Astrology

If there's a demonstration that's sure to be crowded tomorrow at Howard Community College's High Tech Learning Expo, it's the laser show by physical science professor Russ Poch."

"Madame Soleil," 83, France's best-known astrologer, whose forecasts were broadcast nationwide for decades, died Sunday in Paris.Germaine Soleil reputedly advised President Francois Mitterrand and other public figures but never revealed her clientele. She began her career with a carnival stall and went on to launch a call-in astrology show in 1970. She became instantly famous.From 1970 to 1993, she gave forecasts on national radio. She retired from Europe 1 in 1993 but continued to give astrological forecasts over the Minitel, France's popular online service.

When Gustav Holst completed his most famous musical composition back in 1916, his listeners grasped immediately that they were hearing something that was literally and figuratively out of this world.For in "The Planets," the magnificent, seven-movement orchestral suite, the British public heard a remarkably expressive work touched by astrology, Eastern mysticism, classical mythology and the modern world's impending fascination with outer space.Local concertgoers will be able to enjoy their own interplanetary musical encounter this weekend at Maryland Hall as conductor Gisele Ben-Dor and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra present "The Planets" in performances at 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow.

It may or may not have been because the planets were in perfect alignment when Julia Lupton Skalka sat down at her computer and began writing, but her newly released book, "The Instant Horoscope Reader," has found astronomical success.Nearly 4,000 of the first 7,500 copies of the book have been sold since its release last month. Julie Paxton, publicist for Llewellyn Publications, said the book will be reprinted within six months.The book was also featured for the holidays in Walden Books' "Preferred Reader," a mailing the company sends to customers.

New face in the crowd: The American edition of Marie Claire, the popular French magazine, premieres for September/October.Is there room for yet another fash mag on the stands? Yes and no. Competition for the stylish reader keeps editors jumping and job hopping, and that tends to keep content fresh and interesting. Hearst Magazines, which had great success in resurrecting the moribund Harpers Bazaar, is targeting Marie Claire at the broader audience.It's more hot than haute with generous helpings of location photos, fashion hints and plenty of sex -- "Adultery do's and dont's," "Men.

Venice, Calif. -- Dennis Reid, an astrologer along this beachfront strip of tarot card readers, spray-paint artists and street comedians, inserts a disc into his laptop computer, pulls up the chart of O. J. Simpson and scrolls to June 12, the day his former wife was murdered."

MOSTLY HARMLESS. By Douglas Adams. Harmony Books. 277 pages. $20.DOUGLAS Adams' 15 minutes of fame as the author of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series came to a close years ago. Why, then, should he suddenly add another installment to the humor/sci-fi story when he's moved on to more ambitious projects?After reading "Mostly Harmless," the series' fifth book, it seems plausible that Mr. Adams simply needs the money. Although the book definitely has its moments, Adams has apparently grown bored and cynical about the entire concept.

As fans of Calvin and Hobbes know, the ever-resourceful Calvin recently tried astrology in his unceasing efforts to get his way.Although his horoscope said the time was right to implement his "key policies" (no bedtime, no homework, no baths), Calvin's mom wasn't buying it. But some parents do buy into astrology. They say it's helpful in figuring out their own little Calvins and Calvinettes.Gloria Lochrane, for example, periodically consults with Maitland, Fla., astrologer Kelly Lowe about the Lochranes' 11-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son."

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- For expatriate urban dwellers who have long believed that the future was in the suburbs, now comes evidence that this is true, perhaps beyond their wildest dreams.And like most things in the suburbs, the future is available at the mall. Nothing flashy, no thunderbolts, no Steven Spielberg. Just a few tables, perhaps booths for privacy, and eight or 10 astrologers or psychics to help the earthbound see beyond the horizon.But like most good malls and anything as vast as the future, organization is needed.

NEW AGE spirituality, America's pop religion of the 1980s, may be on the decline.According to a recent poll, only 28,000 Americans identified themselves as devotees, whereas as late as 1989, J. Gordon Melton of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, Calif., estimated that 25 percent of the U.S. population was involved in some aspect of the New Age movement.The truth, I suspect, lies somewhere in between. The level of participation in New Age spirituality, however, is difficult to gauge because of its elastic nature.