You find yourself aimlessly scrolling through Instagram when suddenly your monthly horoscope pops up. You read your sun sign forecast and either smile about love waiting around the corner, the straight A’s you can expect at the end of the marking period, learn what to do to be more attractive, and desperately search for what signs you are compatible with. Maybe, you frown because the prediction is for a tough month ahead, a cheating boyfriend, or warns of a party you won’t be invited to at the end of the month! We’ve all been there!

Scientific American dove into our infatuation with astrology and reports that nearly one-third of all Americans believe that Astrology is a real science and at least 70 million adults and teens read their horoscopes daily! However, Scientific American is quick to point out that Astrology is NOT a real science. So, if it’s not a real science, then what is it?

Most historians have tagged Astrology as a pseudoscience, which is nothing more than a bunch of beliefs that are mistakenly assumed to have been proven by the scientific method. Many teens believe in Astrology as real science! Historians claim Astrology was developed by the Babylonians some 2,400 years ago and was once an important academic subject. Ancient tribes noted the position of the stars and season that every child was born under and considered that an accurate predictor of a child’s potential to become a leader, warrior, farmer, healer, or craftsman. Modern day astrology is certainly not doing any of that!

Walk into any bookstore and you can find an entire section of books about Astrology. Search the Internet and you’ll find dozens of sites to have your astrological Birth Chart done and analyzed, classes to learn how to do astrology, places to get online forecasts, or you will even find local shops and fairs dedicated to providing you with in-person astrological readings. 

Teenagers find hope in an astrology prediction and tend to cling to it. They take their forecast personally! The moment the monthly forecast is posted teens will repost their astrological prediction so everyone can see what’s in store for them. Some teens actually purchase make-up, jewelry, and perfume based on their sign! Engaging with astrology in this way is not using astrology wisely. Most of what teens are engaging with is called “Pop Astrology” which means it’s basically for fun and entertainment.

Professional astrologers share that there are 12 astrological signs in the modern-day Zodiac and each one is a named sun sign. Your sun sign is based on the day and month that you were born. A person born on January 31st is born in the Sun sign of Aquarius no matter what the year. Professional astrologers warn that looking at predictions about your life with any seriousness, based on ONLY your sun sign, will be highly misleading. You must go by the day, month, year, place, and exact time of your birth to consider any degree of accuracy. In-depth birth information provides you with something called a Moon sign and a Rising sign. Apparently, the moon and rising signs are much better predictors of personality traits and life events than only a sun sign. Each one of us is more accurately evaluated by astrology if we are looking at the Moon, Sun, and Rising signs together as they impact each other. You can calculate your moon and rising signs by plugging your information into a moon or rising sign calculator which you can find for free on many Astrology sites, just Google it! For example, the person born on January 31st plugged all their information in the calculators and found that they have a Moon sign of Capricorn, a Sun Sign of Aquarius, and a Rising Sign of Pisces. The descriptions were shockingly accurate making it impossible to chalk Astrology up as meaningless. Unfortunately, most teens don’t know how much more is involved. They are more interested in an Instagram meme than the study of astrology. Still, how far should a person take it?

Our same January 31st person took their information to a professional astrologer who provided a detailed chart of exactly where every planet was located at the day, year, time, and place of his birth. Then they provided a deep analysis of likes, dislikes, possible careers, travel, and relationships. Unlike the silly sun sign post in nearly every magazine, the information from the professional astrologer was once again, surprisingly accurate.

Teens should be warned about depending on magazines or Instagram astrology to plan their lives! They should not make decisions based on a few lines in a magazine or an Instagram meme. Teens use astrology forecasts as an accessory instead of the deeper, more meaningful interpretation provided through analysis of the sun, moon, and rising signs. 

I can only conclude that Astrology is not a science. It cannot be proven through the scientific method because there are just too many variables with humans and there would be very little to compare findings to. BUT, that does not mean there is not some credence to be given to the more complete readings that analyze a person’s moon, sun, and rising sign. Every bit of information we gain about ourselves can be valuable to our understanding of our role in the world around us, just as long as we don’t take it too seriously!