Astrology is not a belief or a religion, but an academic study, an astrologer at a National Council for Geocosmic Research conference said Thursday.

“Belief has nothing to do with this; this is a reality,” said Leigh Westin, a council board member and conference speaker.

The group converged at the Tremont Grand Hotel in downtown Baltimore this week for a six-day conference on geocosmic alchemy to expose students of astrology to new research on the subject.

Participants said they prefer the word “geocosmic” to “astrology” because of the incorrect connotation the latter carries.

For example, a common misconception astrologers at the convention wished to quash is that they are the same as psychics.

“You start talking about psychics, tarot cards and black hats, and you’re not talking about astrology. You’re talking about quackery,” Westin said.

Astrology studies the positions and relationships between the sun, moon and planets and how they correlate with everyday life.

“Anyone can call themselves an astrologer, but there’s so much to learn and study,” said Madalyn Hillis-Dineen, the NCGR national chair. “For me, there’s always that ‘aha’ moment.”

One member of the organization predicted last week’s drop in the stock market within two minutes of the fall by studying the positions of celestial bodies, Hillis-Dineen said.

“You have a base of knowledge just like any scientific school of thought,” Westin said. “Astrology is a body of knowledge that has an application.”

About 25 percent of Americans believe that the position of the stars and planets can affect people’s lives, according to a Gallup poll conducted in 2005.

Conference attendees had the opportunity to hear presentations such as “The Discovery of Mars Out-of-Bounds in Leo and Aquarius,” “Using Major and Minor Aspects in Stock Market Trading,” and “Zodiacal Releasing from Spirit: The Tsunami Effect in the Life of John Kerry.” Yes, that John Kerry — the one who sought the presidency.

There was no indication that Kerry sought this attention, but rather was selected partly because his life story is familiar to many people.
_________________
The world isn’t perfect, and the law is incomplete. Equivalent Exchange doesn’t encompass everything that goes on here. But I still choose to believe in its principle: that all things do come at a price.