What's Your Sign?

By: Lee Carrillo


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Whenever I meet someone new, whether it be at work or at school, one of the first questions I'm asked is, "What's your sign?" Casually, I tell the person I'm a Cancer and the response is usually, "Aw, you are so sensitive," or "You are too emotional." Although I have always had an interest in zodiac signs, I never truly understood them.

Zodiac signs were originally used to define annual calendars for agricultural use. Now, people use them to not only define themselves, but to judge others as well. Conversations about someone's zodiac sign are incredibly common where I work. When my boyfriend and I first got together in 2017, one of my co-workers asked what his sign was. I informed her that he is a Scorpio, and she looked a little too worried.

"I would honestly be careful if I were you," My co-worker had said and I asked why, a very confused look evident on my face. "Scorpios are the most stubborn people who only care about themselves,"

This was a harsh statement that my co-worker made strictly based on my boyfriend's zodiac sign rather than his personality, which is a common practice done by those who seem to take the study of zodiac signs a little too seriously.

"Zodiac signs shouldn't rule people's lives and you can't know someone's entire personality based on it," Astrology fanatic Izel Chavez responded when asked about zodiac signs.

Chavez is someone who loves learning about every aspect of zodiac signs, such as the moon and rising signs, but agrees that lives shouldn't revolve around the topic.

"I have heard people excuse their mistakes because of what their sign is," Chavez continued when asked how she felt about those who let zodiac signs define them.

I am sure that there are many people who have used their sign as an excuse for their rude and highly unwarranted behavior. You are not rude because you are a Gemini. Your behavior has nothing to do with the planets' alignment on the day of your birth. Of course, there are plenty of people in the world who actually disagree with this.

"You don't necessarily have to believe in astrology to learn something from it. Learning about your sign(s) can help you look deeper into yourself and recognize your toxic traits in order to better yourself," Zodiac and Chakra enthusiast Mikaela Bryan stated when asked what her opinion on zodiac signs are.

Although, she agrees that someone’s life should not revolve around the study of zodiac signs, she is not afraid to admit that she has a hard time trusting a specific sign.

"People are not only affected by their sun sign but by many other factors such as rising signs if they were born during an eclipse, etc. Do I believe that the stars and moon placement control how I am as a person? I don't know, but it definitely is fun to think about and look into," Bryan continued.

Although I barely, and probably never will, understand every aspect of zodiac signs, there are parts of it that can be quite enjoyable such as figuring out how accurate the horoscopes of you and your friends really are as well as seeing how compatible you and your celebrity crush(s) might be. Besides that, zodiac signs seem to be something that many people use as an excuse for their wild, or rude, behavior around others.

Despite a person's behavior matching some of the characteristics of their zodiac sign, it should not dictate whether or not you pursue any sort of relationship with them. Imagine if we avoided people because of their incompatibility. This would more than likely create an incredibly introverted world as well as a more judgmental one.