By: Neoli Marcos

For many of us, the Internet is a mecca of free things. From free MP3 downloads to free ring tones to free porn to free screensavers. "Free" is a favorite word of Internet users who readily combine it with just about anything. Free anything is the motto, it seems. No doubt the Internet is democratizing everything, and astrology is no exception here. Enter online horoscopes, the unlikely but exciting intersection between technology and astrology. When was the last time you checked your horoscopes? Did you find yourself nodding? Did you wish to go the other way, and in effect prove your horoscope wrong? Or perhaps you can't help but wonder how it is that a few lines of general-sounding prescriptions and cautions can be so predictive. And tempting.

Horoscopes' appeal to people is not just because they are free, that they are widely available in dailies and magazines and on the Net too. Nuggets of advice just waiting for us to look into them. And we, well, we are inquisitive creatures, forever curious about the future, not just ours, but other's as well--our loved ones' perhaps, friends', enemies', anyone we come in contact with. We just have to take a peek.
Horoscopes offer us a neat capsule of our fate. They're there, for free, and there is certainly is no harm in consulting them, so much the better if things turn out well because of them.

Free Horoscopes You Share with Everyone ElseBut free horoscopes aren't always the best. Daily horoscopes found at the newspapers and in the Internet may be free, but unfortunately this virtue is also their weaknesses. The price people pay in getting free horoscopes is the fact that they share the same predictions with everyone else who shares their star sign.

The principle of Barnum Effect operates in this scenario. Quite bluntly, the Barnum Effect states that "there is a sucker born every minute." In the realm of astrology, this means people can be so gullible as to believe that their horoscope for the day applies to them perfectly, even if virtually anyone can claim that.
Daily horoscopes, in fact, are deliberately prepared by astrologers to make them apply to almost anyone, so that it serves as sneak previews for the day. Of course, the astrologer doesn't sacrifice the quality of divination.

For more accurate horoscopes though, the astrologer needs to study and calculate alignments of the stars and planets, birth date and location, cusps, aspects, patterns, and relationships with other signs in the Zodiac.

Needless to say, these crucial factors are all absent in the generic horoscopes we get for free in newspapers. Truly predictive horoscopes then are those that are personalised and tailor-fitted to individuals, carefully prepared by a credible astrologer. They may come with a price, but it is a price always worth it.