34 Comments
Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I love it.

As a system of planets in signs, it's a solid, time-tested mechanism for keeping track of personal & social cycles that are longer than a year.

As a system of planets in signs and houses, it's a fertile generator of narrative archetypes, like the tarot but even more varied, and rich enough for the truest sort of divination, which is always the revelation of what you didn't realize you already know.

Finally, as a system of birth signs, it's an extraordinary window into the pre-global-economy gestational cycle. Everyone born in the month before Fall Equinox has one thing in common, which is that their birthing parent didn't get a lot of food or light or exercise in their first trimester, but had every food available, in sunshine, by their third. Map the nutrition onto organ development, and it turns out that this is the recipe for a Virgo.

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

My relationship to astrology helped me understand concepts of disconnect between assigned and felt identity a bit better!

I was born on the last Gemini day, and got "assigned" Gemini as a result. I remember first reading the description of how Geminis were extroverted and social, and balked at how little this applied to me. Cancers were quiet, introverted creatures. Cancers were often drawn with a book.

I decided there must have been a mistake, and that I was accidentally born a day too early for my *actual* sign. I lied and told folks that my birthday was actually on another day.

When I was older, I recognised that the stories around these signs were ... stories and playful, not actual foolproof diagnoses of my spirit, and relaxed a bit. Started sharing my actual birthday again, and made peace with Geminis.

I believe having this experience helped me understand the concept of "gender assigned at birth" and "gender identity" on an intuitive level, faster than I would have otherwise.

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Astrology is the most powerful theory confirmation bias can buy!

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Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I’m completely skeptical of it from an empirical standpoint, but that said, I think it’s a perfectly good vehicle for self-reflection. These big primate brains just aren’t very good at analysis without relevant context, and birth sign is a much less pernicious categorization than some of our more modern and supposedly civilized sorting methods.

If nothing else, it’s a way to think about ourselves and our decisions objectively just to escape the tyranny of the blank canvas.

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Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

Astrology is about patterns, and I love playing with patterns. I take it about as seriously as any other source of inspiration and aesthetics and metaphor and art, I guess. I'm not super well versed in it, but reading and discussions about it have given me some useful ideas to explore. (Also, sometimes it's hilarious.)

My chart is weird. I told a professional astrologer once that a couple of other professional astrologers had seen my chart and both of them had said, "Holy shit!" She tutted and told me that that wasn't a very professional response, and then she looked at the chart I had just handed her and said, "Holy shit!"

My sun is Leo, my moon is Virgo. They are conjunct, and in the midst of what one person called "a huge honkin' stellium" of six planets in a tight array from 20 degrees Leo to 16 degrees Virgo. All but one of these planets are in the 12th house, which is apparently a Thing. Venus is in the first house, in Virgo. Jupiter is in Sagittarius and Saturn's in Capricorn, which I guess turbo-charges something or other, and my ascendant is Virgo.

Mostly astrology people respond with a combo of "Wow, you ARE an artist and a behind-the-scenes connector-of-people-and-possibilities, aren't you?" and "Wounded healer, huh?" and the ever-popular "Holy shit!" when they see the chart.

I'm a cuspie: Leo on the cusp of Virgo. I sometimes joke that this means I get to do things a Leo would do and then feel about it later like a Virgo would feel if they'd done something like that, and therefore I get double mileage out of everything. The more accurate summary of Leo/Virgo cuspies is that we're often going "Everything here is mine! Oh, can I get you a pillow?"

It's an interesting instrument to play, this astrology thing. Some people can make some nifty music with it.

P.S. For the astrology people looking at the 12th house stuff and asking "who did you rescue in childhood?" the answer is my sister and sometimes my mother. Yes, my art is both calling and refuge, and yes, this is the best use I have found to put all those skills to, where they can be useful for connecting people with themselves or others or their art or whatever, but where I'm no longer directly responsible for their maintenance and motivation and continued existence. I get to punch out and go home and try to get better at self-care. It honestly did take some astrologers sitting me down and having Serious Talks with me to finally let that stuff sink in; my counselor was glad somebody finally got the message through. :-)

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

It's something I find fascinating, and I have more than once used an online generator for my natal chart (Sag sun, Leo moon, Aquarius ascendant), and I look at every astrology meme that crosses my dash—but I wouldn't say I believe in it. For me it's almost like being a fan of something: I don't think it's real, but I have a weird emotional and intellectual attachment to it, and I get excited when it is accurate to me.

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Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, in which we realised that astrology today (especially among youngish people online) fills the same niche that the MBTI personality test did maybe ten years ago. I feel like one is about as scientific as the other, but it's interesting how the aesthetic, for lack of a better word, has changed.

Insofar as I think about it that way, I don't mind astrology, but there is something about it that rubs me the wrong way: that it's impossible to opt-out. With MBTI, I could simply not take the test. With astrology, well, birthdays are semi-public information anyway, and even if they're not, it feels like refusing to divulge your birthday and/or zodiac sign comes across as weird. Not that I'm regularly accosted by well-meaning, star-chart wielding friends, but I've definitely been in one or two conversations in my life where I wished the other person didn't know my star sign. Being analysed in that way - "it makes sense that you do x, because you are y" - is one of my least favourite things, especially when Y is out of my control.

As a tool for helping you make sense of your life, I have more time for things like tarot or the I Ching, where you go in with a specific question in mind. I don't practice them myself, but various family and friends do, and I can see how they help guide your thought process through a decision.

(The less serious version of this comment: the other day I witnessed two Libras attempting to choose a cocktail at a bar and now I believe in astrology.)

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Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I grew up in this weird half-believing, half-making fun of astrology household. These days, the belief is mostly gone, but some fondness for it remains -- I definitely have compared signs with close people and mused about our compatibility. I also have just stopped looking at horoscopes, as they make me terribly anxious, even when they're positive for my sign (Aquarius). If the horoscope says things will turn out well for me next week, but they don't -- what then?? Did I fail the horoscope somehow?? Ah, the joys of anxiety.

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Mar 7, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

Great topic, Amal. I believe people are prone to love whatever metaphorology that helps them make sense of who they are and feel a little less alien in the world. I have been a little scary-accurate when reading people’s charts but I did it much differently than most astrologers do. I haven’t done it in a long time because I felt like it was inadvertently telling people who they were when it’s just a tool? but I sorta miss it.

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Hi Amal, I once wrote a humorous piece titled 'Assh*le Astrology — Horoscopes for Horrible People' (medium.com/the-partnered-pen/asshole-astrology-bf560821d68b?source=friends_link&sk=8b3c522d63d3686834429a8b680e57ce) but I still check my horoscopes. So I guess you could say my relationship with astrology is complicated. For some reason I prefer my Chinese sign (Fire Snake) to my Western one (Cancer the Crab). Can't imagine why. But a Twitter friend who is a professional astrologer did my charts once and it was pretty on point. Everyone should check out Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology. I find that the most inspirational despite it not really involving any astrology. All the best, James (jamesgarside.substack.com)

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I find it all overwhelming and confusing, tbh. It doesn't help that I'm someone who doesn't mesh well with her assigned... sign (Capricorn sun, Libra moon... I think that's how it goes.).

In short(er): I don't understand it, but I wish I could at LEAST get in on the fun memes. :)

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

There’s a practice that I do when I’m waffling about a minor decision like “what restaurant do I go to for dinner?”: I flip a coin. If I am truly ambivalent, then the result of the coin toss is good enough for the decision. If I feel disappointed by the result of the coin toss, then that makes me confront that I *did* have a preference that I otherwise wasn’t aware of, so I take that option.

I see astrology as similarly useful: it’s an opportunity to reflect on options when other information is not available. Treating it as *primary*, as the most important thing to know, worries me.

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I’ve never really put much stock in it but as I’m a Virgo I guess that makes sense. Or so they tell me. :)

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I don't necessarily buy *everything* astrology has to sell, but I can bloody smell it when Mercury goes retrograde. I mean it *could* just be that Britain can't run a transport system for love nor money, but it does seem that the worst of the faults happen during retrograde times.

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I also have complicated feelings about astrology, in all its forms. A recent episode of the podcast Throughline explained its historical place in the U.S., and I really enjoyed reading through the book Astro Poets, which combines the Western form of astrology and poetry, and doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm not sure how accurate the Libra description is, but it definitely was oddly accurate in describing certain aspects of my personality. I hope you escape the waiting room soon; waiting in waiting rooms always feels particularly exhausting for some reason.

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

It's fun reading horoscopes, of course, but I am nothing like my purported sign (Aries) so I have a hard time putting any stock into it. 🐏🤷🏻‍♀️

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

I think it's one of those things that is fun to do but not really worth taking seriously. A lot like palm readings and psychics. I am a Leo and find that the description only fits me a little bit and I really hate the idea that someone might go "oh god she's a Leo and therefore a drama queen" and judge me before they know me. The same way people might make snap decisions about other stereotypes. So it's fun to read my horoscope and roll my eyes at how vague it is, or nod a little because today's happens to sort of be accurate but I can't take it seriously, and I give HEAVY side-eye to the girl at work who like, lives and breathes this stuff and talks about it like it's actually important.

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Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amal El-Mohtar

Marziejust now

I’m very on the fence since I’m science-y and all. That said, hello from Virgo 🌞 Aquarius 🌙 and very much Sagittarius ↗️. Evidently I’m really like a Sag in disguise since I have a big stellium in the 9th House.

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I've always found it interesting, and also kind of wished that I saw more ways to use it in my life? I'm not sure how I'd use it, which is probably part of the failure to do so... I'm a Cap, Sag ascendant, Gemini moon. Co-Star profile is @maledicte!!

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