SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT IN …

SEPARATION OF RELIGION ANDGOVERNMENT IN RETROGRADE:

The impact of star signs on BCLegislative politics

BC Humanist AssociationApril 1 2020

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Since 1984, the British Columbia Humanist Association has provided a community and a voice for Humanists, atheists, agnostics and the non-religious in BC. Humanism is a worldview that promotes human dignity without belief in a higher power. We are a registered charitable organization that promotes progressive and secular values and challenges religious privilege.

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ADMONITION

Please check date of publication before contemplating citing this report in any serious way.

RECOMMENDED CITATION:

Slapp, R.H., & Schtick, A.L. (2021, April 1). “Separation of Religion and Government in Retrograde: The impact of star signs on BC Legislative politics.” BC Humanist Association.

Humanism relies on free inquiry, the power of science and creative imagination to solve the problems that confront us all (even if we

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SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT IN RETROGRADE: THE IMPACT OF STAR SIGNS ON BC LEGISLATIVE POLITICS

By: R.H. Slapp, Spiritual Consultant, BCHA

A.L. Schtick, Lapsed Sceptic, BCHA

“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time… when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness."

Carl Sagan, Demon Haunted World

ABSTRACT The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia currently opens each sitting with “prayer and reflections” but this begs the question of why members have thus far refused to explore other alternative supernatural means of promoting prosperity in the province – specifically astrology. The report analyses the star signs for sitting MLAs for whom birthdates were publicly available (n=59/87). It draws a number of headline grabbing conclusions by analyzing MLA star and moon signs. Additional analysis is conducted along party lines and the report also considers the astrological balance of the cabinet. This leads to a number of obvious conclusions: that the BC Legislature hire an official astrologer and invest in other forms of divination, and that the birth dates for every MLA and political candidate be made publicly available.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 5

Literature Review .................................................................................................................................... 6

Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Results ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................... 17

BC New Democratic Party ................................................................................................................ 17

BC Liberal Party ................................................................................................................................. 20

Cabinet .................................................................................................................................................. 23

Predictions ............................................................................................................................................... 26

Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................. 27

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INTRODUCTION For thousands of years, humans have looked to the stars and the movement of planets to understand the present and foretell the future. A long-held belief has been that the position of the stars and planets at the time of one’s birth influenced their chances at fortune, their prospects in romance, their career and even their personalities. Various forms of astrology can be found in cultures around the world,1 and the practice was part of humanity’s very first attempt at trying to understand the cosmos and our place within them.

Despite our species’ significant scientific progress, many continue to cling to irrational superstitions, antiquated forms of divination and bronze age mythology. And why not? Why trust a robust and verifiable epistemology like the scientific method2 when we can instead go with gut feelings, draw cards, sample ancient forms of divination or invoke supernatural powers?

After much consideration, some light statistical analysis and some reckless dabbling in belomancy,3 we have concluded that the most unarguably rational course of action for the BC Legislature is to expand its practices beyond the prayers and reflections that open each daily session and centre astrology in the provincial government.

This report analyzes the star and moon signs for sitting MLAs for whom birthdays were available (n=59/87). This enables us to scrutinize the astrological balance of the legislature, party caucuses and cabinet. This analysis is then used to draw a number of conclusions: that the BC Legislature supplement prayer with astrology, hire an official astrologer and invest in other forms of divination. Finally, to improve future political astrological research, the birth dates down to the minute and geographic location for every MLA and political candidate should be made publicly available.

1 Willis, R. & Curry P. (2004). Astrology, Science and Culture: Pulling down the moon. New York, USA: Routledge. See also Pankenier, D.W. (2013). Astrology and cosmology in early China: Conforming earth to heaven. UK: Cambridge University Press; Campion, N. (2012). Astrology and cosmology in the world’s religions. New York, USA: NYU Press; Campion, N. (2000). “Babylonian astrology: Its origin and legacy in Europe.” Astronomy Across Cultures, 509-553; and Kasak, E. (2000). “Ancient astrology as a common root for science and pseudo science.” Folklore, 15.

2 Walton, D., & Zhang, N. (2012). “The epistemology of science evidence.” Artificial Intelligence and Law, 21, 173-219.

3 If you thought this footnote was going to explain what ‘belomancy’ is, or direct you to a helpful source with additional information about this pointed form of divination, you are mistaken. We just wanted to drop some F’s in the footnotes for all of the interns who received puncture wounds as we tapped into ‘The Secret’ with the ‘help’ of darts.

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LITERATURE REVIEW In order to conduct this research, we first had to reject a significant amount of modern science. While the list of science that one must reject is extensive, we thought we would highlight a number of problematic studies.

Criticism of astrology has been prevalent throughout its practice; however, starting in the mid-20th century scholars began to study the validity of whether or not the alignment of celestial bodies at the time of birth has an influence on one's life and whether someone can accurately interpret this information.

Early calls from scientists, such as the 1975 study by Bok, Jerome, and Kurtz, noted the infinitesimal impact that physical processes such as “gravitational and radiative effects of stars and planets” would have on a person.4 Subsequent studies have cast further doubts on the validity of astrology and astrologers. A study completed by McGrew and McFall, in conjunction with the Indiana Federation of Astrologers, examined the ability of astrologers to match birth charts to volunteers based on personal life details, test profiles and photographs.5 Overall, McGrew and McFall concluded that astrologers did no better at matching birth charts to volunteers than chance or a non-astrologer control.6 Furthermore, there was little inter-judge reliability between the astrologers on matches, indicating an incoherent system/practice.7 Alternatively, this could all just point to the failure of astrological self-regulatory bodies.8

Perhaps the most damning evidence against astrology are twin studies – both of biological twins and of people born to different parents at exactly the same time, so called ‘time twins.’ Here the assumption is that if the basis of astrology is sound then two individuals born at the same time should share predictable characteristics like personality, occupation, sociability and interests. Unfortunately, studies have not found this to be the case with one concluding that “a large-scale test of persons born less than five minutes apart found no hint of the similarities predicted by astrology.”9 This same study concluded that “meta-analysis of more than forty controlled studies

4 Thagard, Paul R. (1978). “Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience”. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. 1. 223-234.

5 McGrew, John H & McFall, Richard M. (1990). “A Scientific Inquiry Into the Validity of Astrology”. Journal of Scientific Exploration. 4(1). 75-83.

6 McGrew & McFall 1990:80-81. 7 Ibid. 81. 8 Which wouldn’t be the first time self-regulation failed British Columbians. See: Bushfield, I. (2020) “Enshrine evidence-based medicine in healthcare professions.” BC Humanist Association. Available at https://www.bchumanist.ca/enshrine_evidence_based_medicine_in_healthcare_professions (retrieved March 31, 2021). 9 Dean, G.O. & Kelly, I.W. (2003). “Is astrology relevant to consciousness and psi?” Journals of Consciousness

Studies, 10(6-7), 175-198.

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suggests that astrologers are unable to perform significantly better than chance even on the more basic tasks such as predicting extraversion.”10 It was studies like this one that led newspapers to report that “scientists have once and for all debunked astrology’s central claim — that our human characteristics are molded by the influence of the sun, moon and planets at the time of our birth — in the most thorough scientific study ever conducted on the subject.”11 The fact that people born at exactly the same time do not turn out to have identical lives or have identical personalities may come as a surprise to some people!12

As well as disproving the validity of astrology, scholars have also focused on whether or not astrology as a system is more accurately classified as a pseudoscience than a scientific theory. There are several philosophies regarding the designation of pseudoscience, such as Popper’s “Falsifiability” or Kuhn and Lakatos’ use of social/historical features.13 In the application of these theories to studies examining the validity of astrology, several hallmarks of astrology as a pseudoscience appear.14 First is the persistence of astrology as a ‘closed system’ subject to little change or refinement overtime, despite the existence of other more compelling theories to explain human behaviours or life events.15 Second is the complex and contradictory nature of birth charts, astrological phenomenon and manifestations, which allow astrologers the space to attribute any outcome to astrology.16 Furthermore, meanings of different cosmic arrangements are based on human ascribed symbolism, such as the attribution of “Venus” to governing love, leading to a variety in astrological systems based upon the social and historical contexts.17

While “Big Science” seems to have definitively demonstrated that astrology is “hokum,”18 we have decided to reject the scientific method and embrace astrology on the basis that:

10 Ibid. 11 The Washington Times. (2003, August 17). “Comprehensive study of ‘time twins’ debunks astrology.” Available

at https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/aug/17/20030817-105449-9384r/ (retrieved March 28, 2021).

12 Ertel, S. & Dean, S. (1996). “Are personality differences between twins predicted by astrology?” Personality and Individual Differences, 21(3), 449-454.

13 Explored in detail in Thagard 1978: 225-228. 14 Kelly, IW. (1998). “Why Astrology Doesn’t Work”. Psychological Reports. 82. 527-546. 15 Ibid. 529. 16 Ibid. 537. 17 Ibid. 531. 18 Rensberger, B. (1975, September 3). “Scientists scan astrology, find a universe of hokum.” New York Times.

Available at https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/03/archives/scientists-scan-astrology-find-a-universe-of-hokum-scientists.html (retrieved March 24, 2021).

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a) Astrology is very old, and therefore must be true — Everyone knows that the older the book the greater the truth contained therein. Some forms of astrology go back as far as 3,000 BCE,19 and that’s older than the Bible.

b) Astrology makes us feel important — Has geocentrism been definitively defeated by heliocentrism? Probably but thinking of ourselves as the centre of the universe makes us feel important, and we like feeling important.20

c) Astrology prepares us for the unknown — Some people think the future is unknown,21 to those people we say: hire a better astrologer.22 The future is there ahead of us, just waiting for those with the right ancient techniques to understand it perfectly. This is why fortune tellers are prohibited from buying lotto tickets in many jurisdictions.23

d) Astrology is popular — According to a 2019 Research Co. survey, 36% of Canadians ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ believe in astrology and 13.5 million Canadians can’t be wrong. 24 Likewise, every paper has a horoscope and that coffee shop you like leaves out a horoscope for you to read while you wait for your drink.25

e) Astrologists have funded our research — We have received generous but undisclosable contributions from the fictitious Astrology Science Society and the Seventh House Astrology Research Team to support this research.26 We all know that research funded by interest groups with a financial stake in the outcome is the most reliable form of research. Otherwise, why else would we put so much faith in climate sceptic research funded by big oil companies or cancer studies sponsored by big tobacco?27

19 Everyone 2017. 20 And you are important too. That’s right, you are special and we wrote this report (and footnote) just for you! 21 See inter alia, Some People 2021. 22 A good astrologer could have seen this sentence coming! 23 Did you really think we had a citation for this? 24 Results from an online study conducted from December 2 to December 6, 2019, among 1,000 adults in

Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. See Canseco, M. (2020, January 1). “One-in-Five Canadians Currently Pay Attention to Astrology.” Available at https://researchco.ca/2020/01/01/canada-astrology/ (retrieved March 16, 2021).

25 Wait, your coffee shop doesn’t do this? You need to drink better coffee my friend. 26 See footnote 57. 27 It checks out. Don’t believe us? No problem, just send us your Venmo details...

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f) Science can’t be trusted — We all know that science is done by scientists, and we don’t think they can be trusted. How do we know? Shifty eyes.28

g) The alternatives are a lot of work — Why conduct rigorous academic research when you can just think about stuff really hard?29 Sure Barnum statements may be hard to come up with at first, but with a little practice they come naturally, almost as if we are tapping into ancient sources of power and mysterious knowledge.30

h) Astrology has to be accurate or we are all doomed — Living in a world where the motions of celestial bodies does not impact our lives is unconscionable and kind of scary. Imagine living in a universe that doesn’t care about us personally:31 This means that our sun could just explode or a meteorite could crash into our planet. We find these potential adverse consequences unacceptable and so we must believe astrology is correct.

i) Other secret reasons — We aren’t telling you, but we promise they are really good.32

METHODOLOGY As part of a broader and ongoing research project exploring legislative prayers in the province, we have created a list of all of the birthdates of sitting BC MLAs. These were identified through publicly available sources – social media, news media, Hansard announcements – as well as emailing their constituency offices. When these sources failed we turned to Wikipedia. Given that we just had the data laying around, it was

28 Simpson, H. (1999). “Beyond Blunderdome.” Available at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701069/ (retrieved March 16, 2021).

29 See footnote 86. 30 Join us on a quest into the void for the search of the deep well of mystic power. Available at

https://zoomquilt.org/ (retrieved March 16, 2021). If you are interested in learning more about Barnum statements, we suppose you could start with these, but don’t read them too closely. See Vohs, K.D. (2007). “Barnum effect.” Britannica. Available at https://www.britannica.com/science/Barnum-Effect (retrieved March 24, 2021); Ndukwu, D. (2019, May 22). “The Barnum Effect: Use flattery to instill belief (or why quizzes work).” KyLeads. Available at https://www.kyleads.com/blog/barnum-effect/ (retrieved March 24, 2021); and see Productive Club. (n.d.). “Barnum Effect – why horoscopes seem relevant to you.” Available at https://productiveclub.com/barnum-effect/ (retrieved March 24, 2021).

31 Like seriously, check this out these stars and tell us it didn’t change your life! See https://wiki.polyfra.me/# (retrieved March 16, 2021).

32 You checked the footnotes expecting us to spill our deep methodological secrets? First of all, we appreciate your attention to detail, and keep checking the footnotes, this is a good practice and you are in for a treat. But when we say secret, we mean secret. And wouldn’t knowing spoil some of the magic?

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only logical that it be put to use in order to level a little (satirical) criticism of legislative prayer.33

We were able to identify the precise birth date for 59 of 87 MLAs. Information was lacking or incomplete for the remainder – we were either able to locate their birth day and month but not the year, or their year but not the day and month. These have been excluded from our analysis as they lack the level of precision necessary to complete the technical and challenging astrological calculations required.

For each MLA for whom we had a precise birthday, we calculated their zodiac and moon signs using the ‘calculate your rising sign’ calculator on Astrosofa.com.34 This calculator was selected due to the fact that:

● It was close to the top on a Google search, which means it must be good.35

● It provides the zodiac and moon signs on one easy to read page.36

● Alongside the signs generated, it also provides a charming and artsy picture of a person in cosplay roughly thematic with the star sign.37

33 For those interested in reading serious research on the important issue of separation of religion and government, and specifically legislative prayer, please see the following BCHA publications:

● Phelps Bondaroff, T.N., Bushfield, I., Marshall, K.E., Prasad, R., & Laurence, N. (2019, September). "House of Prayers: An Analysis of Prayers in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 2003-2019." BC Humanist Association,1-138. Available at https://www.bchumanist.ca/house_of_prayers_report (retrieved March 24, 2021).

● Phelps Bondaroff, T.N., Bushfield, I., Marshall, K.E., Prasad, R., & Laurence, N. (2020, May). "Decolonizing Legislative Prayers: A House of Prayers Supplementary Report." BC Humanist Association, 1-26. Available at https://www.bchumanist.ca/decolonizing_legislative_prayers (retrieved March 24, 2021).

● Phelps Bondaroff, T.N., Prasad, R., Laurence, N., Darveau-Morin, A., Bushfield, I. & Thom, A. (2020, August). "Legislative Prayer Across Canada." BC Humanist Association, 1-8. Available at https://www.bchumanist.ca/prayer-across-canada (retrieved March 24, 2021).

● Phelps Bondaroff, T.N., Laurence, N., Prasad, R., Thom, A., Darveau-Morin, A., & Bushfield, I. (2020, September). “Duty of neutrality beyond Saguenay: Prayers at municipal councils in British Columbia.” BC Humanist Association, 1-36. Available at https://www.bchumanist.ca/municipal_prayer (retrieved March 24, 2021).

● Bushfield, I. & Phelps Bondaroff, T. (2020). “Arbiters of Faith: Legislative Assembly of BC Entanglement with Religious Dogma Resulting from Legislative Prayer.” Secularism and Nonreligion, 9, 1-16. Available at http://doi.org/10.5334/snr.140 (retrieved March 24, 2021).

Did we include a bulleted list in our footnotes? Yes we did. Was this entire ‘report’ just an infomercial for our actual research on the subject of legislative prayer in BC? Also yes.

34 Astrosofa.com (n.d.). “Calculate your rising sign / ascendant / natal / birth chart.” Available at https://www.astrosofa.com/ca/horoscope/ascendant (retrieved March 24, 2021).

35 An online chat bot told us this. Just ask Cleverbot (n.d.) Available at https://www.cleverbot.com/ (retrieved March 16, 2021).

36 We really didn’t want to do all the cross referencing ourselves, and our resident astrologer sprained their wrist. 37 This is definitely a legit footnote. Look, it’s got a link to something on the internet and everything. See Website

(2021). Available at http://iacopoapps.appspot.com/hopalongwebgl/ (retrieved March 16, 2021).

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● It has minimal upselling, and the products on offer were on sale!38

● The word ‘sofa’ appears in the website’s name.39

● In addition to zodiac and moon signs, the website also provides additional information, including the location of every planet at the time of a person’s birth, the ‘Imum Coeli,’ ‘Midheaven’ and ‘Descendent.’40

● The website includes information and explanations about possible errors, which lends it an air of credibility allowing it to pass the ‘seems legit’ test proposed by S.K. Burrell in 2008.41

Each entry was checked for accuracy. To do this, a BCHA intern engaged in quiet contemplation of the entry for at least 15 minutes. If they got a ‘bad feeling’ or ‘bad vibe’ from the entry, the MLA’s birth date was re-entered into the calculator by a different intern.42

In addition to the birth date of an individual, the Astrosofa ‘Calculate your rising sign’ calculator also requires the time of birth (down to the minute), the country and location of birth (down to the longitudinal and latitudinal minute). As gathering this data would have been far too challenging, let alone invasive, we opted to set every MLAs birth location to Vancouver, BC (Vancouver General Hospital), and their birth minute to

38 On numerous occasions during the research process we were seriously tempted to order a ‘Personality Report’ for the low price of $14.95, marked down from $19.95, but there wasn’t room in the research budget. Apparently we will never know if we are ‘cheap’ or just ‘frugal.’

39 Pivot, pivot, pivot. See Friends, season 5, episode 113. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w3wmQAMoxQ (retrieved March 24, 2021). It was a toss-up between this infamous sofa-related scene and the notoriously stuck sofa in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency… we couldn’t find a video of this sofa, so Friends it is.

40 See Astrobella. (2019, May 7). “The Imum Coeli in your natal chart.” AskAstrology. Available at https://askastrology.com/the-imum-coeli/ (retrieved March 24, 2021); Pacinelli, I. (2020). “12 concise Imum Coeli meanings, by zodiac signs.” Your Tango. Available at https://www.yourtango.com/2020335409/imum-coeli-meanings-astrology-zodiac-signs (March 24, 2021); and for those interested in understanding the true meaning of the Imum Coeli, see this in-depth lecture, Astley, R.P. (1987, July 27). Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ (retrieved March 24, 2021). You can learn more about the Midheaven in astrology at LMGTFY. (n.d.). Available at https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Midheaven+%2B+Astrology (retrieved March 24, 2021). And for the Descendent, you are on your own, we’ve put enough effort into this footnote already.

41 See SlangLang. (n.d.). “Seems legit.” Available at https://www.slanglang.net/seems-legit/#:~:text=What's%20the%20origin%20of%20Seems,forum%20as%20a%20sarcastic%20reply (retrieved March 24, 2021); and see M.C. Hammer. (2008). “Too legit to quit.” Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmwWN5dagQs (retrieved March 24, 2021).

42 When this project began in August 2020, our interns assured us that 15 minutes of quiet contemplation of each result was a sufficient duration of time to do a ‘vibe check’ on the results. As the project progressed, our interns suggested that we extend this time as a means of increasing reliability, and it was gradually increased to 30 minutes, sometimes longer if necessary. Note that spending time on social media was considered an acceptable compliment to quiet contemplation. Also of note, the project took considerably longer than anticipated.

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one minute after midnight on their birthday.43 We recognize this as a possible source of error and precludes us from determining their ascendant sign, but we strongly believe that this is the only source of error of the entire project.44 If other scholars want to challenge us around ‘house cusps’ or argue the importance of Imum Coeli they are welcome to try.45

We also included Parliamentary Secretaries as members of cabinet for the purposes of analyzing the star and moon of cabinet. This was done in order to increase the sample size and therefore increase our confidence levels. As we were already pretty confident that our analysis is spot on, this provided us with a modicum of smug satisfaction.46

RESULTS Here we tabulate the star and moon signs for all of the BC MLAs for whom birth dates were available (see Table 1). Overall, we found 14% of all MLAs had their star signs in Leo (see Diagram 2). This is unsurprising given that Leos, like lions, are natural born leaders who are known for being outgoing, vibrant and charismatic.47

This was followed by a tie of 12% each of all MLAs with star signs in Scorpio and Aquarius. While the hardworking reliable Taurus appears to be a natural fit for an elected representative, the prevalence of free spirited Aquarians, in what may be considered a rigid and traditional system, seems unusual. However, it is important to not only examine one's star sign in isolation but all of the phenomena that appear in one's birth chart in order to create an accurate picture of the events of one's life, hence the importance of contextualizing star signs with moon signs.

Sagittarius and Aries were the least represented, with only 4% all MLAs with these star signs. While the impulsive or overly ambitious natures found in both may be seen as undesirable, the energetic nature of Aries and Sagittarians, and their desire to engage and connect with others, are both assets for an MLA. It is deeply concerning to see their underrepresentation in the BC Legislature.48

43 We apologize for the strong Vancouver bias here, it was a choice between Vancouver and Lumby, but Lumby lost the coin toss.

44 You have to read this as though it were being said in a very confident voice. After finishing this paragraph, give your head an affirming nod. Now don’t think about any other possible sources of error for the rest of the paper. We assure you there are none.

45 Or maybe use your time to volunteer in the community, read a book, reconnect with an old friend or wax an owl. 46 This is greatly under-appreciated in the vaunted ivory tower. 47 Rawr. 48 See footnote 26.

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Table 1: Star and moon signs for BC MLAs with party affiliation and roles.

MLA Party Star Sign Moon Sign Role Portfolio

Pam Alexis NDP Aries Leo

Brittny Anderson NDP Gemini Aries

Michele Babchuk NDP Virgo Pisces

Harry Bains NDP Pisces Leo Cabinet Minister of Labour

Bruce Banman Liberal Aquarius Scorpio Shadow Critic for Citizens’ Services

Lisa Beare NDP Leo Aquarius Cabinet Minister of Citizens' Services

Mike Bernier Liberal Aquarius Virgo Shadow Critic for Finance

Shirley Bond Liberal Scorpio Cancer Shadow Interim Official Opposition Leader and Official Opposition critic for Seniors Services and Long Term Care.

Stephanie Cadieux Liberal Scorpio Taurus Shadow Caucus Chair & Critic for Gender Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion

Spencer Chandra Hebert

NDP Taurus Libra Deputy Speaker

Katrina Chen NDP Cancer Virgo Cabinet Minister of State for Child Care

George Chow NDP Capricorn Gemini Cabinet Minister of State for Trade

Katrine Conroy NDP Scorpio Scorpio Cabinet Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

Nathan Cullen NDP Cancer Leo Cabinet Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations

Bob D'Eith NDP Libra Taurus Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Arts and Film

Dan Davies Liberal Aquarius Aquarius Shadow Critic for Social Development & Poverty Reduction

Mitzi Dean NDP Capricorn Leo Cabinet Minister of Children and Family Development

Adrian Dix NDP Taurus Leo Cabinet Minister of Health and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs

Fin Donnelly NDP Gemini Virgo Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture

David Eby NDP Gemini Leo Cabinet Attorney General and Minister responsible for Housing

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Mable Elmore NDP Pisces Aquarius Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care

Mike Farnworth NDP Leo Pisces Cabinet Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General

Rob Fleming NDP Scorpio Virgo Cabinet Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

Sonia Furstenau Green Gemini Sagittarius

Kelly Greene NDP Capricorn Virgo Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Environment

Trevor Halford Liberal Taurus Aquarius Shadow Critic for Mental Health & Addictions

John Horgan NDP Leo Virgo Cabinet Premier

Ravi Kahlon NDP Taurus Capricorn Cabinet Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation

Anne Kang NDP Taurus Leo Cabinet Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training

Greg Kyllo Liberal Aries Aquarius Shadow Deputy Caucus Whip & Critic for Labour

Norm Letnick Liberal Capricorn Aquarius Assistant Deputy Speaker

Grace Lore NDP Virgo Aquarius Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity

Bowinn Ma NDP Leo Scorpio Cabinet Minister of State for Infrastructure

Melanie Mark NDP Libra Leo Cabinet Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport

Andrew Mercier NDP Cancer Aquarius Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training

Peter Milobar Liberal Aquarius Gemini Shadow Critic for Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation

Mike Morris Liberal Cancer Capricorn Shadow Critic for Public Safety & Solicitor General

Coralee Oakes Liberal Taurus Aquarius Shadow Critic for Advanced Education, Skills Training & Sport

Adam Olsen Green Capricorn Taurus

Josie Osborne NDP Sagittarius Taurus Cabinet Minister of Municipal Affairs

Ian Paton Liberal Leo Scorpio Shadow Critic for Agriculture & Food

Lana Popham NDP Scorpio Pisces Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries

Murray Rankin NDP Aquarius Taurus Cabinet Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

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Jennifer Rice NDP Virgo Sagittarius Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness

Selina Robinson NDP Pisces Sagittarius Cabinet Minister of Finance

Ellis Ross Liberal Gemini Capricorn Shadow Critic for Environment & Climate Change Strategy

Janet Routledge NDP Sagittarius Leo

Doug Routley NDP Taurus Pisces

Roly Russell NDP Libra Taurus Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development

John Rustad Liberal Leo Leo Shadow Critic for Forests, Lands & Natural Resources

Nicholas Simons NDP Scorpio Libra Cabinet Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction

Jinny Sims NDP Gemini Sagittarius

Aman Singh NDP Cancer Leo Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives

Rachna Singh NDP Leo Pisces

Ben Stewart Liberal Leo Libra Shadow Critic for Housing

Todd Stone Liberal Aquarius Capricorn Shadow Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery & Innovation

Jackie Tegart Liberal Aquarius Capricorn Shadow Critic for Education

Adam Walker NDP Pisces Gemini Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary for the New Economy

Turning to moon signs (see Diagram 2), 19% of all MLAs had the moon in Leo at the time of their birth and 15% had the moon in Aquarius. Given that the moon sign represents one's inner personal nature, the Leo’s desire for attention and recognition is fitting for one who desires a life in the public sphere. Furthermore, the desire to bring about change is reflected in the presence of Aquarius. Both Cancer and Aries are underrepresented with only 2% of MLAs having our celestial orb in these houses at the time of their birth. The sensitive and emotional nature of both may be why those containing these moon signs have opted out for the dog eat dog world of political life.

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Table 2: Star and moon signs for MLAs in BC Legislature, total counts

Symbol Star Sign Moon Sign

♈ Aries 2 Aries 1

♉ Taurus 7 Taurus 6

♊ Gemini 6 Gemini 3

♋ Cancer 5 Cancer 1

♌ Leo 8 Leo 11

♍ Virgo 3 Virgo 6

♎ Libra 3 Libra 3

♏ Scorpio 6 Scorpio 4

♐ Sagittarius 2 Sagittarius 4

♑ Capricorn 5 Capricorn 5

♒ Aquarius 7 Aquarius 9

♓ Pisces 4 Pisces 5

Diagram 1: Star Signs for MLAs in BC Legislature, proportions

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Diagram 2: Moon Signs for MLAs in BC Legislature, proportions

ANALYSIS As bold spiritual explorers,49 we did not want to limit our examination of the astrological signs of BC MLAs to a cursory level. Aspiring to empyrean heights, we therefore set out to better understand the influences of celestial bodies on party politics in the BC Legislature.50 Given the small sample size, we opted to exclude the Green Party from this analysis, after all, we are interested in conducting only the most rigorous research.51 As a result, we should perhaps roll back our ambitions and aspire to telestial heights instead.

BC New Democratic Party The BC NDP has a relatively well-balanced caucus, most notably with respect to star signs. We see all signs represented, and ranging 2-13% (see Table 3 and Diagram 4). It is little wonder that Tauruses and Leos should dominate the caucus, given that Leos are natural, outgoing and charismatic leaders, and due to the solid work ethic of Tauruses.

49 Some might say star seeds or even indigo children... but this is a topic for another paper. 50 Plus, we thought the report would be more compelling with more graphs and tables. This has nothing to do

with whether or not the authors were being paid by the word. 51 This was also done for metaphysical safety reasons - we have it on good authority that spiritual warriors within

the ranks of the BC Greens are stellar at mobilizing crystal energy to disrupt the mystic energy of inquisitive searchers.

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It is the signs that are under-represented that are particularly illuminating. Only 2% of the BC NDP caucus are Aries. Aries are straightforward people, helpful, factual and strong-willed. These are characteristics which, though admirable, could lead to tension and infighting within a caucus were they over-represented. The dearth of Aquarians within the BC NDP caucus could explain a lot with respect to the party’s handling of controversial issues, such as Site C.

Strong representation from Scorpio (10%) also underscores the work ethic of the caucus – Scorpios are notoriously sedulous. Quick thinking Geminis (10%) will help keep caucus on their toes and help the government respond to rapidly emerging issues.

Cancers represent 10% of caucus, which might pose a challenge to Premier Horgan’s leadership, as they may be highly independent and are known for being unbiddable. One the other hand, their sensitive dispositions and proclivity for dreaming could help the BC NDP connect with voters, something that could help swing a number of marginal seats in the next election. If Premier Horgan can quell any dissent from this strong Cancer contingent they will be a likely boon to the party in the future.

Table 3: Star and moon signs for NDP MLAs in BC Legislature, total counts

Symbol Star Sign Moon Sign

♈ Aries 1 Aries 1

♉ Taurus 5 Taurus 4

♊ Gemini 4 Gemini 2

♋ Cancer 4 Cancer 0

♌ Leo 5 Leo 10

♍ Virgo 3 Virgo 5

♎ Libra 3 Libra 2

♏ Scorpio 4 Scorpio 2

♐ Sagittarius 2 Sagittarius 3

♑ Capricorn 3 Capricorn 1

♒ Aquarius 1 Aquarius 4

♓ Pisces 4 Pisces 5

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Diagram 3: NDP MLAs star signs, caucus proportion

Recall that a person’s the moon sign represents one's inner personal nature. In light of this, when we inspect the moon signs of BC NDP MLAs, we notice some significant imbalance (see Diagram 4).

The BC NDP caucus is eclipsed by a huge contingent of MLAs with Leo in the moon at the time of their birth (26%). Leos take pride in their work, they are natural leaders but also love the spotlight. This will be a challenge for Premier Horgan moving forward. Leadership skills are important but ultimately leaders need followers. We should expect to see some minor internal squabbles emerging within the caucus as a result of this imbalance of Leo energy. Horgan’s own contradictory signs of Leo Star and Virgo Moon represents his own struggles between his need for the spotlight and a desire for stability. Perhaps if he had leaned more on his Virgo nature this past week, he might have avoided upsetting many millennials.52

Fortunately for the BC NDP, the caucus benefits from a complete absence of MLAs born with Cancer in the moon. Because those born with the moon in Cancer are particularly sensitive people, the potential for conflicts created by excessive Leo energy leading to hurt feelings is diminished. Likewise, the fact that MLAs with Aries as their moon sign

52 Shaw, R. (Mar 30, 2021). “Wrong message, worse time.” The Orca. https://theorca.ca/resident-pod/wrong-message-worst-time/ (retrieved March 31, 2021).

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will also diminish the possibility of internal emotional conflict within the caucus. Like Cancers, Aries are known for their intense emotions – they are impulsive, easily excitable and often quick to anger. As such, we confidently predict the existence of some internal disagreements within the BC NDP over the coming year and that these will be largely driven by differences over policy.

Diagram 4: NDP MLAs moon signs, caucus proportion

BC Liberal Party While the government caucus was relatively balanced, with MLAs of each star sign represented, we noticed significant imbalance within the opposition.53 A cursory glance at the BC Liberal MLA’s star charts reveals a number of salient features (see Table 4 and Diagram 5). The overwhelming overrepresentation of Aquarius cannot be missed — 35% of MLAs! This is possibly the reason that the BC Liberals under Christy Clark pushed so hard to get Site C past the point of no return.

Strong Leo energy is expected from the BC Liberal caucus (17%), as Leos are said to stand out in a crowd with their innate charm. Leos are wise, emotional and accommodating, features that may help the party recapture the votes of many British Columbians who were disillusioned by the leadership of Andrew Wilkinson. While we

53 We don’t want to turn your world upside down, but this stuff really works… see The Revolving Internet. (n.d.) Available at https://therevolvinginternet.com/ (retrieved March 16, 2021).

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were unable to find the exact birthday for the previous BC Liberal leader, the research team agreed that he definitely gives off the aloof energy of someone with Capricorn in their moon.

There is an interesting feature pertaining to the astrological composition of the BC Liberal caucus that could explain a lot about internal caucus dynamics. Notably, the BC Liberal caucus is without representation of Virgos, Libras, Sagittarians or Pisces! Without the strong financial sense of Virgos, the BC Liberals will be unlikely to mount strong opposition to the upcoming provincial budget. Without the balancing energies of Libras, Sagittarians or Pisces, is it clear that Shirley Bond and the future leader of the BC Liberals are in for some wacky times!

Table 4: Star and moon signs for Liberal MLAs in BC Legislature, total counts

Symbol Star Sign Moon Sign

♈ Aries 1 Aries 0

♉ Taurus 2 Taurus 1

♊ Gemini 1 Gemini 1

♋ Cancer 1 Cancer 1

♌ Leo 3 Leo 1

♍ Virgo 0 Virgo 1

♎ Libra 0 Libra 1

♏ Scorpio 2 Scorpio 2

♐ Sagittarius 0 Sagittarius 0

♑ Capricorn 1 Capricorn 4

♒ Aquarius 6 Aquarius 5

♓ Pisces 0 Pisces 0

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Diagram 5: Liberal MLAs star signs, caucus proportion

It is worth noting that whoever was in charge of the designing the BC Liberal logo perfectly captured the spiritual energy of the party. As everyone knows,54 the spirit colour of Aquarius is sky blue and given the massive over-representation of Aquarians within the BC Liberal caucus this colour should be front and centre. It is important to let voters know what kind of Aquarian energy they are tapping into when they vote Liberal.55

With respect to BC Liberal moon signs (see Diagram 6), we see a surprising balance with Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra all well-represented at 6%. Imbalance begins to creep in with a tidal wave of Aquarius (29%), a horn-full of Capricorns (23%), and an absence of Aries, Pisces and Sagittarius.

As moon signs represent someone’s inner personal nature, we can infer how these characteristics will interact. The rugged individualism of Aquarians will need to be reigned in, lest we see factions emerge within the party. Though floor crossing is unlikely, we would not be surprised if the BC Liberal caucus saw at least one signficant upheaval this year! Overall, the poor representation of Pisces in both star and moon

54 Everyone et al. (2021). “Hearsay.” Everywhere, 12(4), 12-32. 55 See Horoscope.com. (n.d.). “Aquarius sign dates & traits.” Available at https://www.horoscope.com/zodiac-

signs/aquarius (retrieved March 28, 2021).

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signs could explain the BC Liberal Party’s past failings around fish farms and aquaculture.

Diagram 6: Liberal MLAs moon signs, caucus proportion

Cabinet When it comes to building a cabinet, a Premier has many factors to consider – gender balance, age and diversity, regional representation, experience and loyalty, but too often Premiers and Prime Ministers forget about balancing energy, chakras and chi.

Perhaps Premier Horgan was aware of this past oversight as he appears to have done a pretty good job with representation of all the star signs apart from Aries (see Table 5 and Diagram 7). He did well to avoid populating his cabinet with too many Sagittarians (3%) and Aquarians (3%), as the independent nature of Aquarius and the argumentative nature of Sagittarius could make for explosive cabinet meetings and lead to discord. On the other hand, with 13% of the cabinet comprising stubborn-minded and sensitive Cancers the Premier will want to tread carefully.

Premier Horgan will also need to manage the 13% of his cabinet that are Leos. Known for their innate charm and readiness “to blaze a trail, vanquish injustice, and make a

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name for themselves along the way,”56 Leos will be natural allies to the Premier as he works to tackle inequality in the province. On the other hand, the Premier will need to ensure that none of these Leos outshine their leader. As a result, we predict an increase in travel by cabinet ministers, particularly Leos, to keep them on the move and out of the Premier’s spotlight.

In another bold move, the appointment of a strong contingent of Scorpios to cabinet (13%) bodes well for the governments’ ability to get things done. Helpful, reliable and hardworking Scorpios will give yeoperson’s service in cabinet, taking care of some of the heavy lifting necessary as we work our way out of the pandemic. Biddable Cancers (13%) will likely keep in line, adding stability to cabinet meetings.

Table 5: Star and moon signs for Cabinet, BC Legislature, total counts

Symbol Star Sign Moon Sign

♈ Aries 0 Aries 0

♉ Taurus 3 Taurus 4

♊ Gemini 2 Gemini 2

♋ Cancer 4 Cancer 0

♌ Leo 4 Leo 8

♍ Virgo 2 Virgo 5

♎ Libra 3 Libra 1

♏ Scorpio 4 Scorpio 2

♐ Sagittarius 1 Sagittarius 2

♑ Capricorn 3 Capricorn 1

♒ Aquarius 1 Aquarius 4

♓ Pisces 4 Pisces 2

Diagram 7: Cabinet star signs, proportion

56 Horoscope.com. (n.d.). “Leo sign dates & traits.” Available at https://www.horoscope.com/zodiac-signs/leo (retrieved March 28, 2021).

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While the star signs of cabinet may be relatively well-balanced, when we start getting into moon signs unevenness begins to emerge (see Diagram 8). You will notice the strong Leo (26%) and Virgo (16%) contingents. Voters in BC should welcome this Leo energy in cabinet, as people with Leo in their moon are known for being warm, welcoming and friendly (as well as all the aforementioned leadership qualities).57 Too often we have heard criticisms of BC politicians claiming that they are standoffish and out of touch, we should therefore applaud Premier Horgan for populating his cabinet with approachable Leos.

Now it is well known that people born with the moon in Virgo are reason oriented and listen tend to listen with their heads and not their hearts.58 This proclivity for only making decisions after careful consideration of the evidence explains the number of consultations and reviews being conducted by various ministers in the previous Parliament, given the Premier’s dueling Leo-Virgo signs, and we would expect it to continue through this Parliament. We certainly welcome this approach, but future cabinet reshuffles may want to include at least one minister with Aries in their moon, to help expedite decision-making.

57 See footnote 48. 58 Your heart doesn’t have ears? How strange. You should get that looked into.

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Diagram 8: Cabinet moon signs, proportion

PREDICTIONS What would a report on astrology and the BC Legislature be without a short section on predictions? We have made a number above but we wanted to highlight a couple of key predictions to get them on the record so that we could brag about getting them right next year.

Building on the above data and unimpeachable analysis, we can make a number of predictions concerning the BC Legislature over the coming year. While not dominating any of the groups, Virgos remain a strong presence in the BC Legislature. Virgos are not only hard-working and dutiful but they are notable for their knowledge of handling money. As a result, we predict that while there may be the odd incident, there will be no major financial scandals in the coming year.

The lack of Aries across the board will present challenges for the BC Legislature. Aries are assertive and goal driven, and strangers to indecision. A dearth of Aries in the Parliament will almost certainly mean that we are in for some lengthy debates and long committee meetings.

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With respect to the caucuses, as noted above, the strong Leo energy will lead to some conflict within the BC NDP caucus, but due to an absence of MLAs with Cancer and a dearth of Aries in their moon signs, we can predict that conflicts will largely be restricted to issues relating to differences of opinion around policy, rather than emotional or spiritual conflicts.

The BC Liberal caucus will face turmoil in the coming year and a change of leadership is on the horizon. We predict that due to a severe over-abundance of Aquarius and Leo energy, without countervailing forces from Virgos, Libras, Sagittarians or Pisces, the BC Liberals will take the wrong position on a number of important issues in the coming year. They would do well to avoid making any hasty decisions and consider conducting extensive polling.

With respect to cabinet, Premier Horgan has assembled a reasonably well-balanced cabinet, which bodes well for a province working to emerge from the pandemic. Strong Leo representation in cabinet means that we will likely see the government increasing its efforts to tackle inequality. On the other hand, we also predict increased travel by cabinet ministers, particularly Leos, as the Premier works to keep them on the move so that they do not steal his spotlight with their Leo energy.59

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Building on our data and analysis, this report concludes with the following key recommendations:

1) The BC Legislature should hire an official astrologer — This is a no brainer; sessions already start with prayer but we have no way of knowing if the 10 am start time (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) or the 1:30 pm start time (Wednesday) are portentous times to begin a legislative session.60 Likewise, sessions of the BC Legislature are held with seemingly no consideration for the position of celestial bodies. Without an official astrologer, members of the BC Legislature could be conducting official business and

59 We further predict that we will release a report following-up on the success of these predictions in a year’s time. Furthermore, we predict that in this report, we will boast about having predicted the publication of the report in a footnote. This very footnote! Mark our words well.

60 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. (n.d.). “Parliamentary Calendar.” Available at https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/parliamentary-calendar (retrieved March 24, 2021).

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debating legislation that could impact the lives of millions of British Columbians on a day with Mercury in retrograde!61 Imagine passing a budget without the celestial support of Venus ascendant?62 This would be asking for trouble.

2) The BC Legislature should invest in other forms of divination — Astrology is only one way of telling the future and while it is said to be highly reliable we should cross-reference it with other forms of divination. We recommend:

a) Haruspicy — This is an under-appreciated form of divination, particularly because it involves animals and who doesn’t like animals? Sure, you have to cut them up for this approach to be effective but this is a small price to pay for accuracy. In addition to providing insight into the future, oracular chickens — especially free range, local BC chickens — are an excellent source of nutrition and the more entrails we read the more we support local poultry farmers.63

b) Cartomancy — We are going to put our cards on the table here and say that most people would prefer elected officials who do not hold their hands close to their chest. An official BC Legislative cartomancer would help ensure that the next cabinet reshuffle is conducted on an auspicious day. An added benefit of supporting this method would be that sales of playing cards in the BC Legislature’s gift shop would certainly increase. The BC Legislature commissioning its own tarot deck would also support the arts.

c) Dendromancy — Not only is this tree-based form of divination a great way to spend time exploring the outdoors of our beautiful province and an excuse to get to know a tree better,64 it could also serve to bolster BC’s lumber industry. Plus, we heard there are already a bunch of wood splitters available.65

d) Alveromancy — This form of divination from sounds is perfectly suited to the floor of the BC Legislature.66 Every minute that we are not analyzing the particularly nuanced tones of speeches and their interplay with heckles and

61 As you should know, one should always take precautions when Mercury is in retrograde. See for example Booth. J. (2021). “2021 Best & Worst Days for Various Activities.” Astrology Booth. Available at https://astrologybooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Best-and-Worst-Days-of-2021.pdf (retrieved March 28, 2021), p. 1.

62 See for example Booth 2021:2. 63 Leftovers could also be served to feed staff and MLAs, reducing catering costs! 64 A prerequisite of giving it a hug. Take a dendrological adventure to see just how effective this method of

divination is at Chrome Canopy. (n.d.) Available at http://1000.chromeexperiments.com/#/experiment/canopy (retrieved MArch 16, 2021).

65 Little, S. (2020, April 17). “Infamous BC legislature wood splitter seized again by RCMP.” Global News. Available at https://globalnews.ca/news/6836028/bc-legislature-wood-splitter-seized-rcmp/ (retrieved March 24, 2021).

66 Occult World. (n.d.). “Alveromancy.” Available at https://occult-world.com/alveromancy/ (retrieved March 28, 2021).

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background noise is a minute lost! Adaptations for online hybrid sittings would have to be developed, creating the opportunity for innovation.

e) Logomancy — We should consider this for the same reasons as above but we ranked this form of divination through the observation of words and discourse beneath alveromancy because we heard that logomancers can be jerks.67

3) The birth dates, down to the minute and geographic location for every MLA and political candidate should be made publicly available — Without accurate details such as the location and exact time of someone’s birth, voters will have no way of knowing if an elected official is the right match for them. Voters should have a right to know the star signs of political candidates. Without this information they are forced to make choices based on mundane information such as the merits of candidates, parties, platforms or even their values and interests.

Take for example a voter born on June 30th, 1975 (a Cancer) contemplating voting for a Green Party candidate born on October 5th, 1983 (a Libra). Not only are Cancers and Libras notoriously incompatible, but the Green Party of BC was founded on February 6, 1983,68 making it an Aquarius, and Aquarians and Cancers are also highly incompatible. This highly reliable analysis from the Times of India who note that:

“Cancer is hopelessly attracted to the aloof and cold zodiac sign, Aquarius. The latter sign too is haunted by Cancer. But, their equation is toxic as they both can't satisfy each other's needs. Cancer cannot give Aquarius the space they need and Aquarius doesn't relate with the emotional depth to make Cancer feel secure.”69

It further elaborates that:

“Cancer is a sign who needs constant reassurance from Libra. These signs are attracted to each other because Cancers are hopeless romantics and Libras are born flirtatious. Both Cancer and Libra can be very sensitive, but while Libra is sensitive to potential threats to a loved one or a relationship, Cancer is rather self-defensive. A little of that could be a good thing, but usually, Cancer can come across as

67 A friend of a friend, but it checks out. 68 Wikipedia. (n.d.). "Green Party of British Columbia." Available at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_British_Columbia (retrieved March 29, 2021). 69 Times of India. (2020, November 26). “Incompatible Zodiac signs who are often drawn towards each other.”

Available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/love-sex/incompatible-zodiac-signs-who-are-often-drawn-towards-each-other/photostory/79388011.cms (retrieved March 24, 2021).

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emotionally selfish to Libra. This ultimately drains their relationship.”70

In this situation the voter would be well advised to consult the stars before voting, as they are barreling towards a potential disaster of astronomical proportions!

Finally, providing more accurate date of birth information will support future astrological analyses, as well as other research relevant to BC politics.71

70 Ibid. If you are looking for footnote 86, you will have to keep looking, but in looking for footnote 86 we remind you that it is not the destination that counts, but rather the journey.

71 Research such as our afore-cited works that frequently conclude with an overarching recommendation, which supersedes all others here, that perhaps MLAs are best off leaving all superstitious practices out of the legislature entirely, as they can, or more hopefully not, practice them on their own time.