Why Astrology?

Not long ago, I took an interest in Astrology as I was browsing a bookstore for fun, an activity I am known to relish. It was an interesting read, and I found many parallels and connections within this particular book that I thought the concept was worth investigating further, so I bought it. This particular book had more narrow scope dealing solely with relationships. It described, in the opinion of its author, the different sun sign match ups that make marriages interesting, even including mock conversations and arguments. I found that I need more basic information on how everything worked within the astrological realm. I needed to start from scratch.

I read books, observed people I knew, and drew parallels based on their sun signs. As I observed more, I was able to see a number of patterns that matched up with astrological premises; Virgos’ unending attention to detail and self-criticism, Cancers’ moodiness and nurturing, Aquarian genius and aloofness. Pretty soon I was able to make basic analogies of my friends based on their sun sign. Lately, I have been able to guess new acquaintances’ sun sign with a high probability. I did my own birth chart online and asked my cousin, an astrology buff herself, to analyze it. As I learned more about myself, I began to see people differently. It became like a karmic realization in which the world made sense – that people made sense. I didn’t quite know what to do with it all, but I felt a little like I could see through time and space; that the world had more order than I realized, and that I was beginning to understand it.

I some cases, I am sure I have over analyzed. Like a kid with a new toy, I wanted to try out all my thoughts and observations. Astrological concepts buzzed around in my head during conversations with friends and work associates as I tried to trace their tendencies to find correlations. Most of them took it in stride, and some were quite interested. My closer friends were occasionally eroded by my growing obsession, but often asked my advice in dealing with people they had come across in their daily life. Naturally this invigorated me.

Living in Portland, one becomes used to diversity of interests, culture, and personal philosophies. Discussing astrology with most Portlanders was met with open minds if not downright immediate acceptance. In fact, many citizens of the Rose City that I came across were more than familiar with the basic facts about their sun signs, a surprising number were familiar with their birth charts. It was only when I introduced it to friends and family back East that I noticed a rise of skepticism among my listeners. Some were excited about hearing about themselves and agreeable to the generalities of a Sun sign reading, but most people didn’t want to be put in a box, often claiming that any inaccuracy meant that the whole system was a false prophecy. The lack of understanding of its interpretations and descriptions, highlighted by daily horoscopes and sound bite explanations, made convincing people to listen more difficult than getting them to accept astrological premises.

In order to learn about this system, one must first grasp the concept that astrology is not synonymous with predetermination. It might best be described as a blank slate; each of us is born with different abilities and dispositions and astrology attempts to explain and analyze this fact. It takes into account that people can and do change as they advance in life. In fact, it can help us pinpoint our weaknesses as well as our strengths. If understood, it is a roadmap to self improvement and interpersonal relationships.

Part of learning about ones astrological information is the acceptance of strengths and weaknesses. All people have weaknesses, but some who are introduced to astrology are not interested in hearing them, believing that they are perfect (at least in their eyes). “Oh no, I’m not high maintenance, it’s just that I really like my man to make me feel important.” Or, “I have an open mind, but I think nobody else does.” Astrology proclaims that we are all born with things that we can teach others and things we need to learn from others. It is a simple concept, and one that in isolation is not hard to embrace. When it becomes part of a system, one that has categories and nomenclature, it is not unusual to have people frighten with disdain that someone is attempting to sign them up for a New Age religion without their consent. However, I must admit how often I was blessed with individuals who readily admitted many of their weaknesses and faults, and were amazed to have them isolated and described. In many cases, they were relieved that they were not necessarily responsible for feeling that way, that it was perhaps hard-wired within them.

In teaching others what I have learned, I have found it best to describe my own faults first in order to put them at ease before discussing theirs. Strengths? Those are easy. Everyone wants to hear that they are friendly, smart, fun, organized, etc. But, for better or worse, Astrology is a zero-sum game. You cannot be born exceptional at all abilities; you have a composition that is a mixture of them. This mixture can be unbalanced, such as the genius musician who has trouble in social situations and cannot balance his own checking account. It can also have much balance, such as those who seem to have it all together but may not be amazing at any particular aspect of living.

The hardest part of buying into astrology is accepting that we don’t know precisely how it works. “My birth date, location, and time determines whether I am lazy or not? I don’t think so!” Well, not exactly. One astrologist refers to the currently immeasurable magnetic pull of the planetary positions as similar to radio waves; they existed in the 18th century, but we were unaware of their presence. Nevertheless, upon their discovery and measurement, we quickly put them to use in a wide variety of ways. Perhaps it shall be the same with these magnetic influences upon astrological signs.

From another angle, let’s look at the world from the top down. Mother Nature, God, Allah, or whatever Deity you claim allegiance to has organized a place that is integrated, complex, and seemingly random. Yet, as we continue to study nature, it becomes increasingly clear that chaos theory has some worth to it. Chaos theory, for those unfamiliar, is a mathematical area of study that examines complex systems, including those that appear random such as the atmosphere, to identify an underlying order. Such theories are helpful in explaining things such as global climate or the development of life on planets. The phrase “a butterfly flapping its wings over the US causes a hurricane over the Indian Ocean” is a popular analysis of this theory.

The human population is diverse not only in culture, but also in personality. Personality traits differ between men and women, but also between sisters and between brothers. This is especially noticeable between siblings of similar age and upbringing; why do two brothers, with a stable family and similar parental influences, differ in regards to these traits? There are many possible explanations, and astrology has some very valid ones. Does it not make sense for the world to be organized via a system of order that ensures a (relatively) equal number of emotional, exuberant, intellectual and practical people? If you were to design it yourself, is there a better way to do it than basing it on birth dates? Then they could be understood, studied, and embraced as humans begin to understand the system and its purpose. Based on the four elements of fire (exuberance), earth (practicality), air (intellect), and water (emotional), each of these elements controls three signs, evenly spaced out over the year so that in any four month period all elements have been represented.

Why is this difficult to believe in? It cannot be quantified - yet. In addition, the representatives, astrologers, are often people that don’t fit the mainstream. A strong dose of faith and belief is typical before diving into the Astrological realm. They often appear to be people who are a bit kooky, or odd. Weekly World News stories on the subject don’t help much either. To the untrained, astrology can appear like a substitute for religion (it is not). As a result, it has not been widely accepted in this society that has for so long been based on appearances and adherence to the conventional.

So why Astrology? If all these planets do pull on us, and affect our personalities, can’t we just learn it all on our own? Does learning about it take all the mysteries of life away? Not exactly, but in my experience, it has made many things clearer. Given the difficulties that interpersonal relationships present, that is a good thing. I have downloaded and interpreted a number of birth charts for family, friends, and acquaintances. Some of those people thanked me profusely, claiming that I had given them a true gift of self-discovery. They did not understand why “they were the way they were”, usually meaning they were different than most others around them in some particularly important way; often in a way that had caused problems in their relationships.

Astrology helps us answer questions about our own drives and quirks that help and hinder us as we go through life and associate with other people. It helps us understand others around us who are different, yet enrich our experience on Earth. Would a Taurus love it if everyone were as practical and patient as they were? I doubt it – how else would they stand out? Who would be our leaders and stage stars without Leos? What would a world be like without Gemini talk show hosts chatting up every guest with abandon, or Cancers to be our nursing the sick back to health? We need Sagittarians to develop the causes important to our world. We all have something to teach, and something to learn.

So go get your birth chart done. Learn about yourself. Take a look at a good friend’s chart and see the differences. Open your eyes to the complexities of the world. You’ll be glad you did.