“I was named Meghana Siri because of my sign,” says junior Meghana Gadiraju. “My family is pretty Hindu, so for us the horoscope is based on astrology. It basically ends up tying into everything, and it is super complicated. There are a lot of superstitions that come with it and certain things become auspicious because of it. I guess it basically maps out your life.”
Horoscopes first appeared in Mediterranean regions such as Egypt in the late first or early second century BCE. The idea behind horoscopes is that the placement of the stars and planets at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment and can forecast the future of any being born at that time. According to the Smithsonian, in Hindu religion, horoscopes were used to predict war, earthquakes, politics, portents, omens.
According to Gadiraju, horoscopes have influenced superstitions in her daily life. “Even though I haven’t like used the horoscope, I automatically follow superstitions for some reason. I won’t step on paper, and I don’t let people get near my feet, like when people pick things up near my feet I get anxious even though I know nothing bad is going to happen, but there is always that thing in the back of your mind that is like something bad will happen,” she says.
“Horoscopes are more widely used in India. Astrology is used to determine dates of weddings to funerals,” says junior Sagrika Jawadi. “Some people don’t use them, though. They are more religiously affiliated than affiliated with India as a whole.”
But Gadiraju thinks that horoscopes shouldn’t be associated solely with Hindu culture either. “I know people, like my extended family, who think [horoscopes are] very important because they are so immersed in Hindu culture, but then there are people, mainly people who live in America, who are immersed in Hindu culture but think that horoscopes are [untrue]. Then there are people like my immediate family who just don’t really care about the horoscope.”
However, horoscopes can be purely coincidental. Junior Jason Yang is skeptical about horoscopes. “As modern technology and ideas shift, horoscopes among students have decreased. Horoscopes are basically just things that people use to give themselves direction. I don’t really believe in them, but I do find it surprising how much they align with real life at times. I usually just attribute it to coincidence though,” he says.
Indeed, horoscopes have evolved since ancient civilizations. Mesopotamian empires used horoscopes to divide time and priests would rely on the stars to interpret whether they would win in battles. In 1950s America, horoscopes boomed in a society of rising individualism and desire for identity and predictability. Today, horoscopes have evolved into popular culture. According to Gadiraju, “if there is a quiz on Buzzfeed or something, people probably take it just for fun, and just to see if it actually does work, but they know in the back of their mind that it’s probably [just for fun] because they take your answers and run it through an algorithm and give you information.”
To Jawadi, “[Horoscopes] are famous in popular culture because they are fun and mysterious. But for me, Hindu astrology is different from Western ideas of astrology. They shouldn’t be thought of as interchangeable.”
Overall, whether horoscopes are accurate or not, they are interesting and fun. “I have seen many other cultures use horoscopes, but I occasionally see people use it for fun. I have not used horoscopes much, but when I do, it’s mostly during a tough time to see if things are gonna get better. It mostly just serves as a boost in confidence once in awhile,” says junior Puneet Mahesha.
