As a spiritual astrologer, and a lover of astronomy, one of the first things that I like to look at for my clients during an Astrology Soul Purpose Reading, is the visual of the sky under which they were born. For those of you interested, who want to dive all into your celestial birth skies, I also offer the specialized Celestial Story Reading.
How did the actual sky and stars and constellations look like during the moment you first opened your eyes? Because this is how stories begin.
Stories within stories, threads of stars and destinies making a cosmic fabric of time; stories in and of and through ourselves. And all stories long to tell, long to be heard.
Today I’ll guide you in how you can learn, read and interpret your natal skies. Please remember that literalism has no place in spiritual matters; and also remember, that knowledge is not always through the books nor lines of charts, but through also looking up to the stars and connecting to all more deeply through our human experience. At its essence, celestial awareness allows us an opportunity for a deepening. I’ll be using the Stellarium Astronomy Software, which you can download for free and explore further on your own.
Before we begin, if you are unfamiliar with my work and background, having lived across three continents, I’ve studied from various schools of astrology including Western, Vedic, Esoteric and Shamanic; and in my work I blend it all, along with my intuitive and spiritual guidance. I’ve also studied mysticism, philosophy, mythology, symbology, psychology, behavioural science, human design, folklore traditions, and spiritual and religious traditions from around the world. I have a Master of Finance, because I loved math and at the time I guess I thought “why not” – but that’s a different story. Well, one of my favourite things to do ever since I was a child, aside from love, stars and daydreaming, was solving math equations; which then led me to take some astronomy classes in university – and along with my love for the starry skies, and the mysterious and yet unknown, I was so entirely enchanted that I really have no idea how I stopped myself from changing my degree. But we can never stray too far from who we are – and here I am today, many many years later, back to what I love.
What is astrology?
As a spiritual astrologer I view our natal charts as a spiritual study of that which is consumed by time. Every single one of us is a little seed, which has its unique impressions and burns from the sun, imprints from all the past lives with voices older than time, and its own nutritive needs and cycles to grow as beautifully as possible. Once we understand our nature, our soil, our underground, the weather and the climate, then we know better how to grow in our own way and come into our full essence. Our natal charts show us these natures and cycles – for we need to know what to burn, what to eat and what needs to be devoured completely so that we reach our soul’s purpose.
The stars, the moon, the planets, the constellations, are all only great indicators of the signs of time – of how time consumes us and how things are woven into the cosmic fabrics of consciousness – it is our understanding of a current moment, it is a language longed to be understood but will forever remain somewhat mystical because one of our greatest lessons in life is to trust and uncover our own secrets.
And why have celestial awareness?
Because I don’t believe that all is in the lines of a chart, nor found in the books. We need to look up. There are stories that long to be told and heard by us; things we can see and notice and be inspired by. Even if only for the mere beauty of all it – the starry skies above remind us of our humanness, and ground us in our humbleness of this precious gift we’ve been given: to be born. Because isn’t it magic? All your cells came together to say yes to you, yes to life, so that you are born. So that you have the eyes to see your loved ones, the hands to hold their hands, the ears to hear their laughter, the nose to smell the cooked meals.
I find that one of the most beautiful parts of showing my clients a visual of their natal starry skies, is that it allows them to connect in a deeper way to themselves. It’s a beautiful and unique thing to know how the skies looked like the moment you took your first breath and opened on your eyes in this life.
So now let’s go through an example – and I’ll use a chart of a client of mine, with her permission, but as I keep my clients’ privacy at all times, I will not share her exact birth date and time. All I’ll say is that she was born at the end of June in the Northern Hemisphere. Tropically, this would mean that she has a natal Sun in Cancer, though astronomically, or per sidereal calculations, her Sun would be iin the Gemini constellation. Does it matter which system you use? As I’d like to say, you may take different paths, no right or wrong as each has its treasures, but all will eventually merge into the one. And even without astrology, you would be able to see some beautiful blessings for her, just by observing her natal starry skies, which did in fact align in her real life, and whispered, or hinted at, the story of her natal chart also.
In the year when she born, night time at the end of June in the Northern Hemisphere, what we see visible from the horizon is Jupiter – rising high, bright and glorious. In fact, we don’t really see any of the other planets, as they’ll be coming up on the horizon a few hours later.
What’s absolutely special about these skies is that on this exact date Jupiter was at perigee. What this means is that his orbit around the Sun is to its closest point to the Earth – i.e. we see him at his biggest and brightest! It is so lit up in the skies we see above in her chart, that it serves as her northern light – and this makes his placement in her natal chart really important for her. And it is indeed – because her natal Jupiter is in her 9th house receiving beautiful and harmonious aspects. In Vedic astrology, it is also in the nakshatra of Purvashadha, which is a very creative and adventurous nakshatra – and she loves travelling, and is blessed with many creative talents and skills.
However, if you only looked at her natal chart, without the knowledge of her celestial skies at the time she was born, you wouldn’t pay that much attention right away to her Jupiter. You would only know his importance if you saw just how bright and high he was, at perigee, the only one visible of all her planets – and how close he was to the Milky Way. If you dug in deeper, into the divisional charts, especially the Navamsa chart, which offers additional insights into the path of the soul, you’d notice that she has her Jupiter right on her ascendant there.
You would also notice that her natal Jupiter is her darakaraka i.e. significator of her spouse – or the one her soul seeks in this life. And because he is so close to the Milky Way, this shows you that this was indeed one of her deepest and strongest desires to incarnate: to experience a love truly deep and meaningful, binding on physical, emotional and spiritual level. She perhaps knew that ever since she was a child; looking and seeking and knowing that there was one person destined for her out there. And this desire stayed with her throughout life. Her right partner in this life is important for her soul’s path and would support her in her life’s purpose – and her soul’s calling. So as such, it is important that she chooses wisely, while also following her path and stepping into this higher vibration of the Jupiter energy and manifestation.
Jupiter is the great benefit, the spiritual guide, philosopher, world traveller, spiritual teacher, seeker of knowledge, the wise one, the sage, and the one who blesses us. Being born with prominent Jupiter influence shows one’s open mindedness, great intellect and deep wisdom, worldly travels, spiritual gifts and karmic rewards from past life’s deeds and virtues. It shows someone’s path of becoming a guide to others, perhaps through teaching or counseling, being a lover of words and publishing career potential, and just overall being one of high virtue, generous spirit, discernment, and having divine protection. Jupiter also shows our life’s work, or purpose of it, how we’ll contribute to the world through our gifts, skills and talents – and tha fact that it is so high and bright right on the horizon of her birth shows that she has a blessed and important life path of higher purpose.
As we see in her starry skies, Jupiter is in the constellation of Sagittarius, close to the Galactic center and the Milky Way. In her natal chart, she actually has many planets in the sign of Cancer – and yet she carries a Sagittarius-like energy. Well, this is why. No matter what other aspects of her chart and personality are awakened or playing out, and no matter in what ways she desires to explore herself and discover the wonders of life like a kid in a candy story, this Sagittarius constellation is what guides her in her life – and always did. It is the light which shined on her, that nourished her to blossom from the seed that she was in the cosmic womb. This is what shined brightest in the sky when she first opened her beautiful human eyes.
If you look at the position of Jupiter, it’s almost like it is sitting on top of the archer’s head. This shows her intuitive and spiritual connection, from the crown chakra, and she indeed is naturally born intuitive with her strong connection to God and her faith and prayer since she was a child, but also with natural born psychic abilities.
Jupiter is located between the bright stars Polis and Nunki. Both of these stars are associated with truthfulness, virtue, spiritual or religious mind, integrity, success, and optimism.
But what’s more fascinating – is that if you zoom in, you’ll actually see that Jupiter is right near the globular cluster of stars in the constellation of Sagittarius, called Messier 22 or M22 – and this is right near the Galactic bulge region and Milky Way.
This is one of the brightest globulars visible in the night sky – and the fact that it is so close to the Galactic center, shows the importance of bringing light and wisdom to humanity, and guiding others on their path; as well as her own purity of spirit coming into this incarnation.
And that’s exactly what she did. Things aligned, almost magically, and she really gave herself to her destiny. Because being born under such skies, it’d be really difficult to do something that doesn’t feel authentic to you, and also, perhaps even more importantly, life itself will make it so that you can’t really do “an ordinary job”.
Even oradinary every day situations with strangers may feel destined, or your words and advice are remembered by others for many years – you somehow know what to say and in the exact moment. And even if you are not aware, because there is a bit of a hermit introverted quality to these skies, people do not really ever forget you. And that is certainly how this all played out for her, and still plays out.
The next thing that jumps out when we look at her natal skies is that she is born under two meteor showers – which are shown in green. One of them is close to her Jupiter, and it is called the Antihelion; and the other is the June Bootids.
Being born during meteor showers has long carried important symbolism of fortune and blessing, and having an important part for the betterment of humanity – by being a light and a wise lantern to other people guiding them on their path. Yes, I am repeating the same thing over and over again, because that’s all over the skies for her – and it is also in her natal chart – both from a Vedic and Western perspective, regardless of how you calculate it, whether Sidereal or Tropical. It is also in her numerology. It’s also in her human design bodygraph.
You can see the Antihelion meteor shower in green, and it is near her Jupiter, so it’s one the very first things you would have seen in the sky. Antihelion meteor showers are called sporadic meteor showers; they happen opposite the Sun, and the radiants are highest in the sky shortly after midnight – which is her time of birth. The Antihelion is related to the Jupiter family of comets.
The other meteor shower that was happening during her birth was the June Bootids – which happen yearly for around a week, peaking around June 27th, which is why it was visible and active for her.
What’s interesting about the June Bootids is that it is close the Bootes constellation, which is one of the largest constellations in the sky – also known as the Herdsman.
This constellation is said to give prosperity from work, strong desires, a tendency to excess, a fondness for rural pursuits, together with some liking for occultism. The Kabalists associate it with the Hebrew letter Teth and the 9th Tarot Trump, “The Hermit”. There are various myths regarding its name in Greek, but the consensus is that it come from a word meaning the protector of all things – and that even if he has weapons, he will not use them against those who are loud because of their fears.
In many myths, he is said to have a close connection to God. Bootes doesn’t represents God himself, but rather all of us, in the role or mission that God has given us to fulfill in this life.
He is pictured as a man walking rapidly, with a spear in his right hand and a sickle in his left hand, and yet seen in the sky, he is as if speaking into or calling towards the meteor shower. The Greeks called him Bo-o-tes, which is from the Hebrew root Bo (to come), meaning the coming. It is referred to in Psalm 96:13:
“For He cometh,
For He cometh to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And the people with His truth.”
In Ireland, the Febagh Beg in County Lei trim, represents Bootes. The Fenagh Beg capstone is in the shape of Bootes showing that we pay too little attention to the shape of the constellations of stars they represent.
What this shows in her own chart is her ability to pay attention to detail, and to never stop seeking. She is blessed with unsatiable curiosity, and open mind and open heart, and an ability to dedicate herself to always learning. She challenges herself with new perspectives rather than limiting herself through not wanting to learn something new or unfamiliar; and regardless of her well formed opinions of things, she still acknowledges that there is always something new to learn and deepen in knowledge – so she reaches across the lines that may divide us, and she sits, listens and learns.
This is the path of a mystic and of spiritual growth – to always learn, remain curious and open, while also, always, being discerning, and practice critical thinking. And every time she faces challenges in life, or feels stuck, she looks up to the sky and the stars remembering that bright Jupiter that will forever guide her – to learn more, create more, expand more, stay open in heart and open in mind – for to be of free spirit is a freedom we must all desire.
As we move time forward, and we shift our eyes to the east, at sunrise we see the rise of her beautiful stellium of four planets in the constellation of Gemini: Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. All this sits close to one of the brightest stars Pollux, also known as the Divine Twin. This makes the light of these planets even more radiant as the Sun is there too, now marrying them all, illuminating the planets on its solar throne of wisdom and higher consciousness.
Even though is her natal chart this stellium is in the Tropical zodiac of Cancer, in the actual skies it is in the Gemini constellation – symbolized by the story of twins Pollux and Castor. And they actually have a beautiful story – one of love, sharing and togetherness. The myth goes that Zeus was yet again enchanted by a mortal woman, and wanted to have her, and he did. But she didn’t want to get into trouble with her husband, in the case of an unexpected pregnancy, so she slept with her husband that night also. Two sons were born, twins: One was mortal, Castor, and the other was immortal, as the son of Zeus, and was called Pollux.
In the sky, the immortal twin Pollux is the brighter one; while his twin brother Castor is dimmer in comparison. The story goes that unfortunately Castor died, and Pollux was completely heartbroken, so he pleaded to Zeus. Pollux asked his father to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and this is how they became and were transformed into the constellation Gemini.
For those of you into esotericism, you might have heard Jesus been referred to sometimes as the “Divine Twin”. He is the part of us that is the higher self, the immortal and eternal. He is the part of us that is compassion, curiosity, calmness, loving, generous, patient, kind. Pollux is brighter, because he knows and reminds us of what it means to give of ourselves for another. It reminds us of the Divine Twin.
So this carries the symbolism of sharing, love, interdependence, sacrifice for love – and the part of us that is just divinely inspired to be there for one another in this life. There is also a certain kind of sensitivity in this constellation, because of the twin telepathy and because her personal planets are there conjunct in a stellium in the brightest part of the Gemini constellation – including the most intuitive part of herself, her natal Moon, which is also the lineage of our soul. She is very intuitive and connected indeed, and feels deep compassion and love for her family; and she is very generous and philanthropic – all of which are Jupiter qualities of great virtues.
In her natal chart, her stellium is in the 3rd house under the constellation of Punarvasu, which is considered the purest one of all. Punarvasu is ruled by – you guessed it – Jupiter, and its deity is Aditi, the mother of all Gods. Her stellium is opposite her natal Jupiter in the 9th house, which solidifies that thread of higher knowledge, inspired communication and messages through words; and she has a natural gift of “translating or rewording” higher knowledge into something more accessible for people to understand. The axis of 3rd-9th are known in esoteric astrology as the temple of the moon and goddess (3rd house) and the God house (9th). This means “weaving of one’s destiny through free will”, as the 3rd house is the one house that has to do with soul’s courage and free will. This stellium is also known as a sanyasa yoga in Vedic astrology, and was known to bring people of high spirituality who had a very specific higher purpose to fulfill for the betternment of humanity.
Whenever we have a stellium though, it can feel overwhelming, because it is like having tremendous and powerful one-directional energy – so it is beneficial to look to the opposite of it, in this case Jupiter in the 9th, to find some soothing when you need it. So to soothe and calm her inner and outer worlds, she may look towards some travel (go on a vacation), “don’t worry, be happy”, optimistic view and laughter (watch fun things and have some good ol’ belly laughs!), and just try to see things from a hawk eye’s view. Don’t stress about each little detail, just let it go, and look up.
What this all says is that these are the skies of someone very talented and gifted, and that a big part of her life is for a greater purpose for humanity. Once she devotes to this higher service, and sharing her gifts and talents to the world, through being the messenger and guide for others in whatever shape or form she decides to channel this, the rest will rise and offer itself to her such as relationships etc. This really is about recognizing just how talented she truly is – and now dancing her talents for the world to see – and be inspired to dance as well.
And along her path, even in the moment when she thinks she isn’t making a difference, she is – because everywhere she walks she leaves little sparkles of light, like fireflies, like a meteor shower, that will help people find their way, allowing love to return them to love. Having her natal Venus so powerfully radiant, illuminated by the Sun and sitting on his throne, and rising together in the east in a beautiful marriage, really shows a life’s path of love, and teaching people to love, or inspiring them to love and be kinder through her own gestures, words and actions.
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All images generated from the Stellarium Astronomy Software.