Ever since I was little, I loved reading my horoscope. It wasn't a habitual thing, but whenever I got a Seventeen magazine, I'd see what they had to say about my horoscope for the month. For some reason, I was fascinated with what it would say about my life, and I would try to see how accurate it was as my life played out. It wasn't always true, but more often than not, I think it was a good reflection on my life.
There are people that think horoscopes or zodiac signs are a hoax, and there are some that believe in it so much that it is almost a second religion. I like to place myself in the middle of these two extremes. I believe in it, but I don't believe every single thing about it.
Astrology- first formed when the Babylonians were alive- was the study of movements and relative positions of the Earth in relation to the stars/constellations. Since there were twelve lunar phases, there were twelve constellations assigned to each phase. These constellations were broken up into four categories: fire, water, air, and earth.
Furthermore, societies started to place meaning on the planets (ex. Venus represents affection). This relative position of the Earth, planets, and constellations is what ultimately led us to determine our horoscope.
To me, it is intriguing to not on read my horoscope and see how accurate it is but to understand how astrology even came about. We cannot deny the facts, such as the twelve lunar phases or when certain planets are in certain constellations. It is when we first placed meaning on the planets and constellations, that we turned it into a life predictor. Although the realm of history or astronomy isn't that appealing to me, understanding the things we do in life today and how they originated is what peaks my interest.
Another interesting concept with astrology is how there is differences across cultures. For example, the zodiac signs (Taurus, Gemini, Sagittarius, etc.) originated from Greek culture and is based on your birth date. For example, Taurus is those who are born April 20th to May 21st. The Chinese zodiac on the other hand is based on the year you were born. For example, 2018 is year of the dog, so all those who are born this year will have the dog Chinese zodiac sign.
When I was younger this all confused me, but as I grew older and had a better understanding of history and culture, and I began to understand how these cultures made adaptations of one another. This is why Greek and Chinese culture believe in zodiac symbols, but how they classify these symbols is slightly different.
Horoscopes have much more meaning than simply when you will see love this year, or when you'll have the most cash flow. Horoscopes and zodiac symbols are part of our universe, and our history. It symbolizes how over the years cultures change and adapt, but certain ideas are built to last through generation after generation. So whether you believe in your horoscope or not, take the time to read up more on the history and it might just leave you fascinated.