Do you read horoscopes and believe in their power? When reading a description of your sign do you say “Wow! That’s totally me!” Well…it’s not. To be blunt, those balls of plasma floating millions of miles away have no effect on your life. Just because Jupiter is in your third house does not change the way you should conduct business.

According to Wikipedia, astrology has existed since ancient times with origins in China, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Astrology supports a direct relationship between the behavior of the stars and human actions and characteristics.

The scientific community in the 17th century dismissed astrology as a pseudoscience. They believed that astrology couldn’t explain the meaning and the nature of the universe. Despite this formal dismissal, people still participate in astrology on a daily basis.

Sure, to a certain extent astrology is perfectly harmless, but in actuality, it is a scam— especially since it is no longer considered a form of science.  The astrology industry preys on humankind’s uncertainty. People invest money in fortune tellers, palm readers, books, crystals, and horoscope subscriptions.

I like to think of practicing astrology in the way that treating illnesses developed. At first the healing process involved a lot of leeches and praying. That method worked on occasion— proving its validity—despite the physical damage this process caused.

Today, those methods are cast aside in the face of  logic and reason and replaced with actual medicine. Yet despite modern developments in medicine, people choose to keep using leeches.

This is astrology.

Many people think that astrology is perfectly harmless and fun—and to a certain extent it’s good for a laugh. Astrology offers an easy solution to a lot of the questions and uncertainty that can rule people’s lives. But the quick and easy answers it provides are more damaging then helpful— they make it harder for the real answers to be heard.

Science won’t change the truth to make you feel better. Perhaps that’s why so many people flock to astrology. It’s comforting to be told that things aren’t working for you because of some bad karma. But how long do we need to be coddled?  When does the time come when the coddling stops and humans finally face reality?

Unfortunately, there will always be something that keeps people from seeing the reality of the world. This most likely will never change. The truth can be a bitter pill to swallow. The best we can hope for is that people will not continue to enforce their fantasies and delusions on others.

At a certain point, there is a time to cast away ideas that hold back the natural progress of mankind. I believe that it’s time to kick astrology to the curb.

Featured Image: Good advice or a waste of time? Photographer: Rosemary Pastron ’16