With Pluto rising and sleight of hand, an age-old profession brings

It's not just luck, astrological readings often depend on cunning, reports Noor Kadhim

THOSE of you who faithfully scan your horoscopes, stop reading now. New studies presented at the BPS European Congress of Psychology at the Barbican Centre in London last week, have shown that astrology is little more than speculative prophesying endowed with the occasional pinch of luck. Successful predictions are more the result of good fortune than good fortune-telling.

You are probably in mid-yawn. Most of us know this already. So why do so many of us still take the time to flick to the Mystic Meg pages? Katherine Holden, a researcher in the paranormal at Goldsmith College (University of London) who spoke at the London conference, has several views.

"The belief in the paranormal is usually triggered by the psychological need to understand our individual personalities," she explains. "Part of the attractiveness of astrology is that it can serve a very reassuring, comforting purpose, designed to transport us from the stressful activities and responsibilities of everyday life."

Holden is sceptical of any kind of notion of 'psychic guidance' but admits that in many cases astrology performs "similar functions to conventional religious beliefs". She emphasises: "I'm not saying people are using the paranormal as a substitute for religion studies have never proved this. But it's clear that people who go to see astrologists use them as counsellors."

Holden is talking about one-to-one consultations, which are more refined than your average mass-produced horoscope. However, the two have one feature in common according to Holden; they are both "based on generalised statements, which people can interpret in different ways".

"The vast majority of psychics actually believe they have a gift," Holden adds. "But it's mainly guesswork, oversimplifications and stereotyping." If you took every word at face value, you'd expect to be running into Mr Right and having money, family and career problems 32 weeks of the year.

"People extract what they want from a reading. They remember the things guessed right rather than wrong," Holden explains. The diagnostic techniques used include 'cold reading', which involves asking leading questions like: "You've had family problems recently, haven't you?" which are more likely to elicit a positive response than direct statements of fact.

"Much of it is intuition, gleaned from body language, eye contact and common sense. Some retiring psychics even pass on files of personal client information to the next psychic, and some assistants will even rummage in your coat pockets to find clues."

To complicate things further, Holden reminds us that the planets' positions have changed over the years, meaning that you could have been Gemini once, but you might be Taurus now. Although you could read all 12 signs and pick your favourite bits if you really wanted.

Despite such findings, a recent Gallup poll has shown that 38% of people read their stars, up 3% from 1990. And then there's the hordes who won't admit to following their horoscopes. It seems for many of us, false hope is better than no hope at all.

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