Can Astrology Really Make You Happier?

It’s an intriguing question. Astrology, widely defined as the study of movements and positions of celestial bodies which have an impact on human life, is something that has been around for millennia. Long ago, astrology was studied by what we would call scientists; it was used to help kings and emperors win wars, diagnose people’s health according to their astrological sign, give individuals an idea of which direction their life was heading, and help to predict political and societal events. It comes in various forms, such as Western Astrology, Chinese Astrology and Vedic Astrology.

Though many years ago it was taken seriously by all types of civilisations, today it has a bit of a love/hate relationship with the populace. The emergence of science generated a generally skeptical view of astrology where many people now view it as fanciful and nonsensical. This has resulted in astrology being largely confined to daily horoscopes in the newspapers or connotations with ‘magic and mystery’ that modern-day science doesn’t approve of.

But the reality is that astrology is so much more than daily newspaper snippets such as “Wear your hair in a ponytail today, Gemini, as the Sun in Taurus guarantees you will meet the love of your life!” or “This is the perfect time to quit your job, Libra, as the Moon in Sagittarius requires you to do some deep soul-searching and find a job you really love!” Astrology is a many-layered, varied and complex system; understanding the intricacies of it can lead to a deeper understanding of oneself, hereby leading to greater well-being overall.

So How Can Astrology Lead to a Happier Lifestyle?

Let’s look at the one many of us are most familiar with for a moment. Western Astrology. In Western Astrology, the planets in the solar system, as well as the Sun and Moon, represent various houses in a person’s natal chart. Accordingly, a person’s character will be heavily influenced by whatever planet resides in these houses. Then there are the three main elements of a person’s astrological make-up: The Sun Sign, Rising Sign and Moon Sign. The Sun Sign represents a person’s basic nature; the Rising Sign represents how people see you; and the Moon Sign represents the hidden part of yourself, your emotions and your moods. As well as the planetary aspects of astrology, there is also the elemental aspect. Four elements, fire, water, air and earth, dominate each of the signs and this, too, has an influence on your character.

Let’s say that your Sun Sign is Libra, your Rising Sign is Scorpio and your Moon Sign is Cancer. You may have grown up knowing you are a Libra, but this may not fit with who you are at all! Librans are typically diplomatic, balanced and love harmony. They shy away from conflict and will do anything to keep the peace. This is the total opposite of who you are – far from shying away from conflict, you often find yourself engaging in it! Harmony isn’t big on your agenda; instead, you would rather get to the truth of a matter, as opposed to sweeping things under the rug in order to keep the peace. Likewise, Librans are known for their endless charm. This doesn’t quite fall in line with you as a person – if anything, people seem to shrink back when they meet you for the first time and some people find you rude and aloof, even if you don’t intend to come across this way.

“Astrology is total bilge!” you tell yourself.

However, then you discover something. You have a Rising Sign and it happens to be Scorpio. You read a little more into what the Scorpio person is like and you discover this is far more in line with the type of person you are. Scorpio Rising people can come across as intimidating; people are either instantly attracted to them or instantly repelled by them. For a Scorpio Rising, their life is often marred with conflict. This is because the life lesson of the Scorpio Rising is to transform darkness into light and conflict into peace. You then realise how this links to your Libra Sun, for the Libran seeks balance and harmony above all else. By discovering you are a Scorpio Rising, you realise that peace can only be achieved through war.

Without this insight into astrology, you may never have known what your true life-purpose is or how you could have achieved it. Understanding how a Scorpio Rising operates, you can then see why certain things happen to you and how you can weave your own life to achieve the best outcome for yourself. You can become the master of your own destiny, because you now have the knowledge to recognise patterns within yourself and your external world. Astrology may give us insight into who we are and why we behave the way we do; but we still have free will. Therefore, it is up to us to shape our own destiny, and the discovery of our astrological placements and what they mean provide us with a handy self-help book to achieve the life we want.

As for your Moon Sign, this just deepens your knowledge about yourself. Taking the example above, the Moon in Cancer is a powerful placement to have. The Moon is naturally “at home” in Cancer and therefore its influence over the individual is particularly potent. Moon in Cancer people are deeply sensitive and often psychic; they are nurturers, healers and empaths and can often sense what a person is truly feeling underneath the shallow exterior. Emotions are a deep and complex thing and the Moon in Cancer feels them more powerfully than others; understanding this aspect of themselves can help them manage their emotions better, which can often be very up and down.

Not Just Happiness, But Health Also!

Well, the two are intertwined with each other anyway in most cases! Poor health can often lead to misery on both a mental and physical level. But understanding which health issues are more prone to affecting which sign can have a profound effect on a person’s happiness and well-being.

The father of all medicine, Hippocrates, swore by the study of Medical Astrology. Here, a person’s natal chart was examined by doctors in Ancient Greece and patients were given advice and prescribed medication based on their astrological make-up. Of course, there were many factors involved in regard to a person’s ailment and certain illnesses were not limited to certain signs, but the natal chart provided these early medicine men with a basis with which to go on. Leo natives, for example, tend to be afflicted with issues related to the heart, spine and back. The sign of Cancer, due to its powerful emotional influence, often experience ailments which are prompted by their emotions (I.e. emotional stress in a Cancerian can lead to digestive issues). Capricorns need to be careful with their skeletal structure as bones and limbs can be their vulnerable spot, hence it is advised they incorporate enough calcium in their diet, regardless of their age. Virgo people can literally worry themselves sick and therefore their nerve system is one of their most vulnerable attributes.

By understanding which parts of our mind and body are most affected according to our signs, we can then take steps to counter them, undoubtedly leading to a healthier, happier lifestyle.

Conclusion…

Is it all bilge? That’s entirely for you to decide. But studying astrology yourself and digging deeply into your own planetary aspects, as well as the elements that dominate your chart, can provide you with deeper insight in order to reach your conclusion. Ultimately, we all possess something particularly precious: free will. For a happier life, one first needs to delve deeply within their own selves. Happiness comes from within and the study of astrology might just provide the knowledge needed to reach that state of joy.