Kirstine Munk's PhD thesis on astrology can be freely downloaded from this link:

http://www.humaniora.sdu.dk/phd/dokumen ... ger-93.pdf

I've just started reading it myself so can't comment in detail but my first impressions are that it looks very good.

I cant' even say that I've gone so far as to glance at it, but this interesting observation caught my eye in a footnote on page 2;

While the former president of France, Fran?ois Mitterand, could consult society astrologer Elisabeth Teissier relatively unnoticed, a major scandal broke out when it was discovered in 1988 that the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, not only consulted an astrologer, but that the entire presidential schedule had been calibrated according to astrological dictate. Among the events the advice from Reagan?s astrologer Joan Quigley seem to have effected (sic) was the rapprochement between Reagan and Gorbachev and the subsequent breakthrough in Cold War relations (Spencer 2000: 173-185).

To my knowledge only Nancy Reagan was "accused (by a disgruntled fired employee)" of consulting astrologer Joan Quigley for purposes of scheduling her husband's meetings, signing of bills, documents etc. I doubt the entire schedule was arranged for astrological reasons or by election. Presidents are too busy to allow for that.The President was not personally accused, except by political enemies looking for any advantage. However astrologer Debbie Kempton Smith in her book Secrets From A Stargazer's Notebook, wrote this:

Even President Reagan has admitted he believes in astrology, so much so that his birth time is, in reality, dirrerent from the ones we see in the magazines.

I'm not sure how accurate this is, but the book was published in 1982 six years before Reagan's meeting with Gorbachev, and before the Quigley revelation. I want to find the Spencer reference. That looks interesting. None of the more recent biographies of Reagan mention his interest in astrology.

An interesting discussion of Reagan's birth time can be found here: http://www.astrodatabank.com/NM/ReaganRonaldPRT.htm


Tom

In 'What Does Joan Say?', Joan Quigley says,

My control over the departure times of Air Force One when the President was aboard was absolute. (p.82)

I think that's an example of the kind of thing we're talking about. And Donald Regan, who I think would be the disgruntled former employee, wrote:

My description of White House life would have made little sense if I had omitted it [astrology]. All those schedule changes, when laid out in black on white pages, would have looked downright senseless in the absence of an explanation... It was a daily, sometimes hourly, factor in every decision affecting the President's schedule. (quoted p.175 Neil Spencer's 'True as the Stars Above')

Garry,

thank you so much for this link. The thesis was very interesting, provocative and also an entertaining read. I think every astrologer who reads charts for clients should read Monk's study, it gives a thought provocing picture of today's astrology as a profession.

One thing that raised my eyebrows in the beginning was, how self-evidently Monk bypassed the option that astrology could work also in the 'scientific' sense. She quoted a few sun sign studies , declared that astrology simply doesn't work except as divination, it's proven and period and that was it.

That gave me the necessary kick to finish a study that I've now and then entertained myself with, and I made a serious effort to collect a series of pictures of people with a certain planet conjoining their Ascendants. I've put the results to an internet site, but because as a traditionalist I must elect the launching time, it will not be online until next Sunday. I'll put the url on this forum then.