Wednesday Woo-Woo ~ Astral Projection

I've always thought the name given to this experience/phenomenon is a wee bit misleading. It leads one to think it means projecting one's self or one's consciousness into the stars. What astral projection seems to me to be is a kind of manipulation, involuntary or forced, of brain function (putting explanation at its most simple, or crude). A person feels, in this state, that they have left their physical body and can move around outside of it- sometimes at long distance from it. Never having experienced this, however, I'm not best fitted to describe it. There's lots of related information on-line - some highly suspect. Wikipedia has a good page covering most aspects.



Two names come up frequently in articles on astral projection - also called "out of body experiences" (OBE for short): Sylvan Muldoon and Robert Monroe. Both claimed to be experts on the subject, both have written or collaborated with another to write books on the topic. Monroe founded an institute devoted to research into out of body experiences.

As nobody else seems to have looked into the natal charts of these two - I will , just out of curiosity to see whether anything significant emerges.








There's a problem though, I can't find exact birth places for either. Muldoon was born in "the midwest" - I've used Chicago Illinois; Monroe's birthplace is given variously as Virginia, Kentucky or Indiana. I've used Lexington, Kentucky, where he is said to have grown up. Using these locations will at least throw up planetary positions, and as there's no information on times of birth, the ascendant and Moon position can't be accurate anyway.






Sylvan Muldoon was born on 18 February 1903


Sun and 3 personal planets in Aquarius, a strongly mentally oriented individual. Moon more than likely in Scorpio - intuitive/psychic indication.




Robert Monroe born on 30 October 1915



Monroe had Sun in Scorpio as well as a Grand Trine in Water signs linking Venus, Jupiter and Saturn - all indications of intuitive and/or psychic potential.

What I see as linking the two men though are planets conjunct the same Fixed Star. The star in question is Tejat Prior which sits in the early degrees of Cancer, though is actually in the constellation of Gemini. Muldoon had Neptune conjunct Tejat Prior, Monroe had Pluto conjunct the same Fixed Star. In both cases the respective natal planets are also linked to natal Sun via harmonious trine.

C.E.O. Carter wrote that the presence of this Fixed Star in an early degree of astrological Cancer would impart a definite Mercurial value to that degree. In traditional astrology Tejat is interpreted as meaning pride and over confidence, though I tend to take these ancient interpretations with a pinch of salt. As both these 'astral travellers' had a planet close to Tejat Prior, with its Mercurial indications, makes me wonder whether this is in any way linked to the ability to project one's consciousness - an exercise which must surely be linked strongly to Mercurial traits. Both men had natal Mercury in an Air (mental focus) sign: Aquarius and Libra; this places even more emphasis on mental orientation.

Wednesday Woo-Woo ~ OUIJA

What lies behind the purpose of a Ouija Board is definitive "woo". Contacting spirits of the dead links to lots of other woo-ish bits and pieces: ghosts, past lives, divination, prodigies....and on.

Having never used the device myself, I can't vouch for its efficacy or otherwise. My delving into woo stops short at astrology and tarot these days, I only do what I'm drawn to do. When younger I did experiment with spiritualism by attending a few spiritualist meetings and churches, but didn't continue along that route. I'm not a complete skeptic when it comes to Ouija, just a curious bystander who has never been drawn to experiment.

In its current style the Ouija Board originated in the late 19th century, in the USA. It was, however, an extension of a much older tradition of contacting spirits of the dead. Such tradition has reportedly been traced back to China, centuries before the birth of Confucius (circa 550 B.C.E.). Fu Chi or Fuji, an accepted form of Chinese spirit writing, is what's known in the west as automatic writing. Spirits were thought to guide a pen or stick, in sand or on paper, to form letters or glyphs. Some have tried to make a link from Ouija Boards to ancient Greece, and Pythagorus, but that idea seems to have been discredited.




We can safely say that it was an upsurge in spiritualism and theosophy in late 19th century USA that led to the spread of "talking boards". There's some evidence, though disputed, that a Maryland cabinet/ coffin maker, E.C. Reiche (or Reichie?) , designed and constructed the first board that came to be known by the name Ouija. He is said to have sold the rights of manufacture to Charles Kennard; the first patent was filed in 1890. These days rights to The Ouija Board are held by Parker Brothers who acquired them in 1960 - just in time for a New Age/hippie era?

The Ouija Board has acquired some particularly bad press, notably after the 1973 movie The Exorcist which many wrongly thought was based on a true story. Ouija has long been labelled a "tool of the devil" by certain factions. It's certainly a tool, but a tool for what purpose is up to its user. You can use a hammer in constructing a useful piece of furniture - or you could use it to kill or maim another living creature. Intent is key. Having said that, I don't consider it wise for young people to dabble in Ouija Board use. While I do not believe in demons or anything akin to demons, we don't know whether impressionable minds, fed these days more than ever with tales of horror, violence, war, vampires, and such could conjure up something harmful via their own consciousness. If Ouija Boards and similar methods of divination work on any level at all, we have still to discover how. Until this is known, it's best to tread lightly.

How to link astrology to a post on Ouija isn't clear. The businessmen who initiated bulk manufacture and sale of the boards were interested mainly, or only, in profit. I doubt they had any serious interest in the spread of occult learning or experience. Perhaps E.C. Reiche, if his part in Ouija's history is true, was the most likely of them all to have had a true interest in the occult.

Searching for birth data on E.C. Reiche I found it on this site. Born 27 December 1831, died 6 January 1899.

Curiosity led me to look at a natal chart, using as location the town in which he lived (probably born there): Chestertown, Maryland, chart set for 12 noon. How appropriate it'd be if he actually had been born around noon! Pluto, planet of the occult and hidden things, secrets, darkness, etc. sits on the ascendant angle - the strongest point in a natal chart. But chances are he wasn't born around noon.




Anyway, I still see this chart as a good fit for a craftsman who had an interest in occult matters. His Sun was in Capricorn, which I think of as a craftsman/businessman sign. Neptune conjunct Mercury also in Capricorn: creativity, illusion and/or psychic ability married with his planet of communication. Uranus is unadulterated in its home sign, Aquarius along with Jupiter, adding a good helping of inventive talent to the mix.

From New World Encyclopedia:

Whether one believes that the Ouija contacts spirits or is merely a vehicle to probe one's own subconscious, there are psychological risks to using the board. During Ouija sessions, it is common to receive vulgar or vile messages, as well as messages that tap into the users' fear of death. These messages can be highly disturbing to some, no matter what their source, and have the potential to exacerbate any existing mental disturbances. It is well advised that those with emotional or psychological disturbances refrain from the use of the Ouija.

Wednesday Woo-Woo ~ Past Lives

This topic takes us waist deep into tangled woo country. In common with most other woo-ish subjects, it offers opportunities for fascinating journeys into mysterious and mist-ridden mental landscapes. Nobody can possibly know for sure whether human beings have the capacity to recall a past life, whether their conciousness existed before this current sojourn here on Earth. Even those people who have experienced vivid flashes of deja vu, or under hypnosis have been able to reveal minute details of another lifetime, cannot be absolutely certain that what they experience is proof of past life - or something else.

Belief in past life is a feature of some Eastern religions. Astrologers have found a way to relate the theory of past life to configuration of the natal chart. Some tarot readers relate certain cards to past life. Regression hypnotists and therapists seem to have no lack of clients. None of this, however, makes the idea of past life any more valid. I'm not trying to denigrate the theory - simply trying to arrive at balance. There's equal chance of us having lived before as there is of the idea being nothing but imagination and/or wishful thinking. This phenomenon, in common with all of woo, resides in that vast grey area incapable of proof.

A point that comes to mind: if, as we now suspect, time is circular, or spiral, rather than linear, and there's a possibility of our consciousness being "re-used" multiple times, we should be able to experience future lives too. News along these woo-ish lines doesn't seem to have surfaced yet.

Among several well-publicised examples of past life recall, the one that springs to mind first, for those of "a certain age", is the case of Bridey Murphy. The following is a concise rundown of the case from about.com, where several other instances of past life recall are listed, as well as a possible scientific explanation of the phenomenon.

Perhaps the most famous case of past life recall is that of Virginia Tighe who recalled her past life as Bridey Murphy. Virginia was the wife of a Virginia businessman in Pueblo, Colorado. While under hypnosis in 1952, she told Morey Bernstein, her therapist, that over 100 years ago she was an Irish woman named Bridget Murphy who went by the nickname of Bridey.

During their sessions together, Bernstein marveled at detailed conversations with Bridey, who spoke with a pronounced Irish brogue and spoke extensively of her life in 19th century Ireland. When Bernstein published his book about the case, The Search for Bridey Murphy in 1956, it became famous around the world and sparked an excited interest in the possibility of reincarnation.

Over six sessions, Virginia revealed many details about Bridey's life, including her birth date in 1798, her childhood amid a Protestant family in the city of Cork, her marriage to Sean Brian Joseph McCarthy and even her own death at the age of 60 in 1858. As Bridey, she provided numerous specifics, such as names, dates, places, events, shops and songs - things Virginia was always surprised about when she awoke from the hypnosis. But could these details be verified?

The results of many investigations were mixed. Much of what Bridey said was consistent with the time and place, and it seemed inconceivable that someone who had never been to Ireland could provide so many details with such confidence. However, journalists could find no historical record of Bridey Murphy - not her birth, her family, her marriage, nor her death. Believers supposed that this was merely due to the poor recordkeeping of the time. But critics discovered inconsistencies in Bridey's speech and also learned that Virginia had grown up near - and had known well - an Irish woman named Bridle Corkell, and that she was quite likely the inspiration for "Bridey Murphy." There are flaws with this theory, too, however, keeping the case of Bridey Murphy an intriguing mystery.

Suspicious minds would wonder about the money Mr. Bernstein stood to make from his book and spin-offs, including a 1956 movie. Still though, even if the guy made his name from it all, and a nice pile of dosh, it doesn't mean that Virginia Tighe's experience was an attempt to defraud the public. Skeptics have picked holes in the story over past decades. Doubts remain as to its true significance.





Still from the movie based on Bernstein's book



There's an odd lack of photographs of Virginia Tighe on-line, the only one I can find of her, with her grandchildren, is at this website:
http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/U1315681INP.html

Virginia Tighe's birth date is available, so a look at her natal chart might reveal whether she'd be the type of person likely to lapse into daydreams or become seriously delusional: some heavy Neptune aspects perhaps?

Born on 27 April 1923 - no location, or time given, so I've used Pueblo, the town where she lived, and 12 noon to construct a chart. This will suffice to show most planetary positions, though the ascendant and angles will not be accurate.





It's a well-balanced chart - all elements and modes are represented just about as equally as possible. Sun in Taurus, Moon in Virgo (unless born in the last minutes of the day). Sun and Moon in Earth signs indicate a grounded nature, not usually given to flights of fancy.

I notice that Mercury at 25 Taurus is conjunct Fixed Star Algol - the star astrologers look on as the most unfortunate of all the stars. I don't know whether this carries any significance here. Because the personal planet involved is Mercury, planet of communication, it's worth noting. For this to be especially significant though it would be necessary to check the charts of others who have experienced past life recall, to see whether Algol/Mercury played a part in their charts.

Neptune, planet of dreams, illusions and delusions needs careful investigation.
Neptune in Leo is in square (challenging aspect) to Sun and Mercury in Taurus and square Jupiter in Scorpio, setting up a "T-square" involving Sun/Mercury Neptune and Jupiter in antagonistic configuration to one another. (See below).

There's also a Grand Trine harmoniously linking Uranus/Pluto/Jupiter in Water signs. Water signs are the emotional, occasionally psychic signs, and here we have a linked circuit of them.

A Yod (Finger of Fate) formed by a helpful sextile between Saturn and Neptune, each linked via quincunx (150*) to Uranus represents a kind of chanelling of the "flavours" of Saturn and Neptune (Saturn = work/business/time/tradition and Neptune = imagination/illusion/delusion) through Uranus in Pisces, planet of eccentricity and the future, in the sign ruled by Neptune.












Putting all of that together what've we got? A grounded, well-balanced personality with also the potential for emotional and intuitive bahaviour (via the Water Grand Trine), with her solid Earthy Sun and Moon holding back any exaggerated flights of fancy. The Yod is the mysterious configuration here. I could read it as dreams of history and time funnelled through the future, with Saturn representing time and history. But Saturn also represents business, and Uranus is in Neptune's domain - which makes this even more confusing and open to a variety of interpretations.


So what's the verdict? I'm still stumbling around in that vast and murky grey area!

Wednesday Woo-Woo ~ Uri Geller

Probably the best-known name of all in the area of Woo is
Uri Geller, spoon-bender extraordinaire, purveyor of the paranormal, including (from his website HERE): telepathy (extrasensory perception - the ability to receive someone's thought pattern and transmit images in a similar manner.) Dowsing: finding the location of precious minerals. Bending, breaking and softening metal and other solids with the power of the mind, e.g. spoons, keys etc. Fixing broken watches and appliances, and using collective power, influencing the Big Ben to stop. Moving compasses with the power of thought. Erasing computer tapes and disks. Sprouting: causing tiny seeds (mainly red radish) to grow a few centimetres in seconds.

I've never been able to make up my mind about him. One thing is clear - he's a consummate showman. Showmanship and paranormal abilities are not easy bedfellows if a person wishes to be taken seriously. Perhaps Mr. Geller has never wanted to be taken seriously, but has been happy to use any gift he possesses to entertain the public and make a living for himself. Nothing wrong with that. I seriously doubt that he is the charlatan skeptics declare him to be. I'd rather think that he does have some kind of skill or gift - though perhaps a fairly minor one which is inconsistent, and has been exaggerated, embroidered and expanded for the delight of an audience.

I wonder if his natal chart will throw any light on the matter.
Born 20 December 1946 in Tel Aviv, now Israel, then Palestine. Astrodatabank has his time of birth as 2:30 AM.




Although his natal Sun is in Sagittarius, his Scorpio side is far more visible to the public. This isn't surprising as Scorpio was rising as he was born, Moon/Venus/Jupiter in Scorpio were closely conjoined in his First House of self. Scorpio is known for its magnetic, hypnotic, darkly magical characteristics, which Mr. Geller loves to emphasise on stage. At midheaven (the career area of the chart) is Leo - the show-biz sign, with Saturn right on the angle - so strong, and very important in this guy's personality. Saturn connects to science, and to business and the status quo, which don't fit too well - apart from the fact that Mr. Geller obviously has an acute business sense, which is linked to his life in the spotlight (midheaven). There's an echo of this from Mars in early Capricorn (the businessman's sign) conjunct his late-Sagittarius Sun. I see Sagittarius here as almost over-ridden by Scorpio and Capricorn/Saturn.

Uranus (the futuristic), one of the planets I expect to see prominent in these Woo charts, is in Gemini and opposite Geller's Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius, though not particularly closely hooked in. Neptune (illusion) the other planet closely connected with Woo is in Libra and helpfully sextiled to both Mercury (communication) and Saturn(business/career). Neptune is closely and helpfully linked in to his personal planets and career angle, which fits the picture of a creative showman/businessman, well able to communicate his illusions to an audience.

Wednesday Woo-Woo ~ Russell Targ

Russell Targ, physicist and author, was a pioneer in the development of the laser and co-founder of the Sanford Research Insititute's investigation into psychic ability in the 1970/80s; retired staff scientist for Lockheed Missile and Space. His interest in experimental remote viewing, and ESP generally is what brings him into this Woo series.

His books include:

Miracles of Mind: Exploring Nonlocal Consciousness and Spritual Healing, and Limitless Mind: A Guide to Remote Viewing and Transformation of Consciousness.

From Limitless mind (see here):

We do not yet know the physics underlying psychic abilities. However, researchers in the field of parapsychology agree on the undeniable observation that it is no more difficult to psychically describe a picture or an event in the future, than it to describe such a target in the present, when it is hidden from view. It is as though our bodies reside in the familiar four-dimensional geometry of Einstein's space-time, while our consciousness has access to another aspect of this nonlocal geometry that allows us to find a mental path of zero distance to seemingly distant locations. This is how a physicist expresses such an idea, while mystics for the past three millennia tell us from their experience that "separation is an illusion - and we are all one in spirit, or consciousness."

From such experimentation in many laboratories, it is clear that we significantly misapprehend the physical nature of the space-time in which we reside. It is this knowledge, together with our experience, that drives our passion to understand and learn more about the universe and the transformational opportunities offered us.

I'm not setting out to decide whether or not the claims and studies of the people featured in these posts are rational and valuable, or delusional - that's a matter for each individual to decide for themselves. I might drop a hint as to my own feelings now and again, but that's not my main purpose. I'm interested in the natal charts of these well-respected "proper" scientists who are drawn to investigate matters which invite derision from the loud-mouthed brigade of skeptics.

Russell Targ was born in Chicago, Illinois on 11 April 1934. I'm surprised that Astrodatabank or Astrotheme don't have data for Dr. Targ. A 12 noon chart must suffice, so ascendant and Moon's degree are not as shown.



I'm not at all surprised to find Uranus (planet of invention, the avant garde, change, and all that's new) close to Dr. Targ's natal Sun. Sun is also conjunct energetic Mars and in Aries, where Mars is right at home. With these three planets close together in Aries, sign of the initiator, one could be pretty certain of finding a person involved in things très futuristic. Saturn in helpful sextile from its traditional home in Aquarius completes more of the picture. Saturn connects closely to science.

The Moon was in Pisces at whatever time of day Dr. Targ was born. Pisces is ruled by Neptune, but I'm rather pleased that Neptune itself (planet of illusion/delusion and creativity) isn't close by. I see this as adding to the good Dr's credibility. Compare with last week's subject, Jacques Vallee, whose natal Sun is very close to Neptune. Here, Neptune in Virgo happens to be opposing Venus in Pisces, which I see as another good sign that the Dr. does not take his dreams and imaginings at face value but challenges them.

Jupiter opposes the Sun/Uranus/Mars cluster from Libra, another sign of challenge - Jupiter's penchant for exaggeration will not get by unimpeded - though Jupiter's connection to publication works nicely as it's in harmonious trine to Saturn in Aquarius - so publication and science are helpfully linked.

Wenesday Woo-Woo ~ Jacques Vallee

Blog buddy, Anthony North of Beyond the Blog suggested I take a look at Jacques Vallee for this Woo series. So......

Jacques Vallee (in a nutshell from UFO Watchdog's UFO Hall of Fame):

Astro Physicist, Author, Investigator, Silicon Valley computer scientist, author of numerous UFO books including Anatomy of a Phenomenon, Passport to Magonia, Challenge to Science, Messenger of Deception, and Dimensions among other historical UFO books. Testified at UN hearings stating that serious study was needed regarding UFOs, was reportedly the model for the government scientist in the move Close Encounter of the Third Kind, worked closely with Dr. Hynek.
Vallee initially supported the extraterrestrial hypothesis on the origin of UFOs, but was one of the first to change his mind. In Passport to Magonia he suggests the UFO Phenomenon has much in common with fairies, angels, ghosts, and other paranormal issues and that the sheer number of UFO sightings argues against their extra-planetary origins. In fact, he seems to believe in an Inter or Multi dimensional aspect to UFOs which would indicate they co-exist with us.

There's much more at Wikipedia. In an even smaller nutshell though, Vallee thinks UFOs could be looked on as windows to other dimensions, manipulated by intelligent, often mischievous, always enigmatic beings - as yet unknown to us, of course. As Vallee puts it himself, "I will be disappointed if UFOs turn out to be nothing more than spaceships."

I've oft surmised that UFOs could be visitors not from outer space, but from another dimension about which we currently know nothing. Vallee's theory is rather more subtle though. He had this to say in his book Passport to Magonia - reported at UFO Evidence

When the underlying archetypes are extracted," he wrote, "the saucer myth is seen to coincide to a remarkable degree with the fairy-faith of Celtic countries … religious miracles… and the widespread belief among all peoples concerning entities whose physical and psychological descriptions place them in the same category as the present-day ufonauts.

When I speak of a control system for planet earth," he says, " I do not want my words to be misunderstood: I do not mean that some higher order of beings has locked us inside the constraints of a space-bound jail, closely monitored by psychic entities we might call angels or demons. I do not propose to redefine God. What I do mean is that mythology rules at a level of our social reality over which normal political and intellectual action has no power….

Yes....well, I'm lost already! A little further investigation turned up the theories of another scientist, Nick Bostrom who suspects that we may be living in some kind of simulation - computer simulation. I'm not surprised that some other UFO researchers, scientists also, became so disoriented as to commit suicide:
From the interview with Vallee at UFO Evidence, linked above:

Vallee:For another thing you don't want to go around chasing every UFO that's reported. If a sighting gets a lot of publicity, you should stay the hell away from it. Instead you should go after cases that you select yourself, ones that have received very little publicity and you've heard about through personal channels...........
Clark: Are you suggesting that the investigator should attempt to experience the phenomenon himself?

Vallee: Yes, I think that's sound scientific practice.

Clark: But isn't that rather dangerous - in the sense that there's a real risk the investigator, even if he is emotionally stable and intellectually sophisticated, might be overwhelmed by the experiences involved?

Vallee: Yes, there are dangers. Witness what happened to Morris Jessup or to Jim McDonald. But I think that now we're more aware of what the dangers are. Once you realize the phenomenon may be deliberately misleading, then you can use certain safeguards. I'm not saying that safeguards are always going to work. There is an element of danger you really can't avoid. There's no way to do that kind of study just by reading books.

It's a little bit like the study of volcanoes. You can learn a lot about them by watching them from a distance but you certainly learn a lot more when you can be right there - even if it's somewhat risky.

I called up Wikipedia's pages on the two names mentioned, Jessup and McDonald and find that both men, serious scientists, interested in UFO research and/or The Philadelphia Experiment committed suicide.

This is getting a little weird, even for my tastes! Let's look at Vallee's natal chart.

Jacques Vallee was born in Pontoise, France on 24 September 1939. A 12 noon chart must suffice as no time of birth is available.



Why am I not surprised to see Neptune so close to Vallee's natal Sun, Mercury and Venus? Granted it's not in Libra as they are, it's in adjacent sign Virgo, but within orb (acceptable limit) of 7 degrees, to be considered conjunct Sun. Sun conjunct Neptune is often found in the charts of creative people - artists and writers especially. Neptune is planet of creativity, illusion, dreams, imagination, fog, delusion. Close to the Sun (essence of the personality) Neptune's characteristics are going to be clearly prominent in that person's nature. In Vallee's case, as in the case of his whole generation Uranus lay in harmonious trine to Neptune, drawing in Uranian traits of the avant garde, everything futuristic, inventive, quirky, whacky, rebellious to the already creative blend of Neptune/Sun.

Whatever time of day Vallee was born Moon would have been in Aquarius.
Add to the above Sun/Neptune/Uranus mix a natal Moon in Aquarius, Fixed sign of Airy intellect rulership of Uranus - and you have potential for exactly what we read about Jacques Vallee.

Remembering that, as well as a UFO theorist, Vallee is well-respected in science, astronomy, physics and computer technology, as well as in venture capitalism, I need to see what Saturn is doing in his chart. Saturn represents all the sciences, mathematics and business matters. Saturn here is in the last degree of Aries, in square (challenging) aspect to both Mars and Pluto, these two planets being in opposition. Astrologers call a configuration such as this a T-square. It's thought to indicate tension, obstacles and challenges as a way of life for the native, but - on the bright side - it also provides abundant drive and energy with which to overcome those challenges. Saturn, being the planet at the apex of this configuration is a particularly potent driving force in the life of Jacques Vallee.

"Skeptics, who flatly deny the existence of any unexplained phenomenon in the name of 'rationalism,' are among the primary contributors to the rejection of science by the public. People are not stupid and they know very well when they have seen something out of the ordinary. When a so-called expert tells them the object must have been the moon or a mirage, he is really teaching the public that science is impotent or unwilling to pursue the study of the unknown." (Vallee, J., Confrontations, New York: Ballantine Books, 1990.)

Jacques Vallee writes occasionally at Boing Boing website. Here's a link to his piece from earlier this year on the topic of crop circles.

Wednesday Woo-woo #2 ~ Charles Fort

Second woo-woo subject: Charles Fort. Fort may not have been the first ever researcher into the mysterious and unexplained, but he's one whose name has remained in plain sight as an adjective: fortean: of or pertaining to anomalous phenomena.

Inquiring into, recording and attempting to explain life's unexplained mysteries, was Fort's life's work and obsession. His best known books are The Book of the Damned, New Lands, Lo! and Wild Talents , published between 1919 and 1932.
All concern the bizarre phenomena unexplained by traditional science. The author spent the better part of three decades documenting flying saucers, telekinesis, sudden showers of fish from the sky, stigmata, poltergeists, and spontaneous combustion and much else.

Charles Fort was born in Albany, New York on 6 August 1874. His parents, Dutch immigrants, ran a successful wholesale grocery business. His father is reported to have been a domineering and physically brutal man.

The following extract comes from an article at the Charles Fort Institute website, it's by Bob Rickard:

Beatings by his tyrannical father helped set him against authority and dogma, as he declares in the remaining fragments of his autobiography Many Parts. Escaping home at the age of 18, he worked as a reporter in New York City before hitch-hiking through Europe "to put some capital into the bank of experience." In 1896, aged 22, he contracted malaria in South Africa and returned to New York where he married Anna Filan (or Filing), an English servant girl in his father's house. Fort and Anna settled down to a life of dire poverty ...... He took odd jobs between infrequent sales of his stories (most of which are now lost) to newspapers and magazines. At times things were so bad the Forts had to use their furniture for firewood..... He virtually lived as a hermit, chasing references at the library until it closed and writing up his notes at home, pottering over them into the night...... His concentration was quickly soured by doubt, which was rare but drastic when it occurred, plunging him into a depression. Twice, he burned his collection of tens of thousands of notes because "They were not what I wanted." Undaunted, he would begin his exhaustive reading and note-taking all over again, but in a new direction.

In 1921, the Forts set sail for London, where he and Anna lived close to the British Museum (at 39A, Marchmont Street). For eight years, he undertook his 'grand tour' of the Museum's holdings several more times, at each pass widening his horizons to new subjects and new correlations. He began to think that space travel was inevitable, sending letters to the New York Times on the subject and even speaking on it at Hyde Park Corner.

We have very few descriptions of Fort. He was a complex and private man, dedicated to his work. His autobiographical fragments, Many Parts,reveal a turbulent childhood through which he stumbled and brawled, resisting parental authority and any other imposition he thought unjust or foolish. Yet the key elements of his later brilliance are all in place: his powers of observation, his creative imagination, his facility with words and descriptions, and even his compassion for people who did not have his own inner strength.

Fort's biographer, Damon Knight, says Fort was "an utterly peaceable and sedentary man [who] lived quietly with his wife." By all accounts, Fort and Anna were an odd couple, but they were devoted to each other.

As in the chart of my first woo-woo subject, John Keel (see here) Sun and Uranus lay in close proximity. Keel had Sun at 4 Aries, Uranus 10 Aries. Fort had Sun 13 Leo Uranus 11 Leo. Both men had Moon in a mentally oriented Air sign: Aquarius for Keel and Gemini for Fort (unless he was born during the first hour of 6 August. The key to their common interest, I'm pretty certain, is Sun conjunct Uranus, planet of the unexpected - and all things situated "out where the buses don't run"!

Charles Fort's difficulties with his brutal father are astrologically represented by Saturn opposing his Leo cluster of Sun/Uranus/Mars from Aquarius. Saturn is said to represent the father figure in astrology. I find this is not always the case, but in Fort's chart, even if Saturn does not represent the father, it does represent the status quo and all that is "set in stone", which Charles Fort continually challenged.

"[Wise men] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there is an underlying oneness of all things, it does not matter where we begin, whether with stars, or laws of supply and demand, or frogs, or Napoleon Bonaparte. One measures a circle, beginning anywhere."
— Charles Fort (LO!)

"Science of to-day—the superstition of to-morrow. Science of to-morrow—the superstition of to-day."
— Charles Fort

Wednesday Woo Woo #1 ~ John Keel

Woo woo (or just woo) is a slang term used by skeptics to describe concepts or beliefs that are based on little or no evidence, or mysterious or unproven forces. I suppose skeptics consider astrology the ultimate woo-woo. Well they would, wouldn't they?

This is first of what may turn out to be a fairly brief Wednesday series about some well-known characters whose lives revolved around investigating mysterious phenomena and the unexplained. I'll be watching for any common factors in their natal charts.

First up: John Keel.

I came across him recently via a movie shown on HBO: The Mothman Prophecies. I'd never heard of Keel's book of the same name from which the movie is a loose adaptation. I was surprised to find later that events portrayed were based on fact. I'd watched the movie thinking it was going to be a fantasy-cum-horror tale. From comments on-line it appears that Keel's book contains much more information, and proves to be even more mystifying than the movie. Details of the story available HERE.

(Disclaimer - ish: I've become generally cyncical about such material, especially when it's written for presentation in book form, for profit. That's not to say I disbelieve eveything presented, but I do suspect that facts are embroidered and embellished quite a lot to entice readers and cause a stir.)

John Keel, American journalist and writer died last summer. The UK's Telegraph newspaper published a detailed obituary. An extract follows:

One of ufology's most widely-read and influential authors, Keel became an original and controversial researcher, and is credited with coining the term MIB (Men In Black), sinister and threatening entities who assume human form to confront ufologists and UFO witnesses.

Of particular importance was Keel's analysis of patterns. His work on "windows" (specific hot spots of combined phenomenal appearances), "waves" (cyclic appearances of the phenomena) and the "Wednesday phenomenon" (the theory that a disproportionate number of UFO events occur on that day of the week) influenced scholars and followers of the genre alike.

In his much-acclaimed second book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), Keel suggested that many aspects of modern UFO reports, including humanoid encounters, often paralleled ancient folklore and religious visions, and directly linked UFOs with elemental phenomena.

The Mothman Prophecies was Keel's account of his investigation into sightings in West Virginia of a huge, winged creature called the Mothman. Loosely adapted into a 2002 film starring Gere and Alan Bates, who played two parts of Keel's personality, the book explored the problems facing a UFO investigator when he becomes personally caught up in the unfolding of paranormal events.

The Mothman – so named by an excitable newspaper subeditor – was reportedly first encountered in November 1966, and again, repeatedly, the following year. Sightings dwindled following the collapse of a nearby bridge during the evening rush-hour in December 1967, in which 45 people were killed; the red-eyed apparition is popularly believed to presage or even cause disasters.

As well as producing novels such as The Flying Finger of Fate (1966), Keel began writing articles for Flying Saucer Review, a British-based publication which claims to number the Duke of Edinburgh among its readers.

Also in 1966, Keel became a full-time investigator of assorted paranormal phenomena, and for the next four years interviewed thousands of people in more than 20 American states. At first he sought to explain UFOs as extraterrestrial visitations. But a year into his investigations, Keel realised that this hypothesis was untenable.

"I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967, when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs," Keel wrote. "The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs."

Born 25 March 1930 in Hornell New York state. (12noon chart shown below in the absence of time of birth. Ascendant and Moon degree not accurate.)



Hmmmm - thought as much! Uranus close to natal Sun in Aries - sandwiched between Sun and Venus as it happens. Mercury is nextdoor in the last degrees of imaginative Pisces. This is interesting. Had Mercury been found in Aries or Taurus I wonder if Mr. Keel would still have been drawn towards this particular genre?

Digressing for a moment - I read an exchange on the forum at astro.com the other day concerning "confirmation bias". Confirmation bias means that, in any circumstance, people will tend to see things which match their own mental bias. I guess confirmation bias could indeed come into play when looking at a natal chart, yet if a factor isn't there - it ain't there, simple as that, you cannot invent it. Planets and other chart factors have reasonably limited interpretations, can be interpreted in a limited number of ways. You cannot "make it up" to suit your wishes. If it is there, it's there! Emphasis can be put one thing more than another if it fits the context, but if we seek something specific, such as Uranus being closely involved with a personal planet - it either is there or it isn't.

Uranus close to Sun allied with Mercury in Pisces are key here, I think. As an added extra there's Jupiter in Gemini the writer's sign. Jupiter is known as planet of expansion and publication and is in helpful sextile to the three Aries planets.

Whatever time of day he was born, Moon would have been in Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, and quite likely in sextile to the three Aries planets. Aquarius isn't necessarily the whacky or rebellious sign some astrologers make it out to be - it all depends on Uranus. What Aquarius always does represent is mental acuity and an analytical mindset. From what I've read about John Keel, that certainly applied to him. Whether he tended to get carried away in his enthusiasm, allowing Jupiter's exaggerating influence to get in on the act, has to be up to the reader to decide.