ESP Phenomena, Mediums and Astrology

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We have all experienced—some more, some less—at least once in our lives, an event that cannot be rationally explained: a premonitory dream, an intuition that later proves correct, or sensing the emotional state of someone as we shake their hand.
Some people, however, seem to be more sensitive than others, and their perception goes further, giving rise to phenomena more complex than simple telepathy or premonition, such as psychokinesis (the ability to move objects with the mind) and mediumistic trance.

Science’s stance toward these age-old phenomena, often mentioned throughout literature, is one of absolute skepticism. So much so that the James Randi Educational Foundation recently offered a one-million dollar prize to anyone able to demonstrate genuine paranormal abilities.

Parapsychologists, on the other hand—those scientists who study unusual events linked to human experience—take an entirely different position. They claim to have gathered sufficient laboratory evidence supporting these phenomena and accuse other scientists of refusing to acknowledge the facts. One need only consider how hypnosis, not long ago viewed with suspicion as a paranormal occurrence, is now successfully used in medical treatments.

Paranormal phenomena are numerous. Let us examine some of the most significant ones.

TELEPATHY

Telepathy can be defined as the perception or transmission of information or events—occurring at a distance or not—without the use of the five traditional senses. It can be spontaneous or voluntary. In the first case, the receiver becomes aware of an event—present or future—not through traditional means but by feeling, sensing, or seeing the event within themselves. In the second case, telepathy is deliberately provoked in an experimental setting, attempting to “guess” an item or event with a success rate well above what probability would normally allow.

Many telepathic phenomena have been reported throughout history, but only starting in 1882, with the founding of the Society for Psychical Research in London, were the foundations laid for a scientific study of telepathy and related paranormal manifestations.

To study this phenomenon experimentally, special cards were created—Zener cards—which display five symbols: a square, a circle, a cross, waves, and a star. By mixing the cards and drawing one at random, the subject is asked to guess the symbol. This makes it possible to calculate the likelihood of guessing correctly by chance.

In 1920, Geymans, Bringmans and Wynberg conducted particularly significant experiments in Groningen with the Dutch telepath Van Dam. Blindfolded, Van Dam sat facing a board divided into 48 squares arranged in six horizontal rows and eight vertical columns. The rows were numbered 1 to 6 and the columns A to H, so each square could be identified like in the game “Battleship.” The experimenters had two sets of cards: one numbered 1 to 6, the other lettered A to H. By drawing one card from each set, they formed a random coordinate. Van Dam had to indicate the corresponding square. Out of 187 trials, he successfully guessed about sixty—far more than what would have resulted from chance. It was also noted that his abilities were stronger when he was alone in the room, and that even a light dose of alcohol appeared to stimulate his telepathic performance.

SPIRITISM

“Spiritism” describes a range of phenomena and the theory attempting to explain them. Broadly speaking, these include ghostly apparitions, ectoplasms, and “poltergeist” manifestations—events not explainable by conventional physical or biological laws.

In a stricter sense, the term suggests that such phenomena are caused by the manifestation of “spirits,” usually those of the deceased. Other theories instead attribute these events to expressions of our subconscious or to hallucinations.

The topic is controversial. Robert Amadou claimed that “no one can assert the authenticity of physical phenomena attributed to mediums,” thereby questioning the very existence of paranormal events. Charles Richet, father of parapsychology, rejected the spirit hypothesis because it would imply that humans of mediocre intelligence survive the destruction of the brain. Following Richet, most parapsychologists tend to dismiss spirit intervention and instead focus on subconscious processes.

Spiritism became especially popular during the nineteenth century, capturing the public’s imagination. Séances and supernatural events multiplied, and by the end of the century these phenomena began to be studied more seriously. Sir William Crookes, a respected English physicist, even became a fervent supporter of their authenticity, until the 1930s when attention shifted to phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and prevision—testable in laboratories—grouped by Joseph Rhine under the name “Extra-Sensory Perception” or ESP, using statistics as a method of evaluation.

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these phenomena:

Fraud: Many spiritistic manifestations have been exposed as tricks. A well-known case occurred on March 31, 1848 in Hydesville, New York. The Fox family heard mysterious knocks in the daughters’ room. The girls, Kate and Margaret, quickly became famous as powerful mediums—until in 1888 Margaret confessed that the knocks were produced by snapping their toe joints against the floor. Still, claiming that all ESP phenomena are fraud is overly simplistic.
Suggestion: Some spiritistic phenomena can be explained through suggestion—either autosuggestion or influence by the medium. To reduce such effects, modern experiments employ electronics and sensory deprivation. Parapsychologist Charles Honorton proposed the “ganzfeld” technique (“uniform field”) in 1974. The receiver, with eyes and ears covered, sits in an isolated room bathed in red light. Early experiments seemed successful but later proved methodologically flawed. In 1990 Honorton’s group repeated the experiments successfully: statistics predicted 25% correct responses due to chance, while the results showed 34%, with odds of one in twenty thousand that this was coincidence.
Paranormal Explanation: If certain manifestations are neither fraud nor suggestion, a paranormal explanation must be considered. The simplest and most popular is that “spirits”—the souls of the deceased, perispirits, or other entities—manifest during experiments. A more scientific approach, however, suggests that spiritistic phenomena must be studied with full consideration of the participants involved.
Psychic Energy Hypothesis: Some theorize that spiritistic phenomena are ultimately the result of conscious or unconscious mental activity of the experimenters. Vibrations of brain cells would propagate into the environment, producing events misinterpreted as spirit manifestations. Supporting this idea is the fact that “spirit messages” always reflect the cultural background of the participants.
Fluidic Hypothesis: Some philosophers and theosophists propose that “spirits” result from the merging of a “fluid” emitted by the medium with one emitted by another participant, forming ectoplasms.
Psychic Force: Others suggest a psychic force inherent in every individual—varying in intensity—that, when activated, produces the various events.

WHAT ASTROLOGY SAYS

All these phenomena—from telepathy to spiritism—share undeniable qualities of intuition, receptivity, and sensitivity to external signals of a “higher” nature, contributing to the development of the so-called “sixth sense.” In spiritism especially, this is accompanied by an interest in death and the afterlife.

Astrological analysis therefore focuses on planets such as the Moon (sensitivity, receptivity, intuition) and Neptune (strongly linked to mediumship and spirituality), to which Gouchon adds Uranus and, in our view, Pluto (for its connection with the unconscious, though its association with deception has often encouraged fraudulent “mediums” to embellish their alleged powers). The Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), known for heightened sensitivity, as well as the 8th and 12th Houses, are also emphasized. Gouchon additionally notes a preference for an Ascendant in Pisces or Scorpio.

SOME FAMOUS MEDIUMS

• GERARD CROISET

Born March 10, 1909 in Laren, at 3:00 p.m. (source: Steinbrecher).

The famous Dutch medium discovered his supernatural abilities after a traumatic event. He often collaborated successfully with the police to locate missing persons and underwent numerous experiments—the most famous being the “empty chair experiment,” in which he sat in a randomly chosen chair and described the person who would later occupy it.

His chart shows the Sun in the receptive sign of Pisces, located in the 8th House, trine Neptune—highlighting strong intuitive abilities. The Moon is in Libra near the IC and trine Pluto (the unconscious) and Mercury (ruler of the 11th House where Pluto lies), itself trine the ruler of Scorpio. This combination suggests strong intuition paired with sharp intelligence, producing a medium sensitive to others’ problems (Pisces and Neptune in aspect to the Sun).

• EDGAR CAYCE

Born in Hopkinsville, KY on March 18, 1877 at 3:20 p.m. (source: Lois Rodden).

Known primarily for his prophetic visions, Cayce, while in trance, traveled through time—past and future—leaving many writings about the lost continent of Atlantis, whose life, inhabitants and destruction he described.

Also strongly Pisces, with Sun in the 8th House, makes him Scorpion, actually; his chart clearly reflects his exceptional mediumistic abilities.
The Moon in Taurus is conjunct Neptune, enhancing psychic faculties, both trine Jupiter and Mars; with Pluto in the 10th House, this configuration highlights the fame Cayce attained, which remains strong today.

Uranus in the 12th House, in aspect (even if negative) to Pluto, underscores the eclectic and nontraditional nature of this extraordinary man.

• GUSTAVO ROL

Born in Turin on June 20, 1903 at 12:00 p.m. (source: Lois Rodden).

The Italian medium was associated with exceptional paranormal events, some occurring even post-mortem to people close to him. He was particularly known for materializing objects out of thin air.

Once again we find a strong aspect between the Sun and Neptune (a conjunction spanning two signs, Gemini–Sun and Cancer–Neptune) located in the 10th House together with Pluto at the MC.
The Moon in Aries is in the 8th House, strongly stimulated by a sextile to Pluto and a trine to Uranus. As in Croiset’s case, Mercury appears in an air sign—here Gemini—highly empowered in the 9th House (spiritual elevation), trine Saturn and Mars.

A Controversial Case: URI GELLER

Born in Tel Aviv on December 20, 1946 at 2:00 a.m. (Richard Nolle).

Uri Geller became famous for his alleged ability to bend spoons with his mind and gained great popularity, especially on television. American illusionist James Randi, however, claimed to have uncovered his tricks.

His chart features a powerful Jupiter–Venus–Moon conjunction in Scorpio, highlighting his strong magnetism. Neptune in the 12th House is in positive aspect to Pluto and Mercury. Uranus is in the 8th House, Pluto in the 10th, and the Sun is conjunct Mars. These aspects reflect a strong desire for attention and a sense of showmanship. Moreover, Mars—ruler of the 2nd House—conjunct the Sun in the same house (income) suggests a tendency to use his notable psychic sensitivity for personal gain.