When can you officially call oneself a “professional astrologer”? It’s a good question. I went from that 10 year old kid scrounging up her nickels and quarters of my allowance every month to buy the little scrolls in the grocery store checkout. I would pour over the dates wondering if my crush would finally notice me on the auspicious dates listed in that orange rolled up sacred writing. I went into junior high and high school worried that my best friend (a Libra) and I (a Virgo) would have a falling out because she was air and I was water. Every fight I had with my puppy love, I’d consult my Mom’s tattered book of astrology looking for ways to communicate. I officially started learned about rising signs and gained interest in 1998, but the math was daunting so I dimmed the light for about 14 years as my clinical social work career took off. But then my little candlelight for planets and motion and influence had a big bang around 2014. All of a sudden it dawned on me, it was a legit thing to turn an interest into a profession. I could do this with astrology. I began to devour more books, talk to other astrologers, get readings to see what I could gain from their style (every time I realize I could do a better job on a professional presentation way), I found mentors. And I even signed up for UAC, the biggest astrology conference that just *by coincidence* is being held 90 minutes away from me. I even did this with the giant support of my husband.
IN THE BEGINNING…URANUS AS A BIG BANG TO SOMETHING NEW
A few months ago, I had a private “coming out” announcement at one of my book groups. It is strangely daunting to announce to others that you are pursuing astrology. Calling oneself an “astrologer” is a big deal. Its like a suit that you haven’t quite grown into. And the reactions are pretty black and white: either people start spilling their birth info for a free reading or you watch them mentally check the “weirdo” box in their head and place you in it.
Astrology is an art of blending the technical and the intuitive into a narrative and then connecting that with the individual’s experience. You look at a piece of paper; a graph; a damn circle and you devine the knowledge of what makes that person unique, what makes them tick, and if you are truly skillful you can do this with timing for forecasting.In May, my Uranus opposition occurred. This only happens once in a life time around 44 years. It is traditionally part of the midlife crisis trio of transits. The others are the Pluto square, the Neptune square, and the Saturn opposition. It happened right before the big United Astrology Conference (UAC) in Chicago where I met mentors, colleagues, authors, from all over the world. I had found my tribe.My natal Uranus sits right on my 9th/10th house cusps the top of my chart at 29 degrees Libra. The 10th house is the one who governs career and moving forward in the world. The top of a chart is the highest point in the wheel so any planets there have a unique role in making that individual seen in their public life. Uranus is the planet of unexpected change or sudden shifts. Uranus is also the planet that governs astrology. Astrology career? Yes, please with sugar on top.