Episode Description

There’s a reason the self-help and personal growth section of bookstores (or Amazon) are usually one of the biggest. As humans, we are always trying to figure ourselves out! My guest this week is D. of Self-Help Witch and she has so many incredible insights about how self-help, self-awareness, personal growth, and astrology all work together.

D. is the creator of Self-Help Witch, supporting magical women on a quest to live their most meaningful lives through providing tools for cultivating a deeper connection to Self. If you’re curious about reclaiming your connection to spirit and spirituality or want to understand how your self-awareness is actually alchemy, this episode is for you!

"The last thing my chart should do is make me feel disempowered" — D. of Self-Help Witch

D. and I chat about:

• Her journey with astrology and how it helped her through one of the most challenging times in her life
• How spell casting is really just having a clear intention
• How self-help work helps humanity
• What it means when you don’t resonate with your Sun or Rising sign
• Neptune as a spiritual roller coaster
• Why tracking daily astrology transits can cause anxiety
• How to think about the “hard” or “bad” stuff in your chart
• Our charts as roadmaps to plan for challenges or surprises
• How not to be overwhelmed by learning astrology

The transcript of this episode can be found here.

WHERE TO FIND D.

Listen to the Self Help Witch podcast  

Cosmic Mirror Birth Chart Readings with D 

Hang with Self Help Witch on IG 

THINGS WE MENTIONED

• The Moment of Astrology
• Astrology Hub Podcast
• D.'s Birth Chart

Hi D.,

thank you for coming on It's Astrological.

You're one of my first guests that I'm interviewing and I'm so excited about it.

I'm so grateful to you.

So a little background for everybody, we met through a shared intuitive

business group, and you said something about starting an astrology business.

And I was like, I'm going to be brave and be like, Hey, me too.

And we just hit it off from there.

And we're kind of on a similar journey about having a day employment place, but

also having this passion for astrology and all things, I guess, kind of self

care and learning about ourselves.

And I've been super grateful to really consider you like my only colleague

in this adventure that I'm on.

So we've never met in person.

We've probably talked less than 10 times, but that's changing

because now we talk all the time.

And I absolutely love what you do and what you offer to the world.

Before we dive into all things astrological, can you share a little bit

about what a self-help witch is, what a self-awareness advocate is and how

you share those gifts with the world?

Yes.

first thanks for having me.

Very excited to be here with you.

yeah a self-help witch ,great question, this term kind came to me

after maybe like a year of thinking about how I wanted to present myself

and my astrological offerings.

Because what astrology did for me was it really reconnected me with the truth of

who I am and also with my spirituality which was not something I was looking for.

So it really kind of came out of nowhere for me that something that was

missing for me was a spiritual life.

And for me, that just means, it's synonomous with self-help.

And So that's why self-help witch, it's actually almost kind of redundant

because to me self-help and spirituality, which is, like, really what witch

stands for to me are the same.

That they're both about remembering your truth.

and I know when we think of spirituality at least for me, and if anybody else out

there grew up in a big box, religious community, if you want to call it that,

it can be hard to identify with religion and spirituality because we didn't have

great experiences but I'm here to say that not only is self-help work, helping

you reclaim your life for yourself.

It's helping you reclaim your spirit.

It's like that part of you that is here, that goes beyond the

mundane day-to-day stuff.

And when you do your self help work, like you're empowering yourself

and empowering other people.

Because I really believe that your self help work is really about humanity.

Like, it's about making the world a better place by being

the best version of yourself.

So I just feel like self-help work is alchemizing, and that it

is really a spiritual practice.

I love that.

And I think when we think about, witches we think spells and magic and alchemy,

so how did you connect the dots there between doing all of that and astrology?

I was learning about witchcraft and part of my, a big part, really of my self-help

journey has been, and self-awareness journey, i guess i'll call it, is, like

knowing what I want,, finding clarity, finding a way to figure out what want.

And as I was spell work, I was realizing that, you really can't do

a spell without a clear intention.

So in that moment, I saw the synergy that we were just talking about.

About how my self-help work, the work I do on myself, it does everything.

Like it's helping me clarify my intentions and how can I cast a

spell without knowing what I want?

How can I live a happy life without knowing what I want?

How can I live a meaningful life?

Like, let's go beyond happy.

What's a purposeful life to me?

you know?

So that's the spiritual component, you know, it goes beyond, like, worldly

accomplishments, which matter to me, like, don't get me wrong, but it's

about a deeper level of fulfillment.

So that was kind of the way in, is just recognizing, like, if I don't

know what I want, I cannot have an intention and I cannot cast a spell.

So where's my power?

My power was gone without that clarity, without that knowledge.

And then astrology was kind of your gateway into being

like, oh, this is who I am.

Well, you know, it started with tarot for me actually.

I knew about my birth chart, probably, like, in 2017 was

the first time ever saw it.

And it didn't really stick with me at that time.

But it was from a friend who also does tarot and she would read tarot

for me any time we would hang out.

So, fast forward two years and I was feeling really lost.

Like, probably the most lost I've ever felt.

And I just remembered tarot and I, for some reason astrology

just felt, like, out of reach.

Like it felt too technical.

It felt like, I just didn't think that it would help me as quickly tarot might.

You know, when I got into tarot, I liked it but I also was like, I'm not sure if

what I'm getting from this is me, or a projection, or is it really my guides?

Like, I didn't, my, my practice was so new that I was like, I feel like I

need something a little more objective and concrete right now, actually.

So from there I was like, okay, let me look at my birth chart.

And then it was like game over.

You were down the rabbit hole!

So how do you offer your astrological gifts to the world?

I know you have your podcast, Self-Help Witch, and what else?

Tell us everything.

Well, right now I'm offering cosmic mirror birth chart readings,

which are birth chart readings.

And I try to articulate it in such a way that it's like, really

what I'm about with astrology is helping people see themselves.

I feel like mirror is such a good symbol for it.

It's just like, here is the truth of who you are.

And, you know, I hesitate to even say it like that, because I don't believe

that I'm telling anybody something about themselves that they don't already know.

I'm just translating what's here and by you, or whoever, you know, the

reading is for hearing me explain it, something is clicking for you.

So, I'm not really doing anything except translating, that's sort

of how I look at what I'm doing.

But I care very much about this process because this was

something that I went through.

So for me, I'm pretty new to astrology, you know what I mean?

Like I'm still learning, but I think my strength is that I have

been through this myself you know?

I've been through this journey of rediscovery and reconnecting to

who I am, so I know how hard it is and I know how lonely it is.

So that's who I'm here to help, the people that are trying to reclaim this part of

themselves that they recognize is there, but they can't quite articulate it.

I was actually surprised when I read your info about how new you are to astrology.

I was like she's only been doing this for a few years, and, she's so advanced!

Really done your homework and obviously it resonates with you, right?

I think that's what's so important because like you said, I always tell

people when you look at a birth chart and you're, like, okay, it's a bunch

of squiggles and pizza slices and like how do you make sense of any of this?

Right?, And that's, to your point, our job as the translators right?

Like we're the interpreters of the cosmos.

But I guess, at the very beginning, the things that we

learn are our big three, right?

Most people know what their sun sign is.

And then like people are, like, what's your rising sign?

And you're like, oh, there's more?

And then, you know, you have your moon sign and a Mars sign and a venus sign.

So, since It's Astrological, what are your big three?

What's your sun, moon, and rising?

I am a pisces sun, a Gemini moon, and a Libra rising.

And how do you feel about they resonate with you?

Do they not?

Are you still learning about them?

You know, it's interesting because I always knew about astrology, you know,

like, from cosmo girl and I knew I was a Pisces sun, but I didn't ever really

feel like that dreamer, hippie girl that Pisces are always depicted to be.

So I just never really vibed with it.

And then when I learned about my rising sign, I was, like, okay, that's me.

And I, like I told you, I was learning about my rising sign

as I was already going through this self-awareness journey.

So, because I had that lens, I was like, oh, I don't resonate with my

pisces sun because I've been in the shadow of Libra and people pleasing.

And I have no idea who I am , so, I was like, wow.

Like it gave me really deep insight really quickly.

Then as far my Gemini moon, I definitely vibe.

It's interesting because most of my closest friends are Geminis.

So I thought that was kind of funny, when I realized that.

And I'm incredibly curious.

I love to talk, definitely my love language is talking, which like it's

words of affirmation, but mine's talking like just talking forever.

So since you are an astrologer I'll ask you kind of a bonus question.

What is your one liner about what the sun is, what the rising

sign is, and what the moon is?

okay.

Well, I don't have any one-liners because I'm, I

okay Like, yeah, your Gemini moon

gonna be a lot of words

What's your summary?

Um, yeah, less than 400 words, please.

So I always like to think about what the sun and the moon do.

That they're two luminaries and that the moon reflects light of the sun.

So I think of the sun as the spirit, that can't die, you know

that part of you that is eternal.

And I think of the moon as all things embodied.

And that our spirit, the sun, illuminates us through the moon so

that we, we kind of see how like the sun and the work together in that way.

I think that's really helpful instead of thinking about them, opposite,

not opposite, but just separately.

And then the rising sign to me is like the filter through which you see the world.

I actually was reading about it recently and someone described it as like the

key that like, if your life was a song, it'd be like the key of the song, which

I was like, yeah, that lot of sense.

That's interesting.

That was so short.

I'm so proud of you.

Thank you.

It was a feat!.

I also saw something recently, because the rising sign is often

like, "the mask you show to the world", or like your appearance.

And I think sometimes it does show up way.

And there, are probably, similarities between physical appearances if you

did, like, a study of a million people.

But one of my favorite astrologers, Gemini Brett said "your rising

sign is what's rising in you."

And so I think that kind of taking a different perspective yes, the sun and

the rising together make up who you are, like your most authentic self.

But I think, like you, I also didn't relate to my sun

sign for a really long time.

And, we grow into our charts over the course of our whole life.

And that's part of our journey of understanding ourselves and

self-awareness and all of those things that you were talking about.

But being able to grab on to either your sun or your rising, I think

almost gives you the foundation to be able start working with the other one

and be like, what is this part of me?

Why don't I resonate with that?

And maybe even exploring it beyond the five keywords that

you get in a Google search.

Totally.

I feel like, you're right, you know, you've gotta to have something else, like,

if the sun sign doesn't resonate, you need something else to think about to say, all

right, well then what's taking its place?

You know, like what energy is taking its place.

yeah that's a great point

you know one of the questions I asked you is, is there anything about astrology that

gives you pause or makes you skeptical?

And when we think about astrology skeptics one of the first arguments, is "well,

there are only 12 signs and not everyone can have the same characteristics

as one 12th of the population.

Great, you're a skeptic, you clearly don't know much about astrology, but, as someone

who has studied her own chart and has astrology extensively, what's your take on

maybe any moments where you've had a dark night of the soul around, is this real?

does this make sense?

When it comes to astrology?

Yeah.

Well, you know, right now I'm going through a Neptune transit so Neptune's

conjunct my sun and it will be

And

what that mean?

so neptune is in the same place in sky as my natal sun.

So my natal sun's

at 23 Pisces and Neptune's been like 22, 23 Pisces for a minute now.

Um, I think it might be at 23 right now.

So, what that looks like for somebody is like Neptune is disillusion

and, fogginess, and it's like a really mixed bag, the way I see it.

It can be a spiritual transcendent healing experience, or it can be confusing and

delusional you know and so, knowing that, I do have to, I feel like, I

think a little bit harder about what I'm doing, because I'm like, I know

I'm on like a spiritual roller coaster right now, basically with Neptune.

And that probably has ushered in what is happening to me in my life with astrology.

In the same breath, I don't feel like this is a fleeting hobby for me.

This has totally opened up my world And as somebody with my, my Gemini

moon's in my ninth house, which is like the house of astrology and I

have two other planets there too.

Like I just know that this is something that is gonna be with me for a while.

So I just try to be a a mindful of my beliefs you know, like try to be a little

more little skeptical and more discerning because with a lot of pisces placements,

that could be a little tough for me.

Um,

Like, I get carried away with the ethers.

Yes.

Yeah.

But other than that I'm not a skeptic of astrology at all.

because I don't see it, Like one of the books that I've been, I start and

stop books, like constantly, and one of the books I started and stopped, but I

will finish at some point is called the

Of course, we always finish the books

it

They may sit next to our bed for two years, but we will finish them.

Right.

Right this book is called The Moment of Astrology.

He talks about what astrology is and what it's not.

And like, the mistake the pitfall of trying to call it a science, because

it's not, it's a divination practice.

Like it's not a science the way that we've defined science.

And so,, I guess what I'm saying is I don't really try to critique it because

I see it as it's own thing, that, like, just because we can't prove why something

is true, doesn't mean that it's not true.

And I think to immediately dismiss astrology because you can't prove it

is very, like, it demonstrates a lot of hubris on the part human, because

we , like we don't know that much.

We just don't know.

we just don't know.

You know, my mentor, Rick Levine, he has like a million Aries placements.

And so he's always ready to go in and you know, fight.

Um, I think it was on the astrology hub podcast.

And, he was talking about some astronomer who was going on on Twitter about how

astrology is fake and all that stuff and one his, like, first comebacks to

people who are skeptical of astrology is to say, like, I also don't believe

in astrology, meaning I don't believe in the astrology that you believe in

that doesn't do all the things that it actually does because you don't, you

haven't actually looked into astrology.

You don't understand astrology, you haven't made the effort

to see why it works.

So I always think that's really interesting with anything that

people are coming to with an opinion without, background information.

It's like, oh, I don't believe in what you believe in either.

That doesn't, that doesn't exist to me.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love that.

Let's pull up your chart.

Okay.

I pulled it up to look at your Neptune transit.

There There she blows.

Yeah.

Right on your sun.

So that's exciting for you

Lots of things are happening.

Yup.

I believe it!

It's easy talk to you about all of things and just like rattle off

like, oh, Neptune conjunct your sun.

But this podcast is for everybody.

So I think when we're talking in general about any of these outer

planets the Neptunes , Uranus, the pluto, what's your take on when you

have a transit by one of these outer planets to a specific place in your

natal chart and how would you say that's different than a mercury or a Venus?

oh, that's a great question.

So I'll say this, I don't track the daily transits very closely because I found for

me personally that creates unnecessary anxiety sometimes, but I do still have

like a general idea of what's going on.

And I do try to reflect on stuff after it's happened.

That's really when prefer to think about the transits.

So that's the first thing I'll say.

But as far as like noticing a difference, you know, if it's

anything but a conjunction.

That's a lie.

I'll say if it's a conjunction or an opposition you're gonna notice it.

That's been my experience, the other, aspects.

I personally don't notice most of the time unless I like stop and think about it.

But for me, in 2021, when was it 20, It was 20 20 I think when

Saturn and pluto conjoined, that was during my saturn return And I

definitely felt that like, that was a very powerful moment in my life.

And without like having done a lot of research on other times, things

like that have happened, I would say generally speaking, like you're going

to notice transits from those planets, regardless of if they're inner or outer.

I just pulled this up for january of 2020.

And I think the really interesting question for everyone to look at in

terms of what was going on in their personal chart, because you know, we

saw this huge global shift, right, because of, what was happening in

Capricorn with Saturn and Pluto.

and then Jupiter was thrown into the mix.

And obviously we saw that playing out on the world stage, but as you talk to

people, and I'm sure you experienced this with yourself, which you just talked

about, and clients, it's interesting to see what else was going on for people in

their personal charts during that time.

Yes astrology can tell you about what's happening in the

world, outside your window.

But everything that happens in the world happened somewhere

in our natal chart, too.

So for anyone listening, you know, like paying attention to your Capricorn house,

because that was the area of your life that this all would have kicked off on.

And then if you have any planets in that house, which you have three,

so that's an extra bonus of kind of the impact that you feel from,

from this massive transformation.

And to have it happening near your Saturn return.

Like

wowza, that's a lot.

I mean, this was the awakening, like this was the start of it.

So you can see it for sure.

Yeah.

And was this around the time that you like, felt your rock bottom

or like were tarot, astrology?

Is this all kind of

so, this actually started all of that.

In december, basically three days before the chart that we're looking at, I

decided to stop drinking, which was, like, never something I would have even

considered doing prior to this day but I kind of had a come to Jesus moment

where i, blacked out and it was really scary and that was like something I'd

done before, but there was something really different about this time.

Honestly, I chalk it up to the astrology, like, Pluto was there

and I felt like I almost died.

Like, so it scared me.

And I decided to stop, even though I was like kind of hesitant and that, is what

propelled me to keep going on my wellness journey because I found that like, it

was actually easy for me to not drink.

And that was really surprising to me, but it also gave me a lot of

like, courage and hope that I can feel happy because I kind of had

this low grade sadness all the time.

And I never really knew what to do with it.

I thought I was.

just, like there was something wrong with me that I was just

going to feel this way, you know?

When I stopped drinking and that feeling kind of subsided I was like,

oh no, actually it was like, I was drinking a depressant those days, which,

like no shade, if anybody out there drinks, like, honestly, like, please

make your own decisions, you know?

But that was just, my insight was like, okay, that was a big

reason why I felt the way I felt.

And I would later realize it was also because I didn't know who I was.

So that's kind of how it all started.

Well, and I think just looking at your chart, this all happened in your

fourth house, which to me, you know, the topline is, home and family, but really

if we're looking at it, in the scope of the sun rising and the sun setting,

this is the darkest part of our chart.

It's the most tender part of our chart.

It's we our secrets and, like for all of this be happening

there, it's not only a rebirth.

I think that was the word that you used.

No, awakening.

Kind of the same thing, I guess

But it's not only an awakening of, kind of the Saturn return responsibility.

What am I doing?

Am I a grownup now?

Like, how am I going to move forward with that?

But gosh, this transformation, like in that most tender part of your chart, like

in some ways a blessing because there's, there's literally you can go up from there

Yeah

You can only move forward and only move above the horizon.

And by the time you come back down to that fourth house, you know if we're

talking about, the timing technique of profections like just imagine

how much you're going to learn over the course of the next nine years

I have to do math.

Um, the next, however many years until you're back in the fourth house.

So next time back your Capricorn house.

like, you'll, number one, be a totally different person but that part of

yourself, that's like super tender.

And that was previously maybe feeling a little exposed or that you

hadn't really gotten in touch with.

You're going to be able to actually work the magic of connecting to, your

ancestry, your roots, like all the things that you were born into and kind

of use that as a, what's that word?

jumping off point

Use that as a a jumping off point to just continue your, your

self-growth and your self-awareness

totally, totally.

And,

you know, looking at this chart when I started getting into astrology one of

the things that really sold me because even like being pretty brand new, I could

see this was pretty major, you know,

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, thing that out to me is your south node in 12th house, right?

So, that, maybe comfort zone is the wrong word to use here.

but the, the feeling of being comfortable with 12th house themes of addiction

and escapism, and really leaning into, after your kind of awakening in the

fourth house to your north node, to really turn that into a spiritual

experience and to move forward to like, what would my higher self want?

Like what do I need to do in order to become my highest self.

Yeah, I definitely think that that was like key for me, understanding my

Pisces placements in general is it's, it has a lot to with spirituality.

And obviously I had to like accept that that was something I wanted first Cause

I had a lot of hang-ups but, yeah.

The south node in the 12th.

I honestly haven't thought about a ton because it is a little elusive to me.

You know, when I see it, I think about anxiety, I think about feeling

other and, like inherently, you know, like separate from people.

and you know, what, the hard stuff in chart, it's kind of like, okay,

well, what do I do with that?

Like,

Well and you don't deal with it until you have to deal with it.

Most the time.

Right.

But I think that's why astrology kind of gives you, it allows you to

collapse the timeline because you can do the work before that hard placement

or challenging placement comes and smacks you across face in real life.

Right.

So you can kind of prepare And I think it's funny that you're saying your south

node in the 12th eludes you because that's what it's meant to do there.

It's like, literally just like hiding, like you can't see me.

Um, but when we talk about the south node as well, like, it's your gifts.

It's what comes naturally to you?

So yours is in Virgo.

Do you.

identify with Virgo characteristics?

like, do you feel comfortable with Virgo characteristics?

You know, I don't., I, would say I currently identify a lot

more with my Pisces placements.

and for me when I look at my 12th house, like the most prominent

Virgo in my life is my dad.

And that's what I think about a lot when I think about my south node, and like the.

The ways I was taught to be like the ways raised in like, you know that, I don't

know if that's really about the 12th house, but it is like this subconscious

belief of like, this is how you are.

And I guess what I'm saying is I've had a hard time finding the gifts

So I haven't really looked for them.

Do you mind if I share ones, that I know from my, Virgo is the sign of the healer.

And I think that that's one that gets overlooked constantly, because people

just see structure and organization and detail oriented and all of that stuff.

And I think kind of shifting perspective to Virgo being the sixth house stuff,

the daily work and the routine.

Like I find it to be, lost in that because when you like the image

that comes to mind like when I go to Mexico, there are all of these women

who are in the bathroom, cleaning at the airport who are just so diligent.

And, when I was just there a few months ago, the back of their

shirt said something to the effect of like, cleaning is love.

And, you know, Virgos are probably more aligned with cleaning than other signs.

but it's that connection between, I don't know why this is coming to me,

but cleanliness is next to godliness, but in like the most beautiful way,

not the harsh, like do this, because you have to and your bed has have

perfect hospital corners and of that.

It's like, let me make this place beautiful and, clean and safe and

secure and make sure that it stays that way, because this is my routine.

This is my ritual almost, to serve, to heal.

and I I got goosebumps.

I've never, I don't think I've myself goosebumps before.

That was good.

worth it.

but my mom is a Virgo and it's taken her.

She's a Virgo sun, Aquarius rising but over the past five years, always been

like I'm not a virgo, I'm not detail oriented, I'm not organized, so apparently

we both have like parental Virgo stuff going over the past five years, I'm

like, no, look at like, Virgo is so much more than just this little box.

And I think just talking about how you see it as being elusive, , you

can't quite connect to it.

that may be a part of it well, it's just innate to you, to have that

ability to heal, to serve others, to want to connect to others, in that way.

So that something to chew on

Yeah, no, I love that.

I definitely feel like service is, like, part of what I'm here do based

on other parts of my chart, too.

So that definitely lands.

Ooh, let's talk a little bit about, again, this is kind of a special

question, because you're an astrologer.

but the conjunctions that you have, right?

So in your natal let me pull that back up as much as much

as we loved 2020, we don't to

we can leave now.

I'm good.

Yes.

Well we'll time time-travel back here.

so you have a conjunction between Neptune and Saturn which I a million percent want

hear your take and then Jupiter and Mars.

Is another really close one And you didn't, I don't think you mentioned

mercury and your north node.

That's a bit, farther apart, but what is your take on conjunctions and how do you

see these, like impacting who you are?

well, I think conjunctions are really interesting think about

because we see already how a planet is so multivalent in all of the

dimensions it can express itself.

Like one planet is already like, could be expressed in infinite ways.

when you put two together, it becomes like literally infinite.

Like you just could, can show up so many

it's like infinity times infinity.

Yeah Not a mathematician, but I think that's accurate.

So I just find myself always kind of chewing on them, because also they

will express themselves differently throughout your life as well.

So, I just find them really interesting to think about.

And then for me, I feel like mine are important.

Because my conjunctions there's both, both of them have dignity, meaning

Saturn is in its home sign of Capricorn.

So it's very strong.

Saturn's also my, main malefic because I was born at nighttime So, and it's

in the nighttime part of the chart.

So all of that to say, Saturn is very powerful and very like

I'm here to mess your life up.

So that has been important to think about because of course when you see

something in your chart that seems bad, you want to kind of get to the bottom

of it, and understand it more deeply.

And far as my Jupiter, Mars conjunction goes, Jupiter is, in it's in

detriment think it's in its detriment.

I always look

okay, good.

Yeah, I don't either.

Jupiter is not happy.

Jupiter not having a good time in gemini and jupiter rules Pisces,

which is where a lot of my planets are.

And mercury is in a, like a rough conjunction, with my north node.

and mercury also is its detriment and fall.

So I have like dinged up planets ruling the the, houses and the signs that

have all of my planets, essentially.

And then Mars has like strength, but, or I'm sorry, Saturn has strength, but we

don't really want saturn to have strength.

So that's really been important for me for sit down and think,

like, what does this really mean?

Because I don't believe that like there's good and bad in your

chart, It's all relative, right?

What's good for you spiritually might feel really hard.

Probably will feel really hard and vice versa.

What's not great for you spiritually will probably seem great when you're doing it.

So I've just had to really, it's been important for me to try to unpack how

these things have shown up in my life so far so I can see how they've helped

me, because the last thing my chart should do is make me feel disempowered

was like, I...Speechless

well, no, just that last thing you said, like, the last thing your chart

should do is make you feel disempowered.

I think this is such great example and obviously you know your chart better than

the average Jill walking down the street.

but I think that the message is that even if you have things that aren't great.

Right.

And everyone does, um, when you first start learning your chart, you're like, my

sun's here, and it's in this sign and it's in this house, and my moon is here, and

it's in this sign and it's in this house.

And then you start learning, about the angles.

and, like, maybe you a lot of squares in your chart, and

those are super challenging.

And you're like, oh, I don't want all those squares, like,

please get me another chart.

But like, as you start to learn whether your, you know, your sun, moon, rising

or, your Venus is in Capricorn, or, you know, these things that people

see as like quote unquote bad.

I think it's very reassuring to know that the moment you took your first

breath and your chart was imprinted.

You were also given the ability to work with these energies.

These energies are a part of you they are not something that one day

you're going to open the door and be smacked in the face with a natal,

what do you have, Jupiter square to the nodes.

It's not going to be a surprise.

. and again, the beauty of astrology is that you're getting a heads up about that.

You're getting to exactly your point of being like, oh, this is not ideal.

How has this expressed itself previously in my life And like, what tools do I have.

Either in your chart or life experience or otherwise, to be to be

able to work with these situations, but also to grow from them, right?

Right.

And

that's how it's a spiritual practice because to me that's what spirituality is.

It's that reflection that you were just describing like, that's how we give

meaning to our lives, You know, I think that's like so powerful and that's

really how you like talk about alchemy.

Like that is alchemizing.

Yeah.

You're transmuting these things that at first glance are hard or "bad", you know,

if we're talking about the olden days astrology malefics and fall and detriment

and all of these like super scary words.

and we now have the ability as astrologers in 2022 to really see the scope of the

entire human experience and view the fact that we have agency, we have choice.

You're talking about Neptune conjuncting your sun and you know, this major

transit and you have the the roadmap ahead of time to say okay, like I

know this is going to be X, Y, and Z.

I'll probably have some surprises I don't know exactly how Neptune's gonna engage

with my sun at this point in in my life, But knowing when you feel you have rose

colored glasses on, or you're getting a little too dreamy, or you need to come

back down to earth, you have the tool of astrology in the back of your mind to

to be like ah, that's Neptune on my sun.

And like, I know that I can tap into another element or like find a place

in my chart that will balance that out.

totally.

Yeah.

Cause it does give you a solution too like, if know, it's Neptune, maybe

you should ground a little bit, like

well, and I was looking at your T-square, which can often be seen as a

challenging aspect in someone's chart.

for anyone that has it, it's also one of the most activating aspects, right.

That moves you forward and enables you to actually, grow at kind a rapid

speed to collapse those timelines.

But for you, I'm just wondering, does your third house Sagittarius play into

kind of balancing that out at all?

Have you explored that?

what's your connection to that part your chart?

So I would just want to make sure for the, are you talking about the square

between like Jupiter, Mars and the nodes?

Okay.

Okay.

I just want to make sure cause

and your mercury over

yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, squares are a huge part of my chart because you know, it's a whole

sign square with Pisces and Gemini.

So I've, I've done a lot of reflection on squares, , and that has been the positive

that I've gotten out of It is growth.

Like we need the friction to make growth happen.

As far as like balancing with Sag, I have never thought about that.

I've um, yeah.

Tell

me more.

Yeah.

It's kind of, your release point right?

So the tension, you have the opposition between your nodes, everyone has that.

But all of that is also directed with this challenge the square

to your Mars and your Jupiter.

So these probably, you were talking about their placement here and

how it's already a bit challenging for you, but it's probably has

that extra boost of challenge.

just because of this tension that's pointing to them.

So it's almost like a three-legged stool where this is the release point.

So if you directly go across to very cusp of your third house in Sagittarius

leaning into that energy, whether it's 3rd house topics, like your communication,

neighborhoods, like all those third house stuff, or Sagittarius side of it, which

to me speaks of your exploration, your knowledge seeking all of that stuff.

obviously balancing out with that 9th house, higher, higher

education, maybe you've tapped into it and you didn't even realize it.

well, yeah, kind of, as you were explaining it, I was thinking once

I, so 2020 was like the year of, me kind of coming into this learning.

and then, I would say, like, mid- 20, I guess, February of 2021 I

had been sober for over a year or I was like, really feeling compelled

to like create an Instagram.

Like I wanted, I was ready to help people and I didn't really

know who I was going to help.

So like, I'm going to like a sobriety advocate.

You know, that was originally what my Instagram was going to be about.

and then I was like, you know, I'm not a therapist.

I don't know if this is something I really want to like talk about forever.

Like I do care about it And do think it's important, for people to, the

stigma of sobriety to end, like, frankly, I think that's really important

but I realized that that wasn't really like who I was trying to help.

So I think I did do that.

You know, I was trying to create a community and find the community

of people that I was meant to help.

And I think I'm still doing you know?

Yeah.

And I mean, to Instagram, which is if we had to assign a house to Instagram,

that would be the third house.

oh my God.

That's funny.

Look, everything can be explained by astrology.

I told you about that book, right?

The one that like, you can be like, what is cheese in astrology?

yes.

Yes.

it's it's the moon.

Um, I don't think Instagram's in there, but everything else is.

It would be the third house for sure.

Yes.

Well, is there anything else you'd like to share about your

astrological journey before we dive into some rapid fire questions?

You know, I would just say if you're new to astrology, if you're wanting

get into it and you're feeling like, overwhelmed intimidated, you

there's no rush, take your time and do what you're interested in.

If a placement is calling to you, explore it.

You don't have to go in, like, a prescribed order.

just let it be fun because I feel like this journey of rediscovering yourself

If it's not fun, at least a little bit.

Like what's the point?

, I love that because I think it's almost like this, it's a roller coaster ride

when you learn about astrology, because I feel like anyone who's listening

to this podcast, probably 99% know their sun moon rising and beyond.

But, as you start to explore and get deeper and deeper.

There's the rabbit hole period where you're like, okay, I'm going to learn

everything about my chart, all my placements, all my aspects, all the

houses, all of that stuff And then some people move on to the next rabbit hole,

which is like, which house system do I want to use which books do I want to read?

And then you get in big trouble because there's traditional astrology, there's

modern, there's evolutionary, there's, you know, all of these different techniques

and modalities and schools of thought.

And like, you hit a wall.

I hit a wall personally.

And it almost made me stop because it was too much.

And you get so overwhelmed.

And I think that can happen at stage of your astrological journey,

even if it's just moving from your big three to other planets, right.

When you're just ugh have memorize these symbols.

Oh, I have to memorize what these houses mean.

Like it's a lot.

So I think that advice that you gave is so helpful, because the

right information will come to you.

And part of the reason why I want to do this podcast because you know, maybe

somebody else has their south node in Virgo and have never really thought about

those gifts or, you know, has a Saturn Neptune conjunction in their chart.

And I think that's one of the best ways to learn astrology rather than memorizing

and reading books, And all of that stuff is just talking about it and seeing what

one of those infinite expressions of each planetary energy is, so that you can then

decide what that expression means to you and to bring it full circle, increase your

self-awareness, increase your healing, and continue on your, your journey of growth.

Hell yes,

Okay.

Are you ready?

I'm ready.

for my rapid fire questions?

Yep.

I'm ready,

Okay.

Do you consider yourself to be more introverted or extroverted?

introverted,

What do you think your super power is?

caring.

That's a nice one.

What is your dream travel destination?

This is going to be hard for you.

I feel like you have like twenty.

I don't know how I could ever pick I mean I've never been to the Pacific

Northwest when I want to go there Yeah.

Like Pacific Northwest, Europe, I'll say Scotland specifically.

then I'll say Spain.

Oh.

You could do both of those in one trip over a couple weeks.

We'll have to look at your astromap.

Yes.

Well we talked about this cause you want to look at the Pacific Northwest

and why you're like called there.

Yeah, my sun line's in Eugene, oregon So I got to go there,

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

See why you're so shiny there.

I'm not making this very rapid-fire I'm just like

starting a whole new conversation

How do you bring ritual into your daily life?

in the morning.

there's a ritual of waking up and doing yoga and a little bit of meditation and

I let it be fluid, meaning don't the same thing, but I always like make time myself

in the morning , and I try to remember I'm I don't always remember but I try to

remember that everything can be a ritual.

The only thing that you need for a ritual is intention.

You heard it here first from the witch.

That's going on the quotes.

It's true.

It's true.

I love it!

last but not least.

Where do you shine brightest in your life?

In relationship I'm a Libra rising.

I just, I love having a partner and, being able to talk through something

with somebody and I love helping people and I'm happy to do it now because can

do it in a way that doesn't, , violate my boundaries or , you know, , harm me.

yeah.

That's beautiful.

Well, thank you so much.

I learned so much just talking you about your chart I'm so excited to keep

talking to you about astrology and all of the amazing work you're doing and your

locational astrology we'll do that soon.

So where can people find you?

So I'm on Instagram @selfhelpwitch at self-help which and then my

website is selfhelpwitch.com.

So either of those places, and then of course the podcast,

which is also self-help witch.

Thank

you.

Yes.

Thank you for having me.

I learned a lot too.

That really was so helpful though, because it's really hard to

look past the like scary things.

Like, I, i, that was super helpful So thank you a lot for that.

Oh, for what?

Oh, just like the points you were making about my chart.

Like that was like really nice, like reframe, like, it was a perspective that I

hadn't seen before, so it was like, yeah.

Empowering.

It was, yeah

I know, it's always a little nerve wracking to talk about someone's

chart, who knows about astrology.

But I think like, this is a perfect example of how cool it can be, right?

Like it's like your south node keeps making me laugh because it's.

like, Of course you can't see it.

It's literally just like you need someone to tell you about it

because it's just hiding from you.

Yes.

totally.

Well

Thanks for having me.

Thank so much And thank you for being so open.

Enjoy your night and I will talk to you soon!

All right.

bye!

bye!

That whole conversation with D., it was so insightful.

I just love the way that she helped me shift my perspective on what

self-help is and how to be intentional about the spells that we're crafting

every day in our everyday lives.

Whether we know it or not.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about D.'s chart.

Her chart will be in the show notes.

If you're interested in looking at it.

If you would like a reading with me to take a look at your birth chart.

You can find that@cosmicmoves.com slash shop.

I offer a few different readings and I would absolutely love to work with you.

If you enjoyed what you heard here today, please share it with a friend.

That's one of the best ways that I can think to grow this community.

And of course, if you're interested in notifications for when the next episode

is going to come out in a couple of weeks, please make sure you're subscribed

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And if you're so inclined I would always appreciate a rating

and a review on apple podcasts.

that would just help the podcast get more visibility and it would mean a lot to me.

So wherever you are.

Here's wishing you a stellar day.

And talk to you next time.