So where does astrology come about in everyday existence?
Besides newspapers and women's magazines, it really doesn’t. More often it is sought out than presented; that is, the information is readily available but not pushed. Horoscopes can be looked up online at any moment in the day, and books on one's personal sign can be bought from almost any bookstore (I've even seen them at grocery store checkouts, heck).
Astrology is often used in today’s society as a scapegoat. It is a way of justifying actions based on an unchangeable external influence; it’s a way of getting rid of liability for oneself. If your horoscope said you were due for some ~serious changes~ in your life (note the lack of specification), you may apply this to “why you lost your job” or, who knows, “how you met your future wife.”
The aim of Astrology is to appeal to those who are already interested in it, not to invest others. It presents itself as an unobtrusive avenue into one’s own attributes that apparently could not be revealed to one otherwise. Its market is its niche. Nobody has ever rallied in the interest of raising awareness about Astrology; like Feng Shui and other self-help mystifications, it remains solely available to those who seek it.
This is not to say Astrology isn’t referenced! It’s certainly prevalent in pop culture. If the song “Age of Aquarius” isn’t enough to remind you of some instances of Astrology in the media, I don’t know what will. It’s less often overtly referred to.
Have you seen any recent references to Astrology in your media? Most likely they are glancing, and insignificant. It’s difficult to track the references to it because it is often introduced unexplained—that is, the knowledge of Astrology is already assumed, so it is presented seamlessly within context. Astrology is a “solid” science; that is, no “new innovations” have been introduced to the practice. Why elaborate on something that is already “tried and true”? The public isn’t going to learn anything they didn’t already know about Astrology from the media.
I totally agree with the argument you raise on how astrology in current culture doesn't have much more meaning than trivial everyday predictions of your love life, fortune, or luck. I think one reasoning error for this is definitely making too much from too little. In Gilovich he points out the, "excessive impact of confirmatory information". When people read their horoscope, they tend to notice the coincidences more than the things that don't come true.
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