Moon Mondays: Is astrology BS?

Why astrology’s not really what you think it is?

I was twelve when this tiny, witchy woman showed up at our door to read our astrology charts. She was scary looking, otherworldly, more apparition than flesh. I’d never encountered anyone who didn’t seem fully of this realm. Whatever astrology was, it sounded like gobbledygook to me. Riveted, I watched her — wild, towheaded frizz, as if she’d stepped out of a fairy tale.

Years (and many family readings) later, she told me I’d be going far, far away the following year. Irritated, I thought, “That’s it! This astrology stuff is total crap. I’m already switching schools this year. There’s no freaking way I’m going to another one the next. This lady is definitely insane.”

As I stepped off the plane in London that next fall, for a semester abroad, I reconsidered, “There might actually be something to this astrology thing.”

Astrology gets a bad rap, especially in a culture fixated on what can be measured, verified, and proved. We prostrate at the throne of science. Interestingly, science continues to “prove” what Indigenous cultures have been teaching us for millennia. Astrology is really just astronomy, but with meaning.

I don’t subscribe to the whole prediction — planets are making us to do stuff — theory though.

I’m more of an “as above, so below” philosophy astrologer. The planets mirror the energy we’re all moving through. Our natal charts (the configuration of the solar system when we were born) simply map the energetic soup we incarnated within. That savory stew gives us clues to understanding why we’re here and how we’re meant to grow and evolve.

I see the cosmos as alive and intelligent. Our stellar souls chose that singular moment for maximum metamorphosis. Did we all choose an interesting to time to develop ourselves or what?!?

Astrology is an ancient tool that assists us in becoming more aware and conscious. That’s its key benefit — helping us to be more cognizant of what we’re going through and what we’re trying to learn. We can use all the help we can get, right?

In the throes of particularly difficult times, wouldn’t it help to understand why this is happening for you, rather than to you? Astrology erases victimhood from the picture. If we’re here to develop and mature, what are these challenging circumstances showing me, teaching me, encouraging me to unearth within my little human unconscious?

Astrology empowers you!

Astral awareness raises our consciousness, so we can rise to the occasion as best we can. The cosmic reflection aids us to see the arenas of our lives that are actively being stimulated.

Astronomy used to your advantage is really what astrology is. A friend’s sun is in Aquarius and their moon in Taurus, meaning those two planets were in specific sections of the sky when they were born, delineated by the solstices and equinoxes. If you were born with your sun in Aries, you’re arrived soon after the spring equinox. Capricorn? Right after the winter solstice.

Our birth charts represent a teeny, little solar system surrounding each of us.

Think of it like a piano wrapped around you. That piano has the notes, the vibrations you’re learning and progressing through. There’s an energetic musicality to it. Your path is in the key of C, while mine is in D. As the planets move through the sky in real time, your piano keys are getting tickled in particular areas. It may be your love life or work. It might be your health or finances. Uranus might be playing your C, while Pluto is playing my D.

A potent instrument, astrology exposes what’s alive for each of us. Which energies are currently charged within us, and which ones will enliven us next. Astrology isn’t a mandate, declaring some specific thing is going to absolutely happen. And none of it is “bad.” That’s my pet peeve, when astrologers tell you negative things to watch out for, stating this wicked planet is going to do cruel things to you. Nonsense spewed through that astrologer’s muddy filter.

You’re here to evolve and the planets are demonstrating how you’re attempting to do that. You can choose to get on board or not.

Sunday brings the Capricorn new moon, the start of a new lunar cycle, the first of 2026. What note might this moon-sun alignment be playing for you? Helping you to further your intended path and growth?

Sheridan

Astrology Life Coach and Moon Sisters Circle Guide