Astrology and Covid-19.

Byline: Rafia Zakaria

THE world and its inhabitants are in a difficult place at this moment in time. In Pakistan, a Ramazan under lockdown has been followed by an Eid celebration haunted by the lingering and fatal presence of the coronavirus. There are those that have decided that they cannot bear the isolation and seclusion and are moving forward in full denial of the risks that lurk all around them. Those who are still socially isolating because they have pre-existing conditions or elderly family members whose lives they would like to preserve are equally frustrated.

Watching others enjoy themselves while a deadly pandemic lingers is much like watching people play Russian roulette; they will probably live but they may blow their brains out too.

It is natural, that in a time of uncertainty such as this, humans, all of us among them are searching for clues as to what is to come. Plagues, locusts, cyclones are all events that have been written about in divine sources and have caused humankind to come up with explanations of varying merit but unified in their apocalyptic doom and gloom. This moment is no different, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the proliferation of all sorts of prophecies and theories regarding why the virus has struck.

What is the unthinkable of our moment? What new world can we see through the haze of this virus?

Among those offering explanations for mass consumption are the world's astrologers. Now astrology itself evokes strong feelings and so before even talking about what astrologers have to offer, I must declare that I do not believe in astrology as a basis of predicting the future. Plenty of scientific theories have already proven its shaky foundations and we all know that the broad nature of predictions offered means that some bit of them will probably align with this or that person.

Considering astrology can be a helpful way to synthesise and process complex events happening at warp speed. The language of astrology lends itself to considering certain epochs in history against certain others. Also it helps pass time and we all suddenly have a lot of, perhaps too much, time.

On Jan 12 of this year, Saturn and Pluto aligned in the zodiac sign of Capricorn. According to astrologers (and it is interesting that many of them note the importance of this event in videos recorded before the pandemic) the last time the two planets met in this sort of alignment was the year 1518. Henry VIII was king and Martin...

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