
A considerable body of evidence also exists linking earthly phenomena with sun-spots, the huge magnetic storms upon the surface of the sun. A Russian scientist, Dr A. K. Podshibyakin, has found that road accidents increase by as much as four-fold on the day after a solar flare. And this discovery has been supported by independent studies in a number of European cities showing an increase not only in accident rates but in other forms of violence, such as suicide and crime.
Most interesting from an astrological point of view is the related evidence of John H. Nelson, a radio engineer, who has discovered that magnetic disturbance in the earth's atmosphere (which corresponds to the incidence of solar flares) can be predicted according to the conjunctions and aspects formed by the major planets. When the planets line up in the traditionally 'inharmonious' angles, magnetic disturbance is strongest; when they line up in traditionally 'harmonious' angles, weakest.
Finally, there is the vast accumulation of cycles evidence. It has been found in thousands of instances that phenomena on earth follow cyclical patterns corresponding to the rise and fall of the number of sunspots. Salmon catches in Canada, the price of pig iron, the number of marriages in St Louis and the incidence of specific diseases, among many other phenomena, have been found to follow cyclical patterns. And though a planetary link to the incidence of sunspots has long been suspected, it has only recently been found. It can now be shown that the conjunctions and aspects of the planets correspond to the rise and fall of sunspots, and are therefore inescapably connected to the wealth of earthly phenomena that have been shown to be cyclical in nature.
Astrologers do not claim that these discoveries of science alleviate the inadequacies of present-day astrology, but they do claim that the evidence supporting the validity of the fundamental premise of astrology is now overwhelming, and that there can be no doubt today that events in the heavens correspond to events on earth. Astrologers believe that a revival of legitimate astrological research could help mankind toward a better understanding of the higher laws that govern the universe, but at present, in view of astrology's standing in scientific and academic circles, such a revival cannot be predicted with confidence.