For those of us in the States, Thanksgiving weekend is upon us again. For some of us, it’s about food and family and friends, a gathering in before the dark of the year falls on us. For many of us, consciously or unconsciously, it’s about reckoning, a chance to take stock before we lose the light. Where have we been, where are we going, what have we received, what have we given?

We celebrate our abundance and pray for those who are not so fortunate. We give what we can. We bring groceries to food banks, volunteer, offer money to charities. All these things are wonderful, and necessary. They allow us to connect. They bring the world back into balance.

Some of us have a harder time connecting. This year, I’m going to spare a prayer for those who are experiencing a different kind of darkness. There are many of us these days who, in the midst of abundance, are suffering. There are many of us who are surrounded by others, and still painfully alone. There are many of us trapped in self-loathing and self-criticism, who will never know the simple beauty of just being, and being loved for that being. There are many of us who can’t break patterns that we know are destroying us. There are many of us who cannot see those patterns. The darkness of ignorance is the greatest darkness of all.

As astrologers, we are blessed. No matter how deep the darkness, astrology provides a lamp. Through that lamp, we have the light of knowledge and the warmth of understanding, and we can find the way home, for ourselves and others. Sometimes I think we don’t have enough appreciation for this great, profound art of ours. We get so wrapped up in technique and result and observation that we forget the great healing that it can provide. We forget that the simplest thing, a word of wisdom in the right place at the right time, can change a human life for the better.

This year, I am grateful for whatever conflagration of events, whatever greater plan, has led me here–to a place where I am continually humbled and amazed at the ordering power of the universe. The study of astrology allows us to soar, and to fall, and to soar higher for that falling. It teaches us that we are of the Earth, but we hold divinity within us, in all of its power and its majesty. There is no greater gift, and those of us who are lucky enough to walk this path are a blessed few. Let’s all give thanks.