Last time I skimmed over my daily horoscope in a newspaper, it told me that I would have a romantic encounter at a gym. At that moment everything started to make sense – the reason why I have not been able to meet anyone in Macau is because I have never been to a gym!
According to Co – Star, a popular astrology app, my sun sign is in Cancer, moon sign is in Capricorn, and my ascendant is in Sagittarius. Even though I don’t exactly know what the signs represent, I still enjoy reading what the stars say about my upcoming week.
The horoscopes give me a sneak peek into the unforeseeable future. Especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when everything seems uncertain, a little prediction from the constellation gives me a sense of stability as if the future is still under my control.
I did once stop reading weekly horoscopes during my university days. On the one hand, I believed that I had a certain power over my life as I knew how my week would go depending on my workload. While on the other hand, critical thinkers around me had been beating me senseless with logic about the invalidity of horoscopes and zodiacs.
However, ever since I graduated from university, my days have become a little bit more unsure. I often feel like standing on this cliff, looking out into this huge, foggy abyss, overwhelmed with apprehensions. Although I always keep an agenda with me, with detailed hourly notes indicating what I am doing at what hour, life often throws curve balls at me and ruins the only definiteness in my life. Then, I started to subscribe to a Chinese blogger, Uncle Alex, to let him tell me what will be happening next week. After reading it, I feel like I have retained dominance over the future because I have read what is “written in the stars”.
Other than the future, horoscopes also give you insights into a person you are not acquainted with. If you know the other person’s birthday, you will be able to guess their personality based on their horoscope. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, my friends around me have started using dating apps – Tinder, Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel, Bumble and Bumble BFF –, yet unlike meeting someone face to face, it is hard to tell one’s personality through words between the lines. After stalking their “Instagram” and “LinkedIn”, the last resort is asking the celestial system whether this person is going to turn out to be a match for them.
Based on my past experiences, I think when it comes to relationships, zodiacs do not know any more than we do, as one’s personality is not standardised but derives from life experiences, family background, religion, and culture. However, just like checking the weekly predictions, my friends are not looking for an exact answer but a sense of assurance from thinking that they know the other person to a certain degree.
In some ways, horoscopes and religions are similar as the believers of the two are using the supernatural to understand concepts that are still unknown to humans. People seek comfort in the idea that they know what is happening, just as how people find peace in believing that there is an afterlife where their deceased loved ones are living happily. Even though none of them has been validated by mathematical equations, scientific logic, ancient documents, and anthropological proof, they still help people gain solace in this ever-changing world. Sometimes reading horoscopes is not about their reliability but finding clarity in the dubiousness that life holds.
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