The first reason is that Astrology reconnects us with nature, its cycles and the cosmos. Secondly, Astrology is a wonderful tool that helps us become more consciously awareof who we truly are and it allows us to take on the role of the observer. We can become less judgmental and more compassionate with ourselves, and also with our environment.
But before elaborating further, I would like to share how Astrology became a source of faith, spiritual comfort and purpose for me and probably many other souls out during this pivotal year. The buzz about Astrology in recent years is real and no coincidence given the fact that the sign of Aquarius - which will play a very important role next year - is ruled by Uranus which in turn rules Astrology. As Astrologer Monique Leurink says: "I certainly believe that Astrology will become more official and that there is big growth and a quantum jump in Astrology in 2021. Astrology is a language of the stars and the energies, which will play a more important role in the way we talk about what is happening in the future."
I think we all agree that 2020 has been a crazy ride. But as much as it has been difficult and challenging, it has also been very transformative and eye opening for many of us. Some had the privilege of being slowed down to the point where we finally had the time to uncover some of our hidden parts. The parts that we didn’t allow to shine because we were constantly in the state of being busy. We never really had the time to integrate what we went through in our lives or took the time to process our feelings. We just rushed from one event to the next, from one appointment to the next and from one commitment to the next.
I love the metaphor of a snow globe that author Glennon Doyle writes about in her book "Untamed" and to which she referred to many times in interviews in 2020: "We’re like snow globes: We spend all of our time, energy, words, and money creating a flurry, trying not to know, making sure that the snow doesn’t settle so we never have to face the fiery truth inside us – but the challenge of 2020 is that we’ve been forced to let our snow globes settle. So we’re facing the dragons of our lives, relationships & nations. It’s terrifying & overwhelming but also an opportunity. Let the snow stay settled for a while."
So while "my snow started to settle" back in March/April of 2020, I started to look for other answers to what was going on in the world rather than the narrative of the mainstream media. I didn’t want to keep going down the avenue of fear. I was looking for something that would empower me. Before I realized, this wish would change my life forever. One single moment of googling "Astrology and Covid-19" lead to an intense awakening. I caught the Astrology bug in full force.
I learned that Astrologers talked about this really pivotal year 2020 for years and that they were able to forecast that the Saturn-Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn would bring immense change to our old structures and the world as we knew it. The feel of 2020 would be "something that we’ve never seen before". My mind was blown away by what the planets can reveal to us and it would be an understatement to say that I was intrigued by the depth of knowledge all the Astrologers seemed to have. I was determined and ready to learn as much about this craft as possible. The famous saying "As above, so below" and "As without, so within" became my new guides for this year. In other words, Astrology helped me to re-discover myself and to connect to nature and the world around me on a much deeper level than ever before. Synchronicities popped up left and right.
As mentioned above, the first reason why I fell in love with Astrology is the fact that it offers us deep wisdom on how to connect to the natural cycles that we are exposed to on a daily base. As Astrologer Bronwyn Simons states: "The moon teaches us, on a deep body and spirit level, about what cyclical time is and about what our connection to nature and the natural cycles means." Once we are more familiar with the moon cycle, we can branch out and connect with the other cycles that planets create with their movement around the sun and from our perspective, around the world.
Each and every planetary cycle has beautiful insights to offer us about what energies we’ll be experiencing or exposed to on a global, but also personal, level. It can open our eyes to the fact that our modern world of linear timelines are not very natural. Cyclical growth is much more in tune with nature, because everything happens in cycles in nature.
Let’s take the four seasons as an example. We always return to a similar point each year. Of course we evolve with time, but each year offers us the opportunity to start something new with new found energy and passion (Spring), to enjoy life to the fullest and celebrate our beautiful nature (Summer) and then to embrace change and the ending of things (Fall) and finally to slow down and go within (Winter) in order to recharge again for a new cycle. So it would be very wise, and a lot less frustrating, if we took nature as an example and looked at our life’s journey as a spiral and not as a linear path.
Another beautiful thing is how Astrology connects us back to the four natural elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. It shows us how we embody all four of them and how one element might be more or less dominant in our chart than the other. There is nothing more magical than to witness the beautiful night sky and to recognize the visible planets among the stars - and to follow their movements over the course of time. If you want to take it a step further, you can start to understand how these moving planets affect your life by looking at where these transits fall in your birth chart.
Which leads to my second reason why I love Astrology. On a more individual level, Astrology is a great tool to understand the energies that we were given when we were born or what energies we’re exposed to with a certain transit. It goes much deeper than just our sun sign. The moon and all the other planets influence us just as much. They were all somewhere in the sky when we were born. So their energy was present in the moment of our birth as much as it is present in this moment now.
Our birth chart is like a blueprint of our life’s plan. It’s like a graphic reflection of the energies in our lives. It is totally up to us how we use these neutral energies. There is no such thing as positive or negative energy. They are just more or less intense or challenging. It is our free will how we use any given energy. We can choose to set in motion the lower expression of the energy or the higher expression of it.
In my opinion, it all depends on our overall state of mind and how much we are in tune with ourselves. It has a lot to do with conscious awareness. The more aware we are of the energies in our birth chart that will affect us, the better we can use them. It’s very similar to how we express our feelings by showing emotions, which are feelings in motion. When we are aware of the feelings, we can react more maturely and less with our reptilian part of the brain. So to me, these planetary energies can be compared to how we process feelings. The more we work consciously with them, the more we can benefit from them, and the less we are the "victims" of them. It’s very empoweringto understand the energies we work with instead of fumbling in the dark and feeling overwhelmed by their intensity.
Another thing I love about Astrology is that it gives us a wonderful vocabulary of archetypes to describe a person’s inherent qualities and their soul’s purpose. We can go much deeper than the surface level. We can have more meaningful conversations and make an attempt to understand our essential core. So you could say that Astrology helps us interact with others on the soul level with more awareness and consciousness. Astrologer Adam Sommer's statement "Studying Astrology is a beautiful way of feeling our soul" describes this perfectly.
And as mentioned in the intro, a wonderful aspect of Astrology is that we can take on the role of the observer. It helps us embrace and embody all parts of us without judgment. We learn to love ourselves the way we are, that it is ok to be different, that each and every one of us is unique. And to me this acceptance, that we are all different, is so much needed in today's world. It cultivated a consciousness that doesn’t see a difference as a weakness but a gift.
As you can see, this globally challenging year has brought many gifts for me. I found another layer of connection to the divine, to the bigger picture and I see everything thrown my way as a lesson. I now fully understand what we can gain immensely by surrendering and just trusting the process, trusting the fact that we are guided if we truly go within. At the same time, it is important to be mindful in order to make the most of the energies we’re exposed to. It is key to become more consciously aware of who we truly are and of our surroundings. Asking yourself "why does this happen FOR me" instead of "TO me" shifts the whole perspective and catapults you out of victim mode – and into your power.
I also realized that my mission in this life is to be a light for others who struggle to see the beauty amidst the chaos – to help others remember who they truly are, to encourage them to re-discover themselves and own their uniqueness.
So I encourage you to ask yourself... what did 2020 bring for you? Look up to the stars and feel in your heart that we are all in this together.
This Aries season, we have two new Moons. The second one on April 20th is coupled with a hybrid solar eclipse, a combination of a total eclipse and an annular eclipse, and its effects will be felt worldwide. Eclipses are times of revelations. They shake up our world and show us things we'd rather not see but must become aware of to evolve. Here's our deep dive for you.
As if 2022 hasn't been an f**** already, it's Mercury Retrograde – again. Yes. The 4th Retrograde of communication planet Mercury starts today December 29th and ends on January 18th. Ugh, we know. But why don't you say "screw you, Mercury retrograde" and do things your own way? Read on to find out how.
Since Monday, it's cosmically really going on. In addition, a partial solar eclipse is scheduled for the new moon in Taurus – which is why some of us might fear an emotional meltdown. Totally woo-woo? Not really: A little more mindful behavior is never wrong.