This month is all about love, right? New loves, old loves, platonic, or even love for our furry friends. Perhaps one of the most consistent clichés associated with love is the idea of “star-crossed lovers” or “love being written in the stars.” THIS got me thinking about what else is written in the stars—horoscopes, baby! Now, I’m not the biggest believer in astrology. And from my limited learning I remember from Astronomy last semester, astrology is a little bit of a pseudoscience and not easy to understand, mainly because there are so many variables… much like the study of love. But I do find horoscopes and things in that realm (tarot and palm readings) to be interesting, but not something I put much concentrated belief into. Based on my birthday of May 7th, I know my sign to be Taurus and have heard musings about natal charts and other star-related analyses that exist. So I thought, maybe it’s time to analyze, excuse me—Hannah-LYZE—it myself.
And that’s exactly what I did. For each day of the week, Monday to Sunday, I read my Taurus horoscopes. I didn’t go into it with many expectations because I didn’t really know what I was expecting to find. I’ll let the week’s horoscopes speak for themselves, and then I’ll share my final thoughts.
Monday, February 4
DAILY: “Thinking philosophically about the state of the world is important, but don’t let yourself become overwhelmed by the scope of your thoughts, or the scope of the planet’s problems. Today, ponder your personal life. Search for deeper meaning, and develop some philosophies to live by. Also, focus on the people in your life and try to imagine what they’re thinking about. Doing this will make you feel as though you can make a difference.”
TRUTH: This first daily horoscope did hold some credence because I had been asked in my Sociology of Education course to consider which character from an educational ethnography I was LEAST like, hence the “ponder your personal life” part. And as for the “overwhelmed by the scope of your thoughts” part? Well, that’s just an inevitable truth I experience in my day-to-day life that I’m sort of relieved showed up in the star’s alignment, too.
LOVE: “Sometimes it’s nice to take the pressure off and stick to the familiar. Have dinner with your friends, or someone you’ve already gone out with a few times. This is a good time to relax and just be yourself, and not worry about making a good first impression.”
TRUTH: It was nice to see this horoscope mention having dinner with friends because one of my favorite parts of Monday nights is eating in the cafe with my roommate, Kaylee, after I get off work. We get to catch up after classes and do not “worry about making a good first impression” because our friend love has already been well-established.
Tuesday, February 5
DAILY: “This day is all about perspective, and apparently yours is a bit too narrow right now. Too much of what you see is what you want to see, and it’s time to widen your horizons. Push through self-imposed barriers, and encourage your friends to do the same—after all, it’s no fun being enlightened all by yourself! Go to a new place to hang out, or talk to someone from a different background. Remind yourself that the world is full of people who are just doing their best to be happy.”
TRUTH: The “time to widen your horizons” rang true for today, which was when I visited my Social-Cultural Anthropology class and looked at human nature in different contexts. Also, the “remind yourself the world is full of people who are just doing their best to be happy” was found when I got to our weekly Her Campus meeting—a place where I also find SO much happiness surrounded by like-minded girls.
LOVE: “Your dating life may seem slow moving, but romance could be lurking right around the corner. Be patient while waiting for Cupid to notice you. When the time is right, love will strike. In the meantime, have fun being single!”
TRUTH: I felt like many of these words (lurking, notice, strike), felt less loving and more leering. Regardless, my life is full of so many other priorities, so I will heed the star’s suggestion to “enjoy being single,” at least for now.
Wednesday, February 6
DAILY: “You got up on the right side of the bed this morning! It’s as if you have been shot out of a cannon—you’ll be so full of energy that you could cause some damage if you don’t carefully plan where you want to land. You have been developing a growing understanding of a certain sticky situation, and today you will be able to channel your energy to address it much more effectively than ever before. Use all your energy to diffuse a potential bomb in your social group.”
TRUTH: I’m not really sure what the stars had in mind when they mentioned the “sticky situation,” but I did “channel the energy” I gained from waking up and feeling like I was shot out of a cannon to celebrate Sarah, a good friend of mine, and her birthday.
LOVE: “How meticulous are you when it comes to putting yourself out there in the dating scene? Are you punctual for dates? Do you fuss over your appearance? Do you mentally nitpick over your date? Do yourself (and others) a favor and loosen up.”
TRUTH: This was spot-on because even though I’m really not putting myself out there, I do pretty consistently find myself feeling uptight and in need of a good unwind. Kind of going along with the “energy” from the daily horoscope, I got the time to “loosen up” in the birthday celebration for Sarah.
Thursday, February 7
DAILY: “Reaching out to help solve the problems of other people will help take your mind off of your own problems—and give you a much healthier perspective. Your situation is so much better than it could be, and today you need to appreciate that fact. Not everyone is as loved or as lucky as you. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Sometimes, it’s full of weeds. Volunteering your time in service of others will help you feel happier about your lot.”
TRUTH: This horoscope was full of good reminders about staying focused and grounded as I journey down my own life path; worrying about the greenness of someone else’s field would only sidetrack me from growing my own. But, I don’t really think this horoscope had much in the way of predicting what kind of day I was going to have.
LOVE: “You don’t have to wear hemp sandals and stop bathing to be earthy. In fact, it just means you value being uninhibited over sophisticated, and that can be a treat to someone who wants funky over refined.”
TRUTH: This one was just FUNNY to me, especially the “hemp sandals” because Minnesota was blasted with another winter storm today. I did like the idea it presented about being “uninhibited” because that really is something I strive towards in life, and whoever ends up falling for me will definitely need to appreciate “funky over refined.”
Friday, February 8
DAILY: “One person’s garbage is another person’s treasure—it all depends on your point of view. So when you have an intellectual or business discussion today, try to see things from another perspective. You are confident enough in your point of view to entertain the idea that you could be missing out on something. And opening yourself up to a new way of thinking is a healthy, mature thing to do. Plus, it will make you feel a whole lot better about yourself.”
TRUTH: Once again, this provided me with a good reminder to see different points of view to continue growing and evolving as a person. I think the “you are confident enough in your point of view to entertain the idea that you could be missing out on something” line was poignant and helped me establish that, “yeah, I do stand pretty firmly in my beliefs and POVs. What’s the harm in exploring other people’s perspectives?” However, today wasn’t full of many predictions on my day.
LOVE: “Being eccentric can sometimes work in your favor. Not everyone wants to spend their free time with a predictable, boring date. Your unique interests and personality quirks are a breath of fresh air. Revel in your wackiness.”
TRUTH: I think “revel in your wackiness” should definitely be one of my catchphrases or personal mantras this year. Much like my daily horoscope, this one just encouraged me to embrace my eccentricities but didn’t enlighten me on when, or how I’ll meet the person who wants to entertain all of them romantically.
Saturday, February 9
DAILY: “Are you getting tired of putting a lot of effort into a relationship with a powerful person who isn’t giving you much in return? You are being considerate, but that behavior is not being reciprocated—that’s a fact. Do not let yourself be intimidated. Standing up to this person will not create a series of power struggles. He or she may have the power—but you deserve to be respected. Making that clear will only earn you respect.”
TRUTH: I couldn’t really find a way to connect this to my daily life because I very rarely find myself in positions of confrontation. However, the “do not let yourself be intimidated” serves as a reminder for life in general.
LOVE: “Power struggles never lead to happy endings. While being right might be important to you, the bigger issue is whether you can admit mistakes. Friendships should never resemble epic comic book battles. Put your pride to the side.”
TRUTH: Admitting that I struggle with admitting mistakes feels like a good start for this Saturday. In life, I could definitely strive to being more transparent with my failings in relationships (of all sorts) because we’re all human. This day was probably also one of the most cohesive in terms of messages in my daily and “singles love” horoscope.
Sunday, February 10
DAILY: “If you are feeling a little out of sync with one of your friends today, it’s probably just your imagination. Yes, there have been some major changes in this pal’s life, but that does not mean that she or he thinks of you any differently—or that your relationship has to shrink in any way. Get in some real quality time to give yourself confidence about where you stand with this person. Be respectful, and you will be respected.”
TRUTH: At the tail end of this week, respect was a big recurring theme. I’d considered most of my friendships very sold and not prone to “out-of-sync” feelings. I did appreciate the suggestion to “get in some real quality time to give yourself confidence” because Sunday is always a day of rest and revitalization for another week ahead.
LOVE: “There’s no need to go solo to an event today just because you’re dateless—call up a good pal to join in on the fun. They’ll appreciate the invite more than you realize.”
TRUTH: With Sundays serving as a day of rest like I just mentioned, the only event I really found myself attending was dinner in the caf… with friends, so it was an optimal time to “join in on the fun” and recount stories of our fun weekend—together.
So, what did I think about this little star-studded experiment I did all week? I thought it was a really, really, REALLY good way for me to take stock of how my days were going rather than just going through the motions. Reminding myself to look up my horoscope every morning set a routine that helped me accomplish writing this article, but also it was interesting to get a little insight to how my day “could” go.
However, with that being said, I don’t think there was 100% accuracy in my day-to-day predictions, nor do I think it was completely far-fetched. I don’t think I’m turning in my horoscope skeptic badge anytime soon, but it was surprisingly nice to find that my days and my life path were being affirmed, loose as they may have been.
Overall, my daily and singles love horoscope gave me valuable reminders about well, values. Themes like respect, self-reflection and self-love were present a lot, and it helped me practice mindfulness when it comes to making myself a priority, even if it was just a few minutes to study what the stars had in store for me that day. I encourage other people, whether you’re super into horoscopes or on the fence like me, to seek some guidelines from the zodiac sometime and get a little “star-crossed.”
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