Top 10 Zodiac Sign Myths & Misconceptions

These days, it seems like astrology memes are everywhere on social media. It would be easy to assume, because of its apparent sudden popularity, that the public’s interest in the subject is simply a fad. But the reality is that astrology has a long history, with some of the earliest signs of the practice dating back to the 3rd millennium BC! Believing that the positions of the celestial beings in the sky have an impact on our lives has definitely gone in and out of style over the centuries. In the Middle Ages, for example, the sovereigns had astrologers on staff and even the pope supported the practice!

Now that you know how long astrology’s history is, we can look at its importance over time. While in the West, we largely view horoscopes and our zodiac signs as a form of entertainment, in other parts of the world the theories of astrology have a major impact on people in Eastern countries. In both China and India, it’s common to base major life decisions on one’s star chart. In Indian matchmaking, a potential couple’s star signs are used to determine whether they’re likely to be compatible. And even in North America, many people use it as a way to know themselves better as a form of psychology.

One major criticism that people have of astrology is that it encourages fatalism by telling people that their free will doesn’t matter because everything is foretold in the stars. The reality is, however, that astrology isn’t the same as fortune-telling. Astrology is more about informing you of the trends of the world around you and thus preparing you to act accordingly based on your own decisions. People who believe in astrology don’t simply let the stars decide what their lives look like—they make decisions just like everyone else.

Perhaps one of the reasons we have so many misconceptions about astrology in the West is that we only ever learn about sun signs, which are also referred to as star signs. The zodiac signs that we’re familiar with are simply based on the position of the sun when someone is born. The thing is, sun sign astrology is a known pseudoscience. People who are serious about astrology, however, look not just at the sun sign but also at the moon sign and ascendant sign—both of which provide a more full and well-rounded picture.

Twins often have identical birth charts, so those with only a cursory understanding of astrology would say that this means their lives will go on to be identical. Firstly, it’s important to note that not all twins actually have matching birth charts. While twins born just a few minutes apart likely do, ascendant signs change quickly and can therefore leave even identical twins with differing charts. The other relevant factor is something we discussed earlier: free will. Twins are still capable of making their own decisions throughout their lives which inevitably leads to differences in their paths.

Throughout history, many major figures, including Queen Elizabeth I, J.P. Morgan, and Ronald Reagan, relied on astrology to make decisions. Clearly, it worked out for all of them! The myth that astrology is simply based on generalizations brings us back to the issue of sun signs versus moon and ascendant signs. Sun signs are in fact based on generalizations. If one believed in star signs alone, they would believe that the entire population of the world can be separated into 12 neat categories. Once you dig deeper into someone’s star chart, however, astrology becomes much less general and much more specific.

The aspect of astrology that gets the most attention in the news is the predictions that astrologers make about world events. You’ve likely seen news segments about astrology experts who foresaw the results of a major election or even a major global calamity. But in its most holistic form, astrology is not about making predictions but rather about self-improvement. The reality is, science has not proven the effectiveness of astrology for predicting the future, but it is clearly embraced as a psychological tool to help give people guidance in how to live their lives.

You’ve probably heard people blaming negative events in the world or in their own lives on the fact that a certain planet is in retrograde. But what does this even mean? Simply put, a planet is in retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards in the sky when it is in fact moving slowly because it’s positioned far away from the sun. The majority of the time, at least one planet is “in retrograde” and that doesn’t necessarily mean you have anything to worry about… even if it’s Mercury!

When astrology was still a new practice, it was true that the zodiac constellations and astrological constellations lined up. But over time, as the Earth’s axis has shifted, these constellations are no longer in the same place insofar as they’re visible from our planet. In terms of Western astrology, the Greco-Roman Claudius Ptolemy was the one who created the system we’re familiar with today. Referred to as the Tropical Zodiac, it uses static zones and refers to the zodiac signs by the names we’re all familiar with. Due to tradition, no one has wanted to change the names in the many years since.

Because the words sound so similar and they both have to do with the stars, it’s easy to confuse the fields of astrology and astronomy. In fact, their origins are the same. It was only in the 17th century that they began to be considered separately. There is, however, an important distinction between the two. According to astrologer Cindy Mckean, “Astronomy studies the contents of the universe outside of the Earth's atmosphere while astrology studies the effects of those external celestial bodies on the Earth as mundane and personal events." Essentially, astronomy studies the stars themselves, while astrology studies the way that the stars impact mortal beings.