Élizabeth Teissier (born Germaine Élizabeth Hanselmann, 6 January 1938) is a French astrologer and former model and actress. Between 1975 and 1976, she created a daily horoscope on French television channel Antenne 2, and in 1981, she launched the Astro Show television programme in Germany. Her personal clients included former President of France François Mitterrand, and she has published several books on astrology. A test that compared her predictions against common sense and chance failed to show any evidence of her having any special powers.
She has been involved in several controversies, including the award of a Doctorate in Sociology for her thesis which argued that astrology was being oppressed by science. Her work was contested by the scientific community; criticisms included the alleged failure to work within the field of sociology and also lacking the necessary scientific rigour for a doctoral thesis in any scientific field. The university and jury who awarded the degree were harshly criticised, though both they and Teissier had supporters and defenders.
In 2015, Teissier unsuccessfully sued the Wikimedia Foundation, claiming that the French Wikipedia article about her damaged her reputation.
Biography
Early life Born to a Swiss father and a French mother, she married André Teissier du Cros in 1960 and thus became the daughter-in-law of Janet Teissier du Cros.Biography of André Teissier Du Cros, at Éditions Harmattan.fr. She gained a Masters in Modern Literature in 1963Thierry Ardisson, interview with Élizabeth Teissier, from Tout le monde en parle on France 2, at 10 November 2001. and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature in 1992.
Career Between 1965 and 1975, she acted in a dozen films, including mainly soft erotic films, but also ones directed by Sydney Pollack (Castle Keep, 1969), Marcel Carné, Philippe de Broca and Yves Robert. She has also worked as a model, notably for Coco Chanel.ET in the Sorbonne: The creation of a doctor in astrology on Skepsis.nl, by Eric Hoogcarspel and Jan Willem Nienhuys
In 1968 she became a student of the astrologer Henri Joseph Gouchon on the advice of Federico Fellini. Afterwards, from 1975 to 2009, she had several astrological columns, presented astrology on television, and published pleas for astrology's recognition. From 16 July 1975 to 15 February 1976: Astralement vôtre or Interlude astral, daily broadcast on Antenne 2 (now France 2). April 1976: publication of Ne brûlez pas la sorcière (une défense de l'astrologie) (Do Not Burn the Witch (A Defense of Astrology)), published by J.-J. Pauvert 1977–2003: Astrology section in the magazine Télé 7 jours 1978–1979: Au Bonheur des astres, weekly show on Antenne 2 1979–1980: La Légende des Ciels, weekly show on Antenne 2 1980–1983: Astro Show: on ARD, ORF and SF in Germany, Austria and Switzerland On 1 February 2003, she began publishing in the weekly TV Mag, published by Figaro group.
From 1989, she advised the French President, François Mitterrand, who consulted her regularly at the Élysée Palace. Her advice covered both personal matters, such as his health, and matters of state such as the Gulf War and the timing of the Maastricht Treaty referendum. She released transcripts of their recorded conversations four years after his death. For example, he said, "You once told me there were days when it was better to talk, and days when it was better not to talk. When is the next best day for me to speak? Could you check for me?"
Filmography 1966 (uncredited): Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo ?,Filmweb.pl – Kim jesteś, Polly Maggoo? directed by William KleinNotre Cinema article on Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo ? 1966 (uncredited): Tendre Voyou,Filmweb.pl – Cast page for Kochany łobuz (a.k.a. Tendre Voyou) directed by Jean BeckerFilmweb.pl – Main page for Kochany łobuz (a.k.a. Tendre Voyou) 1968: Young Wolves (Les Jeunes Loups), directed by Marcel CarnéHollywood.com credits list for The Young WolvesSwedish Film Database page on alternate titles for Young Wolves, by the Swedish Film Institute 1968: Faites donc plaisir aux amis directed by Francis Rigaudcinema.encyclopedie.films.bifi.fr page on Faites donc plaisir aux amis (click on the "Générique artistique" tab to see her listed) 1969: Castle Keep, directed by Sydney PollackBritish Film Institute page on Castle Keep 1969: The Blood Rose (La Rose écorchée), directed by Claude MulotBritish Film Institute page on The Blood Rose 1971: Frustration, ou Les Dérèglements d'une jeune provinciale, directed by José BénazérafSueurs Froides.fr review of Frustration by Philippe Chouvel 1972: Le rempart des Béguines, directed by Guy CasarilCinema-francais.fr page on Le rempart des Béguines 1972: Rolande met de bles, directed by Roland VerhavertUniverscine.beBritish Film Institute page on Roland met de bles 1973: A Slightly Pregnant Man (L'Événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la Lune), directed by Jacques DemyBritish Film Institute page on L'Événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la Lune 1973: Salut l'artiste, directed by Yves RobertAllocine.fr page on Salut l'artiste 1975: L'Incorrigible,Programme-tv.net: L'Incorrigible cast list directed by Philippe de BrocaAllocine.fr page on L'Incorrigible
Television astrology shows From 1975 to 1983, she hosted a series of television shows making astrological predictions: From 16 July 1975 to 15 February 1976: Astralement vôtre or Interlude astral, daily broadcast on Antenne 2 (now France 2).
1978–1979: Au Bonheur des astres, weekly show on Antenne 2 1979–1980: La Légende des Ciels, weekly show on Antenne 2 1980–1983: Astro Show: on ARD in Germany.Eteissier.com – biographie.
Astrological predictions According to Teissier, her predictions have a success rate of 80% to 90%.Cercle Zététique du Languedoc-Roussillon, Résultats du Match Teissier/CZLR sur l'année 2000, 2001. She claims to have predicted events such as the shooting of Ronald Reagan, Black Monday and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Circle Zététique of Languedoc-Roussillon, via a test conducted at the University of Nice from April 2000 to January 2001, argued that her predictions and random predictions by a computer yielded identical results.
A team compared twenty-two forecasts made by Élizabeth Teissier for 2000 to twenty-two forecasts by a group using a common sense reasoning, and twenty-two forecasts made by using a computer to choose random dates. The target was a minimum of 16 successes for Teissier (73%).
Results: Random choice: 8 successes Teissier: 7 successes Common sense: 7 successes. The experiment concluded that there was no evidence of Élizabeth Teissier having any particular gift, with common-sense predictions or even random chance having equivalent results.
Cancer prediction claims Teissier sparked controversy and denunciation in September 2007Mariella Madonna: «Elle raconte n'importe quoi» (Mariella Madonna: "She says anything") by Fabiano Citroni in Le Matin 14 September 2007; (copy). when she said, in an interview with the Swiss daily newspaper Le Matin, that "in an astrological chart, you can see if you have a predisposition to cancer, and the type of cancer in question" and that "astrology has never killed anyone, unlike medicine".Le Matin, 2 September 2007
Sociology thesis
On 7 April 2001, Elizabeth Teissier defended her thesis entitled Situation épistémologique de l'astrologie à travers l'ambivalence fascination-rejet dans les sociétés postmodernes ("The Epistemological Situation of Astrology in Relation to the Ambivalent Fascination/Rejection of Postmodern Societies"). Her studies at the University of Paris Descartes (a member of the Sorbonne University alliance), were under the supervision of Michel Maffesoli, an Emeritus Professor of Sociology.Jean-Paul Krivine, « Einstein et l'astrologie : une citation fausse qui a la vie dure », pseudo-sciences.org, December 2001. The central idea of the thesis was described by The New York Times as being that astrology is being oppressed by science, which Teissier called "official science" and "monolithic thought". Teissier argued, however, that her work is devoid of bias and had "focused only on the misunderstanding that astrology as a multimillennial knowledge vehicle" provokes. Her prepared statement was enthusiastically received by her supporters, but there was also a declaration from the editor-in-chief of Science et Vie Junior that what was occurring was a "farce". At end of the defense, the jury deliberated only briefly before Serge Moscovici admitted Teissier to her doctoral degree with the "very honourable" distinction.
The decision to award Teissier's doctorate was controversial, and several sociologists also publicly challenged its legitimacy.Cf. Christian Baudelot, Roger Establet, La sociologie sous une mauvaise étoile, Le Monde, 18 April 2001; a copy is available from homme-moderne.org.Cf., for example Alain Bourdin, La sociologie, l'antithèse de Teissier, Libération, 19 April 2001, and the articles published in the press review by the AFIS: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.Serge Paugam, La Pratique de la sociologie, Paris, PUF, 2008, p. 117; cf. également Gérald Houdeville, Le Métier de sociologue en France depuis 1945. The university was criticised for granting the degree, as was the jury, along with Teissier's statements in support of astrology as a science.
A petition signed by over 370 sociologists was sent to Professor Pierre Daumard, the President of the university; he responded that Teissier had complied with all university requirements and it is not his place to question the "guarantees of the scientific validity of the thesis" from the independent jury. Daumard also defended that astrology is a legitimate subject for sociological study for its impact on society, However, a group organised by the Association Française pour l'Information Scientifique (AFIS) described it as "not a thesis in sociology but actually pro-astrological advocacy". They concluded that Teissier's work did not meet the requirements of scientific rigor of doctoral research, regardless of the discipline in question.
Lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation In July 2015, Teissier sued the Wikimedia Foundation, saying the article about her on the French Wikipedia damaged her reputation, and required her to have the right of response. She lost the original trial and appeal. In June 2016, The Court of Appeal in Paris dismissed the case, stating that the Wikimedia Foundation had a technical role of hosting provider, and was thus not involved in the content, and that the remarks about Teissier fell within the limits of free criticism."L'astrologue Elizabeth Teissier perd son procès pour modifier Wikipédia", Thierry Noisette, Rue89.com, 21 June 2016.« Wikipédia : Elizabeth Tessier déboutée de sa plainte », Jérôme Ivanichtenko, Europe 1.fr, 22 June 2016.
Bibliography Ne brûlez pas la sorcière, Pauvert, 1970. Astralement vôtre : le triomphe d'une vocation, Laffont, 1980. Astrologie, passion, Hachette, 1992. with Henri Laborit Étoiles et molécules, Grasset, 1992. Les Douze Signes du zodiaque, Edition 1, 1993. Vos étoiles jusqu'en l'an 2001 : la conjoncture mondiale et votre horoscope année par année, Edition 1, 1993. Les étoiles de l'Elysée : astro-portraits, Edition 1, 1995. Sous le signe de Mitterrand, Edition 1, 1997. Le passage de tous les dangers : 1999–2004: à l'aube du troisième millénaire, un survol des influx cosmiques pour vous et pour le monde, Laffont, 1999. L'homme d'aujourd'hui et les astres : fascination et rejet, Plon, 2001. Votre horoscope 2009, XO, 2008. with Gerhard Hynek 2012–2016 : cinq années qui vont changer le monde, XO, 2011. Est-il votre Mars ? Est-elle votre Vénus ? : petit traité ludique de l'amour et de l'amitié, XO, 2013.
References
External links Materials on astrology at the website of the AFIS journal Science et pseudo-sciences (in French)