“Our anxiety and discomfort are products of evolution. Anxious early humans who avoided uncertainty had a survival advantage.” — Jill Stoddard, psychologist and author.

According to many astrologers, you can sing “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius” in celebration. It began the moment that Saturn and Jupiter appeared to converge in the Great Conjunction on Dec. 21, 2020, the Winter Solstice. It’s not a question of the validity of the claim — astrology has no basis in fact — it is a symbolic point in mankind’s perception, understanding, and tolerance of issues with unpredictable outcomes. In that respect 2020 has been a tough year.

“The treasurers in the heavens are so rich that the human mind shall never be lacking in nourishment.” — Johannes Kepler, astronomer, 17th century.

Astrology is the study of the movement and positioning of the earth, or, for an individual, the location, date, and time of birth, in relation to celestial bodies. For centuries it satisfied mankind’s instinctive quest for certainty and became an antecedent to the development of other bodies of knowledge. The last Great Conjunction occurred on July 16, 1623, the time of Galileo Galilei, recognized as the father of modern science. Since then, astrology has declined in acceptance, its credibility lost primarily to mathematics but also astronomy and physics.

In 1969, the year The Fifth Dimension’s song, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” was the signature song of the rock musical “Hair,” the Apollo moon mission successfully landed men on the moon, demonstrating the power of technology. The path to determining outcomes no longer seemed complicated — harness the computer to a team of mathematical formulas and you can project an outcome for anything.

“The media’s wild ride in a roller coaster year,” is how CNN headlines the highlights of the news reported in 2020, the top stories being COVID-19 and the presidential election. With a never-ending array of numbers, graphically plotted on charts, graphs, and maps, commentors tried to make sense of what hasn’t yet happened. The year became a constant reminder that there is uncertainty in the world that is beyond definition.

Alexander Boxer, physicist, and author of “A Scheme of Heaven,” makes a case in defense of astrology, not to defend its credibility, but for the contribution to understanding obtained from observation of relationships and patterns. He also cautions data-driven minds to remember that conjecture today is no different than the past, subject to the fallibility of interpretation by the human mind. On that note, we should all take heed.

If you have been on roller coaster too long or want the sun to shine in your life, take time to read the horoscope published daily in the Alpena News — “Wanting a particular outcome too badly makes you less aware of the nuances of timing. Help yourself play it cool by doing what it takes to return to a position of neutrality.” — Gemini, Dec. 3, 2020.

Happy New Year!

“Men, forever tempted to lift the veil of the future with the aid of computers or horoscopes or the intestines of sacrificial animals — have a worse record to show in their science than in almost any scientific endeavor.” — Hannah Arendt, philosopher.