Insert horror movie doom music – Friday the 13th is upon us, bringing with it a sense of general unrest and some difficult astrological transits.

Next Friday we move past the tense opposition between our planets of love and war, high risk, instigator energy amplified by the final days of Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius and the Moon on the edge of abundance in Chaos as a cardio sign of the twins.

It’s not gentle. Read on to find out more.

Why is Friday the 13th bad luck?

First, let’s address the ominous call.

The unfortunate association of this day of days dates back centuries to Nordic folklore. According to the myth, the twelve main deities of the Norse pantheon held a dinner party in Valhalla (fun).

The trickster god Loki appeared uninvited as the thirteenth guest and staged the “murder by mistletoe” death of Balder the Handsome, the god of light and joy. Balder’s death brought grief to the world and cemented Number Thirteen’s bad mood.

Fateful celebrations continue to exist in Christian tradition.

Biblical bad blood

Thirteen people were present at the Last Supper and Judas, a likely ram and the red-headed traitor to JC, was the last to arrive, reinforcing the connection between the number and impending death or ruin.

And the hits keep coming, folks.

Friday comes into biblical significance in several ways; Jesus was crucified on the Friday after the Last Supper and according to tradition, Friday marks the day that a) Cain killed Abel and b) Eve offered Adam the Doomed Apple of Knowledge.

Yikes.

Historical horrors of Friday the 13th

In the Bible and beyond, Friday the 13th was the scene of evil events that further enhanced his reputation as a great villain.

These include the arrest and subsequent massacre of the Knights Templar in 1307, the bombing of Buckingham Palace in 1940, the murder of New Yorker Kitty Genovese in 1964 and the death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996.

The fear of this date is as deep as its history; There are even two terms to describe the phobia, each sounding remarkably like Ikea furniture – Paraskavedekatriaphobia and Friggatriskaidekaphobia, respectively.

Swifties rejoice

A person trying their best to rename Friday the 13th? HRH Taylor Swift, who turns 35 on Friday the 13th. From the beginning, Tay Tay launched a personal campaign to make 13 a lucky number. Swift has been known to scribble “13” on the back of her hand before her performance, a practice mimicked by Swifties around the world.

She explained to Jay Leno in 2009, “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold after 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. Every time I won an award, I sat either in 13th place, in the 13th row, in the 13th section, or in row M, which corresponds to the 13th letter. Basically, when a 13 appears in my life, it’s a good thing.”

Touche.

The Astrology of Friday the 13th

In astrology, Friday belongs to Venus, the planet of love, beauty, attraction, wealth, aesthetics and ambient light.

And it just so happens that Venus will be in the free and eerie exhalations of Aquarius on Friday the 13th this year.

Venus in Aquarius welcomes the unusual and recognizes that love is an act of creation that insists that we color beyond boundaries and express and receive care in unexpected ways from surprising sources.

We love hearing it.

However, we will feel the aftershock of the Venus-Mars opposition on Thursday the 12th, an intense transit amplified by the energy of the soon-to-be full Moon in Gemini and the last gasp of Mercury retrograde.

If Venus is our planet of bliss and beauty, lightness and harmony, Mars is the glowing star of tempers, discord and effort. This opposition is a battle between male and female forces, the desire for resolution and the need to be right, comfort and uncomfortable change. At their best and brightest, these opposing energies provide the necessary tension, sexual, creative and otherwise.

The Latin root of tension is tension means “stretch”.

Perhaps under the influence of this transit, and with the sun shining in the incurably optimistic sign of Sagittarius, we can expand our definition of happiness and remain open to the possibility that friction can actually lead to happiness.

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Astrology 101: Your Guide to the Star

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Astrologer Reda Wigle explores and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effects on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experiences. To book a reading, visit her website.