Jillian Augustine, Arts Editor
@JillAugCourant
Senior and active astrology believer Lexie Soro (predominantly Aries) uses astrology differently than the typical quick scroll-through of a horoscope. “I check my horoscope everyday. I tend to check it towards late afternoon or evening in order to allow myself the chance to connect it with things that have happened throughout my day and sometimes to even help me make sense of situations,” Lexie said.
While the strategy of using astrology to reflect on the day rather than predict is unique, she’s not alone in this deeper application of the stars—anonymous Junior (Sagittarius rising) also finds a different way to consider the universe. “I tend to use the description of my sign to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses. I see these as things that I can build upon to better my life.”
The truth is, astrology goes alot deeper than simply projecting how your day-to-day will go because of your specific sign. In fact, you’re actually not just one sign at all. Lexie said, “There are many different factors other than your birthday that determine which signs you represent, which also means that you are not usually only one specific sign.”
These different factors are expressed on something called the “Wheel of the Zodiac”, which is a visual circle that includes all 12 signs, with the 4 elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, occupying the center. Lexie said, “Through using this wheel you are able to find which zodiac sign you most occupy opposed to others. This is where the misconception comes in that you are an individual sign based on only your birth date.”
The typical sign that horoscopes are based on is called a person’s “rising sign.” However, there are many other signs that make up a person’s full astrological profile. One person can have a different sign placement for every planet, as well as the sun and the moon. These factors are all based on the date, time, and place of your birth. Occupying multiple signs in different zones means that you have certain traits from each of your signs. For example, you may have the practicality of a Taurus rising, the emotional security of a Cancer moon, and the short attention span of a Gemini in mars; all contributing to your overall personality!
When it came to her own traits Lexie said, “I do find a lot of similarities with the description of a general aries and there have been many times where my daily horoscope seems to be crazy accurate.”
For senior and Libra rising Olivia Barden, however, astrology is not such a big part of her life. “I don’t think that the movements of extraterrestrial bodies can have such an impact on the daily lives of humans- if they do, then all of our findings about sensation and perception would be false.”
Olivia, while admitting to occasionally scrolling through her weekly horoscope, says that when she does, she often finds them to be, “full of generalizations that could apply to anyone.” Olivia says that while she believes people can find connections to their beliefs and lives through astrology, she personally prefers not to read them.
When it came to the general characteristics associated with each trait, Olivia said, “I think that I do fit the characteristics of a Libra, but since I’ve known about my sign since I was little, I think I definitely just associate myself with being a Libra now more than if I had just read about it.” This is the case of many people, including myself, who will sometimes read through a horoscope, but not truly take to heart or believe what the words are saying.
Our anonymous Sagittarius first got involved in the astrology world because of their mother’s influence. While they ride the fence of believing and not believing, they said, “I don’t necessarily believe in horoscopes, however I do believe my mother who is usually very in tune with the universe.” This demonstrates their belief in a connection between the universe and worldly happenings, however, they are not a firm believer that one’s sign dictates who they are.
However, they did find some connections between the explanation of their sign and their personality. “I’m a Sagittarius and I think that reading what my sign means can tell me a lot about my strengths, which correlate. This helps me use these strengths to help me reach my goals,” they said.
There is clearly a lot of debate over just how strongly, if at all, one’s birth details and the movements of the stars affect their personal lives. Personally, I air more on the side of the aforementioned junior.
I believe that the universe affects the happenings of our earth. I think that the sun, moon, stars, and planets, all of which are celestial bodies, move in ways that influence humans. There is a lot out there, and so much that science has yet to uncover or find correlation between. I don’t like to think that the earth is out here alone while literally astronomical things are happening outside of us.
But at the same time, I don’t believe that the date, place, and time of my birth directly affect who I am. I relate to Olivia’s viewpoint in this way, as she said that she disagrees with the notion of, “being assigned your signs and having faith that it describes you.” I would much rather create and discover myself as a person than feel compared to the type of mold that the signs give you.
In the end, similar to what the anonymous junior said, “Having beliefs in different spectrums is great, and it can give you a bigger view on life.”
Lexie believes that naivety to the actual profoundness of astrology is why many people label themselves as non-believers. She said, “though it is not a topic some people want to explore and I respect that decision, I encourage nonbelievers to go online and find a website that will give them their birth chart, and then determine whether or not they still don’t believe in it.”
Like Lexie, I encourage you all to open your computers and do some research on your own birth charts and how they interpret you as a person, and then make your own decision on whether or not you believe in astrology.
