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ReviewersHoroscope Magazine | Aspects Magazine This is a rebuttal to Chris Lorenz of Horoscope Magazine's Book and Product Review. Original from Chris in Italics, my response in regular text. Because of the biased and misrepresented review of my work by Chris Lorenz, I have asked the editor to allow me to clarify the truth behind the development of this text and the intent in my 20 years of work. First let me state that I am a current student* at San Diego State University (completing my degree in studio arts), and while completing my degree in psychology, designed experiments and ran data on experiments there with the most up-to-date programs and applications in statistical analysis. I am well aware of the scientific method, and also aware of the dogma and assumptions that go along with it. (please see my statistical considerations on my essays page at my Information Site), *at the time of this writing, I have since graduated (5/2001) with a double BA in psychology (clinical and counseling tracks) and Art (emphasis in studio arts, painting and printmaking) and have received recommendation letters from the psychology staff there for MA submissions at several universities. I will comment on the most important errors in his review quoting him and inserting my reply. But first, I was shocked that conspicuously, Chris Lorenz ignored two profoundly important aspects that summarize this text; 1) That it is a fully cited text on self-empowerment (academically and otherwise), which is required in any scientifically oriented assertion, hence the title Integrated Astrological Guide. In academia, reviewing the current literature is paramount to understanding new theories, or even current theories, which this text addresses. If those citations are ignored and/or not understood, one may not be able to follow or clearly understand. This may be why Chris Lorenz was unable to give an accurate accounting of the book. 2) That this text is a psychological guide as well, and again, referenced to current academia. The exact review follows as it appeared in the March issue and I have inserted corrections and clarifications to the reviewers errors and views. HOROSCOPE-MARCH 1999-pgs 33,34 Corrections for the Review for; THE INTEGRATED ASTROLOGICAL GUIDE TO SELF-EMPOWERMENT by Edmond Wollman(n); Altair Publishing, PO Box 221000, San Diego, CA 92192-1000;1998, paper, 511 pp. (6" X 9"), $20.95, ISBN 0-9663532-6-9. Chris Lorenz writes: "In stark contrast to the statistical investigation of astrological principles, many astrologers assume specific metaphysical truths that can never be proven or disproved." ______ Emond Wollmann writes: In academia, it is well known that the skeptical view is that all knowledge is tentative. None of our understandings of the universe are permanently proven. ALL assertions and theories are constructs. And constructs are simply Hypotheses to explain phenomena. We make hypotheses and test them. These constructs are then subject to confidence intervals or analysis of variance, factor analysis etc. that allows us levels of confidence with them. In a commentary entitled "Be skeptical of the skeptics", Bernhard Haisch, Ph.D., of the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory, Scientific Editor of the Astrophysical Journal, writes of a report published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, of which he is Editor-in-Chief: "A skeptic is one who adheres to the conviction that true knowledge may be uncertain, who suspends judgment, and who is willing to examine new evidence ..." "On the other hand the self-proclaimed skeptics attempting to discredit the Report and the Society are not skeptics by this dictionary definition. Their critiques virtually all consist of scoffing, ridicule, ad hominem attacks, and the amazing claim that their dogmatic beliefs that certain things are impossible necessarily constitute laws of nature ..." If we were to adhere to strict interpretation of statistics and current academia regarding astrology, there is no acceptable (p<.05 alpha level) data that evidences astrology itself as viable. The Gauquelin studies themselves have been refuted, reinstated and re-refuted. It is the theory that determines what we observe and how we interpret data (Einstein). Therefore, to intimate that somehow this text is deficient, is specious at best. ______ CL "Reincarnation, the existence of Destiny, or the belief that we create our own reality are common elements of mainstream astrology, even though there's little chance that any of these will be satisfactorily demonstrated by scientific means. Astrologers who accept these abstract tenets have no faith in statistics, which narrow the view of reality considerably. As a famous pundit once said, there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." ____ EW --Some of these tenets have been demonstrated as viable, as in quantum mechanics where the observer has been proposed as being the variable in the unexplained observation of QM measurements wherein these measurements only occur when observing. In the clinical "narrowing the view of reality" parameter, any good scientist knows that we lose generalizability. Secondly, plate tectonics, gravity bending light, and even going to the moon were once thought fantasy and nonsense. These statements that validity is evidenced by results of scientific experiments only, is extremely short-sighted. Likewise, because some may be able to perceive the validity of yet "unproven" constructs, is no indication that they "have no faith in statistics." I use as many tools as I can in my quest to understand the universe and use statistics as well as pure insight and compare the two when possible. Statistical evaluations do not = "THE truth." They add to THE truth, which is that THE truth is the composition of all truths. ____ CL "Edmond Wollman's use of statistics in The Integrated Astrological Guide to Self Empowerment is minimal. In one notable reference he writes, "The question of extraterrestrial life is actually not a question but statistically a given." And that's it. No data, control groups, or any hint of mathematical analysis; extra-terrestrial life is a self-evident, statistically obvious fact of our universe." ___ EW --I would ask Lorenz to please explain which group of planets will get a placebo in the "control group"? Control groups are for treatment, and of course something we can control. We can use nothing but statistical numbers with regard to the topic of the probability of ET life at this time. I am quite baffled as to why Lorenz skipped these statistical facts in Chapter 2; page 62; "Statistically, at best, our planet is a very small planet, one of the smaller in orbit around a minor star, at the furthest edge of a common and inconsiderable galaxy...Statistically, it is more probable that life is a common event rather than not. There are as many stars in our galaxy alone, as there are grains of sand on all of earth's beaches combined... Footnote reads; There are 100 billion or more knowable galaxies (meaning their light is so far away that we have not received it yet) each containing roughly 100 billion stars each. These facts can be found in any current astronomical estimates. These numbers are about all we have to address this issue at this time, other than the recent discoveries of extra-solar planets. I also met opposition for my view of this prediction, not long ago. I have also corroborated the Uranus/Neptune quadratures with the UFO phenomenon and the work of Jacques Vallee, a scientist UFO investigator who is responsible for the current popular notion of the "Close Encounter of the 3rd-4th kind" popularized by Steven Spielberg in the film so named. Any astronomy text will confirm that my estimates of stars and galaxies are conservative. These are facts. This writer will stand by the assertion that it is a delusion of grandeur to believe that this one inconsiderable "grain of sand" on a rather remote and inconsequential galaxy in which we live, out of all those beaches in galaxies of beaches, is the only one inhabited or capable of exploring space. ___ CL "This statement is the introduction to a section on UFOs as seen through the lens of the U.S. horoscope. The horoscope for the infamous Roswell crash event is placed around the Gemini Rising U.S. chart, and extraterrestrial visitations are explained through the use of the outer planets, especially Uranus. Then, some of the most significant incidents in American Ufology follow, including a look at the Condon Report, the Betty and Barney Hill incident, and the Roswell Declaration. Wollman finishes the UFO section with a personal touch, a channeled message from the entity Bashar. Bashar is an extraterrestrial who speaks through Wollman's friend Darryl in a process and philosophy reminiscent of the Seth books by Jane Roberts." ___ EW --Lorenz seems to focus on this small chapter at the end of the book to give the impression that the whole text is oriented around this, perhaps to bias the readers to think of the entire text as "spacey." Quite the contrary, this text is primarily a psychological guide to understand one's own psyche through astrology and current psychology, physics and philosophy. The fact that it is extremely up to date and not intolerant of diverse views may be what intimidated the reviewer. Darryl Anka is a well known channel and miniatures artist for the movie industry in Los Angeles and has several books of his own on the notion of reality. Jane Robert's books on the nature of reality beginning in the 60's are still selling briskly and have received wide acclaim. I also referenced prominent physicists and psychologists who also share these advanced views of reality. These are but spectra; the possible issues that can be explored with astrology. The psyche is not limited by physical considerations alone. Psyche means soul. ___ CL "Wollman's book is primarily a very personal take on the works of astrologer Noel Ty1 and psychic Jane Roberts. The blending of these well-known authors in Wollman's world amounts to a synthesis from diverse sectors of the New Age movement. In short, the 500-plus pages indicate tremendous effort of self-expression and are primarily a reworking of Tyl's astrology and Roberts' metaphysics. At least half this book is derived from Tyl's early, how-to volumes, which bring a practical, no-nonsense approach to the art of delineating a horoscope." ___ EW --The synthesis is taken from current academia as well as some new age perspectives blended with Roberts, Tyl and other valid theories and postulates--which is all Tyl's work is as well. THIS text is a no-nonsense blending of all truths because there is no one truth, and no one view. The only thing derived from Tyl's work are his basic need assignments for the signs and planets. Although Noel Tyl's work raised the bar of astrological integrity and application, Tyl does not address in philosophic terms why the chart contains these needs nor how we can redefine them clearly, or why there would be such a disparate experiential variation between people's of the earth. Because the chart exists before parental interaction as a set of probabilities, this is no small point that must be, and is, addressed in this text. This book is derived from 20 years of practice as a counseling astrologer using the basics which Noel Tyl so masterfully redefined in his early texts; and from my own actual applied techniques over those 20 years. I have expanded and integrated other valid understandings with Tyl's work. Others that are no less powerful. I take all that I can discern as true and applicable from various paradigms and integrate it into one working technique. ___ CL "Then Roberts' transcendent perspectives, especially the concept that we create our own reality, pervade Wollman's astrology readings and personal philosophy. This area of thinking shapes Wollman's astrological focus, so that the majority of his analytical endeavors seek to uncover the truth about UFOs, reincarnation, channeling, or discovering the nature of good and evil. ___ EW --I state in the beginning of this text that good and evil are subjective value judgments, so I would not - in the very last chapter - be trying to discern the nature of them. Again, it appears Lorenz jumped right to the last and most controversial chapter 13 and must have missed the first 12 of the text which demonstrate aspects, signs, planets, early environment concerns etc. in application psychologically to real clients over the years, and famous personalities. My technique can uncover the reality of the psyche first and foremost and allow the client to redefine themselves once the beliefs are owned. ___ CL "The compelling thought, the organizing principle for The Integrated Astrological Guide seems to be growth in consciousness using astrology as a tool of discovery. Whether readers realize any personal progress from this book probably depends on whether the preliminary precepts can be accepted wholesale. In Chapter One, the author lays the groundwork for entering into Wollman's world, which is an extensive list of absolutes about the nature of reality. If you can accept these assumptions with an open mind, then you may be able to follow the complex (often convoluted) language he uses to explain himself and the subject of his astrological analyses." ___ EW --The "organizing principle" of this text, is the profound and massive knowledge base of various paradigms that have been developed by humankind since the beginning of time. It includes the recognition that all of them serve to assist us in our search for understanding when we stop defining these differing paradigms as competitors; and when begin to realize that the "All That Is" (God) is all one thing. It is not "my world" it is THE all-inclusive world, the vast academic one in which (especially) astrologers (who serve all) among all practitioners, need to recognize we fail in that service when we allow our biases to become THE world. ___ CL "The Integrated Astrological Guide is Volume 1, and is subtitled "The Chalice of Arcturus "Arcturus, we learn in a glossary, is the star symbolizing the"Gatekeeper," or the one who regulates the flow of higher consciousness. Charts and commentary on Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts; and a few other channelers conclude this volume where it began that is, the combining of astrology with psychic understanding of our amazing universe. Between the first and last chapters is a wide-ranging set of topics, which, while not altogether integrated, represents the spectrum of interests that can be intellectually grasped through the lens of astrology." ___ EW --Finally, as evidenced in the above, it is clear that Lorenz focused on the more questionable or less acceptable aspects of this text, to spin it as perhaps "airy-fairy." He states his view is that it is primarily a rework of Tyl, but never mentions psychology (?)--those pesky chapters between the first and last that he conveniently skips. This text was carefully integrated with my academic platform at SDSU precisely to allow it to be academically acceptable. It is currently in the SDSU Library. In reality, 90% of this text is a workable and practical application with delineations and operational evidence using clients and famous personages. It integrates and blends the apparently separate truths from many academic disciplines into one coherent and reasonable model that works. It clearly outlines the concept of negative and positive energy and how this is profoundly important in understanding how we extract our experiences from life. (The predictions in the last chapter have come to pass-so far, many to go). The fact that this text has been misunderstood, underestimated and was met with such irresponsible and biased reporting, is precisely why it is needed and will be needed. If astrology is ever to serve all, completely and without prejudice, the astrologer must be above subjective or petty bias, not driven by them. Let us be true professionals. My company Altair will keep this text and the volumes to follow in print for the foreseeable future, and beyond. They will stand the test of time. Edmond H. Wollmann P.M.A.F.A. I thank the Editors for allowing me to respond.
"Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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