We tested astrology on 56,000 lives. One rule held.

The rule that held

Awards come more often in a year whose lord sits in the 10th house of the birth chart.

The year's lord comes from annual profections: at each birthday the year moves one house on, and the ruler of that sign leads the year. When that planet sits in your 10th house, the house of public life, the year leans to recognition.

First test, 100 well-documented award winners: 13% of their awards fell in those years, against 7.2% expected by chance. Then the real test, on 781 other people we had never used: 11.0% against 8.7% (p = 0.005). In plain words: about 30% more often than an ordinary year. It raises the odds, it does not guarantee anything.

Stronger when two techniques agree

When the firdaria, the Persian time lords, also point to the 10th house in that same year, the share rises again: 7.2% against 5.0% expected on the 781 new people (x1.4, p = 0.0014). Firdaria alone shows nothing. It is the agreement that counts, which is exactly how astrologers work.

Three real examples where profection, firdaria and zodiacal releasing all point to the 10th on the day: Venus Williams wins Wimbledon on 8 July 2000, Gaspard Ulliel receives the César for best actor on 24 February 2017, Sœur Emmanuelle is made Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur on 31 January 2008.

What did not hold

Sun signs by profession: tiny effects only. Baseball players are more often Leo, but that comes from the US league cut-off date, not the sky.

The Mars effect of Gauquelin for athletes: 17.8% against 17.1% expected. Nothing.

Children in a 5th house year: it is only age. Everyone's year reaches the 5th house at 28, the most common age for a first child.

Saturn and Jupiter returns, solar arcs, zodiacal releasing alone: no more events than on dates shifted by a few years in the same life.

How we tested, honestly

Rules were written down before looking, with their source (Chris Brennan, Kelly Surtees, Demetra George). Chance is computed person by person, over the days of their own adult life, so rare events like a wedding or an award are fairly counted. A rule found on the first group only counts if it holds again on people never used. We also shuffled ages between people to rule out an age effect.

Limits: these are famous people with public biographies, so some events are missing. Only birth times rated AA or A were used. One rule out of many held, and the effect is modest. That is what real data looks like.