孫佳慧

Whether you believe in it or not， astrology has a huge fan base in China

聊星座其實(shí)是一種社交技巧

For those with an open mind toward astrology， human society seems pretty simple. As long as they know someones birthday， they can become experts on anyone： For example， Sagittarius is an adventurer， Pisces a dreamer or healer， and a Capricorn is a variable workaholic.

Horoscopes are staple reading material online. Posts on Tongdao Dashu， a Weibo account dedicated to the 12 zodiac signs， gets thousands of shares each， and the account has gained nearly 15 million followers since its creation in 2013. In 2016， the company behind this account sold 72.5 percent of its stake at a jaw-dropping value of over 200 million RMB， which probably gives some clue to how popular astrology in China is.

But even those who are aware that there are more than just a dozen personality types in the world cant get enough of astrology talk. Thats because， in many cases， the zodiac signs can be useful tools for socializing. Consider meeting a stranger for the first time： You dont want to get too personal， nor ask clichéd questions about the weather， so a conversation about their star sign can help break the ice.

A： Whats your star sign？

N@ sh# sh9nme x～ngzu7 de？

你是什么星座的？

B： Im a Taurus.

W6 sh# J～nni% Zu7.

我是金牛座。

A： I heard that Tauruses are very good at managing financial matters. Is that true？

T～ngshu4 J～nni% Zu7 de r9n d4u h0n sh3nch1ng l@c1i. Sh# zh8nde ma？

聽說金牛座的人都很擅長理財(cái)。是真的嗎？

B： Not me. I always lose money in investments.

W6 ji& b% sh3nch1ng. W6 t5uz～ z6ngsh# p9iqi1n.

我就不擅長。我投資總是賠錢。

Talking about star signs might even be a shortcut to best-friendship：

A： You are a Gemini？ Thats great！

N@ sh# Shu`ngz@ Zu7？ T3i h2o le！

你是雙子座？太好了！

B： Why？

W-i sh9nme？

為什么？

A： Im a Sagittarius. Its said a Sagittarius always gets along with a Gemini.

W6 sh# Sh-sh6u Zu7. J&shu4; Sh-sh6u Zu7 h9 Shu`ngz@ Zu7 t-bi9 h9del1i.

我是射手座。據(jù)說射手座和雙子座合得來。

On the other hand， when a social interaction turns sour， astrology can be used to excuse ones less-than-positive traits—“its not my fault， the stars made me this way！”

A： Come on！ You have been looking through the menu for ages！ Cant you order quicker？

B3itu4！ N@ k3n c3id`n d4u k3n le y！ g- sh#j# le！ N9ng ku3i di2nr di2nc`n ma？

拜托！你看菜單都看了一個(gè)世紀(jì)了！能快點(diǎn)兒點(diǎn)餐嗎？

B： As a Libra， I was born with difficulty making up my mind.

Zu7w9i Ti`nch-ng Zu7， w6 ti`nsh8ng xu2nz9 k&nnan.;

作為天秤座， 我天生選擇困難。

Its even applicable to the workplace：

A： Youve asked me to modify a design draft over 10 times！ Youre so picky！

N@ d4u r3ng w6 g2ile sh！ bi3n sh-j# c2og2o le！ N@ zh8nshi t3i ti`oti le！

你都讓我改了十遍設(shè)計(jì)草稿了！你真是太挑剔了！

B： Sorry. I am a Virgo， therefore a perfectionist.

B3oqi3n， w6 sh# Ch^n） Zu7， w1nm0izh^y#zh0.

抱歉，我是處女座，完美主義者。

The stars can also help shut down annoying questions or proposals：

A： Why arent you married yet？ You know， I can fix you up with somebody nice.

N@ z0nme h1i m9i ji9h$n？ Q！sh！ w6 k0y@ g0i n@ ji-sh3o ge h2odu#xi3ng.

你怎么還沒結(jié)婚？其實(shí)我可以給你介紹個(gè)好對(duì)象。

B： Thanks， but the true love of an Aquarius is freedom.

Xi-xie， d3nsh# Shu@p！ng Zu7 de zh8n3i sh# z#y5u.

謝謝，但是水瓶座的真愛是自由。

Skepticism about astrology never vanishes. In case its not obvious， there is no scientific basis behind these stellar stereotypes； but even so， when conversing with the gullible， its easy to manipulate ones signs to suit ones own interests.

Try saying this in a job interview：

I am a Capricorn， so I am always hardworking.

W6 sh# M5ji9 Zu7， su6y@ w6 g4ngzu7 y！xi3ng f8ich1ng n^l#.

我是摩羯座，所以我工作一向非常努力。

Or on a first date， when discussing compatibility：

A： Family always comes first for us Cancers.

Du# w6men J&xi-; Zu7 l1i shu4， ji`t！ng y6ngyu2n sh# d# y～ w-i de.

對(duì)我們巨蟹座來說，家庭永遠(yuǎn)是第一位的。

B： Well， Im a Sagittarius. Though I wouldnt call myself a playboy， Im not really into a monotonous life.

Zu7w9i Sh-sh6u Zu7， su～r1n w6 b%sh# su6w-i de hu`hu` g4ngz@， d3n w6 qu-sh！ b% t3i x@huan n3zh6ng y# ch9ng b% bi3n de sh8nghu5.

作為射手座，雖然我不是所謂的花花公子，但我確實(shí)不太喜歡那種一成不變的生活。

When turning down an unwanted suitor， astrology is once again useful. Though it sounds extreme to reject someone based simply on their star sign， many people feel its kinder than giving out the real reason：

You are a good person， but an Aries and I are totally incompatible.

N@ r9n h0n h2o， d3nsh# w6 g8n B1iy1ng Zu7 w1nqu1n ch^bul1i.

你人很好，但是我跟白羊座完全處不來。

Usually， people can take a hint， but sometimes one may encounter really serious astrology experts who wont easily buy your astral mumbo-jumbo—thats OK， though， because the stars are nothing if not always ambiguous：

A： I dont think Aquariuses are all that free-spirited. Many of them really respect rules， and value order.

W6 r-nw9i Shu@p！ng Zu7 b& d4u n3me z#y5u s2nm3n. T`men d`ngzh4ng h0ndu4 r9n d4u z$nzh7ng gu～z9， ch5ngsh3ng zh#x&.

我認(rèn)為水瓶座不都那么自由散漫。他們當(dāng)中很多人都尊重規(guī)則，崇尚秩序。

B： Thats true， because the sun sign doesnt determine everything. People are also influenced by their moon and rising signs.

Qu-sh！ r%c@， y～nw-i t3iy1ng x～ngzu7 b#ng b&n9ng; ju9d#ng y！qi-. T`men h1i sh7u yu-liang x～ngzu7 h9 sh3ngsh8ng x～ngzu7 de y@ngxi2ng.

確實(shí)如此， 因?yàn)樘栃亲⒉荒軟Q定一切。他們還受月亮星座和上升星座的影響。

The trickiest group to deal with is the astrology haters， who may have been the unfortunate victims of bias， and even discrimination， due to their signs： a Virgo turned down for a job， after being labeled an intractable paranoid and control freak； a Gemini suspected of cheating on their spouse； a Scorpio scorned as a cold-blooded grudge holder； a Taurus called an emotionless miser…

When meeting someone who gets sniffy about any constellation-based talk， its good to prepare a path of retreat：

A： Astrology is complete nonsense！ I am a Leo， but when have I ever been arrogant， bossy， or self-centered？

X～ngzu7 w1nqu1n ji&shi; w%j～ zh～ t1n！ W6 sh# Sh～zi Zu7， d3n w6 sh9nme sh！hou 3om3n z#d3， y！zh@ q#sh@， y@ z#w6 w9i zh4ngx～n le？

星座完全就是無稽之談！我是獅子座，但我什么時(shí)候傲慢自大、頤指氣使、以自我為中心了？

B： Sure， Im a Pisces， but I dont spend all my time daydreaming， either！ Its just for fun， no one takes it seriously.

Sh# a， w6 sh# Shu`ngy% Zu7， y0 m9i ch9ngti`n ch9nm！ y% hu3nxi2ng a！ B%gu7 d3ji` ji&shi; shu4zhe w1n de， m9i r9n d3ngzh8n.

是啊，我是雙魚座，也沒成天沉迷于幻想??！不過大家就是說著玩的，沒人當(dāng)真。

One term， though， seems safe to use： 水逆 （shu@n#）， short for 水星逆行 （Shu@x～ng n#x！ng， Mercury in retrograde.） Feel free to blame 水逆 for anything unpleasant， since its the common enemy of all the signs.

A： It was the worst week of my life. Everything went wrong！

Zh- sh# w6 zu# d2om9i de y# zh4u le！ Sh9nme d4u b% sh&n;！

這是我最倒霉的一周了！什么都

不順！

B： It must be caused by Mercurys retrograde. But this will end soon.

K0nd#ng sh# Shu@n# y@nq@ de. D3nsh# Shu@n# h0nku3i ji&y3o; ji9sh& le.

肯定是水逆引起的。但是水逆很快就要結(jié)束了。

And on social media， heres a phrase sure to uplift your friends and yourself：

Mercurys retrograde begone！

Shu@n# tu#s3n！

水逆退散！

A simple call to the stars can dispel bad luck and make or break your entire social life—like magic！ Or maybe its a sign…