How Discovering Astrology Gave Me Something To Believe In

Recently, I’ve really gotten into Astrology. I can already see some of you now, all rolling eyes and smirks, and I somewhat agree that believing in something with such little scientific proof is difficult. Then again, millions of people across the world follow religions or have faith in true love with no more proof than Astrology, and thankfully most have the freedom to do so. So whether or not we believe in something and whether or not that belief ends up being the correct one, I truly feel that whatever helps us all navigate our own way through this crazy and sometimes difficult life should be embraced. We should take whatever we can hold onto, be it a God, a true love, or the stars. And for me it was most definitely the stars—or more specifically, the universe.

Under Western Astrology (not to be confused with simplistic horoscopes in the back of magazines, mind you), I’ve always understood I was a Scorpio, as that’s the constellation the Sun was in the day I was born. I learned minimal facts from trinkets in gift shops and chit-chat among friends. But being naturally inquisitive, I began reading into what it actually was to be a Scorpio. It had to be more than just a mysterious aura and a sting in my tail! In fact, a lot of the traits and descriptions you uncover when you begin looking at astrology are quite generic, so some of it resonated with me and some didn’t. But I was intrigued enough to carry on digging (typical Scorpio), and my Mom noticed my interest, so one Christmas I got a book about the stars, specifically how to work out a birth chart.

As it turns out, I wasn’t just a Scorpio! As the whole natal/birth chart took into account the position of not just the Sun but the Moon and all the planets of our solar system at the exact minute and in the exact place I was born. I typed in all my details and suddenly I was faced with something that looked too mathematical for me to fathom. Something that resembled a pie chart with lines and angles and symbols everywhere that was somehow meant to tell me all my predispositions and potentially my destiny. But with a bit of help from my book and good online astrology sites, I worked it all out in no time. Turns out, I was quite heavily a Scorpio but also had Libra and Pisces in my personal planets, as well as countless others through the rest of my placements.

I slowly found out that all these planets and houses linked to different areas of my life (e.g. family, career, friendships) and different parts of my being (e.g. drive, emotions, communication). My emotional world suddenly made so much sense viewing it through a Piscean Moon lens rather than a Scorpio one. My friendships and relationships fell into place when viewed from a Venus in Libra point of view or a 7th House lens. Even my struggles fit into patterns, ones that I’d seemed to have since birth. There were Ascendents/Descendants to consider, oppositions and conjunctions too. And although Astrology isn’t a set in stone reason for everything, nor is it a complete blueprint of everything we are, it was certainly scarily accurate for the most part as to why I may be inclined to do things the way I do and why I feel differently to my family or friends. Our environment and upbringing can account for a lot—psychology too—but I had always wondered how people from similar backgrounds and upbringings, people with similar levels of trauma or nurture, seemed to grow up into different people and see and use those experiences differently. And for me, astrology seemed to give some pretty good answers. Plus, it perfectly explained everyone I did charts for.

Maybe it’s my Scorpio Mars and its endless quest to dig to the bottom of it all or my Sun in the 12th House that means I want to believe in and feel part of something bigger than myself (a constant theme of my life) that made me lean into astrology. Or maybe it’s all just a wonderfully simplistic coincidence. But I know one thing for certain: putting a name to my feelings, a reasoning as to why I behave a certain way and react the way I do, has helped me be more at peace with myself and my choices in life. Nowadays, when I’m unsure, stuck, anxious, or just curious about my life, it helps to see all those thoughts, emotions, and actions through the prism of my stars. When you do believe and you dig deeper, you also realize that the universe doesn’t stop moving and changing and that transits that are happening in the universe right now affect us all, both personally and socially on small and worldwide scales.

I wonder if it’s a similar feeling when someone finds God in later years or discovers a deeper meaning to their life that they lacked before. It may or may not hold truth in the same way we understand truth to be concrete and sure, but it has helped me figure out myself and my loved ones much quicker than perhaps I would have done, and that’s invaluable for anyone in their 20s. So yes, maybe faith isn’t always as clear cut as the hard, cold facts, but it’s certainly necessary to our lives, whatever form it may take.