Astrology has a long history in Western countries and is widely spread. Prophecies based on astrology are widely believed in the West. In the history of foreign intelligence, astrology has been a powerful weapon for intelligence agencies to carry out psychological warfare. The year 1588 was an important year in European history, during which Spain planned an expedition to England. However, in the eyes of astrologers, this year is an unlucky year, a year of destructive weather, there will be huge storms, huge floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. This prophecy was widely circulated in Europe and caused panic in the hearts of the people. In Spain, such prophecies affected conscription, naval soldiers deserted, and in Lisbon an astrologer was arrested for "creating depressing rumors."
British intelligence cleverly used these prophecies to wage psychological warfare. The English cryptographer John Diey, borrowing from King Rudolf of Bohemia, spread the word that the great storm of 1588 would bring about the collapse of a mighty empire. Rudolf himself was a firm believer in astrology, and he was associated with many astrologers, and through him, rumors of Dee spread throughout Europe. Coincidentally, the climate of 1588 was so bad that it led to the belief that predictions about the imminent collapse of a great empire were not nonsense. It is easy to think that the Spanish Armada expedition through the English Channel under such harsh climatic conditions was probably more sinister than auspicious! As a result, the armada army has not moved, and the morale of the army has been shaken. John Dee's psychological warfare was successful.
In modern times, astrology has achieved greater success in psychological warfare, and many people in Nazi Germany believe in astrology. In 1932, Martin Paykorn established the Nazi Astrology Research Group. Goebbels admired the value of astrology in propaganda. Within his Propaganda Department, he established the "Department of Astrology, Psychological Metaphysics, and Mysticism", or AM0 for short. Goebbels used the organization to spread many rumors, so the British had to take up the weapon of astrology against Goebbels's propaganda.
Astrology used to confuse the enemy must conform to orthodox astrological principles. The Germans not only paid special attention to paleostatic arithmetic, but also had experts analyze it to test whether the divination process was consistent with known rules and information. Therefore, in order to use astrology to fool the Germans, it is necessary to have superb skills. There is no shortage of Wizards in this area in British intelligence. Louis DeVol of the British Special Operations Agency was well versed in this set of rules of astrology. He selected the Nazi deputy fuehrer, Rudolf Hess, as the target of the attack and collected a large amount of material about Hess.
Hess was so interested in astrology that he fantasized about somehow combining astrology with the study of geopolitics. He considered it a mistake for Germany to go to war with Britain. His astrology consultant told him that on May 10, 1941, there would be an anomalous planetary rendezvous, and that the six planets in the constellation Taurus would coincide with the full moon, indicating that some major event would occur on the day. Hess, on the other hand, believed that in late April and early May 1941, Hitler was doomed. In order to save Hitler and restore peace in Germany, he had to go to the fuehrer for the fire.
Louis DeVol knew all about this and decided to go along with it. Devol managed to suggest on a false astrological chart given to Hes that 10 May was an auspicious day of the zodiac in Scotland for peace, and vaguely implied that Hess should contact the Duke of Hamilton because he was a Conservative who maintained close ties with the British court, often dined with the king and prime minister, and was said to have had a significant influence on the british government's decision-making. Rumors of this also emerged at an astrology conference in April. An astrologer predicted that on May 10, 1941, a major historical event would occur, and some great spiritual force would be unleashed on the planet, as did other astrologers. So, on the evening of 10 May, Hess flew a private jet to the Uk and parachuted down in Scotland.
Hess's "defection" to Britain dealt Nazi Germany a severe political blow. Hitler was furious. The Gestapo organized a "Hess Operation" that arrested hundreds of people, many of whom were astrologers. In June 1941, Martin Bowman ordered that activities such as astrology and fortune telling be banned.