I was filming a pilot for a television show earlier this summer where a group of experts were brought together to comment on unsolved cases, new technology, aliens – pretty much everything.
One episode was astrology. We watched a clip of celebrities swearing by its accuracy, and when the clip was over, everyone released an audible groan.
To which I responded, “I hope you all roll your eyes like that when we talk about Christianity.”
To be clear, I do not believe that Mercury in retrograde determines my mood. The same as I don’t believe a carpenter died 2,000 years ago for my sins. I disbelieve all theologies equally, though some are worse than others.
Astrology is not the worst.
A supporting reason why astrology receives so much hate in the Western World is because it’s popular among girls. Let's be honest. Boy bands, Twilight, Taylor Swift. If girls like it, then there’s an open pass for everyone to hate it. This surprises me, because astrology has caused far less damage than the other major theologies and is overall, far less problematic.
At least the Sun exists.
In ancient times, there was no difference between astrology and astronomy. They were one-in-the-same. Many parts of the world were tracking the stars and planets, but it’s believed to have originated in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3,000 BC, and eventually spread to India.
Regarded as a science only up until recently, it played a major role in mapping the orbital periods of planets, constellations, and the seasons. This was critical for farming purposes, food storage and all-around running a civilization.
From Ptolemy to Galileo, many historical figures believed in astrology and praised it as a science. However, astrology has long since strayed from its astronomy roots, and isn’t without its faults.
For starters, there is no evidence that the time of year you’re born effects your personality, or that the positioning of Mars will predict your future. There have been studies done on people and their traits, but the results amounted to nothing more than randomness.
However, if astrology is your religion, then that faith is yours. Rest assured that I will hate it as equally as I hate the others.
And that’s what bothers me: when people treat astrology as some blasphemous theology, when it’s older and more rooted in science and trigonometry than most other religions. If Mercury in retrograde makes 70 million people happy (or sad?), then whatever.
The odds still stand that you couldn't guess my horoscope.