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Not that we don’t need our fully-functioning right-brain faculties to navigate the daily task of being human, of course. But with no other word for “God” in my five-year-old lexicon, I can also see now that even as a child astrology spoke to a deeply human need in me—a need to know my place in the cosmos, in order to feel connected to my highest Self, to my fellow beings, and to the planet we happen to call “home.”

Because you know, one of the best things about deciding to simply embrace the numinous, to marvel at the magic of the Universe, and then do the internal work it tends to ask of you, is that you get to align yourself with the beating pulse of our Mother Earth. And if there’s anything we all know it’s that we need to do everything in our power right NOW to foster a more harmonious coexistence with the natural world.

It also seems to me that it’s only once we get truly happy in our selves, get healed, that we are in a position to stop with all the navel-gazing and reach out to help the people around us, too. As we all know, when the airplane is going down, it’s essential to put our own oxygen mask on first.

So, before I send you on your own numinous journey, I ask you to consider this: if YOU are the greatest “numinous” there is, then accepting this mission could be the fastest route to unraveling your unique unknowables, tuning in to your own inner Voice, and excavating your happiest, truest, most empowered, and empowering self as a result. The sort of self who believes that maybe, just perhaps, you too have a unique and essential role to play in the future thriving of our species and our planet. Even if, for you, saving the world looks a little less Mother Teresa (since there can be only one of her) and a little more like simply being the best sister, daughter, lover, friend, and community activist you can be. BIG change has to happen one human at a time, after all.

I wrote this book to share the tools and ideologies, not to mention introduce the mystics and the teachers, I’ve found to be most inspiring in this not-so-humble pursuit, so you can use it as a road map of sorts. Some chapters have a more prescriptive, “how to” feel; others are more philosophical in tone. I encourage you to take copious notes, applying my experiences and observations to the transformations you’re experiencing, or would like to experience, in your own life. Not to mention breaks between chapters to go out, have fun, and inspire others by walking the talk—for it is in the day-to-day, real-life experience of these practices that you’ll make the greatest leaps on the path to a more high-vibe life.

Not that I claim to be any kind of a guru myself. Just a Material Girl in a Mystical World, who happens to think that if The Numinous was the new normal we might find ourselves inching a little closer to, you know, world peace. I

PART I

1.
ASTROLOGY AS BASIC LIFE SKILL

One of the best things about being a journalist is the deeply random conversations I get to have with complete and utter strangers, many of whom also happen to be semifamous. Like the time I interviewed “plus size” supermodel (ridiculous, she’s like a U.S. size four) Crystal Renn. It was supposed to be a basic Q&A for London’s Stylist magazine, but the first thing Crystal wanted to know when we sat down were my Sun, Moon, and Rising signs. It turns out we were both astrology mad. Soul sister! I thought to myself, as the first thing I usually do when I get asked to interview someone is look up their chart.

Of all the wonders of the Internet, the fact that you can google most celebrities’ birth details will never cease to be a constant source of entertainment for me. And by the way? For the student of astrology, this is also a great way to hone your skills. After all, once you’ve got their birth chart in your hands, the lives, loves, failures, and successes of the A-list are all out there just waiting to be analyzed.

For the uninitiated, your birth chart is essentially a map of the sky, showing the exact position of the planets on the wheel of the astrological zodiac at the moment you were born—that is, the moment your soul chose to incarnate this time around. Each placement of each planet is a window into a different aspect of a person’s personality.

Back to Crystal, who loved astrology because as a model she found herself interacting with new people all day, every day. At every casting, every photo shoot, and every catwalk event, she would be faced with a whole new team—and what better way to break the ice, not to mention work out who the hell you are working with, than a little astrological inquiry? Knowing somebody’s Sun sign (their intrinsic personality), Rising sign (how they come across), and Moon sign (deep-seated emotional needs and how they react to stuff) helped her find her place within the group, work out how to read different individuals, and, on a more advanced level, how best to communicate her own wants and needs. When the people in question (photographer, makeup artist, stylist) were responsible for how she was going to look in the resulting images, not to mention potentially recommend her for the next job, you can see how she’d found this to be a highly valuable life skill.

Sun Sign = Your Intrinsic Personality

Rising Sign = How You Come Across

Moon Sign = Emotional Needs and Responses

And in my book (this book, ha), it’s not only supermodels who can benefit from getting a grip on the basics of astrology. Yes, it’s fun to read a daily, weekly, or month-ahead horoscope for your own Sun sign, but it’s when you learn some of the other key aspects of your chart and then apply this insight to your relationships with your Self and others that things get really interesting.

Astrology tends to get a bad rap from people who assume it’s about trying to “predict” future events—and because it’s based on something as seemingly random as the position of celestial bodies circling the Sun millions of light-years away. In answer to this, (a) I’d like to remind us all for a moment how profoundly our lives are affected by the seasons—not to mention the impact the daily weather forecast has on our mood. And if we can see the influence of the Moon in the ebb and flow of the tides, is it really such a stretch to believe that the other planets in our solar system might also affect life here on Earth? That the “cosmic weather” might also play some kind of role in our lives?

Meanwhile, (b) my take on astrology is that it’s actually a complex language of symbols for describing the intricacies of human nature. After all, for anybody fluent in astro-speak, it’s so much simpler to describe myself as having my “Sun in Aries” than go into a whole riff about how I can be self-interested, but at the same time am deeply loyal; or how I’m a born entrepreneur, prone to risk-taking, with a warrior soul that really, truly, underneath all the ego BS, wants to save the world.

For as far back as I can remember I have been fascinated with the way this mystical language just always seemed to make sense. That is, if I didn’t spend too long trying to wrap my head around the concept that each individual life on Earth is shaped by the position of the planets at our time of birth. But for me, how astrology works isn’t really the point (scientists versus mystics, remember?). I see it more as a tool for personal development, with which to interpret what, why, how, and when certain events, emotional states, and evolutionary processes are presenting in our lives. And all in the name of our evolution/karmic journey.

Yes, astrology can also seem like an extremely navel-gazing pastime. But I think the desire to know yourself and the world you move through better is essentially a drive to be a better, more effective human being. Not that it’s there to be used as a scapegoat, either. Cultivating an awareness of the way certain astrological aspects could influence events is a very different beast to simply blaming all your shortcomings, your just-couldn’t-really-be-assed-to-go-there fuckups, on the stars. This is where the concept of “free will” comes into play, the idea that while we are undoubtedly children of the cosmos and part of the Universal grand plan, we still get the deciding vote as to how our lives play out.

As my astrologer friends Tali and Ophira Edut, better known as the AstroTwins, put it, it helps to see your birth chart as kind of like your “factory settings.” The cosmic blueprint you’re working off in this lifetime.

How you then go about constructing your life depends on all sorts of external factors, including the people you meet, the opportunities you’re presented with, and, ultimately, the decisions you make. But having that original blueprint on file to refer to is a great way to ensure that the foundations remain solid. As such, when you study the language of astrology as a tool for personal development, learning the basics of interpreting your own chart is a really great place to start. With this information at your fingertips, I guarantee you’ll be granted a whole new perspective on your life, your relationships, and, yes, your karmic destiny.

It was the fabulous AstroTwins who lifted the lid on chart interpretation for me. Tali, who met and married her husband at Burning Man, studies shamanism in her spare time, and Ophira, whenever I visit her apartment in the East Village, has a pack of Angel cards out on the table. But they also write the horoscopes for ELLE and appear as regulars on The Real Housewives—in other words, they’re a pair of Mystical Girls, making some seriously magical waves in the Material World.

Numinati alert! I thought when we first connected. (The “Numinati” being my affectionate term for my Numi coven.) And when I then discovered they were leading a Become Your Own Astrologer retreat in Tulum, Mexico, that summer, I knew I would move heaven and earth, not to mention all the freaking constellations in the zodiac, to be there.

This is where I first got a proper handle on basic birth chart interpretation, using what the Twins refer to as the “three-part puzzle” for examining each “aspect”—or planetary placement in non-astro-speak—in a chart. More on this to come. It was also where I got my first taste of comparing two people’s charts (another of the Twins’ pet subjects)—in the process uncovering some home truths about my chart in relationship to my mum’s, for example, that have gone on to shape the way we understand and therefore communicate with each other, taking our mother-daughter connection to a whole other, more forgiving, level. Big stuff. And yet more fuel to my already burning astrological obsession.

READING YOUR CHART

So first up, it’s very important to understand that your Sun sign, which is the sign you read for when you check your daily horoscope, really only represents part of your nature, even though popular culture puts so much emphasis on it. But there are actually eleven planets at play in any one birth chart (including the Sun, Moon, and North Node, which aren’t technically planets, but which astrologers treat as such), each of which has a bearing on said chart. As such, you also have a Venus sign, a Mercury sign, and so on.

And then there is your Rising sign, or Ascendant—the sign of the zodiac the Sun was rising in at the specific time of your birth—which also has a major role to play. Rising signs change every two hours, though, so it’s only possible to calculate your Rising sign if you happen to know, to the nearest two hours, what time you chose to come into the world. But if you don’t, never fear, it’s by no means essential for calculating your chart.

Which, thanks to the aforementioned wonders of the Internet, you can do for free online. In fact, if you haven’t already, go and do it now at www.astrostyle.com, the online home of the AstroTwins, where there’s a link on the homepage for you to “Do your chart for free.” If you don’t know your specific time of birth, you can just enter 12 P.M. (this won’t affect the other planetary aspects). It might also be a good idea to print it out, so you can take some notes.

Okay, got it? Good. And if you don’t have access to a computer right now, here’s what my chart looks like, to give you an idea:

Pretty technical looking, I know, and I’m not going to go into too much detail here. But there are four things to focus on for now.

First, see that circle in the middle? That’s you. Or, if you’re looking at my chart, that’s me. Hi! Yes, pretty egotistical, since IRL, the planets actually revolve around the Sun. But in our birth chart, we get to sit center stage.

Now, look at the outer ring of the chart. This is the Zodiac Wheel, and as you can see it’s divided into twelve sections, one for each SIGN of the zodiac, as denoted by the twelve different symbols or “glyphs” in the right-hand columns of the table opposite—which you may recognize from when you read your horoscope or see your Sun sign written about. My chart begins in Sagittarius on the left (or East) at “9 o’clock,” where it says “A.C.” (for Ascendant).

LEARNING NO. 1: The signs of the zodiac represent the different aspects of our personality, how we show up in the world and deal with situations.

Next up, you’ll see that the middle ring is also divided into twelve sections. These are the different HOUSES of the chart, and they’re numbered 1 to 12, beginning, again, at the nine o’clock position on the left. Each house is “ruled” by the sign it intersects—so my First house is ruled by Sagittarius, my Second house by Capricorn, my Third by Pisces (just), and so on. As such, each house will be colored by the personality of the sign it’s ruled by.

LEARNING NO. 2: The houses represent the different areas of life that we operate in—love, work, home and family, and so on.

Finally, check out the symbols floating in the different houses. These represent the PLANETS, and the chart is essentially like a screengrab of their position in the solar system at the time of our birth.

LEARNING NO. 3: The planets represent our motivation in life, the things that drive us to act.

Basic chart interpretation lies in learning how these three elements interact with one another—planet, house, and sign—as they show up in different combinations in each and every individual birth chart. Here are a couple of examples to help explain what I mean.

As you can see in my chart, Mercury is in Aries in the Fourth house. Since Mercury is the planet of communication, and Aries is the sign of passion and all things new, it makes sense that I’ve always felt compelled to write about the next big trends! In my Fourth house of home and family conditioning, this could speak to the fact I feel most productive writing in my home environment (in fact in every magazine job I had, I did all my actual writing at home), as well as the fact that I was always encouraged to read as a kid.

On a deeper level, the Fourth house also rules women’s issues, suggesting that my writing is destined to somehow impact the lives of women. Add my Moon (subconscious impulses and needs) being in Cancer (the sign ruling the feminine principle) in the deeply “mystical” Eighth house and, well, I bring you The Numinous. Um … confused yet?! As you are beginning to see, the “language” of astrology can get pretty complex, offering layers and layers of information to be interpreted. So, for now, let’s get back to basics.

Before I move on to an overview of the different areas covered by each planet, house, and sign, a quick word about the Rising sign and house positions if you don’t know your exact time of birth. Basically, it’s impossible to get an accurate read on these without a time—but you will still know which sign each planet is in, plenty to work with as you begin to get to know your chart.

So once again, the rule to remember is:

BASIC BIRTH CHART INTERPRETATION

Planet (motivation) + Sign (how you direct this) + House (the area of life where that motivation and effort will manifest).

As you’ll begin to see once I get into the traits of each planet, sign, and house of the zodiac below, there’s lots of crossover, all kinds of subtleties, and many, many different ways to interpret what the AstroTwins call this “three-part puzzle.” And besides bucket-loads of experience, I believe the most skilled astrologers employ a degree of intuition, tapping into the numinous nature of this mystical science, when interpreting a chart.

As Julia and Derek Parker write in their brilliant Parkers’ Astrology (a great beginner’s book for anybody serious about the study of astrology): “The art of interpreting a chart is to look much more deeply—to consider the many different aspects shown by planets and signs and their inter-relationships, and weigh them so that one mitigates or strengthens the effect of another. You can, in this way, discover an in-depth portrait of yourself that is astonishing in its light and shade, its subtlety and persuasiveness.”

And, well, if that’s the end goal, we all need to start somewhere—so here’s a cheat sheet for you to refer to as you begin to look at your own chart:

The Planets

	THE SUN: Self-awareness, personal power, life force, creativity, essence, self-expression, spirit, will, drive for personal significance
	THE MOON: Feelings, instincts, moods, response to things, gut reactions, emotional security, basic needs
	MERCURY: Communication, speech, thoughts, logic, analysis, ideas, intellect
	VENUS: Beauty, love, taste, harmony, aesthetics, attraction, charm, romance, sensuality, comfort
	MARS: Action, energy, desire, impulse, drive, strength, courage, anger, competition
	JUPITER: Enthusiasm, luck, fortune, optimism, positivity, generosity, benevolence, truth, outgoingness
	SATURN: Discipline, structure, wisdom, ambition, practicality, realism, responsibility, karma
	URANUS: Breakthrough, the unexpected, innovation, sudden change, insight, awakening, originality
	NEPTUNE: Imagination, ideals, sympathy, compassion, intuition, emotions, universal love, dreams, fantasy
	PLUTO: Fundamental transformation, change, death and rebirth, basic drive, regeneration, inheritance
	NORTH NODE (not an actual celestial body, but a point referring to the Moon’s position in relation to the other planets at the time of your birth): Life purpose, destiny, personal growth, supportive people, potential

SOUTH NODE (this may not be shown on your chart but will always be in the opposite sign as the North Node): Old patterns, past-life experience, inherited traits, innate talents, cultural conditioning

The Signs

Remember! Your chart will be influenced by ALL the signs to some degree—so no simply looking at your Sun sign and going: “Oh yeah, that’s me.” The traits of each sign show how you direct the energy of the planet it holds in your chart.

	ARIES: Self-starting, outgoing, active, forceful, entrepreneurial, self-confident, strong
	TAURUS: Stable, persistent, productive, deliberate, wealthy, practical, reliable
	GEMINI: Communicative, witty, adaptable, curious, many sided, variety seeking
	CANCER: Sensitive, feeling, receptive, nostalgic, security oriented, emotionally perceptive
	LEO: Expressive, self-aware, entertaining, playful, warm, childlike, creative, dramatic
	VIRGO: Analytical, logical, intelligent, detail oriented, sensible, methodical
	LIBRA: Balanced, just, tolerant, relationship oriented, sociable, cooperative, diplomatic
	SCORPIO: Intense, determined, thorough, energetic, secretive, passionate, forceful
	SAGITTARIUS: Enthusiastic, optimistic, jovial, friendly, generous, expansive, honest
	CAPRICORN: Organized, serious, practical, ambitious, hardworking, disciplined, realistic
	AQUARIUS: Friendly, intuitive, original, independent, unique, inventive, experimental
	PISCES: Imaginative, sentimental, sympathetic, compassionate, artistic, dreamy, escapist