Astrology and UFOs

A couple of days ago the Pentagon’s report on what they termed “Unidentified Arial Phenomena” was given to Congress. Since details of the report had been leaked weeks before, there were no surprises. The gist of the report was, “Yeah, this stuff happens and, no, we can’t explain it. Now can we please change the subject?” And yet, despite its bland lack of commitment, the report has been greeted cries of joy from the community of UFO researchers and believers and dissatisfied grousing from many scientists.

One astrologer I follow on Twitter noted that this announcement came out on the day that Neptune, the planet of all things weird and fantastic, went retrograde. That is interesting, but I see this report as relating to astrology in a much more fundamental way. In fact, I think it could represent a small step toward a more general acceptance of astrology by the public at large.

Before this report, the standard story with UFOs (or UAP’s if you prefer) went like this: Someone saw something that did not fit into our current paradigm of physical possibilities. They reported it. Then the government and various experts brought forth ways in which what that person saw could be made to fit in the current paradigm of physical possibilities. Sometimes those explanations made sense. Sometimes they seemed convoluted and contrived. But that didn’t matter. If a thing seems to fall outside our current rational paradigm, then even the most unlikely of rational explanations has to be true.

What this report does is propose, in very subtle way, a second possibility. It hints that there might be phenomena that just can’t be fit into our current rational paradigm of reality. Does that mean that the UFOs people are seeing comes from outer space? Maybe. But the fact is that the territory beyond our current rational paradigm is vast and could include possibilities far more fantastic than faster-than-lightspeed, interstellar travel.

So what does this have to do with astrology? In many ways, an individual’s reaction to astrology is similar to that of a person witnessing a UFO. They see something that they can’t explain, something that doesn’t fit into their current paradigm of possibilities. And when they talk about their experience they are frequently met with disbelief. Critics point out ways in which what they experienced could bemade to fit into the current rational paradigm. Sometimes those ways make sense, and sometimes they hinge on an insulting assessment of the validity of that person’s perceptions  or even more insulting insinuations about the honesty of the astrologer.

With the UFO Report we now have second possibility to propose. There are things going on, both in this universe and on this planet, that do not fit into our current rational paradigm. Does that mean that the fact that Neptune went retrograde has something to do with the release of the UFO report. Maybe. But, once again, the territory beyond what we now understand is vast and the reason why astrology works is currently ensconced somewhere in that great mystery. When we find it, and someday we will, a lot paradigms will have to change.