People have been looking to the stars for advice for thousands of years.

In much the way that early explorers relied on celestial navigation, many still hope that the heavens hold answers that can help guide them through life. Astrology is as popular as ever and reading the horoscopes might be able to help us plan our futures, or at least be prepared for them. If we know how to interpret them properly, that is.

Here’s what to do:

Find a horoscope. This can be online, in the newspaper, in a magazine or on a smartphone horoscope app. Now, find your appropriate sign.

Most horoscopes will say in big, bold letters that “Horoscopes are for entertainment purposes only.” Ignore this. Seriously. This stuff is real, and it’s definitely going to tell you if your ex wants you back. Right? Well, maybe.

Find proof that the horoscope is accurate. A line such as “Today, Aquarius, you will have experiences.” Oh my god, that’s totally true! You are going to have experiences today!

If your horoscope is good, hooray! It’s going to be a great day. Carry on and be happy until bedtime. After all, it was in the stars! Every time something positive happens, use it as proof that the celestial bodies were correct.

For a less than encouraging horoscope, there are several options. Choose one or all of the following:

Bad horoscope? No problem. Borrow the sign before or after yours. Go ahead, bend the rules a little about being born on the cusp.

Find another horoscope. Sexy Celebrity Weekly Rag definitely doesn’t hire good astrologers. This person is clearly a hack. Find a star sign prediction that says what you want to hear.

Crack open the three month old fortune cookies in the silverware drawer that are leftover from Chinese delivery and see if one of them has something nice to say.

Ignore the horoscope and create your own destiny. Why should a fortune teller who writes for Sexy Celebrity Weekly Rag dictate your decisions?

The real answer here is that they shouldn’t.

We really are in control of our own destinies and obsessively reading my horoscopes helped me realize this.

Once upon a time, when I was going through a rough patch, I looked to astrology to give me hope that things would get better. I wanted to know that the stars were on my side. Perhaps there is some truth to all this (I am the quintessential Scorpio after all), but I tend to think that the real power of astrology lies in the law of attraction.

I began to notice that the days when my horoscope predicted success really were better days, yet this wasn’t necessarily because Astrology is real. Good days were happening because reading a positive horoscope caused me to expect, and then to therefore attract, happy occurrences. I was looking for the positive and when we look for joy and beauty and fun, we train our minds to spot those things.

When we know how to spot them, we begin to see them more and more. It’s all about reframing our perspective. The same thing happens with bad stuff. Look for tragedy, misery and failure and there it is.

When I noticed the pattern, I realized that the horoscope didn’t hold the power over my life. I did! The zodiac isn’t in control of my destiny or whether or not I will have a good day or a bad day. That’s my choice and sure, aggravating things can happen, but how we react to them and how we interpret them is one hundred percent up to us. In other words, we choose to see circumstances as positive or negative.

I like to believe that horoscopes are only right when they’re good. Because I am confident that I can guide my own outcomes, I don’t worry about what’s going on up in the heaves, even when Mercury is in retrograde. I know everything is going to be okay.

So go out and live your best lives, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius! Your energy dazzles, success is in the air, your sun sign is irresistible. Today is your day and great things are coming your way.

 

Relephant: 

9 Habits to Help Us Manifest Our Dreams Using the Law of Attraction.

 

Author: Victoria Fedden

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Bob B Brown/Flickr