Stars in their eyes
From Walter Harris
Sir: Rulers and politicians have always sought the advice of astrologers, medicine men, clairvoyants and other quacks (Frank Furedi, ‘The age of unreason’, 19 November), usually when their own actions are about to invite catastrophe.
Perhaps the most famous was the oracle of Delphi which, rather in the manner of a modern crystal-ball gazer, gave veiled answers about the future, which could be interpreted in any way that pleased the questioner. The Tsarina’s court listened to the repellent Rasputin, thus according him great power; Heinrich Himmler, effectively Minister for Murder in the Third Reich, used an astrologer for years and towards the end of the Nazi era scarcely did anything without the astrologer’s endorsement. Carole Caplin was only the latest in a long line of charlatans who gained power by giving pseudo-spiritual backing to their master’s plans.
Walter Harris Rottingdean, East Sussex
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