Horoscope - although a lot of people do not admit it, they believe what can be read in it - even in one invented for the color press. When we read the predictions contained in the horoscope, they seem to us insightful and accurate. Why? Because their creators very skillfully use the knowledge of the human psyche. Read how the horoscope works and learn the types of horoscopes.

Contents:

  1. Horoscope: types
    • Egyptian horoscope
    • Chinese horoscope
    • Celtic horoscope
    • Mayan horoscope
  2. Horoscope: how does it work?

Horoscopeis a word that was created by combining two Greek words - "oro" - hour and "skopeo" - to observe. This was what the original assumption of the horoscope was supposed to be - based on the observation of the date and time of birth of a given person, as well as the place of his birth, the astrologer was to determine his character, abilities, possibilities and limitations. He combined these data with the analysis of a symbolic sky map.

Since the date of birth is taken into account when compiling the horoscope, great importance is attached to the signs of the zodiac. The zodiac consists of 12 constellations. The ecliptic runs through these constellations - a circle marked by the Earth as it moves around the sun.

The names were given to the constellations over 4,000 years ago by the Sumerians. The first horoscopes were placed before our era - in ancient Mesopotamia, because man has always wanted to know what awaits him in the future. Until the eighteenth century, astrologers were respected by rulers (if they announced their prosperity), and astrology itself had the status of science. From the 18th century, its position deteriorated significantly - it was considered a pseudoscience. However, this does not change the fact that Poles read horoscopes willingly. According to a CBOS study from 2022, 45 percent of us believe in horoscopes - most women (55%), but also a large percentage of men (34%)1 .

Horoscope: types

There are many types of horoscopes. The most popular are:

Egyptian horoscope

Ancient Egyptians believed in many deities - many of them looked after people born at a particular time.

  • Thot- the god of the moon and wisdom patronized people born between January 15 and 31
  • Amon- god of fertility andcare for fertility born between February 1 and February 14
  • Hathor- the goddess of joy and love took care of those born between February 15 and March 31
  • Sebekis the god of strength, looking after those born between April 1 and May 14
  • Osiris- the god of reborn life (but also death), took care of those born between May 15 and June 30
  • Ptahis the supreme creator of gods who watches over those born between July 1 and August 15
  • Horuswas the god who looked after the Egyptian pharaohs as well as people born between August 16 and September 15
  • Neptydawas the goddess of death, patronizing those born between September 16 and October 31
  • Anubiswas the god of the afterlife, caring for those born between November 1 and December 30
  • Izyda- took care of families and people born between December 31 and January 14

Chinese horoscope

The cycle of the Chinese horoscope lasts as long as 12 years, but every year it changes the animal patron, who is assigned specific characteristics. The following signs are distinguished in the Chinese horoscope:

  • Rat- this sign is born in: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 and so on every 12 years
  • Buffalo- this sign is born in: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 etc.
  • Tiger- this sign is born in: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 etc.
  • Rabbit- this sign has been born in: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 etc.
  • Dragon- this sign is born in: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 etc.
  • Wąż- this sign is born in: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 etc.
  • Horse- this sign has been born in: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 etc.
  • Goat- this sign is born in: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 etc.
  • Monkey- this sign is born in: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 etc.
  • Rooster- this sign is born in the years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2022 etc.
  • Pies- this sign is born in: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2022 etc.
  • Pig- this sign is born in: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2022 etc.

Celtic horoscope

This kind of horoscope is a Celtic inventionpriests - druids. Druids were very close to nature, they lived in forests, so they read the future by observing nature. Trees were deities for them. The Celts divided their horoscope as follows:

  • Fir - born between 2 and 11 January and 5 and 14 July
  • Elm- those born between January 12-24 and July 15-25
  • Cyprys- those born between January 25 and February 3 and July 26 and August 4
  • Poplar- those born between 4 and 8 February and 5 and 13 August
  • Cedar- born between February 9-18 and August 14-23
  • Pine - born between February 19 and 29 and August 24 and September 2
  • Willow - born between March 1 and 10 and September 3 and 12
  • Lipa - born between March 11-20 and September 13-22
  • Oak - born on March 21
  • Birch - born on June 24
  • Oliwka- born on September 23
  • Hazel- born between March 22 and 31 and September 24 and October 3
  • Jarzębina - born between 1 and 10 April and 4 and 13 October
  • Maple - born between April 11-20 and October 14-20
  • Walnut- born between April 21-30 and October 21 and November 2
  • Jasmine- born between 1 and 14 May and 3 and 11 November
  • Horse chestnut - born between 15 and 24 May and 12 and 21 November
  • Ash- born between May 25 and June 3 and November 22 and December 1
  • Grab- born between 4 and 13 June and 2 and 11 December
  • Śliwa- born between June 14-23 and December 12-22
  • Buk - born on December 23
  • Jabłoń- born between December 24 and January 1 and June 25 and July 4

Mayan horoscope

The Mayans had a calendar of 18 months, not 12 months, and they created horoscopes by assigning people born at a given moment a specific stone. And like this:

  • Malachite- these are people born between January 10 and 31
  • Turquoise- these are people born between February 1 and February 21
  • Onyx- those born between February 22 and March 13
  • Diament- those born between March 14 and April 2
  • Rubin- those born between April 3 and 22
  • Szafirare born between April 23 and May 12
  • Agat is born between May 13 and June 1
  • Chalcedonythese are those born between June 2 and June 21
  • Selenite is born between June 22 and July 11
  • Emeraldare those born between 12 and 31July
  • Topazare born between August 1 and August 20
  • Jadeitare born between August 21 and September 9
  • Carnelian are born between September 10 and 29
  • Lazuriteare born between September 30 and October 19
  • Opalare born between October 20 and November 8
  • Aquamarine is born between November 9 and 28
  • Koral are born between November 29 and December 18
  • Amethystare born between December 19 and January 7

There are also various other horoscopes, e.g. flower horoscopes - as you can easily guess, people born on specific days and months are assigned different flowers. Horoscopes can also be divided into daily and weekly, professional, erotic, partner and many more.

Horoscope: how does it work?

Why do horoscopes work? Because the people who arrange them know how to arrange them, they know the secrets of the human psyche.

Pochlebstwo

The first rule is flattery. False predictions are based on a human tendency to believe in a good future. This is an extremely widespread tendency by all people around the world: we overestimate the chance of good events in our lives and underestimate the risk of misfortune.

But after all, most of us are not so naive - we would have suspected cheating if the prophecy had only been positive. The authors of such horoscopes are therefore faced with the dilemma of the licky: "How to suck up, so as not to be lousy?". The solution is to include something negative, but insignificant, for example: "You have a close relationship (prospering business, recovery), but before that I see difficulties that will require fortitude to overcome." Such a prediction is all the safer that if this "relationship (business, recovery)" failed, it would not mean a false horoscope, but rather "lack of fortitude."

Impression of matching

Predictions that are vague enough to fit every human being are gaining widespread credibility. This is well illustrated by Bertram Forer's experiment, who asked people to give him their exact date of birth. The next day, he gave everyone his "individual horoscope" and asked the subjects to rate to what extent this horoscope fits them. Over 90% of people felt that the diagnosis described their personality "well" or "very well". It turned out, however, that Mr. Forer had given everyone identical characteristics, regardless of their date of birth. Here are some of the Forera horoscope content: “You want other people to like you. You are thereself-critical. You have character flaws, but you can balance them out with the advantages. While people may not notice it, you often feel insecure because you often judge yourself more harshly than others. You feel bad when something or someone restricts your freedom. Sometimes you don't like noisy parties. You are an intellectually independent person and you do not take anything on faith just because someone says so. You are not a common person and a dozen. Sometimes you have serious doubts as to whether you made the right decision or did the right thing, and although you have made mistakes, you still care about doing the right thing. You take care of your he alth, but not always as you should "etc.

Reading such a description, we check if it fits us, and our self-centeredness and self-focus prevent us from realizing that these statements suit everyone. This general knowledge about man is used not only by horoscopes, but also, for example, by music hits. The most popular songs are those that are "as if about me" precisely because they talk about experiences that most people experience - love, fear, desires, disappointment, hope, etc.

Real Details

Prophecies make use of yet another interesting phenomenon. Well, they often give out very personal, even intimate details about the other person. Psychologists have found, however, that a plethora of supposedly highly individual characteristics fit an astonishing number of people. Research has shown, for example, that every third person will confirm the truth of the sentence "You have a scar on your left leg". It is similar with the sentence "You have Mozart's music at home", while every tenth person will nod when he hears: "You dreamed of someone from your family last night" and "There is a person named Jacek in your immediate vicinity."

The universality of these apparently individual statements is due to the fact that in fact they are extremely vague. Therefore, for most people, statements such as: "Someone in your family suffers from hypertension", "You had a bad dream last night, although you cannot remember it", etc. Many people have scars on their legs, because their legs are the most vulnerable to injury while walking, running, cycling, etc., and what may be the cause other than an "accident" (without specifying details - cycling, on ice, bumping into an obstacle, etc.)? In addition to this, all the scars from the heel to the pelvis fit this statement, so the chances of a hit increase even more.

Root of uncertainty

It turns out that people often have an amazingly insecure knowledge ofour subject - for example, we put our leg in pants every day, but can we now say with 100% certainty which leg we put first in the trouser leg: right or left? Are you 100% sure you don't have even the slightest scar on your leg?

We are usually not sure about it, so we adjust our ideas to the categorical statement contained in the prophecy. Human snobbery is also very often used in horoscopes and predictions. The statement: "You have Mozart's music at home" feeds on him: we think: "Well, I like Mozart because he is a genius, classical music. This taste speaks volumes for me. All the gimmicks given here just for example: unobtrusive flattery, general statements with a pinch of detail, and the use of one hundred percent uncertainty on certain points will suffice to create in the chart the "personality diagnosis" that most people will find fitting and insightful. But these principles can also be used in a constructive way - for example, in compliments or gaining people's sympathy.

Sources:

1. https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2018/K_103_18.PDF [accessed on 2018-12-05]

Category:

Psychology