horrorscope

When my seester and I were little, we knew just enough about Greek mythology and astrology to play elaborate games wherein she was a bull and I was a crab. Come to think of it, I'm not sure exactly what part of the game was drawn from Greek mythology. Mostly, I just pulled an afghan over my head and ran around the house while she held both index fingers up, pressed them to her forehead, and chased me around. Hmmm...so, not so much with the elaborate, either then, in retrospect.



So, where was I going with this?



Ah, yes. With that early introduction to the part that astrology can play in your life (that of a fun game), I was pretty much set until college. In college I met the first two of what would become a rather hefty collection of very good friends who would surprise me by taking this whole thing very seriously - friends who would draw out elaborate star charts, discuss ascending planets in grave tones, and arrive, eventually, at sage conclusions.



As tempting as it could be to find meaning in what they'd tell me, I have to think that's a result of the same function of our humanity that leads us to see the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast. We are always looking for patterns, always hoping for signs of order within the chaos. There's a fancy scientific name for that, I know, but I don't feel like stopping to Google. Oh, who'm I kidding.



So there you have it. Patterns are comforting. And patterns that point to some kind of message from the powers that be help us cope with feeling, well, boring. If the universe has something to say to us, we must be worth talking to, eh? Who can blame us.



Maybe that's why I find deja vu reassuring, too. I've seen this before, so this must be the right thing to see.



But, hey, does the fact that patterns are everywhere make them any less significant? Is the face of Mary in the toast more amazing than the pattern of molecules that makes the toast a delicious and tasty snack? If a message is for everyone, does it make the message less exciting or the intended reader less special?

And what about the fact that I really do recognize myself in so much of what those astrology-chart-bearing friends would say? Oh - except for all that "propegate the family line" stuff. Sheesh.



Oh, who knows.