There was all sorts of excitement among zodiac zealots a few months back when news surfaced about research from Vanderbilt University that provided “scientific evidence” to support the principles of astrology. This development was reported with great enthusiasm in a variety of media, including reputable magazines such as Science Daily. Most of the buzz had to do with the fact that the Vanderbilt researchers were supposedly dismayed by their own findings. Astrology was not what they intended to study, they said, but rather something called “seasonal biology.” It all piqued my curiosity, and I set out on my own quest to learn the truth of the matter.

The study, published in the December 5, 2010, issue of Nature Neuroscience, revealed that the “season” (artificially created by adjusting the daily duration of light in the environment at the birth of mice and for the three weeks until they were weaned) had a “dramatic and persistent effect” on their biological clocks as young adults, causing them to be more sluggish (those born in winter light) or more adaptive (those born in summer light).

Implications of the Light

Lead author, Douglass McMahon, PhD, professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt, observed that it’s long been known that our “biological clock” regulates moods (among other things) in human beings. But if it’s true that light duration and intensity at birth imprints in humans the same way that it does in mice — and there is reason to believe it does — then, he said, “that might not only have an effect on a number of behavioral disorders but also a more general effect on personality.”

What does this have to do with astrology? Astrology is based on when and where you were born — and that includes how much and what type of light you were exposed to. Hence, the astrologers pounced on the mouse light study as “proof” of the science behind astrology — but, Dr. McMahon told me quite adamantly, the researchers were discussing “seasonal biology,” not astrology.

Since I like to think of myself as someone with an open mind, I called Eric Francis Coppolino, professional astrologer and founder of PlanetWaves.net astrological information and services, which publishes astrology Web sites, to get his take on the research. He noted that birth charts (called “natal charts” in Western astrology) are based on the positions of the sun, moon and planets in relationship to the earth at the moment of a person’s birth. These positions all affect light exposure, temperatures and (though almost negligibly, he acknowledged) gravitational pull. In his view, this study “is saying in its own way that when a person is born, the season and presumably the amount of light influences his/her psyche. If that isn’t astrology, I don’t know what is.”

What Do The Stars Say?

Although most scientists recoil at the idea that astrology could have any basis in fact, Coppolino told me that this is far from the only research to reveal a scientific basis for the principles of astrology. From the mid-1950s through 1991, French psychologist and statistician Michel Gauquelin spent much time documenting the validity of certain astrological fundamentals. The most famous of these is the so-called Mars Effect, which demonstrated that Mars — a planet associated in astrology with having high energy and endurance, along with warrior-like traits — appears in a prominent position in the natal charts of many more professional athletes (for example, Mohammad Ali) than nonprofessional athletes.

Coppolino’s claim is that astrology is complex and involves many disciplines, including math, astronomy, psychology, mythology, sociology and anthropology… and, he told me, it’s unlikely that you could run all that through “the dry analytical filter of science and have one total effect that scientifically establishes the whole thing.”

The motivation behind early astrology was to improve the harvest, and the gathering of information concerning time, seasons and light evolved into a discipline of organizing observations of the planets and constellations and testing theories that formed the basis of astrology.

Fact or Fiction?

Coppolino said it’s more accurate to understand the “science” as “psychological astrology,” a term that reflects the growing interest people have in learning more about themselves. This means that the heavenly bodies are just one element to examine in exploring who you are and why you are that way.

“While some astrologers still will give you the best date for your wedding,” he said, “many of us are more interested in helping people come to understand what it is about their behavioral patterns that has led to successes and to failures.” The mouse study opens the door to connecting the art of astrology’s seasonal personality profiles with the science of the impact of light on our lives.

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