Questions from Readers 3

Q – If I don’t have any idea of what time I was born, what sort of chart can be done?

A – Natal charts — natal = birth — are for people who know their time of birth. For those who don’t know, a solar chart is constructed. A solar chart is based on the “day” and the degree of the Sun listed at Noon in the ephemeris. The 12 houses are given the same degree for each sign and the Sun will always be in the First House. This is also called Equal Houses. Some astrologers use the noon or midnight hour to construct a chart for an unknown time. Without the exact time, solar charts will show many of the client’s traits, but inconsistencies will also appear, making it quite difficult to be accurate.

Q – I always read my horoscope in the newspaper. When was the first horoscope column printed in the papers?

A – Although there were many columns featured in almanacs and newspapers in England as well as America in the 1800s, the first astrological profile interpretation was printed in the London Sunday Express after the birth of Princess Margaret in 1930.

Q – Has any astrologers ever tried to use statistics and charts to compare certain vocational similarities, like what sign has the most athletes, actors or writers?

A – The Gauquelins — Françoise and Michel — astrologers from France, published statistical reports linking planetary aspects to certain professions.

Q – Who invented the horoscope?

A – There is no specific person who ‘invented’ the horoscope. There were different forms of astrology practiced in the ancient world. The Persians conquered Egypt in 525 BC, and mundane astrology was merged with decanic astrology. Then in Egypt under Greek rule, the two systems were combined to form horoscopic astrology. The most extensive development of horoscopic astrology came from the Egyptian scholar from Alexandria, Ptolemy, who was a renowned astronomer and astrologer. For centuries his written works were considered complex and accurate, until astronomers with instruments like Copernicus and Galileo proved his theories to be elaborate but wrong.