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Review of Zodiac and Personality: An Empirical Study
Astrologists claim that the twelve signs of the zodiac exert different influences on people at the time of birth.
The sun, the moon, the planets, and the rising sign at the time of birth (the "ascendant") all play distinct roles when
crossing any of the signs. The article Zodiac and Personality: An Empirical Study by Michel Gauquelin found in the
Spring 1982 issue of The Skeptical Inquirer explains recent studies into the correlation between zodiac signs and
their effect upon professional success and personality.
The first study in 1978 used statistical methods to determine zodiacal influence upon the professional
success of a sample of 15,560 births of successful Europeans in ten professional categories. Although all data was
collected officially and could not be disputed, the negative results of the study were rejected by astrologers. The
astrologers claimed that professional success was too crude a measure of zodiac influence since the subtle zodiac
signs have much more correlation to personality than to success.
Therefore, a second study using the same sample of Europeans attempted to determine zodiacal influence
upon personality. This time, objective biographies of the subjects were collected and recorded. These gave a total
file of 52,188 personality traits taken from the biographies of 2,000 subjects (with no biographies or traits eliminated).
Next, eight books of astrology were selected using the criteria of the renown of the textbook and the presence of a
reasonable amount were then rated as greater than (positive) or less than (negative) expected for each sign at the
birth of people who are described by the key words. Out of 96 trials (12 signs for 8 astrologers), chance predicted 48
positive and 48 negative results. The actual results were as follows: for the sun, 40 positive against 56 negative
results; for the moon, 41 positive and 55 negative results; for the ascendant, 50 positive and 46 negative. The results
were 131 positive and 157 negative results. No sign scored significantly higher than what was expected by chance.
There were actually more cases where the appropriate correlation is the worst of the twelve signs than where it is the
best.
Some astrologers object concerning the role of the procession of the equinox, which has shifted back the
constellations by more than three-quarters of a sign since antiquity. These astrologers claim the real zodiac is a
sidereal zodiac, which follows the procession of the equinox, and not the "tropical" zodiac used by traditional
astrologers. However, even when the previous study (which used a "tropical" zodiac) was applied to a "sidereal"
zodiac, the results were still negative with no improvement.
The results clearly show that there is no correlation between professional success or personality of the
zodiac signs under which they were born. Other independent studies of the same material also find no significant
correlation.