Finding out I was an INFP

What is astrology and how it’s supposed to work

For the longest time, I used to base my personality on my astrological sign: Taurus. I can see a lot of the similarities between the characteristics of my personality and my sign. However, personalities based on the specific position of things in the universe are located in the universe. Can they be accurate or not?

Astrology is based on signs, and these signs determine where planets and stars are positioned in the universe. To be accurate, you can use your birth chart to determine where things in the universe were set when you were born. To access your birth chart, you need to know your place, date and time of birth. I grew up learning about Astrology from my Dad, so I’m very familiar with it. You can use a birth chart to interpret information or make predictions based on accepted correlations acquired from practical observations over many lifetimes.

Astrology is based on the idea that everything is a consequence of the previous action in the universe. The butterfly effect that even seemingly trivial events may ultimately result in something with much larger consequences. Furthermore, it is stated that consequences to actions are variables. What if we can define enough variables, we can predict the outcomes of the present action.

The inaccuracy of astrology

Astrology doesn’t have a mechanism to account for how it works, which means that there is no clear reasoning between the position of things in the universe and the characteristics of the 12 signs identified. Astrology works with relationships, patterns and interpretations; it doesn’t always give a yes or no answer.

Suppose Astrology is based on patterns where people over many years have studied these varieties of ways. Then the outcome between the position of things in the universe and the association’s characteristics are based on probability. People use these patterns of consequences to actions in variables to make predictions. It’s a little more complicated than a fortune cookie.

Probability creates uncertainty, and many people that I’ve talked to about astrology have said that they don’t feel they share the same personality traits as their signs. They don’t understand how people born within a specific range of dates can have the same personalities. Isn’t everyone unique?

The thing is, most people don’t have access to their birth chart. The chart then gives where objects were positioned in the universe when you were born. Majority of people only know their star sign as it’s based on what month you were born. To find everything else, you need your time of birth. Many people don’t have this written down when they are born. If they had that number, then they can see the breakdown of who they are.

Benefits

There are still benefits of astrology if you’re happy with the prediction of your future. You can never honestly know if the forecast is accurate or not. I’m not sure if they’ve done experiments on astrology predictions.

The basic idea

In its most straightforward use, Astrology is for identifying individual people’s personality based on where things are in the universe. It’s not based on anything else. I’m curious about where they got their ideas of these 12 personalities from looking at the sky, where they got this information. I’m assuming tests were not involved at the time, so there is no proof of the accuracy of these correlations patterns and predictions.

Discovering Myers-Briggs

During my time at university, I discovered the Myers-Briggs indicator, an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differencing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. I never looked further into what personality type I was presented with after taking the test until a couple of months ago. When I retook the test, I discovered that INFP is a four-letter abbreviation for one of the 16 personality types identified by the indicator. The questionnaire involves answering “forced-choice” questions, which means, if possible, you should choose only one of two possible answers to each question. Choices reflect opposite preferences on the same dichotomy (a difference between two opposing ideas or things). The questions will determine the four letters of your Myers-Briggs type.

I see the indicator as a very accurate way to find your personality type, by basing the answer around scenario questions and how I felt. Looking at the personality I was given, I see how my questions correlated with my responses. I even found things that I didn’t realise, for example, I am introverted in social situations and prefer interacting with a select group of close friends. I rely on intuition and more focused on the big picture. I emphasise personal feelings and their decisions are more influenced by these concerns rather than by objective information. Lastly, when it comes to making decisions, I keep their options open. I often delay making important decisions just in case something about the situation changes. When decisions are made, they are usually based on personal values rather than logic.

From now on, I will start looking into my Myers-Briggs personality and see how I can improve my way of thinking and what career I should be pursuing.