Are you surrounded by people who make the big decisions in their life based on what the horoscope advises? Astrology can be a fun topic of discussion, but sometimes people like to go too far, choosing careers, marriages and new cities after reading a review in a newspaper. Claiming that astrology is false could be an opportunity to wake them up.
Steps
Step 1. Pretend to be from another zodiac sign in front of someone who is not well versed in astrology
See if he guesses if the zodiac sign you pretend to be is wrong.
Step 2. Read the daily or weekly horoscope
Compare the other signs to yours. Notice how many of them have general indications that will most likely fit their personal situation. Most newspaper horoscopes are either not made accurately or are, in fact, conceived at random.
Step 3. Note the generalizations among those who practice or believe in astrology
People interpret the same text differently in a way that suits them best.
The zodiac signs tend to mirror the general principles governing human behavior. Study the most common generalizations expressed about the zodiac signs and try to guess the sign of the people you know. Then, compare their actual sign to what you thought they had. Correspond?
Step 4. Do some research on the Forer effect, named after psychologist Bertram R
Forer, who demonstrated the propensity of people to believe in the accuracy and precision of personal profiles (which could apply to any individual), albeit vaguely delineated.
Step 5. Learn some basic astrology on sun signs
The most commonly known astrological framework in the West is the astrological picture of the sun signs - the one found in the horoscopes of many newspapers. If it were truly accurate, its predictive value would be extremely high… but things didn't happen that way, at least historically, because companies would have used it effectively and consistently, proving its correctness.
Step 6. Review the following
The horoscope is an astrological forecast. The term is also used to describe the zodiac map at the time of a person's birth. The zodiac is divided into twelve celestial zones, each named after the constellation that originally fell within its own zone (Taurus, Leo, etc.). The apparent path of the sun, moon and major planets all fall within the zodiac. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the equinox and solstice points have shifted westward by about 30 degrees over the past 2000 years. Therefore, the zodiacal constellations named in antiquity no longer correspond to the segments of the zodiac represented by their respective signs. In short, if you had come into the world at the same time and on the same day 2000 years ago, you would have been born under a different zodiac sign.
- In fact, there should be 13 signs and not 12. It is the phenomenon of precession that has altered the very constellations that people draw their graphs from.
- The precession of the equinoxes is caused by the fact that the axis of the earth's rotation (which determines the alternation of day and night) and the axis of the earth's revolution around the sun (which marks the passage of each year) are not parallel. There is an inclination of 23.5 degrees, that is, the axis of the Earth's rotation is inclined by 23.5 degrees. This inclination also causes the seasons to change, a phenomenon that Ptolemy understood, unlike many people even today. Ptolemy understood that the axis of the earth's rotation undergoes a slow and continuous precession, that is, it makes a circular motion, at an angle of 23.5 degrees and completing a complete revolution every 26,000 years or so. He deduced this by comparing the data obtained by the ancient Sumerians 200 years before him. He did not understand, however, which forces cause the precession, but he understood the movement. Now we realize that the sun rotates over a period of 30 days and that thanks to its force of attraction it causes the equatorial swelling of the Earth, giving rise to a pair of forces that determine the precession movement of the equinoxes. Regarding the moon, there is also a slight 18.6 year variation produced by its orbit around the Earth, as well as a small effect it has on precession. However, the equatorial swelling due to the sun is the main cause of the precession of the equinoxes, which is why in most cases the zodiac signs, listed in the newspapers, are those that are currently in the actual position of the sun at the time of birth.
Step 7. Notice the paradoxes
Modern signs are further complicated, as their borders correspond to the current constellations. A more precise way to distribute the zodiac signs would be to divide the ecliptic into segments of 30 degrees, as Ptolemy did, but keep each segment centered on the patterns of the constellations. This system should separate each sign with a time interval of just over 30 days and eliminate the 13th Ophiuchus sign. Nonetheless, modern signs would continue to differ from the designations of the ancient tradition.
Step 8. Think about the similarities between astrology and racism
Both operate on the principle that a person's behavior is based on how they were born and not who they actually are. Although most astrology readings, emphasizing the positive qualities of individuals, are good for parlor chatter, it follows that if you believe that a person has introspective abilities because they were born in December, then it can also be recklessly assumed. that a person is lazy because of the color of his skin.
Step 9. Remember that it was only in the course of the century that phrenology (the study of the physical characteristics of the skull) became well accepted, as a doctrine that interprets the dependencies of the human personality on the morphology of the skull
Likewise, astrology tries to be a science, engaging with inherently imprecise methods.
Advice
- While it is advisable to be open-minded, don't believe everything that is said to you. Go looking for feedback on your own.
- There are more than 6 billion people on this planet. The population is growing by 3 people per second, so can you ever think that all people born in the same month, week or minute all have the same fate? The answer is, of course, no. Many have built a business on this. Realize that only the time and date of birth are not enough to define someone's destiny, because the position (in longitude and latitude) is necessary to draw an astrological profile.
- Try to consider reality through a logical path before coming to a conclusion.
- Try searching for the World Population Clock to see how it corroborates the previous claim.
- Websites like skeptic.com and www.randi.org and certain TV shows are great resources for keeping critical thinking trained.
- Study the fundamentals of astrology.
Warnings
- Mankind strives to derive meaning from existential experience. Astrology is the attempt by some to explain human behavior with predictive mechanisms, facing both the past and the future.
- While it may be indicative that you don't believe in astrology, it is also advisable not to acquire a narrow mindset on other matters in life. As with all things, ponder reality and draw your own conclusions.
- Some people take astrology, like religion, very seriously. It is appropriate to treat others with respect, without offending them for what they believe.
