(an origin story)
At the beginning of 5th grade, I had to leave my school. A series of unfortunate events had wrecked havoc on my family, and I was left to pick up the pieces in the wake of my father’s exit as a disgraced teacher.
I had long been labeled a day-dreaming weirdo at school, always lost in a fantasy world. On top of my dad becoming the local pariah, the taunts, whispers & bullying had become too much to bear. I was constantly in the principals office, crying and fearing I would be retaliated against for something I didn’t fully understand. A crime that wasn’t mine.
I was a freak. From a freak family. I didn’t belong. So I ran away…
It was the beginning of my 1st Chiron Square., and the Astrology was telling its story loud and clear.
My new school (which I still fondly remember as “the hippie school”) became a safe haven for me. In this non-traditional environment, students were allowed to explore any topic of interest through independent study.
I discovered D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and dove into the pages. The illustrations were big and bold, and the stories mirrored the extremes of highs and lows that were stewing in my pre-teen mind and body. The difference between my life’s tiny trauma and the epic tales of the greek myths were almost laughable, but somehow I was able to see myself living out the ancient archetypes. I dissolved into this book.
During this time, I was fortunate to freely immerse myself in art, literature, theatre, movement, creative writing, language, history…and yes, Astrology. This creative self-exploration was the first step to bringing me back into the world, to start the healing process.
I returned to D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths over and over. It became my reference book for the many explorations to come. Later that year, my school put on a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and the connection between Greek and Roman culture became cemented. It was the paving stone toward astrology.
Constellation names, planetary names, soothsayers cryptically saying “Beware the ides of March” only opened the door to NEW books, plays, music and other means of research. My mother saw my obsessive interest and bought the famous 90s coffee table book The Secret Language of Birthdays.
The book (almost too) neatly culminated the many avenues I was attempting to traverse. After reading the description of Pisces, I experienced a visceral moment. Time stopped. It was the first time I truly felt SEEN. As myself. As a human. Not as a weirdo. Not as a freak. It was perfectly normal for me to stare at the sky for hours on end, floating away into my imagination. I wasn’t supposed to be anything else and that was ok.
Chiron was offering healing once again. Astrology became my medicine and path towards self-acceptance. I was 12 now, into my 1st Jupiter Return, and by the time high school came around, I had stepped into my role as “the astrology girl”. I had memorized all 12 signs, giving anyone who listen a mini-reading on themselves.
Astrology was my beacon, my magic wand, my superpower that got me through my formative years. It gave me license to Just BE. And that was true freedom.
So where does the hula hoop enter the story?
I was coming into my 1st Saturn Return. At this point I had read hundreds of books, looked at ephemerides, poured over websites and memorized a lot of what we call “cookbook” astrology..
But something was missing…
Astrology had healed my mind and spirit; given me a path towards self-acceptance and authenticity, but I was still disconnected from the true magic behind it.
I was unable to FEEL the astrology in my body, and therefore it remained only words on a page. Symbols in a book. so.. how could I really believe it if I couldn’t feel it?
It was only within the circle of a hula hoop that suddenly astrology became ALIVE within me. I was finally able to EMBODY astrology. I could hear the planets speaking to me through the music that moved me, see the orbits of the stars spinning around me, feel the energy of the zodiac and the universe throughout my body as I moved in sync with my hoop.
And that’s when the real magic started happening.
I started sharing the experience of what I call “Astro-Flow”, helping astrologers get out of their heads and into their bodies, helping my people (disillusioned and burnt out Millennials) reconnect to their childlike joy & tapping into their own embodied magic.
After doing research on the neurological & psychological concept of Flow, as well as synchronicity and embodiment, I applied what I had found to my astrological knowledge. Using this non-traditional approach started to unlock aspects of this ancient study that couldn’t be found in books. Astrology become part of an intuitive, instinctual world that speaks to us through natural rhythms and pulsates through our veins.
So my story has reached the present, where I’m living my calling as an professional astrologer, uncovering my client’s own unique superpowers and helping them talk to the planets through self-acceptance, movement magic and true embodiment.
Want to be part of the Astro-Flow Community? Sign up for our email list below.