Signs of Mental Ilness: An Astrological and Psychiatric Breakthrough

Signs of Mental Health
An Astrological and Psychiatric Breakthrough
© 1998 Mitchell E. Gibson, M. D.
Llewellyn Publications; St. Paul, MN
ISBN: 1-56718-362-6

Jacket Blurb:

The Next Revolution in Astrology

Introducing a provocative breakthrough in the sciences of astrology and psychiatry

Psychiatrist Mitchell E. Gibson, M.D., demonstrates new astrological techniques for predicting mental illness, based on his study of more than 400 astrological birth charts and the use of scientific research models.

The average person’s birth chart, for example, contains about three marker aspects for depression. The birth chart of someone with major depression contains an average of 10. Princess Diana had 10 marker aspects in her chart.

Other famous cases highlighted in this book include Mike Wallace, Howard Hughes, Adolph Hitler, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe.

All the patients depicted in Dr. Gibson’s study were diagnosed according to DSM-IV, the gold standard of psychiatric diagnostic criteria. The diagnostic groups represented include (1) major depression, (2) anxiety, (3) addictive disorder, (4) schizophrenia, and (5) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Even with no previous astrological experience, you will learn how to spot the indicators for mental illness though [sic] the declinations and multiple planet aspects that form the basis of this pioneering work.

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Kat’s Book Nook Reviews

Wow. I was really psyched (no pun intended) when I first read the jacket blurb for Signs of Mental Health on Amazon and couldn’t wait to read the book. I’m an empathic transformational relationship astrologer working towards my PsyD in counseling psychology and have been focusing mainly on astro-psychology or astrology with a psychological bent; therefore, I believed this book would be just the ticket.

Boy, was I wrong! What can I say about this book? It was virtually incomprehensible.

There was very little organization or coherency that was immediately discernable. Further, instead of presenting the material in a more generic way so that it could be applied to anyone, the author uses anonymous case studies. Case studies are fine as additional examples. However, I don’t necessarily need to know what the markers were for each individual case study. In fact, in the long run, case studies are virtually useless when attempting to understand markers for a wide spectrum of the population. I want to know what the overall markers are for ANY client. Give me a table that shows the specific markers and longitudinal and declinational aspects between signs and I will be quite happy, thank you very much!

Further, I’m quite familiar with the MAGI Society, to which he refers. I have all of their books as well as their ephemeris. And while I believe that they, too, could do with a bit more organization of subject matter (excuse me; I suppose that’s my Mercury in Virgo speaking there), at least their definitions were comprehensible and their tables and generically applied criterion helped tremendously.

Case in point re: the good doctor’s definition of ‘elevation’ on page 29 (this is not a MAGI Society term, to my knowledge): “Specific aspects and/or declinational positions that affect the basic expression of a planet’s energies. Elevations may be positive or negative, depending on the planet’s position and/or the planet(s) it interacts with [sic].” Since ‘elevation’ seems to be Dr. Gibson’s basal terminology utilized in the various astrological declinational descriptors, one would think that he would have spent just a bit more time explaining exactly what his idea of ‘elevation’ actually is.

To what does ‘elevation’ refer? Is it a location? I get that they can be both positive and negative, and that ‘they affect the basic expression of a planet’s energies,’ but somehow, ‘specific aspect’ doesn’t quite clarify things enough. Looking at his version of the declinational chart, I thought, “Ok, well… maybe the ‘elevation’ is referring to the planets as they appear above or north of the ecliptic.” But then later, on page 61 he refers to a Grand Elevation of Mars which appears at -20 BELOW or south of the ecliptic. So now I’m back at square one and still stumped. What does he mean by ‘elevation’? Could it be that anything below the ecliptic and farther away from the base line is considered (by Dr. Gibson) to be elevated? Probably. But he doesn’t elucidate this fact, if that is, indeed, the case.

I realize that everyone processes information in different ways. And I also understand that – according to Dr. Gibson, himself – he’s a genius (he was/is a member of MENSA). Therefore, he probably thinks far above the average individual. But, let’s be honest here: it’s not that difficult to write in such a way that the material is understandable and coherent (I’ve recently had to be reminded of that myself).

What does this have to do with my review of this book? I am more than capable of understanding extremely technical information. But the information presented here is far from organized or useful.

I’m not sure to what the other readers who thought he was brilliant were referring. Maybe they know him personally and he’s informed them of something he’s not sharing with the rest of us. However, after reading all of the reviews for this book on Amazon.com, I'd have to say that the only individuals who gave him anything other than 1 star were obviously those who have little true knowledge of astrology. Most everyone else with even an average amount of astrological knowledge found this book just as difficult to understand as I did.

Regardless, in my opinion Dr. Gibson is little better than the scientists and academicians who proclaim astrology to be a pseudo-science without accurately and thoroughly studying, testing and making an attempt to understand it. He’s taken a complex subject and rendered it even more incomprehensible (if that’s possible), by over-analyzing some aspects and under-explaining others.

Being an astrologer-cum-psychologist, I’d have to say that this book is anything but a breakthrough into either astrology or psychiatry.

Copyright © 2007 Kat Starwolf All Rights Reserved

Parallel Worlds

Parallel Worlds
A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions,
and the Future of the Cosmos
Copyright © 2005 Michio Kaku
Anchor Books/Random House; New York,New York
ISBN 10: 1-4000-3372-1; ISBN 13: 978-1-4000-3372-0

Go to Amazon.com

Jacket Blurb:

In this thrilling journey into the mysteries of our cosmos, bestselling author Michio Kaku takes us on a dizzying ride to explore black holes and time machines, multidimensional space and, most tantalizingly of all, the possibility that parallel universes may lie alongside our own.

Kaku skillfully guides us through the latest innovations in string theory and its most recent iteration, M-theory, which posits that our universe may be just one in an endless multiverse, a singular bubble floating in a sea of infinite bubble universes. If M-theory is proven correct, we may perhaps finally find an answer to the question: “What happened before the big bang?” This is an exciting and unforgettable introduction to the cutting-edge theories of physics and cosmology from one of the pre-eminent voices in the field.

Kat’s Book Nook Review

Although physics can be one of the most daunting of the scientific disciplines to comprehend, Kaku does an excellent job of bringing its mind-boggling mathematical jargon down to a level easily understandable by the non-physicist, while adhering to the integrity of the science, itself.

And while E=mc² made a name for Einstein and gave physics and the world in general both the General and Special Theories of Relativity, is it possible that we may now be able to say, “Move over Einstein, here comes the M-theory” ?

As, theoretical physicist Dr. Kaku – who is a professor at the City University of New York – states, and as every good physicist (and many non-physicists) knows, even Einstein was not totally satisfied with his General and Special Theories of Relativity, and thus strove to develop a ‘Theory of Everything.’ This theory would, in effect, be capable of making possible such nebulous and seemingly inexplicable concepts as multiple dimensions and universes, worm holes, time travel, teleportation, invisibility and other mysterious cosmological anomalies.

Then, in 1968, the first phase of the String Theory was born, later to be followed by the Super String and M-theories. Yet, even these efforts to discover a ‘theory of everything,’ were not the first attempts to do so. Surprisingly, even the Pythagorean mathematicians of the 5^th Century BC (who gave us a² + b² = c²) may have been the first to discover that, at some level, strings play an important role in the composition of matter, which Pythagoras demonstrated with his ‘vibrating string’ theory, utilizing a stringed musical instrument.

Being the theoretical physicist that he is, Kaku asks the question: if our Universe suddenly became unstable and was on the verge of destruction, and if it were determined that there were, indeed, multiple dimensions that exist parallel to our own dimension, would it be possible for a Type III or IV civilization (civilizations which are so much more advanced than we, that we would be the equivalent of the proverbial twinkle in our human daddy’s eye compared to God) to conceive of a way to move entire worlds from this Universe into a parallel Universe before its destruction in order to preserve life?

At this point I wondered: even if that were possible, given the nature of creative and destructive energy in the Universe, as well as the supposed nature of black holes (through which Kaku theorizes our hypothetical civilization would travel to reach the aforementioned parallel dimension), what would prevent those same destructive forces from entering the event horizon of the black hole along with the Type III/IV Civilization?

Interesting conjectures follow in Kaku’s inimitable style, but fortunately that’s not something we – as a less than Type I Civilization (0.7 H, to be exact) need to be concerned about for possibly another trillion or so years.

Although I wasn’t initially seeking to comprehend the nature of the Universe (even if only theoretically), when I first read the sub-title I experienced that rush of excitement which indicated that possible proof for the existence of alternate dimensions might be found within its covers.

What I found, however, was not only evidence for parallel dimensions to and in which, I believe, our Souls exist in between physical 3-dimensional lifetimes, but a statement that seemed, to me, to prove that the Law of Attraction does work in the way in which we have been led to believe. On page 328 Kaku states:

“…concentrated energy in empty space can transform virtual particles into real ones.”

If this is, indeed, true, then the statement that ‘thoughts become things,’ on which the Law of Attraction is predicated, must also be a fact; even down here on Earth.

Further, Kaku, in postulating a theory in regard to how carbon-based life forms might survive the journey from our dying universe to a parallel universe, and in reference to the comment made by physicist, Stephen Hawking, that ‘It seems…that quantum theory allows time travel on a microscopic level,” said on page 339:

“…members of an advanced civilization could decide to alter their physical being into something that would survive the arduous journey back in time to another universe, merging carbon with silicon and reducing their consciousness down to pure information.”

Is this not what we do each time we reincarnate and disincarnate?

Although I do not have conclusive proof that this is the case, I believe that our Souls are light, a form of energy. Therefore when we – in the form of our Soul – leave this dimension, I further believe that our energy is condensed into the substance above referenced by Kaku: pure information. We continue to retain our memories and personality, while discarding our Third Dimensional bodies in favor of higher dimensional bodies which can more easily inhabit those same higher dimensions.

Conversely, if this is possible, is it not also possible that those Souls who have departed this dimension – as well as other entities – might also be able to communicate with us here in the Third Dimension?

Of course, currently, the majority of what Kaku and others postulate in this area is still theory, hence the derivation of the name of the discipline (theoretical physics).

Nevertheless, as ongoing particle accelerator experiments in Switzerland, California and – as of this writing -- possibly elsewhere, indicate, if what scientists are seeing is accurate, we may exist in not only one Universe out of many, but there may well be far more than the four dimensions with which we are currently familiar.

If that is true – and as crazy as this may sound to those of you who utilize mainly left brain functions – is it not possible that ghosts/spirits, some UFOs and other extra-dimensional entities may be a reality after all?

Namaste,

Kat Starwolf

For more information on the String Theory, the Super String theory, and the M-theory, see this excellent Encyclopedia Britannica article written by physicist and PBS NOVA narrator and author of The Elegant Universe, Brian R. Greene,

Article: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9070406/string-theory

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/

Brian R. Greene BIO: http://www.nndb.com/people/282/000044150/

Upcoming Kat’s Book Nook Reviews include: The Elegant Universe, Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian R. Green and The Cosmic Serpent, DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby.

© 2007 Kat Starwolf All Rights Reserved

Kat Starwolf is a practicing relationship and empathic counseling astrologer, researcher, metaphysician and avid reader of anything pertaining to human inter-relatedness, emotions, sexuality, sociology and psychology and of course, SuperString and M-Theory. She is also currently working on her degree in counseling psychology. She may be contacted at 400 Capital Circle SE, Suite 18-255, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, by phone at 850-980-0250 or via her website http://www.starwolfastrology.com.