Daily horoscopes are considered fun, but not even the most seriously of astrology believers I know would dare take them seriously. It's quite the opposite, really: the more you know about astrology, the less you believe the daily fortunes.

For most people, the interest in zodiac goes as far as the compulsion to check what kind of flower you are or seeing how you and your S.O. measure up "according to the stars." On the other hand, I know a lot of people who loathe horoscope on the grounds that it oversimplifies individuals to caricature form.

What most Americans think of as their horoscope is their Sun sign. That's only one aspect of it, even if the Sun sign is said to be the "truest you." Think of it as looking at yourself "according to the closest star," instead of "the stars," or like listening to your mom's description of you instead of all of your friends' and family's descriptions and then putting together a more cohesive picture.

All your Sun sign means, essentially, is that this is where the Sun was when you were born. Zodiac is the placements of the planets in relation to Earth at the time of your birth, the unique recipe of energies interacting with you, and where the planets are in relation to you as you move through life.

Not only do you have a Sun sign (which is what I mean when I say I'm a Libra), but you also have a Moon, ascendant, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto. (These are the basic ones, at least, though there are more as well.) Each planet is connected to different aspects of your life. Venus, for example, is related to love, relationships, and romance. Even though my Sun is in Libra, my Venus is in Scorpio, meaning that in relationships I have more of a Scorpio's attitude and outlook.

The universe is not moved by the energies of the Sun and the Earth alone, just as you are not wholly made of your heart and your head. You have a Mars aspect, a stomach, eyes, Jupiter. Don't be fooled. The list of traits attributed to your Sun sign are not a neat little summary of you, all tied up in a bow.

Which brings us to the basic horoscope, like you see in daily newspapers or online. Unless someone knew the year, time, and place of your birth, the horoscope is going to be sorely lacking. Since they only have one aspect of your birth chart, the rest is general at best and guesswork in reality.

Just to give you an idea of what's happening, let's take my Sun sign, Libra, and look at the process. Without any other knowledge to go by, we would put my Sun sign in the first house, and put the rest of the zodiac, in order, behind it. Like this:

Libra - First House

Scorpio - Second House

Sagittarius - Third House

Capricorn - Fourth House

Aquarius - Fifth House

Pisces - Sixth House

Aries - Seventh House

Taurus - Eighth House

Gemini - Ninth House

Cancer - Tenth House

Leo - Eleventh House

Virgo - Twelfth House

Alright. So, for this example, let's look at the Sun. Right now, the Sun is in Virgo, so the Sun is in my twelfth house. The Sun has to do with the self, and the twelfth house has to do with secrets, seclusion, unconscious thoughts.

This is all fine and well until you realize that your houses are dependent on your rising/ascendant sign (the time of day you were born), and not your Sun sign (the time of year you were born).

These horoscopes can be okay for looking at how the ruling planet of your Sun sign (Venus rules Libra) is moving through the chart and interacting with the universe, but that's about it. There's no specificity, little insight, and a lot of cringe-worthy astrology involved.