By Arlan Wise, OPA - Past President

Michael Bergen has written a readable statistical analysis of astrology. He is well suited to do this having a BA in Applied math and a MA in Math education. It took him six years of research to produce this book. His love of astrology motivated him to put in the time and effort necessary for a work of this stature.

Michael used 13,000 birth charts that he purchased from Lois Rodden, the queen of accurate data. He chose to use 80 study groups (i.e., military, writers, criminal careers, inheritance, astrologers, etc.). He used two types of statistical analysis. One compares actual results to expected values to find dominant signs and planets in each study group. The other method calculates the odds of all numerical probabilities and came up with 70 findings that have odds about 1 in 1,000. One does not have to know math to appreciate this book. The findings are color-coded and easy to read.

The book starts with a section on the basics of astrology and a summary of what Michael found. His descriptions are clear and precise. The bulk of the book is the outcomes seen in studying the various study groups. You can pick and choose which ones to read and spend endless hours pondering over these results. To give you an idea of some of the 80 groups, there are studies on adopted children; corporate tycoons, lifespans – short and long; obesity; sex workers, writers. The results are not always what you would expect.

Some of Michael’s findings are surprising. To name a few:

• Libra and Aquarius should have their meanings reversed.
• Virgo is strongly associated with sexuality and difficult life circumstances.
• Venus expresses its positive attributes best when retrograde and it’s negative attributes most when direct.
• Neptune is much more connected with personal endeavors than with spirituality.

He corroborates Gauquelin’s Doctrine of Angularity in finding that planets have a strong influence when on the four axis points. This book rivals the study Gauquelin did in 1955. Michael matches it in thoroughness and importance as a study of astrology.

The wow! factor for me was in investigating Michael’s insistence on the importance of the Navamsha - the 9th harmonic chart. I was familiar with this from studying Vedic astrology but had never applied it to the western chart. Michael feels that the Namvamsha represents the inner self, that it is in equal value to the natal chart and he uses both charts in his study. I calculated my western Navamsha and was impressed by what I saw. Try it and you’ll see that you have another chart that is equally descriptive as your natal chart.

The Astrology Code is a book that every professional astrologer wants to have on his or her bookshelf. It is also fun and gives you hour upon hour of astrological pleasure as it stimulates your thinking. You don’t have to agree with all the findings, but it opens your mind to read them.

Michael is still not done with his studies, having already revised the book since its publication in 2014. He continues to expand the scope of his work, continually check the accuracy of the book, and he plans to do more comprehensive work on predictive and mundane techniques.

Thank you, Michael, for doing the work and writing this book. I give it 5 stars and urge you to buy it.