So the earth’s axis “wobbles” based on the Moon’s gravitational pull and so the dates of all the zodiac signs have changed. Or something like that. What it boils down to for me personally is that I’m no longer a Gemini. Because I’ve never felt like one. (Ok, some of the arty qualities might’ve felt like they fit.) I’m a Taurus. It’s the sign I feel is the most me. I’m not flighty, a liar, an indiscriminate flirt, or any other negative depictions of Gemini. I’m loyal, I’m dogged, I’m very into physical comfort and food, and I’m not a desperately bad, the-Earth-may-implode kinda bad, match with my Scorpio husband. (J, however, is a Scorpio to the bone, so yes, my astrology beliefs are all pretty convenient.)
Do I believe in astrology? Not really, but I’ve always found it fun. (Best horoscopes ever: The Onion.) Like fortune cookies or Tarot readings or Harry Potter Sorting Hat quizzes, or better yet, the Patronus quiz. It’s a sense of qualities you might recognize in yourself, your parents, your significant other, or your friends. These are, perhaps, your people because of a label you share.
It can impart a sense of belonging. I’m a Ravenclaw with a Great Bernard Patronus, so other Ravenclaws and, what, people with dog Patroni? can have an instant feeling of connection with me and I with them. We can especially bond as members one of the two most overlooked Houses. (Hufflepuffs are near the kitchen, but Ravenclaw Tower has the best view for when we look up from our books.) I’m a Taurus now! And we bulls can compare weighted blankets and candle scents and favorite teas and how hard it can be to tear ourselves away from a commitment once we’ve got our horns in it or our hooves dug in.
Fandoms of all sorts work the same way. I’m a huge Firefly and Angel fan, but never really got into Buffy. I am obsessed with the new Battlestar but Dr. Who never did it for me. I like both Star Wars and Star Trek – why should I have to pick? LOTR is way ahead of GOT for me, but I’m versed in both. I was all in on TWD till Negan just wore me out. I don’t think I’m alone in that. We’re finally watching The Wire. I never thought it was a bad show but the fans. I resisted on principle, but now I’m in it for Michael K. Williams, Idris Elba, and Lance Reddick. Towering, terrifying talents. My longest and greatest love, of many sci-fi classics, is Dune. Not because of the new movie, though I’m excited, but because of the book I’ve been reading on average once a year since the age of 14.
(Religions and sports teams and political parties work much the same way, on a larger scale, but I’m not highly into any of those, so sorry. I don’t begrudge you your fandoms or beliefs, but we’re not going to find much common ground there, you and I.)
I don’t hate you, new Gemini’s. Or old ones. But you’re a little extra and a little exhausting for the earth sign in me. I wonder how many people embrace their signs, their Houses, their fellow fans and find that meaningful, or entertaining, or that it gives them that sense of belonging. How many who think it’s all bunk just let people enjoy what they enjoy at whatever level they do? I’m going to know a lot of people soon who think they know all about Dune, and I’ll know they don’t and I’m going to disagree with a lot of their opinions. But I’m going to be happy for them to discover what they do. Maybe they’ll read it and they can be that much more my people.