Louis de Wohl was a German-born Hungarian astrologer and British citizen who became a key figure in Allied black propaganda during [[World War II]]. He was one of the most high-profile astrologers in the Western world, with admirers including [[Lord Halifax]], Britain's Foreign Secretary, and the Duke of Alba, the ambassador from [[Spain]][^1]. De Wohl's mission in America, in the summer of 1941, was to elevate astrology into the realm of "astro-philosophy" and, more importantly, to influence American public opinion in favor of aiding [[Great Britain]]. His syndicated American column, "Stars Foretell," consistently emphasized the Nazi threat. Starting in June 1941, shortly after the [[Rudolf Hess]] affair, de Wohl's predictions became unusually specific and appeared to come true, such as his foretelling of a "strong collaborator of Hitler who is neither German nor a Nazi will go violently insane," which was followed by reports of Admiral Georges Robert, the Vichy High Commissioner of the French West Indies, going mad[^1]. His escalating popularity led the [[Federal Communications Commission]] to lift its ban against astrologers and air an exclusive interview with him. He was also the first astrologer filmed for a U.S. newsreel. However, de Wohl's successful American career was a product of [[British Intelligence]], specifically through its operational arm in America, the [[British Security Coordination Office]]. His so-called manager was none other than the spymaster [[William Stephenson]], whom [[Winston Churchill]] famously called Intrepid. The [[American Federation of Scientific Astrologers]] and its 1941 convention had been fabricated by [[MI6]]. The British spy agency would first feed information to de Wohl for his column, and then feed this bogus information to the U.S. press, which, unable to fact-check with [[Nazi Germany]], would report it as real[^1]. De Wohl's efforts were effective in swaying public opinion away from U.S. isolationist views. A declassified memo from Stephenson noted that "An ever-growing audience [is] becoming convinced of his supernatural powers"[^1]. This operation was coordinated with [[William Donovan]], who would later head the [[Office of Strategic Services]], the precursor to the [[CIA]][^1]. After the Japanese bombed [[Pearl Harbor]] and the U.S. declared war on Japan, and [[Adolf Hitler]] declared war on the United States, de Wohl returned to England[^1]. For the next few years, de Wohl was used by the Allies as a countermeasure to [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s use of astrology and the occult. Under the direction of master propagandist [[Sefton Delmer]], de Wohl wrote seemingly authentic astrology charts that predicted the demise of certain Nazi admirals and generals, and stated that [[Adolf Hitler]] would be betrayed by his inner circle. These fake star charts and horoscopes were included in near-perfect replicas of a banned German astrological magazine called *Zenit*, intended for underground distribution in Germany. However, these counterfeit magazines were seized by the [[Gestapo]] in [[Stettin]], as detailed by [[Wilhelm Wulff]] in his memoir *Zodiac and Swastika*[^1]. ### Footnotes [^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.