What are your honest thoughts on astrology? Nothing will offend me because I already question it. My mother has been an astrologer for over 30+ years and I was raised with it. She does people's full charts and a lot of math is involved with it. I do find some "accuracy" or coincidences in it, as my personal chart describes me fairly well I suppose. However, my scientific beliefs go against it. I've looked up both sides of the argument and there's science articles that say it's "real" and others say it's not, like NASA (who I am a huge fan and supporter of). I'm a curious and skeptical person by nature. I can't have any discussions on the "it's not real" side of the argument with my sister or my mother. Any input from an outsiders perspective would be greatly appreciated! also, I have resentment from Christians because they've shamed my mother and have called her a devil worshiper, a witch, etc. etc. for being an astrologer. My thoughts, just leave her alone and let her do what makes her happy lol.
At least with astrology there are actual physical things that exist, planets and constellations. So, I would say it's got one mark in the pro column. But that doesn't mean the Oracle aspects are any more or less accurate than any other type of Oracle.
You'll never see a horoscope that's as specific as "at 4:14 today the IRT will jump the track and come looking for you, flattening you into puddle of grease."
First, I think it is B.S., but there is one thing I like about it.
When a female is into astrology, she will ask you your sign early on.
Her question is a convenient audible warning. It translates to, "Keep away, I am batshit crazy."
Keep your eye on the exit door at all times and don't plan on knowing her for more than a week or two if you come across an astrologer.
Now if she is a Mormon, who is into astrology, be especially careful. Hit it, quit it and run. If she is still around and you have known her more than 72 hours, consider yourself in an emergency situation.
Your responce is much funnier after I replaced She with He..
I had a very interesting conversation with a friend about this yesterday.
We both agree that astrology, as currently practiced is superstitious claptrap.
However, he has been doing some research, and this is where it gets interesting.
He has not finished the research to the point that he is ready to publish it, but I do have his permission to share the general outline.
Basically he is working on the hypothesis that astrology, as originally practiced, was used more for predicting variations in climate. These would be caused by things such as solar flares. Those, in turn, would be caused by what would be analogous to tidal forces within the sun. the forces would be caused by the gravitational pull of the planets in much the same way that the moon exerts gravitational pull responsible for tides on earth.
Studying the relative positions of the planets over time could possibly reveal the pattern in weather caused the sun's cycles driven by the gravitational forces of the planets, and allow for reasonably accurate prediction of climatic conditions.
I find it an interesting hypothesis.
But surely astrology has little to do with the planets and more to do with star constellations millions of light years away which have zero influence on earth.
My late mother was an expert reader of tealeaves. Sadly the invention of the teabag spoiled her fun. Astrology is similar to tealeaf reading. A bit of harmless fun, no more, and anyone who tries to profit from it is a charlatan.
The forces involved are far too weak to have any meaningful impact.
Even though I do not believe in God, there are many unexplainable things. So if she believes in it, that's ok. You can believe in whatever you want. I bet you that a lot of the so called Christians secretly would love to get your mother to do them a chart.
It's too bad that you can't have those discussions with sister or your mother because "it's not real." If your chart describes you well it's because you are reading what you want to see. planets and heavenly bodies have nothing to do with you, what you are, or what you are going to become. It's sheer bunk!
It is kind of like basing your next important decision on whether the pig turns left for the mud puddle or right for the pig troth.
Reading the intestines of a chicken ripped open alive to predict your future...soooooo true ????? Stars&moon you bet
I have cast astrology charts in my time, still interpret from an online chart maker from time to time (it saves messing around with ephemerides!)
Certainly something going on. No idea how it works, but then I’m not too interested in the how, like a TV. Don’t know how it works, don’t care how it works, it’s beyond the capacity of this tiny brain. All I know is I push a button and the TV comes on.
The Christian brigade forget that the Magi in the Matthew nativity tale were Babylonian scholars who used some form of planetary lore to get to where they were going. They either cast a chart or looked up in the sky and said in Babylonian, “oh let’s wander round in circles following that, then during the daytime, or when it’s cloudy, we can go to sleep”. Not very scholarly to my mind so I suspect they drew up a chart.
The point is that the gospel of Matthew refers to some form of star lore so Mr and Mrs Christian can’t really disparage astrology!
You may not know or care about how a TV works but somebody does. With astrology, nobody can. If all the planets were aligned at the same time? It would have less gravitational pull than a delivery truck driving past your front door.
@273kelvin Well I can’t say. All I have is my own experience. May be gravitation, may not.
It is a fun thing to behold!
It helps so many to validate their existence like religion!
Astrology yields no more reliable results then psychic readings. I'm not sure what scientific sources your reading that say the opposite, but I'd like to take a look at it if you have that.
People tend to like to hear stuff about themselves. We remeber the hits and forget the misses. And the statements given in these astrological readings are so vague that anyone could see themselves in them. We fill in the blanks that these sort of things leave open. That may explain your connection with your reading.
Then there's also the fact that you have no connection with the constellations associated with your birth month. The earth has moved since the 1000 years since horoscopes have been a thing. So not only are you not the astrological sign you think you are, but you may be a sign that doesn't exist in astrology.
Definately remain skeptical. It doesn't appear to be either accurate or reliable.
I have done astrology, tarot too, back in the 70's....was told by many I "had a gift", was offered money. But I noticed it did not matter What you said to people, they "believed" what I said....I do think I helped some, because I always kept everything as positive as possible, but it really is like the daily horoscopes in the newspapers, one size fits all IF that is what they want to hear.
I take a hard pass on astrology.
For me, it's no different than religion.
I have an aunt, whom I absolutely adore. She is catholic and believes all that
bullshit.
She really believes in heaven, and believes her parents, my grandparents,
her husband, and my mother, are all there.
She goes to the cemetery regularly, and talks to them sometimes. Sometimes,
she just makes sure their headstones are cleared, and she sits in her lawn chair,
and reads the newspaper.
She knows I'm an atheist. We love each other dearly, and we respect each other enough not to question or challenge each other over her belief and my lack of it.
When you really love someone, sometimes that's all you can do.
Everyone else? Well, that's everyone else. They get what they set themselves
up for.
@vjohnson51 To each their own.
You asked the question, I just answered it.
It's all good.
@vjohnson51 Knowledge is power.
Go on with your bad self!
Astrology is nonsense, "Hogwash," my grandfather would have called it. In its generalizations many people can find what they would like to find, as in reading tea leaves, I suppose. I would guess that those who believe in it, like the religious, want to believe that the universe is logical, that it has a meaning that can be understood in detail and has a special place in its "heart" for us.
For me there's no inbetween as far as this subject is concerned.
Another talk on astrology by Neil De Grasse Tyson
I ignore newspaper, etc, astrology. I don’t ignore a police chief.
A few decades ago when I lived in Florida, the chief of police in Miami said a lot of people get weird when the moon is full.
Confirmation bias. Look for it and you’ll find it whether it exists or not. It’s a result of the human brain looking for patterns, like finding Constellations in the random assortment of stars.
You summed it up perfectly in the last sentence. Or as my eccentric Mom would say, “Whatever blows your skirt up, sweetie”
No offense, but I honestly don't understand how this is a question, it has just as much validity as flat earth.
@vjohnson51 admittedly the moon is a false projection of the Illuminati.
@vjohnson51 No, the earth is a doughnut!
There's a lil bit of truth in most fiction. I don't believe in things like the stars and planets having an effect on your daily life.. but, there are some seasonal things that can have an effect on you. Such as if your mother was pregnant with you during the winter, you're more prone to being born with a vitamin D deficiency. In the long run, that could have a direct impact on your personality. There is also a seasonal diet in many cultures. Not as prevalent today, but your diet affects your body which in turn affects your brain which in turn affects your emotions and personality.
So to sum it up, the idea that the alignment of the stars and planets is pretty much bullshit.. but the idea that seasonal changes (which coincidentally can be marked by stars) can have an effect on you isn't.
@Antifred No noticeable effect. It'd be but a drop in a bucket full of water.
@powder There's no statistical data to confirm the full moon makes people act differently. There's tons of stories from police and nurses who say people act more crazy during a full moon, but the statistics don't back it up. It's more than likely a subconscious thing in the individual police/nurses that make routine occurrences stand out during a full moon. An example would be a cop that arrests someone for shoplifting every 3 days and 1 day out of the month lands on a full moon and it stands out to them, making them believe more people shoplift during a full moon.
@powder As someone who has been into astronomy since I was 7, I've had this full moon discussion several times and have researched countless times. I have yet to find any solid statistics that show proof of an increase in crime/ER visits during a full moon. The statistics show the same average % throughout the month. There is no doubt a subconscious psychological effect of a full moon as it's been engraved into our culture, but no proof that the moon is an actual external influence.. only internal.
6 months isn't really that long of a time frame for observing the kind of behavior you notice. If you're simply keeping a mental log, then I have even more doubt. Now if you were keeping track of literally every influence he experiences 24/7, then your claim would have some weight. If you kept track of every single influence, such as diet, amount of sleep, things like that, I am sure you'll find several influences the correlate with his behavior.
@powder yep. My dad had sundowners and also he was in a hospital for 2 years. The nurses always talked about full moon. If the moon can effect the tides why not us since we are more than half water.
@AmelieMatisse Because it doesn't work that way. The moon's effect on the tides is something that's been built up over thousands of years. If you were to somehow stop the moon in place, you'd lose the tides. When you start the moon back up, its effect on the water's level would be next to nothing. It would takes hundreds to thousands of years of momentum from orbiting Earth to reach the tides as we know today. It's not that the moon has a powerful pull effect on the tides, it's that it has a patient pull effect on the tides. We've been around for a fraction of the amount of time the momentum of the tides has been building up and its pull has little to no effect on us physically. There's seriously no scientific evidence to back up the idea that the moon's gravitational pull has any meaningful, physical effect on us. If you find some, please share.
As for the full moon, the only effect it would have on us is psychological. The belief that it has an effect on us has been engraved into our cultures just like religion. Belief is a powerful thing, and someone with a mental illness could possibly use that belief to "break free" for that period of time. Since our minds are physical and there is no proof the moon has a physical effect on us, there's no reason to believe the moon has an outside influence on our minds. It's all internal, belief.
it's a load of hooey
Hooey..now there's a word I haven't heard in ages..
Just a little clip from Neil DeGrasse Tyson on this.
(sorry about the audio). There are scads of other reasons why astrology is bunk, But I thing he nails a couple on this one.
And one I can add from my own experience.
A frind of mine was born in Chicago on November 17th 1964. I was born in Chicago November 17th 1964. Our personalities are so vastly different. One would never argue that we are the same "sign".
That's just a small one, nut it happens to be true.