Why We're All Star Struck

The cosmos is having a serious moment. Writer and total Virgo Alley Pascoe jumps on the astro-train and asks the stars to guide her way

- Daniel Gaffey; Dave Herring; John Baker; Joeyy-lee; Oliver Sjöström; Tom Barrett/all Unplash. Collages By Lexi Henderson

I was stopped at a fork in the road looking for a sign. Should I turn left and press ahead with my trip to Sydney despite a once-in-a-century flood closing the highway? Or should I veer right to stay put on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast and reschedule my trip for another – drier – time? It seemed as though the heavens were quite literally telling me to do the latter, but that wasn’t the sign I was looking for. So, I consulted my stars for a second opinion.

“You were born, and you are still here,” read the notification on my newly downloaded Co-Star app. I took that to mean, “You only live once: take the trip, buy the shoes, eat the cake.” After six hours of driving through non-stop rain, I pulled up at my Airbnb in Sydney’s Bronte, and – as if by magic – the sun came out. Thus began my week-long attempt to embrace astrology. I threw my hands in the air and surrendered my life choices to the universe. At 28, I’d had enough of making decisions for myself. I needed a break, a guiding force, a How To: Life manual. So when the Saturn Return Survival Guide by Lisa Stardust landed on my desk promising to help navigate the cosmic rite of passage that first occurs around the age of 28 (jinx!), I took it as a sign and vowed to follow it to the letter.