by Melissa Telles, I B.A. English
Yes, this title is clickbait at its finest, but I won’t apologise for the lack of Augustus Waters here. We are instead going to talk about the literal fault in our physical stars.
Astrology: fact or fiction? That is the question. Astrology dates back to the 3rd millennia BCE, so it’s been around for quite some time. However, back then the term ‘astrology’ was used by European philosophers to gauge the meaning of the sky. Ancient Mesopotamian civilisation used astrology to measure the distance of the Sun, stars and the Moon from the Earth. The people of that era used the Moon and constellations to calculate time, and a pattern in the stars assigned to each month eventually translated into modern day Zodiac signs.
Astrology plays a significant role in Indian tradition. ‘Jotshya’ – Hindu astrology has been an important discipline to our country since the Vedic ages. Even in contemporary life you’ve probably come across old dudes with bushy, white beards reading out your vaara rasi palan (horoscopes) every week on TV (assuming you wake up at 6 a.m. every morning). Horoscopes are essentially the forecast of a person’s future based on the relative positioning of planets and stars at the time of the person’s birth. It’s all good fun to read about, but is it accurate? Scientifically speaking, a horoscope has no bearing on your own mind and personality. An attribute of a certain Zodiac doesn’t always match up to the individual -- not all Geminis are two-faced and not all Sagittarii have a good sense of humour.
Speaking of humour, one thing that I find to be absolutely hilarious is the idea that Zodiac signs are supposed to dictate compatibility of two individuals. Indians in particular love getting their relationship compatibility checked; you could even say that in India, first base just refers to going to an astrologer and getting your horoscopes read. A Pisces can’t date a Libra? Seems fishy!
Relationship advice aside, let’s talk about the nomenclature of zodiacs. Most modern day zodiac signs were named based on Greek and Roman mythology. The sign Aquarius, for example, was the result of Zeus having a (not so) gay affair with a man named Ganymede, Cancer was a giant crab summoned by Hera to defeat Hercules, and don’t even get me started on Taurus. My point is that a lot of our favourite constellations have messed up origins and do not transcribe well to our current state of being. Honestly, even my Hogwarts house is a more accurate indication of my personality than my zodiac sign.
With all that being said, one’s life and identity should not revolve around a mere constellation. No one can fit within the confines of twelve attributes. Follow your own intuition rather than a rudimentary personality, but if you still find purpose in your horoscope, who am I to stop you from trusting it? Believe what you want to believe but question everything. Life is tasteless if you have all the answers. These have been the musings of a curious Taurus.