Contrary to modern definitions, astrology and astronomy were similarly compared in ancient times, defined as divination surrounding the impact of the planets and stars on humans and the Earth. Astrology was established in Mesopotamia in approximately the third millennium B.C. In Greece between 323 B.C.E. and 31 B.C.E., also known as the Hellenistic period, it took on its Western form. Greek tradition said the 12 constellations of the zodiac divided the heavens and the stars and each constellation spiritually impacted humans.
In recent years, interest in astrology and the use of crystals among younger generations have increased while worshiping a particular God has decreased. From January 2018 through March 2019, a steady stream of coverage of these practices made its way into pop culture, specifically noted in The Atlantic, The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Women and queer people have long been regarded as the majority of astrology users. It is commonly looked down upon, often by men, who believe it doesn’t have enough scientific research to support its conclusions.
Courtney Archibald, a fifth-year senior studying interior architecture, said astrology has helped her learn more about herself and her relationships with others and the world. After joining the astrology club at Ohio University during her freshman year, astrology became an everyday practice in her life. She said learning more about it has been very eye-opening, especially because she is from a small town where things like astrology are not taken very seriously.
“If you look into it and still disagree with it, then I feel like that’s one thing, but some people will completely dismiss it because of the culture around it,” Archibald said. “Understanding and learning about it has really opened up a lot of doors for me and it’s unfortunate that people are going to miss out on that experience potentially.”
Archibald added that she previously only understood astrology to the extent of pop culture references and horoscopes in magazines but now, she acknowledges that it is a complex field of study that many people make lifelong dedications to. While she grew up in a Baptist church, Archibald no longer practices the religion because she sees a lot of flaws in it.
Beyond astrology, tools like tarot and oracle cards are used in readings where the user searches for knowledge and/or a new perspective from the divine. The difference between tarot cards and oracle cards is that tarot decks have a traditional structure, with each card holding a unique meaning. While each oracle card also holds meaning, they are broader and more interpretive. Interpretation is still necessary with tarot, but oracle cards have a much wider perspective. Metaphorically, tarot cards are binoculars and oracle cards are a telescope.
Archibald said she was taught that alternative spiritual methods like tarot cards are evil, but through reeducation and application in her spiritual practices, she now believes that is incorrect. However, she is judged for it by those who are a part of organized church spaces. Archibald also said people are hesitant to step out of their comfort zones because they have spent a large portion of their lives creating a belief system out of one religion and are afraid to question it.
“Understanding and learning about it has really opened up a lot of doors for me and it’s unfortunate that people are going to miss out on that experience potentially.”-Courtney Archibald, member of the astrology club
In her practices, Archibald said she prefers a laid-back approach, including reading her birth chart and others’ from time to time. She also reads tarot cards for herself and her close friends.
Archibald and Rylee Pare, a sophomore studying nursing, share the sentiment that people are drawn to unconventional spiritual practices because of an inherent curiosity.
Pare said her parents are both Wiccan (someone whose practices are of a nature-oriented religion), but was never pressured to follow in their footsteps, identifying herself as Pagan (someone who belongs to a community whose practices worship nature). As a child, Pare had weird dreams, so their mother helped them use tarot cards to interpret them. A friend later gave them their own deck of oracle cards. Pare said younger generations are becoming more interested in minority religions because they have a more curious perspective.
“I was typically kind of secretive about (being Pagan) because Paganism isn’t always widely accepted, a lot of witches call it being in the broom closet,” Pare said. “Once I got to college, I became a little bit more open about it (and) I was more willing to (tarot) read for friends.”
In addition to curiosity, Pare said there are many different ideologies among Pagans, which opens up a lot of exploration. Since there is no rule book to follow, many opinions and perspectives are shared in their conversations.
Pare has a special love for tarot cards and Greek mythology. Regarding the latter, Pare does not agree with the common idea that tarot cards must be gifted to an individual and can’t be bought. She said connecting with a deck’s energy is more important than the manner in which one acquires the deck.
When it comes to mythology, Pare finds it easier to talk to a deity or a divine god or goddess, like Aphrodite, than it is to talk to the entire universe. In the same way that saints in Christianity provide spiritual guidance, mythological depictions of deities make it easier to digest and understand the way the universe operates, they said.
In essence, Pare said some beings have more abilities than humans. In contrast to mainstream religions, however, the beings in question are not all-powerful like the Christian God, for example.
Pare grew up just outside of Athens and said that in their experience, there is definitely a specific idea of what “normal” religion and spirituality are in the rural areas of Athens County. Similar to Archibald, Pare believes opposition to “unconventional” religion and spirituality is rooted in a place of uncertainty and fear, like the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.
Dr. Brian Collins, a Classics and Religious Studies professor at OU, said people who belong to mainstream religious traditions commonly feel that their practices require drastic personal change within a particular system of rules, which is difficult in the modern world. Because non-mainstream religions tend to be more personal to the individual and don’t have strict rules that can be broken, mainstream religious people may see those practices as cheats, he said.
Collins also said there is an increased amount of Pagans that were born into Pagan families, meaning in the same way that the average person interacts with Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu ideas, they will now interact with Pagan ideas.
“Paganism is a part of what we call the New Age Movement, which did involve a focus on different kinds of healing: spiritual healing, different kinds of eating, different diets, astrology, different forms of omen reading or telling the future like astrology and tarot and also psychic reading,” Collins said. “This is a big category that includes a lot of things that wouldn’t see themselves as necessarily being related.”
Some spiritual people argue that organized religion often justifies violence in the name of faith, according to Roger S. Gottlieb, professor of philosophy at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of “Spirituality: What it is and Why it Matters.” For example, the Catholic Church covering up years upon years of sexual abuse or “religious nationalists in rampaging mobs,” said Gottlieb. He said that spiritual people focus shifts from metaphysical principles to moral ones; they reject organized religion not because it is full of intolerance but because “it is intolerant of the wrong things.”
Kelly Lawrence, owner of local Athens shop Chosen Pathways Spiritual Emporium, 400 E. State St., said that restrictions within some organized religions often turn people away from them. While some churches welcome everyone, it is difficult for many LGBTQ+ to find safe spaces within organized religions, she said.
“I’m working very hard to build a community here (at the shop),” Lawrence said. “I really want people to feel like they’re a part of something… they don’t even have to (be) religious, they don’t have to be Pagan per se, they can just be curious and want to have a pretty crystal to put in a window.”
As a Pagan, Lawrence said that many people who identify as feminists, for instance, see that goddesses are more heavily focused on and find more comfort in Paganism. Just as one would in a church, there are moments as a Pagan that have made Lawrence feel like a true part of the universe, that make one feel an elevated sense of unity with the divine, she said.
Understanding spirituality is complex. Yet, every faith has a shared belief that people should take care of each other, or do unto others as you would have them do unto you, said Lawrence. She said that Chosen Pathways was named such because each faith shares the goal of getting to a place of kindness towards one another; they simply take different roads to get there.
“People don’t realize that you have that same connection with Paganism as you do with any organized religion,” Lawrence said. “Some people see God as being ‘other,’ and the more I learned about all the different faiths, and that includes all the organized religions, I realized that God is within us.”