Why Astrology?
☉♌︎ ☽♏︎ ☿♍︎
Astrology is a collection of passed down observational research.
I understand why people believe in astrology, but I also understand why they don’t.
The thing is, you can’t really believe in astrology, because it just exists. We can date back astrological records so far back and see the correlations to how it was affecting humanity, and also when these cycles repreat.
I think a common misconception when people get introduced to astrology is that it they know their sun sign then feel as if they are being put into a box filled with stereotypes. But, the real idea in astrology is that there are these 12 signs that make up the full human psyche.
Astrology is patterns. Patterns that the stars make in the sky, and if we as tiny humans are made up of elements from the skies, then who’s to say these stars aren’t still affecting us on this plane of existence?
Astrology is also math.
The first records of astrology come from the Babylonians. They were the first people to mathematically divide the sky into 12 sections at 30° each. The name of each zodiac came from the most prominent constellation in that section. This was a system that got refined by the Egyptians, then later shaped by the Greeks to give the modern form of astrology most people know today.
Because math is predictable, astrology becomes predictable. And these predictions are the transits.
The sun changes signs about once a month, the moon changes about 2-3 days, Mars takes about 2 years to go through the whole zodiac, and so on. When people tell me their sun sign, my brain is calculating their chart based on my interaction with them. (lowkey a problem but i can’t help it lol)
Since Mercury is the fastest-moving planet and the closest to the sun, your Mercury sign, which represents communication and intellect, can only be the same as your sun sign or one sign away from it.
︎︎︎Example: an Aries sun will have a mercury either in Pisces, Aries, or Taurus.
This is usually easy to guess when first meeting someone since all you’re really doing is talking anyway. Find out someone’s sun sign and you’ve already narrowed down their mercury to a quarter of the zodiac. Then, since the elements and modalities of the 3 options will be different, you can match up any observations.
Venus, the next closest planet to the sun can only be 2 signs away or the same as your sun sign.
︎︎︎Example: A Gemini sun will have Venus either in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, or Leo.
I think one of the reasons it’s so fascinating is because it’s one of the most consistent documentations of human behavior.
Then on top of that, these patterns repeat yet are never quite the same. The constant evolution of pattern allows for new connections and keeps it interesting.
The reason I like astrology is because I see it as a way of living.
For me, I’ve been able to understand myself and those around me a lot better after learning astrology.
When I was first interested in astrology I read my birth chart and compared it to everyone’s charts in my immediate family. I think this was the turning point for me because I found certain synastry aspects to hold a lot of truth. (also interestingly enough: my mother, bio-father, older sister, and myself were all born on a new moon)
I think that when you’re really able to understand that you’re only experiencing one part of a person rather than them as a whole, it allows you to release any kind of judgements that you could hold. These 12 signs are merely just archetypal tropes that any one person can embody. In every person’s birth chart is all 12 signs, so these archetypes reside in all of us but express in different ways.
I also read in Placidus, which takes into account degrees and can get a bit more complicated than the more common method of Whole Sign astrology. I think there’s merit and truth to both, but I choose Placidus because I like how imperfect it can become. To me, it’s a testament to our imperfection as people.
Tracking my life through astrology helped my mental health. I’ve never been the best at making goals for myself, but somehow astrology helps me visualize those goals as these moments of activation that I need to reach.
I think there’s truth in astrology if you’re looking for it. Just like there’s truth in the Quran, or the Bible, etc. if you’re looking for it. Truth can’t be determined by any one system of thinking. It lies at the intersection of all the books, all the systems, the methods, the conversations and stories passed, truth is for you to discover on your own. At the end of every day, you really only have one system: yourself. Ultimately, astrology might just be nothing but a hopeful outlook towards the world. Still, a little extra hope is something we could all use.