i’ve spent the morning deep diving into the book, You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas.
i took out a journal, got my highlighter and pen, and worked my way through the beginning, taking notes and feeling nostalgic for my days of consistent learning and studying. i initially had the thought: i miss school. but then i paused, reflected more intentionally and thought: no, i miss learning and studying.
there’s a rush of excitement that comes when a new topic/area of interest captivates me. the most depressing moments of my life are ones where i’ve lost my curiosity, my sense of wonder about life — when it feels like there’s nothing worthwhile to be discovered, explored, engaged with.
in the past couple of years, my spiritual interests began with tarot and have now evolved to include astrology.
like a lot of westerners, especially those of us who consider ourselves “intellectuals” and have prided ourselves on our reason and logic, i spent much of my teen and young adult life not taking any of these things seriously. i dismissed astrology as vague and generalized ramblings, and due to growing up in a certain flavor of Christian family, grew up associating tarot with the devil.
so, coming to these practices has been a journey, one that still feels very fresh and new.
as i progress through the book, taking notes on planets, signs, aspects, houses, etc., i have waves of doubt and insecurity. and a voice creeps in that says: how silly to believe that the position of planets and stars have a direct impact on your personal experience of life.
this voice is familiar, has creeped up with every spiritual practice i’ve adopted, and it’s not always wrong. there are times when my intuition confirms the suspicion that maybe a practice or person isn’t to be trusted with my vulnerability.
there are times when i do a tarot reading or read astrology, and it seems completely unrelated to anything going on in my life. and that’s okay. because whether or not there’s truly a Spirit guiding me, the practices remain nurturing, comforting, and clarifying.
as Chani says in her book, as we deepen our understanding of what’s at play for us astrologically and how that is reflected in our life, we in-turn cultivate more compassion for ourselves and our struggle.
both the tarot and astrology are in conversation with ancient wisdom, universal truths, and the enigmatic nature of life. which, to me, means they are much more about learning how to live the questions of life as opposed to receiving answers on how to live.
plus, when it comes to healing, i believe in each person’s intuitive knowing of what they need to heal. and so spiritual tools are not about seeking external knowledge but instead are guides helping us to better engage with our own internal wisdom and knowing.
another element of both astrology and tarot is that they speak in what Chani refers to as an archetypal language, featuring often grand and wondrous characters and ideas. they offer us a fantastical and magical perspective of reality. which pushes us beyond our limited perspective to weave a view of life that’s much bigger, interconnected and significant.
and my romantic sage side LOVES it. because even when life is mundane, it’s still grand and magical. i mean, our existence is inherently magic made reality (lol you might be eye rolling rn & that’s okay). and when i navigate life with a sense of something bigger and deeper, things feel much more manageable, and even the challenges and hardships of life start to take on meaning. ❤
becki's a practicing human 