TIME have just produced their list of the hundred most influential people of 2008. It must be difficult having to produce these lists year after year, because you don’t want to repeat yourself too much. Perhaps that’s why Pope Benedict XVI and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez aren’t in this year’s list.
TIME also, I assume, has to give the the impression that it’s up to date, and is covering all segments of society. So fifteen year old singer and actress Miley Cyrus, a Sagittarian, gets into the 2008 list, in the ‘Artists & Entertainers’ category.
It’s easy to be critical of TIME’s pick, but maybe part of its function is to make us think – about people we might not have heard of, but who in their own way are making a big difference to their environment. I suppose this would apply particularly to people working in the areas of science, medicine and charity. Though from an astrological point of view, this is annoying – because when you’re dealing with such people, who at the moment aren’t widely known, it can be difficult to get hold of their birth data. So, when I did a star sign analysis of the TIME list, I could only find the signs of around seventy of the hundred names. Well, actually, it was a bit more than hundred names, because certain people got joint placings – for example Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and the Coen brothers.
Anyway, here’s my star sign analysis, covering about seventy percent of the list, showing how many people, from each of the twelve signs, are in it:
Aries: 5
Taurus: 6
Gemini: 3.5
Cancer: 7
Leo: 4
Virgo: 9.5
Libra: 5
Scorpio: 7
Sagittarius: 7
Capricorn: 2
Aquarius: 9
Pisces: 7
I don’t include people born ‘on the cusp’ – if I’m not sure of someone’s star sign I don’t include them. Where two people share a spot, they contribute half a point each. So Brad Pitt contributes half a point for Sagittarius, Angelina Jolie half a point for Gemini.
Now it’s possible that a more industrious astrologer than me would discover the star sign of everyone on the list, and my partial analysis will be shown to be statistically well short of the mark. So my findings are very provisional, and no firm conclusions should be drawn.
Anyway, the big surprise is that there are more Virgos than any other sign, with 9.5 of them. The reason it’s not a whole number is the Coen brothers, who get a shared placing – Ethan Coen is a Virgo, his brother’s a Sagittarius.
It’s tempting to conclude, given how many Virgos there are, that Virgo is the most influential sign of the Zodiac. However we have to remember it’s the 2008 list. Virgoans are influential this year, perhaps because Saturn is moving through their star sign, while Jupiter is moving through the creativity sector of their solar chart. As a result they’re hard working, and they’re able to get their talents out into the open – in such a way that they get recognised.
At the other end of the scale, there’s poor Capricorn, getting a score of only two. Which is very strange, given that Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, is passing through their star sign. But we should remember that in January the planet Pluto entered Capricorn as well. This planet is a heavy-duty influence, which intensifies everything it touches. Perhaps Capricorns are taking time to get used to Pluto, and they’re finding it difficult to make an impact?
Finally, what about your star sign? How influential are you going to be in 2008? Given my analysis of the TIME list, I’ll give the following provisional ratings to the twelve signs:
Five stars, a real mover and shaker: Virgo and Aquarius
Four stars, a serious player: Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Pisces
Three stars, waiting for your moment: Aries, Taurus and Libra
Two stars, acting behind the scenes: Gemini and Leo
One star, hiding in the mountains: Capricorn
If you’re a Gemini, Leo or Capricorn, don’t worry, 2009’s another year!
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