Astrology is one of the most controversial topics recently. It’s inspired tons of people to battle it out on Twitter, Reddit, and every other form of social media that people tend to fight on, as is the nature of the internet. But, before you solidify your stance in these star wars, you should listen to the not-so-expert opinions of these Eagle’s Eye writers.

Why I Don’t Believe in Zodiac Signs 

by Lucy Fang

While I was never obsessed with astrology, I did find it entertaining to occasionally receive horoscope-related TikToks or random notifications from Co-Star with advice on how I could somehow change my life. From there, I found it shocking how strangely accurate it was, but would never really take the advice seriously. I never completely understood “zodiac sign people,” or those who make decisions based on their zodiac sign. For example, deciding which relationships are worth continuing due to sign compatibility. These are the same people who spend everyday trying to convince me that these predictions are accurate, or spend hours backing their points with “scientific” evidence. So here I am now, telling you the reasons why I don’t believe in zodiac signs:

1. They can all be generalized to basically anyone. Picture this, you open your Co-Star app and see today’s daily message: “You’ve got to act like a kid sometimes,” or maybe you are scrolling through TikTok and you happen to scroll to one which tells you to “be less stressed.” Naturally, you’re going to be amazed and think, “How did they know I was stressed?” However, if you keep thinking about it, when are you not stressed? Now, look over the advice given to all the other signs and really think, which of these don’t apply to me?
2. There is no basis for the traits of each zodiac. Whenever someone asks what zodiac sign I am I reply with, “Guess.” I find it amusing how many different answers I get and 9 out of 10 times, the guesses are wrong. Yet, when I tell them, “I’m a Taurus,” suddenly it makes so much sense and they tell me, “I knew it, you act like one.” Like, no. I obviously don’t if you couldn’t guess it earlier.
3. You are trusting that the doctor got the exact time you were born correct. While the hour will be right, recording your time of birth down to the exact minute seems impossible, especially with the chaos in the delivery room. You cannot tell me every doctor is able to look at the clock the second a baby pops out of the womb and immediately goes to record the time of birth.
4. You only remember what you want. This applies to most things, but it is natural to remember things you find accurate while casually skipping over information that isn’t. Your brain will also search for explanations for everything you read that is supposed to apply to you, and most times, the connection is a stretch. For example, my December 2021 prediction from allure.com states, “You can reach all your goals, hardworking Taurus.” Now I, as a person who believes they are hardworking, will think, “Yeah, I can reach all my goals because I work hard,” even though I don’t have a clear goal I am working towards in mind and always procrastinate my work.
5. They just make no sense. The thing that confuses me most about zodiac signs is how they are used to categorize so many people into groups, just based on when they were born. Their birthdate and time were not in their control, but you are telling me you can tell me their whole personality and future because of it?

Astrology is misunderstood

by Maya Spencer

Astrology’s bad rap is based on its commercialization, like most things. I, too, grew up on the star sign insta-graphics of the 2010’s, but so much of this modern astrology is just as skin-deep as it appears. The criticisms of mainstream sun sign astrology are undoubtedly well justified, but there’s so much more to Astrology than what exists on your explore page. 

1. To understand astrology, you have to get away from the notion that your astrology determines anything in your life and start thinking of it as a tool for introspection. Think of the study of astrology as a mirror – a guide for your life’s themes and cycles, because, no, the stars do not determine your destiny. Astrology acts as a language – a study with room for interpretation. In that way, it’s not so much something I have to believe is or is not real, but rather a practice that you can decide to partake in. It is something someone is good at, not something they devote themselves to. 
2. Look deeper than your sun sign – there’s an entire solar system out there! Despite what social media may have led you to believe, your “zodiac” sign is not the only facet of your astrological makeup. In astrology, you have a birth chart, and it’s made up of the positions of the celestial bodies in relation to the Earth at the moment you’re born. Your sun sign (aka zodiac sign) is determined by the position of the sun. That works the same with the moon, mercury, venus and so on for every planet in our solar system which represents an equally important part of your personality. And there are aspects and degrees. And modalities. And transits. It’s a hot mess, but let’s be honest, so are you, so it checks out. Hence why even Taurus sun signs born a few days apart can act so differently, because chances are all they share is their sun sign.
3. The blunders of astrology, like the accuracy of birth times, are actually solvable! Only a few placements are influenced heavily by birth time, and it is even rarer that a few minutes difference in time would create a problem in the accuracy of a birth chart. How do we fix this? You take the time to learn about astrology, and use your own discernment. Because, no, you do not need to subscribe to the will of your birth certificate. 
4. Astrology is admittedly complex, and definitely a little crazy, but it’s not because it’s senseless. The people who truly understand what they are doing are not running Co-star, writing for Cosmo, or making the Buzzfeed infographics about the kind of pizza you are based on your birthday. Thousands of years of ideas, principles, and theory are what makeup real astrology. Mainstream zodiac sign astrology is like all simplifications of big ideas, simple, but in losing nuance you also lose most sense. 
5. Most importantly, it’s just fun! You don’t need to take astrology seriously to enjoy it. It’s a great party trick, and whether it ends up being accurate or not, you can learn a lot about the people you ask. There’s a lot of joy to be discovered in finding your birth chart and being read to filth, even if it’s all truly a coincidence.