Walter Berg (born 1947) is a British

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

, known for his system of a 13-sign

sidereal astrology '' Sidereal'' and ''tropical'' are terms used to describe two different definitions of a year, applied in sidereal solar calendars or tropical solar calendars. In astrology, they refer to two different systems of ecliptic coordinates used to di ...

(13), "a sidereal system that uses the actual star

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

of the true

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

". He has published several best selling books on

horoscopy A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an as ...

and

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

in Japan and has appeared regularly on

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

Biography

Berg was born Barry Parkinson in

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, Lancashire, England on 28 October 1947. Between 1988 and 1994 he wrote extensively for electronic repair manuals and produced course material for

science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

. In 1980, while studying and practising astrology Berg became acquainted with astrologer Jeff Mayo and collaborated with him on several projects while developing 13-sign astrology. In 1989 he began writing "The Evening Sky", a monthly

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

and

cultural astronomy Cultural astronomy, sometimes called the study of Astronomy in Culture, has been described as investigating "the diversity of ways in which cultures, both ancient and modern, perceive celestial objects and integrate them into their view of the worl ...

feature syndicated to local newspapers, schools, colleges, universities, and released onto the Packet Switched Radio Network. A monthly guest on BBC Eastern Counties and Three Counties Radio, independent Horizon and Chiltern Radio was the 'expert spokesperson' on numerous national radio and television networks.

13-sign astrology

Berg published ''The 13 Signs of the Zodiac'' in 1995, which sold well in the UK. ''The 13 Signs of the Zodiac'' was published in Japan in 1996 in a translation by radio host Mizui Hisami ( 水井久美), and the first edition sold out within days. Throughout 1996 Berg appeared each Monday on Fuji Television's Big Today programme networked nationally to an audience of nine million. During 1996–97 Berg wrote for major Japanese magazines and produced a weekly column in the broadsheet newspaper Sankei that he continues to write. Berg has constructed 13-sign profiles for many 'A’ list Japanese celebrities and politicians. In 1995 Berg proposed a symbol for

Ophiuchus Ophiuchus () is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constella ...

which has come into comparatively widespread use in Japan. The symbol looks like a letter U with a superimposed tilde. In 2009, it was suggested for inclusion in the Unicode standard as part of an

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...

extension. The symbol has been added to the Unicode Miscellaneous Symbols codepage (U+26CE ⛎) as of version 6.0 (October 2010). In 2008, he published (under Barry Parkinson, his birth name) a book combining traditional 12-sign horoscopy with the concept of blood group–based personality types popularised in Japan in the 1970s by

Masahiko Nomi Masahiko Nomi (能見正比古 ''Nomi Masahiko'', July 18, 1925 – October 30, 1981) was a Japanese journalist who advocated Takeji Furukawa's idea of an influence of blood type on personality. He was also known as a sumo essayist. History No ...

, resulting in a system of 48 personality types. He currently practises from

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, London, UK and

Shibuya-ku Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2 ...

, Tokyo, Japan.忘却からの帰還 Return from oblivion http://transact.seesaa.net/article/110187362.html.

Selected publications

United Kingdom

*''The 13 Signs of the Zodiac'', HarperCollins (1995) *''Your Brilliant Guide to the 1999 Total Solar Eclipse'', Sigma Press (1999) *''Your Universe and You: Your Brilliant Guide to the Night Sky'', Sigma Press (2000) *''Under Starry Skies: Tracing Our Cosmic Heritage'', uvshift (2001)

Japan

* 13星座の星占い (''The 13 Signs of the Zodiac''), Shodensha Co. Ltd (1996) * 13星座で本当の自分がわかる (''13 Zodiac: Personality''), Fusosha 扶桑社文庫 (1996) * 13星座・恋愛占い (''13 Zodiac: Love''), Fusosha (1996) * 天空の企て (''Voice of the Heavens''), Fusosha (1997) * 円卓の騎士占い (''Knights of the Round Table: Fortune''), Fusosha (2003) * キング・アーサーと円卓の騎士占い (''King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: Fortune''), Fusosha (2004), . * (as Barry Parkinson バリー・パーキンソン) 「血液型×星座占い」 48ランキングで本当の自分が分かる! ''

Blood Type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrate ...

× Horoscopes: 48 True Rankings, Understand Yourself!'', Fusosha (2008) .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Walter 1947 births English astrologers 20th-century astrologers 21st-century astrologers Living people People from Chorley