One of the oldest “sciences” in the world is astrology. It operates on the principle of “as above, so below”, which is to say that the movements of the heavens affect the movements of people here on earth. The majority of it is probably bunk, but sometimes it’s fun to read a horoscope and laugh about it.

It’s also not bad as a “know thyself” tool: while reading through a description of “me” either as a rooster or an aquarius, I will often have several “aha!” moments. “Wow, I totally do that, I should change.” or “Wouldn’t it be great if that was how I responded to adversity?

I like to think of it like I think of the tides: the positions of two major planets affect lakes and oceans and inlets in different but obvious ways. They could very well affect us, too. That their affects are sewn up in any newspaper horoscope that you read is unlikely.

So this week: read your horoscope for a few days. Think of it less as a road map of your life and more as a tool for looking within. Most horoscopes are written broadly so could apply to anything that happens to you. This, too, could be an opportunity to step out of your everyday and look at something mundane that you do as something extraordinary.

Bonus: read your horoscope in conjunction with that of your spouse, child, best friend, or arch enemy.