natal chart
Spirit Is Like A Lifeguard
I used to work in a Wisconsin tourist town in the early 90s, holding down two full-time jobs to pay my way through college. One of my employee benefits was a free admission pass to all the city’s water parks and other tourist attractions. I rarely had a day off, but whenever I did, I would relish splashing around in those lazy rivers and wave pools with childlike enthusiasm!
A popular feature at my favorite water park was a towering waterslide. At the top sat a lifeguard who would give the go-ahead for you to safely start sliding down, after the slider in front of you had cleared enough distance.
Our spirit guides are kind of like those water park lifeguards.
I remember doing a reading for myself around New Year’s Day 2016, regarding my wishes and goals for the future. I wanted my midlife crisis to be over after my divorce, and I craved to immerse myself full-time in my spiritual work to gain respect and personal fulfillment.
Seven years later, I’m still working on some of those 2016 resolutions, but I have meanwhile realized that Spirit has held me back from achieving these goals earlier in my life, as I had karmic obstacles blocking my progress.
I used to be in a loveless marriage that was a karmic ball and chain around my ankle. For example, when I faced a major health challenge years ago, all my ex could focus on was the economic loss, since I wasn’t able to work at the time. I recall someone in an online support group asking him, “Don’t you love your wife? Then support her!”
Dating Guidelines For Astrological Compatibility
As a professional astrologer, I’m often asked by clients if their zodiac sign is compatible with someone they are interested in, or currently dating. For this purpose, I have developed over the years through study and experience some simple, yet essential guidelines for astrological romance.
If you are in search of your soulmate, consider the following cosmic guidelines:
Never Date A Neighbor
Rarely are we compatible with the sun signs preceding or following our own sign in the zodiac, even though they flow into one another. Exceptions to this guideline are the Fire and Earth signs: Aries with Taurus, Leo with Virgo, and Sagittarius with Capricorn, but only if the fire sign partner has distinct personality traits of the divine feminine and the earth sign partner tends more towards the divine masculine.
Opposites Rarely Attract
Traditional astrology books on compatibility suggest seeking out the sun sign opposite to your own sign, but in my experience these differences can often be dealbreakers in this day and age. While we want variety and choice in a relationship, I find most people are rarely truly attracted to the signs opposite theirs.
Creating A Crystal Energy Jar Based On Your Astrology Chart
When thinking of Astrology, most people only know their Sun sign. This chart placement indicates the core essence of the person’s traits and personality. However, many other astrological influences shape our lives, including our Moon sign, Ascendant sign, and Midheaven placement.
Each of us also has a unique astrological birth chart with planets and stars in certain placements, meaning that it is exceptionally rare that two people might have the same natal chart. Even twins with seemingly identical birth charts will usually have small variances in their charts, depending on the amount of time that passed between the first and second birth.
On the rare occasion that two people do have identical charts they are known as ‘time twins.’ For this to be possible, they must be born in the same year, on the same day, no more than 15 minutes apart, and within at least a 10-mile (16 km) radius from each other.
Similarly, each individual crystal and gemstone is also unique and can be used to celebrate the uniqueness of your birth chart, despite it being the birthstone for everyone who shares your zodiac sign. Crystals and stones reflect and magnify the energies we exude, and they can be used as a powerful tool in your spiritual practice.
Something special you can create is a specialty crystal jar to reflect the uniqueness of your own astrological identity by harnessing the energies embodied by certain crystals and stones.
Let’s Go Girls, Vesta Is Calling Us!
Vesta, or Hestia as she is known in Greek mythology, is an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter that is currently retrograde until October 5th, 2022. This means it is currently in close proximity to Earth and actually visible to the naked eye until Sept 11th, 2022. Women in particular should be watching her path, and engage with her empowering, divine feminine energy at this time.
Some experts believe that according to a formula that predicts the spacing between planets in any given solar system, known as the Titius-Bode law, Vesta may be located in an area that once contained a planet that no longer exists.
German astronomer H.W. Olbers first spotted the asteroid on March 29th, 1807, and his colleague Carl Friedrich Gauss named it Vesta. It takes 3.63 years for Vesta to travel around the sun, nearly twice as long as the orbit of planet Mars.
Vesta is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman mythology. She is ‘the fire that warms, but never burns.’ In ancient Roman times, six vestal virgins had the sacred duty as priestesses at her temple to tend the vestal flame.
This was considered a very important job, as this sacred fire was deemed to be vital to the security and stability of Rome and therefore could never be allowed to go out. It took extreme focus and care to keep the flame alive.
The vestal priestesses did not have to comply with of the usual social and cultural obligations imposed on women in those patriarchal times. They were not required to marry and have children, but instead took a 30-year vow of chastity in order to fully devote themselves to service.
The Wise Approach To Mercury Retrograde
According to astrology, our lives can be in upheaval when Mercury goes Retrograde. Its effects can be felt by anyone, regardless of your zodiac sign.
However, some signs may be more sensitive to its influence than others. This is because Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo, and people with strong placements of these signs in their birth charts may be more likely to experience disruptions in communication, technology, and transportation during a Mercury retrograde.
Although this concept is widely touted in the spiritual and metaphysical communities, I find that many people affected by it do not understand its true meaning and are not well informed on how best to deal with it.
Mercury retrograde is indeed a challenging cosmic influence. It tends to feel like we have just finished one round of it, and the next one is already looming on the horizon.
A common side effect of Mercury Retrograde for many people is unexplained nervous energy or restlessness. You feel anxious and stressed about everything, and you can’t figure out why? Sometimes you feel anxious about things that have never bothered you in the past.
You may also have a hard time concentrating on things. Retrograde energy can throw even the most calm and centered person off balance.
The Spiritual Path Of The Wandering Nomad
A recent chat with a relative about my plans for the future reminded me of a first cousin who once remarked on my nomadic lifestyle, “You really don’t seem to stay in one place for more than ten minutes!” A friend once also pulled my leg about needing to buy a new Rolodex, because I was filling hers up with all my constantly changing addresses from all over the world (those were the days before contacts could be more easily stored on a smart phone).
According to Astrology, I was supposed to get settled early in life as a Cancerian, by creating a permanent home and haven, and having a family with several children. Well, this was never the case. I thought the desire to settle down might come as years passed, but it never happened.
I also never became broody. I would become motherly over a puppy, kitten or other young animal, but I never felt the desire to have children of my own.
Over many years of personal growth and spiritual exploration, I have gained a deeper understanding and greater clarity regarding the choices I have been making in this lifetime.
Astrologically, for example there is a strong Gemini influence in my natal chart which is contributing to my restlessness, as well as Leo fueling my creativity and my sense of determination. I am not am expert astrologer by any stretch of the imagination, but the way it was explained to me by a professional astrologer made perfect sense.
A past life regression session also revealed that I had conceived many children in previous incarnations and that the desire to have offspring of my own this time around was not a part of the blueprint.
I found the matter particularly challenging when I was younger. I would be dating a wonderful guy who really wanted to settle down with me and longed to have a family, but the mere thought of having my wings clipped by marriage and motherhood was always unthinkable to me. So, many good relationships ended because we really were not on the same page about settling down and having children.
Moon Transits In Your Daily Spiritual Practice
There are many additional ways to apply Astrology in a spiritual lifestyle beyond the customary horoscopes and birth charts. For example, following the lunar transits is one of my favorite methods for working on my personal growth and spiritual development.
The Moon is the fastest transiting planet of the Zodiac, as it moves into a different sign every two and a half days. The Moon’s monthly journey through the constellations, enables us to reflect on the qualities and pertinence in our charts of each of the twelve zodiac signs.
How does one use the energies of lunar transits as a guide for personal and spiritual growth? In my work as a professional astrologer and psychic reader, I have found the following aspects useful:
Natal Chart
Do you have a strong natal Moon? How is it aspected? Have you struggled with any emotional issues in your lifetime? A Natal Moon with a lot of squares and oppositions can predict issues such as emotional lability and impulse control. Gaining insight into one’s struggles through astrological interpretation can help a person find spiritual healing.
Also, consider the transiting Moon’s current aspects with your natal chart. Is the Moon, for example, in a conjunction with your natal Mars? This aspect may create an emotional need to connect with your inner warrior on that particular day. Or perhaps the Moon is transiting your midheaven sign today, which is the highest point at the top of your chart that says, “I’m here!” to the world.