I Believe in Astrology

It’s certainly not the newspaper horoscopes that have me believing. I used to read the newspaper from start to finish and that included the horoscope. I spent years waiting for what was supposed to happen to my fortune and not once did I notice it worked.

So wait, you say, perhaps he believes in the more expensive, done by your actual birth date, with an astrologer you might actually meet, astrology. But here too I am soured even though I’ve never had this done. I would just expect the “accurate” astrologer to be even vaguer and more noncommital than the newspaper.

If not the horoscopes I believe in, maybe it is the zodiac and the symbols up there that represent things. It’s no to this, too. Firstly, the present zodiac includes the constellation Ophiuchus. In fact the sun spends more time in Ophiuchus than in Scorpius. Still it’s not part of the astrological Zodiac. How come? Well astrologers like to say that the zodiac was perfect some thousands of years ago. And it is this zodiac that they use.

As for the symbols, well are all Geminis twins? Are all Libras fair? Are all Sagittarii bow hunting centaurs? I know you’re thinking I’m taking everything too literally. But symbolically do all Geminis have multiple personality disorder? That’s a correct way to take the symbolism, too.

Alright then, you say. Perhaps it’s the effect of the stars, moon and planets on us that I agree with. Sadly this is not the case. I can see where the idea of astrology began. It was important in prehistory and early history to watch the stars to find when the year has started again. This can be done by watching the stars. It was also important to watch the moon to know the tides. From this I think the foundation of astrology was begun. But for the vast majority of things, I don’t believe the stars, moon and planets have any effect on our daily lives.

Then what do I believe in about astrology? Well I have had some luck matching the astrological sign’s traits with a handful of people I know the birth signs of. I know what you’re thinking, a handful of anecdotes do not a discipline make.

But I have some support in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers. In it he notices the best hockey players have coincidentally early in the year birth dates. They are divided this way when they start hockey at the age of 4 or 5. Of course the early in the year birth date kids are significantly more skilled and able because half a year is huge when you’re this age. So these kids get sent to hockey camps and get grouped in more competitive teams, because they are “skilled”. These “extra” activities make them more skilled than they were and the gap widens.

We get put in school early on and that goes by the calendar year as well. It only makes sense that differences will appear depending on birth dates. And that, people, is why I believe in astrology. Well one part of it anyway.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have said I believe in astrology, because of all the qualifying I had to do. Perhaps I should just say I believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.