8 Things I Learned About Myself By Visiting a Professional Astrologer

Despite the fact that I'm frequently writing about the zodiac,  it took me far too long to see a real-life astrologer and have my chart read.

That finally changed at the end of last year when I reached out to local astrology guru Shelley Warren, who warmly invited me into her home in Marina Del Rey, California, to map out my star chart and explain how the alignment of celestial bodies makes me me.

When I arrived, she had a cute star chart folder for me packed with information before spending more than an hour with me to go through the meaning behind it all. I learned far too much to recount it all here, but continue reading for some of my biggest takeaways from the experience.

I've Been Reading the Wrong Horoscope

Since my Sun sign is Sagittarius, I've always assumed that when I read any kind of horoscope, I should read the one assigned to Sags. One of the first things I learned when I sat down with Shelley is that that's not necessarily the case. Instead, I discovered that it might actually be more helpful to look at my Ascendant, or Rising sign.

"You have Leo Rising, so even though you're a Sagittarius, the sun rules your chart," she explained. "When you look at your horoscope, you should always read for Leo first and then Sagittarius second. That will lay out more correctly for you."

So if you feel like your daily horoscope is always inaccurate, it might just be that you've been looking in the wrong place.

According to Shelley, "When someone says astrology doesn't work, that's because it's more customized."

 

How I Shine

There was a lot to comb through in my natal chart, with each of the 12 Houses representing a different slice of my life. First I learned that the First House is the House of Self.

"The first house is all about you," Shelley told me, "and that includes how you shine. I'm assuming that people really love you. You can be the sun and shine on everyone, but you'll have to always watch that you down burn yourself out. That can leave you with no energy and make you feel like giving up."

I don't know about everyone loving me, but I do think I have a reputation for doing a good job and putting in an extra effort to make sure the job gets done every time, and that it gets done right. I also have a tendency to burn out and be way less productive on a Friday when I haven't recharged in a while than I am earlier in the week. I think it's important that I occasionally try to take a step back and do what I can to not overextend myself.

 

My Fifth House Is Crowded

The Fifth House represents kids and creative self-expression, and I have five different glyphs in that section of my chart, making it quite crowded. My Sagittarius, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn are all there shaping my expression in different ways.

"Your Sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, so you're a big vision person and you really see the world from different points of view," Shelley explained. "Your Mercury is in Sagittarius, which is known in the chart as a detriment. Mercury is all about delivering information, and Sag has an opinion on that information, so you may want to watch out about always wanting people to agree with you, as well as being too honest with people when tact is key."

"Mercury is also kissing Uranus," she continued. "This is the genius element. You have great, futuristic ideas that are ahead of your time. Then there's Neptune, your spirituality, which goes with the flow, and Saturn, which is structure. They're counterintuitive energies—structure and no structure—so in your creative process you work with learning to flow structure."

According to Shelley's interpretation, that crowding also makes me quite creative.

"And since this is the house of children," she added, "it makes sense that you're a writer who works specifically with young people in mind. You're a gifted healer, so your writing will take people on a path of transformation of some kind."

 

My Introversion Might Be Tied to My Chart

I've always considered myself an introvert. In social situations, I get drained extremely quickly, and it takes a lot of quiet alone time to recharge my batteries. What I didn't know is that that quality has always been written in my stars.

The Eighth House has to do with people's resources, and my Pisces Moon lies there. Further, I have a perfect equilateral triangle in my chart called the Water Grand Trine, imbuing me with great intuition.

"Your Pisces Moon is super sensitive," Shelley told me, "so sometimes when you want to feel good, you need to draw into yourself. When you're on, you're on, but you need time to process and time away from the hustle and bustle of the world. "

That sensitivity is enhanced further by the Water Grand Trine.

"You have what's known as the psychic Water Grand Trine," she said, "so you're very intuitive—essentially psychic. You can walk into a room and immediately identify the good, the bad and the ugly. You're flexible and can go with the flow, but you really have to learn to protect your own energy field. If you really start to feel for someone else, because you have so much empathy for people, try to pull yourself back and be rational about it."

 

 

My Natural Gift

My Jupiter is in the 11th House, which governs groups of people and the internet, and is in the sign of Cancer.

"Jupiter is where you have a natural gift, and where you expand," Shelley told me. "And a Jupiter in Cancer is exalted and happy. That means that whether you have your own kids or are simply shaping the kids of the world, you have natural help in doing so."

I found it particularly appropriate that the House has to do not just with in-person connectivity, but in online connectivity, since my writing on the internet is my primary method of reaching out to and supporting others.

 

My Lack of Air

Each sign is represented by Fire, Water, Earth or Air, and it's typically good when the planets in your chart have a healthy balance of each of these elements. My chart happens to be pretty unbalanced, with eight planets in Fire, eight planets in Earth and seven planets in Water. That leaves zero of them in Air.

"To gain some balance, you want to work on being more objective," Shelley said. "You get fired up, and feel it and do it before you get the chance to ground it. Work on thinking things through and making a strategy, first."

 

My Big 2019

According to Shelley, I can look forward to some major changes in 2019 thanks to my Saturn crossing the Ascendant.

"You're getting ready to launch out into the world in a big way," she told me, before reading to me from a book on the subject.

"Your efforts to attain your goals and ambitions will begin to bear fruit," she read. "If you've handled this house properly, even if you have not received much recognition for your efforts in the past few years, you will begin to receive them… You'll have to put everything in order so that you will make the maximum impact… At times your responsibilities may seem overwhelming and you may not feel equal to the challenge… But in the long run, if you keep with it, this can be beneficial."

It sounds like some hard work may lead to positive results in the near future, and I'm looking forward to it.

 

My Need to Cleanse

According to Shelley, the alignments of the planets and stars can have a particularly big impact on my moods. For one, I'm so in tune with the moon that I can have big fluctuations in my feelings as the energy of the moon waxes and wanes. Secondly, my Leo Ascendant works with my Pisces Moon to open me up to further outside forces.

"Do you get pretty drained?" she asked. "Either you've given too much or someone has sucked your energy out. Those energy suckers will come to someone who's a light and rip it out. You're probably really compassionate with all these people and you take really good care of them, but you need to remember to take care of yourself first so you can have the ability to give when the time comes."

Thankfully, she said there are ways to refresh my spirit.

"You should cleanse with sage every day," she said. "If you come home and you're feeling negative energy, take a shower and sage yourself."

She said amethyst would be a good protection stone for me. Coincidentally, I recently acquired an amethyst point from my Sagittarius crystal set from Love by Luna. Maybe the universe is looking after me.

"Another good thing to do is to go to the water and sit and stare at the boats trying not to think," she recommended. "Bodies of water help you, and that's going to rejuvenate your feelings."

Little did she know, I already take almost daily walks to the marina to be by the water and get a breath of fresh air. It's like I intuitively knew of the water's power without really knowing about it.

 

Want to learn more about yourself, but aren't ready to visit an astrologer? Click HERE to figure out your rising sign, and what it reveals about you.