marissamartinart

[marissamartinart]

Astrology versus Religion

Jesus is a Capricorn

From the moment I came out of my mother’s womb on March 9th, 2001, I have been a Pisces. For those who aren’t educated in astrology, which is claimed to be pseudoscience, your birth date assigns you one of 12 signs based on the movements and relative positions of celestial objects during that day. In simple terms, our emotions, human affairs, and terrestrial events are all determined to be some specific way based on your sign, what planet is moving in or out of retrograde, and when our sun is in a certain constellation.

Each sign has different traits and characteristics in which describe who you are as a person. I, as a Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac (which I’m not entirely sure why--it’s truly the best sign) have read countless articles and astrological research reports that explain me, and they’re all accurate; Pisces have very open minds and are able to identify with all types of people, as they are undeniably caring and accepting; we are touched and feel sincerely for those who have been hurt-- our compassion runs deep; but while we Pisces are understanding, we are often misunderstood which results in a great amount of time spent being discontent and looking for someone to understand our uniquely wired, sensitive minds; this many times results in us almost glamorizing our own suffering and seeing it as something beautiful when it really isn’t. Yet, the positive from this is that we utilize our imagination to create art or poetry that stems from our depressive behaviors. Well, either that or we end up drifting into our own dream world to escape the current unpleasant state of our lives until we snap out of it with a positive energy (we are resilient, but it’s a disgusting, endless cycle). We tend to be late to appointments, are driven yet space out constantly, and are not known to be the business type but rather are drawn to the creative spectrum. If you’re not a Pisces, all of this information may have been a bore and completely irrelevant to your life, but if you are a Pisces, this information is shocking. It is literally all true, for me at least. Every inch and detail of Pisces reports fit the puzzle of my personality perfectly, unlike any other sign does.

So, what does this mean? Does the day I was born basically determine who I am as a person and how I act towards others in the world? If you’re a believer in astrology, yes that is exactly what it means; but, a large amount of the population leans towards the idea that astrology is, in simple terms, bullshit. According to our dear friend Wikipedia, “Astrology has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe.” Since astrology is entirely based on the faith you have in the movements of what is above us and in our galaxy rather than detailed explanations and data, it is not real but instead an interesting idea and an irrelevant horoscope in the daily newspaper. This is alarming and frustrating to me; some refuse to believe that movements and gravitational pulls of celestial bodies above us have any effect on who we are, but they live by a book that talks about a guy who created the Heavens and the Earth and essentially made us who we are and gifted us with a predetermined fate.

Generally, I’m not the person to discuss religion, but at this point it is necessary. There are countless religions in the world, all hailing to different versions of a higher power or God by following the rules which they have set in place. Countless people literally dedicate their lives to following their religion and following each guideline that comes with it. With the most prominent religion in my life being Christian, many questions arise for me: what makes the statements, stories, and guidelines in the Christian Bible more believable and reliable than the others? If we all believe that our own religion is the one that is supposed to be followed, as it explains how we came about and how we are supposed to live, then how are we ever supposed to know which is the real, actual story of how we’re meant to be? We can never truly be certain which (if any) God or book or belief is real, but we continue to believe due to faith. There is minimal evidence, but we hold these stories in our heart and believe there is a higher power above that controls us and indicates what our fate in life is, even though we can’t see it. This is where an issue begins to drill my mind: why are people so willing and inclined to believe a book that talks of a higher power who created our Earth, gives us reason of being, and now watches us from a Heavenly place but decide that the idea of astrology, and the movements of our Earth in correspondence with the Sun and stars having an everlasting effect on our emotions/who we are as people, is nonsensical?

Listen to this: the gravitational pull from our moon (and a small amount from our sun) determines whether our ocean's tides are high or low. The moon pulls water towards it, and although we can’t see it, we know gravity is working on our Earth. On December 1st, 2018, Mercury is going to enter into the constellation of Scorpio; the result: communications and relationships becoming more obsessive and intense--we begin favoring deep conversations. Then, on December 6th, 2018, all communications will balance and go back to normal. The gravitational pull on Earth that alters from Mercury orbiting the sun in retrospect to our orbit has an effect on our lives. Furthermore, if there is actual evidence that the gravity in outer space and the placement of celestial bodies does have an impact on Earth, why is it so absurd to believe that they have an impact on our behaviors and well being? If there is a God, and He has an overall say on what our fate is, what we look like, and how our lives play out, what makes the idea of astrology so ridiculous and silly to people?

I don’t speak for all of humanity, but I do think that most people see death and afterlife as a terrifying thing--hence why this thing, called religion, was created in order to comfort us and help us cope with the fact that we’re all going to end up dying. Religion insists that if we follow the path that our higher power wants us to, then at the end of our lives, we will rest peacefully in whatever state we believe in. There will be eternal life, calmness, and all your loved ones are near you for a never-ending wonderful afterlife. This is comforting--it reassures humans that there is a reason for us to be here; we shouldn’t fear death, but we should embrace life and use our time here to benefit others while following God. Religion is a coping mechanism, and that is why so many people drink the Kool-aid. Astrology really doesn’t have any long-lasting benefits other than it is super infatuating and allows you to predict how your future events are going to go. It doesn’t help you get into Heaven, it doesn’t give you a basis on how you should live your life, and it doesn’t give you prayers or strength to get through the low points in your life; this is why we don’t believe it. If there is no actual benefit, and there is no actual evidence or point in believing, we will disregard it. If there is an enormous benefit, but little to no factual evidence, we will still push ourselves to believe it in an attempt to have positive outcomes.

I don’t mean to rain on any religion-fanatics parade, but this is something extremely odd and interesting to think about: both religion and astrology deal with unexplainable identities affecting our lives in different ways, but the majority of people believe one with an end goal and not the other. For all we know, neither could be true, but if they are, I would see it as simply amazing. And if they are both real, and if Jesus was born on December 25th, who knows what year, then he was a Capricorn, meaning he was/is wise, intelligent, and helpful.