Why Do People Believe in Astrology? 

By Kevin Perez 

The belief of astrology dates back to millennials.

Despite receiving menial acknowledgement from the scientific community, and even less support from scientific evidence, superstitious minds still find logic in astrology through zodiac signs or birth months. 

Astrology is the divinity of information that can predict human and world events through the observation of stars and planets. Originating from Babylon over 2,400 years ago, the belief in astrology soon then passed to the Eastern Mediteranean.

From zodiac signs, like Scorpio and Cancer, to Tarot card readings, millions of people believe in this form of pseudoscience for various reasons, here are some of them. 

A leading element is uncertainty. Delving into the unknown has always been a muscle of human nature. People constantly seek to unlock a paradigm of their past, present, and future. This is no different.

The fact of not knowing something propels some people into discovering and learning about astrology. With astrology they can then learn certain predictions which might fulfill them with a sense of satisfaction. 

Yet another element is the aspect of relieving tension. In an intense, fast-moving, data-driven world, some might seek consolidation in phenomenons that run outside of reality’s boundaries. This would be a coping mechanism — a response to stress and anxiety. 

Astrology is a source of entertainment on the internet. Various websites dedicate their pages entirely to making light humor out of predictions. In modern cases, it has even become a meme on social media. 

A study conducted by psychologist Graham Tyson revealed that when one is undergoing an amount of stress, they might turn to astrology to ease that stress.

“Under conditions of high stress, the individual is prepared to use astrology as a coping device, even though under low-stress conditions he does not believe in it,” said Tyson, the author of this study.

Especially during the time of the pandemic astrology has exploded, it is now over all social media platforms as more want to learn about their horoscope or birth charts. It can be used as memes to say something, ‘like this is why capricorns are better than scorpions’ and can also be used for deeper understanding. 

Despite not being scientifically proven, it is impossible to deny that the existence of astrology — whatever the reason one might believe in it — it is something worth exploring.  

As the infamous psychiatrist Carl Jung once said: “The puzzling thing is that there is really a curious coincidence between astrological and psychological facts, so that one can isolate time from the characteristics of an individual, and also, one can deduce characteristics from a certain time.”