Astrology and horoscope, the science of “morons”?

“Astrology is the “science” by which an idiot concludes that he is an idiot because of the stars.” This is how the Spanish writer and comedian El Perich summed up the popular belief about horoscopes, those mystical predictions that predict the future of our destiny and which in the 21st century continue to be one of the most popular on the Internet. But what does science say about horoscopes and therefore astrology? Is there any scientific reason to believe that Mercury will retrograde turn our days into an unbearable crisis? Or is this, no more, no less, pure quackery?

The truth is that although there is no scientific evidence that a person’s character and destiny (or misfortune) will be determined by the constellations, horoscopes do influence those who believe in them, and their influence is confirmed by science, which is definitely not astronomy, but more earthly: psychology.

Reading a horoscope and feeling identification is not the work of astral mysticism, but the psychological effect of personal agreement known as Forer effect, named after American psychologist Bertram R. Forer. In 1948, Forer conducted an experiment that involved applying a personality test based on general traits taken from newspaper horoscopes to a group of students with whom, surprisingly, some of them showed some affinity.

Psychologist Carmen Almendros from the Autonomous University of Madrid He sums it up bluntly: “People like to receive information about themselves, especially if it contains favorable descriptions.”

Another science that supports the usefulness of horoscopes is sociology and its concept self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy, described by American sociologist Robert K. Merton, broadly refers to the fact that beliefs about something, even if they are unrealistic, determine and guide our behavior.

Of course, astronomy, which is the scientific study of celestial bodies, has not confirmed and, most likely, will never give confidence to the provisions of astrology, which studies the influence of stars on the destinies of people. So far, it has been scientifically proven that the only force the stars exert on us is gravity, and it is so strong that it will probably one day end our existence.

Why does astrology make no sense from an astronomical point of view?

Western astronomy suggests that personality is ruled by the 12 traditional signs of ancient mythology: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

This belief suggests that the firmament is divided into 12 equal parts, resulting in the division of the zodiac. However, this assumption is based on the fact that the constellations are the same size, and this is not accurate. For example, while Taurus constellation occupies 797.2 square degrees, what about Gemini covers 513.8.

Because of this, if the zodiac took into account the sizes of the constellations, the signs that control our destiny would have different lengths of days and would not be divided into 12 equal proportions throughout the year.

Added to this factor is the shift of the earth’s axis, due to which, according to University of Illinois astronomer James Kahler, in 3000 years the entire zodiac should shift by one full sign.

According to the size of the constellations and the movement around the Sun, the correct dates of the zodiac signs will be very different from those used in horoscopes. Kahler suggests the following dates:

• Aries: from April 19 to May 14.
• Taurus: from May 15 to June 20.
• Gemini: from June 21 to July 20.
• Cancer: from July 21 to August 10.
• Leo: from August 11 to September 16.
• Virgo: from September 17 to October 31.
• Libra: November 1st to November 24th.
• Scorpio: from November 25 to December 17.
• Sagittarius: from December 18 to January 19.
• Capricorn: from January 20 to February 16.
• Aquarius: from February 17 to March 11.
• Pisces: from March 12 to April 18.

We should also not lose sight of the fact that there is no single horoscope and no consensus in Western astrology. This button is a study conducted in 1978, which examined the horoscopes of 14 astrological schools in San Francisco (USA) and found 2,375 adjectives, of which only 30 were cited by two or more schools.

Meanwhile, with regard to the Chinese horoscope, which is governed by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, the divisions of signs (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig) are assigned by year.

In short, these ancient traditions are explained by our inner need to know the future, and given their origins 4,000 years ago in the cultures of Mesopotamia, Babylon and Assyria, they must be nothing more than anecdotal today.