Top Ten Myths About Astrology (Part One)

See also: Top Ten Myths About Astrology (Part Two)

Maybe it’s part of the nature of astrology, but misinformation - myth, if you will - seems to rise up around it. Art, religion, science, pseudoscience, entertainment - do we even know, really, how to classify the thing? Think it over: in the meantime, here are the top ten myths and stereotypes about astrology that could use a little debunking:

• Astrology is a pseudoscience

Well, maybe. Let’s take a closer look at this statement, which really irks me. True, astrology makes a lot of claims: that when the planets are at certain degrees, they have certain properties; that the position of the planets when you’re born will manifest in you in certain ways; that certain combinations of degrees (30 degrees, 60, 90) produce certain tensions. Certain scientists scoff at this. Where is the basis in fact?

But a lot of science, if you think about it, is really based on observable phenomenon - you have to work backwards to find out what makes things act the way they act. And nobody ever claims (at least, no astrologer worth his/her salt ever claims) that the planets "make" anyone act in any way whatsoever - they’re just reflecting the energies that are already in existence, as we do as individuals.

A lot of synastry, and the astrology of transits, does depend on mathematical calculations and exact data. While this isn’t enough to prove that astrology is a science, I find it equally as laughable to use the mystery surrounding "why astrology works" to prove that it isn’t one!

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• Astrologers make everything up off the top of their heads

Uh, hardly. I wish this were true - it certainly would make my job a lot easier! In fact, true astrological predictions are based mostly on the movements of the planets through different houses (there are twelve of them, corresponding to the twelve signs and representing various energies, from self-presentation to work to love). A more specific, individualized prediction will almost certainly take into account the precise angles the planets made to one another at the time of your birth in conjunction (pun not intended) with the angles of the planets at any given moment in the near/far future. At any rate, it takes a lot of work!

• Astrology posits that there are only twelve different kinds of people

Again, wouldn’t that make my job a whole lot easier? In fact, astrology posits that there are infinite kinds of people, taking into account that each individual has different placement of things like their moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, on and on (in general, the farther away from the Sun the planet, the less it affects the individual chart and the more it affects the generation). Also, each planet may be in a different house, depending on the time of birth - your sun, moon, and Mercury may all be in your fifth house, while mine may all be in my fourth, even though we have almost identical charts otherwise – making you a much different person than me!

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• Astrology can predict your destiny

Uhhhh. . . here you have the opposite end of the spectrum. Astrology does not predict certainties. Let me say it again.

ASTROLOGY DOES NOT PREDICT CERTAINTIES. Astrology predicts potentialities. It seems so New-Age, hokey, gag-me-now to say that we control what happens to us. . . but really, that’s what astrology’s saying. WE CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS TO US.

Say the Sun’s in your fifth house. Great, right? Fun times, lots of lovers, playing with your kids, everything’s lighthearted and fun? Sun transits last the length of one astrological sign – have you ever felt nothing but lighthearted for more than a month? You have your ups and downs like anyone, right? They might be better ups and downs than usual – but still, you’re going to react in ways that nobody could EVER predict.

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• Sun signs are the most important part of a chart

There is so much more than sun signs to astrology. Now, even I buy into this a little bit, as you have to to be able to write a weekly horoscope!

Other planets tell us so much more about who we are, where we come from, how we react - the moon tells us about where we feel at home and our childhoods, Mercury about our communication styles, Venus about what makes us feel loved, Mars about what makes us feel powerful - and so on. Limiting your view of astrology to sun signs is fine if you’re just checking in now and then, for fun. If you really want to get a full understanding of yourself and your situation, however, better take a look at the full chart. 

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