Are Astrological SIgns Meaningless?

[msc545]

Are our personalities dictated by the position of celestial objects at the moment of our birth, or do the heavenly bodies have no bearing on who we are as people?

Yes, meaningless

No, they mean something (what?)

[abc3643]

Well, they are meaningful in the sense that they are 12 of the 88 constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union.

https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/

Here is an excerpt from that website:

Significance
It should be realised that the groups of stars that made up the original constellation patterns have, in most cases, no physical connection with each other. All constellations are a matter of perspective. They are simply our Earth-based interpretation of two-dimensional star patterns on the celestial sphere, composed of stars of various different brightnesses and at widely differing distances from Earth.

Meanwhile, in astrology, the "Sun Sign" is the sign that we generally think of ourselves. For instance, I was born in early January, so I "am a Capricorn" meaning that my astrological sun sign is Capricorn. Astronomically, this means that the Sun is currently in that constellation. So, in early January, the Sun is likely in the constellation of Capricornus, the formal Latin name of the constellation.

Right now, astrologically, we are in Libra for a few more days. This is a map of the constellation of Libra:

So, in principle, right now, the Sun would appear somewhere in that white area. In reality, that might not be the case because of the definition of where the constellation borders are according to the IAU. So, the Sun might actually be in Scorpius soon or even now even though we won't be under the astrological zodiac sign of Scorpio until around Saturday.

I just checked SkyLive and they say that the Sun isn't even in Libra at the moment but in Virgo.

https://theskylive.com/where-is-sun

The current Right Ascension is 13h 25m 17s and the Declination is -08° 57’ 34”.

So, in this map of the constellation Virgo, the Sun is currently located just north of Spica.

Notice that Virgo is also an astrological zodiac sign.

Astrologically, ...

Virgo is August 23 to September 22.
Libra is September 23, 2023 to October 23.
Scorpio is October 23, 2023 to November 21.

So, as you see, while we are in Libra, the zodiac sign, the Sun is in Virgo, the constellation.

[abc3643]

By the way, on those constellation maps, that light blue line is called "The Ecliptic". That is the path the Sun takes across the sky. So, right now, the Sun is located on that blue line just north of Spica.

This is Spica's location:
RA 13h 25m 12s Dec -11° 9′ 41″

This is the Sun's location:
RA 13h 25m 17s Dec -08° 57’ 34”.

So, with an almost identical right ascension (RA), the Sun is on that blue line just above Spica.

[abc3643]

The Ecliptic generally goes through the constellations that correspond to the astrological zodiac signs. Of course, given the IAU's constellation border definitions, it is conceivable that the ecliptic goes through a non-zodiac constellation. I didn't check though.

[abc3643]

I did check.
According to this map, the ecliptic goes through the constellation of Ophiuchus which is not an astrological zodiac sign.


upload.wikimedia.org/.../...uirectangular_plot.svg

[RealMarek]

They probably have no bearing, but it’s fun to send a doctored horoscope to my girlfriend now and then saying that because of the position of the planets tonight is a good night for fun in the bedroom. I mean, maybe it’s true, lol.

[msc545]

LOL! Great answer, thanks!

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

They are totally meaningless and silly to me.

I do like the name of mine though haha, and among people who believe in zodiac signs, earns you the reputation directly. 🤣

I do play along sometimes, but I don’t believe in it a bit.

[Massageman]

Thank you.

[Apple1996]

Nah they mean something. The day we are born does have some effects on our energy/vibe. I wouldn't exactly say its about personality tho

[ChicoFromThe305]

Yea, let's try putting some logic behind the whole thing shall we, the only way this astrology stuff would make sense would be if the government made us all in a lab throughout the years and our development finishes within that part of the year which caused everyone within that time of year to have these same similarities in personality, it would mean our personalities would be generated through a random generator that has a limit amount of programming because we are different but have similarities that would mean the generator cycled through all the options several times in certain traits which resulted in the same things in certain aspects creating personality similarities, personally I'd rather believe that our minds all developed in the same planet, different but similar environments which created similar personality traits, has nothing to do with the time of year 🤷🏽‍♂️

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I don't even read Astrology because I fear they carry evil that can come back on me, so I won't even look at it, I totally ignored it.

[slatyb]

It's just words on a page. Maybe a waste of time, but hardly evil.

[BoopBoopBeep]

Not completely meaningless. That's how I know to weed out by the time the appetizers come any woman who harps on that.

[exitseven]

They only are any good for being a cheezy pickup line.

[Blueeyes81]

Beyond meaningless and bordering on retardation.

[Drewtate]

Yes. Think about it, if you an I were born in the same month are horoscope would tell us that you and I will have the exact same day.

[ProbablyClueless]

eh... I don't know... I've seen that stuff to have a certain degree of truth. I've definitely noticed patterns in the birthdays of people I get along with throughout my life.

[Starrrboy]

Don't know why people make fun of them all the time.. They're pretty spot on for most people!..

[Robertjo16]

Meaningless indeed.

[OfMiceandMen]

I don't put much stock in them.

[jahaims]

Yep.

[shades777]

always has been