Hudson Valley Astrologer

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”

~ Oscar Wilde

Imagine being yourself!

Never mind fantasizing about being Leonardo Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, or for that matter the Queen Mother. Isn’t it enough to aspire being your authentic self?

Yesterday, a famous actor was found dead in his home. He spent a lifetime “portraying other characters,” to make a living for himself. But isn’t the true art of living an aspiration to be better versions of ourselves? Why would I aspire to be anyone else, even for a day? Being and becoming who I am meant to be is challenging enough, and honestly, I do not think there is a day to spare; working toward being who I am supposed to be is difficult enough without imagining myself as someone else.

In his book Being You, Anil Seth introduces readers to “A New Science of Consciousness.” He explains that the sense of selfhood we experience is a composite of sensory perceptions and mental processes, which the brain unifies into a coherent whole. Similarly, our experiences of “reality” are constructed perceptions, which he describes as a “controlled hallucination”—a model generated by the brain to predict and interpret sensory inputs for the purpose of survival. Seth emphasizes that this process is not about creating illusions but about calibrating an adaptive interface between our brains and the external world.

Recently, some influencers on social media misinterpreted Seth’s work, suggesting it supports the idea that life is “just” a simulation. Of course, this oversimplifies the message and misses the point. Being You does not imply “Not Being You.” While hallucinations or simulations might technically be considered “unreal,” Seth’s concept highlights how our brains construct meaningful experiences “rooted in the reality of the world.” Rather than denying reality, Seth’s work describes the evolved biological mechanisms that help humans navigate the complexities of life by making sense of inherently noisy and ambiguous sensory data.

Maybe I would like to be Mount Kailish for a day, or if I could be someone—or something—else for a day, I would choose to embody the constellation Gemini, the divine twins Castor and Pollux. They are a perfect union of mortal and immortal, light and shadow, bound by love and sacrifice. To be Gemini is to live in duality yet remain inseparable, to shine as two stars that guide travelers and inspire storytellers. But even this rumination is not anchored in the humanistic embrace that guides my astrology.

When we look carefully at the horoscope, we see that, like a snowflake, each one is unique. There are similarities, of course, and when we zoom out far enough, we can appreciate the sameness: people are people; snowflakes are snowflakes. Yet there is no facsimile of Leonardo, no copy was ever made. Like you and me, he—and every other living being—is an original. Each of us is like Mount Kailash, singular in our majesty, yet part of a greater cosmic landscape. Together, we form the constellations of humanity—distinct stars ablaze, shining in a harmonious design.

HVA

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