There’s no doubt that millions of people actually believe in their horoscope, but how many would go so far as to fly all over the world – on their birthday no less – in pursuit of their perfect “solar return”?For those of you who never heard of it, a solar return is a belief that where you are on your birthday determines your fate for the next 12 months.
“Once a year, on your birthday, the Sun - which is the most important element in an astrological chart in determining your fate - is in the same position in the sky that it was when you were born,” claims Wendy Leigh for the Daily Mail. “Some astrologers believe that travelling on this date to a position on the earth which allows the angles of planets and the Sun to line up in an auspicious manner, gives good fortune and prosperity for the next 12 months.”
But in order to reap these benefits, a person must be in this special spot at exactly 12 noon. This is the time when “the sun reaches its zenith in the sky,” Leigh explains and goes on to call it “a kind of astrological rebirth - reconnecting you to the cosmic forces that have guided you since you entered the world.”
How do you know where to go? Your friendly neighborhood astrologer can tell you by drawing your birth chart and determining where you need to be on your birthday in order for Lady Luck to smile upon you.
“As a result, I've spent my birthday in San Francisco, Honolulu, Germany, Jamaica, Russia and Somerset, all in the interests of insuring that my horoscope is one which tilts the forces of destiny in my favor,” Leigh admits.
And she swears by the practice. “Years in which I've stuck exactly to where I was supposed to be have seen me enjoy excellent finances, good health and flirtations with handsome men.”
When she didn’t make it on time, such as one year when her destination was St. Petersburg but the plane was late, “the subsequent year didn't evolve for me felicitously.”
It’s all superstition, of course, because astrology is a Babylonian occult art that is not based in science. In fact, if the astrological charts Leigh consults every year were based on actual astronomical tables rather than on the hokey contrivances of astrology, Leigh would find out that her zodiac sign is off by at least one sign, if not more.
But that might not matter to those who want to believe in astrology, such as Leigh, who has already done her calculations for the coming year.
“ . . . [T]he astrological calculations have been done and the verdict is in. If I spend my next birthday in New York, with Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon in the 7th House, I am told there will be major developments on the relationship front.”
Which means (she hopes) that a wedding may be in store for 2016.
Or maybe not.
The fact remains that allowing astrology to determine your destiny is akin to staking your future on the toss of a dice.
As for me and my household, we will leave those matters in the much more capable hands of the Lord. Think you know your zodiac sign? You might be surprised to learn that you’ve been following the wrong sign! Read the Learn to Discern Compendium to find out why astrology – and so many other New Age practices – are nothing more than baseless superstitions.
