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Volume 6: Number 3: Article 3
The Gauquelin Effect Explained? Comments on Arno Mueller's Hypothesis of Planetary Correlations
Suitbert Ertel, Institute for Psychology, Georg-August-University,
Goesslerstrasse 14, 3400 Goettingen, Germany
Arno Mueller's "hypothesis of the planetary elite" amended Gauquelin's
"midwife hypothesis," which suffered from weaknesses. The approach is
a welcome contribution to the persistent problem of how to explain planetary
correlations with human births (the Gauquelin effect). However, it is
inconsistent with empirical observations:
(1) Gauquelin effects are unrelated to character traits. Mueller's
hypothesis explains a correlation that does not exist. (2) Sometimes
planetary effects decrease with eminence. This is inconsistent with
Mueller's idea that more eminent as compared to less eminent people
should have cultural and biological advantages. (3) Birth frequencies
can be infrequent instead of abundant when the planet is rising or culminating.
This is inconsistent with Mueller's assumption that in prehistorical
times the births of children were desired, not avoided, when the divine
planet was so placed. (4) The doctrine of planetary heredity — the basic
precondition of Mueller's hypothesis — is probably invalid. (5) The
Gauquelin effect is weakest for Venus. Mueller's claim of an impact
of planetary appearances on the evolution of the Gauquelin effect would
predict the opposite. (6) Mueller's model covers only the evolution
of conditioning between planetary sensitivity and character traits.
It does not explain the evolution of planetary sensitivity to such conditioning.
Gauquelin's original midwife hypothesis as well as Mueller's new version
of it could be refuted straight forwardly if further tests showed that
the Gauquelin effect occurred undiminished in eminent births induced
by obstetric drugs.
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