Tag: astrology

Small Steps: astrology is ok, actually

Everyday I wake up to an increasingly bizarre and cryptic notification from my Co–Star astrology app. Today’s message was a simple, “Are you starting shit?”

I don’t think I am. I’m barely starting the mundane things I need to do, let alone stirring any sort of proverbial pot. Should I be starting shit? Maybe this was a call to disrupt my typical routine and do something more impulsive than my typical bed-to-desk-to-bed quarantine routine. Maybe Co–Star wanted me to engage in some sort of civil unrest, shake up the system a little bit. Regardless, it got me thinking.

Astrology is often proclaimed to be pseudoscience; simply New Age spiritualism packaging itself as fact. That is, of course, to the dismay of astrologers who never claimed it was a science to begin with. This argument assumes that for something to be useful and impactful, it must be scientific in nature in the first place.

Many also argue that leaning into astrology and horoscopes is harmful, since they make it seem like our lives are predestined and we have no control over our actions. In this view, those who follow astrology must believe they are all fully guided by the stars, unable to control their impulses to act due to whims of planetary motion.

While I am not one for disregarding the idea of free will and skepticism, I think this notion is pretty flimsy. Are there not a myriad of forces in our world that limit our freedom to act as we truly wish? We’re born into a slew of conditions that form who we are and who we can be, for better or worse. Race, nation, year of birth, sex, family and more shape who we turn out to be. So are the stars really the system we need to question?

Additionally, astrology doesn’t make us more removed from human impulses; it could actually help bring us in dialogue with them. It’s human nature to view yourself as a sort of “main character” in your life and to have trouble truly understanding the complicated idiosyncrasies of others. There’s even a word for the phenomenon of realizing that all the people you pass by have lives just as extensive as your own — sonder.

Astrology could help fight this impulse. By knowing that all people have detailed charts showing how they love, how they fight, how they think and how they dream, it reminds us that everyone is just as complex and flawed as we are.

The current age is filled with uncertainty and insecurity, from a pandemic to contentious elections to economic downturn — It’s no surprise that people have decided to turn to a belief system to help guide them. There are many more dangerous paths to go down when looking for answers to life’s big questions than downloading Co–Star or hiring a chart reader. Astrology is a belief system like any other, and your ascription to it is as personal as what religion you may or may not follow — and that won’t change no matter how much people tear it down.

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

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Opinions

Why is it so hard to change your mind?

It’s Tuesday and I’m hanging out with a close friend. She’s going on about her boyfriend, who’s acting like such a Gemini. I roll my eyes. She tells me she wishes she were dating a Scorpio, because they would be much more compatible. After a few minutes, I snap.

“Horoscopes aren’t real!” I yell.

She stops talking and looks at me. Her eyes soften as if she understood what I meant. Could this really be? Had I really gotten through to her?

The short answer is no, absolutely not.

“That’s exactly what a Capricorn would say,” she said, seemingly amused. Discouraged, I place my head on the desk.

Alright, let’s unpack this scenario.

You might think that I’m right and that the idea of horoscopes are “hippy-dippy” or fake. On the other hand, you might be frustrated, and think that my friend is the correct one – I truly am a textbook Capricorn.

Whether it’s a debate about horoscopes, a television series, or a political opinion, these types of discussions happen daily.

We are constantly facing different points of view, yet our own opinions often don’t change. One of the reasons for this could be explained by the concept the backfire effect.

This term was coined by two researchers, Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler. Craig Silverman, a writer for Columbia Journalism Review explains that the backfire effect is when, “your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.”

Essentially, debunking myths or trying to convey a message to someone with an opposing view can often cause the exact opposite response that you’d expect.

Nyhan and Reifler conducted an experiment where they wrote inaccurate news articles about political topics. Once a participant read the inaccurate article, they were immediately told to read the corrected version.

One of the fake news articles falsely stated that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. Even after they corrected it with a second article, people who supported the war sunk into their belief of the first article. People that were against the war easily believed that it wasn’t true.

It’s simple; humans don’t like being wrong. Typically, in a discussion, we are hesitant to lean in and listen to what the other person is saying.

In today’s political climate, there are certain discussions and arguments that dehumanize and disregard the human rights of the topic at hand. There are a lot of systematic and historical reasons for societal issues such as racism, xenophobia and sexism. It’s truly impossible for one single term, like the backfire effect, to define all the patterns in society.

That being said, it’s important to challenge our instincts. Often humans have too much pride to do this. To go back to my small example, if I were to listen to my friend when she talked about horoscopes, I would likely learn something interesting.

If, after one or two conversations, I wasn’t completely sold on the idea, it’s still useful to learn about this other perspective. Perhaps I would learn that horoscopes hold an important part in her life, help her understand her environment and very often reflect her reality.

Although it’s not always possible, there is a value in taking a break from being the hard-headed humans we have evolved to be. To fight against the backfire effect, we need to relinquish our defensive instincts, let our guard down and listen carefully to the evidence that’s being shared.

Capricorn- out. 

Photo: Brittany Clarke.

Categories
Student Life

Debunking astrology as a pseudoscience

Courtesy of Valeria Gonzalez

With the sudden rise of Astro-enthusiasts, “what’s your sign?” has become a popular conversation starter. The stigma attached to astrology has receded as the practice has grabbed a foothold in online culture — especially for young people. Though it has been destigmatized over the last couple of years, skeptics still argue that the planets cannot influence our behaviour nor cause significant life events. 

As an astrologer of five years, and also as someone who is incredibly interested in physics and psychology, I couldn’t agree more with this idea. I began questioning astrology and became fascinated with finding the real correlation between stellar and planetary phenomena, and the human being.

When looking at your birth chart, an astrologer can see all projections of your life; it’s the window to your essence. To picture your chart, think of a pie cut in 12 slices, one slice for each zodiac sign. Every slice represents a different aspect of your life and is called a “house.” In astrology, planets, constellations and their locations in our “houses” are of great importance, since every position holds a different meaning. The first house rules appearance. The second house rules how you deal with money, property, and possessions. The third is communications, fourth is all things domestic, fifth is romance and creativity, and so on. 

Perhaps you have encountered a horoscope that, in theory, should resonate with you, but doesn’t. Why is this? Astrology explains that an individual is not only one sign, but a combination of all the signs and planets with different polarities, aspects and degrees, all of which hold different meanings. 

Cave markings in Lascaux, France made during the Paleolithic period show that the first celestial patterns observed were the changing positions of the sun as our days turned into nights. Also observed were women’s menstruation cycles, which correlated with the moon’s cycles, both of which last 28 days. The first developed astrological scriptures can be found under the name Jyotisha, within the Vedas — a collection of hymns and ancient religious texts written in India between 1500 and 1000 BCE. With time, astrology made its way to the Western world, the Greeks, and the Babylonians, and thus western astrology was born. 

Western astrology differs from the Vedic one because it considers the discovery of the Precession of the Equinoxes, which is the astronomical concept that shows how constellations move one degree every 71.5 years, meaning that the original astrological zodiac signs are now purely symbolic. This symbolism and the meaning behind it is what sparked the interest of 20th century psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung. 

Mentored by Freud and a friend of Einstein, Jung was inspired to research the metaphysical field to see if it could help him with his patients. He is considered to be the father of synchronicity, and coined the term when he noticed the correlation — but not causation — of lunar patterns and women’s menstrual cycle. 

Einstein’s theory of relativity is what ultimately got Jung to consider the relativity of time, space and their psychic conditionality, and led him to write his thesis on psychic synchronicity. He discovered that, by trying to judge astrology by real-world rules, we ignore the fact that synchronicity occupies a different space. There is a part of the world that we can’t see, a realm of reality that doesn’t consist of material things, that consists of non-material forms. 

Jung concluded that, in the same way that the moon synchronizes with but does not cause the female menstruation cycle, celestial conjunctions are but a mere reflection and a great example of how everything is connected; everything is in sync. Planets and constellations are archetypes — a collection of the basic themes that make up our human lives. They are components of the human psyche that are found in the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious is a part of our unconscious mind that derives from ancestral memory and its experience is common to all humankind; history repeats itself, and our ancestors noticed. From this, all the archetypes found in astrology, Tarot, Runes, and all the other metaphysical divinatory practices were created — it’s all the same concept.

The human psyche is a self-regulating system like the human body. It strives to maintain a balance between opposing qualities while simultaneously actively seeking its own personal development. 

Despite what popular mainstream astrology pages say, these archetypes do not define you or cause any significant or minor life event, good or bad. It is your free will and the choices you make in life that ultimately determine who you are. The real purpose of astrology is not to impose personality traits. With your natal chart, you will realize that your goals become clearer because you can figure out exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie. It is the blueprint to your path to success and individuality.

 

Graphic courtesy of writer.

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Opinions

Are horoscopes helpful or hogwash?

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.

Astrology might not be foolproof, but it can help people understand each other’s behaviours

I’m an avid believer in astrology. I am a proud Libra, and I would like to think horoscopes are not as ridiculous as some claim they are. I am not fully versed in the planetary alignment that astrology is based on, but I do believe a person’s star sign can explain their behaviour. Certain traits can easily be spotted, if you pay close enough attention.

A Libra is a natural born leader, with an affinity for balance and an uncontrollable need to please people. According to Astro, a website that describes astrological signs, an Aries is dramatic, emotional, assertive, impulsive and, most importantly, kind-hearted. A Virgo is democratic—some might say a control freak, but that is just part of their love for order and organization. Geminis are as secretive as they are blunt. The list goes on.

I can see why some people would consider astrology to be fictitious, as it has no scientific basis nor is there much accuracy when it comes to astrologers’ predictions. At times, a Capricorn can read something about a Sagittarius and relate to it just the same. Many readings and sign characteristics are inconsistent. Daily horoscopes might speculate about your day, but there is no certainty in what astrologers predict to be “a day full of opportunities” or an “eventful evening.”

If you were to unknowingly read a horoscope that was not yours and apply it to your life, only to discover it was not intended for you, this might reinforce your belief that horoscopes are nonsense. However, in an age when we are taught to tolerate beliefs and religions based on books that may as well be fictional, I don’t understand why astrology is considered hogwash by some people. In some ways, astrology is similar to religion, in the sense that it is not 100 per cent accurate yet millions of people believe in it.

Astrology is a peaceful form of spirituality, exploring human behaviour and psyche. Some might even draw parallels to psychology—after all, psychology’s main purpose is to understand the complexity of human beings and the reasons for their actions. Astrology attempts to answer such notions as well.

I understand why this could be deemed pathetic or ridiculous. I can almost hear the skepticism: “How the hell can you understand why I act the way I do because Mercury, ruled by Mars on the left of Jupiter, says so?” I agree that a person’s sign does not always explain their motives or behaviour. Yet, if you’re a believer in astrology like me, general descriptions might make you wary of certain signs, such as blunt Capricorns or intense Scorpios. I normally don’t like to generalize, but based on subjective experiences with these signs, these two are oftentimes rough around the edges and hard to handle.

Star signs do explain to me why a person might act the way they do, and how one should be aware of certain reactions. Many types of science are based on facts and observations of the world around us. But I believe these sciences are also based on interpretations of the world around us. Whether it’s mathematics, astronomy or physics, I believe such theories would not be born without thorough interpretations of the world and beyond. So why shouldn’t astrological reasoning be taken as seriously as scientific reasoning?

Astrology has been dubbed a “pseudoscience,” according to The New York Times, because it’s not as detailed or factual as other scientific fields. I believe certain things in life cannot be completely explained through science and factual evidence. Some things are beyond the socially constructed definition of reasoning. The belief in astrology, and its depiction of a person’s personality, might seem far-fetched with no theoretical or scientific framework. But the same could be said about most religions. On the brightside, at least astrology never started wars! Just don’t leave an Aries and a Gemini alone together.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

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