By dichotomies of this kind a pseudo-solution of difficulties is achieved: either–or relationships are transformed into first–next relationships. Pleasure thus becomes the award of work, work the atonement for pleasure.
[...] The fact that one cannot countenance two contradictory desires at the same time, that, as it is loosely called, one cannot have one’s cake and eat it too, induces the advice that irreconcilable activities simply should be undertaken at various times indicated by celestial configurations. This…
[...] Hardly ever does the practical advice tendered to the reader transgress the limits of what one finds in any column dealing with human relations and popular psychology. The only difference is that the writer leans on his distinctly magical and irrational authority which seems to be strangely o…
[...] People always wanted to learn from occult signs what to expect and do; in fact, superstition is largely a residue of animistic magical practices by which ancient humanity tried to influence or control the course of events. But the sobriety, nay the overrealism, of our material at the expense …
[...] The type of people we are concerned with take astrology for granted, much like psychiatry, symphony concerts or political parties; they accept it because it exists, without much reflection, provided only that their own psychological demands somehow correspond to the offer. They are hardly i…
