Starmaps : The Astrological Body

We are made of star stuff and there's a map for your own personal galaxy.

The arts of medicinal astrology and herbalism have developed as cooperative and blended studies over the centuries. Ancient and modern herbalists have looked to both root and star to discover the source of strengths and imbalances, of all sorts that have appeared within the human body. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in astroherbology within the modern community of traditional western herbalists with a focus on inclusivity and queering dominant paradigms (learn more!) - also known as working magick against the sorcery of overcultures worldwide. Magick on, wild ones.

What I love about astroherbology, is that we have a star map for our bodies that helps us to grasp the maxim of As Above, So Below. 

Our heritage as traditional western herbalists includes the natal or birth chart, which corresponds with the Astrological Body Map, one of our oldest diagnostic tools. While some modern herbalists may squirm at the mention of astrology still being used today, I think it is inspiring to know that our ancestors realized that the scope of the human experience was far greater than their physical form. I should note here, too, that when I speak of the human body I am referring to the entirety of a person's experience in the world including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realities. 

In some ways, astrology was one of the earliest codified explorations of consciousness and the art continues to require us to look beyond our immediate understanding of reality to a much larger galaxy of possibility. If anything, astrology offers a useful language of myth to help us understand our lived experiences.

So what can we do with an Astrological Body Map?

from Solar Biology by Hiram E. Butler

The Astrological Body Map can be used:

• To illustrate the zodiac's interaction with our body.

• To understand out natal chart in a whole new way!

• To map out imbalances of the body, giving us a visual tool to use for healing work.

• In ritual and charm work, including sigils, matrix-making, and remote healing,

The Astrological Body Map that I've created below highlights the predominant areas of the zodiac within the body including dominant colors of each sign as well as listing out the primary body systems that each sign has guardianship over. You'll notice Aries, which is the first sign of the zodiac, rests at the top of the body with all the other signs descending in sequence, finally ending with Pisces. Already we have an easy way to begin to remember the correspondences of the stars to our selves. 

Click on the image below to enlarge.

Lovely, right?

How beautiful it is to see all those stars singing throughout every part of us. It is important to remember that we are more than just our Sun sign in astrology (which is the sign that most folks are familiar with in their natal or birth chart). We are a combination of all of the signs - some sing more strongly in us than others, but they're all part of the chorus.

In further explorations of the Astrological Body Map, I'll be posting a tutorial for you to explore your natal chart in relation to your own body's starmap.

In the meantime, I encourage you to start experimenting with the information given and asking yourself questions about the whats and whys of the Astrological Body Map.

What is the relationship between Gemini and the lungs (hint: think about breath and story)?

How might the classic Virgo personality tie the intestines up in knots?

What are descriptions of the signs that I've heard that match up to map (think about Aries being described as "headstrong")? 

Be sure to check out my Introduction to Astroherbology if you haven't already and take a look at some classical renditions of the Astrological Body Map on my Astroherbology Pinterest Board. Get tucked into in-depth astroherbology profiles of each sign of the zodiac:

• Aries

• Taurus

• Gemini

• Cancer

• Leo

• Virgo

• Libra

• Scorpio

• Sagittarius

• Capricorn

• Aquarius

• Pisces

Enjoy exploring your stars!

Brightening : A Spring Equinox Tarot Spread

The Spring Equinox is a time of brightening. 

It is a time of equal day and equal night when the Sun matches the Earth's axis. From here on until the Summer Solstice the days will grow longer, the light lingering and the fields growing ripe with herb and grain. We are firmly in the season of ascent and the quiet of winter gives way to the cacophony of a buzzing earth. Our Spring Equinox examines the current balance of our lives, the gifts of the season, and how we prepare for the ascent into the growing bright.

1. INHALE. What are you breathing in? In other words, what are the sources of your vital energy during the season of spring. This card may point to balances or imbalances in consumption of food, time, stress, sleep, and other day-today activities.

2. EXHALE. What are you breathing out? What are you shedding and undoing – how are you clearing from your own body its winter coat in order to allow space the fresh energy of spring?

3. ASCENT. How are you preparing for the ascent to Beltane?

4. GUIDE. Tools of the journey. These may be skills to use or guide(s) to help you navigate the ascent into the bright half of the year.

5. SEED. What are you planning to plant this season – what seeds have you saved from last year's harvest or gathered anew that you are planning to grow?

6. BUDDING GIFTS. What buds of spring are blossoming in your life? This card shows spring gifts, whether your own new or blooming skills or gifts from an outside source. It also may be a reminder to pay attention to the gifts you have already received.

7. BALANCING OUT. What needs to be balanced by expanding your energy outwards?

8. BALANCING IN. What needs to be balanced by retracting your energy inwards?

Looking for more magickally inspired Tarot spreads? 

You're invited to peruse my tarot + divination series. Or do you want to learn about herbalism and tarot? Check out The Tarot Apothecary. Find all the tarot spreads in my Wheel of the Year series via the links below:

• Hallowing: Samhain Spread

• Darkest Night: Winter Solstice Spread

• Quickening: Imbolc Spread

• Brightening: Spring Equinox Spread

• Fire + Fields: Beltane Spread

• Bonfire Offerings: Summer Solstice Spread

• First Harvest: Lammas

• Balancing: Autumn Equinox Spread

Moonpath: Week 4

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
Maya Angelou

Last week, we met Cedar Snufflegort. She's becoming an herbalist and using some Moonpath techniques to help her along the way. Already, she's learning how to protect her braincave from monstrous memes (and you can, too!). If you're just joining us, make sure to check out our first post on what the Moonpath is and how to join us!

Through all of our weeks on the Moonpath I've been talking about the importance of creating small goals (and no more than three!) that can be easily accomplished within a seven day period.

Now I'm going to suggest that you throw all of that out the window.

Here's the thing. Sometimes you need to go all in and take on a gigantic task within a short period of time. Perhaps it's because you only have a limited amount of time to accomplish a task. Or maybe you've been putting it off and off for the perfect moment to arrive, when really you just need to do it. (Hence the espresso patronum cup at the top of the page.)

The important point of the wild, throw-your-schedule-out-the-door, and let's-get-it-done tactic is that it is to be done once in a blue moon - not as an ongoing approach to life. Why? Because when we're using up all of our resources at a high level of performance all the time we can burn out. Then nothing gets done.

The gifts of the just-get-it-done approach are many:

• You're done! 
• Working in the intensity of a short period of time can be an excellent crucible for not only accomplishing the task at hand but inspiring you further for new adventures!
• No, really, you're done!

Have you ever thrown caution (or planning!) to the wind and just got-it-done? I have. More than once, actually, including when it came to writing hundreds of pages of classroom material, learning to draw and then creating illustrations, dozens of study guides, and building a private learning community for the Lunar Apothecary (which I did in about 2 sleepless and, truthfully, delirious months). It's not something I necessarily recommend, but then again, it was what I needed to do. Sometimes you make your rules and then sometimes you break them. Post about your get-it-done adventures below!

Starry-Hearted + Wild-Rooted : An Intro to Astroherbology

What is Astroherbology?

Astroherbology is the art of using astrological wisdom to inform and influence medicinal and magickal herb and wellness choices. The practice of medical astrology has been around as long as we have been practicing medicine but the form of medical astrology practiced in the west was largely, but not exclusively, formalized in ancient Greece but reflects the greater cultural contributions of Mediterranean, North African, Central and West Asian peoples. It was largely through the work of Arab scholars and healers that Greek healing tradition was preserved, expanded upon, and introduced to Europeans, paving the way for famous medical astrologers and herbalists like Nicholas Culpeper. (1) There are medical astrology traditions throughout the world, including those within Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, but my training is with the traditional western herbalism system so that is the foundation from which I teach and which my writings on astroherbology are based.

How does it work?

The primary tool of the astroherbologist is the natal or birth chart of the person that they are serving. The natal chart represents the tools, dispositions, weaknesses, and strengths that person is born with. A natal chart is static and unchanging, but an astroherbologist would pay attention to the current movements of the stars and planets and their affects on the natal chart as these pass over and aspect the natal chart. Yup, you’re the center of the universe in a medical astrology reading (but you already knew that…).

Just like a regular herbologist, an astroherbologist or medical astrology practitioner, will examine your intake form, physical observations (such as tongue, pulse, and skin conditions), and ask lots of questions about your current health concerns. All of this information will be compared to the natal chart and the astroherbologist will begin to track inherent weaknesses and strengths as well as the current affects of planets passing over your chart right now and in the near future. Your general feeling of sluggishness might have appeared suddenly because of a transit of Neptune over your chart. Or a natal chart may have lots and lots of fire, but little water, so a client may want to do more water-based activities (cool baths and swimming, tea-based medicines, and visiting the jimjilbang regularly) to balance out an overheated state that has led to chronic inflammation in the body. Astroherbology is especially effective in tracking down illnesses that seem to have no easily identifiable root cause as well as helping clients become aware of upcoming transits that might hinder or benefit health (such as prepping and living in your Saturn Returns with lots of adaptogens as your herbal allies, clever one).

Why does it work?

The sacred mystery of medical astrology is summed up succinctly by the simple words from the Emerald Tablet:

 As Above, So Below

"As Above" is the celestial while "So Below" is the terrestrial - the celestial reflects the terrestrial and vice versa. Just why the stars show us patterns of our earthly experience and why our earthly experience can be seen in the stars is where everything gets more complicated. Part of it is observational and seasonal - the starry display of the sky changes as our planet gently rotates, marking the change of seasons which affect not only the great macrocosm of the universe, but the microcosm of our own personal universe composed of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual experiences. Some say that the stars and planets themselves affect us by “throwing of rays” of energy and color that harmonize, neutralize, and disrupt our energy and the energy of our home planet. Others suspect that there is something occurring on the quantum level that we don’t understand yet. To be honest, I don't know why exactly astroherbology works. What I do know is that it is very useful. Astroherbology has provided me with traditional and brand new language to describe imbalances, healing journeys, and tools that we’ll need along the way. It is a fantastic storytelling device as well as actually working. In an eerily accurate sort of way or wonderfully right-on depending on what sort of mood you’re in.

If you've ever read your horoscope, you've experienced the story-telling powers of astrology. Through the story-telling of astrology we can learn about the gifts of the Moon in the sign of Mighty Goatfish (also known as Capricorn) and tap into the revolutionary powers of a Waxing Quarter Moon in Aries. We can learn more about ourselves and experience our experiences in ways that affirm our gifts, our intuitions, and our inherent value as humyn creatures.

How do I learn more?

I've written a series profiling each sign of the zodiac from an astroherbology perspective - check it out! 

You can also learn more about the relationship between the stars and our physical forms with my exploration of the Astrological Body.

There are a number of books on the market covering medical astrology and particularly astroherbology. I recommend getting a copy of Nicolas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal since modern western astroherbology and magickal herbology pulls much of its astrological correspondences and inspiration for further categorization from his work. And Culpeper can be a lot of fun (think melancholic, rebellious, and snarky Englishman who wasn’t very popular with the authorities) and is just an all-around useful foundational text for Traditional Western Herbalism. Judith Hill is a medical astrologer and herbalist who has written many book on the subject and teaches an online course of the art. She has also teamed up with Matthew Wood and created a The Renaissance Medicine Conference that is full of interesting classes. The Portland Astrology School is also beginning to offer more and more classes on herbs, essences, and astrology including their first Medical Astrology Conference. They are also a queer affirming space that addresses so many of the issues that kept me away from studying astrology for so long – the patriarchal heteronormativity of it all turned me off for a long time until I began to find more astrologers practicing in a binary-free, queer, and multi-cultural way (speaking of which - holy heck, check out Chani Nicholas right now for an example of such profoundly resonant and healing astrological work). Speaking of queering things up, have you heard about the Queer Astrology Conference yet? Now you have and I hope very much you're able to make it there one of these years! If you’re wanting to get your toes wet and learn about astroherbology from a lunar perspective (the Moon is our truest self and story in astrology), come check out my course on Moon-centered herbalism to help you discover who you are as a healer.

What's next?

So begins my new series on astroherbology! I'll be covering each of the signs of the zodiac throughout the year starting with Aries. Below I've also listed a short list of useful books and websites for the study of medical astrology and astroherbology. Study along with me, set some learning goals in a supportive community, and let's go to the stars, clever ones!

Footnotes

(1) A History of Herbal Medicine for Herbalists by Candis Cantin

References + Resources

The following are a selection of resources geared towards the beginner that I have found useful. The list below is in no ways exhaustive. I have yet to find a medical astrology resource that is does not rely on gender-binary and heteronormative language, so apply your filters as needed. If you have found such a resource or have further medical astrology and astroherbology recommendations for beginners or advanced students alike, please comment below!

• Skyscript's Guide to Free Astrology Books including a number of medical astrology texts.

• Medical Astrology + Astrological Medicine by Peter Morrell

• Aux Mailles Godefroy is an incredible resource not only for medical astrology, but for anyone interested in the arts and sciences of European Renaissance period. 

• Encyclopaedia of Medical Astrology by H.L. Cornell, M.D. 

• Medical Astrology by Judith Hill

• Earth Mother Astrology by Marcia Starck

• Astrology: Key to Holistic Health by Marcia Starck

• A Handbook of Medical Astrology by Jane Ridder-Patrick

Moonpath: Week 3

In my cells
are magnetic maps
of vast ocean spaces
Saya Wolf

Say "hiya" to Week 3 of our Moonpath, clever ones!

Honesty in goal-setting and accomplishing our goals is key, clever ones. We've got to be honest with ourselves in what is reasonable to take on in just a week's time. Is learning the entire esoteric history of the tarot really attainable in a week? Becoming the most talented pastry chef and learning how to take the best photos of your marvelous food all in a week's time truly realistic? Excited and ambitious though you may be (and that is fantastic and inspirational gold, so keep that fire burning!) we can be our own worst road block on the path to our dreams when we create giant goals to be accomplished in an unrealistically short period of time. When those big goals don't get done we can get caught up in a cycle of feeling like we're not getting any closer to our goals. Then those treacherous thoughts of "I don't deserve those dreams" begin to wriggle their way into our brain caves like monstrous little memes. Don't give up your brain cave to monstrous memes, clever ones!

Do this right now:

• Write down one BIG dream.
  • Cedar Snufflegort wants to become a registered community herbalist.
• Under that big dream, write three big steps that you need to take to accomplish that dream.
  • Cedar's three big steps are:
    • Learn about her herbal education options (she knows she wants to attend an herbal school but doesn't know what her options are)
    • Stock her apothecary with herbs, tools, and books
    • Learn at least 50 herbs and their uses
  • Just a quick note: Cedar's herbal journey is her own and the above steps are not the "required, official, approved" way of becoming an herbalist. There is thankfully no such thing!
• Now, choose one of those three big steps to focus on.
  • Cedar has chosen to focus on learning about her 50 herbs because she just can't wait to meet some cool plants!
• Under your chosen big step, begin to break it down into bite-size actions that can be accomplished with relative ease.
  • Cedar decides to study 2 - 3 herbs each month to begin. She knows that she'll probably learn a lot more each month once she chooses a school she'll probably be studying more than that at a time, but 2 - 3 herbs seems like a reasonable an attainable goal for her to commit to right now. This step is broken down further each month when she chooses her specific herbs. She begins with Dandelion to begin with because it grows in her neighborhood. This goal will also help her stock her Apothecary in a mindful and deliberate way. 
  • She puts purchasing loose leaf paper and a binder to organize all of her notes in on her list.
  • Another step is to visit her local library and see what books on herbalism they have in stock so she can start building her reference library.

  • Learn more about easy steps on beginning your herbal studies!

Cedar Snufflegort's dream of becoming a community herbalist went from being "Holy heck! How am I going to do that?!" to "Holy heck, I've got a vision of where I'm going and it looks pretty dang clear!" Feel free to invoke the energy of courageous Cedar Snufflegort whenever you're feeling overwhelmed and be sure to practice the steps she followed to keep the vision of your dreams clear on the horizon til you finally reach them!

Be sure to join me next week, when I throw these rules out the window!

So, clever one, with a sense of greater clarity, you're invited to do the following:

• Prioritize your 1 - 3 study + practice goals for the week.
• Pursue these 1 - 3 study goals by choosing what you will do to accomplish them. Then do them!
• Make Pleasure in your practice.

Check out tips for success on our original post!

So how are you walking your Moonpath this week?
Post your goals below!

The Moon will be in her Waning Quarter phase in the sign of Scorpio on the February 11th (PST).
She'll be sitting in the 19th Mansion so named Al-Shaulah or the Sting.
What unwanted energies or situations might you be hiding from?