By Beatriz Trevisan de Jesus, Contributing Writer
You have probably heard the question “What is your zodiac sign?” when meeting someone for the first time, right? Sometimes people get so excited about it that they assume they already know you and all your personality traits by only knowing your sign. But do zodiac signs really define people?
Ziniah Thompson, an Aquarius and a sophomore in biology, said that she had already had conversations about zodiac signs, and even asked for people’s zodiac.
“I have asked someone’s zodiac […], but I do not base people on their zodiac signs,” said Thompson.
First, you must know the definition of zodiac signs. According to the Dictionary, “zodiac,” in astronomy and astrology refers to the positions of the sun, planets, moons, and starts at a certain moment of a date. This way, astrology describes zodiac signs as the relation between a person’s birth and one of the 12 particulars constellation of the zodiac that is passed by the sun, and each of them is represented by an animal.
With that, depending on the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars at the moment you were born, you belong to a certain sign, and it can predict some of your characteristics. While one of the main characteristics for Virgo sign is perfectionism, for Pisces it is romantic, and so on.
“Taurus[es]are loyal […], Leos are confident, Virgos are logical, and Scorpios are brave” are some general assumptions that Sam Khan, a Taurus, and a sophomore in computer science, knows. She also said that one of her common jokes amongst her friends is that Geminis are red flags.
With that in mind, can we believe and be driven by astrology?
Both Thompson and Khan said that even though they talk about it, they do not believe in astrology.
“I do not believe that just because someone is a certain zodiac that means they act a certain way,” claimed Khan. “However, I would still stay away from Geminis.”
Even though astrology measures many astronomy data to set a pattern of personality traits for each sign, and even each person, there is no scientific evidence that validates the veracity of it.
Therefore, although there are coincidences between some people and their zodiac signs’ personality traits, astrology has no scientific basis. Even so, astrology can still be a good way to start conversations and to have fun!
