The star Betelgeuse might explode—here’s why it demands your attention

Astronomers—not to be confused with astrologers—are buzzing about the mysterious transformation of the star Betelgeuse. The flaming ball of gas, a red supergiant located within the constellation Orion, is growing ever dimmer. Students of the star speculate that Betelgeuse might soon collapse and explode in a spectacular supernova, which, according to titillated astronomers, would be quite the event.

“You’d see it in the daytime sky for weeks,” astronomer Emily Levesque, PhD, told NPR. “At night, I believe it would be comparable in brightness to the full moon or something close to that.

That sounds super cool, but more importantly, it sounds like something that could be astrologically significant. According to intuitive astrologer and healer Rachel Lang, I’m correct on this count—Betelgeuse’s coy little peep show has implications. Betelgeuse is a BFD.

“When you see this constellation in the night sky, it commands attention,” says Lang. “You can understand why the ancient Egyptians considered it so important; they associated it with the God Osiris, the god of rebirth and the afterlife.” It is, in fact, one of the most prominent stars in the night sky.

Astrologically speaking, Betelgeuse represents success, fame, and influence. “If you have this prominent in your chart, you can take this as good news,” Lang says. “It represents gifts, special abilities, and even tendencies for success.”

Even if it doesn’t explode in our lifetimes—astronomers admit that “soon” could mean 10,000 or even 100,000 years from now—Lang says just the fact that it’s courting our focus right now is significant. “Anytime a fixed star gets our attention, it could be offering messages from the divine about important matters we’re facing as a collective on earth,” she says.

“If we look at what this star is telling us, we could see a gift being offered to us in a time of upheaval,” Lang continues. “I think we could layer this interpretation with all of the other astrological influence happening right now and say, this is a sign to keep going—don’t give up.”

You could take this broadly to mean that humans shouldn’t give up in the face of catastrophe or you could do the more fun thing and bring it back to the micro, aka yourself. “This weekend’s lineup of the sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, and Pluto all gathering in the sign of Capricorn indicates that your hard work, careful efforts, grit, and determination will pay off. Yet, it’s not easy. Betelgeuse making its presence known might be encouraging us to keep going, even through the rough patches and difficult circumstances,” she says.

If Betelgeuse is in your chart, you’re the special millennial you always dreamed yourself to be. Betelgeuse’s intriguing dimming, meanwhile, should be interpreted by everyone as a sign to “just keep swimming.” Clearly, the universe knows we need one to get us through 2020.

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