Astrology shows what sort of hand a person has been dealt. It is of course up to us how we play that hand. If you held all the aces its pretty likely you’d have success, but no – one gets a hand like that. For every beneficial Sun, Venus and Jupiter, there are difficult Saturns and Plutos. Having said that, a birthchart can show if you been born with a silver spoon or a wooden one.

In simple terms Jupiter and Saturn are the planets of good fortune and trouble so Capricorn Research devised the Jupiter / Saturn index which is based on the frequency of the Sun’s conjunctions to these two planets. The formula used was to take the percentage frequency of the Sun’s conjunction to Jupiter relative to the expected figure and subtract the same score for the conjunction to Saturn. A high plus figure would show the advantages of birth, a high minus figure would show who got the short straw.

The results of the Jupiter / Saturn index proves the point. The highest scorers by a big distance with + 125 were members of Royal Families, whereas the lowest scorers by a similar margin were the Adopted group with – 123.

To look at a different version of the same idea the scores for Mars aspects to Jupiter and Saturn were considered. In some respects the scores would be expected to be similar to the Solar index but there are differences between Mars and the Sun so it pays to think about them.

The Sun rules the essence of the person whereas Mars symbolises their activity. As a result, people with a strong Sun / Jupiter connection would expect good things to come their way as their birthright, people with a similar Mars / Jupiter link would draw beneficial experience to them as a result of their own actions and efforts.

This simple description does not necessarily produce such clear differences in practice however. Someone born with a beneficial Sun / Jupiter conjunction  would exude a natural confidence that their actions would bring rewards even if they had to face the difficulties of a Mars / Saturn opposition. Conversely a Sun / Saturn conjunction might result in such a low level of confidence that the person would be unable to take advantage of favourable Mars / Jupiter aspects.

Its interesting to compare the Sun and Mars indexes to look for similarities and differences. The Mars index includes both conjunctions and oppositions to Jupiter and Saturn.

The lowest score again by some distance is – 213 achieved by a group of 190 Drug takers. For this group the Mars / Saturn aspects far outweigh the Mars / Jupiter ones. It is not surprising as this group by their own actions have chosen a path that is likely to hinder their success in life.

The second lowest score is the Adopted group with – 178, which perhaps shows that the early disadvantages in life and lack of security mitigate against success and achievement. So the lower reaches of the Mars / Jupiter / Saturn index are saying the same as the Solar one.

So who came top of the Mars / Jupiter / Saturn index ?  Well it wasn’t the runaway winners of the Solar Index, the Royal Families, in fact with a score of – 48, they were well into the bottom half of the table. This makes sense as the Jupiterian benefits they received came from their noble birth ( Sun ) rather than through their own efforts ( Mars ).

Top of the table with + 121 are the group of 148 Nazis. This is an interesting result but if we take away our understandably subjective reaction that might wish to see this group with a powerful Mars / Saturn score, it does make sense. More than any other sample group amongst the Capricorn Research collection, the Nazis all belong to the same generation and so their experience is inevitably more cohesive. Mars, more than any other planet rules fighting and military action, Jupiter rules success but also expansion beyond ones normal borders. Despite their ignominous end, the Nazis had a greater share of military conquest abroad than any of the other groups, so they get the highest plus score.

On the same principle, finishing a very close 2nd with a score of + 118 is the group of 96 Explorers. Again we have a kind of conquest beyond normal geographical borders although this is less to do with militaristic means but still the result of Mars qualities of physical strength and assertiveness and the pioneering spirit.

In 3rd place with + 98 is the selection of 299 Political Leaders, the heads of government in their own countries. These people have undeniably reached the very top of their profession so it is no surprise that they score so highly on Mars / Jupiter aspects. This group of World Leaders also came 6th in the Solar Index with a score of + 60 and therefore have the highest joint score for both tables.

And of course the Adopted group have by far the lowest joint score.

Its almost impossible to work out a statistical test for these scores as each of the sample groups have different numbers, but its more anecdotal proof, if any is still needed by readers of these pages, that astrology works.

Its also provides clear evidence that whilst being born with a silver spoon in you mouth, like the members of the Royal Families group does not mean you will achieve great things in your life, but being born with a wooden spoon as the Adopted group may just mean you will continually be hit with it.