Whenever I meet a new person, one of my first instincts is to ask them for their zodiac sign. Most of the time, people will say their sign with the added: “whatever that means” or: “what does that say about me?” However, few people feel the need to give snarky remarks about how astrology isn’t real and therefore it shouldn’t be read into. This is a message to those people, from a Scorpio (with a Pisces moon and Scorpio rising, in case you were curious).
Astrology and zodiac signs are not meant to be used as an excuse for poor behavior. The idea that people will “blame it on their sign” is even frowned upon within communities of astrology lovers. The reason this is so commonly used is because of stereotypes that are presented on social media. For example, Geminis are “known” for being two-faced, scorpios are known for being mysterious, and pisces are known for being sensitive. Although this is what these signs might be known for, it does not sum up a person’s whole personality, nor does it excuse saying something rude behind your friend’s back.
Some of you may be thinking, “well if these stereotypes aren’t always true and not every person from every sign acts the same, then what’s the point of using someone’s zodiac sign as a defining characteristic?” I’m so glad you asked. Take a second to ask your parents what time you were born, because there is much more to your astrological sign than just your sun sign. Your sun sign is the one defined by whatever month you were born in. For example, if you were born from April 19-May 20, your sun sign is a Taurus. While your sun sign is often the most linked to your astrological chart as a whole, it is not necessarily the most defining. You also have a moon sign, an ascendant sign, a mercury sign, and many more. Each sign is linked to a different part of your personality, all depending on the exact time, day, and year you were born. If you take the time to learn your chart, you might find you connect more with something other than your sun sign.
The concept of automatically not liking someone because of their sign is pretty naive, which is why a lot of real astrology lovers won’t be caught doing it. Your sun sign may be a Leo, which would give me a bad vibe at first, but you could still be an amazing person because of other factors of your chart. Very few people will automatically dislike someone just because of their sun sign, although we still may joke about it.
Whether astrology is “real” or not, it’s overall a fun way to connect with people based on their chart, especially if it’s someone you know little about. Reading your horoscope every day can also be comforting to a lot of people, sometimes you just need to hear that you were destined to have a bad day today, but tomorrow is destined to be better. So please, stop giving snarky comments if someone asks what your sign is, they just want to get to know you a little bit better.