1. Biography
Evangeline Adams' life, spanning from her birth in a conservative family to her significant impact on astrology and her eventual death, was marked by personal changes and public recognition.
1.1. Early Life and Family Background
Evangeline Smith Adams was born on February 8, 1868, in Jersey City, New Jersey, into a conservative family. Her father died when she was just 15 months old. While her birth year is generally cited as 1868, public records indicate she may have been born in 1859. When she was arrested in 1923, she stated her age as 50, which would suggest a birth year around 1873. Such "age adjustments by women were an accepted practice in the period." Adams herself claimed that her paternal ancestors included the sixth U.S. president, John Quincy Adams.
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1.2. Personal Relationships
Before fully dedicating herself to astrology, Adams was engaged to a man identified only as Mr. Lord, who was reportedly her employer. Although she initially stated she was in love with him, her feelings reportedly faded, and the engagement was ultimately called off. In her later life, from the late 1920s to the early 1930s, Adams was known to be friends with Emma Viola Sheridan Fry, who was a teacher, journalist, playwright, and suffragist.
1.3. Later Life and Death
Evangeline Adams passed away in 1932, on either November 10 or 12. Notably, in 1932, she cancelled a planned speaking tour, reportedly predicting her own death. Towards the end of her life, she was also known by the name Mrs. George E. Jordon, Jr.
2. Astrological Practice
Adams built a successful career as an astrologer, transitioning from private consultations to widely accessible publications and facing legal challenges.
2.1. Development of the Consulting Business
For most of her professional life, Evangeline Adams maintained a thriving astrological consulting business, offering advice through both in-person meetings and mail correspondence. This business grew to such an extent that she employed several assistants and stenographers to manage the volume of client requests. Her clientele included notable figures such as financier J. P. Morgan, actress Mary Pickford, opera singer Enrico Caruso, and even Edward VII, the King of the United Kingdom, who reportedly visited her in New York. Adams' decision to publish books and increase her media presence came later in her career, further expanding her reach and influence.
2.2. Literary Works
Adams authored several popular books on astrology, contributing significantly to its public understanding. Her major works include Astrology: Your Place in the Sun, published in 1927, and Astrology: Your Place Among the Stars, released in 1930. She also published her autobiography, The Bowl of Heaven, in 1926. While she sometimes hired writers to assist with projects without giving them public credit, she is formally recognized as a contributor to Aleister Crowley's astrological text, The General Principles of Astrology.
2.3. Collaboration with Aleister Crowley
Evangeline Adams employed the occultist and author Aleister Crowley as a ghostwriter for a period of one to two years to assist with her astrological books. Their professional relationship eventually became acrimonious, leading to copyright disputes, particularly concerning Crowley's work The General Principles of Astrology. Adams claimed to have contributed to this book, which sparked a controversy over the true authorship of various passages. The dispute was ultimately resolved with the book being primarily attributed to Crowley, but Adams' specific contributions were formally acknowledged, a resolution that satisfied the estates of both parties.
3. Legal Challenges
Evangeline Adams' astrological practice was subject to legal scrutiny, leading to multiple arrests and a landmark trial that significantly impacted the public perception of astrology.
3.1. Arrests and Acquittals
Adams faced arrest three times in New York City for charges related to fortune-telling: in 1911, 1914, and 1923. At the time, practicing astrology for business was technically illegal, though the enforcement of such laws was not always strict. Despite these arrests, all legal cases brought against her were unsuccessful.
The trial in May 1914 was particularly notable and received extensive media coverage. Rather than simply paying a fine to be released, Adams chose to contest the charges, viewing the public attention as a valuable public relations opportunity. During the trial, she avoided making specific predictions like other fortune tellers. Instead, she meticulously explained the complex calculations of astrology, demonstrating its basis in astronomy, and presented her readings as discussions of "potential possibilities" rather than absolute prophecies.
The presiding judge was notably impressed by her defense. He reportedly acquitted her of "all wrongdoing" and praised her skill after she provided an astrological reading describing the character of his son based solely on his birth data. The judge's rationale acknowledged that fields like phrenology and criminal anthropology, once considered scientific, might have been dismissed as fortune-telling in an earlier era. He mused that astrology and palmistry might similarly be re-evaluated and gain legitimacy in the future, particularly in light of emerging fields like psychology. Adams successfully convinced the judge that astrology could potentially be a science, not merely a form of fortune-telling. Following this favorable verdict, she leveraged the ruling to exaggerate its significance, asserting that she had elevated astrology to the status of a science, which greatly enhanced her public image and the overall legitimacy of the astrological profession.
4. Public Predictions and Controversies
Evangeline Adams gained a reputation for her public predictions, particularly those related to the stock market, though these were met with both acclaim and considerable criticism.
4.1. Noted Predictions
Adams achieved widespread recognition for several seemingly accurate predictions. One notable instance was her forecast of the Windsor Hotel fire on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which occurred on March 17, 1899, just a day after her prediction. She also reportedly predicted in 1931 that the United States would be engaged in a war by 1942. Furthermore, in 1932, she canceled a planned speaking tour, stating that she would die, a prediction that seemingly came true as she passed away later that year.
4.2. Criticism and Failed Predictions
Despite her reputation, Adams received significant criticism regarding the nature and accuracy of her predictions, particularly concerning financial matters. She was well-compensated by her clients, and she was widely believed to successfully predict changes in the stock market. However, author Carol Krismann pointed out that skeptics noted Adams lacked knowledge of economics, and her predictions were consistently vague, often foretelling general disasters without specifying details. Krismann observed that Adams would predict market upturns even during periods of already remarkable growth in the stock market. Believers, according to Krismann, tended to overlook her inaccurate predictions and focus only on those that coincidentally came true, using them as "proof" of her accuracy.
Her most infamous failed prediction occurred just weeks before the Stock Market Crash of 1929, when she declared that "stocks might climb to heaven." Investment analyst Kenneth Fisher criticized Adams, stating that her few successful predictions were heavily publicized, while her many misses were ignored by individuals desperate for belief. Fisher explicitly described Adams as an "obvious quack with no real investment knowledge." Thousands of subscribers to her astrological newsletter followed her advice to invest in stocks during the period leading up to the 1929 crash, often with disastrous financial outcomes.
5. Legacy and Assessment
Evangeline Adams left a lasting impact on astrology and public perception in the United States, balancing a reputation as a pioneering figure with significant critical perspectives.
5.1. Impact on Astrology and Public Perception
Evangeline Adams is widely acknowledged as "America's first astrological superstar." Her legal victories, particularly the highly publicized 1914 trial where she was acquitted of fortune-telling charges and even received praise from the judge, played a pivotal role in advancing the social acceptance and legitimacy of astrology in the United States. These court outcomes helped to shift the public perception of astrology from a dubious practice to one that, for many, gained a degree of professional respectability and curiosity.
5.2. Critical Perspectives
Despite her widespread popularity and influence, Adams' astrological practice was subject to notable criticism. Concerns were frequently raised regarding the ethics of her financial predictions, particularly given her perceived lack of expertise in economics. Critics, such as investment analyst Kenneth Fisher, openly accused her of being an "obvious quack" who possessed "no real investment knowledge." These critical perspectives highlight the ongoing debate surrounding the scientific validity and ethical implications of astrological advice, especially when it concerns significant financial decisions, a controversy amplified by her infamous inaccurate prediction before the 1929 stock market crash.