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CNN Live At Daybreak

Seattle School Offers Degree in Astrology

Aired May 21, 2002 - 06:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Reading horoscopes is sometimes considered fun, other times a waste of time. But at one college, astrology is serious stuff. So much so that students are earning degrees in the subject.

Our Lilian Kim saves a seat for us in class.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With people like Nancy Reagan being ridiculed for consulting an astrologer, and with ads like these on the airways...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know I'm telling you the truth, don't you?

KIM: ... it's no surprise that people who chart horoscopes for a living have a tough time being taken seriously.

LAURA GERKING, ASTROLOGER: I don't predict the future. And I'm out in the world, you know, fighting that stereotype every day.

KIM: But Kepler College hopes to restore astrology's reputation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pluto takes 247 years to circle the sun.

KIM: The only program in the U.S. where students can earn a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Astrological Studies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look at it as equal to a liberal arts degree. I'm just learning to learn.

KIM: Teachers cover all aspects of astrology, from its history to how they believe the cycle of the planets, the moon and the sun influences human affairs.

KAREN HAWKWOOD, KEPLER COLLEGE STUDENT: So much of the technique has been lost, which is part of what we're doing here, is rediscovering that.

KIM: But many mainstream academics say these students are wasting their time.

CRAIG HOGAN, ASTRONOMY AND PHYSICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: It's important not to mistake astrology for a real scientific subject. It's a subject, no doubt, but it's in a subject on a par with fairy tales.

KIM (on camera): As you'd expect, many students plan to become personal advisers, helping clients make life decisions based on planetary cycles. But school leaders say many quietly take jobs in the corporate world.

GERKING: They can be business consultants with small and large corporations in terms of timing, of product marketing, of advertising.

KIM (voice-over): No doubt, students will look to the stars to help chart their course into the future.

Lilian Kim, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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