Thoughts on astology

A question I ponder a lot is whether I should take astrology seriously, or use it for fun and for my own learning adventures. I think a lot of thinking people may find themselves at crossroads when learning astrology: Well, astrology isn’t based off of concrete science, but why do I find through observation ( in myself and others ) that some of the characteristics are true?

I’m pretty sure there have been studies that have shown that people are not like their sun signs. I am not surprised by the evidence. I have seen some people who are just like their sun signs, but many many many more people who are not like their sun signs. In fact, I think my Sagittarius-ness comes out in 9th house ways. That is where my Sun and Mercury fall in.

However, I do not think that astrology can be disproved or proved when you look at the actual study of astrology. This means the natal chart in great great detail ( in which you can not take bits and pieces; you must look at in the WHOLE and see the connections ), progressions, solar returns, transits, and a bunch of other stuff, like solar arcs and midpoints. I honestly don’t even understand midpoints. And don’t forget synastry. That is why a Cancer sun guy and a Sagittarius sun girl can get along, but they have other things going on that helps them.

Someone asked me a question on one of my old posts about what I think about astrology and the scientific method. I just now saw it. Unlike Facebook, Tumblr does not notify me when any of you post on my blogs. Anyway, I think it would be easy to observe astrology by yourself and others. You can form a hypothesis, like about what aspects can predispose some people to eating disorders. What you’d have to do is compile charts of women and men who have had any form of eating disorder and see if there are any correlations. You’d have to get a lot of charts. Astro.com has a databank. Astrotheme has celebrity databanks and many of those people have had issues.

I think using the scientific method for this is more like using it for psychology. And of course you’d need other people to do the same thing as you.

All in all, some people “believe” in astrology via faith, much like they do for religion. Other people believe in astrology from observation and studying.

Most of my knowledge comes from talking to other people who know more than me, reading books, and online websites ( that are decent, in my opinion. ) Not all websites on astrology are good, though. I take what I read and put it into my own words, in a way I can understand and I think other people can understand.

Some other thoughts on astrology…

1. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people on Yahoo Answers want to know something about themselves and they only list their sign placements. They will give a list of their Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the signs and nothing else. I can’t tell what the problem is without them posting the actual chart. I mean, it would even help a lot of they posted the house placements too. But they don’t. I can’t tell in your chart why you don’t want kids by posting the signs, or why some people are overly emotional and attached, but still have an air dominated chart. You get what I’m saying. Post the chart and people who actually know shit can help you.

2. Another thing I hate is sun sign compatibility. That tells you nothing. You have to look at synastry. For beginners, that is hard to understand, but you must first learn a natal chart before diving into synastry. Just because she’s a Scorpio and he’s a Gemini; doesn’t mean it can not work out. And even in synastry bad aspects can be overshadowed by more positive ones. Let’s not forget something human; free will.

3. I think astrology is mostly harmless as long as you use it the right way. When the wrong people use it, they will use it to degrade/stereotype other people. Plus, the only people who really do that are the ones who go by sun signs alone, or even moon signs, and rising signs. Of course, there are people who will use aspects and house placements that way, but I think those people just suck and are mean spirited.

Another thing I want to add is that sometimes when you go too deep into astrology, you begin to rely on it. Even if you know quite a bit on it, you might see a few bad synastry aspects between you and another person. Soon enough, you might find yourself into a self fulfilling prophesy. I say this because you see the bad aspects and then tell yourself “I knew this wasnt’ going to work out all along.” A more mature person will see these bad aspects as a time for growth and to better themselves and the other person. Sometimes square aspects can be okay in relationships. And sometimes they are needed.

4. I use astrology for fun and learning adventures. I do not care if people take it seriously, or just dive superficially into it. We all have our own interests and things we like to learn. Some people like to learn about paintings, or like to learn about psychology. If you do not take it seriously, then that is your choice, and that is fine. If you want to learn about astrology, then that is fine also. You can learn about whatever you want.

Aside from astrology which is my only “occult” interest, I draw the line with religion. I’m Atheist-leaning Agnostic. I also draw the line when someone on Yahoo Answers asks, “Which placements have the most testosterone?”