Friday September 13th 2002 - edited by Bernard Fitzwalter This week in Astro News: ~ A personality from the stars... ~ ~ AstroDiary ~ How can you get your personal characteristics from the stars? Surely, you get them from your parents? It's not planetary influence, it's DNA, say the sceptics. Well, yes, it is, but as an astrologer I'd have to say that it's both. Whenever I look at the charts of a parent and child, there are always very powerful contacts between them, such as the Moon in the parent's chart being in the same sign, or even the exact same degree, as Mercury or Venus in the child's. And not just one contact like this, but several, every time. If you can go back a generation, to the grandparents, you will probably find a sign or a degree that repeats over all three generations. Isn't this an astrological form of heredity, passing the same characteristics and values down the line? I think so. I'm not the only one who thinks this way. The current issue of Correlation, the academic journal of scientific research in astrology, reports on a project by Australian astrologer Bernadette Brady, who has been analysing 1,250 sets of parent-and-child data to see if the old astrological rules hold true. The results show that the frequency of astrological links between the mother and her first child are far beyond what you would expect from pure chance. I think there's a natural timing mechanism going on here, linked to fertility and conception, which perhaps we don't fully understand. It will be picked up, though, by an astrological chart, which shows things such as lunar cycles very clearly. It's interesting, whatever it is � and interesting, too, that the old rules which this new research supports actually come from the astrology of the Ancient Greeks, nearly 2,000 years ago. Obviously they noticed things that we've forgotten. Romeo Beckham, who arrived last week, demonstrates astrological heredity perfectly. He has five planets in very close alignment with his mother's chart � including the classic Moon-Venus link � and four with his father's. He was also born with Venus, goddess of love, rising in Libra, the sign of lovers. And people wonder why they called him Romeo. AstroDiary Advance booking for major astrological events: Tonight (Sept 13): Bedford Astrology Club Pluto Transits. Brickhill Comm. Centre, Avon Drive. 8pm. Saturday (Sept 14): Suffolk Astrology Society. All-day Prediction workshop, 10am - 4pm. From love & weather forecasting to medicine & finding lost objects. �25 (Members �20). Black Boy, Guildhall St, Bury St.Edmunds. Info: 01284 768756. Sunday (Sept 15): Centre for Psychological Astrology Finding the Life Script in the Chart. Dr Glenn Perry seminar. Regents College, Inner Circle, Regents Park, London NW1. �42. visit www.cpalondon.com Tuesday (Sept 17): Suffolk Astrology Society Complementary Healing and Astrology. 7.45pm. Black Boy, Guildhall St, Bury St.Edmunds. Info: 01284 768756. Wednesday (Sept 18): London School of Astrology. FREE introductory evening. 7pm. Friends' Meeting House, (facing Euston Station) NW1. Meet the LSA team and their students. Call: 07002 33 44 55. Please double-check with the organisation before attending any events listed here - we cannot accept any responsibility for events changed/cancelled. Are you holding an astrological event - especially one outside London!! - that you would like others to know about? Write to [email protected] with subject heading: Astro Events with website links. Please note - we cannot promise to include ALL submissions but will do our best. Research into Astrology and Infertility by Pat Harris, MSc., D.F.Astrol.S. I would like to thank everyone who has responded to my earlier notices on Jonathan's website and who volunteered to take part in the research that I am conducting as part of my PhD in astrology and health psychology at Southampton University, UK. I now have quite a number of people taking part which will help me in conducting my study into factors that may or may not correlate with fertility treatment outcome. I should have a progress report out soon. However, I am still looking for women who are currently pregnant - not necessarily as a result of fertility treatment - and who would like to contact me about details of my research to see if they would like to take part. My email address is: [email protected] New Service is Top for the Charts The Astrological Association of Great Britain is proud to announce that you can now speak LIVE to an expert astrologer. For an instant in-depth telephone consultation about your full horoscope call 0845 120 1416 or +44 207 436 9101 (a confidential 30-minute reading costs �29.50, payable by credit card. Or cheque/postal order from UK.) Lines are open 9am-9pm GMT, Monday to Friday. A few weeks ago, the Astrological Association of Great Britain launched this new, live fixed-fee, telephone chart reading service. It has since proved big hit with callers from all over the world. AA President Roy Gillett told Astro News: "I am delighted with the warm response that we have had. Once, if you wanted a reading of your full birth chart, you would have to struggle to find a genuine, reputable astrologer. Then, you would have had to make an appointment and travel miles. Now, at last, there's a quick and easy way to get your questions answered by a real expert - from the comfort of your own home." Mirror reader Julie Roberts from Rochester was equally enthusiastic. "I rang last Tuesday and spoke to an astrologer called Maria. Within moments, she was telling me details about my childhood that she could not possibly have known... then she said some fascinating things about my future. If you missed any of Friday's Astronews articles, click here for Astronews Archives