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I got introduced to Astrology when I was about 12 or 13… which was definitely more than a few years ago, we’ll just say that… Anyyyway, since then I’ve felt endlessly curious about, and fascinated by, all the many ways our chart influences us.

It’s not terribly surprising, to me at least, that I’ve enjoyed exploring ways to bring my love of Astrology into my work with clients!

One thing I especially enjoy educating clients on are the lesser known qualities of each sign, as most of us only get exposed to the caricatures of them.

Like, most people are familiar with the fact that Aries can have a bit of a temper, Gemini loves some “tea,” Leo can be a bit of a diva, and Capricorns are basically mini-CEO’s the moment they leave the womb.

But few people know the truly positive, absolutely stunning attributes of each sign.

That’s what I wanted to highlight and celebrate here.

If Astrology And Therapy Had A Baby

Being a therapist for a decade now, I’ve have the privilege of exploring the inner workings of many people’s minds and help them explore some of their deepest motivations. And over those years of practice I started to noticed certain patterns of thought and behavior developing in terms of my understanding of each sign.

Being in the therapist role allowed me to develop a new richness of understanding for the signs I hadn’t previously been exposed to. Sure, I’d known the surface stuff, the commonalities of each archetype.

But now I was being exposed to more in-depth things people normally kept hidden from everyday view. The limiting beliefs, aching desires and hungers, our deepest shame and fears were now on display in the therapy room. But also, our longings, our hopes and dreams, and what kept us going… those little sparks just begging to be nurtured into roaring flames.

Trying To Capture The Beauty

I knew I wanted to write this blog post about Astrology, but it’s hard to know what to write when you feel like everything has already been written!

But in an effort to explore my thoughts on the subject, I found myself writing a sort of love note to each sign, blending my love for Astrology with my love of the humans who have so graciously allowed me to get to know them. I’m honored to offer these “letters” as a token of my gratitude for the trust people have offered to me over the years, both in my work and in my personal life.

I believe we all possess endless, achingly beautiful worlds within us that are begging to be explored and cherished. My hope is that reading these “letters” will help you choose to see some of your most obvious personality traits as gifts and qualities meant to be celebrated, rather than poked fun at or shamed.

*Please feel free to skip down to your individual Sun sign or read the “letters” for other signs in your chart, like your Rising/Ascendant sign, your Moon sign, and more!

(If you aren’t sure what your signs are and want to look up your chart to find out, check out this website or this one! Please also note: The only way to be sure of what your Rising sign is, is to know your exact time of birth, but having access to your birth time is a privilege not everyone has. But, even without a birth time, most people will at least be able to find out their Sun and Moon sign. The Moon can vary up to 6 degrees based on the time of birth as well. So if for instance, if you aren’t sure what time you were born and you plug 12am in as the time and it says that your Moon is at 28 degrees Scorpio but later on in the same day it switches to Sagittarius, then maybe read info on both Scorpio and Sagittarius and see which one resonates more! If you have questions on this, feel free to reach out to me and I can help you!)

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Aries

Aries, your zest for life and courage to go after your dreams, as well as the ability to pick up the pieces and start again and again, unphased, is unmatched. When you’re excited about something and get that sparkle in your eye, your childlike innocence and optimism helps people believe that maybe they can also go after what they want in life. You encourage people to see things in new and exciting ways, with certainty that you’ll always find a way to make things work or figure it out along the way. That there’s a new adventure waiting for us just over the horizon. And that if at first we don’t see it, to look again with fresh eyes.

Help us keep believing things can change for the better, even when we aren’t sure what “better” looks like yet or feel afraid to trust that things will work out. And help us remember that we can summon the courage to try new things, even if we haven’t seen those things done before or done by someone like us.

Taurus

Taurus, you remind us all to explore the ever important balance between pushing ourselves to go after what we want, and remembering to rest and luxuriate in what life has to offer – both with equal fervor and tenacity. You also remind us that every step we take in the direction of our dreams counts and that if we want something in life, we deserve to keep up forward momentum towards making it a reality.

I’ve yet to meet a Taurus that doesn’t love a lit scented candle, their favorite fabric on their skin, the taste of their favorite food, or the sound of their favorite music. Taurus, you remind us that we’re spiritual beings having a human experience, and that the human experience is sometimes what we make of it. You remind us just how powerful the medicine of sensual delights can be, in a world that tells us to hustle for our worth and never slow down to enjoy life.

Please keep reminding us to come back into our bodies every now and again. Help us remember that experiencing joy and fulfilment aren’t merely luxuries meant for few, but is instead, are our birthright as humans.

Gemini

Gemini, your adaptability, curiosity, and enthusiasm for life are something to be fucking celebrated! And the fact that most everyone you meet can feel seen by you and comfortable in your presence is truly incredible. You’ve always got a story or joke to tell, and the gift of your humor invites us all to loosen up a bit and not take ourselves too seriously.

Thank you for reminding us of the potency of medicine contained within a carefree dose of solid belly-laughs and childlike wonder. And thank you for being the personification of “trickster energy,” as we can all learn a thing or two from your willingness to “just see what happens” if we dare try thinking outside the box or challenge ourselves to try something new.

Cancer

Dear Cancer, I need you to hear me when I say this: If emotional sensitivity or feeling things deeply was actually a sign of weakness, then why is it seemingly so difficult for other people to do it or embrace? Honestly. I mean, people pay good money for all manner of things these days to distract ourselves and not feel a damn thing… so it must not be easy to actually connect with our emotions. Just sayin’.

Your ability to ride emotional waves, at heights which most of us only have nightmares about, only to then come out on the other side stronger and wiser will forever inspire awe from the people who understand just how much courage it takes to do so. You also have the courage to embrace compassion, as you show up for the people you love and care about in unbelievably thoughtful, tender ways.

Thank you for all the ways you continue to show up and love humanity, even when we feel we’re at our most unlovable. Please don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you are less than or lacking in strength of character for having emotional responses to things in life. You remind us all of what’s possible when we get out of our heads and choose to see, and be seen, by others.

Leo

Leo, you’ve got the biggest heart in the world, and your light shines brightest on those you love. Your capacity to lift up others and motivate us to go after our dreams is unparalleled. You remind us that life is too damn short to be mediocre or to waste precious time on anything or anyone that refuses to see our worth. Especially from the people who are supposed to love us the most.

Know this: You’re not “too picky” and you’re not overestimating your worth by expecting reciprocity. And that you simply being yourself helps to remind us all of what a gift it is to be here in this life, and therefore not a damn one of us should settle for anything less than our wildest dreams. And anyone who says differently can promptly fuck off.

Virgo

Virgo, thank you for loving us all enough to not let us look like fools out here! I’m only halfway joking… While your ability to whip us, and any system out there, into shape inspires awe (and quite likely fear) from the masses, you keep things running smoothly and as they should be. And that’s truly something of a monumental feat.

But, there’s something else I really, really want you to take to heart… the world needs your weird! You’re so delightfully silly, quirky, and your hilarity knows no bounds! It’s truly a shame that so many people never get to witness that side of you, because our society teaches you to believe your only value lies in your tendency towards perfectionism and to erase all traces of your human self.

You’re so hard on yourself, but instead of wearing it like a badge of honor, I’d like to gently challenge you to see it as an invitation to loosen up a little and show us the mess behind that curated curtain of yours you’ve so painstakingly constructed in an effort to avoid being seen for who you really are. Which is this – an achingly beautiful, phenomenal mess of a human. Just like the rest of us. And we love you for it. Honest.

Libra

Libra! What can I say, you’re so damn likable it boggles the brain! Everyone says so. And yet… you have such a hard time believing it about yourself. What makes you such a joy and delight to be around is YOU! Not a mask. Not a performance. Not what you can offer people. You being you is all you ever need to be. Seriously.

If people don’t like you when you’re being your truest self, then maybe you’re actually doing it right! Whatever leaves your life is doing you a favor, because it was taking up space where more beauty and people who actually “get” you could be. You don’t need anything or anyone to complete you.

Still, thank you for the grand entrances, your eye for detail, and for hyping up the people you love most. And, thank you for reminding us how important it can be to pause and think carefully about how our actions and words could impact others. When you do this, you ensure you’re living in your integrity, and more of us need to learn to be this thoughtful! Just don’t forget that it’s also okay to take the leap without knowing exactly where you’ll land or to prioritize yourselves every now and again.

Scorpio

Scorpio, you’re tough as fucking nails, but I know you already know that… so I’ll stop buttering you up.

What people may not see/know about you is just how deep your love and compassion can go. Scorpio knows pain. Scorpio knows isolation. But weathering more than your fair share of storms in life doesn’t mean you’re now broken, hard to love, or “too much”. Your willingness to surrender to life’s transformative cycles of death and rebirth only add dimension and delicious complexity to someone that’s already a gem. And that side of you is best shared when you show up with softness and vulnerability. Because you’ve had courage to weather storms many of us do not, you can model for the rest of us what it means to know deep down you can cut someone to their core but choose not to.

Please remember to honor and trust yourself by learning to loosen your grip or let go of what tries to leave you. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received was, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” So, just because you can make something work or make someone stay, it doesn’t mean you should. Please know that you are so goddamn lovable and you deserve to be loved with the intensity and ferocity that you so freely offer to the people you care about. Don’t settle for lukewarm anything in this life. The people that are meant for you, your people, will appreciate what you bring to the table and then some.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius, thank you for reminding us that rules are meant to be held up to the brightest of lights, analyzed, and put to the test to see just how well they hold up at the end of the day. Without you, there’d be no reform, no way of knowing what’s safe to question and no way of knowing what we’re blindly agreeing to. You also refuse to chase what doesn’t want you back and you understand at a cellular level that there’s wisdom to be gained from every experience, regardless of the outcome.

You always have a fresh way of looking at life, a tale to tell, and a sense of humor that could tickle anyone’s funny bone. And your willingness to try just about anything once and live life unapologetically melts my brain in the most delightful way time and time again. And even though you may say things that maybe could have benefited from being spoken with a little more sweetness, you’re determined to make sure someone says it and are more than willing to be the person that does, when the rest of us would never dare to be.

Please keep testing the waters and saying the quiet parts out loud, whether you meant to or not. We love you for it!

Capricorn

Listen, the most relevant fact about Capricorn (to me at least) is that Capricorn as a sign rules the skeletal system. And holy hell do you guys fulfill that foundational role in every single part of your life. You’re the backbone of every system and our fiercest ally and advocate. Y’all get shit done in a way that makes my head spin.

AND ALSO, y’all need help from others too, no matter how much you hate to admit it.

You can’t, and shouldn’t, do it all on your own. The fact that the rest of us forget you are indeed very human, with real needs and struggles, is on us. Not on you.

Just like our skeletal system, you make everything look effortless on the outside to the degree that people just assume you’ve got it all figured out and couldn’t possibly need support or care along the way! We take the bones in our bodies for granted all the time, that is, until they get hurt or damaged and then we’re forced to realize just how much they did for us.

Truthfully, you probably do have a lot figured out, whether you trust that you do or not, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need or want help or for someone to offer you the kind of care and intentionality that you so readily afford the rest of us. You deserve to be seen as a full, dynamic human, who is courageous and formidable, but also delicate and deserving of all the love and tenderness.

You show up for everyone and bear the weight of so much pain and suffering, and in all that we forget that you’re not somehow impervious to your own pain and suffering. So please, be your own fierce ally and advocate. And remember that your value as a person is not contingent upon what you can do for us. You have worth and value just by being.

Aquarius

Aquarius, I wish more people understood that you guys care so much and feel things so deeply, while also having the capacity to keep the bigger picture in mind and dream about a better future. Sometimes the depth and intensity with which you feel things probably scares the hell out of you and feels impossible to articulate to others. Yet, I need you to know that your depth of feeling is where so much of your strength lies.

What you’re feeling is attempting to clue you in on what’s important to you, on what you value, and what you stand for! I know that being human, with all our flaws and inefficiencies sucks sometimes. Well, it sucks a lot of the time. And also, you are indeed still human. Please challenge yourself to see the many ways our human imperfections can be a gift, as it knits us all together. I’d also like to challenge you to stay embodied whenever you’re tempted to escape into the safe, logical parts of your mind or personal narrative.

Remember that you can be a force of so much good in this world simply by being part of it, and in being in community with your fellow imperfect beings. And also that even if you don’t know how to perfectly articulate the mess in your mind and your heart, it’s still worth speaking up about. You don’t have to figure it out all on your own. We want to be there for you however we can.

Pisces

Pisces, thank you for always being willing to go 90 when the rest of humanity goes 10. Seriously.

At the same time, please know that you deserve to be celebrated, loved, and valued for your enormous capacity to love the world and the people in it. You choose to see the good in people and trust people to be honest about who they are. Please don’t ever let anyone tell you that you need to change that. You are never responsible for people choosing to harm or take advantage of you.

And, at the same time, it’s a good idea to practice believing people when they, or their actions, tell you who they truly are. You have a powerful gift of being able to see right down into the heart of someone, which is so needed in a world wrought with prejudice, hatred, and suffering. And that’s also precisely why we need you to take really good care of yourself.

Learning to place boundaries around situations where you feel like people need you the most will be incredibly uncomfortable, at least at first. I get it, and I struggle with this myself. At the same time, remember that we can choose to view boundaries as an act of kindness for everyone involved, rather than something we’re inflicting on others or using to punish them with. And when it comes to discomfort, something I tell myself and my clients all the time is this: No one (that I know of at least) has ever died from being uncomfortable! We can be uncomfortable and be just fine. We’ll get through it.

Also, I’m pretty sure that whole analogy about “not being able to pour from an empty cup” was probably made up by someone pleading with a Pisces to finally prioritize themselves, rather than simply attempting to survive off whatever scraps of time or energy are left over. Do what you can to begin embodying the glorious concept of “sacred selfishness,” like your life depends on it. Because in a very real way, yours may… at least in terms of quality of life, ya know?

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Closing Thoughts

If these love letters felt relevant or touched your heart in some way, I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment on this post and/or shoot me an email at lesley@lesleyshiverlpc.com. Please also share this with anyone you think could benefit from reading this post or that also loves Astrology!

Want more reflections like this? You can sign up for my newsletter here or explore more posts on the blog.

Til next time,