Featuring Ellie Anderson, Ph.D., and David Pena-Guzmán, Ph.D. of the Overthink Podcast.

How reliable is Astrology?

Have you wondered if Astrology is accurate?

Has your daily horoscope felt like a "catch-all" exercise in creative writing?

You may have thought, how can this apply to only my sign?

With the rise of trendy astrology posts on social media, it's understandable to have questions about what astrology is.

When I step out into the world and hear about the stories of people who want to cancel an entire zodiac sign, I wonder if Astrology was ever supposed to be that divisive in the first place.

All astrological signs have unevolved traits, and I always believed astrology gives us a language and a series of patterns that demonstrate and describe a particular expression.

My research of the origins and impact of Astrology in current and past centuries led me to two philosophers, Ellie Anderson, Ph.D., and David Pena-Guzmán, Ph.D. of the Overthink Podcast.

In this blog post, we'll discuss five astrological takes unpacked by these two philosophers and discuss a few takeaways so you can clarify how much of your decisions and free will should be based on Astrology.

 #1 It is possible to have more than one Sun sign.

I have leaned into this perspective when I looked up my natal chart using a Vedic Astrology predictor. 

I was overwhelmed with joy to learn that in Vedic Astrology, my sun sign is Pisces, and instead of bearing a grand fire trine, I have a grand water trine like some of the artistic greats within this century, Kurt Cobain and Morgan Freeman. 

Ellie states on the podcast,

in the past 2000 years, our position relative to the various constellations on which the Zodiac are based has drifted by about 30 degrees. This means one whole month. So that actually means that if you think that you're an Aries, you're probably really a Pisces.

Takeaway: This is nothing but a positive in my eyes! More signs to love and represent, more horoscopes to read, more layers of expression to integrate and love about ourselves!

#2: To believe in Astrology, you have to reject contemporary physics

Before researching for this blog, I had never thought about metaphysics and physics beyond identifying the celestial bodies involved in Astrology. 

When I discovered the origins of Astrology, which relied on a unidirectional causal relationship between the celestial and terrestrial realms, which positioned Earth as the center, I was floored to hear David state

the Earth exercises as much of a gravitational pull on the Sun as the Sun on the Earth. So there is no reason why the causal influence would only be in our direction, and that's at the base of Astrology.

Takeaway: I now understand why some have called Astrology "anti-scientific." These two philosophers remind listeners that influence is not purely based on observation, and the science behind astrology's basis has been challenged since the top of the 17th century.

Although the science behind the predication has been challenged, Astrology has taught me much about houses, signs, aspects, and planets. That is where I find most of Astrology's riches.

#3: Astrology feeds capitalism and totalitarian thinking

Often, I have been a victim of "all-or-nothing" thinking and turned to Astrology, looking for that perfect shade of grey between my black-and-white thinking. 

It became almost like a self-regulation method when my life circumstances made me feel like I had no options, stuck or in a cage. 

Isn't that just like the cheap thrills we use to distract ourselves from being in a constant rat race which is Capitalsm.

David makes such an eye-opening claim when he states

one of those effects is that people living under capitalism flock to anything that seems even minimally rational, like the system of belief that is somewhat internally consistent but doesn't actually have an anchor in reality. And so he interprets astrology as symptomatic of people's need for some kind of order in a capitalist world that denies them that. 

Takeaway: This perspective has me thinking twice before I reach for my horoscope to make meaning out of the uncontrollable—everything in moderation. 

#4: My horoscope addresses me as an individual rather than a collective. 

David states in the podcast that Astrology dates back to ancient Mesopotamia at around 4000 to 3000 BCE, where people try to interpret the behaviors of various celestial bodies as omens of world events.

This means that the origins of Astrology were used to predict natural disasters, plagues, or the fall of an empire. 

David followed up with,  

around the sixth century BCE, you have the rise of personal astrology, especially with the creation of birth charts. And that's when we get for the first time this belief that the position of the celestial bodies can tell us something about particular individuals on the basis of their birth date. 

Takeaway: Today's Astrology content focuses heavily on your "Sun-Moon-Rising- Venus”, continuously putting personal planets as the point of reference when the origins of Astrology predicted events that would affect a nation. 

Horoscopes that focus on the generational planets within our birth charts, Uranus, Neptune, and Jupiter, can bridge the gap between the focus on personal predictive astrology and astrology's origin in interpreting behaviors of large-scale events that affect thousands of people. 

#5: Astrology is ultimately fascist

This podcast briefly touches on the connection between Astrology and Fascism. 

Does engaging in Astrology satisfy our need to be subservient to an authority?

Ellie states

it's precisely the putting of responsibility onto the individual rather than seeing the collective conditions of responsibility that is the capitalist lie. 

Takeaway: Fascist movements include authoritarianism, nationalism, hierarchy, and elitism. Before we conclude that water signs are better than earth signs or you will never talk to a fire sign again, we should think about how reiterating ideas is similar to the elitism that fuels wealth disparities, food insecurity, and access to health care. 

Is Astrology a Myth?

Hopefully after reading this blog, you have a bit of education to answer that question for yourself.

Should we base our most severe and dire life decisions on Astrology? 

Should we plan when to conceive to ensure our offspring has the best natal chart?

Should we continue re-reading texts and emails before they are sent when it is Mercury Retrograde?

Astrology prompts us to make a "12-size-fits-all" archetype of those around us while also prompting us to fit the messier part of our lives into explanations when we are so much more than our signs and the mess that life sometimes offers us.

Embracing our freedom to interpret while respecting others' differences is how we use our power to create a more inclusive and uplifting society. 

Ready for more Practical Astrology Blogs from Divine Download?

Check out my dream journal blog, How to Dream Journal Your Way to Psychological Release During Pisces Season.

Read the full transcript of the Astrology episode from the Overthink podcast here

Works Cited

Anderson, Ellie, and David Pena-Guzmán. “Transcript of Episode 32.” Overthink Podcast, Aug. 2021, www.overthinkpodcast.com/episode-32-transcript.