Lately I’ve been so out of whack, what with being a Taurus queen surrounded by Geminis and having Mercury in retrograde. Ugh. In all seriousness though, astrology has rooted its way into our pop culture in the form of memes and horoscopes, but it still gets a bad reputation despite how harmless and fun it is. After all, it’s hard to describe the unadulterated joy of getting together with girlfriends and unironically professing that you need to get yourself a Capricorn man and that you just can’t get along with Aries.
What most people are resistant to is probably how astrology presents itself as fact. Honestly, I’ll agree that it isn’t scientific; I don’t think there are studies that can prove that being able to guess someone’s sign is accurate or consistently possible. Furthermore, people are influenced by more than just one sign; they’re affected by all of them. It isn’t as clear cut as one might think.
The basis of astrology is that at your time of birth the position of the stars and planets are divided into 12 segments or “houses” that say something about you. This is your natal chart: a snapshot of the sky from when you were born showing the placement of the zodiac constellations (which are the different signs of Pisces, Gemini, etc.) and all the major planets (plus the sun and Earth’s moon). Each sign has qualities associated with it that influence the experiences of life the nearby planets represent — Venus, for example, embodies love and relationships. If you had Venus close to the constellation of Pisces, this could mean you’re a hopeless romantic.
The signs also affect the houses they’re located in, with each house representing a different area of life like your values or your self expression. In the end each person is influenced by every sign, since that constellation was somewhere in the sky when you were born, so relating to just one might not be so accurate after all.
To me, astrology uses archetypes (the signs) to encourage self reflection and development more than anything. It’s a tool to guide us, not dictate our lives. Even if you can’t completely relate to your sign, the archetype it represents will have something for you to learn from and identify with. From there you can choose to nurture certain traits or come to terms with unhealthy ones.
For example, I wouldn’t have pushed myself to pursue leadership opportunities as much as I have if I hadn’t delved into astrology. What I learned about my chart made me feel like I was a natural leader and that I should cultivate that and take more chances. Even if that wasn’t necessarily true at the time, I decided I wanted to incorporate more of that trait into my life until it actually became my reality. In a similar way, I also accepted that I was harbouring negative traits related to my sign. Coming to terms with your weaknesses is an uncomfortable process, and this might be another reason why some might be opposed to astrology; there might be an element of truth they aren’t ready to face yet. In my own experience, astrology led me on a path of self realization that brought these less-than-perfect attributes to my attention so I could work on them at my own pace.
If the lengthy description of a natal chart didn’t clue you in already, what’s also beautiful about astrology is that it has as much power, depth, and complexity as you want to give it. If you want to strictly talk about your sun sign (what everyone commonly refers to as “their sign”), have at it. That’s only scratching the surface for those curious enough to pursue further. There’s moon signs, describing your inner emotions, and rising signs, your general temperament, that really flesh out your overall personality. There’s also plenty of other unmentioned houses that describe everything from your perception of death to how you deal with financial affairs. Every individual is like a 12-course meal; we aren’t just made up of one dish. Humans are complex creatures that can’t be reduced to vague one-liners like some sites might advertise, and in a lot of ways astrology does well to reflect that if you look deeper.
If you’re someone who’s a firm nonbeliever in anything related to the zodiac, ask yourself if it’s solely because you think people take it too seriously. Maybe there’s an uncomfortable truth to be learned from it? Maybe you didn’t know there was more than just one “sign” that influences personality? Who knows! Give it a try; you can have some light-hearted fun and learn something about yourself along the way.
Image: Kayt Hine/The Cascade
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
