Question

Usually the astrologers use our planets to explain the present, past and the future life of we humans. Is there really any link between the planet alignment and its movement with the human's life or a person's zodiac sign?

No, there is no link — astrology is not science, or prediction, but an ancient religion that is unrelated to modern science. Astrology and the science of astronomy had common origins, however, since much of the motivation for people to observe the skies and figure our how to predict planet positions and eclipses was from astrology — specifically the desire of the rulers in ancient China and Mesopotamia to use the motions of planets to predict their future or guide their actions. Not until the time of Galileo did the science of astronomy and the pseudoscience of astrology firmly part company. Because of widespread interest, astrology is the pseudoscience that has been most extensively tested. Data on tens of thousands of people have been examined to see if there is any correlation between their sun-sign or the positions of the planets at their birth and their personalities or the professions they adopt or their family life. There is none. This should not surprise us, since there is no known force that would cause the planets to influence our lives. Another carry-over of astrological thinking into our world is an apparently widespread belief in the significance of planetary alignments, or alignment of the Sun with the galactic center, when in fact alignments are of no interest to scientists. I find it especially curious that astrology is focused on the position of the planets at our birth; if there were any way for such influences to act, surely they would do so at our conception, when our genetic makeup is determined, not at our birth. Does anyone really think that their lives would have been different in a predictable way if they had been born a few hours earlier or later? For more information, there is an excellent list of resources about astrology on the website of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib.html#1.

David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
October 16, 2009