Above photo: Astrology was once in conjunction with astronomy, but it has been westernized to accommodate Facebook statuses and day-to-day life. Courtesy of Chris Lexow
By Whitney Elfstrom
Astrology and horoscopes: People think they’re fake or that they’re a fad college females grasp onto to explain why Brad is ignoring them or why they flunked their psychology exam.
They use it as an excuse for why they act a certain way one day and justify their mood or behavior saying, “My horoscope told me that I was going to have a bad day and, you know what, it was right.”
But, here’s the thing, the day-to-day horoscopes that pop up on Facebook or in Cosmopolitan are bullshit.
The study of astrology is not.
Astrology is the of study of planetary movements and cosmic events that take place in the universe and how they affect human life.
The Babylonians are credited with the birth of astrology and for over 2,000 years astronomy and astrology were considered the same science.
Horoscopes, on the other hand, are created by writers who have a loose understanding of the art, but in reality are just trying to tell readers what they want to hear.
I used to scoff at the idea that somehow the way the planets aligned were supposed to have some sort of affect on me. I would read a horoscope for one zodiac sign and realize that it could apply to most people.
But after going through one too many break ups with Geminis I started to think that maybe, just maybe, there was some truth behind this whole astrology thing. It’s pretty well known in the astrology world that signs next to one another in the zodiac line up are destined for failure due to the friction from the universe. As a Cancer, I can vouch for the Gemini/Cancer match gone wrong.
I looked into the different signs to see what they were all about. Typically when someone reads a horoscope it refers to their Sun sign, or the sign determined by the day and month when a person is born. The Sun sign is said to represent someone’s personality.
The pseudoscience of astrology goes further than that though. By factoring in the time and place of birth, a person’s Moon and Rising sign is uncovered. The Moon sign represents a person’s inner or emotional feelings while the Rising sign represents how a person perceives someone upon meeting them.
Basically that means a person can be a Cancer and a Libra at the same time. Once the different signs are figured out it’s easy to figure out why you might perceive situations in a certain way. Cancers are known to be moody and introverted while Libras are analytical and harmonious so the signs act together to create a balance within a person.
Now listen, I know that those who don’t believe in “this whole astrology thing” are probably rolling their eyes at this point, but we learn in grade school that the solar system is in constant motion. For those that believe everything in the universe is connected why would it be so crazy that the sun and the moon have an effect on our lives?
There’s more to life than just black and white, and astrology falls into that little gray area that is so often overlooked. I’ve met enough people that match the exact description of their sign. I know plenty of perceptive Pisces and several gregarious Gemini’s – the two signs’ most well known traits.
So yes, when you sign on Facebook and someone just shared a post about “signs as types of bread” of course people are going to roll their eyes and turn up their noses at the slightest mention of astrology. But, it’s an age-old practice that helps people find a deeper understanding of themselves and life.
