Is it just bullshit or can astrology serve our self-knowledge?

As you may have noticed from my first blog post, I like to talk about those things everyone hears about, but that leave many people feeling skeptical. Astrology is one of them. Even if it has been around for millenniums, it has only become popular again a few years ago. Ever since, it’s been dividing the public, with the astrological fans on one side and the detractors on the other. It seems like only few people stand in the middle, and don’t have a strong opinion on this topic. Whether you believe in it or not, it’s interesting to have a look at it, to understand to which extend it can be considered being a self-knowledge technic.

HOROSCOPES VS. ASTROLOGY

The first point that needs to be set straight, is the differentiation between horoscopes and astrology. It happens often that I mention my interest in astrology, and that my interlocutor starts contradicting the possibility of foreseeing the future. The thing is, foreseeing the future doesn’t have much to do with astrology. It is simply called a horoscope. The latter is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as:

“A description of what is going to happen to you, based on the position of the stars and planets at the time of your birth”

On the other hand, astrology is:

“The study of the movements and positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in the belief that they affect the character and lives of people”

What those two definitions tell you, is that astrology is the entire science field, while horoscopes are simply one possible application of astrology. Whether horoscopes are legitimate or not, is not really the question. What is interesting about making this distinction, is that it can help you perceive the real self-knowledge potential behind astrology. Astrology provides you a list of signs, that are supposed to present common traits, making it possible to better understand someone’s behavior. In this sense, astrology appears to be a personality types model like the MBTI is. But is it really as simple as that?

THE BIRTH CHART

The birth chart is not something many people know about. The common belief is generally that the sign we all know about, the star or sun sign, is the only sign someone has. If you were born on the 24^th of December, like me for example, you are a Capricorn, and when you were born on the 1^st of April, you are an Aries. In reality, everyone is many signs at once.

Astrology doesn’t really depend on the day you were born, but actually on how the sky was on the precise moment and at the precise location you were born. Therefore, everyone has a unique birth chart that looks like something like this:

It looks complicated, right? Well that is because defining an accurate astrological profile is a complex task. I definitely cannot read this chart, because I am not an astrologer. I can simply give you the following example. Apart from the sign you know, the star sign, you also have a moon sign and a rising sign. To make it easy, imagine you are a house. The rising sign is the front of the house. It’s what every gets to see from the outside. You star sign, is the inside of the house. It is only reachable for the people you let in. Finally, your moon sign is the basement. It’s crucial, as it’s the foundation of the house, but it’s hidden from everyone. Those three signs are only the most well-known one, but the birth chart is composed of so much more information, that will add more depth and nuances to your original “main” sign, the star sign.

What all of this tells you, is that astrology is complex and cannot be reduced to twelve personality types. That’s why the argument of “why would people born on the same month have the same personality? It doesn’t make any sense” is not accurate.

Another worth-knowing aspect of astrology is that, as I said, a birth chart is based on how the sky was on the moment you were born. However, it’s not possible to imagine someone staying the same as the day they were born for their entire life. So many factors will make us evolve throughout our life: education, cultural background, external pressure, experiences, traumas and so on and so forth. That explains why, even if you wanted to, it is not possible to 100% rely on a birth chart. By definition, there will be differences, always.

ASTROLOGY AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE

So now that we’ve gone through all the disclaimers regarding the correct use of astrology, we can go back to our original question: “is it just bullshit or can astrology serve our self-knowledge?”. Well it can, but it doesn’t have to. No one has to believe in it. I personally do not believe in it. I use it as a tool, that sometimes helps, and sometimes doesn’t. Just like any other self-knowledge tool I know about. It’s also possible not to use it ever, and it’s fine. Whatever you feel comfortable with is the answer. When it comes to self-knowledge, it’s really important to gather a set of tools you understand, and that mean something to you. It is the most personal journey you’ll ever go on and so it’s necessary for it to be shaped to you, and only you.

Now, if after making some more research on the topic of astrology, you decide to add it to your toolbox, let me give you one little advice first. When you use another personality types model, like the MBTI for example, you usually find out about someone’s type as you get to know them. You first get interested in the person and by doing so, you are able to understand which type they are. However, with astrological signs, it’s the opposite. You simply need to ask someone when their birthday is, and you can instantly put them in a box, before actually getting to know who they are as a person. This can be very unhealthy and cause you and the other person prejudice. For example, if there is one particular sign you seem to like less than the others, and you meet someone that has this sign, you’ll be more likely to get defensive and not very open-minded. This is obviously not how it should work in human relationships. And considering what you now know regarding how complex someone’s birth chart is, you know it would not be an accurate judgement anyway.

I hope this article enabled you to make your own opinion regarding astrology and self-knowledge. Whatever you decide, whether to use it or not, you should now be able to make your choice knowingly. Like everything it can be a great tool, but only when you know how to use it and mostly, when not to use it.

If you want to know more about astrology, how it works and how it emerged historically, I encourage you to watch the dedicated episode of “Explained” on Netflix. It provides a fact-based overview of this topic in only 20 minutes, so I strongly encourage you to check it out.

Please let me know in the comments below: have you ever used astrology on your self-knowledge journey? How? If you haven’t, did this article make you want to try? If not, why?

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And until then, take care!