horoscope

A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ōra and scopos meaning "time" and "observer" (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or "marker(s) of the hour"). It is claimed by proponents of astrology that a horoscope can be used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology, although practices surrounding astrology have been recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century. Horoscope columns are often featured in print and online newspapers.
In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually based on a system of solar Sun sign astrology, based strictly on the position of the Sun at the time of birth or on the calendar significance of an event, as in Chinese astrology. In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry predictive columns, written in prose that may be written more for increasing readership than tied directly to the Sun or other aspects of the Solar System, allegedly based on celestial influences in relation to the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the month of birth, cusp (two days before or after any particular sign, an overlap), or decant (the month divided into three ten-day periods) of the person's month of birth, identifying the individual's Sun sign or "star sign" based on the tropical zodiac.
In Hindu astrology, birth charts are called kundali, and they are claimed to be based on the movement of stars and the Moon. Auspicious events and rituals are started after checking a person's kundali, including marriage, in which the birth charts of the boy and girl are matched.The kundali further records tithi, rashi, nakshatra, and D-charts, which are analyzed to determine personality traits and to choose auspicious timings for important rituals and decisions
No scientific studies have shown support for the accuracy of horoscopes, and the methods used to make interpretations are considered examples of pseudoscience. In the modern scientific framework, no known interaction exists that could be responsible for the transmission of the alleged influence between a person and the position of stars in the sky at the moment of birth. In all tests completed, keeping strict methods to include a control group and proper blinding between experimenters and subjects, horoscopes have shown no effect beyond pure chance. Furthermore, some psychological tests have shown that it is possible to construct personality descriptions and foretelling generic enough to satisfy most members of a large audience simultaneously, referred to as the Forer or Barnum effect.

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