Spend a few minutes on social media or any dating app, and it quickly dawns on you that astrology’s popularity has surged into the mainstream. However, you’ve come to the correct spot if you still feel lost when you hear terminologies such as the Mercury retrograde or a natal chart. It is a language that even seasoned, professional astrologers continue to study and use throughout their lives.

Here, we lay down the fundamentals of astrology to help you comprehend the language of the sky so you can keep up the next time a buddy mentions their crush’s zodiac sign at breakfast.

Astrology defined

Hitesh Sonar/ The Swaddle/ Flickr | Let your inner star shine

Astrology studies the effect of distant celestial objects, typically stars and planets, on the lives of humans. It is believed that the location of the sun, stars, moon, and planets at the moment of a person’s birth influences their personality, love connections, and economic fortunes, among other things.

Most individuals are familiar with their “sign,” which corresponds to one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. This is a type of sun-sign astrology upon which newspaper horoscopes are founded. The only information required to construct a sun-sign horoscope is the individual’s date of birth, making it the simplest kind. Numerous astrologers will tell you that this style of astrology is so rudimentary that its results are quite restricted.

Why it matters?

INSTYLE/ GETTY IMAGES | When the stars approve, the likes are all but guaranteed

Many popular culture journals may have you believe that astrology is a system of new-age magic. Instead, it is a planning instrument that enables us to exert greater control over our lives. Despite the fact that certain things in life are “destined” to occur, we can still actively change our circumstances and create the lives we choose. Astrology provides us access to this old knowledge by observing how the planets move through the sky and form a magnificent pattern that opens concrete doors of opportunity on Earth. Through our actions in the now, we have the ability to shape the future.

Although it may seem unusual to assume that these faraway planets and stars truly have an effect on us, we must consider the adage “as above, so below.” Humanity placed themselves into the stars, and the stars, in turn, placed themselves within each of us.

Adrinao La Naia/ Getty Images | Astrology is just a finger pointing at reality

Also, research indicates that astrology is frequently utilized as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. Under high stress, the individual is willing to utilize astrology as a coping mechanism; however, under low stress, he does not believe in astrology. The first newspaper astrology column was commissioned in August 1930, amid the Great Depression.

During the 2008 financial crisis, individuals sought astrologers to predict their future. “All of these institutions upon which people had relied began to crumble. This is how many individuals become involved. They ask, “What’s happening in my life? In 2008, astrologer Rebecca Gordon told The New Yorker, “Nothing makes sense.”