The keyword as a method for identifying zodiac signs

   The article considers the horoscope as a special form of the predictive text. It is practically unknown what underlies the origin and organization of the horoscope, whether prediction is really related to astrology, why we believe in horoscopes.

   The object of this study is the two most significant signs of the zodiac that form the opposition of fire and water signs - Aries and Pisces.

   The analysis of predictive texts, focused on these signs of the zodiac, showed that they all, despite certain semantic differences, have an invariant structure, which first of all actualizes the national perception of the signs and symbols of the zodiac circle.

   The purpose of this article is to identify the principles of organization and functions of the Russian predictive text.

   A statistical analysis of keywords, found in a significant number of texts (500 titles), allowed us to identify the most significant elements, characterizing each of the zodiac signs, which are built according to the center/periphery principle. The associative experiment, aiming to identify the zodiac sign by means of keywords, indicates that the perception of the zodiac signs is based on intuitive, curtailed knowledge and ideas about rams and fish. The results of our research strongly suggest that horoscopes are special texts constructed according to certain schemes that actualize in the mind of the perceiver certain national stereotypes, preserved in small genres of folklore of a particular ethnos. We have established that keywords play a special role in the construction and understanding of the predictive text scheme, working as clamps that allow the subjects to orient themselves in a certain situation.

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