Beyond the stars - From The Stands

I used to live my days looking to the stars. When I was single, I'd look for what the stars in the horoscopes said -- about meeting someone special, about money coming, about my dreams coming true. Things have changed now, and I don't bother to read horoscopes anymore. I stare at the stars for their beauty, and I am glad that I work for a paper studded with stars and named The Philippine STAR, and that some people can't go through the day without reading it.

But a good friend who used to host a program for DZFE (98.7 on your FM dial) is certain that "a lot of people have their lives governed by the planets and the stars, and the alignment of the seventh moon. They search for answers to life's perplexing questions through horoscopes, divination, seances, and mediums."

Is there meaning and dignity in depending on what the stars say? We know that men and women in positions of power -- and not just housewives -- live by the astrologers' divinations. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin is said to be dabbling in the mysterious occult, to see the destiny of his nation, and of other nations. His decision to resign must have been based on his readings, too, although a number of political leaders and economists welcomed his exit with a sigh of relief and optimism about Russia's economy going to be primed up after his resignation.

Former US President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy got no small amount of ribbing from the media for consulting practitioners of planetary calculators.

And Adolf Hitler was known as a believer in crystal balls, and what fortune-tellers, and star-gazers had to say, to such an extent that there came a time when he no longer listened to his generals and instead sent massive numbers of armies and personnel charging to crucial battles on account of the strategies star-gazers had mapped out. As we know, the strategies failed; the readers had read the wrong signs.

But it's intriguing how people we know and read about only hold so much store on astrological positions. There are church-going Christians, says my friend, who commission feng-shui experts for personal or business advice. The position of one's house or door must be such in order to bring good, not bad fortune. Some Bible-reading Christians say that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day.

Why do these people rely on star signs, my friend asks. Why, indeed? Why not on God? Shakespeare was partly right, he says, "The problem is not with the stars, it is us."

The prophet Isaiah, says my friend, was harsh as he offered a stinging rebuke to Babylon, a nation which utilized extensively the services of stargazers or astrologers. He said, "Let your astrologers come forward, let them save you from what is coming to you. Babylon fell, and the astrologers could not contain God's wrath.

And what could we say about the three wise men who looked to the star to lead them to the manger? And so they did, but their search brought them to the King of Kings.

My good friend says, "Follow God's command not to practice sorcery, magic, or divination. Go to the one who made the planets and the stars, the Creator himself, God Almighty who gave His son that all of us may be saved."

Doing anything this afternoon? Spend it beautifully, listening to "A Tribute to Nicanor Abelardo," to be presented by the Abelardo family and the UP College of Music at the Abelardo Hall, at 3 o'clock. Performers will be sopranos Vina Gonzales, Ma. Cecilia O. Valena and Alegria Ferrer, baritone Elmo Makil, and tenors Ramon Acoymo, Edgardo Crisol and Nelson Caruncho, with Wilfredo Pasamba on the cello, Fiona Theresa Munoz, on the piano, and TUTTI, with Mauricia Borromeo as collaborating artist. Admission is free.

Here's sad and happy news. A beautiful person, Minnie Magdamo Tavanlar, passed away the other day to join her Maker. She will be buried in Digos, Davao where her roots are. I knew Minnie when I worked as a student volunteer during my free time in Silliman, and she was the efficient and gracious church secretary. Condolences to her husband, Tony, and the Magdamo clan.