Written by Evi Idoghor
There might be someone out there who has grappled with this thought for months and months, with questions like these arising in their minds—is it okay for me to acknowledge what my star sign is? What is the harm in doing so?
For others, it might not be a bone of contention. Once their birth month rolls around, then it's gemini or cancer season, or whatever else is wrapped up in this terminology known as astrology. Some even go as far as identifying their kids with such. Today I will share with you why as a Christian you shouldn’t indulge in certain practices, no matter how normal they might appear to be.
As a young teenager growing up in Port Harcourt, I was obsessed with reading magazines. Ebony and Essence were the two magazines I remember seeing in my older cousin’s bathroom anytime I went to visit her. I was quick to grab a copy, curl up in bed and enjoy myself flipping through the pages, soaking up every word of entertainment, stories and perhaps, gossip.
The love I had for magazines and also newspapers (the lifestyle ones and the ones released on the weekends) continued to grow—little wonder I am now a writer.
When I was about 15 years old, I moved to Lagos for school. In my school at the time, there were a lot of rich kids who traveled abroad every summer. As for me, I had not stepped foot outside of Nigeria. So, whenever they returned from holidays, they usually brought back with them magazines such as US Weekly, OK! Magazine, People, and the likes.
As such, I was quick to borrow them to entertain myself. Now, tucked away in some of those magazines was something called horoscopes—according to the period you were born, they had a special reading for you every month. That was my first encounter with astrology, although ignorant of what it meant at that time. From the time I was introduced, I always looked forward to reading them and accepting (for myself) what it had to say about what I believed to be my star sign.
Whenever people asked me what my star sign was, I was quick to answer, excited about the associations linked to people born around that time period. Thus, over the years, I began searching for what my reading was for a particular point in time. Such readings revealed personality types and made predictions on what could take place in a person's life. However, when I started reading the Bible, and as my relationship with God evolved, I began to see that such a practice was against God's word.
The History of Astrology
According to Wikipedia, “Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims divine information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects.” This practice is dated back to the 2nd millennium BCE, and studies have shown that the practice originated in ancient Babylon.
Divination (such as astrology) was a practice God detested. This is because the people who indulged in such practices, in their quest for knowledge, disregarded going to Him/His word for wisdom. As such, they began worshiping the very thing God created, instead of worshiping the Creator, Himself (Romans 1:25).
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.” Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (NKJV).
From this passage, we can deduce confidently that God is against practices that exclude Him and (or) disregard Him as the absolute authority in all truth, wisdom, knowledge, and revelation. In times past, people had to travel to remote places to seek those who dabbled in these practices to help or assist them with their issues. Unfortunately, in today's world, these people can be found in the corners of very busy streets, social media, and on television shows, boasting of clientele replete with celebrities.
Now, this abomination (as the Bible refers to it) is normalized through horoscopes (an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth—Wikipedia.org). What is disheartening, is that some Christians identify themselves through horoscope/astrology.
Although they might not give much thought into it, but if you give room—whatever wiggle room you have to the enemy, he will swoop in and make himself at home with you. We all have that friend who comes around and spends the night one time, then the next time around, they stay three nights, then next thing they are with you for a month, and you start complaining to others that they just wouldn’t leave! That is because you gave them a bit of leg space; that is how it is with the enemy—he is very crafty and calculated.
On your birthday, when you write that hashtag, #SargittarusSeason, the next time around you might feel a push or a nudge to read about what your horoscope is saying. As Christ-followers, we shouldn't buy into such narratives. Jesus addressing the Pharisees in the book of Luke said to them—“You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)
Dear Christian, Dear Human,
Isaiah addressed the people in Babylon (where all of this is said to have originated) in the book of Isaiah 47:13-14 saying—“You are wearied in the multitude of your counsel; let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you, from what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; it shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!”
The only Person you should receive information about yourself from, amid many other things, is God and He has given us His word for that. He knows the end from the beginning. He is the first and the last— no one knows the truth as He does, because He is truth personified. No one knows anything but Him (which has been proven with 2020), because He transcends time. Don’t be tempted to be carried away by these things—don’t give room to the enemy. More importantly, ensure to read your Bible, so you can be wise to discern what His good and perfect will for your life is.
So what do y’all think? Is it a big deal or nah? Leave your comments below and also remember to like, share, and subscribe never to miss an update.
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All images are courtesy of Unsplash.
About The Author: Evi Idoghor is a Christian, writer, and content creator on Letstalknationblog.com. She is a chemical engineering graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Consumed by her love for writing and desire to effect change, she launched her online platform—Let’s Talk Nation Blog—to tap into her creativity and start meaningful conversations that would make a difference around the world.
Most of her writing has been influenced by her time spent in America, where she lived for about 11 years. Also, she lived in Nigeria and South Korea and currently loves traveling the world while learning about other fascinating cultures. You can find her on all social media platforms with @eviidoghor.
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Yooo, I canNOT even lie, I'm pretty sure I've recently acknowledged one of my friends by their star sign and even as I said it, I felt the nudge in my spirit like "*side eye* we don't talk like that no more, you know better". I actually do but it was a force of habit. Like you stated, I def used to like the sense of "association" I felt with people who shared the same sign. Anyway sha, las las ALL is vanity and worse, a blatant disregard for God as our source of truth. Fact is, though the personality readings for the months may appear to be true, the Source of this 'truth' is not God and is therefore…