Written by Jillian Lau
What scares you? For some, nothing is scarier than diving headfirst into the unknown, with all its unpredictability and uncertainty.
This is exactly what the pandemic has done, flushing well-laid plans down the drain. With things being up in the air, people around the world are turning to astrology, both eastern and western, to help gain insights into what is in store for them.
Beyond astrology, some have also turned to astronomy for guidance — the use of astronomy has been trusted for aeons. Even back in the early days of human civility, astronomy was an international phenomenon spanning across civilizations from the ancient Egyptians to the ancient Chinese.
And the combination of astrology and astronomy also has a long-standing history. In China, the tale of the 12 zodiacs dates back centuries — even now, it plays a pivotal role in the lives of millions across the world; many turning to these eastern zodiac signs for important dates and predictions.
Western astrology was popularised in the 13th century by the Babylonians, who had realised that there were roughly 12 new moons in the span of a year— subsequently, they split the year in accordance to these 12 moons and learnt to recognise them through symbols that the stars in the sky had formed. For example, a scorpion for Scorpio season or a bull symbolising Taurus season.
Today, the boom of astrology on social media has led to many discovering it. Astrology is now simultaneously one of the world’s biggest, as well as the most disputed and discredited phenomena.
One of astrology’s biggest selling points is that it supposedly gives us a glimpse into the unknown. No one likes to go to battle unprepared – having astrology is like entering battle wielding the Excalibur sword. Since ancient times, we have been wired to believe that the concept of astrology is bigger than us and that it is “all-knowing”, and it is this belief that has led many people to place their trust and judgement wholly in the palm of its hands.
In some cases, the idea of astrology is used as a replacement for religion. For some, the idea of traditional religions may not appeal to them and they, therefore, turn to astrology for solace. Instead of a benevolent figurehead, they prefer to worship and rely on the universe and the stars.
While the concept may sound out of this world, it is not hard to believe. It can be hard to live in this cold, unfeeling world without the wisdom and warmth of a grand being who holds the key to all the answers we are looking for. This confrontation of existential dread is one of the biggest reasons why astrology has long been popular among humanity.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are sceptics that do not fathom how a few stars in the sky are able to map out someone’s entire life. It is understandable that the study of the stars can raise eyebrows, especially in this day and age. With the trend of astrology growing, it has lost some of its credibility. Now, the term “astrology” is synonymous with harmful and baseless stereotypes of different zodiac signs.
In some worst-case scenarios, astrology is even used as a reason to discriminate against others. To illustrate, some clouded astrology junkies may even go so far as to hold prejudices against certain groups of people based on their zodiac signs. This is a highly unhealthy practice – to make judgement about someone based on hyper-generalised stereotypes they found online.
However, we are not here to dispute which group is right and which is wrong. The important thing to remember here is that astrology plays a very integral role in a myriad of cultures and religions. While it has gained popularity thanks to social media, it is so much more than an internet trend.
Astrology is considered a science-art; a mixture between science and art. The science portion of astrology is its clear relation to astronomy. Astrology reflects art through the characteristics of different zodiac signs and predictions, just to name a few. The art bit of astrology can be considered the culprit behind its infamy in today’s context. It has led many people to misconstrue the use of astrology – degrading it to just a relatable internet fad.
Because of that, many have forgotten how astrology has contributed to the development of mankind and that it has guided humankind for millions of years and will continue to do so for a million more. Even though astrology is now seen as popular culture, we must not ignore the factual part of it– the science behind it that has proven to be accurate for centuries– just because of an online craze.
We need to be more discerning before we come to the iron-clad conclusion that astrology is a fact or a fad.
