HAVING FUN WITH ASTROLOGY By Ellen Donker

I’m a Leo. What’s your sign?

I don’t remember exactly when I learned that my zodiac sign was Leo, but it was probably sometime in elementary school. As a shy child with a bossy older sister, I liked that my sign represented strength and leadership. And since I was a cat lover, it made me smile. But is my personality dramatic and dominant? I think not.

Maplewood photographer Julia Maloof Verderosa started learning about zodiac signs in middle school. She remembers a summer on Cape Cod when she and her sister Stella would walk to the candy store to get their monthly horoscope scrolls, which were long, skinny papers that listed the signs in different colors and tiny writing. She says, “We really took it to heart. We would study what our horoscope was for that day, every day.” Verderosa says she’s a late Aries and totally believed in astrology at the time.

She says, “It’s so interesting that even now, because we studied it so much, it still can color my impressions [of people] when I know their birthdays … the stubbornness of Taurus, the gregariousness of Geminis, emotional Cancers, attention-seeking Leos.”

According to Britannica.com, the zodiac is a belt around the sky extending 9 degrees on either side of the Sun’s apparent annual path. Around 500 BCE, the Babylonians divided the zodiac into 12 astrological signs, each occupying one-twelfth (or 30 degrees) of its great circle. The dates traditionally associated with the signs of the zodiac are when the Sun is supposed to be in the relevant constellation. During the course of 2,500 years, the direction of the Earth’s tilt has shifted and the dates are no longer completely accurate.

If you’re wondering why people believe in astrology, research suggests that it’s a coping mechanism that helps people make sense of their world when life feels complex. It can also be a way to validate how people think about themselves.

Interest in astrology rose during the Great Depression. Most recently, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, interest increased especially among millennials and Generation Z. In fact, in a 2022 poll, 27 percent of Americans said they believe in astrology. The percentage was even higher, 37 percent, among those under age 30.

Whatever one’s take on astrology, the staff at Matters Magazine thought it would be fun in our Women in Business feature to ask women to tell us their signs and the traits of their zodiac that contribute to their business success.

Responses were interesting. I found out that some women followed their horoscope very closely and had in-depth knowledge of zodiac signs. They told me which planet ruled their sign and whether their zodiac was a f ire, earth, air or water sign. Some also knew the signs with which they were most compatible, important data for those in business partnerships. Others described themselves as cuspers, being on the boundary of their sign. Given the change in the Earth’s tilt over time, a Gemini at the tail end of the sign’s date span could make an argument about really being a Cancer, or a little of both.

Other women simply chose the traits of their sign’s description and tied them into their business performance. In every case, though, they were surprised by how closely aligned their sign was to their personality and wondered whether there was something to astrology after all.

Although I don’t follow my horoscope or completely identify with my sign, I’m still proud to be a Leo. I still have my Leo keychain, probably purchased sometime in high school. I hung the keys to my first car on it. Perhaps it’s sentiment that has kept me from throwing it out, reminding me of a time when my developing personality sought validation from a sign, even if I never quite believed in it.