Before you hit me with the ol' "My zodiac sign doesn't sound anything like me," "Horoscopes can't predict the future," and "How do you really believe this stuff? It's so fake," let me just say, I get it.

I get how phony it seems if what you see of astrology is only those plentiful "What [blank] you are based on your zodiac sign" posts on every platform. Or if someone once told you that since you're a Scorpio, yikes, you must be evil. Don't get me wrong, those posts can be fun, and the stereotypes not so fun, but neither come close to being a fraction of what's it's really about.

Today, I will not be pulling up my PowerPoint to convince you that astrology is real, because let's be honest, there aren't any proven facts to back me up on that one, just a lot of good arguments. But regardless of how real people deem it, astrology and its boundless information does present us with some startling accuracy when it comes to ourselves. This wonderful, startling gift is what I will call self-understanding.

Here's the breakdown. You are so much more than your sun sign and those super-generalized horoscopes. There's this amazing thing called a natal chart that is basically a screenshot of what the sky looked like the exact moment you were born. Your chart tells you how the celestial bodies linked up with all twelve Zodiac signs at your birth time, and in turn, how each link has a distinct affect on you. We call these links placements (i.e. if you are a Libra, that placement is called "sun in Libra").

Each placement gives you information on a certain facet of your life. The moon, for example, is the planetary body associated with emotions. Wherever your chart says your moon placement falls will tell you about how you handle yourself emotionally. So, say if your placement is Moon in Aquarius, you might feel pretty disconnected from feelings- both yours and others- and tend not to bring them up much. The same goes for other placements that explain the way you think, what you are attracted to, what hobbies you might enjoy, and so on.

Now, hopefully I'm making some kind of sense, and you're starting to see how astrology is meant to work. It offers us a fun way to delve deep into the intricacies of our whole selves. Maybe you wonder why you don't feel a stable sense of self every day. Maybe you think it's annoying how people always mistake your passion and excitement for being "over the top" or "too much." Or maybe you love the way you're always able to make everyone feel at home no matter where you go. All of the little quirks and habits we carry within us can almost always be captured somewhere deep in our astrological makeup.

If you take anything away from this, know that the best part about astrology and self-understanding is once you start to see the connections and things start clicking deep down, astrology can really make you feel like it's okay to be you. It gives you a generous dose of self-awareness and can even set you on a fulfilling inner path to self-actualization if you let it. The path is probably going to sound a lot like "This is too weird. No WONDER I've always felt …". Try to look past the played-out superficial stuff you see and hear and think about how you and the people you love could benefit from astrology's promotion of understanding and accepting oneself. Stuff's cool, y'all.

Before you get overwhelmed with information overload, just remember to take your time, have an open mind, be honest with yourself, and enjoy the ride. It's all for you, so go at your own place, and most importantly, have fun with it. I guarantee you'll get something out of it. Oh, and it's okay to be into it even if it's not a "real" science. It's also totally okay to not be into it. But let me tell you, when it gets scarily accurate, you'll be ready to argue that it's a real one. And when that day comes, my presentation and I will be ready.

If you're ready to take the astro-dive into self-understanding, here's a list of my favorite astrological resources down below. Happy learning, friends!

Websites

Cafe Astrology

Astro Charts

South Florida Astrologer

Instagram Accounts

@solelunastro

@notallgeminis

@spicygeminimemes

@queerstrologyy