Evangeline Adams was one of America's most famous astrologers in the early 20th century. She popularized astrology through her books and radio show. Adams developed a technique called a "new horary" that utilized the transiting ascendant to turn the client's natal chart and read it. This allowed her to provide quick astrological forecasts without needing an exact time of birth. The document describes how Adams would have used this technique to accurately predict details of the 1899 Windsor Hotel fire in New York City and the outcome of the 1926 boxing match between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey.

1. Evangeline Adams' Horary Technique
by Karen Christino
Copyright © 2002 Karen Christino. All rights reserved.
Evangeline Adams (1868-1932) was one of America's most famous astrologers. Born on
February 8, 1868 at 8:30 a.m. in Jersey City, New Jersey, Adams had the strong Uranus
and Aquarius placements found in so many astrologer's charts, as well as many
placements in the intuitive sign of Pisces. From her New York City studios in Carnegie
Hall, Adams served an exclusive clientele. She popularized astrology through her four
books and 1931 radio show, making the general public aware of astrology as an
important topic of study for the first time. Adams claimed to have predicted the famous
Windsor Hotel fire in 1899, one of the worst disasters the city had yet seen. She was tried
in a New York City court for fortune-telling in 1914, but was found not-guilty, with the
judge stating that she raised astrology quot;to the dignity of an exact science.quot; Adams was
thought to have helped men like J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab amass their vast
fortunes, and, indeed, she had forecast not only the stock market crash of 1929 but also
the United States' involvement in World War II.
How did she do it? In Adams' 1927 autobiography, The Bowl of Heaven she told of many
of her achievements, but shied away from discussing most of her techniques in any detail.
And her 1930 book, Astrology, Your Place Among the Stars stuck only to the basics of
chart interpretation.
Adams' New Horary
Evangeline felt that her main contribution to astrological forecasting was a method which
she referred to as a quot;new horary.quot; Here she utilized the transiting ascendant, turning the
client's natal chart so that the current ascendant was rising, and reading the turned chart.
This method is quick and easy, as there is no need to erect a full horary figure. And it
served well in cases where the client had no time of birth. As it is a simplified method,
it's well to note that Adams felt it only worked for current concerns, or the immediate
future. And yet, in utilizing the client's chart as an integral part of the new horary, it
seems logical that the answers given will be well suited to the native's feelings about the
situation at hand.
This excerpt is from The Bowl of Heaven:
Evangeline tells us in The Bowl of Heaven that the reading for Leland was done at about
8:00 p.m. on March 16, 1899, giving an ascendant of about 20 Libra. If we use the new
horary technique, things become much clearer. Evangeline would have turned Leland's
chart so that 20 Libra ascended, and read the new natal placements. Leland's Sun and
his ascendant-ruler Mercury thus fall in the eighth house, which would indicate heavy
emotional situations, and perhaps death, destruction, loss, or important financial issues.
Venus also rules the current ascendant, leading him right to the eighth. Leland's Mars

2. and Saturn fall in the turned fourth house, which rules the home as well as the end of life,
both of which interpretations apply to this event. These are all malefic planets and could
indicate difficulties not only for Leland, but for his family as well. The Moon and Jupiter
do fall in the seventh, promising publicity or helpful relationships, but we now know that
Pluto was conjunct the descendant, too, adding some kind of trauma to the picture.
But this was a lucky day for Evangeline, as she would leave unharmed and get much
publicity as a result of the fire. Transiting Jupiter at about 9- degrees Scorpio closely
trined her natal Uranus, beginning to form a grand trine with natal Jupiter. Transiting
Jupiter did square Adams's Mars as well, but this was a frightening and dangerous
situation.
The Tunney-Dempsey Bout
Fortune Magazine in October, 1930 said that Adams had known the outcome of the
Tunney vs. Dempsey heavyweight championship in advance, although, quot;she would not
spoil the bouts, however, by making her deductions public.quot;
Jack Dempsey had held the title since 1919. But on September 23, 1926, he fared less
well, as Tunney won the bout after ten rounds. Trines from transiting Jupiter, Saturn and
Uranus were helpful to Dempsey, but Uranus in his tenth house could indicate an upset or
sudden reversal.
Tunney had transiting Saturn and Neptune activating his natal Mercury- Jupiter-Saturn-
Uranus T-square at the time of the fight. Yet transiting Uranus made several excellent
aspects, also indicating a turn-about for him. Let's remember that we may not have
accurate birth charts for the fighters, and that Evangeline probably only had their birth
dates. Without complete information, there are many and conflicting indications, and it
would be tough to project the outcome of the fight. Certainly we wouldn't have been able
to see how clear-cut Tunney's victory would actually be.
In contrast, Evangeline's new horary technique is simplicity itself. Turning the boxers'
charts to align them with the contest ascendant of about 4 degrees Gemini, Gene Tunney
would have the Sun rising; Dempsey only had Neptune and Pluto rising. The result is
obvious: the Sun points to success and Neptune to loss. In addition, all of Dempsey's
planets are now placed under the earth, while Tunney has the Sun, Mercury and Venus
rising, with his Moon falling in the seventh house, giving them greater strength.
Notes
Adams' birth date is from A Genealogical History of Henry Adams of Braintree, Mass.
(ed. Andrew N. Adams, The Tuttle Co., Rutland VT, 1898), 1900 Census records and her
death certificate. The time is from The Bowl of Heaven (Dodd, Mead & Co., NY, 1926),
citing her father's diary.

3. Warren F. Leland was born on June 1, 1845 at 4:55 a.m. LMT in Londonderry, VT,
extrapolated from the chart in A Thousand and One Notable Nativities (L.N. Fowler &
Co., London). His obituary in the New York Journal-American, April 5, 1899 gives the
birth date.
The date and time of the Windsor Hotel fire, March 17, 1899 at 3:10 p.m. EST, New
York, NY, can be found in The World, NY of March 18, 1899, as well as many other
papers. Evangeline says in The Bowl of Heaven that Leland's reading was at about 8:00
p.m. the previous evening.
Jack Dempsey was born on June 24, 1895 at 5:30 a.m. MST, Manassa, Colorado.
Astrodatabank cites Sabian Symbols #264 but rates this quot;Dquot; data due to conflicting
reports.
Gene Tunney's birth date is May 25, 1899 at 8:00 a.m. EST, New York, NY.
Astrodatabank cites Tunney for the source of the data and rates it quot;A.quot;
The famous Tunney-Dempsey bout was held on September 23, 1926 at 9:45 p.m. EDT,
Philadelphia, PA, according to The New York Times of September 23, 1926.
Karen Christino christino@starmail.org