Archives.

 Good morning.

2nd June 2006. Fake Astrologers & scams.

It is a sad fact that if every bogus Astrology website, cheat, charlatan and incompetent Astrologer was removed from the Internet there would be very few sites left! Sad, but true. Apart from taking money under false pretenses, these people taint the public's perception of what Astrology is and what it can really do - and, to me, this is unacceptable. So I have a message for these people, which is: I you run a bogus website, pretend you are an Astrologer and sell cheap computer reports, or are just plain incompetent, then I can guarantee that sooner or later you will be exposed here for all to see. 

The latest exposure concerns someone calling themselves Angela the professional Astrologer and who operates at www.astro-group.com. The complete rundown of this lady's hard sell is given in full here. As usual, there is a wonderful set of aspects occurring that are destined to lead to success - providing you buy the report. In my case, no such aspects exist and there is no evidence to show that this is anything other than the usual computer report being sold at a high price. There is also no way in which you can ask questions or complain. The resemblance to the antics of Jenna is strong. If you don't look, you will never know how these people and others operate. Don't miss out!

5th June 2006. Transiting planets.

When dealing with future trends, certain facts need to be borne in mind. Transiting planets seem to be the favourite of the Sun Sign Cowboys, and although they have a place in the overall scheme of things, it must always be realised that not all the planets are useful indicators. The general rule is - the quicker the planet moves, the less effect it will have. This, of course, shows that the daily 'predictions' made by Sun Sign devotees is likely to be completely wide of the mark because they use these planets. From a practical point of view, only the outer planets - Uranus, Neptune & Pluto - can be relied on to give definite indications, although a case could be made for the use of Jupiter & Saturn in some circumstances. 

However, the story doesn't end there. We must also include Progressions and Directions. The most suitable progressed method is known as Secondary Progressions and involves moving forward one day for every year of age, in other words if someone is 32 years old then a chart would be cast for the same birth time 32 days after the birth day. This is a very accurate method. Directions, involve adding one degree of arc to each planets birth position for every year age. So, if a person was 45 years old then we would add 45 degrees to the birth position. In both cases the new positions are compared with the original birth chart to see if any aspects are formed using an orb of 1 degree, and from this we make deductions. 

Lastly - and this is missed by most would-be Astrologers - we must include the Solar return chart, which is a chart cast for the exact moment that the Sun returns to its birth position for the year in question. 

By bringing all these factors together we get a pretty good idea of how the future is likely to shape up. This is vastly different to those mass produced computer reports which do not use all these methods and use programs that have not been set up correctly. Which would you rather have?

8th June 2006. Jonathan Cainer.

I note that the King of the Sun Sign Cowboys - Jonathan Cainer - has decided not to predict the outcome of the World Cup, giving the excuse that it would make him unpopular. Nice try Jonathan, but isn't it more likely that faced with people's expectation that he would come up with the goods he needs an excuse, because I doubt if he has the skill to make such predictions. In any case, isn't he missing one vital point? In order to make any Astrological prediction one needs a birth chart - and how on earth does one come up with a birth chart for a football team? Of course, being a master Tarot card reader, he could always shuffle the cards and come up with the answer. Over to you Jonathan...

9th June 2006. Health Signs?

I came across a search engine phrase the other day which was: 'Health problems for Sagittarius'. This goes to illustrate how much the Sun Sign Cowboys have influenced the perception that the public has about Astrology, and not for the better. The common presumption now is that all things can be answered just through one's Sun Sign. I have to tell you that this is nonsense. There are no health conditions specific to Sagittarius or indeed any other Zodiac Sign, and neither is it possible to deduce someone's finances, relationships, career, or anything worthwhile. These ideas stem from over-fertile imaginations, downright ignorance of Astrology or deliberate misinformation in order to gain public awareness plus lots of easy money. The only way to know what is likely to happen in your life is to consult a genuine Astrologer. 

Jonathan Cainer.

I see that Jonathan Cainer - King of the Sun Sign Cowboys - is making his usual rash predictions about the New Moon. Apparently everything will be overflowing with milk and honey for everybody this weekend. It doesn't surprise me, because in Cainer's world everything is wonderful all the time. Things are very different in the real world. 

Blair Gorman.

Blair Gorman, who describes himself as a Master Numerologist and who invites you to buy his Astrology report which he describes as "One of the Most Strikingly Accurate Astrology Interpretations You Will Ever Read", is now making a once in a lifetime offer of - get this - no less than 10 reports for less than $10 each. The reason, he says, is that he needs the money to update his web site - which is very strange considering that it consists of only one page! The reports are poor quality computer generated. More will be said about this individual later, in the meantime don't waste your money.  

13th June 2006. Scams, rip-offs, lies, fraud...

Haven't got your free birth chart yet? I have several charts that I am unable to deliver due to a faulty e-mail address being given. If you haven't received yours then please send me a blank e-mail with No chart as the subject. I will then be able to respond. 

Almost every week we hear about frauds and people being ripped off for large amounts of money, yet one of the biggest frauds is happening on the Internet with bogus Astrologers who pose as the genuine article using all kinds of false names and hiding behind flashy websites that are very convincing. In actual fact the majority know little or nothing about the subject and are actually selling computer-reports, most of which are badly set up, so adding to their overall inaccuracy. Some tell downright lies in order to make a sale yet nothing seems to be done about them, the reason being that the 'powers that be' consider Astrology to be nonsense and so unworthy of their attention. In a similar fashion, one can hardly expect newspapers and magazines to investigate the antics of their own 'Astrologer', and the bigger the celebrity, the less chance of this happening because sales might be affected - and we can't have that, can we? Yet in any other field if someone dared to lie and cheat they would be prosecuted for fraud. Make no mistake, the Astro-cheats are laughing all the way to the bank - at your expense and the only way to prevent this is by being more discerning. 

The Sun Sign Cowboys are guilty of a lesser crime by posing as people who know their subject yet in actual fact know very little. It doesn't take much to be a newspaper Astrologer; you don't have to get your predictions right, in fact you can say whatever comes into your head - some do! They make large amounts of money, but the subject they use to make a living is dragged down to the depths and mongrelised by all manner of silly ideas. Public perception of Astrology is now tainted by this, while the real subject rarely sees the light of day and its potential is generally ignored. 

This week we look at the effects of Uranus in your chart. 

14th June 2006. Uranus.

This week we continue our series of articles on the transits of the outer planets to your own natal planets this time featuring Uranus. Here we have an instance of a conjunction that doesn't behave benignly, in fact is is a particularly difficult configuration due to the contrary nature of the Moon and Uranus. If you have this conjunction it is very important to adopt techniques that will bring in calmness, such as meditation or yoga. Do this and many of the problems will disappear.   

Jonathan Cainer.

I see that the King of the Sun Sign Cowboys - Jonathan Cainer - is making yet another of his 'predictions' -  predictions that aren't predictions if you know what I mean. In this case he predicts that George Brown will take over from Blair. Wow! But wait a minute, in the same breath he says he will look at it again when his horoscopes tell him more. What more is there to tell? You examine someone's chart and make your predictions - end of story. Or are we going to hear that he is once again engaged in 'research' to discover more? Does this entail looking at what other people are saying? Why not try the Tarot cards? 

16th June 2006. Uranus cont'd. 

This week we continue our series of articles on the transits of the outer planets to your own natal planets this time featuring Uranus aspects to Venus, the planet of relationships and money. 

Jonathan Cainer and the Tarot scam.

Being a naturally curious person, I simply had to find out how Jonathan Cainer managed to fit Tarot card reading into his supposedly busy schedule as it simply isn't' possible for someone to carry out more than a handful of readings in any one day. There had to be another answer and sure enough I found it. You can buy a readymade Tarot program that 'shuffles' the cards and comes up with a 'reading' from various firms, one of these being Astrocalc. For Cainer to describe his service as personal and to offer insight into your problems in this way is ludicrous - no computer program can do this. So why do it? It seems to me that the need to make money and enhance your reputation is more important than giving value for money, and shows scant disregard for those who use his service to try to gain insight into genuine problems. 

17th June 2006. Fake Astrology phone lines.

There is an entire industry being built up around phone in Astrology, but is it any good? It seems that the people on the other end of the line are not really Astrologers at all but people who are specially trained to keep you hanging on by dangling a few vague facts in front of you to keep you interested. At £1.50 a minute you can soon rack up a large telephone bill. The 'interpretations' given are held in a computer ready for instant viewing so as to give the impression that the person acting as an Astrologer knows what he or she is talking about. Clearly, this is not Astrology, rather it is a money-making scam that plays on the gullibility of people. I cannot stress this too much - if you want Astrology, then consult a genuine Astrologer, not a pretend one. 

16th June 2006. Pluto demoted.

Scientists are having a great debate about whether or not to demote Pluto to the status of an asteroid rather than a planet. As the world descends into chaos with the weapons they have developed, and the pollution they have created threatens to extinguish life, wouldn't you think they had better things to do? And how much is all this costing? 

What about the effect on Astrology? Well before the madness starts and some idiot writes a book on the new asteroid Pluto, let me say quite categorically that I doesn't matter a hoot what the scientific fraternity does. Remember when some idiot decided that we now have 13 Signs of the Zodiac because she made the mistake of confusing the constellations with the Zodiac? NASA still force-feeds this lie to children despite the fact that they have been shown how wrong this idea is. It helps their cause of trying to ridicule Astrology, so I expect this latest blunder will add fuel to the fire. 

However, Pluto will remain an important symbol in a birth chart regardless of scientific interference. 

20th June 2006. Birth times.

One of the points the critics raise about Astrology is the apparent lack of similarity between two people born at the same time. Firstly, by 'same time' it has to be realised that even a minute or so can cause differences, sometimes quite marked, the reason being that the Ascendant [the degree of a Sign rising over the horizon] can change quite quickly. In certain cases this can result in a planet changing House, a wide aspect ceasing to exist, or an aspect to form that previously wasn't there. Location of birth also changes the Ascendant position. One thing is never considered, and that is the background into which a person is born, yet this will have a significant effect on a person.

If, for example, we have two people born at exactly the same time in the same street, according to the critics they should have identical lives - which of course is nonsense. A birth chart indicates potential, but it does not indicate background or the choices a person will make in their lives. So, let's for the sake of argument say that person A and person B both have the Sun in the same House with the same aspects . Given the huge range of possibilities with any House, which ones will each person choose? Much of this choice will be dictated by the conditioning of the environment they were brought up in, and as we all know no two domestic environments are identical. It is therefore quite possible for two people to share the same birth chart and yet display obvious differences. Let's say their Suns are in the 9th House. In this case, one could decide to travel extensively while the other may decide to follow his parents and become a priest - either is possible with a 9th House placing. 

So, it is perfectly possible for people with identical birth times and locations to have noticeable differences and yet examination of their lives would also reveal that they have many similarities as well - far more than could be accounted for by chance. 

20th June 2006. Jonathan Cainer.

Fake Astrologer Jonathan Cainer makes his latest prediction today. Inspired by standing all night in Woodhenge surrounded by hippies banging drums and presumably taking illegal substances, he comes up with the astonishing prediction that the World economy will have a difficult time. Could this have something to do with the fact that it has already been featured in the Media? Genuine Astrologers read charts - not newspapers. How much longer is the public going to allow themselves to believe that this man is an Astrologer? How much longer are they going to keep putting money in his pocket? 

Sara Freder.

Do yourself a favour. Run a search on Google for Sara Freder and see just how many complaints have been made against this 'lady' Why, may I ask, is this person still being allowed to advertise on Google? Why hasn't she been prosecuted? I hope to have answers to these questions shortly. Also, run a search on 'Astrology scams' and be prepared to be amazed. 

Latest: Sara Freder, alias Pasqualina is promoting a scam using a 'magnetised' photo of Magus Jean Christopher. Don't fall for it. For the full story of the Sara Freder scam click here. 

23rd June 2006. Pluto debate.

I tuned into BBC2 to watch the [pointless] debate about the status of Pluto as a planet when suddenly the King of the Sun Sign Cowboys Jonathan Cainer arrived on screen. What amused me was that he was seen poking about in a computer chart then we saw him drawing up a chart by hand [using the wrong House system!]. Why was he doing this when all he had to do was press a button and print the chart out. My theory is that this was an exercise in self-publicity designed to show the public that he understands Astrology - which he doesn't. Then came one of his legendary predictions stating the blindingly obvious. 'I see from the chart of Pluto's discovery that it will be around for a long time - probably thousands of years.'  I've got news for you - one doesn't need to read a chart to know that Pluto will be still around after the Sun goes out. Give me strength!

26th June 2006. Moon myths. 

The myths surrounding the Moon are to numerous to count, and while some of them are prophetic one should be careful of believing some of the Astrological utterances, particularly the ones informing you that the New Moon will do this or that in your life. 

The actual truth is best summed up by the fact that the quicker the planet moves, the less will be the effect. The Moon, of course, is the quickest mover of them all covering on average around 13 degrees in a day, making it the least likely to have any effect. However, for the Sun Sign Cowboys this is a wonderful time to make all kinds of rash predictions to impress their readers and rack up sales. Take it from me, these predictions are nonsense. 

Excite.com

I come across some pretty silly ideas on the Internet, this one concerns Excite.com. I recently received junk mail from someone using Excite.com, so as is normal practice, I  reported the matter to them - or rather, tried to. Try as I might I found it impossible to to this unless I went through the process of signing up with them - and why should I, there ought to be some means of allowing ordinary members of the public to contact them. Having drawn a blank, I decided to approach their sister company Excite.co.uk, which I did, explaining that I couldn't get through to the other company. In response, I received a rather snotty e-mail telling me that it wasn't their problem and I should contact Excite.com. Brilliant! 

So the message is that if you are a junk mailer and want a guaranteed safe haven in which to operate, just sign up to Excite.com and then do what you like - they don't care.  

If you are looking for Magus Jean Christopher, this is a fake set up by Sara Freder alias Pasqualina. Find out more here>

27 June 2006. Aspects.

Aspects connect planets and act, if you like, in a similar way to the connections on a printed circuit by allowing a flow of energy between two points, in this case planets. Aspects fall into two groups, beneficial and difficult, although it would be a mistake to treat this as absolute, simply because free choice can, and sometimes does, alter things. The beneficial aspects are the trine [120 degrees], the sextile [60 degrees]. and the conjunction [0 degrees]. Care is needed with conjunctions because much depends on the planets involved. Sun-Venus would be okay but Sun-Pluto can give rise to emotional problems. Difficult aspects are: the Square [90 degrees], the opposition [180 degrees] together with the so-called minor aspects: semisextile [30 degrees], semisquare [45 degrees], sesquiquadrate [135 degrees], and quincunx [150 degrees]. You may see references suggesting that the semisextile is a beneficial aspect, but they are wrong as experience has shown. Other aspects, such as quintiles are sometimes used, but the evidence for their effectiveness and strength is lacking and they are best ignored. 

Often missed are the declinations, yet they can be a very strong influence in a chart, and may sometimes reveal facts that were hitherto hidden. Unlike normal aspects which are measured along an arc of the ecliptic circle, declinations are measured above and below the equitoral circle using an orb of just 1 degree. The distance apart by ecliptic arc is not considered relevant, so two planets can be out of aspect normally and yet aspected by declination. If the two planets are in the same declination, either above or below the equator they are considered to be similar in nature to a conjunction. If they are opposite each other they are considered to be similar in nature to an opposition. Much work still needs to be done with declinations but they are still a valuable indicators.

28th June 2006.  

I am pleased to report that traffic to this site is increasing steadily and so I would like to thank you all for your interest and continued support for my aims, namely to present the true nature of astrology and to expose the fakes. The task of upgrading just about every page is nearly complete and a whole raft of new features is planned, including animations, videos, and sound files that will eventually make this site the leader in its field. As always, I would appreciate your thoughts, comments, and ideas which whenever possible will be implemented. 

For a limited period only I am offering a free computer character report - no strings, no follow-ups, no catches. Why? Because I want you to see what a computer report looks like and I don't see why you should pay out good money for something that costs pennies to produce. The report you will get is identical to the ones being sold by the fake Astrologers, such as Jonathan Cainer. Hurry. I can only keep up with the demand for a short while. To get one just ask for a free birth chart and tick the box marked Free Report. 

Please note that these reports are not the same as the ones I supply and so should not be regarded as a substitute. They are simply being given away to show how the cheats take your money by selling you an inferior product.  

Latest: Beware of those horoscopes sent to your mobile phone. They are expensive, contain very little worthwhile information and are most probably computer generated, so you are not getting what you pay for - a genuine reading. 

labyrinth crystals.co.uk  and Louisa Livingstone [www.astrosend.com] have been added to the computer-generated reports file.

30th June 2006.  Using the right standards. 

It is essential to use the right standards when erecting an Astrological chart, but what exactly are the right standards? Well, there are many, but two stand out above the rest. Firstly, it is absolutely essential to use the correct House system otherwise some planets will appear to be in the wrong Houses. This will vary according to the system used. 

The calculation of House cusps falls into one of two camps; Equal House and Quadrant system. The former is exactly what it says - equal sized Houses of 30 degrees each, while the latter produces Houses of unequal size, a size that varies according to which one of the many quadrant systems one uses. Quadrant systems first began with a monk named Placidus who devised a different way of calculating Houses, later to be known as the Placidean Houses system, which was the only alternative for many years until a whole raft of new ways started to emerged, each one different. 

So, the question is, which one is best. Without a doubt, Equal House score every time; it is easy to produce the Houses cusps and works anywhere on planet Earth. Quadrant systems devotees have yet to come up with a meaningful alternative, in fact when asked why they choose one over the others can only reply, 'It seems to work for me'. So, if they all 'seem to work' and yet put planets in different Houses according to which is used, who is right? 

Most of the time, the choice of Houses system is made on fad and fashion or simply by imitating what someone else has done, yet time and time again the resulting charts prove to be inaccurate. This sad fact is especially true with the computer reports churned out by the fake Astrologers, not to mention other errors, such as incorrect orbs and the use of spurious aspects and assorted lumps of rock. 

The message is, always make sure that the Astrologer you consult uses the right standards or you will end up paying for nothing. The correct  standards are to be found on this site for all to see. 

Scam-astrologer Jenna, alias Angela, is now operating at pro16.abac.com. Don't deal with this outfit!

Copyright ©  2003 First Stop Astrology.com. All rights reserved.