Astrology
Astrology claims that the positions of celestial bodies influence human personality and events, but controlled scientific tests have repeatedly found no effect beyond chance.
What we know
Astrology is the belief that the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the time of a person's birth shape their personality and destiny. It has been tested scientifically many times, and the results consistently show no predictive power beyond random chance.
The most famous test, published in the journal Nature in 1985 by physicist Shawn Carlson, used a double-blind design developed with input from professional astrologers. The astrologers were unable to match birth charts to personality profiles at a rate better than chance, even though they had predicted they would succeed. Later studies, including a 1990 test run with the Indiana Federation of Astrologers, reached the same conclusion.
There is also no known physical mechanism by which distant planets could influence personality. The gravitational pull of the doctor delivering a baby is greater than that of Mars. In addition, the zodiac has shifted over the centuries due to the precession of Earth's axis, so the constellations no longer align with the dates traditional astrology assigns to them.
Many people feel astrology describes them accurately because of the Barnum effect, the tendency to see vague, general statements as personally meaningful. Today many practitioners treat astrology as a tool for reflection rather than a science, which is a different claim from the testable one that it can predict personality or events.
Common claims
- Planetary positions at birth shape your personality.Not supported
- Astrologers can match birth charts to real people.Failed in blind tests
- Astrology is a science.Classified as pseudoscience