Investigating Psychic Ability: Advancing an AstroSignature
By Terri McCartney
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My hope is that the focus of this article is what you've been waiting for:
the hands-on example for doing AstroSignature research. The last few months
we've been exploring research designs, processes and guidelines for doing
astrological research. This month we move on to the engaging stuff: conducting
the research. I hope you'll call upon the research muse to inspire you and join
me, step by step, in analyzing the data and building the signature. Let's
dialogue and share insights. If two minds are better than one, imagine what
100 minds joined in focus can do!
First Things First
We have our topic: psychic ability. The next step in the research process is to
conduct a literature review. This literature review turned up two signatures
for psychic ability: one set forth by Gaston Mascarenas1 and the other by
Mitchell Gibson, M.D.2(see
http://www.astrodatabank.com/AS/ResearchStepByStep.htm)
The literature review contributes more than just providing us an opportunity
to review what others have proposed. The review additionally assists us in
structuring our own research project. We note the strengths and weaknesses in
others approach and any questions left unanswered. For example, in
The Rulership Book by Rex E. Bills3,
Neptune, Pisces and the 12th house are listed as the primary astrological
symbols corresponding with psychics and psychic experiences. Uranus, Pluto, Scorpio, Moon,
8th house, and 9th house are given as secondary influences.
This begs the question: How do these symbols interact
to influence psychic ability? This is the sort of question our discipline most
needs answered. We have a plethora of astrological assertions that we not only
haven't tested for their validity. More importantly, we have much to learn
about the interaction that exists among the various astrological factors.
Gaston Mascarenas' study demonstrated that the occult 8th house was more
prominent in the charts of the psychics he studied than was the 12th house.
Since he only looked at the charts of eight psychics and he didn't use a
control group, we'll test his finding more rigorously in this investigation.
We'll evaluate whether this 8th house emphasis holds true in a larger group of
psychics and we'll identify the points that are involved and compare these
totals to the control group for significance. This will assist us in
understanding the dynamics existing among the 8th house and the points found
there. The job of the AstroSignature is to not only to identify those
astrological factors that set those who have demonstrated appreciable psychic
abilities apart from the general population but also to affirm or disconfirm
common astrological assumptions.
Collecting the Data
The validity of our findings partially rests on both the reliability of our
birth data and the degree to which our sample population of psychics is
representative of the general population of psychics. The only way to have no
sampling error is to have a test group that consists of the entire population
being studied. Of course, that's not possible. What we do, then, is draw as
varied a representative sample of that population as we are able (in this case,
for example, we will include psychics from all over the globe and of various
ages).
A second consideration is how much data is enough data for a sound study.
The general rule of thumb is to allow five observations per category. For
example, if you are counting houses, that would be 5x12 or 60 in your
experimental group. The control group should be at least as large as the
experimental group and the larger the better. The larger the control group
the less likely it is that the things we find to be significant will have
occurred by random error or chance.
I perused the Rodden database that is provided with the AstroDatabank
software and found 205 psychics with a rating of B or above4. Of that 205, I
selected 80 psychics. Without looking at names, I read through the biographies
and chose psychics that had publicly demonstrated their psychic ability. I
selected the psychic test group this way to ensure the data selection was not
biased by noting birth dates or looking at chart dynamics. Seventy-four of the
80 psychics had a Rodden Rating of "A" or above and six of them had a "B" rating.
Creating a Research Database
The AstroDatabank software was used to create a research database consisting
of these 80 psychics and a control group of 800. The AstroDatabank control
group generator replicated the charts of the 80 psychics for longitude,
latitude, year and time of birth while shuffling the data independently to
create a control group containing 800 birth records. While the control group
generated by AstroDatabank does not represent birth charts of real people (and
therefore might generate the chart of someone with demonstrated psychic
ability), the greatest advantage of this control group is it helps us quickly
identify what astrological factors occur more frequently than by chance in the
charts of the test group as compared to the control group. (For more
information about creating control groups see
http://www.astrodatabank.com/AS/ResearchByDesign.htm).
Once the test and control groups are established, the next step is to
calculate the astrological data for each chart. The tropical zodiac and the
porphyry house system were used. The points calculated include Sun through
Pluto, Chiron, Vesta, Pallas, Juno, Ceres, the nodes of the Moon, the Ascendant,
MC, vertex, part of fortune, all twelve house cusps, the modern and traditional
rulers of each house and the dispositors of the planets and Moon's nodes.
Additionally, major, minor, 5th and 7th harmonic aspects were calculated involving
all points.
Now the Fun Begins: Data Analysis!
The bottom line we are shooting for here is a working AstroSignature that
assists us in identifying the multiple astrological factors that correlate with
psychic ability and are found in the psychics charts to a degree that they clearly
set the psychics apart from the control group. They are two general ways to
approach building an AstroSignature. A common approach is to build a signature
around a hypothesis based on established astrological assumptions or qualitative
investigation (such as Neptune, Pisces and the 12th house will be found emphasized
in the charts of the psychics) and then test the signature for its validity. I
prefer the second approach (although it is far less common): to build a signature
around what a univariate factor analysis demonstrates are the factors found
significantly more frequently in the charts of the psychics than in the control
group. This approach can be thought of as "assumptionless research." Working from
the fundamental astrological assumption that correlations exist among celestial
and terrestrial phenomenon, this otherwise assumptionless approach allows the
data to reveal the most highly relevant dynamics.
The AstroDatabank version 4 factor analysis feature does the univariate
analysis for us. It compares the test group to the control group on over 31,000
different astrological factors. The statistics it generates show what factors
combine together to express as a particular aptitude, temperament, motivation,
orientation or event and more often than by mere chance. Following is a list of
the factors analyzed in this research endeavor using the univariate factor
analysis:
- Planets, asteroids, house rulers and dispositors in signs.
- Planets, asteroids, house rulers and dispositors in houses.
- Aspects among planets, asteroids, house rulers and dispositors.
- Essential and accidental dignities including motion, and unaspected planets.
- Gauquelin sectors5.
- Parallels of declination.
Now, let's get to it and evaluate the data that was generated by the
AstroDatabank Factor Analysis feature beginning with sign placements.
Sign Placements
Figure 1 displays the report generated from the sign factor analysis. It has
been filtered to show only those factors occurring in the charts of at least
10% of the test group and 100% more often than they are found in the control
group. I prefer to begin my analysis by looking at those things that stand
out the most. (The columns in Figure 1 display the type of report, the factor
tested, the percentage of our test and control groups that had this factor
(%NZ or non zero scores) and the percent difference between the two groups.)
Figure 1
Take a moment to peruse the summary. How do these findings jive with what
you would expect to find? Scan down the %NZExp column (this column shows the
percent of the psychics with the feature in their charts). The sign factor
showing up in the greatest percentage of the psychics (22.5%) is the ruler of
the 9th house in Leo. The 9th house is noted by Rex Bill as a potential
contributor to psychic ability. Now we have the opportunity to gain more
insight into the manners in which the 9th house has association with psychic
ability: its ruler is in Leo, the sign associated with the creative utilization
and expression of the authentic self. I view the 9th house as the house where
we have experiences that push at the comfort zones of our conditioned beliefs
and assist us in grasping the "bigger picture"— ultimately discovering that we
are spirit having a human journey.
Figure 1 also shows three placements in Pisces. Twenty percent of our
psychics have the Sun in Pisces, demonstrating the greatest percentage of
positive frequency difference of any of our factors—146%. The ruler of the
7th house, the ambassador of our relationships with others is also found in
Pisces in 13.75% of our psychics charts. This suggests the possibility that
when the ruler of the 7th house is found in the sign of pure consciousness
(Pisces) one of the significant relationships in our lives is with spirit
and otherworldly realms of experience. Finding significance for the ruler
of the 7th house in Pisces engendered a curiosity to check out whether Pisces
on the Descendant had similar significance. We have a clue in these statistics.
Note that Figure 1 does not list the Ascendant as demonstrating significance
in any of the signs with 100% positive frequency differences. However, 16% of
our psychics had the MD in Libra, a placement common with Capricorn rising but
also possible with Sagittarius or Aquarius rising when sign interceptions are
involved.
Gaston Mascarenas' noted that the eight psychics he studied had interceptions
in their chart. Forty-two percent of the psychics used in this study also have sign
interceptions (using the porphyry house system) as compared to 40% of the control
group. However, the control group birth data mirrors the latitude and longitude of
the psychics, so we wouldn't see significance demonstrated for this factor. The most
commonly intercepted signs in the psychics charts were Leo and Aquarius. Eleven
percent of our psychics had these signs intercepted as compared to 5% of the control
group. The most commonly intercepted signs among the control group were Virgo and
Pisces (10%) while 8% of the psychics had Virgo/Pisces intercepted. In Mascarenas'
study of 8 psychics, 3 had Leo/Aquarius, 3 had Virgo/Pisces and 2 had Taurus/Scorpio
intercepted. The signs found intercepted the least often in this study for both the
test and control group were Gemini and Sagittarius. Further investigation of
interceptions in the charts of psychics is a salient area for additional research.
For example, one might investigate the locational factor when a psychic comes into
their abilities in a location other than their birth place to identify whether an
intercepted sign is found in the relocated chart or in the progressed or solar
return chart at the time when a person begins to work consciously with their psychic
ability.
Figure 2 displays the full factor analysis summary for the Ascendant's placement by
sign. Nine of our psychics (11%) have Virgo on the Ascendant (Pisces on the
Descendant) as compared to 82 in the control group (10%)—about equal significance.
Logically, we might assume that about 7% of our group (1/12) would have any given sign
rising or setting in the birth chart. However, we must take into consideration
astronomical realities like the signs of short and long ascension when evaluating
our data. It's noteworthy that 96% of both our psychics and control group have birth
locations in the northern hemisphere where Pisces, Aries and Taurus are the signs
of short ascension. Therefore, we'd expect to see a higher percentage of both groups
with Virgo, Libra or Scorpio rising, the signs of long ascension in the northern
hemisphere. A great advantage of the quantitative analysis is that it gives one a
more acute awareness of astronomical realities.
Figure 2
Figure 2 also demonstrates that Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Libra, and
Scorpio rising are all found more frequently in the control group. Negligible
differences (less than 10%) are seen with Leo or Pisces rising while
Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius on the Ascendant demonstrate positive
frequency differences of 13% or greater (the signs that could be rising with
Libra on the Midheaven). Virgo is also close to demonstrating a positive 10%
difference when found on the Ascendant. The sign found rising for the greatest
number of psychics is Sagittarius (13.75%), followed by Leo (12.5%), Virgo
(11.25%) and Capricorn (10%). I thought it interesting that the four personal
signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer) all demonstrate negative frequency
distributions when rising while the four transpersonal signs (Sagittarius,
Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) all demonstrate positive frequency differences.
The factor analysis also evaluates placements by element and modality. Figure 2
shows that the Ascendant's placement in the water and air signs occurs more
frequently in the control group. Yet, we also know that grouping these factors
by element isn't an accurate description of the findings since the air sign
Aquarius and the water sign Pisces were found slightly more frequently in the
test group. Along the same line, the Ascendant in the mutable signs demonstrates
a slightly significant positive distribution even though the Ascendant in Gemini
was found more frequently in the control group. The data in Figure 2 demonstrates
that the Ascendant was found in a mutable sign for nearly 38% of the psychics.
Closer scrutiny of the data demonstrates that of the 38% of psychics with a
mutable sign rising, 31.25% (25 of the 80) have Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces rising
and at frequencies that demonstrate positive differences when compared to the
control group. Figure 2 also demonstrates a 30% negative frequency distribution for
the psychics with the Ascendant in a water sign. Additionally, note the near equal
distribution of the Ascendant in the yin and yang signs, demonstrating no
significant differences between the yin and yang signs rising.
Figure 3 displays the full factor analysis report for signs on the Midheaven. This
summary is given so that you have further comparison data for analyzing the
significance of finding Libra on the MC in light of the Ascendant data posted in
Figure 2.
Figure 3
We've already seen in Figure 1 that the ruler of the 9th in Leo was found to
be significant but what about its placements in the other signs? Figure 4
displays the data for the ruler of the 9th house. And what about other
placements in Leo? Figure 5 and 6 show the full summary of placements in Leo.
I like to look at the really significant factors first (as displayed in
Figure 1) and then scrutinize specific pieces of the data to identify similar
themes and factors that can be combined into one signature rule.
Figure 4
In Figure 4 we see that the ruler of the 9th house demonstrates greater than
50% positive frequency differences when found in Aries, Capricorn or Pisces.
Grounded, cynical Capricorn? That strikes me as odd, how about you? And check
out the Ruler of the 9th in either Gemini or Sagittarius—only 4 of our 80
psychics have the ruler of the 9th in one of those two signs. What do you make
of that? Finding the ruler of the 9th in Pisces made immediate sense to me
while finding it in Capricorn did not resonate. A closer examination of the
numbers for the ruler of the 9th in Capricorn reveals that only 8.75% is
within range of the expected average while the control group's 5.63% is
slightly below the expected average. Therefore, I would not read significance
either way for the placement of the ruler of the 9th in Capricorn. I would,
however, combine the ruler of the 9th placed in Leo or Pisces and include it
in the AstroSignature for psychic ability. When combined, 33.75% of the
psychics have the ruler of the 9th in Leo or Pisces as compared to 17% of the
control group. As I peruse the univariate analysis reports, I look for
combinable factors found in at least 25% of the test group and twice as often
as they are found in the control group (100% difference).
Figure 5 shows that the factor in Leo scoring behind the ruler of the 9th in
positive frequency distribution is the ruler of the Midheaven (15% of the
psychics have the MC ruler in Leo). Next in line is the Moon's placement in
Leo, something 12% of our psychics have. Is this something you'd expect to
find? Does it make sense based on your understanding of the symbolism? These
are the sort of critical questions to ask as the data is evaluated. For
example, is the ruler of the 9th demonstrating significance only for the 13%
of our psychics with Sagittarius rising? (The answer is no—none of our psychics
with Sagittarius rising has the ruler of the 9th in Leo!) I try to approach
the data from many different perspectives in an attempt to understand the
meaning of the astrological dynamics that contribute to the phenomenon being
studied.
Figure 5
Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
Have you noticed that we've been utilizing both a qualitative and quantitative
analysis of the data? A quantitative analysis looks at the numbers only while the
qualitative analysis searches for the meaning in those numbers. As we analyze the
data we all rely upon astrological sense-making—we ask ourselves if our findings
make sense within our understanding of the essential meanings of the symbols. And
if they don't, we ponder the reasons why they don't. For example, what about the
15% of psychics who have the ruler of the 6th house in Sagittarius—potentially a
statement that intuition, and abstract mental processes are skills being developed
and even that they are inherent to one's daily routine and/or vocational goals.
Figure 1 also demonstrated that 13.75% of the psychics had the dispositor of Jupiter
and the MC in Aquarius. Hmmm. Does this make you question if the dispositor of Jupiter
and the Midheaven are the same planet? If we combine these two statements and search
our psychic's charts for the dispositor of Jupiter or the Midheaven in Aquarius, will
we find that 27% of our psychics have one of these two features in their birth chart?
No. Only 18.75% of them do. Of that 18.75%, seven of the psychics (or 8.75%) have both
the dispositor of Jupiter and the dispositor of the Midheaven in Aquarius. Of that
8.75%, all but one of those cases not only had the same planet ruling both Jupiter and
the Midheaven but they also had Jupiter conjunct the Midheaven! This is something we'll
make a mental note of—it will be revisited when we analyze the aspect factor analysis
report.
Summary and Appeal
It is easy to lose all sense of the passage of time while engrossed in data analysis.
Half a day easily slips away while I'm evaluating just one of the factor analysis
reports. It's a process of peeling back the many interactive layers and seeking to
understand the meaning and significance of the data within the context of the
phenomena being investigated.
The summaries of the factor analysis for house, dignity, declination and Gauquelin
sectors are given below. I'm refraining from commenting on that data to allow you the
joy of seeing it first through your own eyes without biasing your perceptions with my
own. You might want to begin by checking out the House factor analysis to determine
if the 8th house emphasis Gaston Mascarenas found holds true for this group of psychics.
I'm eager to hear about your own process and insights as you evaluate the data. Please
do write me at
TMcCartney@astrodatabank.com Next month I will include your feedback
into building the AstroSignature for Psychic ability based on the sign, house, dignity,
declination and Gauquelin sectors. Additionally, the aspect factor analysis will be
presented and reviewed. My hope is that the research muse is already gracing you with
its presence and will be until we meet again!
House Factor Analysis
8th House Factor Analysis
Declination Factor Analysis
Dignity Factor Analysis
Gauquelin House Sectors
Footnotes
1 Mascarenas, Gaston. "The Astrological Signature of Psychics." Geocosmic Journal, Spring 2004, p. 77.
2 Gibson, Mitchell, M.D. Signs of Psychic and Spiritual Ability. Tempe, AZ, Modern Astrology Publishing, 2001, p. 43.
3 Bills, Rex. E. The Rulership Book. Tempe, AZ, American Federation of Astrologers, 1971.
4 A Rodden Rating of AA indicates the source of the birth information is the birth certificate
or record, the A rating is derived from a news report or from memory and the source of
the birth information for the B rating is a biography or autobiography
5 Gauquelin, Michel. Birth-Times: A Scientific Investigation of the Secrets of Astrology. New York, NY. Hill and
Wang, translated by Sarah Matthews, 1983.
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