Why I Love Astrology
When Chani Nicholas released her book, You Born for This, at the start of 2020, I rushed to order a signed copy. I first became aware of her work as a graduate student, and have since found comfort in her emails, Instagram posts, and have even participated in a few of her courses. However, it wasn’t until early this month that I took the time to sit down with my journal and work my way through the self-paced guide to my own astrology chart. I finished the entire book in a matter of hours, and found myself wishing I didn’t have a signed copy so that I could have felt free to scribble in the margins and highlight everything of relevance. And a lot of it felt relevant.
The insight into my chart felt relevant because it felt like someone was poetically and accurately explaining myself to me, paired with the message that these qualities are all components of my life’s purpose. The gifts and challenges of my chart are all part of the what, why, and how I show up in the world for myself and others. I’ve carried these insights with me throughout the days since, often remembering snippets of text that affirm the choices I make and the work I feel compelled to do.
I am not here to debate the science of astrology, or to convince folks that its teachings are “real.” I have no stake in its claims, but I am excited to share some potential benefits of learning about your own chart — if that is something that could feel aligned with your values and beliefs. Maybe you are someone who has heard buzz around astrology but never quite understood what people were getting out of it.
Understanding Your True Self
Much of the work in therapy is tied to the belief that we are shaped by our experiences, social identities, and interactions with our surroundings. We often look to our past experiences to understand why things hurt in the present, or why a seemingly neutral event can elicit such a strong reaction. The idea is that once we understand our triggers, we can use that insight to respond differently in the future. I believe in this approach, and I believe in continuing to do this work. But- can you think of anything about yourself that doesn’t “fit” with your history, but still feels like a core part of who you are? It’s likely that you are identifying a part of your core self, which is not something that developed as a way of coping with things that hurt. It might feel good to both recognize and celebrate these parts of your core self. Understanding your astrological chart might help you do this.
One example from my own chart is that my moon is in the seventh house (if you have no idea what that means, don’t worry — I didn’t either until reading this book). This signifies that I may be likely to find my life purpose through connecting to others. It’s often difficult for me to articulate why I chose to be a therapist because it just “feels right.” I loved seeing this reflected back to me in my chart: an affirmation of how I legitimately feel like I have the best “job” in the world.
Guiding Your Future
If I find myself feeling drained, particularly around any specific person, it’s a good idea for me to check in with myself to see if I’m taking on their feelings as my own. As someone who tends to find purpose through relationships (moon in seventh house), my moon is also in the sign of Cancer, which means I may be prone to feel others’ feelings and take them on as my own if I’m not careful. With my sun in the sign of Taurus, I can turn to activities I find pleasure in (like dancing or soaking in the sun) to recharge.
In therapy, we would think about past experiences in relationships and your family of origin that may have magnified this predisposition. In astrology, it feels like a fixed trait. In therapy, this type of work would be framed around practicing boundaries and not slipping into co-dependency. In the world of astrology, it feels like something to just continue to be mindful of. This is a beautiful dance between the two; to consider these traits as neutral truths and also work to understand how our unique life experiences have shaped them and how we can practice a sense of personal power in working with our fixed traits. Understanding your own chart can provide you with specific questions to ask yourself if you are not feeling like your best self. You can learn this same skill in therapy, but it might take longer!
I invite my clients to share parts of their chart that feel relevant to them, particularly if it feels connected to something that is coming up often, or something they are feeling stuck on. If this feels aligned with your values, I wish you the comfort and feeling of being understood that I have found with my work with astrology!