Astrologers – How Do You Handle Skeptics?

dennis elwell astrologyDo you admit to being an astrologer or to having an interest in astrology? If so, how do people react and how do you react to their reaction?

I am challenged only very rarely and I don’t react at all. In fact, the last time I was challenged was in 2000. I remember this because it started me writing! I posted a link to an article on a study by British Telephone that found people did talk more when the Moon was full and a science-minded guy (codasaurus) came on the board to flame me.

I told him I could care less what he thought of astrology but added that astrologer, Dennis Elwell cared very deeply what people like him thought and perhaps he should read his book, Cosmic Loom
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“It is written for people like you,” I said. “He is addressing the scientific community, he likes to do this but I do not. What do you think? You think just because you see a passing-by astrologer, they are going to want to stop and argue with you? You’re out of your mind…”

But unable to comprehend the fact you cannot make someone be interested in something (arguing with skeptics) they find boring, codasaurus kept coming. And he came back and back and back until he launched my writing and the rest is history. I have been writing daily for more than 15 years.

If you cop to an interest in astrology, what are your experiences with skeptics?

16 thoughts on “Astrologers – How Do You Handle Skeptics?”

  1. My experience with skeptics.

    The biggest problem here, so far as I can tell, isn’t that skeptics hate “fuzzy thinking.” It’s that they do it themselves so often. They’ve created their own dogma, in the process of rejecting dogma.

    How human!

  2. I´ve been learning and practising astrology for about 25 years now, and I´ve learned to appreciate scepticism. I mean, look at what jerks pretend to be astrologers ;-). I wouldn´t trust many of them an inch, and less if I didn´t know how astrology works.

    So, the sceptic approach is fine with me, I like that, I rather have one good sceptic instead of twenty fanatical believers that think the solar system is turning all around them…you know what I mean.

    But in this example you wrote about, Elsa, the guy seems to be a fanatical nonbeliever – in fact he needed Elsa far more than she needed him, so what does that tell about HIS belief system? And projecting one´s shadow? But he fulfilled a role, and I´m glad he did, since this blog and Elsa did a whole lot more FOR astrology than he probably ever did against.

  3. Heh, I have a blog that is mostly (although not exclusively) about programming, and therefore most of my audience consists of programmers. Many of those are science types, who like to take the stance “astrology cannot possibly work, therefore it doesn’t work”. For this reason I have been reluctant to write about astrology, although I have done it occasionally. I haven’t really been flamed (yet?), maybe because I pointed out that I wasn’t interested in this kind of discussion.

  4. LOL, Kundrie!! Yes, thanks astro-skeptic for getting Elsa sharing her thoughts on astrology with the world!! 🙂

    I ignore skeptics and just go about my business where astrology is concerned. Having been discussing astrology with folks for over 30 yrs, I’ve seen both the true believers and the skeptics (I live with an Aries skeptic 🙂 )

  5. I don’t deal very well with it, so I don’t mention it much. My Dad is a scientist, a skeptical one, he probably thinks I’m out of my mind. It’s not easy when I want to take my interest to the next level…

  6. I’m married to an Aries skeptic. I can deal with him (!!**). He is amenable and shows interest, though not much effort at understanding it all. That I can deal with. But if anyone is outright confrontational I find it really difficult not to rise to their bait, and can get quite hot under the collar. I wish I didn’t, because I can see that Elsa’s approach is so much better. In the end, it’s their loss.

  7. Family religious programming would likely keep me from mentioning it to most everyone whom I associate w/in RL as not worth the broohaha that it would likely stir up.

  8. I only dabble in astrology, but I have some intellectual respect for it. With my one friend that I know to be a true-believing “skeptic,” I made my best effort to point out the distinction between causal and synchronistic relationships between events. He would have none of it, of course. What can you do?

    I was born in Sacramento, California, on April 23, 1972, seven minutes after midnight Pacific Standard Time (08:07 UTC).

  9. I cop, but I’m not really very open about it and usually I make a consious decision before telling someone. As for skeptics I just say I don’t really understand it but I also don’t really understand gravity or the ozone layer, and that they all work for me so *shrug*

  10. Interesting, isn’t it, that most folks who are rabidly anti-astrology have not actually studied it. Their attitude is based on an emotional reaction, not dispassionate examination.

    I have a favorite response when someone says “I don’t see how anyone could believe in astrology.” I just reply “Astrology works outside the confines of your belief system.”

    I know quite a few astrologers who started studying astrology in order to debunk it. When they found out that it works, they signed up. Now that’s what I call a skeptic.

  11. I’ve had a lot of people just flat out decide that I must be a flake with the only reason being that I think astrology works. It’s like someone said earlier, if they can’t understand why it works then it must not work. Hello! Magnetism used to be used as a parlor trick and was thought to be magic until people figured that out. There is also a huge bias against abstract thinkers in our society. I think I know why astrology works (at least partly) but when I try to explain it most people get lost. I don’t even bring it up unless I’m talking to people who I think are interested, but sometimes people who believe in all sorts of things still don’t take astrology seriously.

  12. I am only new to astrology. My opposition comes from my Scorpio Moon son who wants to know “When am I going to get a REAL F***ing Hobby”.

  13. I don’t volunteer the infomation usually. But in this age of Facebook, I also don’t consciously hide it anymore – people on my ‘Friends’ list can easily see the groups I join and other various interests. Haven’t had an outright confrontation with a skeptic yet – if they’ve made up their minds, it’s not like I can change it (or should want to).

  14. hitchhiker72, come to think of it I have mine & husband’s astro info up on my blog for awhile now! BUT, I also don’t tie my RL self to the blog either in letting RL people (and even most online folks either) know where it’s at, and that’s all tied up w/all the Scorpio secretiveness in me I suppose – I do tend to keep my different sides separate.

  15. I respect sceptics because I used to be one, and still feel it’s the most sensible thing to be until you have some proofs otherwise. But they need to be open to it to be worth talking about it. some people are not willing to see it and then I just wonder why they are bothering me.

    I try not to deal with sceptics on purpose. But when they come to me, and I’m in a good mood, I may to ask to see their chart and try to impress them that way. Also there was a book written for these people, that I recomended.
    Sceptics are potential apprentices, more then most people. If the idea os astrology being real bothers them this much, it problably will impact them alot to get this answer. they’re invested.

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