#Narrative Astrology

[adapembroke]

Astrology is subjective… and that’s why I love it

Everything we say about astrology is a story. Every interpretation is an artifact of a moment in time, created by a person who is a creature of that moment. Every astrologer is a person like you and me with wisdom and wounds, talents and flaws. And that’s the way it’s always been, even back to the beginning when the astrologer priests of Mesopotamia looked to the sky whenever something went wrong searching for patterns.

The subjectivity of astrology is inescapable. This idea is fundamental to the astrology I practice.

If astrology is always filtered through the lens of someone’s perceptions, I believe we should always be questioning it:

Is that assertion true? 

Does this interpretation of that symbol resonate for people who have that symbol in their natal charts?

Was that transit prediction accurate? Did the thing predicted actually happen? 

What are the assumptions and blindspots of this particular astrologer or astrological school?

Does this interpretation even make sense, or is the language too vague to mean anything at all?

These are hard, critical questions, but one of my most persistent biases is a natural skepticism. I believe that astrological forecasts that claim to predict concrete events (or how everyone will feel) are suspect. There are an infinite number of ways astrological symbols can express themselves, so there is an inescapable rolling of the dice that happens when predictions are made. Concrete predictions are rarely accurate. 

For the same reason, I’m suspicious of astrologers who claim to be able to tell someone else who they are. As an astrologer, I believe my job in astrology readings is to use the symbols to ask good, open-ended questions that help us both understand you better.

Overall, I try to keep an open mind, but these are hills I will die on. Still, when I play the critic, I try to do it with the humble awareness that I am also a storytelling creature of my time. Skepticism is, itself, a story with the same limitations and challenges as the stories it criticizes, and it’s dangerous.

Criticism is a destructive tool. It tears stories and ideas apart. I know this first hand because my journey with astrology began with the destruction of a narrative that I had built my life on. I know how it feels to have the metaphysical ground ripped out from under you.

Today, I believe the astrological weather is wild the way the physical weather is wild. A hurricane doesn’t destroy a house because it is part of some grand plan. It doesn’t secretly have the best interests of the owners of the house at heart, and it isn’t following the orders of a perfect, all-powerful God. 

The storm just is and acts according to its nature. The hurricane spins, howls, and blows and it will continue to spin, howl, and blow until something makes it stop. 

I believe the planets are symbols that represent similarly wild forces. We talk about the planets as if they choose to act according to their nature because it’s easier for us to understand, but their actions are their nature. They do what they are. 

Mars divides. Venus unites. Saturn contracts. Jupiter expands. The sun illuminates. Mercury communicates. The moon waxes and wanes. 

This is the nature of the planets, but we have our own natures, too. We don’t have to like everything the planets do. We don’t have to like what they represent. They may (or may not) be more powerful than us, but we don’t have to just go along with the program. 

If the planets are wild, we don’t have to take transits personally. In fact, we probably shouldn’t. Your Saturn transit may hurt, but, like a hurricane, it isn’t really about you. Even if your story about that transit is all about you.

I didn’t always believe in the wildness of things. I was raised to believe in an all-powerful God who carved the oceans with his hands like a child digging holes at the beach. In that worldview, everything was personal. Each experience was dictated personally by that god to you, for your benefit, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

It takes a long time for a foundational belief like that to unravel. I had dreams in my early days as an astrologer in which I was a character looking over the shoulder of the author of my story. I wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone at the time, but I hoped that astrology would allow me to translate the author’s language. If only I was fluent enough, I hoped to see the grand design. Maybe then, I could negotiate with God.

I never really lost that hope. Not really. What changed is that I no longer expect to find justice in the weather. I don’t know everything. I don’t need to know everything. The storm that is bad for the tree that falls gives life to the sapling struggling in its shadow. I don’t need to decide if the storm was right. And I’m glad. I no longer carry that weight around with me. I no longer have to dig to find the ultimate, positive meaning in everything that happens. I can just be with the hard things, or sit with someone who’s having a hard time, and let it be hard.

Ultimately, this is what seeing the world through the lens of stories does: It allows the tree, the sapling, you and me, ancient Mesopotamian astronomer priests, and the gods to have their own stories. Stories as wild as a hurricane or as comforting as a nest. Or both, at the same time, depending on who you are and who is telling the story. 

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[hermeticimp]

Full Moon in Pisces (8.30.23) - Savior Complex

So, the Full Moon is in Pisces right now and my favorite artist's birthday was yesterday, so I'm dealing with a lot of feelings. I was encouraged to share them by @adapembroke and we've been trying to get me to post more, so here's hoping this is the full start of that. I won't get into my adoration for Michael here. That is something I will do in future posts because I have plenty I plan to write on him. This is about the raw emotions and realization that hit me in the last 24 hours. Just know that love goes deep and is unshakeable. Continues under the cut

I have feelings - especially since Michael's birthday was literally yesterday and he has a Pisces Rising (like me) conjunct his Pisces Moon. I spent Monday and Tuesday listening to him - the first day my brother was cooking for school, so we spent the day downstairs listening to his albums and going back and forth on what we appreciated about them. I find his album Dangerous from '92 is a surprise favorite since it's very 90s but even 30 years later still speaks on things we deal with now.

Then yesterday, I watched one of his live tour performances. I was having fun for awhile, but then it hit me just how much I miss and love him and why I fear shining too much as a sensitive person - because I watched one of my idols be destroyed by the world he was in. A person I share all my critical angles with, a person who also has Leo and Virgo placements and a Libra NN, his being conjunct my natal Chiron. He was a star who loved and shared his heart and he was crucified for what he said. That terrifies me. Michael's music was one of a handful of artists' that got me through the hardest times and his death was a changing point in my life. I love him much more than I would ever want to admit - even to myself, which makes that fear all the more real. I don't want to go out like he did. I don't wanna be destroyed for daring to be a voice against the crowd. It feels like all kinds of past life wounds and fears have been dredged up with this moon transiting my 12th and 1st houses.

So that was a lot. I've been really reflective. At the same time as this fear, I found a podcast last night about learning to embrace your voice and I've spent part of today reading the book "My Friend Fear". I even managed writing the characters I've been meaning to write for months this past week. So I don't want to let fear stop me, regardless of how valid. I just need to figure out balancing my fear and my need to use my voice. I think Michael being so relevant right now is meant to help with that.

Another theme that's been prevalent in the last few weeks, but feels pretty poignant on top of what I said is the concept of being someone's "savior". That theme has come up a lot. There's even a song ("Savior") by someone I look up to - Kendrick Lamar - where he talked about how he couldn't be anyone's savior even though people wanted him to be. On another song on the same album ("Mirror"), he apologizes for choosing to save himself and his family and not being that savior - which irked me when it came out (last year) because I never felt he needed to be sorry for that. You can't save everyone. You shouldn't be sorry for choosing yourself, especially when you've already given so much.

And yet, that's what Pisces does. It gives and gives and gives until it has nothing for itself. And it fails to have compassion for itself. It's inconjunct Leo, who healthily does take care of itself. They both have to learn the balance between healthily self-focus and giving compassionately and genuinely. And I've been struggling with that. Michael struggled with it and in the end, the Pisces shadow is how he left the world. I don't want that. If these Leo transits have taught me anything, it's that I don't want that. Sure, being vulnerable is scary, but I've spent my whole life being self-sacrificial and not valuing myself. It didn't get me anywhere good - not in the long-term. So why not embrace myself and who I really am? Why not embrace self-compassion and love while still giving people room to be themselves? I won't allow myself to stay transfixed by my pain. I will continue to dive deep and transmute it into light while exploring my depths and the depths of the world around me - to go underneath the underneath.

I will be me, even in this world that says that's wrong. I don't have a choice. Even if that means confronting what scares me most. I have to live for me.

I'm not anyone's savior but my own. You can't be anyone's savior but your own. The best you can do is lead by example - to be an inspiration, a Muse - the last of which is hilariously on the nose for me since I played a Greek mythology video game called Stray Gods: A Roleplaying Musical this past week where you play as a Muse who helps solve people's issues by getting them to sing what's in their heart. She can't force them to lie or go against their true nature, but she can elicit and inspire them to express themselves truthfully (to an extent). Even funnier is that the character's name - Grace - is one of the meanings for my nickname irl - Anna.

Michael's asteroid - like Hermes - lies in my 11H in Cap. He's an inspiration, a guiding light, a Muse… but he isn't my savior. He shouldn't have been anyone's but his own. And I won't try to be anyone else's either. Not if I want to make it out of this life the way I want to. I can't fall into the Neptunian illusion or Jupiterian delusion of grandeur. I have a voice and I will share it. If people resonate, they do and that's great. If they don't, that's fine too. It's not my job to save everyone - only to be share what I feel needs to be said and expressed for us to start healing as a whole. To share what I need to to express myself and be of service by doing so. I don't want to lose my faith and magic in this world, my sense of wonder. Michael is one of those that reminds me of that - for good and bad. I will honor myself first and foremost. I won't drown in this ocean inside me.

[starjellyastro]

Charts build on themselves to create a narrative. There are infinite methods of analysis and placements to analyze, but only when you link them together can you begin to see the big picture.

Mars is under the command of the sun and moon as its role is to be the overseer, commander in chief. The sun & moon’s condition in the chart affects how Mars goes into action. For example, the moon, specifically having its own internal defense mechanism such as being able to sense danger or perceive fear, would affect how one physically defends/protects themselves

[robertmatejcek]

The Great Emptiness - acrylic painting - 6"x6" mdf - 2025

“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into a garment for us.“ - Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451

tags:

[astrologicaldreamin]

Neptuarian Placements

I almost question if most of the "errors" people with disrupted or prominent Neptune placements experience is second-hand and not individually stemmed, as if we were taught to ignore our intuition because, socially, it seemed misplaced. People with tense Neptune-Mars aspects are not weak within their drive and ambitions, but are confined to the expectations to act like so; etc.

[jazzypizzaz]

personality tests are all reductionist hoaxes blah blah 100%, BUT wild how I used to think I didn't fit any of the Enneagram profiles. I'm such a Type Nine (sp) it's *stupid*. my burden to bear but it has legit helped me conceptualize my faults & how to work on that

[miirshroom]

Elden Ring and Introduction to the FromSoftware Meta-Narrative

If a rune is a story and a great rune is a great story, then what are the great stories represented by the Great Runes? The answer that I have arrived at: The abstract concept of FromSoftware's various videogame development pipelines. Afterall, the Elden Ring represents a metaphysical concept, so why not an examination of the past, present, and future identity of a company that produces videogames. Major spoilers ahead for Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Armoured Core 6, and minor spoilers for several other FromSoft games.

Godrick's Great Rune

The Dark Souls (2011-2018) Great Rune seems obvious - Godrick's Great rune. If the 3 ringed shape wasn't the tip-off (corresponding to 3 games) then perhaps that the dragon figure on top of the Banished Knight helmet is the same creature as the Nameless King's mount. Dark Souls Eygon of Carim wears the Morne set and guards a fire keeper named Irena, while in Elden Ring Edgar of Castle Morne in Godrick's territory loses his eyes to frenzy after discovering the death of his daughter Irena.

Godrick himself seems to function as representative of Dark Souls Remastered, in a sense that the repulsive practice of grafting is being equated to the creative dead-end of revisiting old games such as Dark Souls (2011) and pasting on updated graphics and quality of life features while having to work around out-dated code. I think that Godefroy could be seen as a much earlier use of this practice as the difference between original Dark Souls and the Prepare to Die edition (2012) that included improvements + Artorius DLC. And Godwyn's parallel would be Dark Souls 3 (2016). I would thus consider Godwyn and Godrick as brothers in Elden Ring because in the internal logic of FromSoftware there were always planned to be a trilogy of Dark Souls games.

Dark Souls 2 is annoying to explain succinctly partially because it was directed by Naotoshi Zin Yui Taimura (correction: Naotoshi Zin was the supervisor, which was his role on all Dark Souls games as president of the company from 1986-2014) instead of Hidetaka Miyazaki. In short, there are some blurry lines between Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin and Bloodborne.

Malenia's and Miquella's Great Runes

Malenia herself has an obvious match in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) - it is in the Dragon Rot being correlated to Scarlet Rot, the parallels between Malenia's dedication to Miquella and Wolf's dedication to Kuro, and that it's one of the few recent FromSoft games to be released without paid DLC or sequel (which as it happens is common among all empyrean and their game counterparts). Numerous people have commented that Malenia feels like a Sekiro boss to fight - although with the added twist of mechanics like clearing her poise break that allow her to "cheat" compared to the bosses of that game.

However, the exact nature of Malenia's Great Rune is more nebulous - probably could be a stand-in for multiple Japanese-style combat games in the catalogue including Shadow Assault: Tenchu (2008) and Otogi: Myth of Demons (2002). Certainly, it has been confirmed by FromSoftware representatives that Sekiro was internally considered a Tenchu game for some time before release, as discussed in the aptly titled 2018 GameSpot article "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Originally Started As A Tenchu Game".

Miquella may or may not have a Great Rune. If he does, it would correspond to games in a similar spirit to Déraciné (2018), the game which Miquella most likely represents. A much smaller game, the idea of which originated in the wake of Bloodborne's release at around the same time that the idea for Sekiro began to form - twin ideas. The game Kuon (2004) also seems to have served some inspiration for the Haligtree, as there is a side-story told about silkworms and a central Mulberry Tree in that game.

Radahn's Great Rune

Radahn's Rune represents the Armored Core franchise - or perhaps the broader idea of mech combat games - while he is himself a personification of Armoured Core 6: The Fires of Rubicon (2023). The opening part of his boss fight is an artillery bombardment, similar to the long range weapon capabilities of the AC units. The central motifs of AC6 are "fire" and "coral" - and the general theme of Caelid is using fire to control the rot that has eaten Radahn's mind and which manifests in the landscape as growths resembling coral reef.

A major part of Radahn's character is that he idolized Godfrey, who is himself embodying AC4 (2006)/4A (2008). The name "Loux" means "Lynx" - and in a departure from the Ravens of earlier titles AC4 introduces the Lynx units. It also simply makes sense that the progenitor of the Golden Lineage - who I previously correlated to Dark Souls - would be represented in the first game that Miyazaki directed.

And I can see the objection that this doesn't make sense because we know that Radahn must have been born before Malenia/Miquella, so how can he represent a game that came after? Simply: it's not about when the game idea was executed, but about when the concept was first proposed. FromSoftware probably knew that they would eventually return to Armoured Core at about the time they wrapped on AC5V.

Morgott and Mohg's Great Runes

Now that some boundary conditions have been set it is easier to speculate on the nature of Morgott and Mohg - AC5 (2012) and AC5V (2013), respectively. Points of comparison: 1) They are of the Golden Lineage as they preceded from AC4A represented by Godfrey, 2) They are omens that any game without Miyazaki attached will be perceived poorly in hindsight (as he did not direct either game), 3) The AC games were at the time FromSoftware's most well known and active franchise before being overshadowed by souls games - those touched by the Crucible were once considered divine and only later fell into disfavor.

But as I already mentioned, with speculation that Radahn holds the Armoured Core Great Rune Morgott and Mohg must have claimed some other stories. This also aids in understanding how they can exist as multiple copies - there is the version of them before and after claiming Great Runes that do not match their original natures. Morgott is the easiest to figure out - it's the Elden Ring (2022) Rune. There is one Great Rune in the entire game that is mandatory to beating the game, and it is the one held by Morgott. Perhaps this raises a question of how can the Elden Ring have a single Great Rune dedicated to itself, but as I have been attempting to describe - all FromSoftware games should be treated as a single body of work looking backwards from Elden Ring. The initial concept of an "Elden Ring" stretches back at least as far as Eternal Ring (2000), and Morgott's rune is described as an "anchor ring that houses the base" so it does have a central importance.

And there's a relatively straightforward answer to which game would be considered a twin to Elden Ring - Demon's Souls (2009). The leitmotif in the menu music for Elden Ring has been identified as a more triumphant version of the Demon's Souls menu music. The core themes of Elden Ring are also much concerned with philosophies of identity in much the same way that Demon's Souls explores the definition of the self as an entity that thinks (look up "Philosophical Analysis of Demon's Souls" by The Gemsbok on Youtube for more on this). And Elden Ring serves as something of a bookend to Demon's Souls - both games are divided into 6 sections via 6 stone structures (the Archstones of Demon's Souls and the Divine Towers of Elden Ring). The 6th Archstone of Demon's Souls is broken, but what lies beyond is a snowy landscape. Elden Ring finally provides access to that snowy landscape in the Forbidden Lands, which is again only available after defeating Morgott - and with the Great Rune being activated at the tower closest to this area.

But there are independent reasons why Mohg's Great Rune should be the one that encompasses Demon's Souls. The Demon's Souls franchise potential has been irreversibly corrupted by the recent remake. The philosophy is still generally intact - that is portrayed through text. But critical aspects of art design have been altered beyond recognition - mostly of interest to me is the portrayal of the Yellow Monk and the Fool's Idol and the area of Latria in general. Mohg himself has this in the design of his robes and trident which steal the motifs of the helix and the black flame but corrupt them in ways that read almost as gibberish compared to their deliberate uses elsewhere.

The four-armed doll of the Fool's Idol hints at who the original owner of this rune might have been - Ranni's mentor Renna. And through embodying the witch Renna, it may be that ownership of this rune was transfered to Ranni before she chose to discard it. Demon's Souls did generally fit the previously established criteria of Empyrean game (no sequels or DLC), but the potential for future games is lost now as creating a sequel to the original would alienate people confused by the aesthetic corruption of the remake. There is also a rabbithole here for what all this Great Rune encompasses because Demon's Souls itself did not spring out of nowhere - it is of a similar approach to game design that was previously last seen in Shadow Tower Abyss (2003) and Kingsfield IV (2001).

The Great Rune of the Unborn

The Great Rune of the Unborn is a difficult one to pin down through this method of unpacking the Great Runes as much as any other. It seems possible that Miquella wanted this Great Rune and thought that it could be obtained by arranging his own rebirth. It is also one of two stories that must be obtained for Ranni's Age of Stars to be possible (the other being Radahn's story) - indicating that it represents something that did not exist at the time of Elden Ring's release. Running low on demi-gods, perhaps this is best understood as Melina's Great Rune. It is implied through Melina's abilities to channel Marika's echoes and through her descriptor in the code "MarikaofDaughter" that she is an offspring of Marika. Contradictory to the other demi-gods who can typically be matched to FromSoftware games, Melina's bodiless status seems to indicate that she never has been and her burning at the Forge of Giants is acknowledgement that she never will be. A comparison can be drawn between Melina and the disembodied Ayre - voice of the Coral in AC6. The unrealized potential of the Great Rune of the Unborn seems a good match to Melina.

Rykard's Great Rune

So, by process of elimination there is one rune left and it is Rykard's Great Rune. Fitting that the one game candidate remaining is Bloodborne (2015). An article titled "How the Spirit of Bloodborne Lives on in Elden Ring" (posted on VG247 by Alan Wen) goes over the ways that Volcano Manor evokes Bloodborne. The Manor sits on top of a hidden town of gothic architecture similar to Yharnam being stacked on top Old Yharnam, the Ghiza's Wheel weapon found in the manor has a clear design lineage to the whirligig saw from Bloodborne, the Iron Virgin at Raya Lucaria transports the player to a secondary location similar to Bloodborne's Kidnappers. But to me, the most clear connection is the finding of the Serpent's Amnion and Rya's dismay of being born of a hideous ritual. This seems a form of call-back or iteration to the ending of Bloodborne that involves consuming four 3rds of umbilical cord and being reborn as a Great One - a repellent little squid-slug thing.

[flow2024]

on ur women in space post: there is CURRENTLY a woman up in space they cant bring down because boeing cant make ac ocket that doesn't explode. suni is still up there. Shes been up there for almost two years. we were supposed to get her down almost a year ago but now our space program is privatized and RUINED!!!

i think she's just gotten back (landed on March 18th) from what ive been able to find (correct me if i'm wrong) but you're right!! turns out you can check who is in space now online (fun tool) and according to that out of the ten people currently up there FOUR are women!! sunita herself is one of the world's most experienced spacewalkers!! we have had women in space and involved in the space program on the ground for almost as long as we have BEEN in space!! this breaks literally no ground whatsoever beyond it being entirely women i guess but again it's JEFF BEZOS' TOURISM ROCKET!! i'm always pro women being more involved in science but this achieves exactly nothing other than good press for jeff bezos' tourism rockets and the general privatisation of space travel!!

[humanoidalt]

When you look at an astrology map of a close one, and they're literally doomed by the narrative...

[mercifulstate]

⋆.˚ 𖥔˚ YES, YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS IS THAT GULLIBLE.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Girl let’s have a real conversation, because some of y’all are out here acting like your subconscious mind is this mysterious, unknowable force from the fifth dimension. No. Your subconscious? It's gullible. Like—literally. It doesn't analyze. It doesn’t fact-check. It believes whatever you tell it and feel as true. Simply tell it that you're already a master manifestor, step in that feeling and it'd be like, “Oh word? Bet.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎That’s why when you continuously keep saying stuff like “I’m so unlucky” or “Things never work out for me,” it's not gonna argue with you. It'll just gonna roll with it. It'll make sure things stay not working out because it thinks that’s what you want and what you believe in. Meanwhile, if you start affirming the shit you want and step into your "self", “Everything always works in my favor” or “I’m living my dream life,” it's gonna be like, “Okay queen, setting that up right now.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Neville Goddard literally said,

"The subconscious is not selective; it is impersonal and no respecter of persons. The subconscious is not concerned with the truth or falsity of your feeling. It always accepts as true that which you feel to be true. Feeling is the assent of the subconscious to the truth of that which is declared to be true."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ That’s the whole game. Manifestation isn’t some cryptic ritual. It’s not about vision boards or journaling for three hours under a full moon—unless that gets you in the vibe. It’s about impressing your subconscious with the assumption that what you want is already yours.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎And no one—and I mean no one—can do that for you. Not your fave manifestation coach, not your astrology mutual, not the girl on TikTok with the aesthetic affirmations, not the blogger who is giving you reality shifting advice, not the void success story post you reblogged twelve times. Just you. You are the operant power. You are the one choosing the assumptions. So if you’re not deciding the story you want, you’re just letting your subconscious run wild off old patterns and nonsense.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎You wanna change your life? Change the narrative. Talk to your subconscious like it's your easily influenced little sister. Be like, “Hey babe, we’re rich and loved and everything is working out perfectly the way I want it to be, okay?” And it'll go, “Ohhh okay girlie, got it.” That’s it. That's quite literally it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎So go crazy. Be dramatic. Be annoyingly certain. Persist. Command it. Whatever you tell it as your truth, your subconscious is listening—and it's ready to believe whatever you say next.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

[adapembroke]

Narrative Astrology Is a Summoning Spell for Stories

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to eavesdrop on a group of horary astrologers. They were arguing about which of the signs rules juniper trees. As people do when they’re arguing about something only fifteen or so people in the world care about, the conversation got really emotionally heated. It was a good thing there were no weapons around because they were ready to go to war over juniper trees. As far as I could tell, they never agreed on an answer to the question, but I’ll never really know. I eventually got bored and wandered off.

I remember that conversation, though, because it changed the way that I see astrology. I realized that astrology isn’t a weird occult discipline that talks about stars. It is actually a box that contains every single thing in the universe.

And it always has. The Mesopotamians had 12 signs and 7 planets. We have a whole system of houses and thousands of named asteroids. Yet, the Mesopotamians weren’t forced to say less with astrology just because they had fewer symbols. Astrology’s “box of stuff” has always been as big as the sky. We’ve just divided it into a greater number of compartments, and each of those compartments is, itself, as big as the sky.

How is that possible? It is because each astrological symbol is a branching tree of associations.

(It’s a box and a tree? Yes, I know. Stay with me.)

Each symbol branch starts with abstraction. It divides and divides, getting more and more specific until there are paths leading to every entry in every person’s collection of specific experiences that are associated with that symbol. Each person’s association sets are created over a lifetime, and there are billions of people creating those association sets alive right now.

So, how do you know what you’re seeing when you look at an astrological symbol? When you see Mercury, are you seeing a messenger god or a metal that is liquid at room temperature?

The truth is, you’re seeing everything. You just don’t know exactly which face of Mercury is going to appear in your place at your particular moment.

The rest of the chart can help you narrow things down. If Mercury is in Pisces, for example, you’re probably not looking at a database. But you can’t look at a symbol and narrow it down to one thing. I might look at Mercury and see a god, and you might see a metal. In astrology land, we are both right.

Astrology is a subjective discipline. We keep the little circle at the middle of the chart to remind us that this is where we stand: at the center of everything. The reader of the chart is reading with a particular set of eyes, in a particular place, at a particular place in time. The reader’s subjective particularity makes the world. It determines what will come out of the box when we reach into a chart and pull out Mercury.

And this is where the stories come from. Each astrological symbol is a branching tree of associations. Each branch gets more and more particular, mapping a lifetime of stories about specific experiences that we have with each associated thing.

You can’t spend your life reading astrology cookbooks or lists of delineations and claim to understand it. Experience is where the real wisdom of astrology lives. That’s why astrologers look at our watches when we witness a disaster. We are mapping a story that we have personally experienced onto a chart. It is through the stories of our lived experiences that we truly understand how the symbols dance with each other.

I don’t know what sign rules juniper trees, but I can share my experience of juniper with you by telling stories.

I can tell you about the time I went to Central Oregon and found a park that was covered with juniper trees. Until that day, I thought I knew about juniper trees, but I had only ever experienced juniper trees in pieces. I had only ever eaten juniper berries and burned juniper wood to cleanse and heat a house.

Maybe you’ve never experienced juniper trees at all, but I can share some of my experiential knowledge of juniper trees by telling you a story about how hot and dry it was under the juniper trees that day in the park and how thirsty I was and how my mouth filled with saliva when I took a juniper berry off a tree and chewed it and how it magically made me feel more calm and subdued even though I was standing in a place that I couldn’t survive in for long without lots of technology.

Even if I say nothing about it, that experience in the park hums through my words every time I talk about juniper trees, even when I’m sharing the book-knowledge that juniper trees have become an invasive species in the high desert, drinking all the water. My stories about juniper trees taste like juniper berry mulled wine and juniper berry tea. They’re filled with how good a juniper wood fire smells.

Narrative astrology is a summoning spell for stories. And the only thing stopping me from summoning stories about juniper trees from a chart is that I don’t know what box to look for them in.

This essay is from my Narrative Astrology course Storytelling With Astrological Symbols.

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[hermeticimp]

Major Astrology Angles & Narratives

ASC/1H: The story of your birth circumstances, your world view, how the world initially perceives you, your vibe. This is the narrative that you were introduced to from birth and the narrative that governs the way you interact with the world initially. Beyond that, it can be the story that people tend to assume you fall into based on appearance, vibe, and initial impressions. Will likely internalize early, but may change and shift as you grow and your views change.

IC/4H: Your hidden self, your inner world, the place of ancestors. This is where the narratives you tell yourself may live. The intuitive spaces and vibes you get from where "home" is. These feel like somewhat unconscious stories that it may take some self-reflection and deep dive into the inner world to find. These are also the stories passed on from ancestors and the demons you that feel both familiar, but not yours because they are tied to your bloodline.

DSC/7H: The "other", the shadow, the parts of yourself that you meet only through your interaction with others, the part of you that you cast off and fail to see in yourself, how your relationship with others reflects on the self. These are the narratives you tell about others not realizing that they're really the stories you're telling about yourself. This is the part of the story that you learn to accept and integrate, to make decisions on at critical parts in your life to improve the relationship with self and others. It's how relationships reveal you to yourself.

MC/10H: What you're aiming for, your reputation, your career, the impact you wish to leave on the world. This is the story that you want to tell the world, the one that breaks free of the constraints of ancestry and hidden self in the 4H and the mark you leave on the world. If you could leave a story behind, this is the one that you want the world to see and accept.

[astrovastuplus]

Decoding Future Trends through Predictive Numerology

Introduction:

In the realm of mystical sciences, predictive numerology stands as an intriguing method to unravel the enigma of the future. Numbers believed to hold cosmic vibrations, act as gateways to understanding life's trends and potential outcomes. This blog explores the captivating world of predictive numerology, shedding light on how the analysis of numbers can offer profound insights into future trends.

Body:

1. Foundations of Predictive Numerology:

Predictive numerology is grounded in the ancient belief that each number carries a distinct vibration, influencing events and personalities. Grasping the fundamentals involves correlating numerical values with letters, and constructing a numeric framework.

2. Life Path Numbers:

At the core of predictive numerology lies the determination of one's Life Path Number. Computed from the birthdate, this number reveals an individual's purpose, challenges, and opportunities throughout their life journey.

3. Numerology and Personalities:

This section delves into how numerology interprets personalities based on numbers, presenting a unique perspective on strengths, weaknesses, and interpersonal compatibility.

4. Future Trends and Predictions:

Numerology extends beyond personal insights. Discover how practitioners utilize numbers to predict global trends, societal shifts, and economic patterns.

5. Business Numerology:

Uncover the influence of numbers on businesses. From selecting a business name to analyzing its numerical vibration, numerology plays a role in forecasting success.

6. Compatibility in Relationships:

Explore the role of numerology in assessing compatibility between individuals. Learn how specific numbers influence relationships and interpersonal dynamics.

7. Numerology and Decision-Making:

This section delves into how individuals use predictive numerology to make informed decisions, be it in career choices, investments, or major life transitions.

8. Challenges and Skepticism:

Acknowledge the skepticism surrounding predictive numerology. Address common challenges and misconceptions, highlighting its inherently subjective nature.

9. Practical Applications:

Discover real-life instances where numerology has been applied successfully, showcasing its practical utility in various scenarios.

Conclusion:

Predictive numerology, with its ancient roots and contemporary applications, remains an engaging avenue for those seeking to demystify the future. By delving into the world of numbers, individuals can glean valuable insights into their lives, relationships, and even broader societal trends. Embracing the mystique of predictive numerology unveils a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of numbers and the unfolding narrative of our destinies.

[s7my]

H O W N E P T U N E C L O U D S Y O U R C L A R I T Y 🌁

neptune in astrology is tied to dreams, illusions, and blurred lines. when it aspects other planets, it can soften clarity, making things feel more emotional, idealized, or confusing. it doesn’t lie, but it makes reality feel foggy; beautiful or heartbreaking, but hard to pin down. depending on the planet, it can bring deep intuition or escapism, creativity or confusion. ☁️🌪️

☉ sun-neptune

when neptune touches your sun, your sense of identity can be unclear or hard to define. you may struggle with self-doubt, not because you lack confidence, but because you’re constantly unsure of who you really are or who you’re supposed to be. you might absorb expectations from others without realizing it, which leads to shapeshifting in different settings. it’s easy to lose yourself in roles, relationships, or goals that don’t feel solid. people might think you’re inspirational or mysterious, but internally you may feel directionless or vague. the challenge here is finding a sense of self that isn’t built on other people’s projections or unrealistic ideals.

☽ moon-neptune

this aspect often makes emotional boundaries weak. you feel everything, even things that aren’t yours. you might have grown up in an environment where emotions weren’t clearly expressed, or where confusion and avoidance were common. now, you may struggle to trust your emotional instincts because you’re used to second-guessing yourself. sometimes you cope through fantasy, detachment, or checking out emotionally. you might be drawn to art, music, or helping others, but the real work is learning what you actually feel vs what you’ve absorbed from others.

☿ mercury-neptune

communication gets tricky here. your thinking might be creative, abstract, or nonlinear, but when you try to explain it, it doesn’t always come out clearly. people might misunderstand you or say you’re being vague, even when you feel like you're being real. sometimes, you avoid conflict by being indirect, or you say what others want to hear just to keep things peaceful. at worst, this can lead to misinformation or people not trusting what you say. on the flip side, you’re great at understanding nuance and reading between the lines. just make sure you’re not filling in blanks with wishful thinking.

♀ venus-neptune

relationships can be a blind spot. you want connection, but you’re more likely to fall for potential than reality. you might ignore red flags or put people on a pedestal without realizing it, especially when you’re emotionally invested. you crave a kind of closeness that feels deep and healing, but if you're not careful, that can turn into emotional codependency or chasing unavailable people. this aspect can also affect how you handle money or aesthetics. your taste might be refined or artistic, but decision-making can be inconsistent. clarity in love and finances is something you learn over time.

♂ mars-neptune

your drive and motivation aren’t consistent. some days you’re inspired, and other days it’s hard to even get started. you might avoid confrontation, not because you’re weak, but because direct conflict feels overwhelming or pointless to you. when you do act, it’s often based on emotion or instinct more than logic. that can make you seem spontaneous or unreliable. there’s also a chance of drifting into passivity, where you wait for motivation instead of building habits. the key here is figuring out what you truly care about so your actions aren’t just reactive or based on vague desires.

♃ jupiter-neptune

you tend to have big dreams or ideals, but following through on them isn’t always consistent. optimism can tip into unrealistic thinking, especially around beliefs, future goals, or trusting people too easily. you might take spiritual or philosophical ideas too far without grounding them in everyday experience. there’s a genuine desire to grow and understand the world, but sometimes you bypass hard truths in favor of feel-good narratives. learning to question your assumptions and stay critical helps you stay grounded, especially in areas of education, spirituality, or leadership.

♄ saturn-neptune

this aspect creates a push-pull between structure and surrender. on one hand, you crave stability; on the other, you fear rigidity or being boxed in. you might set unrealistic goals for yourself, then feel crushed when they don’t go as planned. or, you avoid responsibility altogether because the pressure feels unbearable. there can be a lot of guilt or self-doubt tied to your sense of discipline, as if no matter what you do, it’s never enough. this usually shows up in career, authority issues, or how you set boundaries. the lesson is learning to work steadily without losing touch with your values or reality.

♅ uranus-neptune

you’re drawn to unconventional or progressive ideas, but your sense of what’s real and what’s visionary can blur. sometimes you take risks without fully thinking them through because you get swept up in the excitement of change or rebellion. you might idealize freedom but struggle with stability. your thinking is innovative, but not always grounded. you tend to pick up trends or insights before others do, but you also need to check whether your ideas are actually useful or just sound good in theory. balance between creativity and practicality is key.

♇ pluto-neptune

you carry deep emotional intensity, but it’s not always expressed outwardly. there’s a tendency to internalize pain, or to be drawn to experiences that feel meaningful but also emotionally heavy. you might feel like you’re constantly in the process of healing or transforming, but the lines between trauma, fantasy, and truth can get blurry. you might romanticize suffering or avoid closure because you’re addicted to emotional depth. it’s not about being dramatic–it’s about learning to release what isn’t yours to carry. emotional clarity takes time and effort, but it’s worth it.

thanks for reading! <3 @s7my

[astrologydray]

Astrology Observations 4: Dark & Unspoken Astrology Takes

• Venus conjunct MC people don’t just attract admiration—they attract obsession. People don’t just notice them; they study them📚.

• Lilith on the IC feels like growing up in a house where you were punished for simply existing as yourself. The “villain” of the family narrative🖤.

• Mars in Pisces isn’t weak—it’s just invisible. These people don’t fight in the open, but when they move, they’re already 10 steps ahead.

• Neptune in the 1st house gives “people see what they want to see” energy. They project their fantasies onto you, then resent you when you don’t match them😑.

• Uranus aspecting the MC = the kind of person who could reinvent themselves overnight, disappear, and come back as someone unrecognizable😭😭

• If you have Pluto transiting the IC, you’re not just going through a “family transformation.” It’s ancestral. You’re the first to break a generational curse💪🏾.

• Saturn in the 1st house (or transit) makes you earn your identity. It strips away every false version of yourself until only the real you remains.

• Chiron in the 10th house or MC can make success feel like it comes with a wound—publicly respected but personally unfulfilled😞.

• People say Neptune 1st house people are “mystical” but don’t realize how isolating it is when no one actually sees you clearly. I’m abt to go cry now.😖😖🖤

• Venus on the MC doesn’t just make you beautiful—it makes people project their idea of beauty onto you, whether you like it or not🫠.

• Pluto-IC aspects feel like being born into a home where you had to survive rather than exist🥺.

• Lilith on the IC: The “problem child” of the family. You weren’t difficult—you just refused to submit to the unspoken rules of dysfunction😤.

• Neptune in the 1st house: People love the idea of you, not the reality. The moment they see the real you, they act like you betrayed them.

• Mars in Pisces: You don’t attack—you dissolve your enemies. No one ever sees you coming until they’re drowning.

• Pluto aspecting the IC: You were raised in a home with secrets. Whether you knew them or not, they shaped you🤫.

• Chiron conjunct the MC: Your pain is public property. People don’t just notice you—they dissect your wounds like an open book.

• Pluto-IC people don’t have childhoods. They have survival stories.

• Venus conjunct the MC isn’t just “pretty privilege.” It’s a curse when people assume you have it easy and resent you for it.

[what-about-zaladane]

Ask Me Anything: My Inbox is Open!

Please feel free to ask me anything you like about tarot or astrology! (Or math, data science or machine learning if that's what you're into.) I love weird and/or specific questions if you've got 'em.

My Style

I read tarot symbolically, narratively, and psychologically. I focus a lot of court dynamics, tarot archetypes, and internal dialogue between the cards. I have a strong focus on structured spreads and readings.

I approach astrology with a blend of traditional methods (rulerships, aspects, decans, houses != signs) and modern mythic/psychological insights. I look at the chart as a story or a cosmic song (the music of the spheres, if you will), and each of the planets is a player.

No question is too specific or too general -- and there are no "stupid questions." Astrology and tarot are just stories that we all tell to each other -- I'm happy to help you write some new ones.

You can check out my blog if you want to see my style, focus, musings and mini-essays.

Hit me up and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Introduction

Hi. I’m Nova (not my real name). I’m a data scientist, a tarot reader and an astrologer. I exist between logic and intuition. This is a space for both.

I’m a Capricorn stellium trying to make meaning out of everything. I’ve spent years building models, studying math, and writing code...but somewhere along the way, I realized I was also tracing patterns in stars and cards. This space is where I let both sides of me speak. Tarot and astrology filtered through the mind of someone who was told to think logically but never stopped feeling symbolically.

Ask Me Anything:

Please feel free to ask me anything you like about tarot or astrology! (Or math, data science or machine learning if that's what you're into.) I love weird and/or specific questions if you've got 'em.

My inbox is open! I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner.

Masterlists:

Reddit r/AskAstrologers Reponse Masterlist: Sometimes I write a response on that sub and overshoot my word count. This is a mini-series bringing in-depth analysis of real people's charts over here to Tumblr.