Can atheists believe in astrology? Absolutely! While it’s obvious that the most vocal nonbelievers reject anything that can’t be proven with hard science, there are certainly atheists and agnostics who enjoy studying and practicing divination.
Belief vs Interest
When you “believe in” something, especially a spiritual topic like astrology, it conveys the idea that you’re putting faith in it, and overzealous atheists scoff at the concept of belief in regards to things that aren’t proven. Of course, there are many people who put faith in the stars, and that’s their prerogative as well, but atheist witches, or even atheists who are simply interested in spirituality and the occult, don’t have to believe in anything to show interest in it. Having an interest in astrology is totally fine whether you want to believe everything you study pertaining to it or not.
In fact, human beings can be interested in a huge array of things without necessarily “believing” in them. You can be interested in horror movies but have absolutely no belief in swamp monsters, basement goblins or vampires. You can be interested in tabletop roleplaying games but have no belief in the fantasy worlds that surround them. You can be interested in the study of religion in general — many atheists are — and obviously not believe in the deities or myths that make them. Having an interest in astrology, whether you’re an atheist or not, is just like having any other interest. It just happens to be one that’s often associated with the occult, spirituality and the human mind — and that should really sound fun to just about anyone.
Atheists don’t have to share the same interests or beliefs
Just because some atheists don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it’s off limits to you or any other person who rejects belief in deities. Atheists are not a monolith and we do not all share the same collective beliefs, absence of beliefs or thoughts. All it means to be an atheist is that you don’t believe in gods; That’s it. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they’re simply being ignorant — and that’s okay too, because there’s no rule that says atheists have to be educated or even remotely intelligent, either.
There are several types of atheist, as this source highlights. There is also sort of a spectrum of atheism that ranges from agnosticism to hard skepticism and antitheism — and every possible philosophy in between the two. While there may be groups of atheists who share the same thoughts and ideas, that doesn’t mean every atheist believes the same things and it doesn’t mean that you’re required to fall in line with any of them either. That would make atheism a religion, and that is something it is not.
Many atheists enjoy astrology
According to a 2019 study, a huge number of people who identify as atheist declared a belief or interest in astrology and other occult concepts. About a 1/3 of atheists in China said they believe in astrology, and a quarter of atheists in Brazil believe in astrology as well as reincarnation and other spiritual ideas. If you’re an atheist and you’re interested in astrology, then clearly you’re not alone.
