Happy & Healthy
BUT TODAY I BELIEVE IN MY HOROSCOPE
When my Tina fell on the mat, I would flip like crazy to the last page. There it was, that was my guide in uncertain times… The horoscope. Scorpio. Scary, huh? I always get a little scared of my own sign. And then people say: ‘Ooooh, a scorpio.’ With big eyes and a lot of excitement in their voice, because that’s apparently a thing. The scorpio, such a heavy passionate case, just because I came into the world in October. I find it strange, but okay. So horoscopes.
Should you believe that nonsense or not? I always say it’s nonsense, but when the text suits me well, I become an uncritical believer. ‘This year you will get rich, everything will go smoothly work-wise, and in August you will experience the most romantic time of your life.’ I BELIEVE. I’m a believer. But your weekly snippet-horoscope is actually nonsense. Yes, I’m sorry. I also find it a shame because it sometimes suited me perfectly. With you too, right? And that’s where the catch lies.
“My support in my Tina teenage years turned out to be a facade, but it was fun.”
Horoscope writers (and fortune tellers too) make use of an effect, the Barnum effect. Bertram Forer, the researcher and psychologist, demonstrated that you, I, and your neighbor recognize ourselves in identical character descriptions. He did this by having a classroom full of students take a personality test. You guessed it: the poor souls got the same description in front of them and completely recognized themselves in it. Mon Dieu. We loyal followers all seem to resemble each other. Or well, I recognize myself in exactly the same character description as you. And that’s because they are nice and vague. You take out what fits you, and I feel deep, deep, deep inside sometimes insecure. ‘This year is one of great significance.’ But what is great? And what is great for me may be small for you. So you can interpret it however you like. And hop, everyone from the month of October has an identical year ahead.
How your character package unfolds has nothing to do with the position of the stars or the moment you saw the light of day. Or with the fact that a meteorite shot through the frying pan and the Great Bear seemed to wink briefly. I suggest we just look at those stars with the necessary ooooh’s and aaaah’s, because they are beautiful. Well, that’s it, horoscope TV can go off the air and all magazines count one page less from now on. My support in my Tina teenage years turned out to be a facade, but it was fun.
