Collected privately in an empty hallway while his friends played a horror game in the other room, which he returned to after the interview. I began by simply asking, “What do you know about astrology?”

The informant first heard about astrology around the age of 8 or younger from his parents. He recalls being told about it in, specifically, a Fuddruckers restaurant.
Informant: “Uhh, that it uses – I mean I know some stuff about it, like, in the context of what it meant to medieval Britain? In that, cause I study middle english, I take a class in middle english in Dornsife right now, and about how astrologers… were… basically… like, people thought they were magic? And they sort of, like, it – it was lined up with the occult. And because astrology and astronomy were basically the same thing ([quiet voice] because they did not know what stars were?), um, and so they had, like, these big books, um, with star charts, and they mapped out their star charts, and they would tell, um, and farmers would come to them and kings would come to them and be like, and ask them about the harvest because, they thought that was more reliable than an almanac. Um, s- like, that’s basically my experience with astrology beyond, ‘Oh there’s a horoscope in the newspaper and Buzzfeed girls are into that.’”

Interviewer: “Do you know what it is?”

Informant: “It’s, so it’s, it’s the study of astrological signs, and how those signs affect your life and your personality?”

Interviewer: “Okay, do you know what sign you are?”

Informant: “[Hesitantly] I think I’m an Aires.”

Interviewer: “Do you know what traits associate with each sign?”

Informant: “No.”

Interviewer: “Is there anything else you know about it at all? You mentioned stars?”

Informant: “I know that when Mercury’s in retrograde, things are bad?? It has to do with stars and the planets. Uhh, I know that each planet has relationships with the other planets and the Sun, and they’re all also associated with traits. Like I can assume Venus is associated with sensuality and romance because it is Venus. Um, and Mars is probably maybe associated with some sort of anger? Eh, because again, Mars is the god of war, and… but I don’t have a huge amount of experience with astrology, it’s n- never something I super believe in.”
This informant knows more about the science and history of astrology rather than astrology itself. He is aware of the connection to the planets, but doesn’t know any of the traits – even his own. He does, however, have a unique perspective, what with his knowledge of astrology in regards to medieval Britain.