Astrology and Astronomy: Have They Taurus Apart?
Astrology has been a mystical topic of interest since the earliest of human civilizations.
In today’s day and age, more skepticism is surrounding the field, fueled by better reasoning, newer feats in science, and more knowledge of astronomy.
Astronomy is the study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe. This field of study may be seen as a rival of astrology, since they share some of the core fundamental concepts, but astronomers don’t consider astrology to be the same kind of science.
“I don’t believe in astrology,” CSUN Physics and Astronomy Professor Damian Christian said. “It’s fun to see your horoscope, but most of them are pretty vague and …a little bit too positive maybe.”
“I personally don’t subscribe to it,” CSUN Astronomy Lab Associate Michael Artinian said. “But at the same time, different people get different things out of astrology. The thing is, there’s no scientific value in it because it doesn’t predict anything. There’s no hypothesis you can test; there’s no ‘hey we found this result, and it matched with our prediction’.”
The National Science Foundation reported in 2016 that fifty-eight percent of Americans consider astrology a science.
“It’s actually one of the world’s oldest sciences,” Santa Monica astrologer Austin Muhs said. “It’s an enduring representation of man’s fascination with cycles, along with fascination with nature and how that nature interplays into personal lives.”
Based on a fantastic read, it is mentioned that people’s interest and belief in astrology has definitely been an amalgam of fascination and a longing for answers.
“There’s certainly been a long tradition in astrology, that the positions of the heavens and the planets and the stars have some influence on our personality and our futures,” CSUN Communication Studies Professor Peter Marston said, “and that’s largely the component of astrology that I think most skeptics are struggling with.”
The National Science Foundation considers astrology a pseudo-science, and astronomers agree.
“Astrology is not [a science],” CSUN Physics and Astronomy Professor Wladimir Lyra said. “Astrology has been shown to not have any validity, either directly or when it comes to the data.”
“Those people [who believed the stars determined human behavior and fate hundreds of years ago] also believed that the earth was the center of the solar system, and that life generated spontaneously from filth, and all sorts of other things, that fortunately we’ve gotten past believing,” Marston said.
“Astrology is a relic from the time we did not understand well enough how the universe works,” Lyra said. “We’re a species that likes to find correlations in things. We try to connect the dots even when the dots are uncorrelated.”
Still, for many, astrology is a journey of self-exploration and deeper understanding.
“Generally speaking, people come to me seeking some sort on analysis of their life,” Muhs said. “Where they’re at; where they’re headed; how to get there. I generally work with them within whatever spiritual or theological framework they’re coming to me from … I try to help them accept, understand, and breed happiness within themselves.”
While stances vary on astrology, both astrology and astronomy provide contributions to understanding, culture, and the way we view the universe around us. Agreeing to disagree may always have a place in this ongoing myriad of interest for both astrology and astronomy.
“[Astronomers and people who believe in astrology] are interested in completely different things,” Lyra said. “If [astrologers] want to make people happier, great; everybody can use more happiness.”
Moderator: Jiani Navarro
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Reporters: Jade Davis, Kaylee Fagan, Daniel Martindale, Jiani Navarro and Sammy Shaktah