Astrology??

Since I've come to LA, I've met an inordinate number of people who are into astrology.  I'm not talking about people who like to read their horoscopes in the newspaper now and then, or who like to wear necklaces with their sign on it because it's pretty.  No, I mean people who put legitimate stock into what people of their sign are supposedly like, etc.  I have nothing against it, but I've just never bought into it myself.

Within my first few weeks here, I went to a party with a friend of our family and she and her friend starting talking about signs and how someone did such-and-such a thing because they're a Scorpio and how that person acts like this because she's a leo.  Then they turned to me and started trying to guess my sign.  They were all analytical and trying to pick apart my personality, etc.  They actually were able to narrow it down to three. (I'm a Gemini, by the way)  Until then I'd never really known how much actually goes into all these signs.  I thought it was just to do with when in the year you were born and that there were some characteristics that went along with that.

Another reason I was a little skeptical of the whole astrology business was because all of the characteristics that are supposed to go along with the signs seem so general that they could be used to describe anyone.  For example, in my dorm during my last semester at Emerson before I left, our theme was zodiac signs, so our RAs put up each sign and characteristics that went along with them.  There were about 4 positive adjectives and 4 negative adjectives with each sign, and it all seemed so DUMB.  They said things like: Pisces- friendly, caring, intelligent, artistic, vain, impatient, stubborn, violent. Or something like that.  So basically, every sign had so many adjectives that it made me think, "ok, so everyone is everything.  Good."

But I've found out since being here that the actual characteristics that supposedly go along with Geminis are quite fitting for me.  Things like not wanting to leave a job unfinished and having two distinct sides of your personality, etc.  So maybe there's something to it, but who knows?  I actually heard a really funny thing today, which is why I'm even writing about all this.  One of the people I work for (actually just started working for- another internship!!) was talking about being a Gemini and how he fits the description, etc.  But, he told me, his birthday is right on the edge of Taurus, so he thinks that he might exhibit some Taurus-esque characteristics too.  So he ended the conversation by saying he was like a "bullheaded schizophrenic," which I thought was awesome.

I'd really like to find out what it was that the Greek folks were basing their theories on when they made up the signs.  I'd also really like to know who gets to decide what people who are born in the new sign, (What's it called again? Homunculus, or something?) are like.  We don't have any ancient Greeks around anymore to let us know.



Oh.  And I'm only kidding.  I know that the new sign is Ophiuchus.  But how cool would it be to meet a Homunculus Ophiuchus?