Astrology Skeptic: Debunking the Common Arguments Made Against Astrology!
January 22, 2024 | Ask Astrology
Whether you’re new to astrology or have been involved in it for a long term, you’ve probably heard your fair share of criticism surrounding the topic. We live in a time where science has become its own religion, with people following ideas and theories without asking for the evidence they commonly claim to require. Keep on reading about how to debunk the Astrology skeptic most common arguments…
Unfortunately, this mindset has bred the odd astrology skeptic or two. Many people will ask: “Why do people believe in astrology? While being completely unaware of the fact that astrology accurately explains many things. If you’ve become a little tired of being criticized or ridiculed for looking to your horoscope for guidance, we’re going to break down some of the common arguments made by your run-of-the mill astrology skeptic. That way, you’ll know how to respond next time!
The Twelve Groups of People
When it comes to your average astrology skeptic, there is one argument above all others that you’re likely to hear: if we’re all divided up into 12 personality groups based on our star signs, why aren’t there basically just 12 groups of people across the world?
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If you’re at all familiar with horoscopes, birth charts, and zodiac signs, you’ll probably understand why this argument is kind of amusing. Modern-day horoscopes typically provide information for one aspect of your birth chart: your sun sign, sometimes referred to as your star sign. This reflects the house that the sun was in at the moment of your birth e.g. Leo or Aries. While this does help spread the general idea of horoscopes and star signs, it’s a gross simplification of what astrology is.
When an astrologer takes your birth chart into consideration, they would only use your sun sign as one of several sources of information. Others include: your moon sign and the phase of the lunar cycle, your ascendant, any many more. So, while your star sign IS one example of your horoscope, it doesn’t provide a full picture. It’s like wondering why everyone with the name Bob doesn’t get confused for the other Bobs: they have middle names, surnames, different dates of birth, and different hometowns. All of which can be used to create a clearer picture of which Bob you’re referring to. The same idea applies to horoscopes.
Of course, the next argument any astrology skeptic is likely to bring up would be that because people make money through astrology, the whole thing must be a scam. It’s true that a lot of money does flow into the astrology industry, but can’t the same be said for healthcare? Why do doctors or surgeons get paid money (and so much of it) if what they are doing is supposed to help people?
The truth of the matter is that people still need to make a living. Astrologers are gifted individuals who have usually spent a large portion of their life practicing and training in order to improve their abilities. This could be anything from sensing energies to reading birth charts. Just because they happen to be one with the universe or making a case for the influences of the planets, doesn’t mean they can live off people saying, “thank you”.
We all share the common goal of doing what we love as a job or career, so why should astrologers or other people who work within spiritual circles be expected to do any differently. If you love writing, would you not aim for a career as a writer? If you love playing guitar, would you not love to share your music on a global scale?
If you’ve managed to withstand the barrage of arguments that the astrology skeptic is throwing your way, you’ll likely come to this one sooner or later. Typically, an astrology skeptic will make the argument that astrology is all nonsense and people only believe it because they want to believe it. This is a rather interesting, all be it weak, argument. For this to make any sense, you would have to assume that all information given to a person via a horoscope or astrologer would be positive.
Most of us already know that this is not the case. We’ve all received worrying predictions or warnings of the future from our horoscopes. Why would we want such a thing to be true? Surely, if horoscopes and their validity were based solely on our wants and desires, they would always be positive? So why do people believe in astrology? They believe in it because astrology accurately explains many things and we all wish to benefit from whatever knowledge we can learn.
If you’re an astrology skeptic or have debated with one in the past, you’ll probably have heard the argument surrounding the “13th constellation”. This refers to Ophiuchus, a new zodiac sign that appears next to Virgo among the constellations. Several years ago, people got up in arms about its existence, stating that the entire horoscope system had to be renewed to account for this constellation. As with most arguments from an astrology skeptic, it doesn’t touch on the truth of the matter.
So, what is the truth in this situation? Well, the star signs aren’t perfect representations of the constellations. For example, the constellations aren’t all the same size in the night’s sky and so if we used them as guides, more people would be Pisces than Cancer due to the former being larger than the latter, and therefore remaining the dominant sign for longer.
The signs are based on the constellations but within the horoscope, the sky is divided up into 12 equal sections with each section representing a zodiac sign. In reality, the night’s sky and the constellations are incredibly mismatched and unequal in both size and shape. This is something that every astrology skeptic should know before using it as an argument against astrology.
