Astrology has continued to be a staple in popular culture, despite the criticisms and stigma attached to it.
The idea that our fate and personalities are somehow interlinked with star placements and celestial events may indeed sound controversial – some label it as satanic, others simply find it to be fraudulent and baseless. Regardless, many people still take horoscopes seriously, as they believe that the concept is an important part of their self that influences their personality, behaviour and outlook in life.
To see if there is indeed a link between personality and astrological signs, Business Insider conducted a survey with 8,800 Americans, who were asked if they identified with the traits commonly associated to their sign.
Along with global survey research company Morning Consult, the website collected and listed characteristics that each star sign is generally linked with:
- Aquarius, born January 20 – February 18, is “progressive, original, independent, if temperamental.”
- Pisces, born February 19 – March 20, is “compassionate, artistic, intuitive, if fearful.”
- Aries, born March 21 – April 19, is “determined, confident, enthusiastic, if impulsive.”
- Taurus, born April 20 – May 20, is “reliable, patient, practical, stable, if stubborn.”
- Gemini, born May 21 – June 20, is “gentle, curious, adaptable, if indecisive.”
- Cancer, born June 21 – July 22, is “tenacious, highly imaginative, persuasive, if insecure.”
- Leo, born July 23 – August 22, is “creative, generous, warm-hearted, humorous, if inflexible.”
- Virgo, born August 23 – September 22, is “loyal, analytical, kind, practical, if critical.”
- Libra, born September 23 – October 22, is “cooperative, gracious, social, if confrontation averse.”
- Scorpio, born October 23 – November 21, is “resourceful, brave, passionate, if jealous.”
- Sagittarius, born November 22 – December 21, is “generous, idealistic, great sense of humour, if impatient.”
- Capricorn, born December 22 – January 19, is “responsible, disciplined, self-controlled, if forgiving.”
The respondents were then asked to pick one of these possible 12 sets that described them best.
The results are not great for astrology advocates. Fewer than one in five people, or 19.7 per cent of respondents, identified with their sign’s character traits, even after being given three chances to choose. Believers fared even worse – only 18.5 per cent who consulted astrology to make their life decisions picked the correct sign, even lower than the proportion of people who did not use horoscopes at all.
However, it may not all be bogus. Ben Hayden, assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester wrote in Psychology Today that studies have shown some links between birthdays and personality traits. For example, a Japanese study discovered that people born between December and February tend to be less agreeable, while another study found that men born in the summer have lower conscientiousness.
This does not mean that astrology is accurate, but more factors may need to be investigated for us to determine the exact relationship between birth times and character traits.
Do you believe in astrology?