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Zolar, a New York astrologer, does not write a newspaper column but profits amply from every other form of astrological activity. A former clothing salesman named Bruce King, he turned to astrology during the Depression, when he learned that a certain Professor Seward had amassed a fortune peddling horoscopes on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Now 72, he supervises the distribution of more than 50 zodiacal and occult items and books all over the world. Zolar horoscopes range from $200 for a personal one down to $25 for a stock-market forecast in a plain envelope (ten choices on the New York and American exchanges), $15 for an overall look at next year and $10 for a natal chart. He is now looking for a buyer for his name and business.
Variables and Options
Faithful followers do well to stick to one mail-order magus at a time if they would avoid schizoid tendencies. Often, different astrologers will give different readings of the same chart. It is hard to see what solace or stimulation can be gleaned from the columns' redundant injunctions to "Avoid troublesome people" and "Try to get along with higher-ups." Last week the inane appropriateness of Jeane Dixon's March 10 message for Gemini was good for a laugh when Mission Control Center relayed it to Astronauts McDivitt and Scott (both Geminis) in Apollo 9. The sage advice: "Don't get into any disagreements today, and group activity is preferable tonight." But somebody out there is gobbling up this kind of thing; astrology columns now run in some 1,200 of the 1,750 dailies in the U.S.
Astrologers who publish mere sun-sign generalities earn the scorn of their less commercial (or less successful) brethren, who limit themselves to charting and interpreting individual horoscopes. The simplest horoscope is the natal chart, which depicts the solar system at the precise moment of the person's (or country's or corporation's) birth. Just as important as the sign the sun is in can be the sign of the zodiac that was rising ("ascending") in the east at the exact time and place of birth.
These, and the positions of all the other planets, must be recorded on a standard chart like the one on which the horoscope of President Nixon was cast (see chart).
All charts, like Nixon's, consist of two parts: 1) an outer ring showing the location of the signs of the zodiac at the time of birth, and 2) an inner pie chart, divided by "cusps" into twelve "Houses," each representing a different aspect of earthly life. The positions of the signs of the zodiac, and the planets among them, affect the Houses below. Even the angles between the planets are significant. The