astrology

Jessica Watts

“Planning to date an Aries woman? Be prepared for a wild ride, as she is always on the go and loves to have new experiences.” This is how the popular website Astrotalk describes my sign.

Yep, that’s me, I think with a concurrent nod as I sip my tea having just spent the day watching the third season of Sex Education for the fifth time, knowing full well I have panic attacks going to new places. I’m a big astrology-lover, so much so that I’ll sometimes force myself to fit the descriptions that Cosmopolitan’s horoscope function predicts for me.

This month, “Thursday’s Sun-Pluto Trine” inspires me to improve my focus at work (I don’t have a job).

My apparent worst love matches include Taurus (the sign of my long-term boyfriend), and I am an anxiety-ridden homebody who hates surprises. So, if I’m aware that my monthly horoscopes aren’t totally accurate, why do I still insist on asking every new person I meet “what’s your star sign?”

The zodiac system

Though it has gained popularity in recent years, the zodiac system was actually first charted by the Babylonians around 700 B.C. Bodhi states that the basic concept is that “the placement of planets in a person’s birth chart can provide insight into their relationship dynamics and compatibility with others.” Many people believe that the specific date and time of your birth can affect the course of your life.

“your whole chart needs to be done in order to have any predictive value”

Astrology is a vast expanse of information and predictions, so it can get pretty confusing. Certified Professional Consulting Astrologer, Diana Brownstone, notes: “If you are looking at Astrology 101, you can look at the basic compatibility of the sun, moon, and ascending signs. However, that would be the equivalent of taking a blood test and not fully reading it […] The truth is that your whole chart needs to be done in order to have any predictive value.”

So, if you’re really looking to learn something of value, it’s worth having your whole chart drawn out and read by a professional. However, in lieu of such a mind, I will try to explain (very simply) how your astrological chart, and astrology in general, may affect your relationships.

The first thing to do is look up your birth chart. Try googling “free birth chart” (Café Astrology.com provides a free, detailed service). Then, you can see what your general traits are and how they align with the stars.

Astrology and romantic relationships

There are twelve astrological houses which represent the different areas of human life. When you are born, your stars are situated in certain positions within these houses. Whatever signs happen to be in each house at the time of your birth give specific qualities to the different areas of life.

For example, the fifth house represents pleasure, sex, and fun. According to Astroline, “the signs you have in the 5th house describes your overall predisposition and temperament regarding love.” Virgo is in my fifth house, which means I can be picky and acts of service are my main love language.

“your heart and feelings are the be-all-and-end-all”

Your compatibility with other signs is dependent on all the intricacies of your birth chart. As a basic overview, complementary signs that tend to work well together include: fire sign + fire sign; fire sign + air sign; water sign + earth sign, etc. You can go into more depth by researching your specific compatibility with other signs. But remember, your heart and feelings are the be-all-and-end-all, not whether Taurus was in the fifth house when your crush was born.

Astrology and Friendships

The seventh house is the one which encompasses day-to-day matters and long-term relationships, both romantic and platonic.

The seventh house describes the energy that someone must bring to form a successful and stable long-term relationship with you. By looking at your seventh house, you’ll get to know which traits someone must possess in order to have a healthy, lasting relationship with you.

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Mercury in retrograde

It’s impossible to discuss astrology without talking about the phrase that often provokes rolled eyes: Mercury in retrograde.

Despite its reputation as an excuse for when things go wrong, Mercury in retrograde is a scientific observation. It refers to the various times of the year when planet Mercury appears to have changed its direction of orbit.

NASA explains: Mars and Earth are “like race cars on an oval track. Earth has the inside lane and moves faster than Mars – so much faster, in fact, that it makes two laps around the course in about as much time as it takes Mars to go around once.”

As Earth’s orbit passes the other planet’s orbit, it appears they are moving backwards.

“slow down and review, reassess and reorganize”

This erratic movement is called “retrograde motion”. Many cultures believe that this change in the cosmos affects our lives on Earth. In astrology, Mercury – named after the Roman god of communication – is the planet of communication. When it moves backwards, our lives can become similarly muddled.

Celebrity astrologer Kyle Thomas assures us: “Mercury retrograde phases are not here to destroy you or create problems. Instead, they are here to help you slow down and review, reassess and reorganise.”

Despite this, he also notes that it is best to avoid making big agreements, signing contracts, or starting new relationships during this time.

Is astrology trustworthy?

As Brownstone suggests, you need your whole birth chart read to truly understand what astrology means for your life. So, while the daily horoscopes we read at the back of a magazine might not always apply to us, that doesn’t mean astrology can’t tell you something about yourself.

If the Babylonians or the odd Gen Z who emphatically use the stars to explain things can’t convince you, then perhaps the words of Carl Jung might: “We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born.”

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Featured image courtesy of Farzad Mohsenvand on Unsplash. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.

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