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Astrology does have its uses

The ancient discipline of astrology claims that the motions of the planets determine the course of our lives. For example, Mercury in opposition is said to cause accidents, and Neptune is said to influence aviation. There is no evidence supporting this, and indeed there is a whole list of personal characteristics of all kinds that have been shown by statistical means to be independent of the Sun sign. So why do people continue to believe in it? Why are there about 20,000 professional astrologers and only 2,000 professional astronomers?

To me it seems that astrology does not have much use. But wait. It does have a use, because people believe in it. For example, the Reagans have been said to use astrology to select propitious times to do things. This means one can use astrology to predict other people's behavior. For example, many people read the horoscope in the morning paper. If you know the Sun sign of someone, and they read the horoscope, you can figure out how they will behave. For example, for today it says for Libra, "Important news reaches you. You're on top of the world. A new endeavor catches your imagination." Libra, according to traditional astrology (but not astronomy!) is Sept 23-Oct 22. If you know someone with one of these birthdays, and you have something important or big to tell them but are waiting for the moment to do so, now may be the time. Also, if you are looking for ideas for a big project, a Libra would be the one to ask today. If that Libra believes in astrology and reads the horoscope page, they may be listening to their imaginations and capturing new ideas more than usual. You might not want to attract people by this method. If a horoscope for Scorpio reads "Possible chance meeting with the person of your life today." and you are a man who knows a woman Scorpio that looks interesting, today would be the day to ask her for the date or to get intimate with her. However, if you do that, you will wind up with a romantic relationship with someone who believes in astrology, which may not be in your best interest.

But one can predict people's behavior by this method, as long as people fall for the non-scientific advice of astrologers. For example, by studying these columns and horoscopes in the 1980s, one could have predicted many of Ronald Reagan's actions and have taken advantage of them.