to think that anynoe who believes in star signs is a complete numpty?

[bettybosseye]

I mean it's so clearly such a great stinking heap of horse shit, how can anyone actually believe it?
Another mum at playgroup today was telling me what kind of personality my 9 month old will have based solely on her star sign.
All pleasant enough stuff but she actually believed it.
What's wrong with people?

Oh I'm quite in favour of people believing in astrology. Of course it's utter bollocks, just like all religions are unmitigated bollocks, but in terms of not starting too many wars, not generally torturing people to death for laughing at horoscope readers and not being particularly institutionally misogynistic, I prefer the horoscope fans to the practitioners of the mainstream warmongering misogynistic bullshit.

rofl - balloonballs - that's kind of the point - interesting anecdotes based upon my experiences no more than that. certainly no claims for validity or for me to say, oh yeah well obviously the moon has x influence on us etc!

however, i am open to the thought we don't know it all yet, in terms of how our bodies work and how our physical environment influences us and possibly never will. scientists are making new discoveries all the time, like yesterday a study revealed there are cells in the human heart that might have the potential to regenerate. previously it was believed that wasn't the case.

btw i heart brian cox and guffawed at that comment on astronomy/astrology

Like I said in my first post, they are bying comfort.
Like when you buy alcohol, or the illusion of firmer younger skin, or fattening sugary food.

leQueen I haven't read this whole thread (should be working!) but your MIL's quote was a hoot - thanks so much for posting! will be repeating that one to DH when he comes home.
actually come to think of it my DS would love it too....

'they are bying comfort'

These things are not marketed as 'comfort' though, they're marketed as predictions, character analysis or healing.

wukter - They are not buying "comfort". They are buying predictions. Those predictions are nothing more than fabrications. Therefore, they are being deceived.

It is not possible to generalize this to all consumption.

X-posts with PoP

spooky!

Wukter,
Seriously it's not comparable.

Despite my disparaging; I actually believe in the power of planets (our Moon); but not Astrology as we know it now.

The Moon has a 28 day cycle. This is the normal menstrual cycle of a Woman.It is no coincidence.
If you're 23/24 etc I would suspect that at some point you have engineered your own fertility/contraception through the pill etc. etc. and as a consequence changed your cycle.
I went on the pill at 15; my 28 day cycle only established itself 3 years after I finished all contraceptives.

So astrology is shit; but the influence of the planets is not (IMO).

I also think it is nonsense but when I was younger I could always sort of tell if someone was born in June or July - they always seemed happier and more outgoing. However I have always attributed that to it being warmer when they were small babies so they were probably happier.

On a similar note, I think handwriting analysis is utter testicles, yet I would never enter into a relationship with a man with small neat writing, as I have known too many men who write like that who were just, well, weird.

I have lavish, scrawly, loopy, extravagant handwriting and totally agree.

28 days is the average cycle which is different from 'normal' cycle.

The lunar cycle, OTOH, is 29.53 days.

'This is the normal menstrual cycle of a Woman.It is no coincidence.
If you're 23/24 etc I would suspect that at some point you have engineered your own fertility/contraception through the pill etc. etc. and as a consequence changed your cycle.'

I've been off the pill for about 22 years and have never had a 28-day cycle. Despite maintaining a fairly stable and healthy weight, eating well, taking exercise, having had two pregnancies that went to term, etc.

Ah Balloon I thought I'd imagined your name!

Can I quickly hijack and check that you don't mind my name?
I know your a well known poster and "here first" iykwim.
Mine is a name change and makes no odds to me.

Never ever ever since I first menstruated at 14 have I been on a 28 day cycle. Normal, as a term, has no use when discussing the cycles of the general population of women.

My menstrual cycle is totally in tune with Callisto. Freaky.

I can't do a birth chart from a date-I was merely offering to quickly see why you think that astrology is rubbish.
2 people have sent me details. I'm not spending time on it-just a quick look.
In seekers case I would say that it is being strongly Leo with the sun, mercury,venus and mars in Leo, absolutely no one with all that fire is going to allow that anything other than self can have anything to do with your destiny.
PlentyofParsnips has probably got a Capricorn moon,(I said that anyone with any Capricorn wouldn't have anything to do with it)That depends on the time you were born -it wasn't in Capricorn all day. Were you born before or after noon?
As to the twins, I am not doing work on it but I would need the actual times of birth to see why they were so different (maybe they aren't-you can't really tell from babies)
I should say I am not an astrologer-I took an interest about 15yrs ago and haven't touched it since.

I should say I am not an astrologer-I took an interest about 15yrs ago and haven't touched it since.

This is possibly my second all time fave MN quote

I was a gymnast 30 years ago. Would anyone like me to nearly do a handstand for them?

The only way I ever have a 28 day cycle is if I'm taking the pill 3 weeks on, one off. Otherwise its totally random.

Full marks for offering a falsifiable hypothesis though

YANBU. It is total twaddle.

The thing is Lamorna, is that while you may believe what you're saying, you're probably not going to offer any insight which isn't in line with what you already know about the person. You know already know they are sceptical; all that stuff about 'fire' doesn't add any explanation at all.