Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions
Choosing a therapist is a sacred decision. Here are a few answers to help you better understand this unique approach —
and to see if astrology-based therapy is the path your soul has been seeking.
What is astrology-based relationship counseling?
It’s using astrology as a framework, not a prediction tool. You can’t look at a birth chart and say who someone’s “perfect match” is. That just doesn’t work. For one, you’re more than just your Sun sign. And second, each sign is an archetype that is complex, rich, and expressed differently depending on the person.
What astrology can do is help you understand the types of energy you have access to, how those energies tend to show up in relationships, and what your soul might deeply desire. When you start to see yourself more clearly, you’re less likely to project onto your partner, and more likely to see them clearly too. That’s when real connection happens. When both people feel like they can be fully themselves, you get conscious, respectful, deep negotiation. And that’s the real sexy stuff in relationships.
How can astrology help improve my relationships?
In the simplest terms, it gives you permission to be yourself.
When you're actually living in alignment with your truth (your desires, your natural way of expressing love, your emotional needs), you feel more grounded, more magnetic, more you. And when you feel that way, you tend to be a lot more generous with others too. You stop expecting them to be like you. You start appreciating how different people operate. It creates more space, more softness, which is honestly what most relationships are starving for.
Can astrology and therapy work together for relationship healing?
Yes and it’s so fun to work this way.
Most relationship issues actually stem from your own inner stories and wounding. The ones that tell you you're not lovable, you're too much, not enough, that you're supposed to earn love or keep it by abandoning yourself. In therapy, we work on those. And astrology gives us a map, your natal chart, that helps us see where those stories might live and how you’re wired to grow past them.
When you start shifting those core beliefs and star showing up more healed, your relationships have to change. Because you're no longer relating from your wounds, you're relating from wholeness.
What does a soul-based therapist do in relationship counseling?
A good therapist listens deeply and holds space with compassion and zero judgment. As a soul-based therapist, I also zoom out and look at the bigger picture. I’m not just helping you fix surface-level issues, I’m helping you understand what your soul is trying to learn through your relationship. I bring in the chart, the archetypes, the deeper patterns. We talk about your nervous system and your spiritual path. We honor and lean into the mess and the mystery.
How do birth charts influence romantic compatibility?
This is one of the biggest misconceptions about astrology (that honestly drives me crazy!), that it can tell you who you’re compatible with. I don’t do that. I think it's limiting and sometimes even harmful.
What your chart can do is show you what you need to feel safe, alive, and connected in a relationship. For example, in my free mini masterclass, I talk about the Relationship Axis, the line between your Rising Sign and Descendant. Someone with a Gemini–Sagittarius axis might crave freedom, humor, movement, ideas, adventures. They might feel smothered in a relationship that’s too routine or heavy. That doesn’t mean they need to find someone with the same axis. It just means they need to name that desire and co-create a relationship that honors it.
It’s less about compatibility, more about self-awareness, conscious negotiations and healthy communication.
What are common relationship issues astrology can help with?
Here’s an antidote from my own marriage: I used to get so frustrated with how fast my husband wanted to fix things. If there was a problem, he was on it immediately (classic Mars in Aries). Meanwhile, I wanted to talk about it, reflect, and come to a thoughtful solution (Virgo Moon here!).
Once I started seeing it through the lens of astrology, I could stop making him wrong for being reactive. It’s just how he’s wired. That shift changed everything. I started using his fiery energy when it was actually helpful and asking for space when I needed time to process and ground. We both felt more respected. Less reactive. More like a team.
Astrology doesn’t give you excuses, it gives you understanding. And understanding each other? Well, that’s everything.
How do you work with lunar cycles and planetary transits?
Honestly, I always say: Start with your birth chart first. That’s the blueprint. It holds way more wisdom than the shifting planets do. When we get too focused on what’s happening “up there,” it can make us feel powerless, like the stars are running the show. But for me, astrology is meant to empower you to be the creator of your own life. Transits (like Saturn return, Jupiter return, etc.) give us waves of energy to work with, but your chart tells you how to surf it.
That said, I do love working with the Moon for ritual, intention-setting, and connecting to your intuition. New Moons and Full Moons are beautiful times to pause, reflect, and tune in. But when it comes to healing deep relational patterns? We usually need to go way deeper than a moon ritual.
How do you blend astrology and psychology in relationship work?
Astrology is the map. Psychology is the terrain.
I always start with someone’s Moon sign. In Shamanic Astrology, the Moon represents your lineage, think past-life energy and core wiring, and is often the clearest indicator of your personality, habits, needs, and emotional world. We begin by looking at your relationship to your Moon: Do you feel connected to it? Was this part of you celebrated in childhood or shut down? Are you over-identifying with it and stuck in its shadow?
Say your Moon is in Cancer. We’d explore how your family, school, or culture responded to your tenderness, emotional depth, and nurturing nature. Were those traits welcomed, or were you taught to hide them?
That kind of exploration opens doors. It helps you understand why you show up the way you do in relationships and gives you tools to shift the patterns that no longer serve you. Astrology shows us what’s asking for healing. Therapy helps us do the healing.
What is Shamanic Astrology and how does it differ from traditional astrology?
I was into astrology for years before I found Shamanic Astrology and it was such a relief when I did.
Before that, a lot of what I learned about astrology scared me. There were “good houses” and “bad houses.” Moons that were “void of course.” Planetary aspects that were supposedly “unfavorable.” I remember looking at my own chart (and my husband’s and kids’) and feeling anxious. I’d worry about everything, like my Sun in the 12th House meant something terrible was destined to happen.
Shamanic Astrology let me exhale. It’s rooted in respect for nature and doesn’t label anything as inherently good or bad. All energy is neutral, and we get to co-create with it. It’s not prescriptive, either. It won’t tell you exactly what something must mean; instead, it shows you the potential energy available for you to work with. That’s what makes it so empowering.
If you want that kind of relationship with astrology, one that’s curious, creative, and free from fear, I highly recommend The Shamanic Astrology Handbook by Daniel Giamario and Cayelin K Castell. They’re pioneers in this lineage, and reading their work will show you just how liberating and life-affirming this approach can be.
Can astrology help me break old relationship patterns?
Yes, but the real key is your desire to break them. Astrology won’t tell you exactly what to do, but it can help you understand why you keep getting stuck and give you a healthier perspective on how to use that energy in more productive ways.
Astrology isn’t here to hand you a list of instructions. It’s more like a permission slip to be your most authentic self. Every archetype in the zodiac has its gifts and every one has its shadows. When you can spot your own shadow patterns, you start to see where you’ve been creating more chaos than calm… and from there, you get to choose differently.
Is astrology a reliable tool for relationship decision-making?
Hmm… this feels like a trick question 😉. Astrology is absolutely a powerful tool, but I would never tell someone to rely on it alone for making big decisions. Those should come from your own inner reflection, honest self-inquiry, and trust in your intuition.
That said, astrology can be a deeply reliable guide for helping you reconnect with your higher self, clarify your desires, and see the bigger patterns at play in your relationships. It’s less about telling you what to do and more about helping you make decisions from a place of clarity, confidence, and self-trust.
How can understanding my Moon sign support emotional healing and self-nurturing?
In traditional astrology, the Moon is often seen as your emotional self, your feelings, instincts, and need for comfort. That’s not wrong, but in Shamanic Astrology, the Moon represents the archetype you’ve already mastered in past lives. It’s the energy you’ve ruled as before, which is why it feels so familiar and effortless to express in this lifetime.
Because it’s so comfortable, playing with your Moon sign’s energy can feel deeply settling. Honoring your Moon, whether through activities, environments, or relationships that align with its archetype, can be incredibly supportive for emotional healing and self-nurturing. It’s like returning to an old, cozy home you’ve known forever.
What does my Venus sign reveal about how I love and want to be loved?
This is one place where Shamanic Astrology really differs from the traditional approach. We see Venus not just as “how you love” but as your Anima — your inner feminine energy, a term Carl Jung coined.
For women, your Venus sign points to the type of feminine energy you’re here to embody in this lifetime. For men, it’s the feminine energy you’re here to connect with internally and source from within yourself.
It’s less about your love language and more about how you want to express qualities like intuition, creativity, emotional intelligence, compassion, receptivity, and vulnerability. When you consciously work with your Venus sign, you deepen your connection to your inner feminine — and that shifts everything in how you give and receive love.
What is the role of planetary transits in relationship dynamics?
Transits are like “next level” astrology, best explored after you’ve spent time really understanding and working with your natal chart. Your chart holds most of the insights you need about your relationship dynamics, but certain transits can be powerful triggers for growth.
For example, when Saturn transits over your Descendant, the angle connected to partnership, it’s an ideal time to take stock of what’s working, address what’s not, and add structure where needed. Saturn energy helps you get to the root of long-standing relationship issues and create a stronger foundation.
Outer planet transits, from Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto, can bring deep, lasting shifts in your relationships. The key is to approach them with awareness and co-create with the energy rather than feeling like it’s happening to you.
How often should I schedule astrology-based counseling sessions?
In my Astrology & Counseling Container, we work together for 16 consecutive weeks. I believe there’s power in focusing your energy within a set period of time, it’s like sending a clear message to the Universe, your Higher Self, or God (however you define it) that you’re committed and ready to do the work.
If you’re simply curious about exploring your chart without that kind of container, you can move at whatever pace feels right for you. Some people need slower integration because life is already full, while others are craving rapid change and want to dive in right away. It’s worth asking yourself: What pace truly feels good for me right now?
Do you offer sessions that include both partners’ charts for deeper insight?
Yes, but only with permission. I always make sure a partner is comfortable with their chart being included in our work, which usually just means my client having a quick conversation with them first. Most people love the idea of being understood more deeply, even if astrology isn’t really their thing.
Typically, this isn’t done with the partner present. The focus is on helping my client gain insight into their partner’s patterns and tendencies, so they can approach the relationship with more understanding, compassion, and acceptance, especially around the parts they’ve found challenging.
How does Shamanic Astrology support ancestral and karmic healing?
I believe that any time you heal a part of yourself, your ancestors are celebrating.
From a karmic perspective, I see your birth chart as a kind of soul contract, something your higher self agreed to before incarnating. This perspective can be incredibly empowering because it reframes challenges as intentional themes you came here to work with. Those themes — your “karma” — are woven into the archetypes and patterns in your chart. Working with them consciously allows you to not only heal yourself, but also shift patterns carried by your lineage.
How do I prepare for an astrology-based relationship session?
You’ll need your date of birth, location of birth, and exact time of birth. If you don’t know your time, it’s worth doing some detective work:
- Check your birth certificate
- Ask your parents or relatives
- Look in a baby book
- Call the hospital where you were born
The time of birth is important because it determines your Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, and IC, all significant points in Shamanic Astrology.
If you can’t find the exact time, don’t worry! There’s still plenty we can work with. Your Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Sun all hold rich insight into your relational patterns and personal growth. Trust me, there’s more than enough to dive into.