‘You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.’ Shrii Shrii Anandamurti – Indian philosopher
The stars, the planets and the universe are worlds that have fascinated me since childhood. What first started as pure enjoyment turned into passion four years ago. One can say that I developed a deeper respect for this form of art called astrology.
Sailor Moon sparked my interest
Back then, I was introduced to astrology through the Japanese anime series ‘Sailor Moon’, which used to be my favourite TV show as a child. The characters and their zodiac signs helped me to understand Western Astrology. Like Bunny, the main character from the series, I’m a Cancerian: sensitive, caring and emotional.
When I was in primary school, I started discovering and collecting star signs of my classmates. In highschool I would even show no interest for boys whose signs weren’t compatible with mine. When I was talking to my mother about my classmates, I would even refer them to Gemini- girl or Capricorn-boy than revealing their true names instead.
As a young girl astrology was very useful for my own self-development and I wanted to understand the world around me. I define the signs from the zodiac as archetypes . By asking someone’s birthday I could already guess which zodiac sign they were. However, I was just focussing on the sun signs, relationship compatibility and didn’t know anything about moon signs, your Chiron, planets and other aspects.
Most people know their sun signs and if they show a slight interest in astrology that would just consists of checking their weekly horoscope on the phone, online or in a magazine. But they are not aware of the juicy stuff.
A life-changing retreat in the US
During my Christmas holidays in 2017, I went to Kripalu, a yoga centre in Massachusetts, US to take part in a retreat . The facilitators introduced us to different spiritual practices such as tarot, meditation, astrology, embodiment and breathwork. It was the first time that someone showed my birth chart. I finally discovered that my moon and ascendant (rising sign) were both in Scorpio.
What I enjoyed most about this retreat was that I met other women who were interested in spirituality like me and wanted to dive deeper. The best thing was that I shared a dorm with them. We were so different from each other, yet we got along very well. The food was amazing and when I returned to university, I felt more empowered and stronger because of the knowledge and practices they passed on to us. After the retreat, I immediately bought more books on astrology, read articles and discussed it with friends.
Exploring your birth chart
You will be amazed how much you will discover about yourself and others if you analyse your birth chart. There are many astrology sites where you can consult your birth chart for free such as https://shop.astrology.com/birth-chart/ , https://astro.cafeastrology.com/natal.php and https://www.astro.com receive the most accurate birth chart, you have to know your time of birth which you can retrieve easily if you request your birth certificate at the office of your municipality.
Your moon sign reveals your ‘inner self’ and can help you in life how to nourish yourself. Discovering my moon sign and rising sign especially opened up so many ways and it helped me to understand my teenage years and my personality. If there’s one trait that still resonates with me that would be my sensitivity. My emotions are a blessing and a curse.
Having your moon in Scorpio means that you can be overwhelmed by your emotions and that it can be difficult to deal with them. No wonder! It made sense why I always tried to leave a room when I wasn’t feeling comfortable or stressed. At the same time, I use my emotions to express myself. The healthiest way is to suck the poison out of when I hold on to my feelings and don’t allow myself to let go.
Many people believe that astrology is about predicting the future, but it’s more than that. You can use it as personal guidance, help other people and most importantly ‘know thyself’ Because if you know your strengths and triggers, you will be more able to understand the irks and quirks of your friends and family members.
Nevertheless, developing a critical mind and using your common sense while analyzing other people’s charts is vital In the end. You can always decide whether you want to believe what the stars tell you. There is always a free will and you don’t have to believe everything .
Here’s a quick overview of the planets and how they correspond to your chart:
Sun = Your true essence
Moon = Your inner self, emotions,
Mercury= communication, expression
Venus = love, beauty, choice of romantic partners
Mars = action, sexual drive
Jupiter= luck, fortune, spirituality, travel
Saturn = work, discipline, life lessons, karma
Uranus = community, originality, connecting with others
Neptune = dreams, intuition, inspiration
Pluto : transformation, power, darkness, the subconscious
Links:
https://www.astro.com/cgi/chart.cgi?btyp=w2gw&rs=3&usechpref=1