It's your destiny...

In my wallet, I carry a post-it note with a handwritten reminder:

Essentials for life

● Someone to love

● Something to do

● Something to hope for

I took this note out when I began to research this article and stuck it on my computer screen. As I wrote I got a sense that I was meant to write this. It is my destiny.

Before you discount me as a fanciful, true believer in the stars I should confess — I believe in evolution. I have a huge, inappropriate crush on Richard Dawkins and I demand evidence-based opinions and facts. But, on the first day of every month, I check my horoscope by one of the web’s most popular astrologists — Susan Miller. While I’m in the metaphorical confessional I will also admit that I was recently dumped by a boy. That is reason enough to make any rational person clutch at whatever straws are necessary to get through the inevitable bruised ego and broken heart.

I also reached out to people and was treated to tired clichés — Time heals all wounds; You’re better off without him; It wasn’t meant to be. None were comforting, until Susan informed me that in October Mars had entered my house of true love and would remain there for the next six months. (All fellow single Arians, do I hear a collective and drawn out ‘Finally’?).

For a perpetually single girl, the fact that the planets had apparently aligned and that this meant that my next suitor was only half a year away from coming out of the shadows was a relief. I have found in life that the most trying and frustrating times occur in the waiting; when we’re waiting for a change, waiting for him to pop that question, waiting for a decision from that interview, or even waiting for the annual sale at Habitat to buy a sofa we know will transform our house into a home.

Horoscopes, tarot, astrology; all these make the wait a little easier to bear. They provide us with an almost justifiable reason to believe in the third essential for life on my post-it note; something to hope for. And most women will read their horoscopes for the first and second essentials on the same note; someone to love and something to do.

I told you it was my destiny to write this article.

So do European women actually believe and use these passive tools in their lives? Or do they believe in making their own destiny? Are these two mutually exclusive? Does believing in astrology mean that we leave our lives completely to the whims and mercy of the stars and planets?

It's written in the stars...

In 2001, a Pew study in the US found that over half of Europeans believe in Astrology. A recent Eurobarometer survey found that astrology was considered more of a science than homeopathy, history and economics. Europe appears to be pro-astrology.

In Greece, ‘What star sign are you?’ is the first question someone will ask a stranger after they have obtained name, occupation and age. In dating, star signs are considered valuable insights. ‘He’s a Pisces? They’re great but they don’t know what they want.’ ‘A Libra? He’s a keeper.’ ‘A Cancerian? They’re sensitive. Don’t break his heart, woman. ‘

In the UK, astrology is widespread in the print media; most women’s magazines have a section devoted to horoscopes, numerology or runes. But at the same time, they are not generally brought up as ice breakers and they are usually not used as deal breakers in relationships.

In Sweden, reading horoscopes is a popular hobby. In a 2001 national survey, nine of ten students indicated that they read horoscopes. But, reading horoscopes and their prevalence in the media does not mean that we believe in them wholeheartedly. It does not mean that we hand over our destiny to astrologers, fortune tellers or a pack of cards with pretty pictures. The reason I am writing this meant-to-be article is because I asked to write it.

I am certain that the majority of European women understand that hiding in their flat on a Friday night is not going to help them meet Mr. Right; despite Mars entering the right part of their chart. Most women know that to get the job of their dreams, they actually need to apply for it.

Sure, its fun reading Susan Miller and its fun having our fortune told by a woman with Cleopatra eyes and a heavy accent we just can’t place. But, if we’re not making an effort, if we’re not actively in pursuit of shaping our own destiny, all the aligned planets in all the parallel universes will not help us get closer to having someone to love and something to do.

Horoscopes, tarot, astrology simply give European women a reason to have something to hope for. And as much as I don’t want to believe, sometimes hope is reason enough to believe.