"Venus will be in retrograde motion soon, so you'd better be careful about your finances."

"You're a typical Aquarius girl – superstitious and easily swayed."

"You Leo girls are oversensitive and stubborn, so forget it! It was predicted that I'd fight over small problems this week."

The above is part of a conversation overheard between two girl students in a Beijing university dormitory. It supports the findings of a recent survey jointly conducted by China Youth Daily and www.sina.com.cn that shows an increasing number of Chinese people are now interested in Western astrology.

Among the 3,016 people surveyed, 92.4 percent reported predictions from the movements of the constellations; 71.6 percent had an interest in the Chinese zodiac; and 66 percent knew more about themselves via blood type tests.

With the popularization of the Internet, Western astrology is more readily available and accepted by many, especially young people, the survey said. Xiao Ling, a middle school girl, refused an interview when she learned the China Youth Daily reporter was a Pisces. "Oh, forget it! Pisces people are my sworn enemies," she exclaimed.

The girl's attitude is in line with many of those interviewed, with 16.3 believing in astrology absolutely, 41.5 percent thinking of it as "a way of entertainment," 67.3 percent taking it as an occasional reference in their lives, and 16.4 percent totally dismissing it.

The results of the investigation and views of experts in popular science seem to coincide. Li Daguang, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been engaged in the study of horoscopes for many years.

"The horoscope has nothing directly to do with people's scientific qualities," Prof. Li said. "As Hollywood movies can present people with beautiful imagery, the emergence of forecasting with horoscopes reflects people's psychological needs under modern social conditions."

"The information given may seem incomprehensible, but is often closely related to people's interests, which can raise their spirits even if they are far from convinced of the validity of the predictions," Prof. Li added. The survey shows that 72.4 percent are "eager to have a better understanding of themselves" through astrology, while 52.5 percent merely think of it as "amusing." These form the two biggest motivations for people to study their horoscopes.

"The fierce competition and fast pace of life aggravate people's psychological pressures. They have to look for various ways to obtain spiritual sustenance and studying their horoscope is one means of this," said Prof. Li.

Liu Jia, a professor from the Beijing Normal University, believes that using horoscopes is a response to people's difficulties in adapting to the rapidly changing environment and the complications of social association. "This is especially true among young people who are not familiar with the ways of the world. As they grow older and become experienced in social association, the frequency of studying astrology and relying on it will decrease to some extent," Prof. Liu predicted.

Prof. Li Daguang added that the horoscope originated from foreign countries several hundred years ago. The fact that the generally acknowledged "pseudo-science" still prevails is because foreigners just see it as "something amusing" instead of a serious science.

"Take, for example, the United States, a country in the top ranks of scientific study, where the number of people who regularly study their horoscopes is several times greater than China," Prof. Li said.

Although many of those interviewed engaged and believed in astrology to a certain extent, most still thought that "one's destiny is in one's own hands and working hard can change everything;" and "sincere and active exchanges and association are the basic means of gaining better understanding of oneself and others."

Prof. Li worried that the astrological predictions, which have absolutely no scientific basis, still had the ability to "mislead" some people.

"While permitting the existence of different voices, we should give the people, especially juveniles, rational guidance to develop their scientific views and outlook on life. Once scientific education is popularized, these astrological predictions will become merely a kind of entertainment style."

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, August 10, 2007)