• Flying Squid
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    646 hours ago

    I’ve never believed in astrology, but we Scorpios are naturally skeptical.

  • JackbyDev
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    177 hours ago

    So, yes, some people go too far into astrology and some people are actual grifters, but a lot of times, I think most of the time, people are just looking for a little fun. Yes, I know a tarot reading is bullshit, but it can be fun to do and it can be enlightening to see how I think it should be interpreted. Sort of like the idea of ink blotch tests, but that’s not a great comparison.

    • @Ibaudia@lemmy.world
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      126 hours ago

      I really hope this is true because I have met soooo many people in my personal life who seriously believe the position of the stars affects every little facet of your life.

      • @TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        Gotcha. Is it a new usage? I wouldn’t say my british slang stays super up to date necessarily… maybe I forgot this one, but I don’t remember seeing/hearing it in the past.

        • @ArcticPrincess@lemmy.ml
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          42 hours ago

          Australian here, heard it all my life. Also, in our dialect you can use fuck to mean pretty much anything, as long as it’s clear from context what sentiment you’re going for

            • OfCourseNot
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              12 hours ago

              Doesn’t ‘piss off’ can mean ‘leave’ in American English too? I use them pretty much interchangeably, maybe ‘fuck off’ expresses a stronger intention.

              • @TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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                46 minutes ago

                In America, “piss off” can mean “leave”, but “pissed off” means angry (usually, depending on context it can also mean left). “fuck off” means “leave”, while “fucked off” either means “left” or “screwed around”. It’s complicated haha. In this post, I guess “fucked off” could’ve meant “left” too, but that reads very awkwardly to me so I decided against that theory. Then others are telling me it can mean angry, or least I’m taking their responses to mean that, so I’m thinking OOP meant that here. But maybe I’m still confused! /shrug

  • barnaclebutt
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    106 hours ago

    Obviously biased. Every astrologer is a world leading expert. That’s just a true and correct fact. Where are the error bars? Why not use violin plots? Correct science is what will prove astrology correct. I know that because I’m a Leo. Seriously, astrology is important for weeding out tinder profiles.

    • OfCourseNot
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      22 hours ago

      Doesn’t those results mean that we all are world class astrologers? Just roll the dice and you’re as good as the best.

    • JackbyDev
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      76 hours ago

      A woman predicted the exact date Biden would step down a few weeks before it happened. She claims to be a world class astrologist. People sort of viewed this as a wow moment. Completely ignoring the fact that it’s been talked about that he might not re run if he won in 2020 (which I think was actually a misquote, but ultimately irrelevant for this discussion). There had been a lot of talk and push for him to step down, especially in the month or so prior to it happening. That someone sort of recognized all this but claimed the stars gave them the exact date is such an obvious Occam’s razor moment lol but people really did believe she was a master level astrologer.

      • bravesirrbn ☑️
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        127 minutes ago

        Survivorship bias? Hundreds of other “astrologists” probably tried predicting it too but guessed wrong

    • Rentlar
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      158 hours ago

      You know, I’m something of a galaxy-class expert astrologist myself.

    • Gabe BellOP
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      04 hours ago

      I don’t think that’s true, and I don’t think you really believe that either…

      • Coriza
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        12 hours ago

        Is that a reference to that tweeter thread about it?

        • Gabe BellOP
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          131 minutes ago

          Honestly?

          No.

          The original comment was “you can’t reason someone out of a belief they weren’t reasoned into” and I was just playing on that by trying to reason them out of the belief that you can’t reason someone out of a belief…

          Or at least suggest that you can reason someone out of a belief they weren’t reasoned into. Because it seems within reason that you can reason someone out of a belief they weren’t reasoned into and the reason I suggest that is it seems perfectly reasonable.

          (Yeah – sometimes I just get bored and want to see how long I can keep a sentence going and use the same word in it before it breaks down into total chaos).

  • SleepyWheel
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    219 hours ago

    I wonder if there is some benefit from the clients interpretation of the reading, even though the reading itself is nonsense. In the same way someone can flip a coin to help you make a decision, and you realise from your gut reaction what you actually wanted to do all along, but weren’t consciously aware of

    • @grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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      232 minutes ago

      That’s why I have a pair of oracle decks. I flip a few cards and listen to my gut to interpret it. Sometimes my brain is indecisive and needs the illusion of an external decision.

      • @Denjin
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        112 minutes ago

        You should read The Dice Man

    • @tabris@lemmy.world
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      227 hours ago

      I used to work in a shop that could easily be described as “New Age” and it has a tarot reader there. Having looked at the history of tarot but being a complete sceptic, I asked for a reading one time to see for myself how they go.

      Afterwards I asked her “it’s a light therapy session, isn’t it?” She responded “mostly.”

      That’s pretty much what it is, cheap, basic therapy to help you sort through your thoughts, and shares some similarities with CBT. I’d still recommend therapy if you need it, but I don’t mind people going to a tarot reader if that’s what helps them. But I still think the mysticism side of it can be a problem for a variety of reasons.

      • JackbyDev
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        96 hours ago

        Yeah, that’s really all it is. It gets much more questionable and problematic when it’s things like people claiming to channel dead loved ones.

        • @grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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          127 minutes ago

          I talk to my dead dad in my dreams (nothing deep–I usually say “hey, aren’t you dead?” And he says “yep!” And then we discuss board games or dogs) and while it’s comforting for me to maintain that connection to my memory of him, I’d be so absolutely pissed if some stranger tried to horn in on and pollute my memory of my dad.

          • JackbyDev
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            25 hours ago

            One of my wife’s former coworkers said she needed to stop looking into astrology, so I think some people definitely can get into it too much and worry too much about predictions, but on the whole I don’t think astrology (specifically) is problematic as a whole.

            But it is interesting that it does cause some people to discriminate against others based on their birthdays lol.

            • @Soggy@lemmy.world
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              113 minutes ago

              Even at its most harmless, astrology normalizes magical thinking and leaves the door open for more predatory things. Not that big a leap to alternative healing and psychics and other conmen persuading the naive away from legitimate help.

        • @hakase@lemm.ee
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          36 hours ago

          Yup that’s exactly what pissed off Houdini so much that he ended his friendship with Arthur Conan Doyle.

      • @dumples@midwest.social
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        66 hours ago

        Tarot is also a great way of reflection and introspection by giving external prompts which allow a jumping off point for story creation and reframing. Lot of creative processes recommend this external semi-random prompt because it changes you from your normal thoughts. This allows you to think about what happened or what you want to happen and gives a story and a new perspective. Humans are naturally story tellers and pattern seekers and this taps into that. This reframing is a evidence based therapeutic technique that works.

        Also if it makes you feel better in your own head that means it works. Everything is based on our mental state so what is difference

    • @_number8_@lemmy.world
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      37 hours ago

      this is definitely the answer, and i don’t get why people are so aggressive about shitting on people who just want a bit of fake mysticism in their lives. literally not hurting anyone to look at the stars and feel stuff

      • @BallsandBayonets
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        35 hours ago

        Until they charge $300 for a three hour reading, without disclosing the price or the time beforehand. And refer to all women as “goddesses”. And ask for tastes of four different types of wine before getting the same thing they always get.

  • Sneezycat
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    7911 hours ago

    Astrology is so stupid! That’s why I only practice geomancy, the true divination art.