Allison Scott - Decoding the Stars: A Modern Astrology Guide to Discover Your Lifes Purpose

I used to think that finding my purpose was about identifying a task. What is it that I should be doing? How should I fill my time? What should I create? What activities will give my life meaning? Ive come to understand that identifying our vocation is the result of understanding our own true nature: What are our core traits? What motivates us? What inspires us? What makes us feel safe? Once we understand our nature and choose to live authentically, we can then identify the activities that feel meaningful for us. Even more glorious, Ive found that the more authentically and intentionally we live, the more serendipity and luck we experience. It is as though, by shedding all that is not us and enthusiastically claiming our true nature, we can begin to cocreate with the universe. It is then that we experience flow. It is then that our life is suffused with magic.

But how can we understand our true nature and live consciously and intentionally? This is where astrology comes in.

Astrology studies correlations between the movement of celestial objects (e.g., planets, luminaries, asteroids) and what transpires here on Earth. What happens in the heavens describes what is happening in our world. As above, so below. Our knowledge of this phenomenon has been accumulated over millennia. The Western tradition of astrology now practiced has roots stretching back 4,000 years to Mesopotamia, where astrologers carefully cataloged celestial omens and the terrestrial events they foretold. During the 5th century BCE, though, a new, more personal branch of astrology began to emerge. Astrologers started analyzing the placement of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the moment of a persons birth to divine information about their nature and fate. This practice, which we refer to as natal astrology, has developed over the last 2,500 years and still has valuable wisdom for us in our modern age.

The fundamental premise of natal astrology is that you were born to be you. The moment you first drew breath was not happenstance, but fated, and the placement of the stars and planets at that moment gives insight to that fate. You were born on purpose. You were born for a purpose. By decoding your personal birth chart, you will come to better understand your nuanced, complex self and consciously claim all that is you. From this self-knowledge, you can then build an authentic life and experience the contentment and flow that such alignment offers. What work you do, what rest you enjoy, what relationships you forge, and what art you create become an expression of your true nature.

BEING IN FLOW

When our lives are in a state of flow, we perceive a sense of alignment. Our thoughts and actions feel right to us, and there is a sense of supportive response from the people and the world around us. Things feel as though they are falling into place and progressing. This doesnt mean that when we are in flow things are easy. You may be exerting a great amount of effort in activities that make you feel in flow. But there is a rightness and joy in this state that is enthralling. When we talk about finding our path and purpose, what we are seeking is this feeling of rightness. We cannot be in this state all the time, and which activities and choices feel in alignment will evolve as we grow and change. Through self-reflection and testing out choices intentionally, thoughtfully, and playfully, we can continue to recalibrate our lives to a flow state. Astrology aids in the self-reflection necessary for you to find the path that makes you feel in flow.

YOUR LIFES PURPOSE IS TO BE YOU.

Perhaps youre wondering, if you are destined to live out your natal astrology, then why look into it at all? Wont you just live out your fate? While the balance between free will and fate has been a heated debate among astrologers and philosophers throughout the ages, as a practicing astrologer, Ive noticed two things that convince me of the value of astrology.

First, understanding your natal astrology helps you identify what is you and what is not you. Our society isnt built for self-actualization. Pervasive oppressions like systemic racism, misogyny, bigotry of every kind, capitalism, homogenizing education, and stifling religions and creeds push and pull us into a painful, monstrous shape. Astrology gives us a language and a methodology for interrogating which parts of our life and identity feel authentic to us and which are imposed upon us. Astrology helps us name and claim parts of ourselves that the dominant culture would rather we stifle. This is the work of a lifetime: to know and embrace who we are, and shed who we are not.

Second, while you are always living out your birth chart, you could be doing it better. You could be more in alignment. Part of accomplishing this is that shedding of what is not you and claiming what youve been forced to deny. But astrology also helps you understand why something feels in alignment and how to do more of that. Many of my clients are dissatisfied with their jobs, but that doesnt mean they are in the wrong career. There is a reason they are in that role and that field. It is an expression of their true nature. But what is it about that role that feels right and in flow? Whether you are a doctor or a hair stylist or a therapist, if you have water for your Houses of Substance (see ), then there is an inherent focus on relationships, intuition, and emotional connection in your work. Someone with the same profession but has earth for their Houses of Substance will feel engaged at work in a totally different way. Understanding key aspects of your chart will help you identify what about your work vibes with your nature, and what doesnt, so that you can try to increase what feels best and try and limit what feels stifling. We cant fully avoid tasks and situations we dont enjoy, but we can adjust the balance so that more of our time and energy is spent engaged in what makes us feel alive. This recalibration could require only minor changes, or it could lead you to make major shifts in your job or living situation.