Wednesday, April 15, 1998
Ruled
MYSTICISM: Throughout the centuries, the ancient science of
astrology has endured reverence and ridicule
By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Contributor
Astrology has recently surged in popularity, but astrologer Jude
Dulhunty already knew that would happen
"When Uranus, which represents astrology, moved into the house
of Aquarius in 1996, that meant it would become more popular," said
Dulhunty, the owner and operator of Astro*Magic Astrological
Services in Brentwood.
"And Neptune, also a very metaphysical planet, just moved into
that house – so astrology will be very popular for a while
yet."
In 13 years of operation, Dulhunty has noticed the number of
people seeking her services increase in the past four years,
especially in the past two.
Many questions surround the issue of astrology, the belief that
the alignment of the planets and other heavenly bodies at the time
of a person’s birth influence that person’s nature and the events
of his or her life.
Astrology is based on the zodiac, which consists of the 12
signs, such as Scorpio and Taurus. The signs are divided into four
subgroups – Fire, Water, Air and Earth Signs – and each of these
groups is inscribed within its own quadrant – or "house" – on the
zodiacal circle.
The division of the 12 houses, based on earth’s daily rotation,
relates to circumstances such as relationships or finances. The
division of the zodiac, based on earth’s yearlong revolution around
the sun, relates to aspects of the character. For example, "if
Saturn, which rules the sign of Capricorn and represents ambition
and careers, moves into the 10th house, two things will absolutely
happen to that particular person: One, they’ll be more successful
in their career than ever, or two, their career will be a failure,"
said Dulhunty.
"That’s where Nixon’s sign was when the whole Watergate scandal
was revealed and he was impeached."
Is astrology valid? And should it be considered a science?
Students hold differing opinions.
Thomas Gulham, a fourth-year biology student who says astrology
has never worked for him, doubts its credibility.
"It appears absurd. And you don’t get consistent results. One
person’s telling you one thing and someone’s telling you another,"
he said, referring to daily horoscopes in newspapers. "They’re just
out to make money."
To Dulhunty, however, this is not the case. "(Daily horoscopes)
are very general. Sometimes that gives astrology a bad name, but
that’s the only way to introduce it to the public." Daily
horoscopes are so vague because they only focus on a person’s sun
sign, which is based on where the sun was the moment a person was
born. In focusing only on the sun sign, however, horoscopes leave
out the differing and more detailed predictions of other signs,
such as the moon sign and other planets.
Celeste Christie, a second-year theater student, cited this same
reason for being skeptical of daily horoscopes. She adds that
astrologers read things differently.
"It’s all subjective. For example, Mars is the planet of
aggression and temper and energy, and the seventh house is the
house of Venus, which stands for partnership and love. When Mars
moves into the seventh house, one astrologer could say that you’ll
have new energy in your love life, while another could say that
you’ll get into a fight with your partner."
However, Christie does believe strongly in astrology. Christie’s
interest in astrology grew serious when she was in high school.
"I’ve always been interested in it, and the more I learned about
it from my friends, the more credible it seemed." Although she is
unsure about its ability to predict events, she found that
astrology was very correct in its assessment on character.
"When you get down to specifics, it becomes amazingly true."
Dulhunty has no doubt that astrology can be used to predict
certain events. She has a file filled with thank you notes from
clients for the help that her predictions provided.
Dulhunty tells of a time that a husband and wife came to see
her. They wanted to buy a house and she advised them not to buy
anything for at least two years. "I saw that there was something
the realtors were hiding from them."
But the couple bought it anyway. After a while, it was revealed
that the left side of the house had a weak foundation as a result
of the Northridge earthquake – the people who sold it hadn’t told
them anything, and they lost a large amount of money fixing it.
Dulhunty also recalls last year when the stock market dropped
over 100 points and people speculated about and feared another
market crash.
"Tons of clients called and asked what they should do. These
were people with millions invested in the market. I advised them to
hold on." Sure enough, the market soon stabilized.
A debate currently raging in astrology is whether or not it is
actually a science, as some Internet sites declare.
Gulham, as a student of the life and physical sciences, is
adamant that it is not.
Christie is still unsure. "Well … it uses a lot of math. And
it’s very scientific in how you have to use research and develop a
hypothesis based on when people were born."
Dulhunty, on the other hand, does believe astrology is a type of
science.
"It is a science of human nature, which is very unpredictable
and unproveable. It is one ruled by spiritual impulses and humans’
fixed principles."
Despite its recent popularity, astrology has fascinated people
throughout history. The ancient Babylonians are believed to be the
first civilization to use astrology in order to predict the
recurrence of seasons and certain celestial events.
Later, Plato, Aristotle and others studied it, and astrology was
widely regarded as a science. After the Greeks, the Romans embraced
it, then the Arabs, and it soon spread throughout the world.
Astrology’s popularity has risen and fallen through the ages,
but it is more popular than ever today. Dulhunty explains her
theory on why so many more people seek her help: "The world’s gone
mad. Life has become more difficult, chaotic and faster, and people
are searching for answers they can’t find in religion."
And as they search for answers, Dulhunty says they turn to
astrology first – as opposed to psychics or tarot cards – because
it is the most practical metaphysical tool available, being based
on mathematics.
People also use astrology for a spiritual change.
"People don’t come here because everything’s wonderful,"
Dulhunty said. "Mostly, clients come for spiritual development;
they come to understand life and improve themselves." She explains
that astrology is best used to describe the character, talents and
flaws of an individual.
Dulhunty has used astrology to understand her son. When he was
born, she studied his natal chart, a chart of how the planets were
aligned at his birth, which revealed that he had talent as a
musician, actor and writer. Her son currently plays in a band and
has already won two writing awards.
Dulhunty also got her son an agent, but knew he would not cut it
as an actor because his character traits revealed he was "too
honest."
"He refused to do a McDonald’s commercial because he didn’t eat
meat," she said.
Dulhunty notes that not only has the number of her clients
changed, the types of people who come see her has changed.
"I used to only get women from 30 to 45 years old, and about 95
percent of my clients were women. Now I get teenagers, clients in
their 80s and 90s, and about 30 percent of my clients are men." The
occupations of her clients include lawyers, state troopers,
screenwriters, musicians, producers and actors.
Dulhunty often encounters skeptics because not only is she an
astrologer, but she has hosted radio and cable TV shows about
astrology, and often does public speaking.
In one of her presentations, a man confronted her and demanded,
"How can you expect us to believe in the validity of
astrology?"
Dulhunty looked squarely at him and asked, "Are you a religious
man?"
"Yes," the man hedged.
"Show me God. Show me faith."
The man had no reply.
Dulhunty laughs about it. "You can’t be scared of skeptics, and
you have to have a sense of humor in dealing with them." But she
has seen many skeptics change their minds and begin believing in
astrology.
So maybe the age-old and classic line, "Hey baby, what’s your
sign?" actually has a degree of validity.