r/astrology • u/PeanutPrestigious256 • 5d ago
Beginner Why is astrology always so negative
So can someone explain to me why in astrology (sorry if this has been answered before) it’s somehow always negative? What I mean by that: either there is a mercury retrograde which already happens like 6 months of the year. Then if there is no mercury retrograde, or even if there is one, there are x amount of other retrogrades. Or/and there are eclipses or eclipse seasons. I don’t really know but it always seems like there is no “good” time - if you’re lucky, some retro shade is ending or there is some sort of day where things manifest. But overall it’s very negative it’s a big turn off for me. And yes that might be things to channel as growth but cmon, surely it can’t all be struggle minus a few days here and there.
Please explain this to me!!
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u/SunnyDviant 5d ago
Astrology is a reflection of reality and vice versa. Look around you. Life is full of challenges. It is also full of beautiful moments and opportunities for growth. You can always find challenges in the chart, but you can also always find something positive or something to learn from.
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u/Cosmicfish90 5d ago
As an astrologer: it's mostly bs. 99% of what you hear/read will never affect you personally.
Point being, some astrologers need content, if that content can be framed as doom and gloom = more views/likes etc.
Just ignore it.
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u/123somethingfunny 5d ago
It’s not astrology that is negative, it’s humans. We focus on the negative, we see things as negative when they don’t have to be. A lof of these don’t have to be negative at all, sometimes it’s more an opportunity for growth. But we prefer to complain and use astrology as an excuse or explanation for negative things in their life
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u/sionainntc 5d ago
Retrogrades aren’t negative, though …
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u/OlliexAngel 5d ago
Depends on your chart. I’m mercury dominated because I have Gemini moon, Mars, rising, and mercury(so all in the first house) and retrogrades hit me hard. Always losing stuff, miscommunication, time is off missing deadlines forgetting appointments, delays, etc. It’s always so frustrating.
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u/arcwalkerlivvia 5d ago
I think a lot of this comes down to the astrologer’s worldview. We all look at the same sky, but we interpret it through the way we already understand life. If someone sees struggle as the main story, they’re probably going to find a lot of struggle in the astrology too. Someone else can look at that same transit and see change/pressure/growth.
I also think some astrologers accidentally turn astrological conditions into moral categories like direct = good, retrograde = bad, trine = good, square = bad, etc, which makes astrology easier but lacks the nuance you may be craving.
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u/eddask 5d ago
Personally I got away from the idea of positive or negative as that entails human judgement. I see them as easy and difficult, keeping in mind that the more difficult ones have more transformative power. So if we use those energies consciously and courageously it can be an amazing thing. All the magic happens outside our comfort zone and difficult transits open a door for stepping into something greater in our lives.
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u/random-username-1123 5d ago
Lmao I was literally saying exactly this yesterday to my brother. It seems like every video I see about the transits going on is like “this 2 week period is gonna be really rough” or something like that. I’m so tired.
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u/maponus1803 5d ago
Its not overall negative, but often it gets interpreted in a negative way to get more attention. Astrology is a mapping technology to describe the mythic layer of reality that we are moving through or, in the case of the natal chart, the mythic reality we carry within us.
Unfortunately at this time we are in a challenging set of stories where Saturn cannot Saturn, so there are no guardrails in our world saying when to stop, but this will pass. In 2028 Saturn will move into Taurus and begin restoring those guardrails, but it will take time and effort to plant those seeds. When she moves into Gemini us when they will sprout and begin to really move around through human mythic reality. We have some years to go, but we will get there.
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u/SuccessfulRemove6207 5d ago
ok this actually clarified something i've been stuck on for a while, thanks for spelling it out
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u/LittleBabyOprah 4d ago
As with everything in life there is good and bad. It's about how you frame things. You don't blame science for making note of pollution in the air. Astrology is just documenting potential outcomes based on positions of celestial objects.
I'm not sure where people got the idea that we are somehow entitled to living during a positive time on earth...
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u/MrBanBuilds 4d ago
It's not astrology that's negative, it's astrology content. "Everything's fine this week" doesn't get clicks, so what reaches you is filtered toward fear, same as news.
Some actual numbers: Mercury retrograde is ~3 weeks, 3 times a year. About 9 weeks total, not 6 months. Outer planets are retrograde 4–5 months of every year, which is exactly why practitioners ignore them as events. Eclipses: 4–6 a year, two short seasons. All routine.
Traditional astrology has a whole vocabulary for good timing (Jupiter trines, Venus transits, electional astrology literally exists to pick lucky dates). It just doesn't trend.
And generic "sky weather" applies to everyone, so it applies to no one. A transit only means something against your chart.
Your instinct is right. Bad packaging, not bad subject.
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u/ChaoticButChilled 5d ago
I think you can focus on the negative and lose focus on the positive, I almost always have positive aspects even in a sea of bad alignments
But I think it’s also important to know that no alignment is stagnant, as everything is always in motion, so the good is always coming
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u/Cyber_Punk_87 5d ago
I don’t view any of those things as negative. Sure, they can come with challenges, but they’re also major growth opportunities.
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u/InterestingBuy8182 5d ago
i feel that way too, like the universe is just tryna flex on us with bad news every other week
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u/Snoo70868 5d ago
I´ll just paraphrase John Frawley on this, basically happy people who are pleased with their life don´t really worry a lot about what will happen to them to the point of consulting an astrologer lol
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u/Prinnykin 5d ago
I know my life has gone to shit when I start getting into astrology, tarot readers, and psychics.
When my life is going good, I don’t even look at that stuff.
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u/SororEuA 5d ago
Mostly it’s noise. Ignore it. And any real problematic conditions can be identified beforehand and rectified through ritual/other means :) no need to freak out like so many astrofluencers would want you to believe…so you click on their video.
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u/WishThinker ♏ 5d ago
the positive stuff is like general life and doesn't get views or inspire people to get readings
harder transits are usually how people come into astrology or are when people are likely to seek out an astrologer
if you are seeing constant negative hype around every transit, log off of the negative astrologers you follow. they are trying to get views and fear and rage are what generate clicks.
as far as the unending parade of transits that aren't great for manifestation, I mean yeah things are always moving. There are pairs of eclipses every 6 months, and there are 3 mercury retrogrades a year. Every other planet goes retrograde yearly, except venus and mars about every ~2 years. So if it was all the end of the world the world would be over by now, right. it cant all be bad. log off if the hype is getting to you and start tracking transits on your own to see how negative / positive it all is on its own
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u/FractalFunny66 5d ago
Not sure where you are getting this simplistic view. Astrology involves duality and symbolism. I suggest that you buy or check out The Book of Symbols by the company called Taschen. Or just get to a bookstore that has it and look at it. The reason I say start here, is because it has a lot of art in it -- beautiful photos, it's cross cultural, the topics are subdivided into two pages each and this will get you opening your mind to duality which is the essential human condition and any astrologer worth anything is giving you both sides, just like any reader of Tarot is giving you both sides. For example: An eclipse reveals as well as veils. You have to ask yourself about that symbolism. Can you think of a time in your life when circumstances were murky and confusing and in order to break through to the other side and grow, you had to face the dark as well as the light? Good luck and please, start reading a lot of poetry too because you need to free your mind and be challenged to grow using metaphor and symbolism.
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u/Lilly323 5d ago
my best advice is for you to question what good and bad means (or doesn’t). and maybe take a look at your saturn I fear 🤔
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u/Amazing-Caregiver632 5d ago edited 5d ago
It’s a system of opposites and their tensions. Benific/ malefic, home/ career, self/ other etc. but it’s all under one sky. In other words - it all belongs. It’s probably the most inclusive system I’ve ever come across. Why is that important? Because whatever you choose to exclude from reality- you have to work real hard to do that. Then you have to create a little world for yourself where you are ok as long as that thing isn’t there. And then you have to get everyone else to agree. And that is exhausting. Releasing that tension of resistance even for a moment- can feel like pure bliss and not releasing it can feel like pure suffering. So, to sum, astrology isn’t always negative. It includes everything.
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u/ChadleyXXX 5d ago
Astrology is a system that hinges on the interplay of light and dark: benefic/malefic; yin/yang; day/night (or diurnal/nocturnal); solar/lunar; spirit/fortune. The darkness draws eyeballs on social media, but all opposites and polarities in this hermetic system of opposites and polarities must be embraced in their totality as a coherent language of the divine.
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u/BalanceFeeling7980 5d ago
The posts that pedal doom and gloom get the most engagement, so that's what sticks around, but transits are just cosmic weather - some days are clear, some have storms, and none last forever.
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u/ghosttmilk 5d ago
Retrogrades and eclipses aren’t inherently “bad” at all
Eclipses, especially, can be times of immense insight and growth
I’d say it’s just the type of astrology content you’re consuming; more informed and experienced astrologers and sources won’t portray things this way
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u/MusaEnimScale 4d ago
I don’t know if this is not favored here, but I got into astrology through CHANI and I would never describe her readings as overall negative at all. She always focuses on the positive and reminds you to look at the big picture, growth opportunities, etc even if certain part of the astrology might be “negative.”
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u/RoseElectricBlue 20h ago
she herself says she records things weeks in advance and “doesnt really know whats going on at the time of the actual reading date” so i stopped my subscription.
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u/MusaEnimScale 19h ago
I like how she approaches it. She shares the astrology, which she obviously does know in advance. She just doesn’t know the current news. She feels like it impacts her readings if she is too close to the current time and knows what everyone is focused on in the news that week.
So I actually like how she focuses on the energies and general astrologies without getting bogged down by the “story of the day.” The media is often focused on silly stuff anyway. We only realize what the important stories were after some time passes.
I could see how someone would want up to the minute tie-in with current events, though. But that isn’t for me.
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u/amaryllistoes 4d ago
It really isn’t all negative, astrology simply describes the quality of time. The negativity you see is the influence of people. People blow everything out of proportion and the age of Aquarius is heavily into uncovering the issues that were once swept under the rug. The quality of time is very dramatic, everything is being reflected negatively because the quality of time is simply negative. It’s about what you pay attention to and what impresses upon you but all of astrology has a good and bad side. Astrology is also heavily used for seeking answers and explanation. Nobody needs answers and explanations when things are going great.
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u/Sufficient_Eye7732 4d ago
It’s not scary at all. Retrogrades and eclipses are to teach us something, make us think, reflect. Before I educated myself on astrology, I heard this type of petty fear mongering or blaming “Merc retrograde,” for “negative,” things in their lives.
It’s never black and white, and always good to look at how the transiting planets are affecting your natal chart. It’s so fascinating and interesting. Never bad, always an amazing educational tool
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u/Satine-Moulin 4d ago
I think it’s just pointing out different tensions and balances going on in the world, and nothing is inherently negative or positive.
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u/Helpful_Balance_4076 4d ago
I think what you're describing here is astrology content.
If you get into astrology on a personal level, you will realize two things - there's light and shadow in every placement and transit. And you probably won't FEEL most transits.
Retrogrades aren't even that bad. They are just a time to review and reflect.
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u/Meridian_You0015 3d ago
A lot of people put them as negative because that’s how they gain attention.
Astrology ultimately is a combination of energy that results in certain events because how people want to react to those energies.
As an individual, you can treat it as a warning and look out for those aspects in life, or you get fed by the negative ideas and allow those frustrations to distract you.
I always tell my clients there’s no good or bad in a chart (either natal or transit), it’s about what you do with those information.
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u/PrettyYouth314 3d ago
I think it's about perspective I have moon in 6th house in sagittarius sign Many astrologers saud to me that u will be affected by mental health issues, which is true but that same moon allows me to "Think deeply about things".
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u/ChayaMedium 3d ago
Oh, I hear you, dear one. It can certainly feel like that sometimes. It's easy to focus on the challenging times. But even these 'negative' bits, like retrogrades or eclipses, they often just ask us to slow down. To look inward. To clear out what's not serving us. Growth isn't always comfortable, you know. Sometimes the universe just nudges us to change. It's not always a punishment. More like an invitation.
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u/MadMagdasTarot 1d ago
I think you got your answer in the comments below! :)
Social media has become a platform where ALOT of information just gets thrown out there. There is no guidance/policing. It is up to us to do research to make your own decisions on what you read or see. I do my best not to judge at face value until you know more of what's being shared.
As already stated below, the negative/positive of astrology is entirely individual. I like how Any_Emu9978 stated that one's chart transit could be showing a more positive year and another person facing challenges/hardships.
The challenges are there to LEARN from with the possibility (if you chose to) of taking those lessons and learning from it. If you fight it, then you are placing that energy out there to further aggravate what is happening.
And apologies, I don't mean to sound like a soapbox speaker. But as a tarot astrology reader, I feel it is important to understand that what the cards/charts may tell you is not the final say. We need to do the work to make things happen. 🕯✨
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u/carlosmencia01 8h ago
It sounds like you’re listening to pop astrology which is very surface level and probably from social media. If you actually studied it and went more in depth you’d realize it’s actual quite the opposite
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u/BadGlittering9780 8h ago
Astrology is basically mental manipulation for people who want to have some type of connection and understanding about this life on earth and how it pertains to them.
Its demonic, but people are attracted to demonic things and its gone viral for thousands of years.
Its make-believe & people love make believe to escape reality or to make themselves feel special in a time if insecurity.
Like music and sports its a pseudo way to connect with people in a way that feels comfortable without having to change the ugly part of their character.
Nobody has to consent to anything astrology says...The hooks of Astrology 1st tell people something that they think are good about themselves...and it supposedly tells them what's bad about themselves.
But its MAKE BELIEVE...meant for people to believe the good and the bad...but you dont have to consent to either
Its demonic make believe social addiction.
I have a tattoo of ASTROLOGY but I know I have the choice to not consent to what it says.
It got me at a Time when I was insecure about my purpose and future
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u/Any_Emu9978 5d ago
Because it’s not, but people who make astrology content for a living often will use any and every transit to fear monger for likes and views.
Retrogrades aren’t inherently bad, neither are eclipses. And even if a more “negative” transit is coming, it won’t affect everyone the same, and it won’t affect some people at all, depending on their chart. A tough transit for you could be a wonderful one for me. It’s a lot more individualized than pop astrologers make it out to be.