From heaven to earth: Who makes horoscopes and why
On the eve of a total lunar eclipse on July 27 and the great opposition of Mars (the period when the planet is as close to Earth as possible) in the YouTube channels of astrologers raging passions. "The great opposition of Mars, together with an eclipse, can give rise to war. It is only on the powers that be that making the right decisions depends," astrologer Pavel Globa pleased subscribers. Vasilisa Volodina gave a less daunting forecast: "July and August, I am sure, will be the most difficult months of 2018. The reason for this is three eclipses in the first place - sunny July 11, lunar July 27 and again August 11." The astrologers were unanimous: not to make important decisions during and after the eclipse, not to sell the apartment, not to get married, but in general, lie down on the bottom. At the same time, it’s worthwhile to get a personal forecast: “From July 10 to August 7, Venus also enters the sign of Virgo, which does not strengthen the theme of relationships, marriage and self-care,” says Vasilisa Volodina. “Personal astrological beauty calendar at this time is a matter mandatory. "
Astrological forecasts, natal charts and journal horoscopes are a common habit. Another question is why, in the era of the triumph of science, the wholesale number of people continues to believe in astrology. We talked with different astrologers and asked them when they were carried away by the stars, what the clients are asking for and what they can tell the skeptics who believe that astrology is a pseudoscience.
Catch up to retrograde Mercury
“I’m a little worried about the fact that the son was born on August 31, when Mercury was still in a retrograde,” the guest of the Ostrophyschology Astronomy Psychology Forum is experiencing. - Please help me figure out how this Mercury can influence its future destiny. ” In the next branch, users find out whether it is possible to buy a car during this period, and if not, whether a used one is an exception. Others argue whether a woman should send a resume: "The fact that the work of the Mercury movement abroad and at the other side may have something else plays a role in my situation?"
Retrograde Mercury is a period when, according to astrologers, the planet is supposedly moving in the opposite direction (of course, this is not so - it’s all about the difference in the speed of the planets). The “retrograde Mercury” comes up to three times a year and, judging by the forums, it does not allow humanity to exist peacefully: negotiations are not going on, and deals are being broken. But astrologers demonstrate confidence: forewarned is forearmed. “The astrologer explains to you that this week needs to be done so that everything is correct,” says model Julianna Sardar, why she uses advice from the weekly mailings of astrologers. “Retrograde Mercury, the full moon, the new moon — for some people it works a lot. For me, - highly".
The popularity of the channel grew, and people began to order natal maps - personal horoscopes, compiled by the exact date and time of birth. To make a natal chart, you need not only the date, but also the exact time and place of birth. Based on this information, the astrologer draws the location of the planets and stars at the moment of birth - or simply drives the data into a special program. These indicators allow him to "predetermine the talents, abilities and character of a person."
“I realized that I was spending all my free time on strangers for compiling natal cards for free. I was advised to take money for it,” says Olya. “I think I’m not deceiving anyone. I spend up to six hours on a natal map. I give them a document with my writings - so they pay for my writing. " Today, there are people who consult with Olya on any issues - when to insert implants in the chest or on which day to open the gallery: "I somehow helped a serious businessman to stop drinking. After he ordered natal charts for my family and friends of the family. His children now do not marry without me - they choose the date of the wedding only after agreeing with me. "
Give birth to mars and live by degree
Alexandra Mikerina is an obstetrician-gynecologist at one of the maternity hospitals in St. Petersburg, and in her free time she is an astrologer. She says that it was the work in the maternity hospital that led her to astrology: "Of course, I was fond of astrology before, but I seriously thought about it when I started giving birth. Because you see how a person’s fate depends on when he was born: one day ten people may be born, but they will have different fates. " In Alexandra's instagram, stories about ultrasound errors or children abandoned by parents alternate with posts about astrological compatibility with a partner and character characteristics. Alexandra gets a lot of questions at the junction of gynecology and astrology - for example, about calculating the best time for cesarean section. "This is actually a disaster. From the astrologer's position, of course, you can pick up the time. But from the doctor's position, suddenly it will be at one in the morning? Who will operate at this time? If you come to the anesthesiologist and say," Listen, I have Mars now I went to the fifth house, let's go and work on it, "he will look at me and say:" Have you collapsed from the oak? "The operational day begins at nine in the morning - regardless of how Mars entered the house."
According to the astrologers we interviewed, the price of a personalized natal card varies from 4 to 6 thousand rubles. You can also order an additional personal forecast or get advice on a specific problem - such a reception can cost 3,000 or 30,000 rubles, and more. Clothing designer and director Maxim Rapoport says that for several years he used the services of astrologers and paid for consultations for 10 thousand rubles: “At that time it resonated with me and helped me to live. For example, I met birthdays in certain cities in order to neutralize negative aspects of stars. The astrologer, as a rule, pokes his finger at the globe and says: “Here, Maxim Alexandrovich, you need a year to be fruitful, so that you don’t hurt and be happy.” I was sent to Bali, and next year - in Krasnoyars I flew to Krasnoyarsk and did not understand what I should do there, wandered around the river and wrote notes with wishes to myself in the new year. "
Maxim compares this experience with affirmations, when a person charges himself for positive changes in his life: “You set yourself up for the fact that everything in your life is good. Fell - you have a bruise on your ass, but you think: if you didn't go to Krasnoyarsk, it would surely have broken my hip. " As a result, as Maxim explains, he understood that the astrological natal chart changes from the actions and desires of a person, and therefore he stopped turning to astrologers. At the same time, he is still confident that the place of residence should be chosen according to the degree of the sign: "I lived in the districts of Moscow, which astrologically did not suit me. I had difficulties that ended exactly with the move. If you have enough money to live where You just have to collect things and move. I have everything so noble: the degree of Libra, say, England, so I would not be upset and move to where I am prescribed. In any case, the astrologer looks at you and decides where to send you to England or Voronezh. "
Astropsychology and astromels
If earlier astrology was taught in rare educational institutions, today it can be studied remotely. Alexandra Mikerina says that she had long been interested in astrology, but in Tomsk, where she lived and studied ten years ago, there were no courses: “I had a huge interest, but I didn’t have enough mentorship. I read that there are two large schools in all of big Russia "Moscow and St. Petersburg were Shestopalov, Levin, Globa. But I did not have the opportunity to go to one of them."
Later, when Alexandra moved to St. Petersburg for family reasons, she entered the Shestopalov Astrological Academy. The study lasted for three years and, according to Alexandra, differed little from the processes at any other university: the students went through the subjects during the semester, and at the end they gave up the session. The subjects included astropsychology (a mixture of astrological forecast and psychological counseling), astrology of compatibility, astrology of professions, karmic astrology. In the third year there was a prediction - making forecasts for a month, week, year. Education costing 18 thousand rubles per semester.
In another profile of Dmitry Lakshmi, Purushottama School of Vedic Astrology is also mentioned - it lasts a year and can cost as much as 120 thousand rubles (Star Astrolog package) and 32 thousand rubles (Special for socially preferential citizens). Dmitry Lakshmi and his representatives did not respond to our request for an interview.
Another commercial platform for astrologers is the VKontakte public. One of them, my astrology, has more than half a million subscribers. Every day there are published short forecasts and "astromemchiki", and between the posts is advertising: the cost of its placement - from 400 rubles per day. Creator Cyril Matovnikov says that the public existed long ago, but became astrological two years ago. Cyril says that this is the most visited VKontakte community in the subject of horoscopes, from 70 to 80 thousand people visit them daily (views of one post fluctuate around 60-90 thousand), and the advertising schedule is scored two or three weeks ahead. Also, the founders of the public organize meetings of subscribers in Russia and other countries. On the question of how the authors of the public compose horoscopes, Cyril replies: "There is a system of compilation, we do not disclose the details. I can say about the Japanese horoscope, which comes out every midnight. It is taken from the original Japanese resource, translated and published."
"Virgin, as a rule, I write very clever"
For the editor of Cosmopolitan Snezhana Gribatskoy, Friday morning is a favorite working time. On this day, together with the bild editor, they make up an entertaining horoscope. Snezhana writes the lyrics, and the bild editor selects Koubas for them. Sometimes these are ratings - who is the best wife or Tarantino character, and sometimes “situational” horoscopes - as a sign of the zodiac experiencing a hangover or as signs of the zodiac will burn in hell. But despite the fact that horoscopes are a joke, there are always readers who take them seriously. "We had a lot of comments on the horoscope with a rating of wives in the spirit of" I am Scorpio, and I am not at all like that "or" What you write about Cancer is nonsense. My sister-in-law is Cancer. She doesn’t know how to cook, cares, "- says Snezhana. - In the lead, we always write a remark in the spirit of" Today our magic ball was repainted into a soccer ball and told you what football team you are. "We don’t even know how else we can mark the fact that horoscopes are humorous ".
The horoscope editorial board chooses the astrological world together on the schedule every Tuesday, and after Snezhana comes up with the astrological world: “The editor-in-chief regularly troll me about it. For which I regularly receive comments: “Well, our Wanga, as always, put herself in the first place.” In fact, the only temptation I gave in was when I put my husband’s sign in the first place in the “Who is the best husband” horoscope True, there was on it is written that these men always marry the typical Bridget Jones. "
Snezhana herself does not believe in astrology: "I turned to an astrologer, even wrote an article about it. The natal map, which she drew to me and which I later checked on the Internet, probably reflects my personality. I would probably believed if I didn’t know about the study, which says that any horoscope can be written in such a way that you will find your common features in it. " This experiment was conducted in 1948 by psychologist Bertram Forer: he distributed to students a description of the personality of each of them and asked them to evaluate the degree of accuracy of these characteristics. On average, students rated the descriptions accuracy at 4.26 out of 5, after which Forer announced that they all received the same text, composed of excerpts from horoscopes.
A similar experiment was conducted on the "Good Morning America" show in 1988. The audience was given a description of the personality of the serial killer, but the participants thought that they were reading the personal characteristics compiled for them by a famous astrologer. The situation when people believe the generalized descriptions of the person and find themselves in them is called the Barnum effect - in honor of the American showman, who portrayed what he knows the public to the depths of the soul, but in fact gave abstract descriptions. This effect explains why astrology and other pseudo-scientific movements are so popular.
Know yourself
“Naturally, one cannot say that astrology is in fact right. Therefore, this is not science,” answers programmer and web designer Denis Zubkov when he asks how he combines the exact sciences and astrology at the same time. “Astrology is a discipline. It’s a symbolic a language with which one can describe the state of human consciousness. " Denis more than fifteen years ago emigrated to Australia. He lives in Sydney, manages an IT startup and at the same time studies astrology. Three years ago, Denis began work on the iOS Time Nomad tooling app. It helps astrologers to work on natal charts: "My experience in information design allows you to look at astrology differently. I wanted to show this discipline in a modern light, with a modern aesthetic and functional approach. Now you can not open a computer, but take a mobile phone and get all the necessary data. "
For Denis, astrology is one of the methods of self-knowledge: “I have been doing meditation for more than fifteen years. When you meditate, you come across certain sensations, which need to be interpreted by the“ map ”of the principles of consciousness. If you just sit down, close your eyes and wait for something, something is unlikely to happen. Astrology is one of the languages that helps a lot. ” Psychologist Natalya Safonova believes that drawing up a natal chart can really become an instrument for studying oneself for someone: “A person can try to draw his own image in his head, look at himself more attentively and evaluate himself fairly. Psychologists say in this case -“ get out into a metaposition. "Such an especial view of oneself can act in a healing way, promote self-acceptance and self-support. The texts in natal charts that I studied on the Internet are usually respectful, and all the" negative "qualities of the Kli The enta are described without conviction, rather with careful caution. Such optics help you look at yourself with interest and friendliness: “Oh, how interesting I am!” "
On the site of Nadia Pavlovskaya there is a section "Fu, astrology". There she admits that she “always loved science, the scientific method and scientifically grounded practice,” so it turns out that she is “an astrologer for those who most likely do not believe in astrology.” Nadia says that she does not want people to take astrology too seriously - on the contrary, she hopes that astrology will help to perceive what is happening more easily: “We have a fast enough culture. Self-help books, articles, magazines inspire us with the twenty-fifth frame, the ideal is achievable. Now we’ll just add up, we’ll fix it, we will beat it up here and it will be good. But in reality there’s never been "happily and happily" thirty years in a row. wearing yourself and respect for the internal processes that take place longer than we sometimes require from him. "
With all the innocuous astrology bonuses - someone helps her to reflect, someone entertains or distracts from real dramas - psychologist Natalya Safonova reminds that, like in the case of any belief, astrology can become supportive practice for one and toxic conviction. And do not forget about it.
P. S.When working on the text, we did not manage to have time to release it before the onset of the retrograde Mercury, which lasts from July 26 to August 19.
