Disclaimer: I'm not a new age freak, I promise

Say what you will about astrology, but whether you believe in it or not, the planets affect you. Even if you find the idea that the planets can determine your personality or life events to be absolute bullshit (actually, even astrologers will agree that such simplistic equations are bullshit), it doesn't change anything.

The planets are part of the universe and so are we. So is the ocean, animals, the ozone layer, the weather, the atmosphere, magnetic fields, energy - all of it. We can't pick and choose what parts of the universe affect our species or how they do it. We know and accept that sound waves, elevation, magnetism and ions physically and emotionally affect us - even though we can't necessarily see the effect. Whether we like it (or believe in it) or not, everything in the universe has some sort of effect on everything else. And this isn't some new age-y philosophy. It's physics.

The uncomfortable part for a lot of people comes when we try to interpret these effects (enter astrology and hundreds of other "new age" practices). Most people can or will only deal with the tangible areas of their life. That's fine, but I think it's wrong for them to absolutely deny the possibility that the intangible (at least to us) parts of the universe could have meaning.

For centuries, humans have not only ascribed human-centric characteristics to the stars and planets, but we've documented how we believe the stars and planets affect our life here on earth. I agree, it's a bit of a narcissistic practice for us to believe we are such a huge part of things. But do we have any proof otherwise?

Personally, I try to take an approach to astrology that I call "rational, yet open." I'm a very logical person, sometimes to a fault, so people are often surprised that I even care about astrology. I guess the best way to explain it is that I see it as a tool by which we can learn to improve ourselves and make our existence easier and more fulfilling. And I will take any opportunity to learn how to do that, whether it comes from somewhere intangible like Saturn or dreams, or somewhere tangible and more obvious like my own life experiences (or hell, even a TV show). We'd be stupid to ignore these lessons, wherever they come from. I don't take what the planets "say" at face value - it's always subject to interpretation and taken with a grain of salt. I view it as a starting point for self-improvement and a way to be somewhat prepared for what life might throw at me -just one chapter in my guidebook for navigating the world.

I don't think that because I am a Gemini I literally have two personalities or that Leos are always the center of attention. That would be dumb. But what's dumber, reading your horoscope and trying to learn some common-sense lesson from it, or wandering through life wondering why you're not getting anywhere when you're not even listening to what the rest of the universe is trying to tell you?