Thousands of years ago, when our ancestors looked at the starry sky, they saw a swarm of lights. They didn't really know what they were, but they nevertheless made an astonishing discovery: the movements of the stars were predictable. The seasons, tides, and harvests were influenced by the sky. It was therefore logical for some civilizations that the stars played a role in our lives. Almost all ancient cultures invented astrology. Humans are by nature attracted to mysticism, from the dawn of time until today. Even knowing that it is not a science, why do so many people from different cultures seek to give meaning to the stars?
The 12 Signs of the Zodiac
As a reminder, the 12 zodiac signs are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
The concept of the 12 zodiac signs dates back more than 2,000 years and comes to us from Babylon, which is now Iraq. The ancient civilizations of the country noticed that there were about 12 new moons per year. They therefore divided the sun's path into 12, each part being indicated by a constellation. Drawing symbols on the stars, like a bull or a scorpion for example, simply served to track them over the years. This is where the 12 zodiac signs come from.
The Astrological Chart
The zodiac sign is determined by the constellation where the sun was at our birth. But the sun sign is not the only sign attributed to us. Indeed, astrologers use what is called "the astrological chart": it is a snapshot of the sky at the moment we were born. We therefore all have a sun sign, a moon sign, and an ascendant sign. The latter notably indicates whether the sun was rising or setting when we were born. Thus, our astrological chart is divided into 12 houses that correspond to different aspects of life. These houses include the position of the planets and the degrees separating them. However, the sun sign is considered the most important. The astrological chart was notably used to predict the destiny of many historical figures. In a world where it was thought that the universe revolved around us, astronomy consisted of mapping stars and planets, with the aim of interpreting their influence on us.
The Symbolism of Astrological Signs According to Countries
Many believe that the position of the planets affects life. In India, astrology is a widespread art. There are even TV shows dedicated to this subject, and people do not hesitate to act according to the announced predictions. In Taiwan, where the Chinese zodiac is popular and an integral part of prevailing beliefs and culture, births are planned during lucky years: for example, the year of the dragon is symbolized as very lucky, so births will be organized only around that year. In the West, liking astrology rather means reading one's horoscope, which consists of predictions based on our zodiac sign. In the 16th century, European royal families often employed astrologers for predictions. Moreover, Shakespeare talked about astrology in almost every one of his tragedies! For example, Romeo and Juliet were born under opposing stars, making their love impossible. Thus, astrology was a recurring theme in Shakespeare's plays, who often used it to express the tragic fate of his characters. Thus, astrology is an integral part of many different cultures around the world, and each culture interprets it in its own way.
The Birth of Astrology: Claudius Ptolemy
It was an astronomer who popularized astrology: the famous Claudius Ptolemy. In second-century Egypt, he wrote one of the most important astronomy books in history: he was the first to correctly map the speeds and rotation of the planets around the Earth, which was a real feat for the time. This major event led to a societal upheaval: it was the invention of the calendar, which would be based on this model for 1,500 years! A few years later, Ptolemy also wrote one of the most influential astrology books of all time: The Tetrabiblos. Through this work, he did not divide the world into science and non-science but rather chose to associate astrology with common sense. Thanks to this, Ptolemy allowed Greek astrology to be exported to the Middle East and India. China, on the other hand, is one of the rare places where the export did not work, because there was already a popular system based on the year of birth, and this system is also several millennia old.
Scientific Progresses That Revolutionized Astrology
At that time, two ideas began to revolutionize the world and the place of astrology: For always, human beings thought they were the center of the universe. Then, scientists like Galileo helped establish that we actually revolved around the sun. As a result, the astrological notion that everything is connected to humans was completely overturned, although the legitimacy of astrology did not disappear all at once. Moreover, even Galileo drew horoscopes for his family members or for wealthy clients, which allowed him to pay his bills!
But another event dealt a fatal blow to the belief in astrology: 17th-century scientific discoveries such as gravity, the light spectrum, blood circulating in veins, and even the invention of the telescope, allowing the discovery of moons, helped develop a system to determine what was true or false. Thus, one had to form a hypothesis, then test it and reproduce the results. As a result, the scientific method identified what was considered a science or not. The study of planets and stars succeeded in this test, but the prediction of their impact on events was not accepted. This is why astrology and astronomy were separated forever.
Astrology and Newspapers... The Creation of the Horoscope Section
Following this event, in the West, astrology fell into disuse... until the invention of the horoscope section! In 1930, a London newspaper published a column by astrologer R.H. Naylor, in which he made predictions about the birth of Princess Margaret. According to him, the princess would develop a "disregard for restraint," which seems to have been the case later in her life. Moreover, the astrologer also predicted that around Princess Margaret's seventh birthday, very important events for her family would occur: curiously, just before her seventh birthday, her uncle abdicated the throne in favor of her father, making her sister, Queen Elizabeth, the legitimate heir, which was unimaginable at the time! After this disturbing prediction, Naylor was given his own column where he no longer dealt with celebrities but rather drew horoscopes for ordinary readers, based on their sun signs. The idea immediately appealed to other newspapers.
Astrology and Psychoanalysis: A Close Link
Another trend arrived in time to boost astrology: psychoanalysis. Carl Jung is one of the founders of psychoanalysis. He popularized the concept of personality types, and his ideas inspired personality tests like the famous Myers-Briggs model, which are still widely used in large companies today. Carl Jung was a passionate student of astrology and often wrote letters about it to Sigmund Freud.
1960s: Linda Goodman and her book: "Sun Signs"
At the end of the 1960s, a new era emerged: the New Age period. Linda Goodman published her book "Sun Signs" in 1968. It was the very first astrology book to become a bestseller. More than 30 million copies were sold worldwide, and the book was translated into 15 different languages. This book promised to help recognize the hidden dreams, secret hopes, and true natures of our loved ones through sun signs. Linda Goodman, through her work, asserted that sun signs would change our lives. Her book therefore described what is called the personality of the zodiac signs: this is the creation of the broad personality traits that we all know today based on our sun signs.
Today, incorrect sun signs and a better understood phenomenon
Over the 2,000 years since the creation of the signs, the Earth has tilted. As a result, our signs have shifted. Furthermore, technically, there is a 13th sign called Ophiuchus. Numerous studies have been conducted, and they all identify a common factor: the more a person feels they are not in control of their life, the more they identify with their horoscope. However, the positive attitude that a horoscope can bring can improve our results in cognitive or creativity tests: this is known as the placebo effect, where something doesn't need to be real to have real effects; believing in something is enough.
The Barnum Effect
Another very famous study is called "the Barnum effect", in homage to the circus artist P.T. Barnum. This states that we desperately try to identify with our horoscope, even if the description given could apply to everyone. In 1949, P.T. Barnum gathered 39 students and gave them a personality test, claiming it was a psychological examination. In reality, all the profiles he determined were completely identical. He used generic terms like "your sexual adjustment has caused you problems," which in itself is a factor that affects all young people during puberty. Of the 39 students, 38 agreed with this statement, while only one said they did not recognize themselves in this description. In conclusion, the Barnum effect therefore indicates that everyone can find themselves in any horoscope. Horoscope descriptions tend to be very ambiguous and more or less positive.
Astrology, a spirituality that replaces religion
For some, astrology brings a sense of spirituality and a philosophical scope necessary for the person's well-being. This art then replaces religion, which failed to provide what they were looking for, unlike astrology. For example, according to a national study, Americans are becoming less religious over time, yet they are increasingly spiritual. Astrology is considered personal, as everyone has their own chart and horoscope. In this way, astrology is different from a religion, where one is usually part of a community. However, the ultimate goals are the same: to understand where we come from, to have the feeling of reaching or understanding the divine, regardless of whether it is a god or a great mystery from our perspective. The millions of stars present in a rather chaotic universe are like a metaphor for ourselves and they represent our quest, that of finding our place in the circle of life. This is why astrology, science or not, is so appreciated all over the world.
We hope you enjoyed this article on astrology and the zodiac signs! If you want to continue enriching your knowledge about the great mysteries of the universe, we recommend reading our article on aliens and their origins.
