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Astrology can be a complex subject, with ardent followers and equally ardent detractors. As an astrologer, you quickly get used to people dismissing your topic out of hand. After all, it's nonsense, right? And there are 13 signs, anyway, not 12. And it is ridiculous to claim that planets millions or even billions of miles away are making us act a certain way. And they will tell you that the sun is a planet when it is not. And they will tell you that our destiny is predetermined, without free will. And they tell you that the earth is at the center of the universe. And I'm a Leo, but I hate drama. And I'm married to a Gemini and they say that Leo and Gemini are not a good couple. And why the hell is a twelfth of the world's population going to have a bad day next Thursday?
In reality, neither I nor any astrologer I have ever dealt with have said or believed these kinds of things, all of which are based on fundamental misunderstandings of what astrology is and what it claims to do. I make no effort to convince anyone that astrology can be a useful psychological and spiritual tool; that is up to each of us to discern for ourselves. However, if you are cautiously interested in astrology but have been put off by some of these myths and misunderstandings, here is a rundown of the top five myths of astrology. Understanding the fundamentals of astrologers can help you better decide if this is something that interests you or not.
There are 13 signs, not 12 and now I'm from Ophiuchus, not Scorpio!
No, there aren't, and no, it isn't. This myth periodically resurfaces and is generally attributed to NASA "discovering" a new constellation and thus creating or discovering a new zodiac sign. The last time this appeared on social media was just a couple of weeks ago.
NASA has not discovered a new constellation or a new sign of the zodiac. The signs of astrology are NOT, I repeat NOT, the same as the astronomical constellations. Ophiuchus is a very large constellation that has been visible for thousands of years. It is located between the astronomical constellations of Scorpio and Sagittarius, but that does not mean that it has been lost from the zodiac. Did you know that there are actually 88 officially recognized constellations in the night sky? Not that astrologers accidentally missed Ophiuchus, you foolish astrologers! For this myth to make any sense, NASA would have to have discovered 76 new “signs of the zodiac” and completely rewritten the history of astrology. What they did not do.
The signs of astrology, the signs of the zodiac, the signs of the sun, whatever you want, are effectively units of measurement that were named after a selection of constellations, but they have nothing more concrete to do with the constellations of the same name. Each astrological sign measures 30 degrees from the ecliptic. We can say that Mars is currently 12 degrees from Leo, but this is just a short and symbolic way of saying that Mars is currently 132 degrees from the ecliptic. The signs could really have been named either way, they are just measuring / marking these twelve 30 degree sectors. The "discovery" (not) of a new astronomical constellation is therefore completely irrelevant.
The signs of astrology do not coincide with the constellations.
This is actually true, but the corresponding claim that "therefore astrology is nonsense" is without foundation. The truth behind this misunderstanding is quite complex. In part it has to do with the fact that we covered earlier, that astrological signs are NOT the same as constellations. It also has to do with something called the precession of the equinoxes. This is an astronomical phenomenon that has been known since at least 300 BC. C. When the sun rises on the morning of the vernal equinox in March of each year, astrologers say this marks 0 degrees Aries and the beginning of a new astrological year. This is the point from which we start counting those 30 degree sectors in the sky. Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, the sun would in fact have risen at this time in front of the astronomical constellation called Aries.
However, due to a wobble in the earth's axis (the precession of the equinoxes), the point at which the sun rises on the spring equinox gradually changes, over 25,800 years, in the context of different constellations. astronomical. In this modern age, when the sun rises on the vernal equinox, it is in the context of the astronomical constellation Pisces, not Aries.
What does this tell us about astrology? Not much. Because remember, astrological signs are an abbreviation for those 30-degree sectors around the ecliptic. These sectors always begin at the point of the vernal equinox, with the first 30 degrees called Aries, the second 30 degrees called Taurus, and so on. That the vernal equinox now takes place aligned with the astronomical constellation Pisces is interesting, but not very relevant.
So the only way the precession of the equinoxes is relevant to astrology is in the concept of astrological "ages". Because the point of the vernal equinox is now in the context of Pisces, we say that we are in the astrological age of Pisces. Thousands of years ago, it was the astrological age of Aries. At some point, it will become the much talked about astrological age of Aquarius, but astrologers cannot agree on when this will happen, or if it has already happened, because it depends on where the limits of the astronomical constellations are defined. In his book Horoscopes of the World, respected astrological researcher Nick Campion lists six pages of suggested dates collected from the research of other astrologers, ranging from 1447 to 2012 to 3597! Also, not all astrologers agree that astrological "ages" are one thing.
Astrologers believe that planets somehow make things happen on Earth
No. We don't. No astrologer I have dealt with believes that there is cause and effect at play here. The astrologer's creed is "as above, so below." Astrology is a symbolic language, above all else, and the basic concept is that the dance of the planets (and yes, we know that neither the Sun nor the Moon are actually planets) and the complex angles they create on each other REFLECT symbolically the predominant energy on earth.
In other words, astrology works on the principle that there is a relationship between heavenly events and events on earth, but it is not a cause and effect relationship. Nothing to do with gravity or electromagnetism or any other physical effect.
Astrology claims to predict the future (thus denying free will)
No, it is not. Astrology cannot predict the future, because each of us has free will and can shape our own future. However, because we can predict the exact motions of the planets, which are believed to reflect energies that coexist at one time on Earth, we can and do try to predict what types of energies might be at play at any given time in the world. future. .
My old astrology teacher used to compare it to a weather forecast. We can tell you if it is likely to be raining in the middle of next week. But whether you choose to shelter at home, cursing and brooding, or you choose to go out and dance in the rain, that's free will. It depends on you.
But what about horoscopes, which tell you that next Thursday you will meet a tall, dark and handsome stranger? Of course, it's not realistic to say that one-twelfth of all humanity will experience the same thing on any given day, which is why sun sign horoscopes, as entertaining as they are, have extremely limited use. They are popular and if well written with proper astrological understanding can sometimes be revealing, but usually only for people whose sun sign is very strong and who were also born in about the middle of that sun sign period (due to the way most horoscopes are calculated). Horoscopes are popular, which is why astrologers keep writing them, but no astrologer that I know of would claim they are 100% accurate for everyone, or anything more than a well-intentioned generalization.
Astrology is just about the sun signs, but I don't feel like a Gemini
No no no. Astrology does not classify all of humanity into twelve classes that define your entire life. At the time you were born, all the planets were somewhere in the sky above you. Depending on the date, time and place of your birth, we create a map of the planetary locations for that time and place. This is your natal chart. Your birth chart has all the planets, somewhere. And for a proper reading of astrology, the natal chart as a whole must be considered, and the nuanced interplay of dozens of different positions, angles, and movements must be carefully synthesized and interpreted.
In fact, the sun is considered to be a powerful part of a birth chart, but it is far from the only part. The Ascendant is also important: the sign that rises in the east at the time of your birth. So is midheaven, the signal directly above our heads. So are the positions of the moon and all other planets, and in particular the angles they make to each other. In many cards, the sun at the end is not even the most dominant or powerful force on a card; in many others, its importance is strongly mitigated by other factors.
If you are "a Gemini," that just means that the sun was in Gemini when you were born. If you don't think you act or don't feel or behave like "a typical Gemini," you're probably right, and there are myriad potential reasons for that, depending on what other factors are most important on your individual chart.
It's for this reason, incidentally, that all the “Gemini goes well with Virgo but not Leo” stuff in relationship guides should be taken with a pinch of salt. Because we are all unique and diverse individuals, each with their own blessings and flaws, the truth is that any sun sign can go well with any other sun sign, or not. Human relationships are too complex to be reduced to sun signs. Relationship astrology (synastry) can do a good job of analyzing a certain relationship and finding ways to help it thrive, but that is done through a detailed comparison of the full natal charts of both individuals and the astrological factors that affect them. both at that time. point.
If you feel that astrology doesn't resonate with you, of course that's okay, no one is forcing you to find it interesting or useful. However, I hope I have clarified at least some of the most common reasons people give for rejecting astrology; it is a much more complex and nuanced art than most of its detractors understand, and it does not actually make most of the claims for which its critics despise it.
