A quick addition to the discourse on aliens and astrology

To hear me read this post aloud, click here: https://voca.ro/1oNWMjTv8jDJ.

I’m listening to astrologers talking about the year (and years) ahead, and I keep hearing these remarks about Pluto in Aquarius and Saturn in Pisces. I consider myself very much a student, not an expert, when it comes to astrology. But–on the other hand, I’m pretty good with a metaphor. Astrologers keep talking about technology in regard to Pluto in Aquarius, and watery topics related to Saturn in Pisces. There’s talk of the role of technology going forward, and of the military, of violence, of war. Here and there, the topic of aliens comes up and gets woven into these discussions.

One such theme has to do with history and how human history changes when cultures that haven’t been in contact suddenly are. When cultures who are “alien” to each other suddenly meet.

I think for a lot of people, it’s natural to suppose, well, where are new cultures going to come from at this point? Must be outer space (cue some spooky sci fi music).

Okay, so, hello (waves arms). Hi. Could you wake up and listen to me for a second? So sure, yes, I certainly do not doubt there is other life out there, off this planet. When I was in middle school, we had to watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos as science homework (thanks, Mr. Sheets!). Sagan convinced me. Life is very likely out there.

THAT SAID.

First, the life we’re going to find on, for example, Europa, is very likely microscopic. That doesn’t mean it’s not significant. But it’s also not what sci-fi movies have trained you to expect. Sci-fi has trained you to look for humanoid life. And that expectation is sheer human arrogance projected onto space. What is out there may not be anything we would even recognize as life.

And on the subject of what we do and don’t recognize:

I assure you that we have not had our culture-to-culture meeting with every culture on THIS planet yet. If you’re expecting a surprise, a culture-to-culture mind-boggling tech-changing transformation, sure, maybe it will come from off planet, but it is a hell of a lot more likely that it will come from THIS planet, the one we already share with cultures we haven’t met, with beings who are not human who we don’t know how to talk to.

So, you think Saturn in Pisces has something to teach you about the sea?

Yeah, I fucking do too.

Sometimes you need to stop looking up and look down.

And I don’t think the intelligent life we haven’t talked to is JUST in our oceans. Obviously not. We’re surrounded on land by all sorts of intelligent life, and you know that. (If your pets don’t convince you, then maybe you should consider, for example, that crows can make plans and use tools.)

But if you’re expecting and looking for some sort of deeply alien encounter, then for goodness’ sake. Look in the deep.

And when you do, remember: What you find there might even be smarter than you are. Octopuses (for example) don’t have backbones, yet they have brains that are similar to yours in important ways. You can’t put a robot in an aquarium with an octopus because they will take it apart, piece by piece. They can remember things, learn, PLAY, solve problems, adapt to changes. Can you? These days, that’s a reasonable question. So, dude, this is going to sound moralistic, but I’m going to say it: Stop thinking they’re lunch. Because they are not lunch. They are your peers.

Want to know more about life in our oceans? Here’s some reading for you:

Brendan Borrell. Are octopuses smart? Scientific American. Feb. 27, 2009. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-octopuses-smart/

Donavyn Coffee. Octopuses may be so terrifyingly smart because they share humans’ genes for intelligence. Live Science. Nov. 14, 2022. https://www.livescience.com/jumping-genes-octopus-intelligence

NOAA. Scientists discover hydrothermal vent activity along the Puy de Folles vent field. April 17, 2023. https://research.noaa.gov/2023/04/17/scientists-discover-hydrothermal-vent-activity-along-the-puy-de-folles-vent-field/.