I denounced astrology when I was 10 years old. I selected my own sun sign, Virgo, for my Sim character and watched the neatness level shoot up to a 10 out of 10. I looked down at my bedroom, which appeared to be ransacked by a burglar on an almost daily basis, and decided there was no way this “science” had any validity.

Fast forward 10 more years, and I have come to be the proud owner of many astrology books and sport a “Virgo” necklace in the hopes it will be a conversation starter with the next customer service worker I meet.

What had changed? Why had I suddenly become supportive of something that I never thought I would give more than a minute of thought to?

First off, I read a book rather than getting my astrological information from Cosmo or random trolls on the internet. But mostly, I began to see it’s larger purpose. Astrology—all validity questions aside—is the perfect platform for self-reflection. It forces me to examine who I am, take the pieces of the description that fit, and leave the ones that don’t. It forces me to think about the question, “Who am I?" Echoed throughout art and culture, from Socrates to Drake, we are reminded that to grow, to participate in the world, we must first know ourselves. If this is such an age old theme, why does it feel like it is exactly what our generation is missing?

More college and post-college age millennials are living at home, drowning in student debt, and I can’t help but feel like it stems from their inability to understand who they are or what they want out of life. Millennials aren’t in any way dispassionate, just misguided. And perhaps too distracted by the noise of the world to sit in silence with themselves long enough to ask these important questions. Self-reflection is hard work, and often it requires being alone. Being alone means something different for everyone: some need physical solitude, some need to be out of a relationship that no longer pushes them to grow, and some just need to learn to get off social media long enough to be able to turn their attention inward.

Maybe astrology is just a placebo, and then again, maybe religion is, too. But if it provides a platform for personal reflection and growth, then it serves a purpose. Maybe if more millennials knew their sun sign and just what they wanted out of life, we could change the world. Or at the very least stop bunking up with our parents. Maybe astrology is just what millennials need.