Why do celestial conjunctions affect us as they do (this question provoked by recent observations of two planets dancing with the moon)? If I step out in the evening and am surprised to see that a planet and the moon have sailed seemingly close to each other, I always pause and smile and look at it for a while. Why? Speculating: In the vastness of space, their conjunction seems improbable, although we know that the arrangement of the solar system guarantees it will happen occasionally. Even so, the vastness, the suggestion of infinity, makes them somewhat rare and within that context, how not to be beguiled? It’s easy to forget that while the plane of our vision makes them seem close, within the depth of space and their placement in it they are not significantly closer in conjunction than at any other time. Like the constellations, the episodic conjunction reminds me of an order out there and that seems to correspond somehow with the order on Earth and within a person. Maybe it suggests connections that we are prone to forget. I know from illuminative experiences that unity is implicit in being, the center of spirit, and I suspect these night visions may unconsciously remind me of that fact, which is so easily passed over. There is also beauty to them, beauty in the sense of harmony and sensory pleasure—the eyes and mind partake. Speculation is interesting but the reality is that I can’t see conjunction and be unaffected, sometimes in a lofty sort of way but at a minimum in a pause to behold.
Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash
