The Encyclopedia Brittanica defines astrology as “The ancient art or science of divining the fate and future of human beings from indications given by the position of stars and other heavenly bodies.” While this may sound hard to believe if you consider yourself a true scientist, one can be certain that few other topics stimulate as much debate as astrology. To show the validity and authenticity of astrology, astrologists use various systems in establishing horoscope charts, the basic tool and most popular of the trade.
Horoscope charts are a map of the zodiacal circle with Earth at the center. The name, horoscope, deriving from the Greek compound word “oro + scopo”, meaning  “look at the hours”, shows the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and stars at a specific time and place of your choosing, such as the date, time and location of your birth. Once the date, time and location are set and plotted, astrologers use an astronomical ephemeris, a table that lists the locations of the Sun, Moon, planets, and constellations at any given time to construct the chart. After the chart is made, astrologers interpret the chart to properly reveal personality insights and current trends. Although this process may sound easy just on paper, interpreting charts is something that is left to highly trained and accredited astrologers.

Astrology itself goes back to the time of the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks. The Babylonians followed astrological charts that enabled them to predict the recurrence of seasons and celestial events. Introduced to the Greeks in the 4th Century B.C., astrology gained more attention as Plato, Aristotle and other astrologers started to regard it as a science. The Romans soon came to embrace it and even now the Roman names for the Zodiac signs are still used today, like Aquarius, Capricorn, Leo, Gemini, and Pisces, to name just a few. Later on, astrology was used to include forecasts of natural disasters and finally came to be used as a counsel for Kings and Emperors. Now, one can argue that they act as forecasts for our actions and moods as well. Instagram horoscope pages now post “signs most likely to do” certain actions or the signs as certain objects/feelings. The more one seems to look at their horoscope, the more they seem to relate to what is listed under their sign.

You may catch yourself saying “yeah, that’s me” when you see your sign under a certain personality type. Students like senior Vianney Mancilla’19, a Taurus, say that they believe horoscopes are true to a certain extent. Others, like Sophomore Sattu Samura’ say that horoscopes “are accurate for the most part and fun to read during my spare time.” One senior, Christy Tran, says that while she only reads her horoscopes when she has time, she can relate to some of the character traits listed for her sign and how they act as a Scorpio herself. Most Xavier students see horoscopes as relatable and fun to read about.  While Shea Sciarappo’19 doesn’t read her horoscope often, she gets her occasional reports from apps like Buzzfeed and Snapchat, which give users the chance to subscribe to one or more discovery channel, like Cosmopolitan, which publishes horoscopes for reader’s enjoyment. As it’s notorious for its horoscope quizzes and theories of what will happen throughout your day based on your zodiac sign, other students like Ashley Sanchez’19 also complete their doses of quizzes to get their horoscope on Snapchat. Elysia Fleetwood’20 and Senior Truly Helton’19 follow some of the Horoscope pages that have millions of followers on Instagram to read their horoscope and understand the meanings of what Mercury Retrograde may mean for their signs.

No matter who you are, Horoscopes can reveal real ideas about your personality type and certain things that have or will affect you later on. It’s up to you, however, to determine what you do with that information and how you can truly overcome every obstacle to your changing personality with an open mind and fresh perspective. With all of this in mind, astrology and horoscopes, in general, are things that will not be going away anytime soon. After all, your fate may be written in the stars.