Health & Balance
This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
Are Horoscopes Healthy?
Your WebMD Horoscope
Strengthen your relationships, learn how to manage stress, and stop wasting time reading horoscopes, advises clinical psychologist and author Terence Sandbek, PhD. "One of the hallmarks of mental and emotional maturity is being able to run your own life and make your own decisions," he tells WebMD. He suggests time spent on horoscopes could be better spent on tools with a real record of helping people improve their lives.
For some people, horoscopes are a source of harmless fun. "I read it, but I don't follow it," says Michelle Lucas of Miami. "It's just for entertainment. It doesn't make or break my day."
Horoscope Habit
For others, it's a matter of habit. Every morning, Ann Edwards of Lenoir, N.C., reads the local newspaper. The horoscope is always there, right next to some of her favorite features. Edwards tells WebMD she doesn't think much of astrology, but she plays along. "I'll tell my kids, 'Today is a nine for you' just for fun. I don't tell them if it's a five."
But for many people, horoscopes have a deeper meaning. First-year teacher Janice Holmes says she consults her horoscope "to answer questions, like how my day will be."
"Horoscopes tend to have a bias toward positive things," says Stuart Vyse, PhD, author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. "There isn't a lot of negative material in them. That might be comforting to people."
Sense of Comfort
Vyse, who is a professor of psychology at Connecticut College, tells WebMD that horoscopes are "a one-size-fits-everybody enterprise" - they're written for everyone who shares your birthday, plus or minus a couple of weeks. But he says horoscopes can still provide a "sense of comfort" because people tend to focus on the parts that are relevant to their own lives.
Adriana Freitas, a marketing manager in Miami, says she enjoys the "hit-or-miss" nature of reading her horoscope. "Sometimes I get lucky and what is written turns out to be true," she tells WebMD. "Sometimes it matches my day and sometimes not. When it [matches] it's funny and I might cut it out."
Psychologists call this "confirmation bias." People will latch onto sections of a horoscope that confirm or support their beliefs and ignore the rest. Vyse says this practice may have a psychological benefit. "To the extent that reading your horoscope gives a sense of order or meaning to your life, that would be a positive thing. The problem is there's no scientific basis to the horoscope, so I think acting on it is not a good thing."
Illusion of Control
Sandbek says he's concerned that people who regularly consult their horoscopes are looking for guidance, not comfort. "Most people who read horoscopes or go to psychics do so because they want information about themselves or what they should do," he tells WebMD.
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