Why Astrology Isn't Always What You Think

The best way to learn astrology is to experience it firsthand.  If you’ve been tracking your growth through celestial events for any significant length of time, I’m sure you’ve had your own “aha” moments that validate your experiences and strengthen your convictions.  That’s what I love about astrology; it mirrors our lives and builds self-trust.

When used as a psychological growth tool, the planets can teach us about specific lessons we've signed up to learn and the timeframe we're asked to learn them in.  Getting to know each planet as an archetype is incredibly helpful because when people discuss the "collective movements of planets" (i.e., transits), we can better understand what they mean for us personally.  

How Planetary Transits Can Mislead Us

To give a recent example of a planetary transit that occurred in August 2025, we can examine the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on August 13th. Collectively, this aspect occurred in the sign of Cancer, and we felt its "effects" from August 6th – August 18th.

During this period, you may have noticed your inbox inundated with emails titled: “Positive opportunities” and “Harmony in relationships” relating to this astrological phenomenon.  Yet, the reality of my life was that I was having an argument with my husband.  As I sat there reading everyone’s “predictions,” I had to laugh at how misleading it all can be.

For one thing, there is always more to us than “one aspect.” We are complex human beings, and we have complex, multiple-layered charts. There are numerous aspects occurring in our lives every single day, and thus, we must be vigilant about which of these aspects are most relevant and impactful to us.

Each person’s natal chart is unique to him or her, and that means that just because a “positive collective transit” is occurring (such as Jupiter conjunct Venus), it does NOT necessarily mean you are going to feel the same energies present in your life.  

Why? We all have our own personal transits occurring all the time – but these will never make headlines because no one knows what’s happening in your life (or your astrological chart). Thus, if you really want to know what’s most pressing and significant for YOU, then you really need to learn how to read your chart or sit with someone who does.

In the example of the Jupiter conjunct Venus aspect above, what I had occurring in my chart that day was Venus squaring (making a 90-degree hard aspect) to my natal Mars AND Saturn. For anyone who knows astrology, you know those aspects involving those planets do not spell harmony in relationships! Thus, we must not take "the headlines" too literally until we examine everything else happening in our charts.

My goal as an Evolutionary Astrologer is to always interpret planetary transits as objectively as possible - through the lens of whoever's chart I am assessing. It is essential that my advice not be based simply on "what everybody else says," but rather on what the chart before me is revealing. Maybe that is my Aquarian nature to question authority, or my aversion to trusting the "general advice" given on social media, however, I do belive, at the end of the day, my clients benefit from my direct approach, thorough investigation, and clear interpretation of the most critical astrological configurations, as well as the psychological shifts and biographical events they may cause.