A soft science that has pervaded the years and changed along with it, Astrology now is at times limited to horoscopes detailed in newspapers and magazines. In the early days, it was given its due when Emperors consulted their wise men and astrologers on almost all aspects of their lives to ensure positive results. These astrologers were consulted about the time when they should initiate a battle, the time of marriage, whether a marriage will be successful or not and if they should take certain actions among other things.
Even though things have changed and one no longer comes across these people for individual advice, their presence can be felt in the numerous books that have been written on the subject.
You can find books based on predicting and telling the future based on numerology, the position of the stars at the time of birth. Some Indian astrologers draw up a chart based on the exact time and location of your birth and have the knack of mentioning incidents in your past that can send a shiver down your spine.
Some of the books are based on the zodiac signs. These books will tell you that there are twelve signs of the zodiac and are divided into four genres based on the main elements - Fire, Air, Water and Earth. The fire signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are fiery and enthusiastic. They are the kind of people who are likely to take risks in their lives and are always up to something or the other whether it is mischievous or constructive. The air signs include Libra, Aquarius and Gemini and are considered as the intellectual lot. The water signs of Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio include emotional people who take most of their decision with the heart. The earth sign encompasses the remaining three signs of Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo. They have a no-nonsense, matter of fact approach to life and are mostly level headed.
Within these broad genres each sign has certain characteristics that are listed out by the experts. For example, you will generally find that a Taurean person is extremely stubborn but may be the best person to have around in times of an emergency since they are extremely down-to-earth. A Sagittarius will always like to be a free bird and hate to be tied down with restrictions, social pressures and the like. Most Sagittarians are happy as entrepreneurs and generally crib while taking orders from others. Male and female of the same zodiac sign may have different traits and certain traits may surface only under certain circumstances.
Even though some people find it absurd that the position of the stars at the time of birth should dictate personality traits, reading a book that describes these characteristic and then following up with a fair amount of observation may leave you dumb-founded at the similarities that you might discover.
Another interesting aspect of this science is the skill behind matchmaking. It is accepted that finding a perfect match is not possible but it can help in avoiding gross mistakes. Also there are certain rules that one can go by. Soul mates of the same zodiac sign may end up with similar issues and they may double up. A Cancer-Cancer marriage may result in too much sulking and a Leo-Leo partnership may end up in fiery fights every day followed by excessively passionate love-making (which may not be a bad idea after all).
One is not suggesting that the search for a soul mate should start with asking him or her his zodiac sign but a study of this may make you aware of the likely pitfalls so that you can avoid them skillfully.
To read more about your destiny and astrology visit http://womendiscover.com