The Age Of Aquarius
The hero of my latest novel, "The Divining," is a devout believer in divine messages from the stars, that our fate can be read in the heavens, and so he relies on daily readings of his horoscope in order to plan his day. I have never dabbled in astrology, but of course now I must do some research and as I look into this ancient and fascinating art, I am making a few interesting discoveries.
I am an Aquarius, which I think means either I drink a lot of water or I like to hang around swimming pools. Various astrology books list the traits of individuals born under the signs of the Zodiac. If I understand this correctly, if we divide the world's population by twelve, I have the same Aquarian traits as approximately five hundred million other people. I would think that would make for a bit of a dull world, but never mind. We are talking about horoscopes here. Let's see what that is all about.
At Horoscopes.com I learned the following: "This is a good point in the cosmic calendar to remind you that major planetary alignments don't just disappear in a day. Therefore, yesterday's provocative Jupiter-Saturn 150-degree link can still pack a wallop today. Revelations can pour into your consciousness early on due to the supportive, 60-degree liaison from Mercury in Capricorn to Uranus in Pisces." Okay, I have NO idea what that means! But it sure sounds good.
Let's just cut to the chase and see what my horoscope is for today. I will tap three different sources.
From the Los Angeles Times: "You remember what it felt like when you finally reached a sought-after goal. You're headed for another such milestone."
From a local Riverside newspaper: "You have an excellent chance of doing something that will improve your salary or income. Be alert!"
From Yahoo.com: "Big, bold and bursting with energy - that's you today. Seek out some action! You need a private audience with someone of importance -- your boss, your mate or someone else in a position to change your life. It may take time to get there, but you know what you need to say."
Wow, I don't know about you, but these sound an awful lot alike! Is it possible that there is indeed something to reading messages in the stars, as my hero Sebastianus Gallus claims? Are there really futures to be read in the placement of the stars in the night sky? Or is it all just a coincidence? A throw of the dice?
Or perhaps I should just keep in mind the disclaimer in the Los Angeles Times: "The Daily Horoscope is for entertainment purposes only." I think Sebastianus would disagree.
