3 Lessons I’ve Learned in 3 Years of Being an Astrologer
At least once or twice a year I feel like I want to stop doing consultations. Because I don’t know enough.
Astrology is one of the most challenging practices I have studied in my life. More challenging than:
- Studying neuroscience
- Dancing for 12 hours a day
- Writing a thesis on improvisation
Why? Two reasons:
- Studying astrology feels like a thorn in my side. There’s always more to learn. I’m constantly wondering if I know it well enough to share confidently.
- Similar to yoga and dance, I feel the weight of the responsibility of sharing astrology with people and doing it well (Capricorn rising, hello, how are ya?!).
Last year, I met with an incredible, very seasoned astrologer. I told him about my struggle. He reminded me that astrology is God’s writing in the stars and anyone who has the ability to read it has a responsibility to share what it says with others.
He also told me I will never know it all. That’s the beauty of it. It assures our humanity. We can’t ever be God.
The most important thing he told me, which sticks with me to this day, is this:
“Whatever you tell them is extraordinarily useful and helpful. That’s the nature of Astrology. And your responsibility is to just do it right. Just do what you’ve been trained to do. That’s thousands of years of knowledge.”
Here are three things I’ve learned to help me keep going and honor my responsibility:
1. Be where you are.
I can’t rush the wisdom that comes from experience and practice. I can’t expect myself to be an expert astrologer immediately and I still know more than enough to contribute.
I’ve made some mistakes along the way, especially in the beginning as I was
working on synthesizing the information. I’ve had to learn to forgive myself for it. I accept that people are getting this version of me and what I know now. Which means giving myself grace for being new… Because the only way to not be new is to keep going.
I can’t be at year 20 in year 3. And that’s okay (freaking out silently still…).
2. Share what you can.
Speaking of things that are okay… I don’t know everything… and that’s okay (or is it… LOL). But honestly, sometimes I have to say, “I’m sorry but I cannot answer that.”
Anyone can ask anything about their life and receive guidance from the chart. So I make no mistake about where the limitation lies… it’s with me, not with the tool.
At first I wasn’t okay with that. I felt like I had to all of a sudden be able to give people all these answers to their life questions because I studied astrology.
Now, I feel more at peace as I grow more confident in my foundational knowledge and allow myself to trust in exactly what I was trained to do.
It feels both humbling and empowering to receive messages like this:
“I am sitting here amazed by how spot-on you were with everything You’ve left me with lots to think about and a fresh outlook on some of the things I had been worrying over. I appreciate you so much! Looking forward to the next session!”
3. Learn what you will.
I’ve learned that insecurity arises because I feel a lack of knowledge in a specific area. So I turn to my resources as a comfort and a guide. Especially in times where I feel like I need to stop because I know “nothing” (can anyone relate?).
A lot of my learning is about Re-learning. Re-reading the books I read at Kepler. Reviewing the courses I took.
I repeatedly go back to The Astrology Podcast episodes about foundational
concepts like the signs, the houses, the planets and the aspects. I sit in relationship with my chart, to witness and reflect on how it shows up in my
life. I work to develop true relationships with these ideas so they become more embodied.
As a choreographer, I work with affirmations in my creative process to meet fear of the unknown in performance. One of my favorites is, “I am in a constant state of learning.”
Isn’t it so true though? We are all in a constant state of learning. One of the biggest takeaways for me has been recognizing that I can be both: learning and contributing.
Permission to be both, granted. If you have any doubts about your own brilliance, I wish that for you, too.
Bianca Paige Smith’s Links
- Website: http://biancapaigesmith.com
- Astrology Consults: https://biancapaigesmith.offeringtree.com/offerings
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancapaigesmith/
Not Another Mercury Retrograde: Going through the (Apparent Retrograde) Motions
Written by: Jasmin Lila
It seems like everyone and their aunt knows when Mercury is retrograde these days. I dare say it’s nearly as popular as knowing your Sun sign. Which is pretty cool; I’d never lament a more widespread acceptance of Astrology.
However, with this surge in mainstream popularity, and a (mostly justifiable) need to simplify complex concepts for broader accessibility, the conversation around Mercury retrogrades does seem to have gotten a little repetitive. Cliched. Reductive.
The finer details of Mercury retrograde have been somewhat lost in translation – the absolute on the nose perfection of which is not lost on me.
It’s a problem I realized I was contributing to, as I wrote yet another interpretation about how this is a time to reassess and rethink, to triple check the data, and avoid making big decisions. It’s not terrible advice, but it certainly lacks a greater nuance that any given Astrology transit deserves. Because even though they might have a similar foundation, no two retrogrades are created equal.
Mercury retrograde in expansive Sagittarius has a much different flavor than that of one in grounded Capricorn. A retrograde that features squares with Neptune is bound to melt the mind and confuse communication, a little more than one that features sextiles with clear-cut Saturn. Combine those and you get two very distinct periods of retrograde time. Once you factor in how it’s influencing your natal chart, there’s no telling how many variations are possible from one single retrograde.
All of that had gotten away from me somehow, though. Another Mercury retrograde was upon us and I was on autopilot, just going through the motions. Honestly, I think Mercury noticed.
This past retrograde (Dec. 2023 to Jan. 2024) manifested in some of the most obvious, palm-to-forehead ways for me. While Mercury was retrograde in my third house of communication, I recorded an entire podcast episode before realizing my microphone hadn’t been working. When Mercury backtracked to my second house of money, I had a bank account get shut down without my knowledge or any warning.
The majority of those classic retrograde bloopers and snafus – glitchy tech, misunderstandings, retracing your steps – happened while Mercury was in Sagittarius, reminding me and emphasizing the importance of planetary condition. Mercury’s detriment in Sagittarius surely contributed to making that part of the retrograde all the more haywire.
My experience was radically different while Mercury was retrograde in Capricorn. Though it’s neutral territory for Mercury, the steady environment of a Saturn-ruled earth sign likely offered extra stability, to stay ever so slightly more on track.
The second take on that podcast episode was infinitely better than the first, and this recording delay wound up playing a role in the renaming and rebranding of that podcast. A change I had been trying to make for months, and which the retrograde revising opened the door for.
This third house retrograde also brought the opportunity to recreate my website, to pivot the type of regular content I create, and on the day of the retrograde station, a reversal in mindset. It was this initial stage of the retrograde that awakened me from autopilot.
It’s not uncommon for the day of a station, whether retrograde or direct, to be the trickiest part of the cycle. With the planet completely inert, delays and inactivity make sense. However, this particular station day was one of the most productive I’d had in weeks. A writing project I’d been working on, and hitting one roadblock after another, was suddenly finding its stride. And then it was done.
As Mercury found a place of stillness in the cosmos, my mind found a calm clarity here on Earth. I doubt every retrograde station will provide such a blessing, but this possibility for mental peace and focus will get factored into my future interpretations.
More than just reminding me that ubiquity doesn’t negate uniqueness, this retrograde prompted me to rethink my approach to Astrological translation. To give the planets a little more agency in the stories they’re weaving. We might know how the last retrograde played out, but that doesn’t mean we know all the twists and turns of the retrogrades yet to come.
We can be prepared to reassess, triple check data, and delay big decisions, but we can also go deeper than that. Each retrograde holds the gift of a second chance. The pen to rewrite our stories. An opportunity to awaken from autopilot and do more than just go through the motions.
More from Jasmin Lila
Website: https://jasmins-astrology.square.site/
Links: https://jasminsastrology.bio.link/
Synastry vs. Davison: A Relationship Astrology Technique Comparison
Description of Techniques
Synastry is the comparison of two or more natal charts, and how placements between two people manifest in their interactions and lives. The biwheel drawing makes it easy to see aspects formed between charts, and whether or not you use synastry, the concept of chart overlays is a foundation of all astrology. Synastry is a great next step to study after natal astrology, as other people’s placements can act as permanent transits to your chart, provoking or exciting you, and often both!
Composite charts are another form of comparing natal charts. The Composite chart was created by John Townley, who popularized the method in his 1973 book The Composite Chart. The idea is that you calculate the midpoints of each person’s placements to generate a hypothetical chart that characterizes the relationship. More attention is paid to the ascendant, the sign placement of the chart ruler. and stelliums in houses and or signs to describe the themes of relationships. However, you cannot over-interpret the chart since it is largely based on midpoints. Transits can be applied to this chart to assess how the astroweather is affecting a relationship.
In the early 1970s, Ronald Davison developed and outlined a different form of composite chart that would become known as the Davison Relationship Chart. Unlike the midpoint composite popularized by John Townley, the birth date, birth time, and birthplace are averaged to generate a chart that exists in time and space. Many of the same principles for interpreting midpoint composite charts apply, but it can be read like a natal chart. Experimentation suggests that timing techniques beyond transits can actually be applied to this chart, describing the seasons of a particular relationship.
Mo’s Preference: Davison
I am a big composite fan, and more specifically a fan of the Davison Relationship Chart. People understand their connections to other people through their experience of the relationship, and I think both forms of composite charts are helpful for achieving these goals. A big selling point for me with Davison charts is that you can identify the midpoint of a relationship in the ephemeris. Since the chart generated is not just the midpoint of individual placements, you can have retrogrades show up in the chart. If you are connected to someone born in a different part of a key planetary cycle, you may find that a retrograde planet or a cazimi plays a central part of your relationship. You may also find repetitions of that planetary cycle (eclipse, retrograde, cazimi, etc.) are transits that strongly impact the relationship! Overlays are key, and despite having an averaged date/time/location, sometimes the energy of one person dominates more in these charts, rather than being a perfect average. This provides valuable interpretive nuance, regardless of the nature of the relationship!
Anna’s Preference: Synastry
Synastry always gets a bad reputation as a sort of lesser form of astrology for a few reasons. Relationship astrology is sensitive and extremely complex, as well as personal. It’s easy to think you’ve got it wrong because there are so many astrological and emotional variables. I honed my astrological skills through dissecting my own relationships and those of others, vascilating between the roles of observer and participant. As I study and read astrological texts from both the ancient and modern world, I’m always pleased to see synastry woven into descriptions of nativities and other delineations. While I also use Composite and Davison charts for relationship readings, because they were crafted in the 20th century, there isn’t as much of a richness of historical analysis, and much of that analysis comes from synastry as well.
As astrologers understand more about the ways that the stars manifest in overarching societal experiences, mapping out the sparks in your romantic connections may seem petty in comparison. But amidst all of the turmoil and crisis of humanity, it matters who you come home to, and a synastry biwheel can show that so simply and poetically. I think there is something to be said for the basic and vital aspects such as Venus trine Moon, which expresses such care and understanding between individuals.
Finally, synastry is not just for romance! Rivalries, friendships, families, career, social media accounts, and pets are all relationships that can be examined through synastry.
About the Authors:
Anna DunLany is a traditionally influenced modern astrologer who specializes in natal and relationship readings. She started studying astrology in her teens, reading every book and internet forum she could find, then formally studied with Samuel Reynolds, and opened her professional practice in 2022. With her background in non-profit fundraising and volunteer management, Anna is focused on how AYA can best support astrologers educationally and financially, while connecting with one another in meaningful ways.
A deep love of history, creative writing, and her Gemini MC led Anna to combine her academic and esoteric interests and write her newsletter, Overly Personal Astrology, where she writes personal essays and astrological analysis of herself and historical figures. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mo is an American astrologer currently based in Toronto, Canada. She has been a practicing astrologer since 2018. She specializes in Hellenistic and Medieval astrology, focusing heavily on Solar Revolutions, Profections, and related timing techniques. She is passionate about teaching people about the various applications of the smaller subdivisions of the zodiac.
November Forecast
Astrologically, the end of October was a rollercoaster. Since the sun entered Scorpio, planets have turned on their heels, ingressed, regressed, and eclipsed one another in one of the more tense and intense astrological periods of the entire year. If you’re reeling, you’re not alone.
Scorpio season is a strange time for such change. Though Scorpio is associated with transformation in some schools of astrology, it is also fixed in nature. Though the impulses to transform and to remain fixed seem contradictory, transforming is far different from adapting. Though not all transformation is permanent, it requires a certain decisiveness to occur, a commitment to going from one thing to another. Scorpionic energy is embodied in the courage it takes to reject a fixed status quo in favor of the unknown.
The midpoints of all fixed signs mark the midpoints of each of the four seasons, the moments halfway between equinoxes and solstices. At these moments, the character of a given season is typically holding fairly steady. In Scorpio season, the days have notably shifted in length, but not so much so that they feel extreme. The weather, typically, holds steady. At these midpoints, we still vividly remember what has just passed, but we also begin to sense what’s coming in the air. This year, the moment takes on special significance as the final eclipse of this season, a total lunar eclipse in Taurus with a tight conjunction to Uranus for good measure.
The term I most frequently use to describe eclipses is “unpredictable.” There are some standard, typical significations (shout out to my friend who’s getting fitted for contacts during this eclipse season), but eclipses can be incredibly hard to predict. And arguably, confidence in the outcome of an eclipse is almost like a challenge to the fates to throw you for a loop. Though they are symbolically malefic in character, on a personal level, their manifestations can run the gamut from devastating to absolutely magical (of course, not always so extreme). And in the season of fixity and transformation, the potent energy of an eclipse has the potential to radically shift dynamics. Whether or not you want to make big moves, the current astro-weather may not leave you with much choice.
The lunar eclipse on November 8th marks itself as at or near the end of stories that have been playing out in a major way since around May of this year. Hopefully, this period offers some resolution to the problems that have plagued us since then. While the astrology right now may not feel comforting, astrology always offers a reminder that all cycles end, ebbing and flowing into one another in a natural exchange. Sometimes new problems replace the old ones, but at leat there’s change.
As Saturn and Mars both change direction, there’s a sense of tension almost vibrating in the air right now. With both malefics moving slowly for the entire month of November, the message is clear: you can’t give your all to everything. This month is about deciding what to grind through and what you need to shelve for the time being. And in some cases, it means dusting off old skills or stories, taking them down, and seeing whether some previously abandoned thought or skill might be just the solution needed.
After the heaviness of this eclipse season, the end of November has a scintillating energy that particularly lends itself to fresh perspective. Starting on the 12th, Mercury and Venus will be within 3º of one another and will continue traveling together through the rest of the month. They begin in Scorpio, passing over a square to Saturn. Saturn is holding a lot of weight right now, coming off of their last domicile retrograde period before shooting straight off into the mystical waters of Pisces. As Mercury and Venus overcome them, they offer an opportunity to talk it out and get deep. What’s the one thing you haven’t wanted to say out loud? When there’s nothing left to lose, you might as well just name it.
This heaviness quickly changes its character on this 16th when Venus enters Sagittarius and Mercury follows around 24 hours later. In Jupiter’s home, Mercury can feel a bit discombobulated, but that disorientation sometimes allows them to stumble on brilliant, unconventional ideas. With a recently domiciled, stationing Jupiter in Pisces in charge, the sheer volume of potential bright ideas is at an all-time high.
The end of November and the beginning of Sagittarius season are defined by this merging of Mercurial and Venusian energies seeking unifying theories and quick resolution. However, both planets will make an opposition to retrograde Mars in Gemini by the end of the month. While many exciting possibilities may be offered, all that glitters is not gold, and Mars represents a stumbling block in the way of satisfying resolution.
Whenever Mars and Venus make an opposition, Mars is either retrograde or stationary, giving Venus the upper hand. This opposition is less of a wrecking ball and more of a small but noteworthy red flag. With whatever comes up at the end of the month, pay attention to what doesn’t seem to be adding up. If something seems too good to be true, it may be. It’s certainly worth taking a second look.
If I had to distill the astrology of November to a single piece of advice it would be this: take care of what you can, no more and no less. You can spin out of control trying to align yourself with the flow of the universe or clear the path months and years down the road. Let November be about the here and now and what needs to happen in order to make life the most livable in the immediate present. And trust that you know best what that is.
About the Author
Adina (she/her) is a lesbian jewish astrologer currently based in Texas. She holds a BA in Folklore and Mythology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and is currently earning an MA in clinical psychology with a focus on Spirituality, Mind, and Body. Adina’s astrological practice explores the relationship of the self to the personal, interpersonal, structural, and cosmic in a way that fosters self-compassion and deep exploration. Adina is an active consulting astrologer, and she has presented on astrology and fatness at the Emerging Astrologers Summit. When not astrologizing, Adina loves binge-watching television, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and crocheting.
You can find Adina online @adinarising and on her website.
Dinner and Drinks with Sam Reynolds: The USA’s Pluto Return
Dinner and Drinks is back in July welcoming Sam Reynolds as our guest of honor! Join us on the evening of Thursday, July 25th.
Sam will be speaking about the upcoming Pluto Return of the United States. It will be exact in 2022. As Pluto slowly approaches this point at 27° Capricorn over the next few years, this return is coming into the orb of effect.
It’s hard to discuss – but the truth is that slavery, racism, economic disparities, and police brutality harken back to the founding of the United States of America. How we grapple with this difficult legacy keeps breaking through in today’s headlines as inequality festers. Local police routinely direct excessive force at black and brown bodies. The USA has the highest incarceration rate in the world. For instance, men who don’t happen to be white are disproportionately locked behind bars while white criminals remain free.
There are no easy answers here…. how plutonian.
Sam will also unpack a problematic insight from Liz Greene’s book on Pluto. The black man has often been cast as an archetypal symbol of Pluto in western culture. Many individuals internalize the black man into their psyche and dreams as a Plutonian symbol. Does this conflation do justice to either black men or to Pluto?
Join AYA for a perspective on the Pluto return that doesn’t shy away from openly acknowledging the wounds of race, slavery, economic disparities, and our relationship to safety & security with policing. Our vision is to create a safe space and container for a dialogue about the pressing issues of our time, and how to understand America’s Plutonian legacy.
Find out more about Sam Reynolds – http://unlockastrology.com/
https://zoom.us/j/509348405