Is the pursuit of astrology a sin? I don’t think the churches would put it that strongly these days, but it certainly was historically frowned upon. We were not supposed to predict the future or, most especially, put our faith in soothsayers. There was, no doubt, an old link with witchcraft.
But there was also a rational objection, which the Methodists carried even further in their prohibitions on gambling by lottery: you should not passively put events down to “luck” or “fate”; you should be morally constructive about your life and sow as you would wish to reap.
I take all that on board, but I often glance at horoscopes just the same, and I was rather a fan of the Daily Mail astrologer Jonathan Cainer, who died suddenly earlier this month from a heart attack, aged 58.
More than one commentator cracked the old joke about stargazers (it may even go back to the Romans): “Did he see that coming?” As it happens, he cast a somewhat prescient horoscope for his own sign, Sagittarius, for the day of his death, writing: “We aren’t here for long. We should make the most of every moment. We all understand this yet don’t we forget it, many times? We get caught up in missions, battles and desires. We imagine that we have forever and a day. In one way, we may be right – for are we not eternal spirits, temporarily residing in finite physical form?”
I admired the way Jonathan Cainer – who turned to professional astrology after he was left a widower with seven young children – plied his trade. Most of his advice was harmlessly sensible: “review your finances”, “sleep on a decision”, “try to right a wrong”, “why do some things matter more than others? Because of the way we think we should feel?” And he often ended on a positive note, urging the reader to see light at the end of a tunnel, and promising that there would be cheerful times ahead and rewards to persistence and hope.
The problem with horoscopes is that some people really do take them too seriously. After a woman killed herself following one of his postings, he came to understand that you had to be careful: there were vulnerable people out there.
In youth, Cainer had lived a kind of hippie existence. Although astrology made him rich, he did feel driven by the need to provide for his large family, which was a responsible motivation. He married again, and had another, eighth, child.
So long as astrology is kept in perspective – not, literally, taken as gospel – it can dispense some good counsel.
I was aware of Mother’s Day (the American version was last Sunday) and Father’s Day, but the notion of “Children’s Day” is news to me. Children’s Day (UK) is on May 15, although the United Nations also marks a “Universal Children’s Day” on November 20.
I’m not against celebrating children – they’re a blessing who come to us “trailing clouds of glory”, as Wordsworth wrote. Yet I suspect that many of these newly fashioned celebration days are replacements for Christian feast days that have been discarded.
As it happens, Sunday May 15 this year is also Pentecost, or Whitsun: once universally acknowledged, now known just to the observant.
There’s much concern in Ireland about the possibility of a “Brexit” – Britain exiting from the European Union. It could be catastrophic for Irish farmers, for whom easy access to the British market is an essential aspect of exports. Irish fishermen, who have been known to fly the flag of Newfoundland (in opposition to the EU’s fishing policies), may feel more ambivalent.
Yet, in the event of a “Brexit”, Ireland could become a more influential member of the EU, being the only English-speaking country among the 28, and attracting investment as such.
It’s been calculated that one British person in four has an Irish grandparent: and anyone with one Irish grandparent is entitled to an Irish passport. So those concerned about Brexit might consider digging up that Irish granny now, and forthwith applying to the Irish embassy for the said passport. They will find Mr Dan Mulhall, the ambassador, wonderfully hospitable to the idea, I feel sure!
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