MEDIUM RARE

Friends of Zenaida Seva, the only astrologer they know in the world and the Philippines, held a little memorial lunch in her honor last Saturday, now that she “continues onward on her soul’s journey” (in her own words).

She has left us and must now be traveling toward Cassiopeia, the W-shaped constellation that takes two light years to reach (so astronomers say), on her way to find the star with her name on it.

And yet the stars that she worked on, using a chart that she wouldn’t have allowed anyone else to see, would have been of a different dimension, allowing her to see signs that she spelled out in complete sentences, interpreted in plain language for the sake of her clients, whose identities she kept a secret. Sometimes, on the spur of a moment, she would let slip a “prediction” and quickly take it back, but we knew better; a mistake it might have been but it was made for our benefit.

The few times she allowed me to hear something about myself, it was to warn of “Mercury in retrograde,” i.e., be forewarned against delays, setbacks, an unexpected change of plan, knowing that the retrograde would, anyway, affect millions of other people, whether born under my sign or not. In other words, the advice was not for me – big deal -- but everyone in general.

In sum, Zenaida was a professional who took her job as a doctor would take his practice, to do no harm. The worst thing you could do was call her a fortune-teller. “Hindi ako manghuhula!” in screaming bold letters. What she was, as an old friend described her, was someone “always wanting to have the last word.” I would say she was highly opinionated, but she could be forgiven, for she had an uncanny grasp of Chinese lore, legends and festivals, plus some feng shui in-between. After all, it is one planet.

Did she predict her own demise early morning of Saturday the 16th?  From her cellphone, a message announced a “final send-off” on the occasion of her last earthly trip, keeping in mind that the mourning should be a time for “spiritual rejoicing for the deceased.”

Carve your name on your very own star, Zen!