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Interview conducted in June 2003 with ank the creator of the Theory of Eight (TO8).

ank is the pen name of Andrew Kennedy, a philospher and poet who has recently published his epic poem The Jade Suit about Taoism and China with Gravity Publishing. You can find this beautifully produced illustrated book at click here and also on other on-line bookstores. From his original researches into Taoism he produced translations of the two Chinese classics I Ching and Tao Te Ching soon to be published by Gravity Publishing under the title Unravelling Silk. He also writes stories about the remote faming community in Basque Country where he lives, one of which can be read in the recent collection Death Dance click here edited by Trevanian.

AW: So when did you create the Theory of Eight (TO8)

I laid out the foundation to the Theory in the early 80s. All though I have been writing more and more about it, in the twenty years since I first sketched it out during a couple of days, I have found no need to alter the original conception or change the scheme.

AW: So what's different about this TO8? After all, you use the date of birth. It's just astrology isn't it? And nobody believes in astrology.

Belief doesn't have much to do with it. We are not talking sacraments or voodoo dolls here. There's a story told about one of the founders of quantum theory, the physicist Niels Bohr, who had a horseshoe hung on a wall in his office. Visitors would be very put out about a scientist and logician having a such a superstition. But he would say, I understand that you don't have to believe in it for it to work. My system doesn't require belief for it to work. There are, by any calculation, more than a billion people on the planet reading astrology predictions a day. I doubt they are all believers, so what are they doing? They are searching for a means to understand themselves and their lives. They are looking for clues, information they can work with. Belief is not a necessary factor in the process.

You said, 'it's just astrology.' Well, it depends on your definition. The TO8 uses only the movements of the sun as they are experienced here on earth. It has nothing to do with the moon, stars and the planets. It's based on how humans may have evolved in response to the seasons. Its set of axioms have nothing to do with astrology. It's about the human personality and the finite differences that exist between humans. It's not about the influence of the universe or mysterious forces of creation. It's logical, simple and useful. It gives us a real handle on what we are really like.

AW: So how did you come up with all this?

Why did I do it, or where did my inspiration come from?

AW: Both

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