Women generally demonstrate much more developed empathy. We worry about many things, we are more affectionate and susceptible to being hurt. Our hearts are not covered with iron armour or wrapped in barbed wire. Our trust is often boundless, even without a clear, rational reason. We call Hope a „mother” of fools rather than a „father” for good reasons. Maternal care breaks through from hope, but so does blind, naive faith in general good and happy endings. And this naivety pushes us into the hands of fortune-tellers, numerology, cards or horoscopes.
The horoscope prophecies are no longer there to tell us what next month or week will bring, but to assure readers that everything will be okay even if there are some minor obstacles in the foreseeable future. Our need for such assurance can be catered for by a short paragraph on the back pages of women’s magazines, on fortune-teller websites and in apps, or even in text messages from your favourite, most trusted and reliable astrologer. However, we do not want to admit that we read fortunes, not to mention our belief in these concise predictions or warnings.
That’s because we’re not accustomed to showing weakness. Uncertainty – also about the future, can bore a hole in your stomach with a drill built with molecules of stress and instability. People have long been looking for care, a sign that they are not alone while handling the future and that they will be able to tame it. When in company, we usually prefer to ridicule belief in such superstitions. At least until we are faced with financial crises, love traps and life crossroads, and then we could use some tips and a pat on the back, reassuring us that in the end everything’s going to be alright.
As far as metaphysical matters are concerned, I undoubtedly adopt the warm role of a tragic heroine. My beliefs and views feature an avalanche of contradictions that I can’t get rid of, and whose constituents together form a rather explosive mix. For instance, I believe that everything depends on us. I like having impact on my own life, I enjoy acting so that everything goes as I plan it. It does not exclude karma, which is simply worth believing in. At least I think so. If more people believed in Karma, there would be more good in the world. It doesn’t matter whether people performing good deeds would like to receive some good in return, or if they acted selflessly. Maybe the threat of such a penal boomerang would stop bad intentions, stimulating fear.
I am also an incurable and naive romantic. I believe in destiny, because I choose to believe in it. However, sometimes I push the destiny itself to the wall, checking whether it’s going the right direction. And so, when I meet someone new, I sometimes check his possible nature by comparing the characteristics of his zodiac sign. Without second thoughts I click related links and thus „make sure” whether my partner suits me, whether our signs match, whether this relationship will develop quickly, or rather will require a lot of effort and patience. It may sound funny, but the temper of the other person is quite often dependent on the day he was born. And although horoscopes and all this
„fun” with any form of fortune-telling is quite incompatible with Church teachings, horoscopes are frequently read by women who visit the Church more than regularly.
So, should we be more sensible and stop trusting horoscope prophecies, hints and warnings? Not necessarily. It is not about entrusting your life and all life decisions to the hands of the heavens, invisible energies or cardboard rectangles. But it’s good to know that every force, even the most absurd one, is the force that is right and necessary if it is able to (re)build and strengthen our mind. According to the rule – if something looks stupid but it works, it means that it’s not stupid. Even if it works only by means of placebo effect.
Finally, should we be mad at ourselves that we are gullible and naive? Absolutely not. It’s all because enormous, immense sensitivity that sometimes emotionally afflicts us so much. Don’t let them tell you that today there is no room for tenderness. That there are only divisions, barricades, hatred and bullets. That what counts is brute force and fists, war and shouting. Kaur, a poet, feminist and artist from India, writes that if you are sensitive, you are powerful. And let’s stick to this.