As of when I hit this post button, I will have posted every single day of this year thus far. Granted, that is only three days. Still – let me bask in this moment, at least for a bit.

Today is Serious Topic Tuesday, a day which may or may not be repeated depending on my mood and work schedule this coming year. But today at least, I have a Topic and so I shall Discuss. What is this topic? Why – it is of days and stars and sundry things. In more mundane terms – astrology.

The soothsayers out there may rejoice in this study of the celestial bodies and their alleged influence on our lives. I do not rejoice at this topic – indeed, it’s been a reason for scoffing oft in my past. But today as I perused one of my online havens, I noted an article about this subject and I wondered why so many people seem to put such stock in something that seems to be founded on such sinking sands. I do not understand. And like most of us, I don’t like not understanding something. I eventually clicked on the article and sighed to myself as I began to read. This article was written in a quite positive manner (I suppose I should cite my source – so it is The Ringer, article link here: Teen Astrologists of Tumblr) and I quickly began to understand the fascination attraction astrology has for so many.

What is its attraction?  Well, remember what I said above?  We don’t like not understanding a thing.  This is true.  We – I speak as the human collective – do not like things without meaning, things that do not make sense.  When we see the wars raging in this world, our soul crys out: why?  When we see the hurricanes and blizzards tear down our homes, our soul crys out: why?  And when our relationship fails or our emotions spiral into the abyss of self-reflective loathing, our soul crys out: why?  Again – we like to make sense of things.  The grand affairs of this world may be beyond the scope of most of us.  But our individual lives, surely we can put those in order.  Ok maybe not that.  But surely we can at least understand why we are the way we are and why things happen to us the way they do.  Right?  Maybe then we can determine which decisions we should make to maximize our happiness and minimize our failures.  And thus is the lure of the study of the stars.  It tells us why.  It tells a story of ourselves which explains things that we cannot explain on our own.  And like all great stories that we love telling, it puts us at the center.

Now – I did not think I would be able to adequately explain this…then I go to to the final two paragraphs of the article.  These lines say it all, far better than I could.  Excerpted below:

“I was comforted by her response. I’d spent a significant amount of time and effort reporting out this story. And Ives’s breezy logic made me feel at ease. This generation rules the internet! I thought. Case closed! It was only then I understood the awe of her teen fan base. Her relaxed, poetic analysis of whatever complicated life puzzle was thrown her way was therapeutic to witness. It made sense that a young, emotionally ripe teen would find solace in her words.

“It’s stories about you that I’m writing,” Ives ventured, explaining her appeal. “You’re the one who’s divine. You’re the one that’s a god or a goddess. You’re the one that should be worshipped. You’re the one who has all the answers and has all this potential. You don’t need anyone else to bring that out of you; it’s all you. Astrology is just a reflection of that potential. The ultimate truth will be inside you.” Or, in the case of her band of teen followers, somewhere deep down a Tumblr rabbit hole.”

And there you go.  This author – props to her by the way on a well written article – said it beautifully.  We like things to make sense.  We like to think we are as gods.  Re-read the above paragraphs and the stark attraction of astrology is immediately evident.  The mechanics and foundation of this alleged science are unimportant.  What is important is the results – namely, self-discovery, self-realization and self-actualization.  Once you have ascended to the throne and sat down, all else is unimportant.

But does reality beg to differ?  Why yes, it does.  And this is what I find so fascinating.  Is astrology real?  Is it not?  Does it matter?  These are all questions that can be pondered, but at the end of the day, one must wonder – what is real?  Because if certain things are real, we should shudder at the implications.  This is where I get on my soapbox – pardon, but it’s *my* soapbox – and declare that truth does indeed matter.  All our self-constructed idealogies crumble and fall before the reality of the universe and He who made it.  If there truly is a god – and this god is far more real than a star-crossed fantasy – then there are realities that need to be considered.  Who is this god?  What impact does this god have on my life?  Does the story of this god answer all my deepest questions and quell all my deepest fears?  If this story is truly worth telling because it is Real, then I must consider carefully what I believe.  What we believe does have consequences.  What we believe shapes who we are and what decisions we make.  And if there is a god who demands our worship, then we must answer.  There is only one throne.  Who is on that throne?  Is it I?  Or is it God?

Consider carefully what is truth before you ascend to that throne.  Consider carefully, my friend.