An open-minded sceptic is how I describe myself when it is suggested that I might like to interview Ireland’s favourite astrologer Fergus Gibson. A familiar face on RTE television following his move from Radio 1 on the Gareth O’Callaghan show, he has now relocated to TV 3 and will be broadcasting for that station throughout their summer schedule. He also writes a regular horoscope column for the Irish Independent and Evening Herald newspapers. His regular clients who come to him for readings include show-business people, business figures, politicians and, as he quaintly puts it, “ordinary people like you and me.”

Before I meet the genial Mr Gibson I learn from a girlfriend with an interest in astrology that not only is he an astrologer of some reputation but also reads Tarot, is an accomplished reader of palms and crystals and also claims to be able to see the electro-magnetic aura that surrounds all living things.

His seaside home in North Dublin looks anything but a temple of strange practices. The walls are adorned with photographs of Gibson’s children and grandchildren, and it’s only when I look a little closer that I detect the porcelain phrenology skull, the gigantic crystal ball and the smaller crystals, candles and velvet baggies of mystery that nestle amid the conventional front-room bric-a-brac. We make ourselves comfortable around the kitchen table and he fixes me with an intense yet unintimidating stare. Most people will look away after a time, wary of becoming too close or invading a person’s psychic space. Fergus Gibson obviously feels no need to observe this earthly politeness.

STEPHEN ROBINSON: When did you discover that you had psychic abilities?

FERGUS GIBSON: I’d always known I could physically visualise the aura of people I was associating with, but when I was a small child I assumed that everyone could do this. I was born to my parents late in their lives, and was basically an only child since my siblings had departed. I vividly remember an incident when I was in junior infants and a friend of mine called Billy Gill arrived at school and looked to me to be surrounded by wisps of black smoke. Most people’s auras are soft rainbow-like swirls of colour that can alter rapidly with mood changes. When I arrived home I told my mother that Billy was sick and I might not see him again. She told me not to be so silly, but the boy died of an asthma attack that night. My mother was quite shocked, and after we talked about it I learned not to mention the things I saw that others never spoke about.

Can you see the aura all the time?

You’re asking me can I see yours, right? Yes I can. And I could teach you to see it yourself if you had some time. I taught my kids to do it for fun. Actually it’s not all that useful a skill since it’s really just a guide to mood which a perceptive person might pick up on anyway. Sometimes it amuses me in social groups to observe how the auras of people who have been sexually intimate with each other interact. Even the most accomplished at covering up a love affair have no control over their aura, which interact even if the people are at the opposite ends of a room. But then a trained psychologist could detect a ‘studied indifference’ in that same couple so it’s really not a big deal.

So what about my aura?

Generally you’re alert and slightly nervous. I see you value sincerity and loyalty. Today you’re relaxed because you have a task in hand but lately you’ve been alternating between confusion and acceptance.

That’s probably accurate but pretty general.

I could be more specific but I’m not sure you’d want me to be. I can see you’ve got two areas of pressure that cause you pain, one in your lower back and a lesser point across the top of your shoulders. They’re not bothering you today, though.

That’s absolutely true.

So what? Like I said, merely seeing the aura tells me some information that a trained physician might pick up on from your posture or whatever. I did teach my kids how to see it though, and you can tickle people’s aura over a distance. It causes a shiver as if someone’s walked over your grave.

When did you decide to choose astrology as a career?

I was always interested in astrology during my youth and my parents encouraged that interest. But initially I was a professional musician playing bass guitar on records by people such as Butch Moore’s Capitol Showband and Danny Doyle. In fact I played on the UK number one hit single ‘Whaddya Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?’ by Emil Ford and the Checkmates. We toured extensively in Ireland, the UK and Europe. I also worked in the US. It was very common to use session players even on top recordings. Later on, Kenny Clarke and Kenny Clare were two session drummers who regularly appeared on Beatles recordings such as ‘All You Need Is Love’. Because Ringo was a fucking awful drummer. It was an accepted practice.

Did you subscribe to the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle of the Swinging Sixties?

Yeah, to an extent we all did. It was a reaction against the ‘50s Ireland we had been born into. We’d pick up ready-rolled ‘reefers’ from the TV Club on Harcourt St. which the foreign medical students of the College of Surgeons would bring in, five for ten shillings, I think. Amphetamines was also very big, but once on a gig to Portstewart I was handed four ‘Bennies’ and dropped them all. I was nuts by the time we got to Drogheda: if I saw a dustbin it was the most beautiful dustbin ever! Plus I didn’t sleep for about four days and lost a lot of weight. It kind of put me off. It’s pointless telling kids nowadays to ‘Say No To Drugs’. We should educate kids, take them into James’ Hospital and show them the real consequences of making a bad choice.

What about sex in the ’60s?

The groupies had a pecking order that went from the lead singer, down through the drummer, lead guitar, rythym guitar, keyboards and bass. So I was last but I did okay. Girls would come to country gigs from up to seventy miles away, have some fun after the gig and hitch-hike home. But eventually that scene dried up and there was no work. I’d always read avidly about astrology and had been doing readings for friends for years so I decided to go to London to take the certification exam at the London School of Astrology.

First explain a little about the theory of astrology for me.

Astrology is an ancient Greek science that holds that the planetary influence that exerts upon the earth, the movement of the planets, also affects humans. The Greek word for wanderer is planet. The moon’s tidal influence is a scientific fact. Ask anyone who works in a mental hospital or a school and they’ll confirm that the full moon alters human behaviour at that time. There are twelve signs of the Zodiac, but by fixing an exact time and place of birth one can draw an astrological chart that is specific to the individual. In actual fact there are innumerable signs, but the number twelve has always had a mystical significance. Chinese astrology also has twelve signs; Jesus had twelve apostle, there are twelve months in a calendar year.

How is the moment upon which the influence of the planets impact upon us decided? Why not at the moment of conception?

The planets do exert an influence from the time we’re in the womb, but it’s generally accepted that by aligning the position of the planets with the specific time and place of birth using latitude, longitude and a planetary chart you can draw up a chart for an individual. There are actually thousands of signs but the twelve do demonstrate common characteristics. Ariens are generally go-getters; Librans are romantic but disorganised; Taureans are dogged. But these are guidelines, mere predilections. Geminis and Virgos are ruled by the planet Mercury, the planet associated with communication; you’ll find many actors and journalists with those signs. The same is true of other ruling planets. You can use your astrological chart to help you in your life, yet your star sign is unlikely to hinder you in a goal if you’re totally determined to take a certain action. Astrology can help you decide what the best time for taking a certain action might be, however.

Your exam at the London School of Astrology led to a meeting with David Bowie?

At the exam I was surrounded by students who had published books and studied at astrological institutes for years. I genuinely thought I was out of my depth. I profiled my anonymous client from the information provided and noted a creative, highly strung individual who was not governed by fashions and social considerations and also was experimental about gender issues. I suggested that he might be a musician or an artist. I came top of the exam class. The information was David Bowie’s.

Later I was at home when I got a phone call from a person who stated that Bowie had heard about my analysis and would like to meet me personally. I said ‘When?’ and they replied ‘Right Now’! Outside the window I noticed a limousine and sure enough, Bowie arrived for a private reading.

Did you manage to tell him anything interesting?

Astrologers are like doctors in that we can’t really talk about our client’s details, but some of what I told David is now a matter of record. I told him I sensed a fear in him of mental instability that was curtailing his creativity. I assured him that he was not in danger of problems in that area and he should cease to have concerns in that direction. It later transpired that a brother of David’s had suffered from schizophrenia and had died under the wheels of a train. This incident in his family led him to have false concerns about his own mental health which I think I helped him with.

You’ve had quite a few celebrity clients; any good stories to share?

Unless something is a matter of public record I can’t disclose a confidence. However I was contacted by Tina Turner who was very familiar with astrology and the reading was a disaster. She disagreed with just about everything I suggested and left convinced that the session had been a waste of her time. Among the things I saw for her was that she would change her accountant. I also saw her standing on the balcony of an apartment building looking down onto still water. She disagreed with everything. Some months later she contacted me to apologise. She had discovered that her accountant had been lax in several matters of business and she had since employed the Irish accountant Ossie Kilkenny. She had also acquired an apartment building in Amsterdam, complete with a small balcony overlooking the canal.

I remember also a consultation with Eric Clapton who, when I informed him that in Chinese astrology he would be classified as a Rooster, was surprised since The Roosters was the name of his first band. Garth Brooks was impressed with my reading with him and he presented me with a boxed magnum of Christal. I put it away for a special occasion and finally when I went to drink it I discovered my fucking kids had drunk it! I didn’t see that coming.

With Tina Turner how could you be so specific?

It’s impossible to explain the process. I’ve always had the ability so I’ve never questioned it. I do have a method, but every psychic approaches it differently. A psychic sees the future as a darkroom filled with obstacles where for a split second a light is flashed and impressions are formed. We can then give impressions, but never advise specific action. That must come from the individual’s spirit.

Can you predict a world event?

I refuse to do that nowadays because it’s become cheapened by charlatans who are not genuine psychics. I once predicted the death of a major popular music star though I couldn’t foretell whom. The date I knew would be Good Friday, 1998. On that date I was driving with my wife to Donegal quite late in the evening and she had mentioned earlier that I’d got it wrong. Then the news came over the radio that Roy Orbison had passed on, and I must have been the only music fan in Ireland who cheered that event. I felt badly about that afterward. I could tell you that the Queen Mother’s death will be shortly followed by the death of Princess Margaret, or that the Pope will die this year but these are educated guesses.

What is the attitude of the Church to your practices?

I have been accused in the past of practising the work of Satan, yet at this moment the remains of St Therese are being exhibited across this country. I don’t believe in miracles. If a person missing a limb might grow a replacement, that’d be a miracle. I operate in the realm of the human spirit, an inner power that all human beings posses. I have no problem with a belief in a creator, but I have major problems with the established church. I believe that the death of Pope John Paul 1 may have been linked to his liberal views. This man wasn’t discovered for sixteen hours after he’d passed on. If Madonna wasn’t seen for sixteen hours someone in her entourage would break the door down. I don’t acknowledge the ‘Catholic God with a son in the business’ idea. And Catholicism only recognised the existence of a soul in women in the 1500’s, before then women were chattels. While some Catholics criticise astrology, the tenet of their beliefs rests on the discovery of a messiah by three Persian astrologers following a star! If not for astrology we might never have had Christianity.

Do you believe that politicians might benefit from the use of astrology or other alternative sciences?

Perhaps on a personal level, but no, not in terms of policy. It’s a purely individual process. Hitler used astrologers, Reagan used astrologers, even Winston Churchill considered the advice of alternative scientists during the war but in my view that’s grasping at straws. I believe that the power of the planets, or the Tarot, or Palmistry or Scrying, also known as Crystal-Gazing, is of benefit only in the case of an individual who wishes to explore options with an open mind. It’s divinitive in a purely personal way.

But there are impressionable people who believe, for example, in the horoscope reports in daily newspapers?

People have to retain a personal responsibility. Most of those reports are so general as to be nonsensical. I have no hesitation in saying that they should be treated as just a bit of fun, even my own, though I do compile my reports on a daily basis using charts and time considerations. I admit it’s impossible to be anything other than very general when you’re dealing with such a broad scope. Worse again are the On Line phone-companies who employ people with only a little training with the sole purpose of keeping people on the phone. If people are serious about exploring Astrology or Alternative Sciences, have a private reading with an accomplished Astrologer, Reader, Palmist or Scryer.

How can you tell a genuine talent?

They shouldn’t ask you any personal questions at all. You should feel relaxed and comfortable. Also you should not be overcharged. Some Psychics and Astrologers can charge up to £100 for a consultation. I’ve had clients pay as little as £20. The common opinion of the public is that it’s mostly women who visit astrologers yet 70% of my clients are businessmen. And most of those would visit more than once a year.

What factors have led to the increased popularity of New Age therapies such as those you practice?

I’d dispute the phrase ‘New Age’ for a start. The Tarot, for example, is over 5,000 years old. But I do feel that people have become disuillusioned with established religions and are more willing to access methods which allow them self-exploration. The days when we could pass everything off as ‘God’s Will’ are long gone. People have seen that scientific exploration, political exploration and personal exploration can lead to real change and gain. Another factor is the de-humanising elements of modern life, rapid change, a feeling of being overtaken by events. People have begun to seek answers and solutions from within, which is what human beings originally practiced, by whatever means. Any discipline that gives people a personal responsibility for their actions and allows choice encourages.

Have you ever happened upon phenomena that you find genuinely inexplicable?

I find vast aspects of my work difficult to explain, but that in itself does not make them unusual. If something is physically happening and I can’t explain it, it’s because I don’t yet have the wisdom or knowledge to fathom it. Let me give you an example. Some years ago I was walking in the Mater Hospital area and felt physically compelled to move to a certain street. On the way, I clearly heard in my head the voice of someone in great distress. I stopped outside a house and was shocked and frightened to see a body crash from an upper window and hit the ground. I could tell it was a woman, bleeding profusely and carried her to the hospital where doctors were able to save her life. I later found she had been to visit her grandmother who was out and been surprised by a disturbed mentally ill male relative who was staying at the house. Whether she jumped or was pushed I don’t know.

On another occasion I was driving in an area of Dublin and I felt an iressistible compunction to travel in a completely different direction. I eventually stopped the car at a small close I’d never visited before and was greeted by the sight of a screaming woman who held a baby wrapped in a duvet. The toddler had swallowed caustic soda and as we drove to the hospital I could smell his flesh burning. He was saved by the prompt action of doctors. In both these cases, the parents were distinctly uneasy about my explanation for my presence at the scene.

You’re perhaps best known for your television work, yet you’ve recently moved from RTE to TV3. Why?

I became wary about RTE at the time when I was working with Gareth O’Callaghan doing very basic phone-in queries from listeners. Within weeks, we were generating approximately 800 letters a week and the impression I got was that the mailroom at RTE did not want the volume of work. The proportion of people who were writing must have been a minority of the listenership, yet RTE were displeased with the interest the items were generating. I got a sense of begrudgery that made me question the wisdom of continuing the slot. When I moved to Live At 3, I found that the bureaucracy at RTE meant a great deal of time wasted, and ultimately I decided to move to TV3, where I’m happy to say I’ve found my niche. I should say that the individuals I worked closely with at RTE were both talented and professional, but in my view the station is hamstrung by beaurocrats. That’s not been my experience at TV3.

I explained to you earlier that I’m open minded if sceptical about your work. Would you consider, for example, reading my palm?

Certainly.

(Fergus Gibson takes both my hands in his and commences immediately.)

The first thing I notice is your complicated and tangled love line. You’re governed by your physicality and find it impossible to override your physical desires even when you know that your life will be complicated as a result. The reason for this I see as an unresolved issue from childhood, when perhaps you were made feel inadequate or more correctly, made bear the brunt of another’s inadequacy or unhappiness. You have never forgiven yourself for allowing such a situation to progress though you are too proud to acknowledge that at such an age you had no way to remedy the situation. The fact that this situation has long passed and been resolved in your conscious mind does not change the fact that you have not dealt with its effect on your unconscious.

You are an untidy person, I bet your bedroom looks as though it’s been burgled. You see this trait as a character flaw and yet you do nothing to change it.

About two years ago you suffered an upheaval of some sort which has not yet been resolved.

For the future I see you moving into a more creative form of expression. I sense a change in location in the very near future, and a settling down emotionally. Your sincerity is evident and you place great value on honesty, yet you are occasionally insincere because of subconscious feelings of inadequacy. However, your genuine warmth and honesty lead others to pardon your lapses while you yourself remain guilty. Guilt is not an emotion; it’s an artificial state found only in humans. The time you spend worrying about what you can’t change saps your energy in other avenues of your life.

Stephen Robinson writes:

I leave it to others to assess how accurate a portrayal of Stephen Robinson this is. I was however in the process of moving house when this interview took place, a fact of which Fergus Gibson could not have been aware previous to our meeting. I admit to being still sceptical, but I’m a little more open-minded than I was prior to our meeting. If I start the book I’ll let you know…