5 Ways to use Astrology in your Everyday Life

If you've read my last blog post, then you can kind of see the focus that I'm going this year. I'm bridging the gap between astrology and mental health. As a reminder, astrology is never a replacement for mental health counseling and should be used together for optimum results.

Explaining just how to use astrology can really be a loaded response. Why? Because of perspective. For instance, you can look at one chart from the perspective of mundane events in life and you can look at the same chart from the perspective of psychology. We need to learn that each placement and aspect can mean a multitude of things depending on how you view the chart. For this specific blog post, I really wanted to give you 5 things that you can start with when looking at your own chart. These tips are all of the things I have done or currently do to manage my own mental health in regards to my personal astrological chart.

Find out your sun, moon, and rising signs: You've just learned that astrology is so much more than newspaper horoscopes. What next? Grab your birth info and pull your chart. We all know our sun sign is the sign we commonly refer to in conversation. You learn this based on your birthday. The sun represents your conscious sense of self. We look to this placement for our sense of well-being, basic temperment, and your willful part of your psyche. Since this is more so internal motivation, your sun placement shows the psychological dynamics that you are attuned too. The moon is the emotional side of our psyche. All of our unconsicous emotions erupt into consciousness through your moon placement. Last, but not least, your rising or ascendant. This placement signifies your persona. It can be described as the outer side of the psyche meaning this is the face that you not only present to the world, but it's the life in which you also experience the world.

Expand once you feel comfortable: So, you know your sun, moon, and rising now and you're feeling more and more comfortable with what it means to you. You might be an Aries moon for example and you've learned that when at the height of your emotions you tend to make impulsive decisions. You might have learned that Aries moons typically had a mother that made them take the lead which could have added extra stress to your life. Now you have a starting point in unpacking some of the mothering you've recieced. Once you get comfortable, it's time to expand into learning about your personal planets. These are the planets that move quicker through the signs thus becoming personal to you versus the generational planets that cover a whole generation of people. Mercury, Mars, and Venus are very personal to you. Mercury is heavily assocatied with our mental processes and is responsible for not only our communication, but over-intellectualizing. Mars is all about action and speaks to how we assert ourselves. Venus can show us where we need to make peace, our values, and how we feel about our own possesions. Together, tips 1 and 2 make up your big 6.

Pay attention to astrological transits: These transits are telling you about the current waves of energy in relation to your personal astrology. When transit Mercury makes a hard aspect to one of your personal planets, it would be good to know in advance so that you can better navigate the difficult times ahead. This is how I personally try to stay grounded in an ever changing world. When I forsee a tough transit, I dig into my mental health resources and ride the wave. I spend my time journaling with CBT prompts about the area that I'm triggered by and provide myself with lots of self-care to remind myself that it's okay to not be okay sometimes.

Utilize astrology to set intentions: When you set intentions, you help align yourself with your highest path. This ties into tip number 3. If I know that I'm experiencing a trine or sextile with certain transits, I know what intent to have to maximize them. Even when we go through hard transits like squares, we can still greatly benefit from them as well. One of the best transits that I went through in 2022 was a Venus trine Pluto transist. When you look at it from a medical point of view, this was an excellent transit for plastic surgery. I set the intention to achieve my breast reduction, this being an area of my life that has greatly affected my mental health since puberty and I was successful in my fight. They look amazing by the way and I feel great!

Practice self-care with astrology: It's no secret that not all forms of self-care is for all of us. Some people like thrilling adventures as self-care and some like a good 'ol bubble bath. Self care is categorized as the ability to care for oneself through awareness, self-control, and self-reliance in order to achieve, maintain, or promote optimal health and well-being according to a conceptual analysis in the Internal Journal of Nursing Sciences. Self-care is way more complex than we let on. When you look at your chart, you'll want to focus on your Venus and Taurus placements to see how you can best utilize your self-care time. Additionally, Fridays are ruled by Venus and if you have to pick a day off of work for some self-love, this would be a great day to do so!

While there is no conclusive evidence that astrology can directly influence mental health, many people find that it helps them gain a better understanding of their own thoughts and feelings as they journey through everyday life. Astrology can provide a sense of comfort and validation, helping to foster a stronger sense of self-awareness. Ultimately, it's a useful tool for exploring and understanding mental health, though it is important to remember that it should never be used as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice. It should be combined together.