Love, that moves the sun and the other stars. —Dante, Paradiso
My favorite quote is the last sentence in Dante’s Paradiso,“But by now my desire and will were turned, like a balanced wheel rotated evenly, by the love that moves the sun and the other stars.” What if God surreptitiously orchestrates personalities and compatibility with our solar system? What if there is a parallel between personal resolution and the placement of planets and stars? As if each soul could determine this “rotating wheel” (id est moving planets). Bending events—even the night sky by loving someone.
I cringe when I hear the statement “We fell out of love” —love isn’t ephemeral. I may like something today and change my mind tomorrow or even next year, but falling out of love is intrinsically impossible. You can dislike something you didn’t love, but you can’t love something you merely liked. Dante is describing love as an emotion strong enough to move stars and planets; love is not only powerful but also a connection that can’t be severed. What if love arranges the night sky, similar to how personalities are affected by the stars on birth dates? The way Stephen looks at me in the photo above reminded me of Dante’s statement—obviously, I’m romantic but it’s possible that’s the effect of love, that moves the sun and the other stars.
These photos were taken by our lovely friend, McKenna of 1828 Collective
Leave a Reply