During my school and college days, I was as interested in what Linda Goodman and our very own Bejan Daruwalla had to say. It was fun to be told that as a Sagittarius I am wild, curious about life, interested in knowledge and truth and philosophical ideas. I would read newspaper horoscopes with interest as well. But later, I got to question how it could be that one-twelfth of the population could have similar traits and would also go on to have a similar day/week/month. I now have a rather different opinion about star signs or zodiac signs.
It is likely that one half of the population would react in one of the two ways described. But to put it down to one's star sign is a stretch.
No, my irresponsibility doesn’t owe itself to by star sign. I am not slow on the uptake sometimes because I was born in December. And I don’t have a creative bent of mind because I was born in the year of some or other animal by the Chinese calendar.
It gives us a sense of comfort to think that there is a pattern to what happens; that things can happen in an orderly and predictable manner. It is tempting to believe that we are unhappy or unsuccessful due to planetary reasons. It is comforting to believe, that bad things happen because they are ordained to be so, rather than the result of our decisions and actions or just because of random chance.
It’s not very logical. The belief that rocks far away, the time of one’s birth and random colourful stones will impact the future and personal fortunes is a little difficult to digest. For some, it could be a deal-breaker.
If you read a typical horoscope, examine the way it is worded. It is vague enough that at least some part of it is likely to come true for anyone, not just one-twelfth of the population it is addressed to. Plus we all want to hear how sensitive or tough we are. Of course, there is another way to say the same things: drippy or ruthless. But feels nicer to hear the other thing.
It’s OK if one's interest remains a mildly interesting hobby. It becomes a problem when it starts to impact your decisions and dictate your actions.
Why do you suppose most humans see the punctuation marks : & ) as a smile? Because we are hardwired to see patterns in everything; we evolved to seek order and structure. So our ancestors saw patterns in the stars and then some more ancestors decided that these things rule our lives.
Star signs don’t exist – some really old dudes decided they did and now billions have 'faith'.
And they should if they choose to; if it gives a sense of structure, comfort and security. Someone like me may have absolutely zero faith in zodiac signs, but I believe that people should be free to believe in them... so long as it doesn't take over their lives and dictate the lives of others around them.
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