what kind of bird are you?
ways we can define ourselves - for fun or otherwise
Hello debaters, and welcome back. Again, if you’re new, welcome to the thought spiral of a 23 year old girl trying her best to reason with logic and ethics and the general state of our society. This week is about a topic that is extremely close to my heart. Maybe this will be the first post where I receive genuine backlash for my opinions. Who knows? I also want to remind everyone that if you disagree with any of what I post, the comments section is open and prepared for battle. If you’d like to duel, it would be my honor.
I’d like to disclose that I truly had no intention of writing the thesis length essay you will discover below. My intentions were to highlight these ways of categorizing ourselves, and well, my passions got the best of me. Sorry.
The Astrology Breakdown:
In the interest of complete and total honesty, I’ll drop my big three for clarity on my own perspective before we begin (because of course my point of view is influenced by my own signs). Leo Sun, Gemini Moon, Taurus Rising (a frightening combination, but intriguing nonetheless). It’s easy for me to sit here and say that I believe in astrology, both as a guide and as a map of your life experiences, when that has a lot to do with the bias I came into this world with. Being a Leo that believes in astrology is undemanding. All the first things I would search regarding my sign are just “you’re so pretty!”, “great hair!”, “natural leader,” and “so confident”, making the whole system easier to buy into. Who wouldn’t want to buy into a semi-religious way of thinking that seemingly exists to boost their ego?
Astrology is one of the easier personality indicators to grasp, simply because your chart cannot be changed or altered. However, the concept negates the idea of free will, by creating a plan for your life at the exact moment of your birth. It can be difficult to cope with the idea that our lives are pre-determined solely by our time, date and location of birth. Patterns in astrology help us identify common traits of events that happen to other people with the same signs or placements. Some astrologers explain this chart as an outline of the general path your life will follow, but when examined more closely, certain placements and houses can even predict how you will die or the ways in which you will reach success. I mean, there is an asteroid placement on my chart that literally means I will likely die of old age overseas; I guess only time will tell.
How do we even arrive at that conclusion based on numbers and symbols seemingly arbitrarily placed on a wheel? All the signs, degrees, houses and more work hand-in-hand to make your birth chart uniquely yours. It’s why for example Hugh Grant and Colin Firth have experienced such similar acting careers over the years - they were born in the same country, in the same year, exactly one day apart. If you’re hesitant about the reliability of astrology, that’s understandable. Honestly, how can I expect you to believe in something where your horoscope has been published in Buzzfeed articles that range from “what kind of pizza topping are you” to “all our favorite murderers who were Geminis?”
Oh my god. Sorry, now we’re really digging into the topic: yes, most serial killers documented have all been mutable signs. I don’t know why. It’s something to do with their adaptability within their personality and lack of respect for authority. Like yes, they’re all charming and would be the perfect cult leaders, and obviously some of them have figured that out. Furthermore, I’m a personal believer that the modalities listed below (mutable, cardinal, fixed) would lend better to a beginner in identifying the meaning of the signs on their chart.
While there are several apps that boast about their daily horoscopes and whatnot, the only thing I can strongly recommend is astrotheme.com which yes, looks to be from the pre-Y2K era, but has lots of features and descriptions with specific reasoning that would help any astrology beginner! Furthermore, if you’re an astrology novice, please delete “cusp” from your vocabulary. I don’t want to hear it. Understanding astrology on a deeper level has made many of my close friends reconsider their previous stance on its credibility. For example, maybe the reason you don’t align with the typical Virgo perception and think of yourself as a Virgo/Libra cusp is because you might have an air sign or cardinal moon.
If you’re less into the statistics/hardcore figures, and just want to know if you and your celebrity crush are compatible, then text your mom for your birth time and download thepattern.com
Myers Briggs Type Indicator:
These are the tricky little buggers that make having this conversation difficult. Your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of sixteen personality types based on a psychology theory by C. G. Jung. The types were published in 1962, and have assisted people in further examining their cognitive functioning. The assessment sorts individuals into separate categories for each behavior type:
Extroverted v Introverted
Sensing v iNtuition
Thinking v Feeling
Judging v Perceiving
With your individual combinations of these, you would yield results such as ENTP, or ISFJ for example (intuition is abbreviated as N). AGAIN THERE IS NO “CUSPING” HERE EITHER. Duh, you can both think and feel. But, you ultimately possess more characteristics in one over the other. Neither category will yield “desirable” or more favorable results than another, they simply identify the preference of an individual. However, the assessment is not as simple as feeling extroverted because you enjoy socializing, but possessing an extroverted function as your dominant function trait. While MBTI exists and operates in a system based on self-perception, there’s often the issue of the self differing from the perception of others (which I’ve already addressed in my previous post regarding social media and the perception of the self). Because when you take the MBTI assessment, it’s based on an “honor system” of your answers. Selecting that you keep your space tidy or often speak up in public situations when you don’t do those things will only leave you with inaccurate testing results. I recommend using this function based testing site here: sakinorva.net/functions
There is also an available database of “confirmed” MBTIs of public figures (Barack Obama is an ENFJ), which is interesting because we only have access to him in public settings or the parts of his life he chooses to share with us. Can we make an exact selection of which personality type he identifies most with if we only observe him at the parasocial level? Maybe. ENFJs are often political figures, teachers, and everyday leaders. You would be hard pressed to find an ISTP or ISFP running for office.
With that being said, your MBTI can change over the course of your lifetime. If you have significant events that impact the way you see the world, or tested in adolescence vs adulthood, there’s a high likelihood you won’t receive the same personality type. The reliability of these is debatable, but often favored by dissenters of astrology, because it offers participants freedom of the self and the opportunity to change or grow as people where astrology can feel constricting. There are even supporters that argue your MBTI could change during any given 3-6 month period. In terms of the science backing MBTI, there are mixed reviews among psychologists regarding its authenticity. Whether the types are legitimate and there are only sixteen variations of personalities available for humans to have is hard to believe. But, even if it is pseudoscience, can MBTI be used as a tool to understand ourselves and the areas in our life that offer us the most opportunities to thrive? Absolutely.
Enneagram:
Guys, I’ll be honest. I’m keeping this one short because I hate it. Basically, when you complete a similar assessment to the one linked above, you’ll get a number between 1-9. You will also get a second number (your wing). Essentially, you could be a 2w3 (2 wing 3) which means you are primarily a “considerate helper” and secondly a “competitive achiever”.
I believe the only reason this one is popular is because it has been gifted the seal of approval from many religious communities. If you want to know more about it google it yourself. I’m so sick of hearing about this one.
The Bird Test:
I propose a new system of personal identification. Something that will spark creativity and authenticity in your results. Ask your friends to draw a bird. Their results will provide insight into the way they see the world. There are no stipulations on how to draw the bird. But, did they use just one color? What kind of rules did they make up for themselves when constructing the bird? What type of bird did they draw? What kind of brush strokes did they use? Did they accidentally hit the undo button too many times and remove the wings of someone else’s bird? For reference, my roommates and I completed this activity, and I’ve included photos of our birds below. For personal privacy reasons, I will not be disclosing who drew which bird.
Regardless of your beliefs, your response to being asked about astrology or your MBTI or Enneagram or Harry Potter House or the Bird Test says more about you than whatever value has been assigned to you through the sorting system. It’s just so obviously derogatory towards interests primarily held by women. Sorry for trying to find clarity and understanding about who I am and my place in the universe, that was so dumb and feminine of me.
Anyway, if you like Enneagram, eat glass. Lots of love.
See you next week.