Does this Prove Astrology is Valid?

Across the spectrum of philosophies and religions, few grant significant influence—if any—to the events happening beyond Earth's atmosphere. References to 'Heaven Above' rarely refer to the physical domain of space.

We could categorize exceptions to this general lack of extraterrestrial attention into three types of people. The first would be those who make space their livelihood. As an example, the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson likely thinks about outer space more in a day than the average person does in a year. He is influenced by the stars. 

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The second group would be those faithful to modern religious movements within which doctrines and tenets ascribe divine aspects to planets and stars. That is their faith, and whatever else it might be, we can call it space-based

The third, and perhaps most resilient, school of thought is not confined to any one cohesive ideology. Although its popularity has waxed and waned throughout history, it can be found across the globe: I refer, of course, to astrology.

Astrology, while lacking clear definition or organizational centrality, is generally understood as the belief that astronomical objects exert a metaphysical influence on our lives and character. Some astrologers assign houses of influence to the planets and analyze their relative positions to create horoscopes - individual assessments of the astrological influence at play at any particular moment in time. People of power and influence sometimes believe these predictions to such an extent that disastrous decisions then follow. That’s astrology in its most absurd form. 

More easily accepted is the notion that when we are born has an effect on who we become.

In Western astrology, most of us are familiar with the signs of the zodiac and probably know what sign we were born under. It’s been labeled pseudo-science to accept as true certain qualities are baked into one’s character at birth, based on the arbitrary distinctions of the 12 Zodiac. Regardless, the belief persists. Although “what’s your sign?” is rarely heard these days, it is believed by many that Leos tend to be quite able leaders, Aquarius is a sign full of dreamers and idealists. Cancerians are nurturing and Libra are fun to be around. Any treatment of astrological thought consistently presents these common sun-sign characteristics

My personal interest in astrology has been shaped by my own story. As a child with a vivid imagination, I loved everything related to outer space. Growing up without a prescribed religion, I was free to pick and choose what I wanted to believe. At its core, astrology is space-based, which made it cool and as it was so accepted by the culture of the time, I figured they can’t all be nuts. So when I eventually read works from popular astrologists, I could see clearly that I had the characteristics of a Gemini, my particular sign of birth. I’ll spare the reader the full list of mercurial Gemini traits, but suffice it to say that the very act of writing this long-form piece seems to reinforce the belief in Gemini's link to communication.

My confidence in the validity of the sun-signs was nearly shattered by a chance encounter. In my early adolescence, at a local Supercuts while I was waiting around for a family member to finish being supercutted, I saw a sarcastic representation of the  Zodiac that was intended to be humorous. With nothing to keep me occupied, the poster on the wall caught my attention. It showed cartoonish characterizations of the worst aspects of the common conceptions of these mythical divisions of our calendar.  For Gemini, it showed the twins. One twin was in a prisoner's uniform and scowled like a hardcore felon, whereas the other twin wore heart-shaped glasses, flamboyant clothes and posed with a limp wrist.  Was I destined to become one of these two?  No!  It can’t be!

I was a boy who was frequently in trouble and perhaps that was predictive of a future life of crime. As for the other twin, I was already starting to feel attracted to girls at that age and was looking forward to getting older and finding out more about these things called girls. Was I destined to have all of that disappear and become gay? I was suddenly much deposed to reject astrology and its fatalistic consequences.

Over time, I recovered from my visit to the oracle of the hairdresser and its prediction of me becoming a felon or a f… another word that begins with F. Later, at university, I found studies on the psychology of astrology that debunked the idea of inherent character clusters assignable to the signs. These studies highlighted how people exhibit confirmation bias, readily accepting positive traits as determinant of their character.

It occurred to me that an even more rigorous way to challenge the validity of astrology would be through data analysis. Specifically, I decided to test a very common astrological claim: that Geminis possess exceptional communication skills. To do this, all one needs is a large sample of verifiable 'great communicators' and their dates of birth.

Thanks to modern data-mining AI, I knew this analysis was achievable. I was ready to settle the matter once and for all, fully expecting my personal Gemini conceptions to be debunked. What I found was startling: The results I’m about to present show a very strong, statistically significant correlation—one that borders on proving the hypothesis to be true.

The Hypothesis:

People born between May 21 and June 20 (Gemini) tend to have exceptional communication skills, leading to more of them becoming famous leaders, writers, and celebrities.

Methodology:

To test this, I needed a large, unbiased sample of individuals whose success was demonstrably linked to communication and leadership. Thanks to modern data mining, I was able to gather a sample of 277 names whose distinctions are likely earned by individuals possessing the skills noted in the hypothesis.

Specifically, the AI was asked to compile the names of:

• Nobel Peace Prize laureates
• Presidents of the USA
• Sec Generals of the UN
• Pulitzer Prize winners
• Hugo Award winners
• Coaches enshrined in the basketball or football halls of fame
• Losers of the US Presidential Elections
• Female Heads of state
• Time Magazine Person of the Year
• Significant revolutionaries
• There were a few other search prompts to ensure greater geographical and gender diversity 

If the distribution of signs were purely random, with 12 equal signs, we would expect each sign to account for approximately 1/12 of the sample, or  23.08  people.

The Statistical Results: A Non-Random World

Sample Size: 277 names
See Appendix A for the complete list
RESULTS:

The data is unequivocal. The distribution of sun signs among this elite sample of communicators and leaders is not random.

Based on a sample size of 277 highly accomplished individuals, we expected to see approximately 23 Geminis. Instead, we observed an astonishing 35 Geminis. This result corresponds to a Z-score of approximately 2.59, meaning there is only a 0.48% chance of observing this many Geminis if the distribution were truly random. In statistical terms, we have proven with over 99% certainty that the Gemini sun sign is significantly overrepresented among this elite group.

Final Thoughts

So, where does that leave us? Did we prove astrology is real?

Statistically, we proved something just as fascinating: The distribution of birth dates among this group of the world's most successful communicators is not random. The data shows a powerful, statistically significant correlation linking the Gemini sign with fame and leadership. While these numbers alone cannot rule out other variables—such as seasonal birth rate fluctuations or other external factors—they successfully reject the null hypothesis that all birth signs are equally represented.

For a curious mind who once feared the fatalistic twins of a Supercuts poster, finding such strong, quantifiable evidence is thrilling. The data doesn't just suggest a connection; it demands further investigation into why certain birth periods are so powerfully linked to success in communication and leadership. Perhaps the stars truly do influence us, or perhaps we've just found a statistically robust seasonal advantage—either way, this is a discussion that is just beginning.

Link to my raw data

Appendix A: 277 notable communicators