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What Planet?

Entry 498, on 2007-03-20 at 14:31:04 (Rating 3, Comments)

I was drinking a coffee in a cafe here recently when I happened to hear part of a conversation going on behind me between two young women. One was obviously having some sort of relationship crisis and was seeking advice from her friend.

I wasn't really taking that much notice (inane conversations about personal relationships bore me greatly) until they started talking about astrology. They were saying things like: "well he's a scorpio and I'm a sagittarius, so obviously we should be compatible", etc. Is it any wonder we have so many problems with breakups, divorces, etc when this is the sort of criteria people use to select a partner?

Whenever I hear that sort of thing I really want to sit down with the person involved and rave on about how nonsensical their beliefs are. Of course, I'm too polite to do that, because I always wait for the other person to start the debate - then I go for the kill! Here's an example...

A while back I was fixing a computer for a private client when she happened to mention she had a new book on astrology which was much more reliable than the astrology we usually see in newspapers, which "wasn't serious". She asked me my star sign and I answered. She looked up my description in this book and it matched me almost perfectly.

So I asked here: "do you think that describes me quite well?" and she answered "yes, I told you this book was reliable". Then I said, "Oh sorry, did I say capricorn, I meant scorpio". I had deliberately told her the wrong sign, because it doesn't matter which sign you look up you'll find some indications of a match in anything. So that's one person who has never discussed astrology with me again!

But what planet are these people on? I mean, some people say astrology is harmless and its just a bit of fun, etc. But is that really true? I think the people who say that have at least a part belief in the accuracy of astrology. They just don't want to admit it to me (the grumpy old skeptic) or maybe they don't want to admit it to themselves.

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