This was supposed to be a dear diary moment for me but I decided to explore my vulnerability publicly. First, to find out if writing this will bring clarity, second, to discover others who like me, also have this struggle but haven´t had the opportunity to articulate the process.
If you don´t know me, I am the Dcconoissuer but today, you may call me D and this is my story…
For the longest time, I have always wondered about astrology and with mixed feelings I must confess. My first introduction was in the Christmas tale of the three wise men who followed the stars to find the baby laying in the manger. I was curious for many reasons, how interesting the sojourn of these travelers must have been, marked with clarity, certain element of trust that the stars will guide them where they needed to go, and the astounding thrill of companionship.
Growing up in an African household certain things are inevitable, disposition to spirituality and faith being one of them amongst others. If you escape that exposure at home, the chances are high that you will be confronted with this need to belief at school. This exposure is both concrete and mundane in the sense that, even as a Christian you are likely to hear stories of Idol worship, charms, and herbalist mixed in your ancestry. A combination of earth worship, deity, divinity, and most probably, occultism.
In the bible, you will often read about the consultation of Israelites kings from diviners. Yet, the strong distaste for divination not subject to the supreme God. Collating these ideas points to certain key facts; some people consult the future. In Yoruba mysticism this deity or oracle is called IFA and in christian parlance, this is called prophecy.
my question though is how true are these visions and premonitions? How do we know who is lying and how do we know that our exposure to those information do not in themselves become self- fulfilling prophecies?
In secular life, we will call that prediction, foresight, or history if the focus is on the past; but with an added edge of mysticism and divinity, the words change to psychic, most popularly known as astrology.
If I ask you, how do you readily profile people asides from social status, race, age, physical appearance, stereotypes, etc. what will your answer be? I mean your go-to snap judgment box. For many, I reckon is by classification into personality trait based on various models. For example, the five factor model (FFM) as propounded by Digman in the 90s which names: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, or based on the Briggs and Myers type list (ISTJ, INFP, ENFJ, etc.). I first had this exposure to personality traits and disposition when I read “why you act the way you do” by Tim Lahaye as a teenager.
It has long since evolved into astrology or more specifically, profiling through zodiac signs. I have always loved the PR for Sagittarius and how it feels so fitting to the way I lead my life. Most of my closest friends fit into the box of the kinds of people Sagittarius gets along with, some of my best romantic relationships too.
In secondary school, I remember this game we used to play to see whether you and a guy will end up as lovers, friends, enemies, or marriage (LOL) it was called FLAMES. You basically write your name against the name of the guy or love interest and then eliminate the matching characters. Whatever is left, you count and use the numbers in relations to flames, so if it is 6 letters left, you and said person are likely to be secret admirers. This was my first practice at preemption.
So why this long story, it bothers me how cliché I have become especially when deciding if I will get along with a person. Take bumble for example, I most likely will swipe right on a guy that is Leo, Aries, Aquarius, Gemini, or Sagittarius than I would Capricorn, or Cancer. Oh yes, I know how shallow this is, to judge people before getting to know them especially since I have people who are in my circle who defy these classifications.
So, what is driving me to write this? I need to know why I am interested in knowing ahead of time before a thing happens. If this need is innate in everyone or it points to some deep seated insecurity, if some people have found a way to curb this urge, the deciding factors, and how to make solid decisions trusting that even what you know is not a complete reflection of all that you may need to know.
So dearest readers, this is where I need your help.
Help D break a thought bias. Looking forward to your comments! Let it pour!!
xoxo,
Dcconoissuer.
Connoisseur of Memories 