KUWAIT, Jan 3 (KUNA) -- Academic figures have cautioned the public against astrology programs being widely aired on satellite television stations and of the astrologers ' deceptive means of baffling those of weak faith and lacking sensible logic.
Dr. Khodor Yaroun, a psychology professor at Kuwait University, said in an interview with KUNA astrology programs attract many viewers due to diverse reasons such as deep sense of defeat, ignorance, worry, fear of future, the inability of expression or change.
This phenomenon has spread on a wide-scale, he said noting that the media and the press dedicate special promotion to astrological programs, in addition to the publication of magazines and books on such illogical speculations and anticipations.
Astrologers are generally distinguished with special charisma and capacity of influence and some refer to themselves as doctors, astrological or spiritual scientists, and tend to mix up between astrology and parapsychology.
Many people glue themselves in front of the television sets on eve of the new year and scan various channels, anxious to try foresee their future through these programs, shown by such notorious figures.
Dr. Amthal Al-Huwailah, a psychology professor at the Sociology Faculty at the university, said many people tend to get attached to supernatural and superstitious issues as a result of boredom, mental or spiritual emptiness.
Such a phenomenon encourages people to tend to be more dependable and some turn quite idle to the extent that their passive attitude may lead to catastrophic consequences, she added. "It is regretful that they pay hefty money to those who pretend able to read their future thus turning into easy prey for such deceitful persons who seek to earn money with illegal means." Dr. Ahmad Al-Sharif, information professor, said such programs have spread widely due to diverse psychological and social factors such as frustration and the sense of disability. "The inability to make realistic accomplishments nudge some persons to drift into a world of superstitions seeking any glimmer of hope." Astrologers make a lot of money from this effort-free craft of deception, he affirmed. - Kuna