The astrology practiced by professionals is not fortune telling because it is a complex system that combines many factors and is thus reflective of the complexity of a human personality and of the world.  The word "system" is emphasized because professional astrologers don't just say things off the top of their heads.  Gary wants to see a person's birth chart before he is willing to say anything about that person.  He doesn't play "guess my sign" games with people.  Would you say, "guess my health problem" to your doctor?  No - you would wait until he/she examines you and learns about your condition.  When Gary examines a birth chart, it gives him a detailed, in-depth description of the person.  Your birth chart can be metaphorically compared with a road map.  There are many routes you can take to drive from one place to another but you must take the roads!  So your birth chart defines the basic roadways of your personality and then you choose the routes your life will take within the context of that map.

Astrology is the science of astronomy applied to human and other earthly affairs based on the positions of the planets.  It is no more of an exact science, nor is it less than an exact science than psychology or biology.  We retain our God-given free will so astrology doesn't dictate our fate.  An old saying among astrologers is "the planets do not compel, they impel," which means they push us in certain directions, depending on the significance of each planet in our birth chart.  Most people who seek astrological services are college educated.  Among Gary's clients, 63% have at least a college degree and 92% have a year or more of college!  By comparison and according to the 1990 Census, only 41% of Tallahassee, Florida residents who are age 25+ have a college degree and, since it is a "college town" with Florida State University located there, it has a higher percentage of college graduates than most other cities (Gary presently resides in Tallahassee).  An even smaller ratio, 34% of Charlottesville, Virginia residents who are age 25+ (1990 Census), have a college degree and it is also a "college town" with the University of Virginia located there (until recently, Gary lived in Charlottesville).  About 15% of Gary's clients have a Ph.D. or are working on one.

There are no good or bad birth charts.  Your chart, like your life, is what you make of it.  Great men and women usually have difficult challenges to meet or overcome that are indicated in their birth charts.  By the way, this is a very good profession!  On the basis of six criteria (environment, outlook, stress, security, physical demands and income) astrologer was ranked as the 23rd best job among the 250 jobs analyzed in the 1992 edition of The Jobs Rated Almanac.

THE ROLE OF ASTROLOGY IN HISTORY HAS BEEN SUPPRESSED
The fact that many prominent historical figures studied, practiced and/or used astrology has been suppressed.  Modern physics textbooks make no mention of the fact that Sir Isaac Newton studied astrology.  Nor do these texts mention that Johannes Kepler, author of the three laws of planetary motion, was a practicing royal astrologer and authored books on the subject of astrology.  American history books make no mention of the fact that President Teddy Roosevelt's birth chart was on a chess board that stood on a table in the Oval Office and referring to it he said, "I always keep my weather-eye on the opposition of my seventh house Moon to my first house Mars" (N.D., p. xii (1980)).  These same history books omit the fact that Benjamin Franklin selected the date of Washington's first inauguration using electional astrology (Id., p. xi).  There are numerous other examples of famous people who studied or practiced astrology, some of which are listed in the next paragraph.  See Gary's article entitled "What You Didn't Learn in School" for more on this subject.

CURTURAL AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
Astrology is found in the all of the higher, more advanced civilizations throughout history.  Many cultures have independently found meaning in astrology and have developed their own astrological systems.  It has historical depth and has survived for thousands of years, despite periods of persecution or disfavor.  Until the 18th century it was taught in all major European universities and the counsel of astrologers was sought and used by rulers great and small and by Roman Catholic Popes.  Astrology has been studied or practiced by such historical notables as Hippocrates, Sir Francis Bacon, William Shakespeare, Johannes Kepler, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Walter Scott, Dante, Goethe, John Milton, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, President Theodore Roosevelt, Carl Jung, D.H. Lawrence, and Nehru (Id., pp. x-xii).

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF ASTROLOGY'S VALIDITY
The metabolic activity of potatoes, algae, carrots, earthworms, and salamanders (under constant laboratory conditions) respond in an unmistakable manner to the position of the Moon on the horizon or the local meridian overhead (both important astrological points), regardless of other influences such as time of day or tidal cycles (M.G., pp. 83-84 (1982)).  Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are sources of powerful radio waves measurable by instruments on Earth (J.A.R., p. 221).  John Nelson, an engineer with RCA, discovered a powerful correlation between the quality of reception of short-wave radio signals on Earth and traditional planetary aspects or angular relationships (J.H.N., pp. 421-424).  In one American research study, Venus and Mercury were found to affect magnetic storms impacting Earth (E.K.B., p. 4099).  Another study concluded that the Moon and Mars have a similar effect (G.A., p. 630 (1964)).  Francoise Gauquelin, a French statistician, gives statistical evidence (from thousands of birth charts) of the correlation between success in various professions and the position of Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn on the horizon or the meridian in the birth chart - both are important personality significators (F.G. (1982)).