When it becomes an option to blame our struggles on the placement of the moon, why shouldn’t we? Interest in astrology and horoscopes has become a phenomenon, especially within millennials. Star sign reading websites have received “150 percent more traffic in 2017 than the year before,” according to the Atlantic. Meanwhile, memes, pick-up lines all poke fun at the ideology that Mercury in retrograde somehow determines the luck of our day. 

Astrology is the prediction of someone’s future based on one’s past and present events, determined by the placement of the sun, moon and other celestial objects on one’s birth date. Horoscopes date back to the 1st century BC from an Egyptian astrologer Ptolemy. It may seem absurd, but in reality, its popularity stems from the questionable accuracy of the horoscopes. A “horoscope” is generated based upon someone’s star sign, which fall under these categories: Aries (March 21 to April 19), Taurus (April 20 to May 20), Gemini (May 21 to June 20), Cancer (June 21 to July 22), Leo (July 23 to Aug. 22), Virgo (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22), Libra (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22), Scorpio (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21), Sagittarius (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21), Capricorn (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19), Aquarius (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18), Pisces (Feb. 19 to March 20). 

From personality traits to interests, horoscopes are like a (now digital) palm reader. The mass amount of attention they receive can be explained by society’s tendency to find a reason for anything, whether positive or negative. Teenagers especially find comfort in blaming their mistakes, love life issues or regrets on people or things that don’t reflect back on themselves; therefore, they feel reassurance that it is not completely their fault. “It isn’t that I act specifically because of what my horoscope is saying, but I do notice myself correlating day-to-day actions with my horoscope I check in the morning,” junior Penelope Anderson said. 

In addition, the amount of people who share the same horoscope builds a mentality that you are not alone in your struggles, and there are others who relate to what you are going through. Negative reasons that prove popularity in horoscopes weigh on one hand, but positive reasons go down a whole different path. Waking up and reading your horoscope that tells you, “Aries, today will be a positive day full of doubts yet fulfillment” puts anyone into a cheerier mindset to change their attitude towards how they see their day, “I don’t necessarily place full blame on doing bad on a test on the fact that Mercury is in retrograde, but it gives me a sense of relief even if that fact doesn’t correlate to me at all,” Penelope Anderson said.  That vague phrase can be interpreted as anything; running into an old friend or getting a good grade on a test can both be “fulfilling” in different ways. Even though it could be coincidence, there’s a light-hearted aspect of believing in the unknown fate due to the stars. 

There is an alternate side to horoscopes as well. While millions are falling in love with their star sign, there’s another part of this generation that sees an overall problem with “brainwashing” people into theories that are impossible to prove. “Some [horoscopes] are so general it can be applicable to everyone. [Horoscope websites] are just giving millions of followers to an ‘industry of scientists’ and categorizing people into characteristics that can’t be true for everyone born in that time period,” junior Tejal Gupta said.  

Further, millenials are one of the most impressionable generations yet. The internet can scam you into buying a plastic machine that dispenses toothpaste for you, so why not scam you into believing a whole new philosophy. The widespread amount of horoscopes on the internet makes it easy for anyone to relate to any of the articles online; there’s something for everyone. As immature young-adults, being educated on zodiacs and star signs gives a sense of power over adults who rarely heard the name “horoscope.” Even if it’s not exactly scientifically explainable, it’s just a different way to view the world that grounds students back to the universe.