On the “Some Twerp who’s Not Art Bell” show, The Twerp (who’s not Art Bell) had on an astrologer who was hawking a book about how, because Mercury is in Retrograde, things are going to happen. Big things! Suprising things! “The next few year’ll turn out different.” quoth the Astrologer. (Quotes are approximate…I didn’t transcribe the actual words)
“Last time Mercury was in retrograde” he said “Kennedy was elected. Before that, Warren Harding was elected”
“Jeepers!” said the Twerp. "You mean that the next president will be assassinated?!?!. :
“NMMMmmmnnaaaaahoow, I wouldn’t say that.” Said the powerful seer. "But I can say with confidence that ‘The next presidencey won’t go as planned’ "
“Well, DUH!” I say, to the radio. The radio doesn’t answer.
The Great Mystic continues “Because Mercury is in retrograde, both of the candidates are running backwards on a retro platform. Gore’s running on ‘Four more years of Clinton’, Bush on ‘Four more years of Reagan’. This always happens when Mercury is in retrograde.”
“Yeah.” I yell “Kennedy’s ‘bright new future’, the whole looking forward feel of his platform was retro? Are you insane?”
“But who’ll win?” the Twerp asked
“They both have Leo rising, so the future is muddled. But I can tell you this:
Gore, based on his chart, will have secrets in his past
Bush will seem extreme to some folks
Both will have to appease their bases while fighting for the undecideds. But I can tell you this: one of 'em will win.”
The Twerp asks “My astrology readings usually aren’t accurate. Does ‘retrograde’ have anything to do with that?”
“Why, Yes!” Said the seer, who didn’t expand on that, going onto an analogy about how “people are like wine and different ‘vintages’ (his word) are affected by ‘retrograde’ in different ways.”
Anyway, this is the first astrologer I’ve ever actually heard…and I’ve got to ask:
Why would anyone believe them?! Presuming this guy’s more-or-less representative of astrologers, this is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. Seriously. I’m appalled. I’ve read Shermer’s excellent Why People Believe Weird Things but it doesn’t really answer my astrology question which could more accurately be described as “Why do people believe idiotic things?”
Any astrologers out there who care to defend the kind of stupidity above or astrology in general?
Fenris