One of my recent clients was intrigued by the fact that her Sun-sign horoscope seemed to be considerably more accurate than she would have expected.  

These Sun-Sign based columns consider only the position of the Sun at the time of our birth.  This is done because there is little variation in the Sun position from year to year on any specific date.  This allows the person writing the column to anticipate general influences since every person born on a specific date will have their Sun at roughly the same position regardless of the year of their birth.  

So we've narrowed the entire population into twelve distinct groups, and when Austin Powers or anyone else asks, "What's your Sign, baby?", the real question is, "What Zodiac sign was the Sun in when you were born?"  Since virtually everyone knows the date of their birth, we can easily determine the correct answer.  People born "on the cusp" may show tendencies of two adjacent Signs (please see What does it mean to be born "on the cusp"? for more information).

If we were to isolate the single most influential component of an individual's Horoscope, most astrologers would certainly select the Sun.  Representing how we need to use our energy in the pursuit of our life purpose, this really comes as no big surprise. 

But there are other planets and points that are also important in their own way... So what about them?  Well, yes they are very important, too.  But that daily or weekly publication can't realistically address the complexities of specific Horoscopes.  There just isn't enough room.

So, returning to my client's question, "Why is the daily/weekly horoscope more consistently accurate for some people?"  This particular client was a "Triple Virgo", meaning that her Sun, Moon, and Ascendant were all in the astrological sign of Virgo at the time of her birth.  (Please refer to my article What does the term "double Scorpio" mean? for additional explanation).  These three elements are integral to who we are, with the Moon representing our emotional needs, and the Ascendant (also known as the Rising Sign) suggesting how we present ourselves to others.  This particular client also had her Mercury in Virgo, representing how she needed to think.  This really helps to explain why she felt that the "Horoscopes" were often pretty accurate.  Come to think of it, having all that stuff in Virgo (particularly her Mercury) probably prompted her to ask the question in the first place!

Granted, most of us don't have this sort of unified focus on a specific Sign   More often we see a more diverse involvement of the Signs and, in general, less consistent correlation with our Sun-Sign Horoscopes.