Hot topic: Astrology
Astrology a fun hobby, not a science

LAUREN OYLER/Hurricane

By Sarah Abbott
South Charleston High School

Sagittarius. Leo. Aquarius. Everyone knows what his or her sign is. But does your astrological sign necessarily tell you who you are and what your future will be like?

When looking at astrology, the first surprising thing to me is personality. A Sagittarius (me) is supposed to be “cheerful, happy...anxious...and broad-minded,” according to Xtra Astrology, a free astrology website. How can such a loose definition describe so many people?

Everyone is supposed to be different, but if you look at astrology, it isn’t that way at all. People can be lumped together into a group just because of the month in which they were born.

However, I know I’m not anything like one of my friends, who was born three days before me. We don’t have much in common. We can’t be defined by our sign.

I also don’t believe in predicting the future by the stars. I think the stars are great to look at on a clear night, but they’re not some sort of divine forecasters for me.

Even if they did predict the future, they’re not foolproof. Just like meteorologists can be wrong about the weather, astrology can be wrong about things, too. There are a lot of variables and a lot of choices working into my future. The stars can’t know what I’ll choose or what I’ll be like, so they can’t tell me how my life is going to play out.

The most amusing astrological pastime for me is predicting my love life. If astrology had been right, I would’ve found the love of my life years ago. But at this point, I believe firmly that like all other aspects of astrology, love is subject to human nature. It will happen when it happens, and from what I’ve seen, the stars have no say in it.

I’ve found some outrageous horoscopes on the Internet. Did you know it’s even possible to get horoscopes for your pet?! The horoscope would tell you what your pet wanted that day, or what thoughts were going through its head.

I laughed at that one. I’m glad I don’t know what my cat is thinking!

I also shook my head at the “beauty horoscope.” If I wake up with a bad hair day, do I blame astrology? I don’t think so. I blame my hair for not cooperating.

In short, I think astrology is a fun, cool hobby to have. It makes you smile and wonder about tomorrow, and it can encourage you to try something new. I don’t think, though, that astrology is a science. I don’t believe the stars play a part in our lives. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy reading my horoscope for the day, but I never take it seriously. My life will be what I make of it, not what the stars dictate.