Astrology Off The Beaten Track tells the intriguing story of the late Suzel Fuzeau-Braesch and her 40-year effort to bridge the divide between astrology and modern science. The award-winning French scientist was an influential member of the prestigious Centre National de Recherche Scientifique in Paris and, for 25 years, headed a research laboratory at University Paris XI-Orsay. Here she researched animals’ lifestyles, pigmentations and brain behavior biochemistry. Ignoring criticism from skeptics, she courageously studied their susceptibility to astrological influences as well.
Astrology Off The Beaten Track describes how the scientist first became interested in studying astrology and what motivated her persistent efforts to rigorously demonstrate statistical correlations between animal behavior and the placement of planets in the animals’ astrological birth charts. In two of her more exotic experiments, Fuzeau-Braesch examined the characteristics of purebred dogs and cloned cows and, to the dismay of skeptics, demonstrated that astrological influences could be confirmed by hard science. (Animals are reliable test subjects because they act naturally and are not influenced by culture or preconceived ideas, she explained.)
In the Foreword to her book, the author maintains that her scientific intent was to separate valid tools from the invalid tools used in astrology, and to distinguish fiction from fact. Also, she felt challenged to identify those aspects (of astrology) that are genuinely useful to humanity, and why.
She described some of the obstacles thrust into her path: “There are many out there, among both the skeptics and true believers, who are not interested in clarifying a subject which they have every reason, financial or psychological, to keep shrouded in mystery… I trust that the light I shall try to cast on this ancient subject will show it in such a way as to attract a new kind of attention, one that is more coherent and more logical, the kind of attention I believe it truly deserves.”
