Astrology as the Roadmap, Yoga as the Way
I would like to take a moment to discuss how yoga, as a way of evoking presence and mindfulness, acts as a complement to astrology.
Astrology, or the method of tracking patterns of behavior of life here on earth based on the movement of planetary bodies across the sky, originated during the age of Babylon and has been adopted by almost every culture in the world in order to explain terrestrial phenomenon.
Since the industrial revolution, there has been a general shift in focus from the collective to the individual, and a person’s natal chart— a picture of where each planet was located at the exact moment of one’s birth— became the blueprint toward becoming one’s most authentic self.
A professional astrology reading provides an interpretation of the individual’s planetary makeup and answers to life’s questions that often bring a profound sense of purpose, clarity, and personal fulfillment:
Why do I tend to fall into the types of relationships that keep me feeling stuck?
Why is it so hard for me to break ties from the opinions of my parents?
Why do certain experiences bring me calmness and others calamity?
Why can’t I move on from a career that makes me unhappy?
One of the major roadblocks to being open to astrology is that many people believe astrology deprives us of free will… that our fate is depicted in the stars and we have no say in the matter.
A good astrologer, however, acts as a coach to her client. Because there are two sides of energetic expressions within astrology: A high-side and a low-side expression. And even if it doesn’t feel like it all the time, it is always up to us to decide which energy to express.
For example, if I am looking to the planet Venus, goddess of love, to tell me how my client expresses love and where she might seek feelings of harmony and balance in her day-to-day life, I would begin by looking at the ruling sign of that planet.
If Venus was in the sign of Scorpio when she was born, she may appear deeply passionate and loyal toward her partner (the high-side expression), or extremely fixated and obsessive (the low side expression).
And our inability to consciously choose how we express our energy stems from our inability to access ourselves in the present moment. If we are constantly in a state of disconnection, we are forgetting that we are capable of choosing how we respond to the events in our lives.
Yoga means “to yoke,” to unite. In order to feel union among mind, body and spirit, we must open to and release the stories about ourselves and others that keep us feeling small and separate.
Practicing breath awareness, physical yoga postures, and mindfulness all support the release of conditioned behavioral reactions. These practices allow us to embrace our aliveness and act from a place of felt-control.
To summarize, a professional astrology reading can provide a roadmap toward our most beautiful becoming, and yoga can show us the way.