I’m aware that a lot of people have come to astrology because of the increased uncertainty of the last couple years. That’s okay. You are welcome here.

I’m also aware that a lot of people, because of the increase in uncertainty in the last couple years, look to astrology to make sense of the universe, realize that this type of systems projection is adding to their feeling of freaked-out-ness, and then look away and only to come back and compulsively check in case things go horribly wrong.

This type of checking for things-about-to-go-wrong leads to all types of things within astrology. There’s the fear mongering over large astrological events, such as the USA’s Pluto return or the imminent ingress of Neptune into Aries or Pluto into Aquarius, and there’s the much too exact calculations of when the Moon enters a sign despite this being a transit that happens every month or so.

Uncertainty is terrifying. It just is. That might provoke something in you. You might say to me “uncertainty isn’t so bad. I’ve lived in it my whole life.” Yes, of course. And, also, uncertainty can still be incredibly scary.

Uncertainty can look like hiding yourself away in your room because you’re grown accustomed to calling everything out there boring to cope with burdened interest. It can look like becoming more rageful than you mean to someone who threatens your sense of control over something that means survival to you such as your job, your transportation, or your home. It can even look like keeping busy and working 12 hour days because the mundane tedium of work, work, and more work is easier than not knowing how to ask yourself the question of what you’d like out of life these days.

Sometimes, uncertainty can feel worse than knowing something bad is about to happen because, at least then, you know what you’re prepping for. You can come up with a plan. You know how to do that. You can keep busy when things are definable.

Using astrology in a rigid way—that is okay. If rigidity is one of the strategies that help support you through fear over this undefinable dread around possibly not having a future at all, that is okay. It’s okay to mark all of the Moon ingresses and to keep track of Mercury’s entire retrograde cycle and to worry over your commute and technology stuff if that helps you feel like you have control over life. It’s okay to joke over the apocalypse, sometimes spiraling, with your friends if that helps you feel like you’re not isolated or gaslit about feeling like things are much worse than everyone acts like it is.

Control is a stigmatized word. It’s used in a gendered way. Everyone needs some control in their lives at least some of the time. Having this makes it bearable to not have control at other times.

And also, beyond that rigidity, allowing yourself to have that rigidity—I wonder if there is also room for something else.

If rigidity has been hurting, if it makes you feel overly cynical or paranoid, then don’t try to discard it. Try letting yourself have it while also learning chaotic playful strategies, learning letting people in, and learning hope. It is possible for all of these things to coexist.

You see, we need all types of strategies to support us. It’s okay if checking and rigidity is one of those strategies (take it from someone who was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder at age fifteen). However, just like socializing or working hard and pushing through or sleeping and getting more rest can’t be your only survival strategy, a singular strategy, checking and rigidity can’t be the only thing that you fall back on.

Talking with a friend about the shit going on is important but, when no one picks up your call because they’re working or stressful with their own stuff, you need some other way to be okay. Pushing through it all can work sometimes but, other times, it might be more rest that you need. Sleeping is an excellent coping strategy unless it is your only strategy and you find yourself sleeping all of your days away.

Checking the transits can be a really cool coping strategy. It can give you access to a bunch of cool people who also look at astrological transits and want to talk about the future with you. It can help you keep track of your hormonal cycles. And, still, if checking transits ever becomes a singular strategy, then it’s time to grow and develop your other strategies.

There is a lot of room in astrology for not just rigidity but also looseness. It’s possible to practice astrology without even knowing where the hell the Moon is on a given day. There is a canonical astrology of predictive meanings but there is also prediction that isn’t about calculating the future but about creating and reclaiming it.

Astrology can support many types of survival strategies. It can help you socialize, it can help you get productive, and it can help you sleep. It can even help you feel in control when you need it and out of control when you need it. It’s just a storytelling tool.

And, it is okay also to step away from astrology and to play elsewhere. You will not betray the stars because they are not gods. It is okay to step away from one survival strategy and to go play elsewhere. Your strategies are not gods that seek to punish you for living your life away from them for a bit.

It is true that there is increased uncertainty in these recent years but it is also true that uncertainty is lifelong. This means that we have tried to describe uncertainty for centuries upon centuries, that we have created story and poetry over its chaos and that we have invented beautifully rigorous and detailed systems that calculate its madness. And, still, uncertainty is unimaginable to us. It’s too big, too incalculable, and too complicated to imagine. Still, we live.