Ring the bells for a tragedy?

On Black Friday, January 31, Britain will drop our of the European Union.

See the end note about enlarging illustrations.

This is Black Friday dawning.  Bloody Mars, god of strife,  is in the Scorpion.  Our own planet in its orbit is hurtling toward Libra, the constellation of the balance.  Saturn, and Jupiter with its possibly habitable satellite Europa, are reeling away toward the far side of the Sun.  If the date could be 13 instead of 31, it could hardly be more inauspicious.

Over on the evening side of the sky is what we could also pretend as as an omen.  Betelgeuse, a sort of British star – a variable red giant, usually clamoring for a place among the celestial superpowers – is fading, as if to abdicate its place at the upper left corner of its noble constellation Orion.

However, there is hope, because Venus is steadily climbing into view.  Meaning that my book about Venus is growing in a quite exciting way, though I won’t have it ready for Valentine’s Day.

As you may remember from my outburst before Britain’s disastrous referendum, I consider the European Union to be the world’s way forward.  Betraying it is regressive.

The politician whose loftiest ambition has been to “get Brexit done” wanted the church bells of England to ring out in celebration on January 31.  That will not happen, because hundreds of Church of England clergy pledged that they would not do such a divisive thing.  As a grandee of the Conservative party said, such celebration by one side is liked “rubbing our noses in it.”  Instead Johnson will issue some new coins.

It’s easy to understand the feelings of the approximately half of Britons who support Brexit.  Some lost their jobs or small businesses, undercut by low-paid immigrants.  Most probably get their information from media controlled by plutocrats who have an interest in continued inequality.  The solution to migration is not to shut it out but to deal with its long-term causes.

I shall continue to consider myself a citizen of Britcain, the U.S.A., Europe, and the world.

On the front of our house is a flag-socket affixed by the council for the Union Jack at certain seasons.  Convenient for the European Union Jack I’ve just acquired.

__________

ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format.  You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor.  One way: right-click, and choose “View image”, then enlarge.  Or choose “Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it.  On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers).  Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.

Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after positing it.  If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more;, I think you are sure to see the latest version.

This weblog maintains its right to be about astronomy or anything under the sun.