Rats: Finding Our Humanity in the Age of Aquarius and the Year of the Golden Rat
How we treat rats defines our humanity.
The main inspiration for Sky from my novel “Cyber Knot” was Miranda from the game “Steel Harbinger”. Both women were transformed into bio weapons against their wills and their humanity is questioned in the aftermath. But unlike Sky, we don’t see Miranda as a human for long. Just long enough to watch her bonding with an albino rat before her father embraces her as she advocates for the mice of the lab. Right after she is drawn to her fate; the pod which would break out and transform Miranda into an alien-human hybrid. Her father feared what Miranda would become beyond that. Yet to me, it was always clear from the start she would stand for good. Her bond with a lab rat was the sole scene used to define her humanity before she was infected with alien DNA. Rat love isn’t just something you can shake off, even after being attacked by an alien tentacle. The love stayed with her and she saved the world. In turn, she also saved the rodents she loved.
Rats are small creatures and their lifespans are two to three years generally. Yet in that time they are filled with a desire to love. They want to be with their owners. They bond with their fellow rats. They long for contact. Long for affection. Long for human love. The experience pet owners have with their Rats is a stark contrast to how Rats are imagined running through NYC subways. Not to say you should go pet wild rats, just like you would show caution with a wild dog. But it’s important to note the distinction to the rats which are often around humans. Throughout human history rats were used as bloody entertainment and they are still used for scientific experiments today. Many are fed live to pet snakes. The idea being that because they are rats, their lives don’t truly count as something scared.
But something happened during those live entertainment events involving dogs killing rats. Men from those events started breeding some of those Rats and in turn those Rats became pets. The value of their lives began to be seen. Humans started to connect with rats in another way. Even amongst the ways in which rats were still used, there were people turning around their views based on their experiences with Rats.
Rats teach you the value of life, no matter how long or short it is. Short lives are still of value because in the scheme of the universe all lives are short. Being small doesn’t mean your life doesn’t have value. Being a non human doesn’t mean your life has no value. As long as you are alive, your life has value.
Rats show you how universal love truly is. How easy it is for two individuals with highly different brains and experiences of the world to find love anyway. Yes, Rats show affection in ways humans may not be accustomed to at first. They’ll nip at you, attempt to clean the boogers out of your nose, tear at your clothes, paw at you. But they’ll also giggle and snuggle, which are forms of affection we are accustomed to as we learn their other expressions. Humans fight for success in the world, when truly love in all its unique forms is the most important of all. Rats show us that.
According to astrology we are currently in the Age of Aquarius. The Humanitarian Age in which living beings are to come together. We just started this cycle which will last thousands of years, but we are getting deeper into the age each moment. We are reaching deeper into our own humanity and learning to come together. But it won’t happen overnight. Again, this is a cycle which will last thousands of years. But we can actively make progress during this age. Explore our own shadow. Find better ways to connect and love. Rats are fantastic teachers.
It is also the Lunar Year of the Golden Rat and what a better time to propel ourselves deeper into the age of love?
We need to also to honor the Rat. Their ancestors survived the last mass extinction which killed the dinosaurs and in turn gave humans the chance to rise. We need to honor Rats for their contribution to science and astrology. See them as the intelligent, loving, and worthy creatures they are."
Paige Etheridge is the Author of "Cyber Knot" and "Kissing Stars Over the Rising Sun". She is also a new Rat Mom of Ziggy and Zoey: Towo Aries Virgo Moon Rats also born during the year of the Golden Rat. All three are obsessed with unique foods and the esoteric.
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