Scorpions need not apply
28/Nov/11 07:55
You might think that as an astrologer I would like to see astrology in the news. I suppose I might, if the news were at all helpful to astrology, but that's rarely the case.
This past weekend, another example of "no news is good news" made it into the press, with the report that a Chinese firm has said that Virgos and Scorpios have strong personalities and are too moody, and they would not be hired. Apparently, Capricorns, Libras, and Pisces are especially encouraged to join the firm.
The story is a bit dodgy. It was reported through Yahoo News and it did not name the firm. In fact, it comes from a job ad posted at Wuhan University, through an English-language training company. And although they are in China, they are concerned about Western sun signs. If it weren't for the serious atmosphere in China, it might be dismissed as a hoax.
But no matter! Like the 13th zodiac sign that made the papers last February, controversy has been stirred up and astrology looks silly. The idea that one or two zodiac signs would not be good for a job sounds - and is - preposterous. I can imagine how many people are looking at their wonderful Virgo and Scorpio coworkers and shaking their heads at the stupidity of astrology.
Some fans of astrology might be tempted to say that the problem is with astrological sun signs. If you wanted to know how a person would do at a job, you'd need to see their whole chart. But even with all the signs and aspects taken into account, along with synastry, you still wouldn't know how the energetic pattern of the chart is manifesting. It's a complex Cosmos, and astrology is only one piece of the puzzle.
I did know a Gemini woman who was head of speech pathology department at a hospital. She unwittingly assembled a staff of about 8 other Gemini's, making an entire department of Twins! But that type of thing is a Mercurial mystery, not a plan for running a business.
Some astrologers were upset when Finland barred companies from taking astrology into account in hiring people, but I thought it was a good idea. They also banned psychological tests, and I liked astrologers being put in the same company with psychologists. And I also thought the reasoning in both cases is sound - hiring people ought to imply a degree of personal responsibility on the part of the employer, and tests (physical, psychological, or astrological) are likely to wind up discriminating against people who would do a fine job.
The damage is done. A story like this has about 30 seconds of news appeal before its gone. No one who thought, "how stupid!" is going to give it a second thought. Mercury is retrograde, and I'll bet he's laughing.
This past weekend, another example of "no news is good news" made it into the press, with the report that a Chinese firm has said that Virgos and Scorpios have strong personalities and are too moody, and they would not be hired. Apparently, Capricorns, Libras, and Pisces are especially encouraged to join the firm.
The story is a bit dodgy. It was reported through Yahoo News and it did not name the firm. In fact, it comes from a job ad posted at Wuhan University, through an English-language training company. And although they are in China, they are concerned about Western sun signs. If it weren't for the serious atmosphere in China, it might be dismissed as a hoax.
But no matter! Like the 13th zodiac sign that made the papers last February, controversy has been stirred up and astrology looks silly. The idea that one or two zodiac signs would not be good for a job sounds - and is - preposterous. I can imagine how many people are looking at their wonderful Virgo and Scorpio coworkers and shaking their heads at the stupidity of astrology.
Some fans of astrology might be tempted to say that the problem is with astrological sun signs. If you wanted to know how a person would do at a job, you'd need to see their whole chart. But even with all the signs and aspects taken into account, along with synastry, you still wouldn't know how the energetic pattern of the chart is manifesting. It's a complex Cosmos, and astrology is only one piece of the puzzle.
I did know a Gemini woman who was head of speech pathology department at a hospital. She unwittingly assembled a staff of about 8 other Gemini's, making an entire department of Twins! But that type of thing is a Mercurial mystery, not a plan for running a business.
Some astrologers were upset when Finland barred companies from taking astrology into account in hiring people, but I thought it was a good idea. They also banned psychological tests, and I liked astrologers being put in the same company with psychologists. And I also thought the reasoning in both cases is sound - hiring people ought to imply a degree of personal responsibility on the part of the employer, and tests (physical, psychological, or astrological) are likely to wind up discriminating against people who would do a fine job.
The damage is done. A story like this has about 30 seconds of news appeal before its gone. No one who thought, "how stupid!" is going to give it a second thought. Mercury is retrograde, and I'll bet he's laughing.