Why Do People Believe In Astrology? Curious Facts To Know!

Astrology is a star science that tells you what will happen to the stars in the upcoming days.

Scientific estimates of the locations of stars have a very significant impact on our life. Astrology is the study of how planetary activities affect our lives.

Superstitious brains still find rationality in astrology with birth months or zodiac signs. However, there is meager acceptance from the scientific world and even less backing by scientific evidence to support this. Nevertheless, a particular facet of astrology, predicting a person's future or providing advice on everyday activities via horoscopes is gaining in popularity.

The uncertainty of life is a significant factor. People are always trying to figure out how to uncover a paradigm of history, present, and tomorrow. They can then discover specific predictions from astrology, which may provide them with a feeling of satisfaction.

Several websites have pages dedicated just to producing light amusement out of these predictions. It has even been a social media trend in recent years. Of course, astrology has no scientific basis!

Astrology is a work of art rather than a science. The scientific community accepts the concept of belief; not everything is verifiable and science isn't always precise. It's impossible to quantify what astrology offers.

So why do individuals have such strong beliefs in astrology? The answer is not immediately clear, but it is straightforward.

Astrology can be viewed in various ways, including as an alternative viewpoint, a relic of the pre-scientific past, a social actuality, and a psychological reality. People find it reassuring to hear about their destiny. Lots of people believe in pseudoscience for various reasons, ranging from zodiac signs like Cancer and Scorpio, to Tarot card readings.

Of course, everyone has their own motivations for turning to astronomy. So, let's talk about why people believe in astrology.

What is astrology and how many zodiac signs are there?

Astrology is a pseudoscience that purports to deduce knowledge about personal affairs and happenings on the ground by observing celestial objects' movements and spatial arrangement. Each of the zodiac's 12 astrological signs represents 1/12 (or 30°) of its vast circle. Unfortunately, these symbols no longer match the astrological constellations that they were originally based on.

The 'rising sign' is the sign which was rising over the skyline to the east at the moment of your birth, and is also referred to as your 'ascendent.' Your sun sign is also recognized as your zodiac sign or star sign.

Astrology is the belief that the position of a planet, the period of the year, and the interaction between different planets have psychological effects on human lives.

Several people are only known by their horoscope names, such as Gemini and Taurus.

Some people read horoscopes regularly for enjoyment or simple instruction. There are even some people who pay a lot of money to find out their fate based on a personalized study of their sun and moon signs.

Even though the sense of control is false, anything that looks to glimpse what is around the upcoming corner can give someone a stronger sense of control. People like to have access to resources that assist them in making sense of their personal experiences.

Do people believe in astrology because of fear?

Human beings are always looking for narratives to help them connect their background, present, and destiny with their aspirations and expectations, so astrology can assist with this. Unfortunately, astrology has not been shown helpful in controlled research and lacks scientific validity; hence it is classified as pseudoscience.

As per a 2014 survey, 38% of American teenagers do not believe in astrology, while 36% do. However, according to an older study from 2011, roughly 42% of Americans think that planetary configurations influence daily events, and over 78% believe astrology is scientific in some way.

Although astrology has experienced a comeback among millennials and generation Z, it is still a common form of identity; the practice has been around for centuries and is deeply rooted in modern culture. The New Age trend popularised astrology in the '60s and '70s, boosting zodiac signs and astrology.

Astrological forecasts can bring order and explanation to otherwise perplexing times in someone's life. As per the American Federation of Astrologers, up to 70 million Americans check their horoscope every day.

Furthermore, as per a Pew Forum for Religion & Civic Life poll conducted 20 years ago, 25% of Americans believe that the placements of the planets and stars impact our daily lives.

As a result, a particular branch of astrology; forecasting a person's future or providing advice on everyday activities through horoscopes, is gaining popularity. The Cut, for example, recorded a 150% rise in horoscope page views in 2017 compared to 2016.

Astrology is the concept that astronomical occurrences, such as the stars over your head the day you were born, or perhaps the fact that Mercury is retrograde, have the potential to influence our daily lives and personality traits.

It is, of course, distinct from astronomy, which is the scientific report of space, celestial objects, and the mechanics of the cosmos.

According to studies, not knowing what might happen is more stressful than believing something horrible will occur. As a result, many people consult their zodiac sign or horoscope for answers to life's most pressing questions and uncertainties. Astrology then provides some answers as to why things occur and possibly even a technique to anticipate them ahead of time.

For many people, curiosity in astrology does not imply belief. Instead, astrology might be a spiritual vacation from a world obsessed with data and technology.

It's a chance to supplant hyper-reality with a new sort of reality. In contrast to other non-factual beliefs, astrology's cult following has had no harmful societal impact in recent years. Instead, astrology becomes a purpose for people in the world related to economic prosperity instead of human satisfaction.

Did people of ancient civilizations believe in astrology?

The Egyptians, according to the earlier Greeks and Romans, developed astrology. The ancient civilizations of the Middle East are thought to have laid the historical foundations of astrology. However, whether astrology started in Babylon, Greece, Egypt, or Mesopotamia is a point of contention. Most ancient nations employed some form of astrology in their belief systems.

The ancient Egyptians created an astronomical system because they assumed solar motions could predict severe ecological destruction like floods and famine. Egyptian astrology is a technique of predicting and establishing links between the universe and human experiences.

In a larger sense, a lack of assurance, a lack of reality checking, and a personality feature called schizotypy (distinctive incidents, dissociation from fact, psychosis, excessive thinking) contribute to increased belief in the paranormal.

Some who trust in astrology do so for a variety of reasons. These can include anything from developing and affirming one's self-description and self-concept, to looking for reasons to alleviate emotional discomfort.

One of the most common reasons people believe in star signs is the desire to understand and validate themselves. It is mainly when events, behaviors, attitudes, ideas, and emotions in someone's life are unpredictable. Regardless of its validity, the astrological framework eliminates ambiguity and pins down portions of someone's life in a predictable and informative manner.

Do people believe in astrology because of stress?

In moments of stress, people frequently turn to astrology.

In a small 1982 study, Graham Tyson, a psychologist of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, discovered that those who contact astrologers did so in reaction to stress in their lives, notably stress 'related to the person's social duties and connections.'

This study also states that people are more likely to use astrology during conditions of high stress, and under low-stress conditions a person will be unlikely to engage with the practice.

People who don't trust in astrology at moments of low stress are more prone to go to the stars seeking answers once life becomes challenging, according to the study.

According to an article by 'The Atlantic', individuals acknowledged having comfort in the knowledge of what their destiny may bring and, as a result, use astrology. In addition, the American Psychological Association reports that 63% of Americans are highly concerned about the country's future.

If we relate this to the data from 1982, it's easy to see why some people are turning to astrology to help them deal with generational problems and worries. Teenagers have been the most worried group since 2014, as per American Psychological Association study data.

They are also the group most likely to claim their stress has risen significantly since 2010.

In addition, since 2012, Gen Z and Millennials have been much more anxious than previous generations. People are more likely to believe tailored assessments of themselves, even if the customized evaluations, like palm readings and horoscopes, are ambiguous and apply to many people.

People also believe that customized assessments are more accurate. The Barnum-Forer Effect is closely related to this.

Astrology has grown, notably during the pandemic, and currently all across social media sites, as more people want to read about their horoscopes or birth charts. In addition, astrology's popularity has spawned astrological matchmaking applications, where people can entrust their destiny to their zodiac sign.

There is no evidence that a horoscope can accurately forecast anything. Nevertheless, astrologers are frequently sought out at moments of uncertainty, either societal or personal.

To generate a horoscope, an astrologer must first determine the exact time and location of the individual's birth or the start of an event. At the same time, the local standard time is changed to Universal Time or Greenwich Mean Time. It appears that the majority of people who consult an astrologer leave feeling satisfied and benefited.

Astrology is a classic example of pseudoscience, but it does have one key feature in common with actual sciences; it frequently delivers precise predictions that can be scientifically verified.