How legitimate are astrology and horoscopes

 

Many of us scavenge our way through the newspaper, magazines and books in search of our daily/monthly/yearly horoscopes. I know I personally find myself reading up on my star sun and my friends interested in how their horoscopes or star sign pair up with their true identity. I am almost always amazed by the accuracy of these statements and I excitedly want to read more. Being so nieve, I rarely doubted what I read and felt they seemed very legitimate. Over the summer I took an astronomy class and my view on astrology was swayed when my professor briefly discussed horoscopes saying they were all fake. He explained how they were purposefully written in a way that could apply to any person regardless of what their “sign” was. Since then I have questioned horoscopes and astrology and wondered how legitimate it all really was.

Horoscopes are based on the study of astrology. For starters, astrology is the study that the astronomical universe affects our human events. Astrology and astronomy are two very different studies (astronomy is the study of celestial objects). Within astrology, it is believed that elements such as the sun, moon, planets and constellations affect human and earthly events. Astrology has a deep history rooting back to ancient cultures of Asia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Astrology dates to the 2nd millennium BCE as it was used in such cultures to “predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.” These concepts of astrology were combined with other areas of study including astronomy and meteorology but near the 17th century the legitimacy of astrology shifted to fallacy as “new scientific concepts in astronomy and physics called astrology into question.”

Although astrology started to decline in accuracy from this point onward, it still remains to be a popular “study.” People, especially in the western world, keep the popularity of astrology alive. I feel the term astrology simply sounds official and is very similar to the actual science of astronomy therefore people are easily fooled to believe these generic horoscopes and personality assessments. The concept of astrology is very appealing to people because it is basically like a fortuneteller that provides people with a glimpse into their future. In actuality, it is impossible to depict the future but people continue to be fascinated with these illegitimate horoscopes.

Here is a very interesting article about an “astrologer who realizes astrology isn’t real.” If you have a few spare minutes, check out this YouTube video that summarizes the truth about astrology. Finally, one more blog post giving insight to the truth about astrology

astrology

3 thoughts on “How legitimate are astrology and horoscopes

  1. Karly Grace Kneidinger Post author

    I really like your outlook on horoscopes. I believe if we read them knowing that it won’t happen word for word, but have a little faith and optimism towards them then that can encourage us to apply it to our lives and make individual progress. Thank you for your insight! @zrl5024

  2. Julia Hall

    I was actually just thinking about this today because I can across my horoscope online. It’s hard to believe that horoscopes actually predict your future so it makes sense that all of the paragraphs written under your sign can relate to pretty much anyone. I think alot of people read their horoscope and subconsciously or maybe even consciously do things so that it follow their horoscope.

  3. zrl5024

    Interesting confirmation that astrology isn’t real, but I feel that instead of people basing their lives off of horoscopes and their signs, they should be used as a guide for insight. By believing that you resemble the qualities of that individual of a particular month, you can get to know yourself better and weed out your best and worst qualities. We all have similarities in our personalities since after all we are all human, some of us exhibit those traits more or less than the next person. By reading these horoscopes can give people motivation that something good is to come and to keep on trekking. Of course there is the issue that it can be false and misleading, but what’s life without a little optimism. Better yet if you believe in something you will very likely attract it since perception is reality.

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