How could the position of planets and stars hundreds of millions of miles away dictate the unique personalities and actions of seven billion people? Astrology has a major following, which includes many students, for its predictions and communities, but what is it about the idea that captivates such a loyal audience? 

Astrology is the concept that the placement of stars and planets at one’s birth correlates to that person’s personality. Rylie Duke (12) has been researching this connection for over five years.  

“A lot of people just know their sun sign which is what people say when you’re asked what your sign is … but there’s a lot more to it,” Duke said. “You’re dozens and dozens of signs because there are all the planets and several stars and even asteroids that correlate in your birth chart, and they can all mean something different about who you are.”

Birth charts require specific information, down to minute and location of your birth, to map the exact placement of the stars, sky and planets at that time. 

“Your birth chart consists of a sign for every single planet … and all of those planet signs control something about your personality, like your Venus sign is how you experience love and your moon sign is about how you deal with your emotions,” Duke said. 

Birth charts are not the only way Spartans learn about how their astrological signs affect them. Nina Eason (12) uses an app called Co-Star Personalized Astrology for facts on astrology and updates for her individual sign. 

“Co-Star gives you a little phrase everyday that is supposed to be an overview of your day … They give you different ones based on your astrological sign, and they have a bunch of information about what exactly astrology is and how it can be used to find out more about yourself,” Eason said. “Then they tell you about your specific sign, what it means and how to interpret it and kind of put it in place in your own life.”  

Both Duke and Eason agree that, whether you’re reading an app or birth charts, astrology causes you to think about yourself and your relationships with others on a deeper level. 

“I think that I love it because … a lot of people don’t even realize unless they are told directly what they do or how they react to certain situations, so through reading about astrology you can take those stereotypes and take what you think you should be doing and compare it to your own life,” Duke said. “It’s an excuse to psychoanalyze yourself. It’s a way to look at who you are based on stereotypes of what you should be.” 

But not everyone understands the fascination with a possible connection between the stars and personalities. 

“I kind of think of astrology in the way that I see Greek mythology, kind of coupled in my mind, it’s cool to look at. It’s cool to think about, but other than that there’s really no solid basis in it. You can’t really turn to it for guidance,” Blake Shirley (11) said. “Honestly I have a negative view of astrology now because of how annoying and intense people can be about it if you don’t believe in it.” 

Shirley and many others view the overload of astrology content on social media as unreasonable, as some will limit who they will interact with based solely on astrological signs. However, not everyone interested in astrology takes this stance. For example, Eason and Duke see astrology as a fun pastime. 

“You don’t have to take it too seriously. It doesn’t have to be like I’m a Leo so I can’t do x, y, z.” said Duke. “Even if you don’t believe in astrology, maybe just look up your birth chart one time and read it through. Even if you think that doesn’t apply to me at all, at least you would have thought about yourself.  Regardless of whether or not you think it’s real or true, it’s just a good way to think about your patterns and how you interact with the world.” 

Create your birth chart: https://astro.cafeastrology.com/natal.php