2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,800 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Written in the stars above?

On the occasion of our new year 2016, which for me symbolises “looking forward”, this time I’ll write about astrology. I have always had some special curiosity and some extent of fascination towards it, so let me share my attitude to astrology.

Imagine that in the moment you were born, in that specific time and place, the sky is photographed. To put it simply, that makes your personal horoscope, holding the secrets of your character by the various angles and interactions of planets. I know and I can acknowledge it: astrology is not really accepted as a science (as today it is considered as a pseudo-science rather), lacking some solid scientific foundation. When I look at the horoscope in the daily newspaper, I also find it just another form of brainwash effect of media with some commercial interests behind. Nevertheless, I have had some openness and interest in astrology and concluded in myself that if you approach it in the right way, it can actually bring some benefit to your life: it can give you some guidance, some self-awareness, some understanding of others, some clues, some preparation.

So what is a “right way” to approach it?

1. First and foremost, it had better be considered as possibilities, influences and tendencies instead of hard facts. So do not let it rule your life.
2. Although astrology has very solid ancient roots, always base your opinion on your personal experience. (Myself, being a proper mixture of Gemini and Cancer, I do see the characteristics of both of these Sun signs in me.)
3. Do not oversimplify. Obviously, a human being is far more complex than being able to define by 1 of these 12 zodiac signs, and this is properly reflected in the vast complexity of astrology. The 3 elements that define your basic character are the position of the Sun (defining your core personality), the Ascendant (defining how you are interacting with your surrounding) and the Moon (defining your emotial setup) at birth. These 3 already show a quite unique representation, but it’s still just the tip of the iceberg. Plenty of further planets’ position shows further refinements and potentials you have as a unique individual.
4. Your free will is your birthright, which cannot be taken away from you by any astrological constellation. It’s always up to you how you move forward (=how you cope with certain influences), so there are no pre-determined paths.
5. Apart from your personal horoscope, the transits (when an actual moving planet forms an aspect to a horoscope factor in your natal chart) can give you useful hints of certain tendencies in certain areas of your life at a certain time.
6. There are always positive and negative aspects in every situation. In every difficult situation it’s always better to search for the opportunity in it.
7. Watch out for not credible astrologers who may not have well-founded knowledge and unauthentic sources of information. Always question authenticity.

Fancy some experimenting? You can do it here, where you can find explanations and access to free horoscopes, provided you know the exact hour and place of your birth. Feel free to share your thoughts on astrology here.