Are our futures dependent on what's 'written in the stars', or are they dependent on the decisions that we choose to make?
A horoscope is a “forecast of a person’s future” based on the “relative positions of the stars and planets at the time of that person’s birth”. In other words, aspects of your personality and a forecast of your future are dependent on the month in which you were born. There are 12 Zodiac (horoscope) signs, and each sign has its own meanings, attributes and compatibility with other signs. Does it sound completely crazy? Yes. But do we still somehow find ourselves fitting into these ‘personalities’ and matching to the ‘likes and dislikes’ of our signs? Yes. And therefore, do we find ourselves, occasionally, just ‘checking out’ our horoscope predictions for the future? Possibly.
You might think that horoscopes are fake, stupid and pointless, but I guarantee that you have read your horoscope at least once, or maybe Googled it just out of interest to see what they were? Well, even if you haven’t, you know they exist, partly because you’re reading this article, but most probably because they are everywhere. There are horoscope articles every week (sometimes everyday) in magazines and newspapers, they’re online, they’re on T-shirts and notebooks – they're hard to avoid. Today’s society is hooked on them, but why?
Well, horoscopes are hopeful, fictional and intriguing. When I read my horoscope, I know that millions of people are born on the same day at the same time, but irrationally in that moment I believe that my horoscope holds some form of truth in what it is predicting and I think that it is going to says something unique about myself – which I think can be said for a lot of people.
Horoscopes always seem to offer you general statements on life, mentioning past troubles and a hopeful future – something everyone can relate to, and something that we all want to hear. According to a psychologist at University of Wisconsin, 70% of information in newspaper horoscopes is positive, substantially higher than any other part of a newspaper. They offer us an escape from reality and anxieties.
So, although they seem quite obviously fictional, as it is probably impossible that millions of people all over the world should be categorised into personality groups solely depending on the month they were born in, and all have the same future predictions, they are an escape, a form of entertainment and way to read what you want hear, motivation when you’re out of energy and to give you hope when you’re out of luck. Our lives are not dependent on what’s ‘written in the stars’, but it is our own choices and actions that determine the people we become.
