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Let's Be Real...It's Not Everything

But it does play a small role in personality.

By Jackie BarrowsPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Fine, fine...I'll go ahead and admit it. During two low points in 2020, I had delved deeper than usual into the Zodiac and tarot via watching others read tarot cards on Youtube. I did this out of cowardice because I didn't want to find a direct solution to my problems at the time; I basically just wanted to covertly figure out what others in my life may be thinking or doing based on their sign when I should have simply talked to them directly. As I said, it was a low point for me. And, yeah, I did feel stupid when I looked into it.

Part of it was out of curiosity, though...I wanted to research how the Zodiac even worked in terms of how it affected people and their lives. All over Youtube and Pinterest, if one were to look up specific Zodiac signs and how such things impacted their health, wealth, happiness, and whatnot, you'd think it would be something you could stake your life on and be super reliable. Or perhaps it would coincide with other personality tests such as Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram and thus complete a trilogy of study into one's habits and ways of being.

Let's take my sign, for example, which is Aquarius. As an Aquarius female, it is assumed (based on sign alone) that I'm philanthropic by nature and all about the good of humanity. In tarot, the Aquarius is the star card, which in a lot of videos usually means god-like or the center of attention, as well as graceful, funny, brainy, and elegant. We are assumed to shine brighter than everyone else, I guess.

Our weaknesses are in our ankles, calves, and circulation, and the reason from the Zodiac is because we're ruled by Uranus and Saturn (I'm not entirely certain why this is so tied to ankles or health at all--seems a bit of a stretch to me).

It's not that I disbelieve in the Zodiac stuff entirely--I just don't think it matters as much as some people think. It's all generalizations and one-size-fits-all thinking. Tarot is especially vague, and uses scenarios everyone faces at one point or another and star signs based upon date and time of birth, as well as the geographical location of one's birth, in order to entice and sell ideas of what might be going on in themselves and others. I think this is where a lot of this becomes risky if not dangerous if taken too seriously; if one were to tie themselves too closely to something as arbitrary as the Zodiac, they might start to mold themselves to their sign and let that be their defining feature. This can lead to an obsession with their own sign and increased assumptions in how others are perceiving them based on their sign, and could lead to fractured relationships and lives down the road.

My point in all of this is the Zodiac, much like with all other personality tests, are not the beginning and end of anyone--if anything, these signs only help us figure out a tiny part of our personalities. Keep in mind, we are all human, and often very multi-faceted individuals. As we grow from infant, to child, to young adult, to full-grown adult, to middle age, and to old age, we learn a lot about ourselves and how we face our challenges, with much of this having little to nothing to do with the Zodiac or any other personality test. I'm not the same person I was even last year, let alone 10-20 years ago; in another 10-20 years, I'm sure I'll learn even more about myself through my own life choices and experiences more so than I would studying my sign or personality type.

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About the Creator

Jackie Barrows

Jackie Barrows is an artist, a writer, and all around creative soul who enjoys bringing new ideas and stories to life. She wears many hats as a Graphic Designer, a blogger, and Lead Production Artist for R.A.W. Productions.

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