Submitted by Astro Freak on
Astrology is cool! Gen Z knows it, and we're adopting it like gospel. Damn near every friendship I've formed in the past year has started with a great big "WHAT'S YOUR SIGN??" It's magic stuff, even if only because of the way it generates enthusiasm in a conversation.
Have you ever watched a group of astrologically-inclined folks dissecting each other's yods and stelliums? I do not know what these words mean myself, but I know that they ignite some ferocious lights in the eyes of those well-versed in astro. What I mean to emphasize is that astrology, for those invested, is pure fun. It is exciting, explorative, and bonding. Even at its most casual, it has got the power to lay the groundwork for some seriously gorgeous connections.
But despite all that, there remains a camp of folks unwilling to have fun. They do not want to make new friends through easy and enjoyable means. They refuse to participate in silly little conversations that could, in theory, allow them to open up in new and exciting ways. Instead, they opt to be very "Rational and "Respectable." There are the kinds of folks who almost seem to wait around for someone, anyone to mention a horoscope or birth time so that they can remind everyone in the room that astrology is Fake and Stupid.
I won't take up this internet space trying to prove or disprove the legitimacy of astrology. Total believer? Wicked. Think it's goofy? Love it. I am not concerned with what astrology means to us as individuals so much as I am concerned with what astrology has come to mean for our society as a social tool. If we analyze astrology strictly as a social tool, then we can also explore what pushback to that social tool indicates in the context of our social hierarchies.
Astrology is changing the rules of how we get to know each other and ourselves. Its content is erring away from mysticism and towards self-survey. If we can adapt to its presence the way that it has adapted to our societal values, then we may just have one of the most potent social tools around at our disposal.
Astrology has, in its current incarnation, morphed into a means for us to share ourselves with the people around us in a succinct and approachable way. The archetypes of the zodiac become characters all their own, which we relate to and reference in our attempts to communicate parts of ourselves to others. In the same way that I might call on a character from a book I love or my MBTI results (INTJ, duh) while getting to know someone, I can point to aspects of my birth chart and use the ready-made narratives of the signs and planets to help the person opposite me better understand the patterns that make up my personality.
We are all looking for ways to tell people what we are like in as few words as possible. Astrology, in this context, is a particularly convenient tool. It provides a wheel of widely-known archetypes to call on and a social presence adaptable to whichever degree of sincerity its participants desire; some folks might make a passing joke about Taurus being stubborn while others will tear apart your entire birth chart before the end of the night. In either instance, people are sharing themselves, and that is the ultimate goal.