In the same way that scientific theories create expectations, some people utilize astrology to create expectations about upcoming events and people’s personalities. Additionally, some assert that the experiences of those who feel that astrology has been successful for them serve as evidence that astrology is true.
Why do we think Zodiacs exist?
Astrology is a multi-billion dollar industry globally despite having no scientific basis. With the introduction of digital technology, the market for this pseudoscience has grown significantly, especially in India.
“When, as predicted, everyone born under the sign of Scorpio was ran over by an egg truck, a newspaper cartoon from 1983 reads, ridiculing the supremely generic, non-specific forecasts made by astrologers, “the practice of astrology took a huge step toward earning legitimacy today.”
Why do individuals still adhere to this pseudoscience, then, in spite of years and layers of criticism? There are various causes, in the opinion of psychologists.
People are always looking for stories to help them connect their history, present, and future through their objectives and expectations.
and astrology has a role in this “Monisha Pasupathi, a developmental psychologist at the University of Utah, told The Atlantic that her research gives a “very clear context” for that argument. Numerous websites on the internet offer listicles on personality attributes associated with various sun signs, and for some people, astrology aids in the creation and validation of their sense of self. Additionally, astrology can also provide certain people a sense of community. According to Margaret Hamilton, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, “It enables you to understand yourself as a component of the world: “Here’s where I fit in, yeah, I’m a Pisces,” who spoke to Smithsonian Magazine in 2016.
Studies also reveal that people frequently use astrology as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. “According to Graham Tyson, a professor of psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, during high stress, a human is willing to utilize astrology as a coping mechanism while not believing in it under low stress. In reality, in August 1930, amid the height of the Great Depression, a newspaper ordered its first astrology column. Again, individuals looked to astrologers to predict their destiny amid the financial crisis of 2008. “People’s reliance on all of those structures began to crumble. Many people enter the field in this manner. They ask, “What’s happening in my life? When reflecting on 2008, astrologer Rebecca Gordon told The New Yorker that “nothing makes sense.”
Is it against the law to believe in horoscopes?
Astrology is the study of celestial body motions and alignments that are thought to have an impact on both the natural world and human affairs. According to historian Emilie Savage-Smith, astrology (also known as ilm al-nujm, “the study of the stars”) was “by far” the most widely used of the “many disciplines aiming to forecast future events or perceive hidden phenomena” in early Islamic history.
Despite Islamic prohibitions, some Muslims in the Middle Ages were interested in studying the apparent motion of the stars. This was due in part to their belief that celestial bodies were necessary, as well as the fact that desert nomads frequently traveled at night and relied on knowledge of the constellations to direct them. The need for Muslims to determine the time of the prayers, the direction the Kaaba should face, and the proper orientation of the mosque after the advent of Islam helped give astronomy a religious impetus and contributed to the idea that celestial bodies had an impact on both terrestrial affairs and human condition.
The rules for how Islam views astrology are laid down in Islamic law, the Quran, the Hadith, Ijma (scholarly consensus), and Qiyas (analogy). The concept’s classification is further broken down into halal (authorized) and haram (forbidden) categories (forbidden). Astrology is prohibited by the authorities, as stated in the Quran and Hadith, according to all Islamic sects and experts.