Astro-trolling
Type in “the signs as” in Google and you’ll have a preview of the plethora of memes that exist out there on astrology. There is so much more when you dive into the more creative social networks, like Tumblr, the debauched Facebook groups such as A S T R O L O G Y W a V E or Instagram millennial divas like astromemequeen.
Over the past few years, the zodiac has been meme-tized through a humorous lens and given new meaning through an envious freedom of expression. In the end, who’s going to argue (with any seriousness and a rambling blog post, anyway) about how the photo of the cat chosen to represent Scorpio is wrong? Who will even bother to be politically correct when criticizing zodiac memes?
Astrology has made its way into our lives from the margins, and it’s gaining momentum through an avalanche of Likes. You’ll find it mentioned naturally in different ways in cultural discussions. Albeit it may seem silly and inoffensive at times, people of all ages and social-economic realities are gravitating to astrology.
To make fun of a sign is like mocking a group of people who don’t get together to defend themselves. It’s a no-holds-barred area, in which being insulting maybe isn’t really so offensive as it seems. You can take some poetic license with it. After all, astrology merely is a way to approach personality characteristics that pertain to any human — whether you’re a Leo or if your rising sign is Leo, or if you have Leo in your House 8…
Some people are like this. Others are more like that.
Some signs are like this. Others are more like that.
The consistency — mixed with inaccuracy — of those so-called truths can make even the most defensive of people feel compelled to respond, even if they don’t believe those accusations merit any further thought. “Those allegations are unfounded! Where is the science behind them?”
Well, be careful! Could it be that the meme is the new Freudian slip? What we repress always reveals an unacknowledged truth about who we are. And that’s when astrology turns everything upside down.
Could astro-trolling be an affront to the limits of ethics and social coexistence? Like any type of trolling, it’s possible that the answer is Yes. Should there be limits put on teasing, where you’re only allowed to make fun of someone based on the connotations and superstitions around their birth sign, instead of their certain personality or physical trait?
* “‘Superstitious’? How dare you!” OK, calm down, you sign-crazy person! (No offense) Even if you don’t consider astrology to have anything superstitious about it, keep in mind that the rest of the world thinks the opposite.
There’s a point to consider in all the astrological noise. Diversity here isn’t seen as a war of domination and supremacy, where one group controls the other by exerting their power through capitalism or by ideological oppression. Astrology is transversal and libertarian. Virgos are a minority or majority, theoretically, as much as Pisces are.
Which sign do you believe is the most wronged and that suffers more prejudice? What does this sign actually mean in people’s collective imagination?
That’s only the start of a debate that will reveal more about us than the stars and planets.
The most important thing to remember is that taking astrology too seriously can destroy everything that gives it the most value: Its riveting nature, its potential to encourage people to self reflect, and less about the world’s concrete truths.
* Lucas Liedke
Co—founder of Peoplestrology and float. Psychoanalyst in private practice in São Paulo, Brazil. — lucas.liedke@gmail.com
