As a girl who was raised a devout Catholic, one of the first things I remember that drew me to astrology was an online debate I came across about whether Jesus was actually born in late December or not, because there was simply no way he was a Capricorn. Which, in hindsight, is absolutely hilarious. I was intrigued, because at the time, I only knew my tropical sun sign, also Capricorn, and wondered what was so wrong with us that Jesus had absolutely no correlation to the sea-goat of the zodiac. This silly online argument between strangers would, unbeknownst to 13 year old me, eventually lead me down a rabbit hole of birth charts, planetary synastry, degree theory, transits, and so much more.
What I wasn’t prepared for, and what still confuses me today, is how many religious people (mainly Christians as I was only really exposed to Western religion growing up) adamantly deny the existence of astrology, and even go as far as to claim it’s “demonic”. How can the sky, that they believe their God created, be demonic? In its most basic form, astrology is the study of the movement of celestial bodies and its effects on human affairs. At one point, a long time ago, as noted in Astrology-The Worldwide Guide to Reading the Stars by Nancy J. Hajeski, the terms astrology and astronomy could be used interchangeably. I personally find it easy to compare both astrology and religion, as both imply that there is a higher plane of existence and consciousness not on this earth. But then again, anything not inherently Christian was seen as demonic, and it was then that I started to question A LOT.
Nobody really talks about the slight trauma that comes with questioning the religion one grows up in. It feels like you’ve committed a sense of betrayal, an unforgivable sin. Part of growing up is unlearning things you were taught in childhood. Once I started to think for myself more, it was easier to critique certain ideals I was raised to believe. Finding the harmony between astrology and religion, however, could never make me feel guilty, as it was natural to complement one with the other. Take psalm 8:3-4, for example. “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Of course, this verse is about how we are all made perfect in God’s image, but if he made us, then he also made planets, which transits across different signs, which explains the difference in everyone’s birth charts, etc etc. I don’t think it’s that far of a reach to gather that from this verse. One can believe that God made celestial bodies and can study their movements in space and how that pertains to life on earth.
My mother was one of the reasons why I’m so into astrology today, as well. As a kid, I remember watching Walter Mercado, a Puerto Rican astrologer, often appearing on Telemundo, pulling tarot cards. Walter, which I would later come to realize, was an absolute icon for appearing to be both gender non-conforming AND big on astrology and tarot, all while capturing the attention of our very religious moms and abuelas whenever he’d come on television. It’s like we had no choice but to stop what we were doing and listen to him read our horoscopes. The chokehold he had over Latin American families was something no one ever really questioned. I remember when my mom was gifted her first pack of tarot cards and how much it made me want to get my own, so I could start practicing tarot, as well.
This post is not to bash religion at all, because I don’t even think I would enjoy astrology the way I do if it weren’t for my Catholic upbringing. There’s also much comfort in practicing a religion, whichever one it is, as with it comes community and a sense of belonging. Even today, I turn to prayer to guide me during tumultuous periods, or to show gratitude for getting to wake up and live another day. It’s a tightrope for sure, but I can hold Catholicism accountable for its questionable morals AND admire it for its lessons and where it’s gotten me today. That’s not something I’d allow anyone to make me feel insecure or guilty about.
Initially, I was scared to put this blog out because I was concerned that others might deem it “controversial”. I get scared to do a lot of things that the nagging voice in the back of my head stops me from doing, because, what will others think? The older I get, however, the more I shift my focus into what I will think, and how I will feel, simply because I’m done exhausting myself over opinions not worth stressing over.
In my opinion, none of what I write here is controversial in the slightest and I deserve to share my thoughts on what I find fascinating. Obviously, as seen in all my prior posts, one of the things I take a liking to is tarot and its spiritual connections. This is all to say that astrology and religion are not mutually exclusive, and they never have been.
It’s a little silly to write off astrology as fake or even demonic. After all, astrology was originally used to predict seasonal shifts and interpretations of celestial cycles. Therefore, it isn’t something you decide to believe in or not, but rather something that just ~is~. That’s it for this week folks, and as Walter Mercado would say, “pero sobre todo, mucho, mucho amor.” <3 Now onto our tarot card of the week!
Knight of Pentacles
Personally, I find this really fitting for Mercury Retrograde. A reversed knight of pentacles calls on us to slow down and reassess our priorities. We find ourselves chasing different dreams, or pursuing an unattainable path of perfectionism, but sometimes, it’s useful to slow down and embrace our current state. Sometimes we’re forced to stop and reconsider the things we want to achieve. You could be making your way towards burnout with the way you currently operate, or you could be living in the anxieties or your past/future, instead of sitting with the now. Meditating, or listening to frequency sounds, could be a way to relax the body and the mind from every day stress.
Alternatively, a reversed Knight of Pentacles might challenge us to work on our self-discipline. We want to reap the rewards of our hard work, but it’s difficult making efforts towards the future we want when we’re stuck performing our every day, mundane tasks. One thing to keep in mind to combat becoming lazy or unmotivated is that the collective efforts of small, every day steps can lead to great rewards, whether you work on something for 5 minutes, or two hours a day. Either way, a reversed Knight of Pentacles symbolizes change needing to happen if we want to see ourselves achieving our wildest dreams.
