Caricatures in Astrology

But I don't identify with my sign. Maybe astrology doesn't work?

Have you ever read a horoscope or meme about your astrological sign and thought, “That sounds nothing like me”? If so, you are definitely not alone, so I want to talk a little about those experiences and what they tend to mean.

First of all, I posted on social media a couple of videos I think are funny styling the characters from Ted Lasso as zodiac signs, and you get the pleasure of watching them right now (CW: these clips that are about 2 seconds long each that are caricatures of the signs, so if you are sensitive about your sign being lightly mocked, beware):

If you are bummed that Scorpios are Rupert or about any of the other signs, listen, I get it. Scorpios are awesome and get a bad rep.

However, the bad rep each sign gets is there for a reason. With each sign, there is a way that sign’s energy manifests that is a whole and healthy representation of the energy. Also, there is a way the energy manifests when it is repressed, an that way is not so healthy.

Scorpio is a sign associated with intensity, depth, and sexuality. Dominant culture trains us to repress basically all three of those qualities, and so it is common for Scorpio energy to come out as shadow energy, or energy that pops up in a way that is out of integrity with who we truly are. Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and fixed water is ice, so Scorpio can feel icy to those on the outside.

Also, every person has Scorpio in their chart. So, if you don’t like the Rupert energy, it’s time to integrate your Scorpio energy in a healthy way to prevent it from coming out like that.

We all have all signs in our charts, and astrological charts are much more complex beyond that. Astrologically speaking, you have much more than the cast of Ted Lasso that makes up who you are. Awww.

Ultimately, when we do not identify with an astrological description one of three things is happening (at least, and sometimes it can be all three):

1. It might be a goofy meme and just wrong. If someone interprets your chart wrong, you’re the one who knows who you are. Take it as information to consider, but no astrology interpretation should rule your life. This is true of other advice that is spiritual or borders on spiritual. You are sovereign in your experience of life. If someone is wrong about you, you don’t have to make them right.

2. It’s possible that you’re only looking at your sun sign and not at the rest of your chart. Looking at your sun sign is like reading a book about your body that only talks about your eyes. It might be right about your eyes, but you are a lot more than your eyes, so it’s usually going to sound wrong if you’re trying to apply it to your feet. We are complex beings with all astrological signs (and much more than that) in our charts. Reading about your sun sign does not even scratch the surface of the information available, and it’s honestly fairly common for people to identify much more strongly with their moon sign than their sun sign.

3. It’s possible that your birth time is wrong. Much of astrology relies on an accurate birth time, and an inaccurate birth time can change a lot. Double check your birth certificate. I had a client recently come to me and say she had discovered her birth certificate and realized her birth time was wrong. This is so exciting! It is like getting a whole new chance to try on a new chart interpretation! The new time in her chart did not change much, but what it changed was pretty significant. I, too, had this experience when I first learned about astrology. I completely calculated my chart wrong and thought the system didn’t work. Turned out it was my math that didn’t work.

Getting a natal chart reading is like having someone hold a mirror up to the back of your head and describe what they see that might be invisible to you or something you catch in the mirror sometimes. Just because you get the interpretation does not mean it needs to rule your life. If someone held up a mirror to the back of your head and told you they didn’t like your hair, you don’t need to get a haircut just because of that. But, you might get a second opinion.

At the same time, I’ve had many experiences where something in a chart or energy reading did not resonate at first with me, and then a week, month, or even year later, it suddenly clicks. The information that is right for your growth tends to stick around.

One of the biggest values of chart readings is validation. Who you are matters. Another value is the ability to integrate energies that we might have repressed because culture told us they were bad. Hopefully, someday, Rupert gets a chart reading.