How did I get started in astrology?

Astrology interview with Carrie Gane

Originally interviewed by Kristi Derkacy and posted on her website blog on 3/25/21 at www.resonancerestorative.com

What was your introduction to astrology and what was your mindset at the time?

In my mid-30s I begin taking classes with and studying under Rev. Katherine Bell. PhD, D.D. A year-long astrology class with her captured my heart. It felt so easy to grasp the concepts and I felt more like I was remembering the information then learning it for the first time. Her classes really taught me how to interpret natal charts and synthesize the overall story/ blueprint of a person's soul journey through reading their chart. I've spent the last 12 years studying spiritual philosophy with Rev. Bell, highly focused on spiritual astrology, the Tree of Life derived from Kabbalah and the astrological elements and energies underlying all of Creation. I think this gives me a somewhat unique perspective on astrology and I definitely lean towards incorporating esoteric and soul astrology with 3D astrology in my work with clients.

What had been your exposure to astro prior to this?

Besides reading my daily horoscope in the newspaper as a teenager, my first exposure to astrology was in my early twenties, when my boss at the time lent me one of her astrology books to study. I don't really remember what inspired her to share that book with me, especially because she was a corporate-business type woman and didn't openly share her spiritual side with many people. She did with me, though, and we had many great conversations. She (my boss) was a Sagittarius, and I'm a Gemini, so it makes sense to me now that we enjoyed discussing philosophical ideas and experiences together.

What were the results you began to see in yourself in your life after beginning to work with astro?

Wow, there were so many ah-ha moments once I saw and began to understand my own natal chart. It really is like someone handing you a pair of magical glasses that you put on and suddenly, all these different pieces of yourself and your experiences- your struggles and obstacles, your desires and passions, the ways you interact with others, your strengths/challenges- these puzzle pieces that you couldn't seem to fit together before, they seem to weave themselves together into a great, living puzzle that is You.

It also felt like I'd been given a road map to where I was trying to get to. And for me, in my chart, I have a lot of challenges that came earlier in my lifetime, but accumulated together in wisdom and strength to help me really grow and expand a little later in life. So seeing those patterns and dynamics in my natal chart helped me to not beat myself up about my past, or look at it like a series of losses or failures, but more like some great challenges I'd set up for myself in this lifetime. With astrology, I could look at those patterns and see how to break the old ones and build strong, new, healthier ones. So I felt seen by myself in a new way and I definitely understood myself better.

The other thing I began doing was using it in my day job. Recently I moved fully into self-employment. But before that I had worked as an HR Manager for the past 14 years, doing my spiritual practice as a side gig. Working in HR, astrology was an immense help. We were a small company of about 30 people and I had everyone's sun sign memorized. I knew how many fires, earths, etc. we had at each job location. I knew who was a cardinal sign, versus a fixed or mutable sign. That knowledge helped me to better understand the dynamics between employees and their co-workers or managers, to see how each person's astrological energy was contributing to the group, what talents each person was bringing to the table and where their blind spots may be. It also helped me understand how supportive the astrological energies were at any point in a business or HR cycle. For instances, I never wanted to extend a new job offer during Mercury retrograde if I could help it.

What is the long term transformation that can be seen from a relationship to astrology?

Well, I think the answer will be different for each person. Astrology opens a doorway to see and know yourself at deeper and deeper levels. How far you desire to go is up to you. But to me, astrology is based so much on the energy of cycles and energetic rhythms. It's like using a farmer's almanac to forecast the planting seasons and future weather patterns so you can be in rhythm step-by-step as you farm. If you came to this planet with absolutely no knowledge of farming, you wouldn't know how to use the weather cycles to your benefit. You wouldn't know when to plant seeds, when to harvest, when the land will go fallow, etc. You would not be in rhythm with the Universe. Astrology is the same way. It shows you longer-term timing cycles of when you will experience the energetic push of the astrological signs/ planets/ aspects/ transits to address different issues/ topics within yourself and your life. Will it be a gentle invitation or a irritating push to change? Where is the Divine grace that offers its hand of support? A person's natal and progressed chart, with transits, will give you guidance on those kinds of questions. It will shed light on longer themes and conditions at play within yourself, and mirrored in your life, at any given time. You are then able to choose whether to follow the guidance or not. Each time you choose to follow the guidance, I believe you are led closer and closer to your soul's voice and your empowerment in this lifetime.

What is your advice for people just embarking on their astro journey?

I think time is really a big gift to someone just starting to examine their own astrology. Time to read about an aspect, let's say the moon. Time to then experience the moon in it's current cycle. Time to look at what it's doing in your natal chart, and if you're further along, what aspects it's making to other planets in your chart. With that awareness, see how your view of that day changes. Or what inner guidance you receive. The moon might be in Pisces at that time and you notice you just want to relax and be in nature, to pull away from the outside world at that time. Be aware of that experience and the energetic guidance you are receiving so you understand that is how you are experiencing Pisces.

The moon changes signs every 2-3 days, so soon you will be experiencing an Aries moon, which is a much different energy. Fiery, determined, it can be impatient in it's more challenging expression. Now you feel the push to get going on a project you felt no motivation to tackle a few days before. Often that is because the Moon's energy has now changed, in this case to Aries, providing a different type of support. Notice all this. Start to learn these energetic signatures by experiencing them in your own life. In very day-to-day terms. The process of learning one piece of astrology information, and then taking the time to see how it unfolds day-by-day or week-by-week in your own life starts to give you a deeper understanding of how you are being energetically pinged by the Universe.

And for the long time astro nerds :), what's something compelling you can leave them with to enhance their knowledge?

Your Sun sign reflects your Higher Self. Your Higher Self naturally wants to share its love and talents with others. Look at how your natal Sun sign has taught you lessons and given you guidance that you have carried over to your progressed Sun sign. As a progressed Sun sign, you have incorporated and embodied the wisdom of the previous sign and are now expanding the experience. You are enhancing your essence. Ask yourself this question: "How can I see the unveiling of me, of living more and more from the essence of my Higher Self, as my Sun sign has progressed?"