this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2026
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I used to be a bit of a dick about astrology. I still think it's nonsense, but now I kinda view it as a structure for people to explore their own emotions and as a kind of authority struct to get people to treat those emotions as valid. Ultimately I feel like its no different than me sharing emo song lyrics with an "omg they understand me frfr" type message. Maybe the astrology believer isn't upset because Venus is in retrograde or whatever, but they are upset their emotions are valid. I don't gain anything from being a wet blanket about scientific accuracy in that situation, and they feel like I am invalidating their emotions if I choose to be that scientifically accurate wet blanket. Plus, retrograde is a dope word and I'm not sure if I'd know it if not for the crystal girls I've dated
In short, you choose getting laid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqxbb9qVPlI
yes. they want to feel their emotions are valid. even if they aren't. Astrology and other theoretical systems also take the locus of control out of their own authority and place it in a higher authority to which they are subjected.
and therein lies the problem. not every emotion is valid. some emotions are invalid. but if you aren't responsible for the causes of your emotions... you're not responsible for figuring out which ones are valid or invalid. they are something that happens to you, not something you control.
and happy well-adjusted folks... learn to figure out which is which, and unhappy folks... can't or won't do this. and a huge part of therapeutic processes is ... learning to identify and assess your own emotional states and whether or not to act on them.
Explains why I'm horribly unhappy I have Alexithymia.
Don't believe in astrology though.
(Edit: also emotions can't be "valid" or "invalid" they're just the source of your motivations really.)
Emotions can be based in reality. Or they can be based in false perceptions of reality.
That's what makes them valid or invalid.
Your fear of the boogeyman in the closet is invalid. Your fear of the drunk driver weaving around you on the highway is valid.
Of course, if you don't believe reality exists, or that reality is entirely derivation of your emotions, then yeah, you should be very very afraid and you should invest in anti-boogeyman man traps to put in your closet so he can't get you at night.
But of course, most of us would consider people who believe in boogeymen to be delusional. Delusion is a symptom of psychological problems. And delusional folks think it's everyone else who is insane for not seeing the Boogeyman.
people have lots and lots of emotions that are not based in external reality, many are based in fictions they make up in their heads. but of course, being able to recognize and admit that... is not a capability many folks develop. many folks never question their emotions at all.