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CosmiTec's Love Letter, Issue #056 -- Breaking News: Important Astrological Test Is Seriously Flawed July 21, 2009 |
| Hi It did not come as a surprise when we just recently heard about the news that the ultimate test which, for decades, "proved" that astrology did not work, was seriously flawed. The reanalysis of the study sheds a totally different light on the test and matter. What or who can we believe in this (scientific?) world? ********************************************
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Love Forecasts for August 2009Venus enters caring Cancer around August 1 and becomes more home-bound and family-oriented. Now is the time to beautify your home! Love experiences may prove to be emotional experiences and you are easily hurt when things do not go as you wish for. When your feelings are hurt, you tend to withdraw easily and shut down.Venus also opposes extreme and passionate Pluto around August 2 so that intense emotional feelings can overwhelm you now. There is so much longing and desire for love. Around August 3, Mercury enters its own sign Virgo and becomes very picky and critical. Be aware of arguments as not everybody is pleased to hear the slightest and minutest shortcomings that cause more worries than necessary. Indeed, Mercury in Virgo tends to worry too much. Around August 6, there is another Lunar Eclipse (we experienced one before around July 7), this time at 13° Aquarius -- right at the Uranus/Pluto midpoint. This Lunar Eclipse marks the beginning of a dramatic and sudden change (for good or for bad), often accompanied by stress and nervous tension. August 7 is marked by travel, change of the place and moves, especially if you are born around February 25, May 27, August 29 or November 28. Around August 9, you may be longing for something, for some news. You want to carry out some plans. Mars at 20° Gemini squares Saturn at 20° Virgo around August 11. Your plans seem to be postponed or blocked. No way to push through as there is too much resistance. Things are not going as you wish. Around August 14, the Sun at 22° Leo opposes Jupiter at 22° Aquarius denoting some expenses to be made around these days. Be careful not to waste too much money. Mercury conjuncts Saturn at 21° Virgo around August 17 at the same moment the Sun at 25° Leo opposes Neptune at 25° Aquarius. Separation is bringing you sorrow and is a major concern for the coming days. Mars at 25° Gemini squares Uranus at 25° Pisces around August 19 denoting physical injuries, sudden upheaval, arguments etc. Your life may take a sudden turn. Even surgery is likely to happen to some of you too. August 21 brings sudden news when Mercury at 25° Virgo opposes Uranus at 25° Pisces. However, don't expect too much details as things still have to be researched or analyzed further. Not everything will be told or made public. You can be quite direct in your approach and may need to suddenly act upon something. The Sun enters Virgo around August 22-23 and marks a day of profound love. August 25-27 are important days as there is quite some planetary activity going on then. Venus at 28° Cancer opposes the Moon's Node at 28° Capricorn, denoting some separation and saying goodbye just before it enters Leo. Mars enters Cancer while Mercury enters Libra, making for some discussions, talks and even arguments if not handled properly. If you take a closer look at the planetary positions around August 25-27, you'll notice that 4 planets/bodies are at 0° in a sign: Mars at 0° Cancer, Mercury at 0° Libra, Pluto at 0° Capricorn and Venus at 0° Leo. If you happen to be born around January 19-20, February 18-19, March 20-21, April 20-21, May 21, June 21-22, July 22-23, August 23-24, September 23, October 23-24, November 22-23 or December 21-22, you will feel the influence directly which often involves the start of something new. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Pluto together are all about passionate talks and conversations, talks about love and sex and about all things you want to accomplish so passionately. The actual configuration is not only passionate, but also quite provocative. You are able to push through, are competitive and want to carry out all your plans which often involve a change of the place and the (social) environment. Virgo around August 11. Your plans seem to be postponed or blocked. No way to push through as there is too much resistance. Things are not going as you wish. Love Quotes of the MonthA good day is one spent in good company-- Source Unknown -- Kindness is the ability to love people more than they deserve -- Source Unknown -- If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don't actually live longer; it just seems longer -- Clement Freud -- I know so much about men because I went to night school -- Mae West -- Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures -- Samuel Johnson -- In my thirties I was doing it, in my forties I was organizing it and now, unfortunately, I can only talk about it -- Cynthia Paine -- Women want a lot of things from one man. Conversely, men want one thing from a lot of women -- Source Unknown -- Friendships begin with liking or gratitude - roots that can be pulled up -- George Eliot -- What's New on Our Web Site?We updated our Scorpio in love Sagittarius in love Capricorn in love Aquarius in love Pisces in love with additional information. This finishes the updates of all our signs in love pages.Breaking News: Important Astrological Test Is Seriously FlawedFirst, what is this all about?In 1985, researcher Shawn Carlson published a double blind study of astrology in the prestigious science journal Nature. The Carlson study is widely viewed by skeptic groups as the (ultimate) test that successfully demonstrated the inability of professional astrologers to correctly match individual birth charts with personality profiles generated by a standard psychological personality test. Carlson claimed that failed tests involving student volunteers and professional astrologers from the San Francisco Bay Area "produced a strong case against natal astrology as practiced by reputable astrologers." Now it is found by Suitbert Ertel of the GEM Institute of Psychology in Gottingen, Germany, in an article published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration that the study organized by researcher Shawn Carlson followed a faulty, piecemeal analytical approach to the wrong conclusions. Professor Ertel reanalyzed the data from the study and found the Carlson claims to be "untenable." When the study was completed in 1983 Carlson was a PhD candidate in physics at the University of California with no special training or expertise in psychological testing, Concerns about the methods used and conclusions reached quickly surfaced. Another concern focused on publication of the research paper in Nature's Commentary section, the only articles section of the journal that is fully at the editor's own discretion. Professor Ertel also noted, among quite some other issues, that half of the data ratings were so poor they could not be analyzed, and the half that could be analyzed was not carefully completed. Anyway, in conclusion, the results of one of the most famous research studies that skeptics have used for more than two decades to debunk and deride astrology "violated the demands of fairness and common norms of statistical analysis," Professor Ertel concludes. What to think about this all? Astrology has always been and always will be controversial, especially because almost nobody knows or understands what astrology is and what it is about. Even "scientists" are human beings and thus act on impulses, look through colored glasses (not always the rosy ones), have feelings, prejudices, and a certain mindset according to their own character, personality, psyche etc. "Collecting" lots of degrees and having done numerous studies, doesn't necessarily make people better human beings and doesn't make people more reliable, integer and knowledgeable etc. Degrees often act like a mask to make a claim look more "reliable", valid or professional etc. However, it's not always good to link degrees to reliability. So, be ALWAYS on the guard for "scientific" studies, whatever the topic. Know that numerous medical (so-called scientific) studies too are flawed. Most people do want to refer to published scientific studies and evidence-based facts though and nothing is against this principle at all. However, on planet Earth, you should also ask yourself, "What is the source of "evidence-based facts and science" or "published studies"?" THOUSANDS of "scientists" write articles and conduct research for clients that pay for the outcome. Do not underestimate this! No doubt that the outcome of a (published) study cannot and will not be different from the initial (and often preset) intention(s). Also, numerous studies are written by "ghost writers", writers who write the research but have not a single idea what the study is all about because they have no experience with it. Scientists do have to earn their living too and are (all too often) willing to write anything that pleases the client (funder) who pays them to write. It's the way of science in this era! Reportedly, about 70% of all (medical) studies are funded by Big Pharma, so..., can we still talk about independent "evidence-based science/medicine"? Can we be sure that researchers know what astrology is about when investigating this topic? Who funds the study and why? If you know the answers, you're on your way to know if the study has some merit and validity or not. About astrological research It keeps us wondering how come that most astrological studies are psychological and personality studies, as if that's what astrology is about. Basically, that's the wrong perception. Astrologers know that most questions customers pose are NOT related to one's personality or character. Most people have other concerns, like: when will I marry? What will the gender of my baby be? Will I become rich or find work? Will I move? We at Cosmic Technologies don't know of any single ("scientific") study that tried to find out if astrology was valid to give an accurate answer to this kind of questions. Investigating complex planetary geometry is not simple because most software programs cannot cope with this yet. We would like to take the opportunity to point to a research study done by Alexandra Mark, published in her book "Marriage made in heaven" (Witford Press, 1988). Alexandra Mark, PhD., was not a fan of astrology, tried to debunk astrology by studying it, and as it often happens this way, got hooked to it and found a statistically significant pattern when analyzing the natal charts of married couples. The hypothesis she tested: "well matched couples, i.e. with both Venus to Mars and Sun to Moon ties, would divorce at a significant lower ratio than those who were either poorly matched or who had no astrological ties of significance at all." The outcome: couples that showed a Sun-Moon relationship by conjunction or opposition within a 16 degree orb AND a Venus-Mars relationship by conjunction or opposition within a 16 degree orb had a substantially reduced divorce rate. The study was conducted with the help of Dr. John P. Gilbert of Harvard University's Department of Statistics (who was initially reluctant to cooperate and after he did, was afraid that the publication of this study would ruin his career) who found the data to give a chi-square value of 5.70 with one degree of freedom (significant at the 0.02 level), meaning the hypothesis is statistically significant. Newsletter and Web Site Built with the help of Site Build It! Click here to contact us! Luc De Jaeger Cosmic Technologies (CosmiTec) Ondernemingsnummer/Company Number 0859944788 VAT/BTW: BE 0859 944 788 RPR Gent IJzerweglaan 23 BE-9050 Ledeberg Belgium |
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