My question isn’t an astrology question exactly, but I was wondering how you get to what you do in your sessions and what do you mean when you say connect to your guides and things like that? I have been wanting to learn more, but it seems like there is so much and I’m trying to make sense of it all.
I love this question so much! It’s a multi pronged thing too. My interest in consciousness and wellbeing is something that I was partly born with and partly may have occurred due to experiencing trauma early on, which forced me to tap in to new ways of making sense of things around me, as well as creating safety in my own body by reconnecting to my own voice. I try to create work that helps people do that too- so I have to prioritize that , over anything rigid, and I think that could be helpful for you too.
Astrology wise, I have loved this tradition since I was a kid. I remember reading horoscopes in things like the TV Guide the second I learned to read, which was also an early love of mine. So, the language never felt out of reach or new age the way it can for some people and I didn’t see it as New Age-y because it was in newspapers and such.
You didn’t send your birth info and I’m not sure the TV Guide existed in the same way when you were growing up, but I was obsessed with reading it. It was a magazine about TV that everyone in America got and was definitely not remotely high brow.
I don’t recall ever feeling the call to put all of my faith in astrology. Rather, I just felt like it was an interesting door to thinking about people and considering others leads to connection, which I was always hungrily seeking as a child.
However! Rigid classifications of groups of people and looking to the future with fear go directly against my ethics, and unfortunately society projects that onto astrology despite that not being what it’s about at all. So, I was discerning from the jump. Astrology is an interpretive art and is also one of three disciplines of Hermeticism , which posits astrology as the language, but requires also working with alchemy and theurgy, and through combining the three to connect to our guides.
I think getting clear on your own intentions is the first step to opening up to the full scope of your spiritual and psychic gifts. Which we truly all have! Some of us might not be called to work with them, or some already are through art or another mission and don’t realize it, but regardless it seems like you are curious and curiosity is the call!
Expanding out of the Hermetic concept of supporting our astrology with sanctifying daily life through a consistent spiritual routine- I attribute my own interpretation of this work to having a clear intention. Mine are:
1. To heal myself
2. To help humanity heal.
3. To entertain and inspire joy.
I keep my commitment to doing this through practices like herbalism, energy healing, holistic nutrition and food justice, meditation, ancestor work, studying and LISTENING. Listening to elders, listening to my intuition, and listening to Spirit.
Questions to Consider-
Why do you want to learn astrology? When did you start being curious? What do you want to heal? Is your curiosity about the future coming from fear? Does your current understanding of astrology feel empowering? What are your current values and where do your beliefs come from? Who has a life you would like to have? Do you recall anyone in your family having any spiritual rituals or practices that you can experiment with?
Because astrology is interpretive, I made a commitment early on to make it my own, and to make sure to put just as much effort into my other spiritual practices.
I’ve practiced yoga for 25 years, and I learned that in trauma informed yoga practices it is common to substitute certain words to ensure the best experience for those practicing. For instance, rather than saying “Pose’ they say “Shape”; as the the former could be triggering for someone who is at odds with their body due to trauma, and “posing” could feel intimidating or uncomfortable. At The Prison Yoga Project, I was told they refer to “Childs Pose” as “Resting Warrior”, so as to diffuse any tension around feeling disempowered or small. When I heard about this, it really spoke to my instincts that we can take the work and tweak it in an effort to be more supportive to ourselves and our communities. You can do that too!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to View of an Hour to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.