posted February 19, 2014 01:40 PM
—By Kevin Drum| Tue Feb. 18, 2014 10:59 AM GMTA few days ago, Chris Mooney reported here about a new study showing that belief in astrology is on the rise, especially among the young. What's up with that? One of Andrew Sullivan's readers offers a hypothesis:
The National Science Foundation study shows something is clearly shifting within the culture in regards to astrology, particularly for those under 45. What has shifted? It’s that astrology is slowly winning hearts and minds, not through silly horoscopes, but through consistent, effective counseling that clients find useful, practical and relevant to their lives. Professional astrologers cater to working-class individuals all the way up to lawyers, doctors, politicians, businessmen, and professionals of all stripes, every day in this country. Since the field is not routinely covered in the media, many would be surprised to learn that the average professional astrologer is highly educated, socially and politically liberal, and extremely intellectual.
I think you can all guess what I think of this, right? That said, I had an interesting experience many years ago. A friend of mine at work—very smart, very grounded, very educated—was also very deeply into astrology. It was mostly a subject of good-natured banter in the office, and she knew perfectly well that almost none of us were believers. Including me, of course. But then I saw her at work a couple of times, and came to the same conclusion as Sullivan's emailer.
She was, basically, a good counselor. She was empathetic, a good listener, and provided pretty good advice. It so happened that she used astrology as a way of organizing her thoughts, but as near as I could tell, that was just incidental. She believed it, and it gave her a useful framework to work from, but it didn't really mean anything beyond that. She would have been a good counselor whether she was reading star charts, reading palms, or reading out of the DSM-5. Astrology gave her confidence, and that in turn gave her clients confidence. Regardless of whether it was true, that fact made it useful.
Now, I have no idea whether this has anything to do with the fact that, since 2005, an increasing number of young people believe astrology has a scientific basis. Probably not. In fact, the whole thing might be statistical noise that will disappear the next time the NSF happens to ask this question. But it's possible that there's a virtuous (or vicious) circle here: counselors decide to try out astrology as a way of getting through to people; it turns out that it's effective at building confidence; so more counselors try it and, thanks to the good counseling, more people believe in it. Rinse and repeat.
This is just a guess, not something to be taken seriously. Other guesses welcome in comments. http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/astrology-may-not-work-maybe-it-works- anyway
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So I'm empathetic, a good listener, and provide decent advice? It's not looking at a chart and knowing something about the person I shouldn't have any reason to know as in this interaction?:
From Lindaland on Facebook:
insights please
[img]https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1/1900065_10202320971897977_1698929542_n.jpg[/img]
AG: You've got a lot of drive, and you might belong in the spotlight. Good chance of being famous. Do it.
Poster: ... and yes, i do think this person has a good chance of being famous, he's very talented and very intelligent and most importantly is a nice person
AG: Does he reject her authority, or is he more of an authority than his mom? His mom is the Moon, and dad is the Sun or Saturn both of which are in poor aspect to the Moon. He's also very stubborn and driven, which might cause problems.
Poster: yes, he does reject authority! he is the only authority he recognizes lol , and says he feels there a storm within him going and going!
AG: With Saturn opposite his Ascendant, how he presents himself should be fairly disciplined; the disciplined lion.
What is he talented at? Music? Acting? Tauruses are usually good at either, and Leos can be as well. With both of those signs having a lot of pull in his chart, I wouldn't be surprised by either. Also, his oppositions from his Sun are made easier by that Neptune/Uranus conjunction, so being creative and unique are ways that help him cope with the Sun/Moon tension. Serving others also helps as Neptune and Uranus are in the 6th.
Poster: He is just as you're saying! Disciplined, tries to perfect him, intellectual, no nonsense and very talented in music. he has his own band: composes, sings, plays guitar. he does say that inside he feels there is a storm going on 24/7 and being productive is the only thing that helps him out. and he also has his own non profit organization and he wants to pursue social work or economics
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I can't prove the science, but I also couldn't prove any special intuition on my part (with this person whom I've had no contact). Empathy? Maybe sometimes. Astrology just keeps working and working for me. I have no reason to trust it otherwise.
Lindaland
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posted February 19, 2014 01:40 PM
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