If you’ve been on the internet anytime within the past five years, then there’s no way you’ve
avoided hearing someone say “Mercury’s in retrograde” or “I went on a date with this guy but
our signs aren’t compatible.” Horoscopes and astrology have violently infiltrated modern-day
culture from out of thin air, and like the flu at the beginning of the school year, it just won’t
go away. I don’t remember when I first saw the explosion of astrological jargon and symbols
on my discover page on Instagram, and I certainly haven’t had the chance to question why so
many people have bought into it until now. Why has it made its controversial return? Can we
call it a comeback? Does anyone actually believe in it unironically? Is it all just a distraction
imposed by the government to avert our gaze from the impending hunger war?
A quick disclaimer: I’m 18 years old. This means I grew up with the prevalence of social
media, so I have little experience with horoscopes in print media, like in the trades or Sunday
paper. Some people probably checked their daily horoscope without the ease of technology,
but not anyone I know. Maybe it’s not really a comeback so much as it is proof of how we only
know what we see, and right now, we only see anything that’s on social media.
Nobody knows exactly where astrology came from, but turning to the stars has always been
a common practice for civilizations to explain the purpose of our existence and guide them
throughout life. Some societies attributed the state of the stars to explain the bad times their
civilization was having, others as a calendar or a compass. Up until science showed us that
stars are just exploding balls of gas, we used the stars to survive and answer the timeless
question of “Why are we here?” In a sense, we still use astrology to do this.
The Greeks, Babylonians and Romans are credited with making the 12 signs we know today:
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius
and Pisces. They were based off of when it seemed like the sun passed through each respective
constellation, and most of the constellations represented cute little animals, which is where
most of the symbols come from — except for Libra, which has a scale as its symbol that makes
it difficult for companies to market on t-shirts and phone cases.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why this belief system died down, but it’s easy to make a few
educated guesses. At some point throughout humanity’s short history, the civilizations that
developed this belief system died out, science and experimentation became a more popular
method of explaining the way the world is, and Christian belief systems became a fashionable
and sometimes mandatory belief system. Christianity also isn’t exactly a big fan of astrology.
Let’s get into the dissection of astrology’s miraculous comeback. Ever since “modern” social
media came around in circa 2004 (Facebook and Instagram), astrology has been unavoidable
and admittedly, tempting to buy into. Hundreds of social media accounts are dedicated
to pumping out half-assed, vague and sometimes contradictory daily horoscopes, yet still
manage to earn millions of followers. If you’re a cynic, you’ll wonder who’s following these
stupid accounts that claim to predict what your lucky days are each month and categorize
what the perfect break-up song is for each sign. But if you’re someone like me, who at some
point in early high school bought into these accounts, you’ll kind of get it. And if you’re
feeling kind of brave, you’d be willing to explain the temptation with a necessary amount of
shame.
Since everything is so accessible, once you go down the horoscope path, the natural next
step is to download an app like Co—star, which has a 4.9 rating (out of 65.8k ratings) on
the App Store. Although I’ve never used it, the fact that it claims to be “powered by AI that
merges NASA data with the insight of human astrologers” on its about page makes it appear
credible and more powerful than it really is. You’re asked to enter your birth date, time and
place so the app can find the exact alignment the stars were in when you were born to develop
a comprehensive astrological profile. It’s oddly specific, and an issue regarding occasionally
creepy push notifications has gained attention for the app, as it would send “day at a glance”
pushes that said alarming things like “your nervous energy won’t be especially useful today.”
Using artificial intelligence to cater to individual needs helps the messages seem targeted
toward personal issues, which can be an issue for the impressionable who might use the app
to decide the course of their day.
That’s why astrology is especially tempting to teenagers. Let’s say you’re a young,
undeveloped, middle-to-high schooler, and you’re at the peak of teenage angst. If you have
social media, what are you going to use it for apart from an unhealthy standard of comparison?
That’s where the discover page comes into play. If the algorithm’s doing its job right, a zodiac
post will pop up and you’ll think “that’s exactly like me.” From there, you’ll spiral into a
rabbit hole of relatable posts and zodiac horoscopes. I certainly remember a time where I
would screenshot horoscope posts that talk about how stubborn Tauruses are and send it to
my Taurus friend when she was willfully ignoring my advice, mostly jokingly, but also to be
like, “See? Even the horoscope thinks so.”
But I think the most curious thing to see is the millennial generation (who technically
range from 23 to around 38 now) really believe in astrology and incorporate it into their
everyday life. The cynic in me has a tendency to believe that these “full-grown” adults have
an external locus of control and use astrology to avoid taking accountability in their everyday
life. After all, how easy is it to say that you and your significant other broke up because
you’re an Aries and they’re a Capricorn? Or that your upper twenties were tumultuous and
destructive because it was time for Saturn’s return? It can make bad events make seem more
palatable, but it can also give people an excuse to be destructive and avoidant. If you’re a
cynic, then astrology seems like a way out. But we’re not here to be cynical. Like astrology,
we’re here to search for explanations.
There are belief systems everywhere that we use to grasp universal phenomena, because
we have a need to know. A need to know if the earth revolves around the sun or vice versa, a
need to know that we’re never really touching anything because our atoms are just vibrating
against each other, a need to know why ice cream just tastes so good when you’re sad. You
can probably find scientific evidence for any one of these things, but even science, like all
belief systems, can be inaccurate. Maybe science has a stronger basis in facts and research,
but there’s so many times that this “evidence” has been disproven, corrupt or biased. So if you
think about it like that, then believing in astrology doesn’t seem all that crazy.
Zodiacs have simply come back at the perfect time, a time where relatable content and
“Which type of bread are you?” quizzes have hit peak pop culture. We’re in an era of
categorization — a time when people yearn to be part of a group and hear more about who
they are and who they could be. It helps us feel less alone, less like confused specks in a sea
of change and humanity. It can go too far, but in moderation, astrology isn’t so bad. If your
friend refuses to leave the house because her horoscope isn’t good, then it’s gone a bit too far.
But otherwise, scroll away. And be careful — the next Mercury retrograde is from Oct. 31 to
Nov. 20.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
b-side
Thursday, September 19, 2019 — 5B
In retrograde: Musings on astrology’s cosmic comeback
‘Graveyard’
Halsey
Capitol Records
SINGLE REVIEW: ‘GRAVEYARD’
Halsey trades out her classic
EDM-pop mystique for a darker
take on romance on her latest
single “Graveyard.” The song
is yet another piece to her 2020
project Manic, following the
release of “Without Me” last
October. “Without Me” was
hailed a contemplative rarity for
Halsey, with emotional turmoil
and
heartbreak
gripping
every word under its ambient,
techno-pop haze. Her split from
G-Eazy coats every lyric, down
to its “Cry Me a River” homage.
“Graveyard”
radiates
off
this baggage. It trails over
Halsey’s trials and tribulations
in love, dusting a meditative
film over her rumination of the
past. Whereas “Without Me”
highlights the betrayal of her
ex-lover,
“Graveyard”
picks
apart at the self, refusing to deny
the enabling of past behaviors.
Halsey
recognizes
that
she
“keeps digging [her]self down
deeper” in obstinate pursuit of
the destructive partner.
This narrative blossoms under
a spacey, bittersweet techno beat
that builds synthy layer over
synthy layer. It has to muster
the courage of its confessional
chorus with sharp keyboard
instrumentals that crescendo
into the track’s peppy, EDM core.
A jarring gasp near the bridge
cements the overall theme of loss
and betrayal.
The
track
functions
as
cohesively as any other Halsey
track would. It might unfold in
an era where Halsey strives to
rebrand herself, but “Graveyard”
does little to change the narrative
she has carried throughout her
entire career. Her lyrics run
trite with derivative metaphors
framed
around
the
cliché
“digging your own grave”
narrative, leaving little to no
insight on how it rings true in
the case of her relationship.
Lyrics like “eyes so dark, don’t
know how you even see me” fall
short of any thought provoking
perspectives on failed love
and leave little anticipation for
the song’s progression. As far
as standard EDM earworms
go, “Graveyard” fits the bill for
mainstream success. It certainly
toys in areas less familiar
to Halsey, but does little to
diversify her musical pallette and
potential.
— Diana Yassin, Daily Arts
Writer
CAPITOL RECORDS
SOPHIA YOON
Daily Arts Writer
Let’s say you’re a young, undeveloped, middle to
high schooler, and you’re at the peak of teenage
angst
‘10/10’
Rex Orange County
AWAL
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘10/10’
Last week, after hinting at a new
song on social media, Rex Orange
County released a new single and
music video, “10/10.” Although he is
dropping all the hints characteristic
of an album rollout circuit, what
has surfaced in his music, and in
the “10/10” video in particular, is
a longing to settle down.
The “10/10” video is at once
wacky and heartwarming. It
brings to life the cozy energy
of Rex’s previous single, “New
House,” setting the stage in a
warm and welcoming household.
The pals sit around the TV playing
video games, the homie smokes
in the corner, the gang chills
around the couch gossiping and
cuddling and reading and chilling
out while Rex does his thing on
the keyboard. After putting his
headphones on, a goofy series of
events follow. Rex wanders to the
kitchen to make a sandwich before
opting to steal somebody else’s.
A group of performers wearing
yellow Spider-Man costumes burst
into a K-pop-style dance number.
An electrician fumbling in the
corner makes the house lights flash
in a pretty sequence while Rex jams
on the guitar. It’s funny and bizarre,
and the way the video is cut — made
to look like one shot — adds to the
surreal absurdity.
“10/10” is Rex at a crossroads
of nostalgia and looking forward
to the future, returning to making
warm memories with the people he
loves. The ambient noise of friends
relaxing in the house is tuned out
when he puts on the headphones
and begins performing, much
like the way becoming a music
sensation makes it hard not to
tune out the life you had before.
His opening verse captures the
heart of the video, singing “I had
to think about my oldest friends /
Now, I no longer hang with them
/ And I can’t wait to be home
again.” When he finishes the
song, he takes off the headphones
and the comforting sound of the
household returns. A sentiment
of being uninspired has permeated
Rex’s most recent songwriting, but
that friendly chatter he misses is a
welcome musical inspiration. It left
me thinking about the old friends I
need to call.
— Dylan Yono, Daily Arts Writer
AWAL
It can make bad events seem more palatable, but
it can also give people an excuse to be destructive
and avoidant
B-SIDE: SECONDARY