From LJ: Do you check your stars?

[fajrdrako]

Do you believe in astrology? If so, how often do you check your horoscope and how does it impact your life? If not, do you get annoyed when people make assumptions about you based on your sign?

The phrase to "believe in Astrology" always strikes me as strange, like "believing in UFOs". I believe that people see odd things in the sky they can't identify or explain. I believe there is a discipline of study that has existed since the middle ages, by which astrologers make links between stars and people's lives, and drew conclusions from them. Interesting history.

There seems to be a Great Divide between people who think astrology is bunk, and those who think it has substance. There is no mechanism of cause and effect between stars and humans, because even if you accent astrology's assessment of itself, it makes no sense, it doesn't map onto our reality - the stars as described in the horoscopes are no longer even in the places astrology describes. Procession of the equinoxes.

So: not an exact science. It's a way of looking at the world.

I can only assess reality as I experience it, and going by my experience, astrology isn't bunk. I don't know what it is, but descriptions of Libra personalities usually fit me like a glove, in ways descriptions of other signs only fit randomly and tangentially.

For instance: I typed "Libra" into Google and the first hit I got said this:

Traditional Libra Traits
Diplomatic and urbane
Romantic and charming
Easygoing and sociable
Idealistic and peaceable

On the dark side....
Indecisive and changeable
Gullible and easily influenced
Flirtatious and self-indulgent

Which I think is pretty fair. On the whole.

The point being, this pattern is consistent whenever I encounter astrology charts. I can neither rationalize it nor deny it. So I just enjoy it. An amusement I don't need to understand. A part of the cosmic joke that is all around us.

Many divination systems are good tools for psychological or subconscious self-understanding, and that includes astrology - though for that kind of exercise, I prefer tarot cards.

I find the graphics and iconography of astrology artistically fascinating. I love arcane systems. Symbols, sigils, codes. I've been talking about European astrology here, with Libra, but I also enjoy Hindu and Chinese astrologies. Are there others? Possibly. Probably. In Chinese astrology I am a Dragon: hence fajrdrako.

Do I read my horoscope? Seldom. Damn: I meant to read it on Thursday - I think it's fun to read my horoscope on my birthday - but I forgot. No, I don't read it. Horoscopes in newspapers are silly, promising me wealth and romance year after year, without any payoff in reality. Astrology is more descriptive than prescriptive. Probably the last time I read my horoscope was Sept. 24, 2008.

I don't get annoyed when people make assumptions about me based on my sign. Most people don't do it. The few who do are good friends who are interested in astrology, and I'm interested in their interest.

Besides, they're usually right.