Astrology's Attraction

Is time a) the sun coming up in the east or setting in the west, or b) the little hand on the seven, big one straight up, or c) a seven and two zeroes.  Is time the moon appearing at sunset as a wry crescent just above the western horizon, like a looked-for signal light flashing from a mirror on a local mountain?  “So-and-so from the village will be back in time for dinner,” these promising reflections of the sun’s light say.  Or is it just numbered blocks in a document to be referred to in coordinating physical logistics?

I have lived with clock time since birth, and have managed with some difficulty to survive under its rule; but the discovery of real time was a welcome revelation.  I learned that I am not an organic robot, made to function for someone else’s purpose; my dad is the sun and I have a mom, the moon.  I am a creature of the universe, spun out of its dust, fire breathed into me, which I carry as long as I live.  When I die, that fire, poof, goes out.

What we get from the astrology born in Hellenistic times is an ornate geometric system, based on the movements of the planets and the cycles of nature, which sets out to mirror the processes of life.  It is a language whose purpose is to help observers categorize experience and look for examples in nature to gain different perspectives on moments that grab our attention.  It evolved as a wildly detailed meditation on how life’s events, as we experience them, are mirrored in the workings of the whole universe; how our joys, sorrows, birth, sickness and death are seen in the cycles of nature above and here below.  I see it as a gift from the generations uprooted in the wake of Alexander’s fury; they gave us this intellectual model of using natural geometric systems observed in nature to help us organize the chaos of  information in our minds. 

Most people think it is useless, this philosophical appendage of astronomy without demonstrable engineering applications.  I think that is exactly what draws many of us to astrology; it promises not to change the world, or save the world, but to help us interpret our experience from a more universal perspective.  Western astrology is the largely forgotten gift of the stoics, scantly valued in a time of rapid industrialization, when it is more important to motivate workers than it is to encourage enlightenment among a population.  

Circular Time

Can you imagine time as energy being spun out of infinite layers of concentric imperfect circles? 

May Horoscopes

Our Sky Horoscopes also appear in The Triangle


Aries: Though your historic party does not wrap up until June 5, you will be sidelined like a golf ball in a sand trap starting May 11. Don’t fret, just dig in with your characteristic strong will, and soon you’ll have help burrowing back to the rolling green.

Taurus: You begin May feeling like you’re in the middle of a wrestling match, but by the end of the month you’ll realize you’ve been dancing all along, it just didn’t feel like that until the 16th when you got to choose the music.

Gemini: The Twins start with some seriously fancy syncopated footwork and wrap it up with a few graceful and not so graceful (May 20, 21) twirls. You can edit out any stumbles later, or leave in the best face plants for future entertainment.

Cancer: By the time you sit down to dinner on the 24th you will have begun the process of letting go. Of course the chores of caretaking won’t be finished, but you will finally give up and babble like an infant or a resident in an asylum. These linguistic ramblings get you loosened up for an upcoming project.

Leo: Whatever you are building, the best help will show up on the 16th, and you get your chance to show how cool cats get kittens to help out on the job by turning it into a big production.

Virgo: For you and the Twins, May 11 and 21 are the challenging points where you have to think and act with determination. May 11 you have to choose and the 21, act; and we’re not talking about on a stage facing well dressed people in cushioned seats under warm lights, but then again acting is acting where ever we do it. You’ll be back in your own element on the 16th when you can get your hands on the keys.

Libra: As a typical atheist, Alhamdulillah sticks in my craw. But I am still alive while all around, people are wounded, sick and dying with little or no help available to them. Gratitude for the ability to keep going helps us carry on with a smile when the going gets tough. It also helps to look forward to the 16th when we can start putting things back in order.

Scorpio: Because you had the courage to lend a hand, you can hope for assistance not too long after you hit the skids on the 11th. You’ll have to hang on by the hair of your chin for almost two weeks, but then the patient fixer will pull up in the driveway.

Sagittarius: Having strong comrades at your side colors confrontation with the celebratory air of a party. But when one of the gang goes down the fight takes on a new dimension; you are reminded you’re not just defending an ideal, you are fighting for survival.

Capricorn: You are right to make sure everyone gets a chance to be themselves, as the month progresses you will get to see individuals whose unique qualities you have supported, gain stability as they overcome challenges.

Aquarius: You love them unconditionally the way a mother loves a child. You see in them hope for the future and so when trouble gets stirred up among the rank and file you take it as seriously as you would a feverish baby and do your best to exhibit calm control while identifying the source of anxiety.

Pisces: Willie Wonka is back to rule the land of pure imagination; last time he (Neptune) was ruling we got a sensational collection of ghost stories and the Fox sisters spiritual entertainment duo. Wouldn’t it be cool if someone started channeling messages from the microorganisms inhabiting our bodies? You’ll get a chance to hear stories from the other side in the last 2 weeks of May; the first half of the month is devoted to the field work of living the drama.