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Rationale

I've been getting a little bit of heat about the scientific value of my little experiment. I guess calling it an experiment maybe gave people a false sense of security. There will be no two-tailed t tests here — it's been too long since I've done one.

However, I shall disclose why I have difficulty believing that the combustion of hydrogen hundreds, thousands, or millions of lightyears away from me, and the position of our solar system's planets in relation to those balls of gas, has any bearing on my destiny.

Astrology has existed for thousands of years. The form most westerners are familiar with, Western Tropical astrology, has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia. While the ancient Mesopotamians gave us many great things, they were not noted for telescope design. As a result, the only planets that were known to exist were the ones visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. It was these five planets, the sun, the moon, and their location with respect to the constellations of the zodiac and the Earth that were believed to exert influence over our destinies. Fast forward to the year 2005, and we have astrological charts that take into account 3 additional planets (some even take into account the newly discovered Sedna, while others recognise the controversy over whether Pluto or Sedna are really planets, and exclude them altogether). What I have difficulty reconciling is how astrology could be accurate when only 5 planets influenced our lives, and how it can still be accurate now with additional celestial bodies exerting their power.
Rather than chalking up our personalities and success to rising and setting houses and abstract clusters of stars we have anthropomorphised, I think that the external influences over our lives originate a little closer to home. I think that there is a possible correlation between the time of year at which you were born and your personality, thus your determination/perserverance and ultimate success in life. Depending on what time of year you are born, you will experience the different seasons at different points in your life. Seasons affect mood and physiology, changes in a mother's physiology can have an effect on the development of the fetus she is carrying, etc. The movement of planets and satellites follow certain patterns, causing the sky to change day by day, but appear similar at the same point in time each year. Perhaps then, as a way of explaining noted similarities between people born at certain times of the year, our ancestors turned to the heavens.

So, there you have it. :-) My rationale. Agree, disagree, discuss, see things in a different light, educate yourself on the subject, take from it what you will. For the time being, I will continue to read my horoscope, eat my fortunate cookies, and look at my tea leaves with my tongue firmly inserted in my cheek.