What is astrology? Are our zodiac signs actually reliable? Do these ancient mythological concepts have any truth to them?
Leo, Libra, Aries and Aquarius—we all know our own sign. Our signs are determined by our date of birth, and they come with a predetermined set of behaviors and personality traits.
The sun sign is what most people associate with when discussing their Zodiac signs. It determines your ego, identity and general path in life. It is also at the core of our being and therefore what we most strongly identify with.
Additionally, we also have a moon sign, and something which is referred to as our rising. The moon sign rules our emotions while our rising sign is how we supposedly present ourselves to others. These more specific signs are determined not only by our date of birth, but the location and time of it as well.
But, is there any truth to these seemingly unfounded ideas?
It is important to note astrology is not a science. Looking up to the stars to search for answers, predictions and signs has been part of humanity for thousands of years, but there is no real validity to it.
Astrology is often incredibly generalized and not testable, as said by the University of California, Berkeley.
“In the few cases where astrology has been used to generate testable expectations and the results were examined in a careful study, the evidence did not support the validity of astrological ideas. This experience is common in science — scientists often test ideas that turn out to be wrong,” UC Berkely stated on their website. “However, one of the hallmarks of science is that ideas are modified when warranted by the evidence. Astrology has not changed its ideas in response to contradictory evidence.”
Astrologists argue our horoscope is like our fingerprint, given how a proper horoscope is unique and individualized. Horoscopes are not scientific and are not our destiny, they are mere potentialities; how we use the information derived is our own prerogative.
There are seemingly endless online platforms that can provide you with your horoscope. Astrology.com offers personalized horoscopes by the day, week, month or year! However, it is hard to look past glaring generalities, for example, in 2019, my Horoscope claims that “old passions are reignited, and new prospects appear on the horizon.” Evidently, these are contradictory statements that could mean anything, in any sector of my life.
Astrology has persisted through thousands of years of history because of its entertaining factor and humanities’ insatiable curiosity for the unknown. While not all Geminis are two faced and not all Taurus’ are reliable, some people, either coincidentally or not, identify strongly with their sign, no matter the science.