A Sceptic’s Guide to Astrology

I’m currently a glass-and-a-half of mead down (apologies for any typos), struggling to find a topic for today’s blog I’m not in the mood for a listicle but I am in the mood for some tipsy, stream-of-conscious meandering, maybe? So today I’m going to share my musings about astrology.

I’m writing this as Mercury is in retrograde - if you’re an astrology girly, pray for me.

Time for a disclaimer: whilst I know more than your average person about astrology, I am not an expert. I’m also sceptical about astrology, so if you are a die-hard astrology nerd, don’t come for me. I have hardly any fire signs in my chart and I will cry.

What Is Astrology?

I’m guessing you probably know your sun sign - I actually shared my “big three” (sun, moon and rising) in a previous post in the 31 Day Blog Challenge. But what is astrology really? It’s a way of predicting what is going to happen in the world or in the life of a person using the positions of the planets in relation to the earth.

It’s not just the sun, either. It’s the moon and all of the planets, including those not visible with the naked eye, depending on the type of astrology you’re using. There are also the zodiac signs and the houses. To be honest, I do not understand the houses and I’m too tipsy to try and understand right now (mead is strong stuff, y’all).

It should also be noted that there are multiple types of astrology, including tropical astrology (a.k.a. western astrology), vedic astrology and Chinese astrology. I’m focusing on tropical astrology for today.

The History of Astrology

I see astrology as the granddad of astronomy, and for that it holds a special place in my heart. Since antiquity, humans have been mapping the stars and planets, trying to glean meaning from their patterns and positions. As the age of enlightenment dawned in the 17th century, the principles of astronomy were called into question.

The 19th century saw a revival of astrology in popular culture, with the rise of Spiritualism and New Age philosophy. Today, astrology is most commonly seen in sun sign horoscopes in newspapers and magazines.

Just for funsies, here’s my horoscope for today, curtesy of cafeastrology.com:

It's not easy to fine-tune your approach precisely the way someone else in your life wants you to behave, dear Aquarius, and today's Venus-Mars square tends to highlight imbalances. Passions run high, and you could feel caught in the crossfire. Your best bet is to tap into your frustrations and harness the excess energy for creative inspiration. Consider that impatience itself is likely what's tripping you (and others) up more than anything under this temperamental influence. A stand-off could be what pushes your feelings into your awareness. Still, it would help to consciously tame impulsiveness now. Watch that you don't hyper-focus on a particular desire that, when attained, is not truly satisfying. It's likely only a distraction from what's truly at the heart of discontent. As the day advances, practical news, tidbits, and advice can circulate, and you feel on top of things. Your feet are on the ground, and this is a powerful and empowering feeling.

Yeah, I have no idea what that’s getting at. Let’s move on.

How Astrology Works

According to believers, the power behind astrology comes from the principle of correspondence; the symbolism of what’s happening in the heavens corresponds with what’s happening here on earth. This often translates as the movement of the planets effecting our tangible reality.

A good example is Mercury Retrograde, where the planet Mercury appears to move backwards in relation to the Earth (because of orbital physics I cannot explain right now). Mercury rules communication, travel and technology. Ergo, when Mercury is in retrograde, astrologers expect their cars to break down, miscommunications to occur and technology to play up.

All of these things have happened in my life since Mercury went into retrograde on the 18th of July; the printers and shredder at work stopped working, J and I had communication problems with some tradesmen doing our loft and there have been multiple delays on our tube line into central London. But I personally think these aren’t necessarily down to Mercury effing things up.

My Theory of Why Astrology ‘Works’

Have you seen the picture of the face on Mars? Or Jesus in a piece of toast? Remember when Apple needed to invent Smart Shuffle, because Shuffle wasn’t random enough?

Humans are pretty good at pattern recognition. And I think astrology plays on this in two ways. The first way most sceptics are probably familiar with - sun sign horoscopes like the one above are vague enough for people to project their own life experience onto. They project the patterns they see onto their own lives with the help of confirmation bias.

But there’s another layer.

You see, many people would agree that their sun sign doesn’t fully describe their personality. In ‘proper’ astrology, there’s so much more information. Every planet in the solar system, along with the sun and moon, is placed within a zodiac sign. An each planet rules over different things. Venus, for example, rules over love and relationships. The Moon rules over your inner world and emotions. Each zodiac sign has its own elemental correspondence, which have different qualities.

Then there are the houses which rule over different aspects of life, like career and familial relationships.

Then there are aspects between the planets, which can be favourable or detrimental.

Then there’s the fact that planets are at home in some signs and in their detriment in others.

Let’s use me as an example. My Sun is in Aquarius in my Third House; the Sun is in its detriment in Aquarius. My Sun is also in opposition to my Jupiter. Do I know what that all means? No. But that’s a lot of information about the position of one planet. Take all the planets into account, and you can easily find a pattern that fits with your perception of your life. Don’t quite match up with you Sun sign? Well that’s because it’s interacting with this planet/sign/house.

Does It Matter?

Here’s the thing, and this is purely my opinion. I don’t believe in much, but I believe in the power of belief. As long as you’re not harming yourself or others, I think you can believe in whatever helps you live your best life. And I say that without sarcasm.

Do I believe in astrology? No. I find it way too deterministic, for one. For another, I’m a space nerd, so I can’t fully get over the fact that Mercury Retrograde is just an optical illusion cause by orbital physics and general relativity. The thought that my destiny was decided by the time and place of my birth fills me with anxiety. But if it makes someone else go out a chase their dreams in this late-stage capitalist hellscape, more power to them.

I might hire some carrier pigeons for the next few weeks, though. Just in case.