Russia scans the stars, and the Future is mostly bad

Astrology Booms in Russia

MOSCOW- In Russia, astrologers do not sugarcoat the news.

"Today is a largely dangerous day," one recent, typical horoscope warned from the pages of the newspaper Kommersant.

"You may end up broke," one warning goes. "This day is entirely unsuitable for undertakings of any sort."

The next day may not be any better: "Fraud, cheating and crooked deals are only a small fraction of the troubles that threaten to disrupt all your plans today," another Kommersant chart began.

Banned in Soviet days as beneath the dignity of scientific Marxism, astrology has caught on in a big way in the new Russia. Russians may hear their future on the radio, see it on television, call for a personalised account by telephone or read it in almost any newspaper or magazine.

Even in the official government newspaper Rossiskie Vesti, there is a horoscope devoted entirely to health: "Your health reserves are low," it warned one day. "You may have problems with your spine," it added. Or, "It would be best to refrain from sexual relations. Diseases beginning today may last a long time."

Even when the signs are auspicious, Russian astrologers can find a downside.

"A growing energy field during this week will be a stimulus for ac­tion," the astrologer of Moskovsky Komsomolets predicted recently. "But if you don't surrender to its influence, the result may be a serious dis­ease or nervous breakdown."

It is no secret, of course, that Americans love happy endings - to the point of childishness, many Russians say - while Russians enjoy wallowing in the trough of despondency. No one curls up with a bowl of popcorn and "The Brothers Karamazov" to cheer up.

Neither is there any question that many Russians' lives are exceed­ingly troubled.

If you fight for the communal toilet every morning, get splattered by street slush every day and scrimp on sugar for your tea each evening, you may justifiably feel sceptical of a rosy horoscope.

But the difference in astrological approach raises questions: Are the planets really so different over the Western Hemisphere? Are American astrologers lying to spare their readers pain? Or could it be that Russians are unhappy, at least in part, because they read their horoscopes too faithfully?

"It can be pretty pessimistic," acknowledged Yelena Myasnikova, chief editor of the Russian edition of Cosmopolitan.

In the current issue of that magazine, for example, Tamara Globa listed the "fortunate" days in November and December, a total of 12, and the "negative" days, 28 in all. "We're not very happy about that, because we want Cosmopolitan to be a very optimistic magazine," Ms. Myasnik­ova said. "But when you're dealing with a famous person, a real authority in the field, of course it's very difficult to say: 'Don't write what you really think. Write that everything will turn out O.K.'"

Ms. Globa appears to be in no danger of that. "November is the hardest month," she warned Aquarians. "It will bring the loss of friends and protectors, hostility and deceit, and problems with your parents. Be careful about your health."

Valery Ledovskikh, the pen name of the astrologer who writes weekly in Kommersant, Russia's leading business newspaper, would have his readers simply wait for another day.

"All attempts to interfere with the natural course of events and to change it for the better will lead to no good results," he wrote on one re­cent gloomy day.

"The only thing you can do," he added, "is tighten up security on your delivery trucks."

International Herald Tribune

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