For senior Aleksey Ilyukh, fate is not a mystery. For him, fate is quite literally written in the stars in the form of horoscopes. According to Ilyukh, reading his horoscope is not just for fun. He reads horoscopes to gain insight into his upcoming day, so that he is prepared for what he encounters. Frequently, he said he has found them to be “crazy accurate.”

“[On Jan. 9,] my horoscope was talking about how one of my family members might be ill and that I shouldn’t worry, it’ll be okay,” said Ilyukh. “You know, over the summer my mom had heart surgery. Well, she was supposed to have her angiogram next week. Except yesterday I [got] a voicemail from her saying that her appointment [has] been changed and she’s going to have the angiogram now. Luckily, she’s completely fine. And my horoscope was completely right.”

Ilyukh said he believes that horoscopes help him understand his fate.

However, Rick Levine, founder of The Center for Astrological Research and Education, said horoscopes are not “fate-centric.” He said that they are more about predicting possible emotions and personalities than about predicting the future.

Levine, who has been the co-writer of  “Your Astrology Guide” for the past six years, has come to believe that there are many individuals who write horoscopes as “fluff pieces” without attempting to understand what they are talking about. Likewise, he believes that the majority of people who read horoscopes are ignorant of what they mean and how they are discerned.

According to Levine, horoscopes are the interpretation of the manner in which the planets interact. Depending on the alignment of the planets when and where a person was born, impacts his or her personality.

“Most commonly, people know their sun sign or their horoscope,” said Levine. “A horoscope is categorized under names such as Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, et cetera. And each sign has specific personalities associated with it.”

Senior Mary Chirawong Dilig has seen much of her personality replicated in the personality traits for her sign: Gemini. According to Levine, Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury and those born under that sign are typically very verbal and social.

“I see my personality reflected in the personality traits connected with my horoscope,” said Chirawong Dilig. “However, what I find is that it is all up for interpretation. I have a friend who is Gemini and though we are both social, we act very different sometimes. We read our horoscope one day and though it’s the same for both of us, we take it to mean very different things.”

Chirawong Dilig, like Levine, believes that horoscopes are subjective. She said although she sees her personality characteristic of Gemini, her horoscopes are often up to interpretation.

“I know horoscopes are incredibly popular for young people who don’t truly understand what they are,” said Levine. “But they aren’t necessarily ‘fate.’ Like almost everything, horoscopes have to be analyzed and internalized by whoever is reading them. They aren’t your fate, they help guide your fate.”