3 Responses to Astrology Skeptics

Despite it’s popularity in the cultural zeitgeist, there’s a lot of skepticism about astrology and its utility.

I recently read a post on Reddit from a user who was struggling with how to “come out” about their interest in astrology and was seeking advice on how to handle skeptics and naysayers.

As someone who has had several careers and holds two Ivy League degrees — including a law degree — I’ve sometimes struggled with sharing my interest in astrology — even though I write about it often.

Responding to the post on Reddit helped me organize and clarify my thinking on this. The folks on Reddit found it helpful, and I suspect that there are others who struggle with this challenge.

In this essay, I’ll share 3 responses to astrology skeptics. In Part 2, I’ll share 5 ways I use astrology as a practical tool for personal development and productivity.

If you’re a secret astrology buff struggling to reconcile your interest in astrology with your more “rational” nature, I hope this will be helpful to you.

3 Responses to Astrology Skeptics

Here’s where I have landed on this and how I think about it.

FIRST: You’ll never convince the haters

I have realized that I’ll never convince people who don’t want to be convinced, or who are closed-minded. It’s a waste of time and energy to try to convince people who are simply closed off to the possibility that this field could offer something useful.

This advice holds for astrology and for anything else in which you feel a passion for something that other people just don’t get. It’s a waste of your energy to try to sway someone who wants no part of it.

That said, some people — and I have many friends in this group — are skeptical, but open-minded.

Here are 3 common arguments/skepticisms I hear, and the responses I offer to people who are legitimately curious, even if still skeptical:

3 Responses to Astrology Skeptics

(1) The “It’s just a story” argument

Isn’t astrology just a story that people make up about things happening with the planets?

In response to people who argue that astrology is “just a story,” I say

Yes. Of course it is a story.

Just like the stock market is driven by a story people make up based on information companies provide.

People create expectations based on certain facts they pick out, and when companies announce earnings, if their announcements are in line with those expectations then people buy the stock. If not, they sell the stock. The price of the stock really has no relationship to the actual results of the company.

It’s all driven by story.

That’s how most of life works. Most of the “facts” you rely on to form your belief systems are stories.

Everything is a story.

(2) The “I don’t believe in it” Argument

Sometimes this comes across as a projection, as in do you really believe in that?

I don’t consider astrology to be a “belief system.”

Astrology is not a religion. I don’t need to “believe” in it any more than I need to “believe” in the movements of the tides or birds in the sky or any other occurrence of nature.

Astrology is the empirical observation — over thousands of years — of correlations between what’s happening in the sky and what’s happening on earth at the same time.

It doesn’t require belief in it, because it’s something we observe. It’s an ongoing process of charting patterns above and below.

(3) The “Does it Work?” Skepticism

The question of whether astrology “works” is a trick question.

Astrology, at its core, is an empirical observation of planetary positions in the sky and their correlation to events on Earth.

The answer to whether something “works” is that it depends on what you’re trying to use it for or do with it.

I think what many people are questioning here is whether astrology “works” to predict the future.

We are looking at patterns.

To be sure, the patterns of the past don’t always predict the future.

And also: when certain themes pop up repeatedly, it helps to take notice.

The patterns of the seasons tell us that we can generally expect at least a few snowfalls during a New York City winter.

But the winters of 2022 through most of 2024 saw almost no snow at all — NYC went for a record 701 days without accumulating an inch of snow.

Does that mean that the patterns of the seasons of nature “don’t work”?

Of course not.

Sometimes a pattern that has played out for hundreds or thousands of years doesn’t unfold in the same way in a given cycle.

We don’t discount the general usefulness of knowing that, more winters than not, it’s likely to snow in New York.

When the next winter comes, we still prepare for snow, because when the snow does come it’s better to be prepared than to be left out in the cold.

I think of astrology less as about trying to predict the future and more as about trying to understand the quality of time we are in at present, based on how the pattern unfolded in the past.

It’s not meant to be perfect, but it can help you know what it likely to come, and prepare for it.

As for whether it “works,” I find that it works for a lot of different functions, which I’ll detail in Part 2.

Bonus: Focus on Why You Find Astrology Useful

As stated at the top, it’s a waste of energy to try to convince the skeptics. This is true for astrology, for artificial intelligence, and for any technology, tool, or framework we use.

When discussing any area that draws skepticism, it’s more effective to focus on why you find it useful and valuable, and what you use it for.

For me, astrology has proven to be a useful and practical tool for productivity, personal development, and creating more meaningful relationships.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll share 5 ways I use astrology as a practical life tool and the ways in which it works for me for those purposes.