Searching for Answers Among the Stars
What are we really looking for?
‘This month will bring stability to your domestic life. You'll find a rhythm which you've been seeking for a while now. It's a good time to think about the big picture and what long-term projects and trips you're interested in.’
Reading this gossip magazine horoscope, did it feel like you related to the advice? Now, imagine as if the header included your zodiac sign, do you think it resonates more then? Who is the audience and what is the goal? Reading horoscopes and the study of astrology has swept through pop culture over the past few years. Today, it is not uncommon to overhear groups of people talking about birth charts, planet houses, rotations, etc. with no relation to psychics or genies. Everyone seems to be searching for answers.
Astrology is classified as divination, which is the practice of telling the future or discovering knowledge using supernatural means. Science says that there is no present evidence that links the position of stars and your birth time with the ability to predict events occurring in your present. The stars and planets definitely all interact and shift; however, scientists’ have determined that astrology seems so ‘spot on’ because of the psychological concept: confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias is a theory that people only believe things that agree with their existing beliefs. It affirms the saying: people believe what they want to believe. For example, did your feelings change about the horoscope written above when you imagined it was written for your zodiac sign?
The lure of mysticism has spread like wildfire because it offers spirituality. People are simply realizing that we lack control over mostly everything. We cannot control the traffic headed to work nor the fender bender that might happen along the way. This lack of control causes many people to attempt to gain it back by finding answers regarding the future. We ask other humans the questions that we really want to ask God.
Do I believe that astrology conflicts with religion? If you make it your god, then yes. I think that astrology does indeed have power, just from the wrong source. We control what we worship. We control where we go to seek answers about ourselves and our situation. The moment when you choose to ask the universe or stars for help over God, then you have fallen for the trap. God wants to be your God. Why worship a small part of creation when you can worship the Creator?
God created the stars and the universe, just like He created you. He has all infinite wisdom and the answers you are looking for regarding your current situation. God desires a relationship with you and wants to answer all of your questions. So, every hour you spend on the internet reading horoscopes is another hour that God has not gotten to spend with you. Astrology has just become a replacement god.
Romans 1:25 – ‘They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.’
Deuteronomy 4:19 – ‘And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.’
