How to Prepare + Get the Most Out of Your First Astrology Reading (F.A.Q.s + 3 Crazy Things I Learned From Mine šŸ¤Æ)

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Does anyone need an astrology reading? šŸ¤”

Yes. Fuh sho.

You donā€™t have it all figured out. šŸ˜œ

Maybe youā€™ve got a problem that isnā€™t bad, but in one of your blind spots.

Maybe you need someone not part of your halo of influence to tell it to you straight.

An astrology reading might be the only place to get some human attention on a very delicate question you might have, or about a creeping, unsettling awareness you canā€™t articulate.

ā€¦at the same price point, anyway. šŸ’šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

Let me show you how to choose an astrologer and prepare for an astrology readingā€¦

BUT FIRSTā€”lemme give you the inside scoop on what I did with the intel received from mine! šŸ™ŒšŸ»šŸ’«

 

3 Mind-Blowing Things I Learned During My First Astrology Reading (+ what I did with the info) šŸ¤ÆšŸ‘šŸ’«

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I cried during my astrology reading.

Not before letting the battery on my laptop drain, and pretending to lose my WiFi connection.

This is also how most coffee dates have ended lately. šŸ¤”

Iā€™ve DIY delineated most of my natal chart through blogs, books, podcasts, transit tracking apps, and online workshops. I can talk for daysss about my Pluto and wax poetic about my Chiron. I actually have an entire lecture-performance about my Black Moon Lilith thatā€™s still looking for an audience.

But some other placementsā€¦ šŸ¤¢ 

Not feeling it. 

Actually, despite my totally awesome powers of perception (Mercury-Pluto trine in Scorpio-Pisces ā™ļøā™“ļø, hollaaa āœØ), I could not cogitate what the original source material was saying about some of my darker placements.

It was like being asked to visualize a color I have never seen, or describe a person I havenā€™t metā€¦

Butā€”like, I kinda-sorta might know who youā€™re talkinā€™ aboutā€¦? šŸ¤”šŸ˜³šŸ˜…

Does not compute. Does not apply.

I must be an exception. āœØ

I needed an outsider, a bonafide astrologer šŸ’«, to give me the full scratch and reveal the secret story in my starsā€¦

Preferably someone not already inculcated into my own version of events on my own dark, weird life. šŸ’šŸ»ā€ā™€ļøāœØ

MY FIRST, ACTUAL ASTROLOGY READING WITH RACHEL WAS A TOTALLY NEW THING > Instead of an orgy of literary details (which is where Googling your natal chart will take you)ā€¦ šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«šŸŒŖ

Rachel led me by the hand around a dew-starry garden of my own weird Unconscious, probed with curiosity, tact, and empathy, and contextualized with literary-poetic metaphors for my own special query. šŸ§ššŸ»ā€ā™€ļøāœØ

Likeā€”it was a deep, easy-to-internalize experience, despite happening over Zoom, in the back of my SUV, and basically in a strange parking lot (like all of my most meaningful relationship exchangesā€¦ jk jk ā˜ŗļø).

And what Rachel had provided that I had critically missed in all my DIY studyā€¦

Integration and synthesis. šŸ‘šŸ»āœØ

Hereā€™s what Rachel introduced and walked me through during my natal chart reading >

 

ONE. FOR THE LAST FOUR-FIVE YEARS, while trying to start a writing-based business, Saturn had been ā€œon the descentā€ through my First - Third Houses. šŸŖāœØ

My Q submitted with my astrology booking was about being able to stick to a publishing schedule, and make something happen out of my blog(s), to which Rachel was super positive about.

Okay. If youā€™ve started dabbling in natal astrology, aka learning to read your own chart, then you understand: natal Saturn stays the same your whole life long, whereas transiting Saturn (in the ā€œworldā€™sā€ chart) is moving all the time.

So, natal Saturn describes your predisposition to Saturnine themes, while transiting Saturn might be interacting with other transiting planets and also interacting with natal planets.

Understanding your natal planets and the influence of transiting planets is how you can ā€œpredictā€ or get the rich, spooky insight into your own deep concerns about reality.

Hereā€™s what Rachel told me about Saturn > ā€œSaturn has been on the descent through your First through Third Housesā€”has it felt as though your thoughts have been heavy, warbled, hard to string togetherā€¦.?ā€

This is as close as Iā€™ve ever come to those moments in psychic TV shows when the lonely-looking woman in grocery store puts her hand to her lips and tears flood her eyes, just after the psychic bludgeons her with random words about nostalgic household itemsā€¦?

So, I can stop blaming the academy for losing my writing voice.

Hereā€™s the 411 about having Saturn ā€œon the descentā€ in your chart >>>> it means that Saturn is transiting through your First - Third Houses, as it has been through mine, since entering Scorpio. These are the baby-beginning Houses of your horoscope, and itā€™s like having your bedroom inspected by someone elseā€™s Army-veteran dad. Impossible to relax, integrate, coagulate.

I have been thinking that my clunky thoughts were due to a Clockwork Orange type brainwashing procedure I forgot about during college? šŸ¤”šŸ˜…

So, I can basically stop emailing my ex-professors Unabomber-esque manifestos? Maybe? (They might hate that?)

Rachel was also able to dispense the insight that Saturn would be crossing over my chartā€™s nadir (very bottom angle), and that my thoughts would begin sparking faster and brighter. ā€œItā€™s almost like theyā€™re wiring together, re-weaving the basis for how you think and mentally process the world.ā€

Since Saturn has been retrograding over my nadir (the IC or most bottom angle of the chart), it has felt as though a closet has suddenly flooded the basement with secret thoughts, oozing into the musty carpet and through the exposed 2x4 wall paneling.

And as it all begins to air-dry, the discoloration and smell almost looks improved. šŸ‘šŸ»

You can actually read more about Saturn cycles in Barbara Hand Clowā€™s Astrology and the Rising of Kundalini, though like me, knowing about Saturn transits and cycles might not actually do anything for youā€”not until another astrologer can explain your Saturn to you in empathic, reassuring tones.

 

TWO. Pluto in Retrograde, The Mabinogion, + Me. šŸ’€šŸŒ²

Thereā€™s another creepy fact about my life never spoken about, but always inferred. 

I was conceived as a trap. šŸ¤­āœØ

You knowā€”one of those situations.

I remember reading about this related to my Pluto placement in Donna Cunninghamā€™s Healing Pluto Problems, and nearly barfed into my lap.

Rachel actually recommended that book to me when I took her natal chart reading class hella years ago (2017), so, she already knew about this weird, not-totally-conscious psychodrama lurking in my distant past. šŸ˜³

Btw, how bizarre and awkward, trying to explain to a Plutonian the who, what, why of being a Plutonian without blurting out some really insane shit???

(Go here for the inside scoop on being Plutonian, a.k.a. having Pluto feature prominent and definitively in your natal chart. šŸ‘ŒšŸ»)

But Rachel came prepared. šŸ’«

Iā€™m certain she might credit her graduate work for why she is able to speak to such a grody, taboo terrain in my psyche without triggering shame, grief, or fear, because she did it through story-telling.

TO EXPLAIN PLUTO RETROGRADE IN MY BIRTH CHART > Rachel told me about the Mabonigen, a.k.a. the root system beneath the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a very esoteric symbol, but extra esoteric to me, because (unbeknownst to Rachel) the Tree of Life and I share a secret life. 

The Tree of Life motif is literally strewn around my house, and indirect confrontation to my dead momā€™s obsession with weeping willows.

(My ex even had a vision of our love-child with a Tree of Life tapestry in the background, now hanging in the hallway leading to the love-childā€™s bedroom, still smelling as petro-chemical rank as the Santa Cruz head shop we bought it in. šŸ„°šŸ’ž)

Rachelā€™s story about the Mabonigen threaded together what had felt like totally disparate significances in the recesses of my symbolic mind.

Rachel, the astrologer, helped me integrate all the potential, strengths, blind spots, and woo in my chart, and spin the interpretation into something useful and meaningful.

 

THREE. PLUTO SQUARES ARE REAL, AND COMING šŸ’€šŸ—“

Iā€™m about to get weird and aggressive.

But I want to intimate the breadth and clarity of the reading.

OUR LIFE UNFOLDS ACCORDING TO CYCLES šŸŒ€ > Physical, organic cycles (like, puberty āœØ), and also time-based, transit-based ones, where events seem to ā€œhappenā€ to us.

ā€¦and youā€™re not in charge of that.

I meanā€”you might re-frame, obfuscate, or skew descriptions of your life (including consequences šŸ˜³šŸ˜¬) in way that positions yourself as captain, engineer, or architect of reality, of your circumstancesā€¦

ā€¦but only through story-telling, and conversation, probably at your coworkers over Slack, your most codependent friends, or in your family newsletters. šŸ’šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

Our coworkers and family members might even LOL, commiserate, or totally identify with our story-telling, thus validating our version of eventsā€¦

ā€¦and helping us further dissociate from our teachable moments.

This is called manipulating the narrative. šŸ‘šŸ»āœØ

Likeā€”we donā€™t actually get to PICK our awakenings.

You get to pick your preferences and attitude, and you even get to pick the people surrounding you, but you donā€™t get to decide whether or not your body becomes diseased, your beloved falls out of love, or if the law is unfair, though it might be.

All Iā€™m suggesting is, most of our life circumstances and events are not choices. You werenā€™t born a tabula rasa, but with family and historical karma, much of your fate threaded into your mitochondria and writ upon your amygdala for hella days before your very first eureka moment.

And natal Pluto says a lot about that.

Astrology is helping me cope. šŸ‘šŸ»

THE POINT IS šŸ’« > My midlife transits are approaching, including my Pluto Square šŸ™€, and a lot of the narrative Iā€™ve been trying to origami into how I want it to be... is about. to fall apart.

WAIT, WHAT ARE ā€œMIDLIFE TRANSITSā€? > Pluto Square (ages 36-38*), Neptune Square (ages 40-42), Uranus Opposition (ages 42-44). šŸ’«

When Pluto and Neptune ā€œsquareā€ themselves, it means that the Pluto and Neptune transiting in the sky right now are forming a 90Ā° angle with Pluto and Neptune in your natal chart.

Thatā€™s whatā€™s technically occurring (on your chart), but even if you donā€™t know anything about astrology (and are not tracking your transits), you would notice around these ages that external events seem to conspire against us, forcing us to detox on personality strategies and feel into a ā€œmetaā€ awareness about our true place in the grand scheme of thingsā€”not decided by our 18 year old selves, or the media-culture, or whatever ā€œpersonality cultā€ we belong toā€¦

ā€¦but according to our actual potential, talents, and purpose.

Also, what the world actually wants / needs from us.

Knowing about these midlife astro transits isnā€™t about ā€œleveragingā€ them, or spinning lifeā€™s little expected tragedies into opportunities, or minimizing the riotous evolution of your eternal soul for othersā€™ comfort and convenience.

And, likeā€”I knew about these transits coming, but forgot thatā€¦ Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus are also prominent in my chart.

Or basically, Iā€™m an Outer Planet person šŸ’«, having an Outer Planet (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) close-aspecting my angles or one of my personal planets.

Suggesting thatā€¦ midlife is gonna get buckwild. šŸŽ‰

Because Saturn has will soon (finally) pass over my nadir (bottom-most angle of my chart) and begin to re-ascend around my chart, and also because these midlife transits are coming dueā€¦

ā€¦the obstacles that have been in my way are about to become the direction Iā€™m going in.

The obstacle is the way.
— Marcus Aurelius, bitch šŸ¤˜šŸ»šŸ’«

Thus, Rachelā€™s sweet, upbeat warning to meā€¦

Relax, most of your deepest and most profound personal growth is determined by transits! ā˜ŗļøšŸ’«

 

HOW TO CHOOSE AN ASTROLOGER šŸŒŸ

I KNOW, DUDE > Etsy, CraigsList, and other online marketplaces are teaming with astrologers-in-training willing to read your stars for cheap.

Hereā€™s what I want to say about that. šŸ¤Ø

Your astrologer doesnā€™t need to be a full-time, matriarchal-aged maven of the stars, but you do want someone invested. You want your astrologer to be as nerd-curious about your stars as your gynecologist about your post-sex hygiene.

Basically, you want someone who is using astrology, not just advertising services (and not just fishing for attention).

You want an astrologer who takes responsibility for your experience in the session, and takes their reputation as an astrologer seriously.

Start feeling out different astrologers through the material theyā€™ve made available online, or in the community, if you want to stay local. Subscribe to astrology newsletters, binge on a few articles or videos, and you might as well check out any free or low-price DIY-astrology products to give you more of an idea of how they deliver.

Also, try hitting up the bulletin boards of metaphysical bookshops, the vegan market, and ask around your yoga studio. When you hear about someone who ā€œdoesā€ astrology, find out where can you get acquainted. Do they have an IG, or facilitate workshops or community meet-ups? Can you call them on the phone, or meet for coffee?

Hereā€™s the thing, if he / she / they is willing to submit to a pre-interview (prior to you handing out any birth data), or has done the labor of setting up a workshop, blog, or authoring a weekly column in the weekly news rag, they care.

All of this effort is an investment in avoiding a situation where you have to listen to an unlearned weirdo tread on your secrets, or make a judgment call about a future thatā€™s actually rather secret-precious to you. āŒ

Some questions and considerations when youā€™re ā€œpre-interviewingā€ your astrologer šŸŒŸ >

  • WHO ARE THEY? How do you relate? Is this someone you can build rapport with (because they live in / donā€™t live in _____, you both have _____, youā€™re both _____, etc., whatever your deal is)? Is rapport and relatability important, or do you want someone who can hold a certain kind of spaceā€”whatever space you need for detangling the intricacies at the heart of your question(s)?

  • WHATā€™S THEIR P.O.V.? What area of life, spiritual lens, or worldview do they interpret astrology through? What demographics (age, sex, location, etc.) play into that view? What traditions do they study or have they trained in? How do they organize their sessions and materials? Do you recognize their jokes or references? If not, have the references they made sparked your curiosity, and led you into exciting new territories?

  • WHAT KIND OF ASTROLOGY DO THEY PRACTICE? Some astrologers only perform specific types of readings, while otherwise specialize in hyper-esoteric interpretations. Youā€™ll have to enquire or get to know them to find out, and remember, your reading and the information dispensed depends on your question.

  • WHY DO THEY DO ASTROLOGY? What result, effect, or transformation have they used astrology for? What questions or topics excite them? What ends to they put astrology towards in their own life? Do they also teach astrology, through books, classes, or mentorship?

  • ALSO, HOW DO THEY DELIVER THEIR READINGS? Is it within a format or timeframe that works for your learning style and attention span? What kind of support will you need to actually enjoy the session? Select an astrologer who will be able to record the reading or provide a PDF handout for future reference, or who otherwise makes it easy for you to feel like you get ā€œsomethingā€ out of it (aside from personal enlightenment).

HOW I CHOSE MY ASTROLOGER ā˜ŗļø>

I learned about Rachel Capurso through WITCH Magazine, and we officially connected through Carolyn Elliottā€™s workshop-community INFLUENCE. Iā€™ve also taken sev-vur-al of Rachelā€™s workshops, and have been subscribed to her newsletter, via two email accounts, for probably 5+ years. āœØ

So, I know Rachelā€™s writing voice. Our actual conversation was distractingā€”my inner-ear kept hooking to the ā€œmusicā€ between her spoken and written voice. I found that truly delightful, and part of the pleasure of front-loading a virtual acquaintanceship. 

If you know that studying astrology will be a lifelong extracurricular (šŸ™‹šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø), itā€™s cool linking up with astrology teachers, because they usually teach it the way they do it. Start building your own astro resource library to store all your references that you can easy-access when all your major cycles come to passā€¦.

ā€¦and hit up your astrologer friends when you feel the grind. šŸ¤™šŸ»

Couple places to start shopping for astrologers, if bookstores or yoga studios donā€™t dominate the region (hi, Iā€™m in California šŸ§˜šŸ»ā€ā™€ļøšŸŒŠ) >

šŸŒŸ I also wrote an article about all my other favorite online astrologers, where you can read, watch, and listen to their take on astrology, subscribe to their channels, and start building your own relationship with their perspective of the cosmos. 

šŸŒŸ Also, check out this Refinery29 article where Sara describes and compares natal chart readings from three different astrologers, which includes some of the questions she asked during her readings. šŸ’«

What kinds of questions can I ask an astrologer?

Anything. Literally. Lost socks. (Horary astrology.) Goal-setting, starting a business, fertility, and investing (electional astrology), picking careers, spouses, or vacation destinations (career astrology, synastry, astrocartography). 

People ask astrology questions about past lives and the after life, about extraterrestrial lineages, the Akashic recordsā€¦

Likeā€”visit the Astrology Sub-Reddit thread, itā€™s like my favorite thing. šŸ¤©šŸŽ‰

WHAT EYE THINK YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR ASTROLOGER šŸŒŸ> Ask about your current astro cycles and major upcoming transits.āœØ

Find an astrologer who can go further than inventorying your natal chart, though thatā€™s exciting and helpful, too. šŸ‘šŸ»

I meanā€”itā€™s cool actually showing up to the session already knowing a lilā€™ sumpinā€™ sumpinā€™ about your stars. This post shows you where to get your natal chart (+ includes a free printable worksheet, hay now šŸ“šŸŽ‰), while this post shows you how to really memorize and understand your own.

But if you want to validate astrology (even if no one else but you and your astrologer know for sureā€¦ becauseā€¦ itā€™s too spooky and private šŸ™ˆ), you need someone who can not just explain the natal chart potential they see, but also map out your super-personal (and totally scheduled šŸ˜³) transits, such as Saturn Return, Jupiter Joy-Luck Cycles, Chiron Return, Pluto Square (ages 36-38ish), Uranus Opposition (42-44ish), all the transits. šŸ‘šŸ»šŸ¤©šŸ’« 

HINT > You can read a little about astrological cycles via Barbara Hand Clowā€™s Astrology and the Rising of Kundalini, though a pro- (or even semi-pro) astrologer might help you better synthesize the themes, and also bounce ideas off of about some current, true-life experiences or events that might be playing into your cycles.

WHAT ABOUT QUESTIONS CONCERNING A PARTICULAR TIMEFRAME, OR FOR TIMING A SPECIFIC OUTCOME? > LOTS and MOST astrologers offer electional readings, or teach you how to ā€œleverageā€ transits, and otherwise assist you in becoming super pragmatic with transits (start a business, have a baby, make new friends).

BUT Iā€™M HERE TO SAY > After 3 years of trying to launch a business while Mercury was in Gemini or Mars in Virgo (or sundry other ā€œopportuneā€ transits), understanding the opportunity in the current transits wasnā€™t helpful. šŸ˜³šŸ’«

Even if the transits were opportune in general, they werenā€™t for me.

Actuallyā€”a NATAL chart reading was where I learned that, while those transits are generally ripe for what I was seeking, my personal timing wasnā€™t (see above šŸ’«).

SO, be advised, no matter how chill or opportune the current planet transits, it all falls back to your natal chart and scheduled cycles (Saturn, Chiron, etc.). šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

All the same, learn more about electional astrology over here. āœØ

Astrology readings are about digging into our personal nougat. Yes, any such activity can be spiritually and psychologically satisfying, but if you havenā€™t got the resource to spend, itā€™s definitely not something you need to go bargain hunting for, or to delay all higher priority tasks (and problems) until you get one.

These are the types of charts astrologers can calculate >

šŸŒŸ NATAL CHART READINGS > Your natal chart is basically a vision communiquĆ© of your source and ultimate potential. Types of info you can get from a natal chart reading > relationship potential, star-charted talents and luck, learning style and philosophical preferences, adventure or crisis potential, character challenges or vulnerabilities (potential inner conflicts, self-other power struggles, etc). Questions for a natal chart reading > who am I? What am I? Why this, why that? Whatā€™s my potential? What might I surrender to fate?Most beginners start with a natal chart reading, which gives the whole story, top to bottom, front to back. You can ask for a report or run-down on major astrological cycles (like Saturn or Chiron), or to hear the ā€œstory of my lifeā€ acted out through the planets. Who am I? WHY am I? Why do I always, never, sometimesā€¦? Will I ever or am I gonna beā€¦?

šŸŒŸ HOROSCOPES, OR TRANSIT CHART READINGS > An astrologer looks at your natal chart combined with a transit chart, showing where planets currently influence you, or looking at how transits affected (or will affect) you based on a past or future date. This might give you a heads up about any impacts within a certain span of time, or can help affirm any recent weirdness or changes. Why have I been feelingā€¦? Whatā€™s going on withā€¦? (Learn how to read + track your own transits here. šŸŖšŸ’«)

šŸŒŸ LUNAR AND SOLAR RETURN CHART READINGS > Most people get readings for their solar return chart, which is literally just your ā€œbirthdayā€ā€™chart, hinting at your major development and themes for the coming year. Learn more about Solar Return chart readings over here. šŸŽ‰

Also, this article walks you through doing your own Solar Returns, Mystic Medusa sells automated Power Moon reports šŸŒ™āœØ, and this astrologer blogger has all the intel on Lunar Returns (which happen every month šŸ™€), including merging your Moon-life and herbalism with self-care. šŸŒ™šŸŒæ

(If you want to DIY your Solar and Lunar Return charts first, becauseā€¦ you are Plutonianā€”obviously šŸ˜‰ā€”then check out this article, which will walk you through the process of using both charts in your forecasting!)

šŸŒŸ ASTRO-CARTOGRAPHY READINGS > You can also look up transits dates in new locations, called Astro-Cartography šŸ‘šŸ»šŸ§­āœØ , so if you know FOR SURE youā€™re spending the whole summer of your 28th birthday in a Tuscan village, cast that chart. šŸŒŽšŸ’«

šŸŒŸ SYNASTRY, OR RELATIONSHIP CHART READINGS > This reading combines your chart with another personā€™s to examine your relationship dynamic, and maybe get insight into your partnershipā€™s strengths and challenges. Can be done for flings, best friends, business partners, parents, siblings, cousins, cherished aunties. What are the underpinnings of this dynamic that I canā€™t see, and how could this pan out? Why do I feel like weā€™ve met before? What has sustained our friendship this long? Whatā€™s going on in our relationshipā€”is it just me? (Read my own janky synastry tutorial over here. ā˜ŗļøšŸ’•)

šŸŒŸ ELECTIONAL CHART READINGS > These readings predict or advise your next-steps according to a goal, expectations, or a scheme youā€™ve got goinā€™ on. What are my best next steps at a time like this, or for when I want toā€¦? Learn more about electional astrology over here. āœØ

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ASTROLOGERS + ASTROLOGY READINGS? > Check out this post in Nicā€™s ā€œSo You Want To Be An Astrologerā€ series, because it lists all the astrological specialities for you to Google to your heartā€™s content.

how should I prepare for my astrology reading? >

This totally depends on your own comfort metrics, but if youā€™re feeling super-anxious, it might be related to expectations.

Being a secretive Plutonian šŸ’€, scheduling a natal chart reading alone put me in defensive mode, and literally why I avoided it for so long (though wanted it so bad).

Likeā€”What is she gonna find out about me that EYE donā€™t already know? Can she use it to emotionally manipulate me? Of course she can, because she and all women are my mother, obviouslyā€¦ šŸāŒ

So an hour or so before my Zoom meeting with Rachel, I scribbled a few pages in my diary finishing the sentence: ā€œWhat Iā€™m hoping to get out of thisā€¦ā€ āœļøšŸŒŸ

This gave me a chance to organize my thoughts, ease down my defenses, and nibble on chocolate as a self-soothing activity. I also popped two Lions Mane capsules from the health food store located in the shopping center where Iā€™d parked my SUV and had planned to pirate WiFi from the nail salon for our Zoom astrology consultā€¦

ā€¦and my nerves became the essence of smooth gravity.

Some questions I vaguely answered in my diary* before our live consult šŸ“–āœØ >

  • What do I need an astrology reading for? What are my questions? What answers am I looking for? Why?

  • What am I expecting? How do I believe the reading will affect (or not) the outcome? What am I hoping to feel or be able to do after getting the reading?

  • Whatā€™s at stake? Am I holding off important decision-making, action-taking, or in any other way avoiding an urgent matter?

  • Where else can I find information I seek? Can I arrange other appointments (with a financial advisor, mental health counselor, a wise older relative, etc.) alongside my astrology reading?

*Actually, itā€™s the astrological grimoire I started in Rachelā€™s virtual natal chart reading class, DISCOVERY. šŸ‘šŸ»āœØ

If your question for the stars relates to a situation that makes you feel yucky or puts you on the defense (or youā€™re hella Plutonian and secretive and any kind of info exchange makes you salty šŸ’€), find a way to purge that juju before your session >

Schedule your reading on a day when youā€™ll be able to do something breezy before and after to help settle your nerves.

Likeā€”maybe afterwards, you need to hit up a virtual dance class and shake your ass, or maybe spend an hour in the company of a true friend, or schedule a rendezvous with someone new and completely different, so you have somewhere to escape into after the reading, if youā€™re the type who needs to feel like youā€™re on the move after making big internal leaps. šŸ˜³šŸ˜…

Again, this totally depends on your comfort metrics, and should probably be determined before you set out for your reading.

(Says your mom. šŸ˜˜)

Then, AFTER the readingā€¦.

  1. FIRST THING! Eat chocolate. šŸ«āœØ Because thatā€™s what Professor Lupin suggests to Harry after the Dementors swarmed the Hogwarts Express in Book III of the Harry Potter Series. So, do that, of course. āœ…

  2. SECOND, ugly-cry in the back of your SUV, hit the ā€œrecordā€ button in your Voice Memo app, and shriek, AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS ANYTHING IS A SECRET??

FOR ME, POUR MOI šŸ’•> During the actual reading, I was totally hooked into what Rachel was saying. I opted not to record the conversation. Why not? Because having the recording wouldā€™ve turned into a fetish. Any challenging experience or insight from the convo wouldā€™ve been psychically tucked away as soon as Iā€™d archived the recording. 

That might not be your deal. You might need to immediately review your recordings or PDFs, or know that youā€™ll have to come back to it 1-2x before itā€™s fully downloaded into your brain.

YOU KNOW YOURSELF BEST, HERE > If you have the propensity to fetishize, or you suspect the recording wonā€™t do as much service as the live experience, skip it. Plug in.

 

Conclusion: Reality-check your astrology Questions (hint: DONā€™T GO looking for answers)āœŒšŸ»

FIRST RULE OF ASTROLOGY > Itā€™s totally extracurricular. šŸ‘šŸ» 

SECOND RULE OF ASTROLOGY > Itā€™s basically like a fan dance, full of hints and innuendos, not answers.

Astrology is just an insight, a godā€™s eye view on the scope, breadth, and depth of your astrological cycles.

Astrologyā€¦ is integrative. šŸ‘šŸ»āœØ

Likeā€”I canā€™t imagine what someone gets from sitting with a priest that varies from what an astrology reading provides. šŸ¤”

Even if the question pertains to lost socks or brass tacks, all an astrologer is doing is looking for where your question ā€œfits inā€ with the Big Picture, getting a wider scope of whatā€™s at play, and also, the role you might take up in it. āœŒšŸ»

We can use an astrology reading to investigate our own questions, rinse down our expectations, and perhaps unveil more of the why behind our wonderings and yearnings, in general.

And, as Iā€™ve been alluding to throughout this post, sometimes itā€™s the question(s) you arenā€™t asking, the perspective youā€™re unable to take on your problems and foibles, that gets revealed by your astrologer. šŸ˜³šŸ¤Æ

And thereā€™s also what Ursula Le Guin said about attempts to reduce the human experience to identifiable cultural tropes >

Jungians such as Joseph Campbell have generalized such journeys into a set of archetypal events and images.

Though these generalities can be useful in criticism, I mistrust them as fatally reductive. ā€˜Ah, the Night Sea Voyage!ā€™ we cry, feeling we have understood something importantā€”but weā€™ve merely recognized it.

Until we are actually on that voyage, we have understood nothing.

ALSO, REMEMBER, FAIR WARNING > Whatever energy you bring into your astrology reading, thatā€™s what your astrologer will feed into (or off of).

THUSā€¦

  1. Find an astrologer to invest into,

  2. Confront your own expectations, and

  3. Groom your energy. āœ…

READY TO BOOK A READING? > These are all my favorite astrologers, each with online material where you can read their mind, subscribe, and learn more about yourself (+ astrology) while deciding if theyā€™re the right match for you. šŸ’–

ANY OTHER NEED-TO-KNOWā€™S YOU THINK SHOULD BE ON THIS LIST? > Drop me an email, and let me know! šŸ˜˜

 
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ASTROLOGYAsh Barros