Three separate studies were carried out to examine the patterns of mental health care in an Indian village. The first examined the conceptual frameworks of the various traditional and modern healers. The second was an attitude study inquiring about the type of healer favoured for psychiatric consultation. The third was a population survey in which every person with one or more symptoms was asked if he or she had consulted anyone for relief of distress. Besides the modern doctors thre were three types of traditional healers: Vaids, practising an empircal system of indigenous medicine; Mantarwardis, curing through astrology and charms; and Patris, who acted as mediums for spirits and emons. It was found that a large majority (59%) of those with symptoms had consulted someone. The consultaiton was determined more by the severity of illness than by socio-demographic factors. Modern doctors were morepopular, but most people consulted both traditional and modern healers without regard to the latter’s contradictory coneptual framework. Literacy and other socio-demographic factdors had no influence on the type of consultation. A conclusion was reached that any scheme for introducing modern psychiatry into rural areas should make use of the locally popular healers, both traditional or modern.

BACKGROIUND: Russion astronomer A.L. Tchijevsky published in the 1920s, a study comparing the approximately 11-year cycling of “sunspot activity” and “historical process”, analysed globally since the 5th Century BC to the 19th Cenutury AD. According to him, phenomena of societal “excitation”, as revolutions occurred synchronously with the solar maxima, and, oppositely, those of peaceful activities of masses, as science and arts, with the solar minima. Recently, Slovak philosopher E. Pales describes periodic fluctuation of historical events in mutually distant geographic areas during more than three millennia. The period lengths, however, are longer, one of the most pronounced being around 500 years. THE QUESTION was therefore posed: does a similar correlation with sunspot activity, as found for 11 year cycles, exist also in the 500 year cycling? MATERIAL AND METHODS; The historical data consisted of two time series concerning revolutions in Europe and China, and of eight time series from activities in science and arts registered from five geographic areas. For the comparison, parallel time series of sunspot (Wolf) numbers, available since the 2nd Century BC, were constructed. Using perodic regression function, the times of peaking were estimated for each dataset. RESULTS; In agreement with Tchijevsky’s hypothesis, revolutions culminated near to solar maxima while cultural flourishing was seen usually distinctly near to solar minima. This conclusion is based on the level of statistical significance a =0.05 CONCLUSION; The solar impact on the geomagnetic field could be one of elucidating mechanisms. Recently, electromagnetic influencing of brain function has been realised artificially.

In 1985, Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, published “A Double Blind Test of Astrology”, now known as the ‘Carlson experiment’. The conclusion was that natal astrology as practised by reputable astrologers was no better than chance. For astrology, it was a landmark experiment that continues to undermine the credibility of every astrological consultant, researcher and school. Recent research shows not only that Carlson’s conclusions were wrong (Vidmar 2008), but also that his experiment produced evidence that the tested astrologers performed their tasks successfully to a level that could not be explained by chance (Ertel 2009).

This article attempts to synthesise the evidence from different sources with some additional observations. It seeks to clarify how Carlson imported the results of one test into another separate test. This led to sampling errors that disguised results that favoured the astrologers – results that were later discovered by Professor Ertel. To balance this, an attempt is made, here, to present the sceptical reaction to this new evidence. Graphics have been compiled to display the astrologer’s predicted rating of their matches weighted by the frequency and to show how enabling astrologers to make these confidence judgements with the data amplifies the precision.

This is a sumamry of the factual substance of an article published in full in American Astrology, August 1968. The paper discusses various phenomoena such as: the Moon and hurricanes, and planets and ocean tides, including eather patterns (e.g. rainfall) and various planetary associations.

An experiment in astrology conducted by Shawn Carlson and published in Nature in 1985 is reviewed using the original materials given to the astrologers, interviewing four surviving astrologers that were found, and comparing the claims of the experimenter made before, during, and after the experiment. Numerous errors were found with experimental hypothesis, design, use of psychological tests by non-psychologists, data collection, data reporting, significant bias, misuse of statistical procedures, unsubstantiated claims, and presentation of a predetermined conclusion disconnected from results.

This is a comment on the moon and rainfall and how harmonic analysis correspons to rainfall patterns. (See also “The Moon and rainfall by D.A. Bradley, M.A. Woodbury and Glen W. Brier, Correaltion 1, Autumn 1968 pp5-6)

In this 3rd part a working model is presented which allows the Gauquelin data to be contextualised within soli-lunar influence and some preliminary tests are carried out. The advantages of doing this are that existing scientific knowledge can be brought to bear, and that they can be seen in relation to the sun, moon and earth in classical astrological thinking. A combination of three factors is shown to enhance the strength of the Gauquelin Effect, and is thus implicated in its generation.

The full version of an article by Garth Allen published in American Astrology, July, 1968 discusses and presents the findings of these researchers. In this summary of the article, detailes are presented of research showing a remarkable correlation between the phases of the moon and rainfall in the United States, covering the period from 1900 to 1949. (See also “Harmonic Analsyis” a comment by John Addey, Correlation 2 Winter 1968-1969 pp 7-8)

Acute poisoning is unusual among diseases in having an extremely short incubation period: patients or their relatives seek medical advice usually on the samae day that the poison has been taken, and the time of poisoning can be established easily. In India, the day of full moon, when the earth lies between the sun and the moon, is called “purnima”. The relative position of the sun and moon on this day are such that their gravitational forces on the earth act almost in a straight line, causing higher tides. Water conbstitutes 50-60% of the body weight of humans. Possibly, as with sea water, body water might also generate some sort of tidal wave that increases on purnima days. These “human tidal waves” might cause physical, physiological, or biochemical changes in the body. The brain might also be affected by the process. As well as other factors that influence an individual to take poison, this phenomenon might affect the incidence of poisoning on purnima days. We undertook a study to investigate this.

A list of abstracts relating to this field of interest is presented which include scientific articles that may strike chords in the astrological conscioiusness, all dealing with the earth’s magnetosphere