“Hey Shawty, What’s Your Sign?

Ever hear that question, “What’s your sign?” I have, more times than I can count. My entire life I never understood the significance this could possibly have to another human being. To me it was just a cool way to identify myself. I do believe that the time, location and date of our birth does have some significance. However, I know that in today’s day and age, astrology has been romanticized and we’re too dumb to fully understand the true significance. Ancient people knew a lot about the sky and noticed patterns with the stars. Astrologers used their knowledge of these patterns to make “predictions,” or “educated guesses.” People look to apps and to the newspapers to tell them how their day will turn out, but how much of it actually real? Ever read another sign’s horoscope just for kicks? … If not you need to go live life on the edge a little!! I never really identified with my sign, and one day a person pointed out that I am what is known as a “cusp” sign, where I am born in between two signs, which means I show characteristics of the sign that falls after mine as well. Ok ….. This makes sense … I guess… maybe. Then I had a friend talk about rising and setting suns and moons… stars … retrogrades … square roots of the circumference of the itch on my bum ….Sailormoon and her little crime fighting buddies … WHAT? How do people keep track of all of this without exploding … oh right APPS!!!!

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about finding a significant other (This seems to be a theme in my life). His main frustration was finding someone who has the same morals and has similar goals. I agreed with him about this point, it’s hard to be with someone who is operating at a different wavelength. Then, naturally, the topic of astrology came up. I, as you may have noticed, think that us ordinary people cannot make sense of this complex (or super simple) topic. My friend then told me to download an Indian astrology app... Now, the reason this app was appealing to him was because you could input data on you and the person you're dating to get a compatibility number to see if you truly are a match. The higher the number the more compatible you are. When he told me this, my ears perked up… not what you think. A deep concern for my friend’s mental state came to fruition. How could one make a life decision based on a number that some app generated? When I tell people that my culture practices arranged marriage I get looked at like I’m cray, yet listening to a number on an app is socially acceptable?!?! Many people believe in this practice wholeheartedly, but as I was talking to my friend, I couldn't help but wonder if this was a means of controlling the situation. Since you cannot control someone’s else’s actions, this app would give you some idea of how the relationship may turn out. The fear of the unknown is a something lots of people struggle with, we like to make our plans and we like to stick to those plans... let's face it, who wants to spend time and energy on another person, if the outcome is not a promising one? (we will come back to this point...) This app is my friend’s way of having some control over the situation.

I then wondered what the outcome would be if the person he was dating did not “score” high enough, how would he handle the situation? Would he continue to date her and see where it goes? OR would he just call things off? When it comes to the app, I guess if the work is being done for them you don’t have to get to know the other person. As a result, you do not have the fear of making the wrong decision, that responsibility has been taken out of your hands.

After having this conversation with my friend, I began to think about how much our culture has been shaped by apps, astrologers and fortune-tellers. These types of enterprises have been known to capitalize on the fear of the unknown. They justify their conclusion by using a undeniable event in the past, such as someone’s date of birth, to make their conclusion unquestionable. I do not mean to bring any of these professions down, it is a means to make a living, however, many people do not think critically about what the professionals are saying. Our thoughts have power and those professionals plant seeds. Once an idea or concept is planted in our heads, we have the choice to nurture it and water it, or we can ignore it and let it die. Wherever our concentration goes that is what becomes our reality. We become what we think.

The girl that my friend was dating at the time, did not score high enough through his app, so he decided that they were not going to work out. I am not totally convinced that the app didn’t have anything to do with their falling out, but they didn’t work out because the app planted an idea in his head. He put his data in the app and decided he was going to listen to it. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things… they were not meant for one another. Who are we to say that the app was right or wrong, but I think that everyone has the power and ability within themselves to see the truth. Do we really need an app to tell us that something is not working out? We have intuition and common sense, but for some reason we try to fool ourselves into believing that something is right or something is wrong. Come in with an unbiased opinion and no expectations. Sometimes people are only meant to enter your life to teach you something. You have to learn how to progress in life, and to live through certain experiences in order to make it to the next step. So the next time you feel the urge to check an app to see if you’re compatible with someone, don't! Get to know them, then listen to your gut… trust me that thing has a brain of its own.