The most powerful myths in the western world today are the horoscopes printed in the national tabloids. You might think that it would be absolutely impossible for a Christian to pay attention to a horoscope, but throughout the Old Testament we find those believers repeatedly falling away and turning to consult the sun, moon and stars as their unbelieving neighbours were doing in their reli­gions.

In 1999 the Torpor horoscopes which appeared in two editions of the Sunday Mirror were responsible for an increase in the paper's circulation of 220,000 copies and of 209,000 copies. In fact they were the seventh and eighth items of the top ten best-selling stories and features to boost the various papers' sales last year. Myths are big business.

The Daily Mail went to the High Court last month after The Express had announced that it had signed up the Daily Mail's astrologer, Jonathan Cainer. Each year his new year astrology series sells 100,000 extra newspapers a day, and his salary is a million a year. He was offered more money to stay with the Daily Mail, but he did not accept it. Astrologers now wear designer clothes, and even the Financial Times prints astrolo­gy pieces.

Asian politicians rely on astrology to an extraordinary degree. In Thailand coups are attempted only when the astrological signs are in perfect conjunction. Ceylon — changed its name to Sri Lanka for astrological reasons. Much of the government business in the social­ist state of Burma is ruled by astrological calculations. The Prime Minister of Singapore leaves on his foreign visits when it is astrologically propitious to do so. In Malaysia the astrologers, known as 'bomohs,' are consulted frequently. We are little different in the western world. One hardly blinked to read of the divorced young wives of the English Royal Family going to star-gazers and — sitting under pyramids, but we have had the spectre of the most powerful man in the world and his wife, the American president and the First Lady, consulting an astrologer. Doesn't that make you afraid?

A woman in our congregation worked for a year in local government offices and was a little shocked to see the seriousness with which many people every day talked of their star signs and horoscopes. Myths influence people. A study in the Lancet in November 1993 examined people whose whole lives were pervaded by star Signs — the Chinese American community. If they had a serious disease like cancer and they believed that the time and cause of their death was determined by the stars then a significantly higher percentage of them would die sooner than those who did not have the same beliefs. In other words, their belief in the stars made them simply give up. They were "fated" to die, they believed. Myths are dangerous things to live for.

The latest thoroughly scientific investigation of horoscopes was carried out by Dr. Shawn Carlson of the University of California campus at Berkeley in 1982. He tested as rigorously as he could the theory of what is called 'natal astrology.' That is, that the position of the planets, sun and moon at the moment of birth can be used to define a person's general personality traits and tendencies in temperament and behaviour, and to indicate the major issues that person is likely to encounter.

In this experiment people were chosen at random and were given personality charts and were asked to select the astrological chart that best fitted them in their view. The top astrologers also were given the date of birth of these people and they also made predictions about them. The results coming out were very close to those expected if pure chance governed the outcome. Dr. Carlson said, "Despite the fact that we worked with some of the best astrologers ... despite the fact that they approved of the design of the experiment and predicted 50% as the minimum effect they would expect to see, astrology failed to perform at a level better than chance. Tested using double-blind methods, the astrologers' predictions proved to be wrong."

The Astronomer Royal, Professor Arnold Wolfendale, calls astrology "complete and utter nonsense." Yet millions of people read their horoscopes every day, and talk of their star signs. They have degrees in physics and come from generations of literates and rationalists and yet suddenly revert to the magic of the forest. What is the reason for trusting myths?

Firstly, the so-called predictions sometimes work. And human beings, being what they are, will often consider one surprising success more than a match for a thousand unsurprising failures.

Secondly, there is the human tendency to convert apparent failures to successes by reinterpreting the facts, or to change their own behaviour to bring it into line with what has been predicted. Thus the persistence of superstition is assured.

Thirdly, horoscopes are part of the bogus trappings of the New Age, so-called 'reactions' against the materialism of the Nineties. As the professing church has abandoned belief in a personal and sovereign God who is in control of past, present and future the Christianity most people encounter has little more to offer than the hopes of a political party.

People then look for the preternatural in myths and the occult. We are living in a credulous age.

Fourthly, where else in a newspaper can you read about you and you alone? Not in the boring news stories. But it is we who are the heroes of horoscopes and the only villains are other people. People read horoscope columns because they have become too lazy to think for themselves.

They are today's "godless myths and old wives' tales." Do all you can to avoid them. A person saved from the world is a person saved from the bondage of the horoscope mentality. Let us tell you of the One who made the stars, and calls them by name, and rules over them. They live and move and have their being in him. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't seek guidance in the creature but in the Creator himself. He speaks to us in his word and tells us how we are to live our lives, and how we are to spend our money, and how to cope with the disappointments and handle the multitude of blessings he bestows on all men. Don't read the horoscope, read the Bible, and come every week to hear it opened up.