A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in my favorite coffee shop and thinking about astrology (like ya do). I find astrology to be an exceptionally elegant tool for self-discovery and personal growth because it offers an abundance of rich, symbolic information in every chart.  While I don’t consider myself an astrologer, I have been studying and exploring the subject for many years now, and the symbolic language of astrology has been a huge benefit to my personal and spiritual growth.

That day, my thoughts were towards the planets and signs because I was noticing something interesting in my Soul Guidance sessions, specifically how each person I worked with had such unique and particular ways that either empowered their spiritual journey or disconnected them from it. One person needs lots of nurturing from their spirituality but feels disconnected from it because they are pushing themselves to “be better” and achieve something with their spiritual practices, while another needs to develop discipline and fortitude in their path but avoids those qualities because they think spirituality is supposed to be all joy and ease.

I wondered why and how people needed such different things and thought that there had to be some rhyme and reason to all of this diversity; a pattern that could be revealed to give more clarity on what people are needing and seeking while helping them approach it with more awareness.

And then intuition struck…  (thanks for the guidance!)

What if our spiritual path is already symbolically described by the most basic, and most important, aspects of our birth charts: the Sun, Moon, and Rising signs. Again, I’m not an astrologer, but I was captivated by the idea and decided to do some looking around. Surely somebody had picked up on this before me.

Though there are several authors, astrologers, and bloggers out there who talk about soul sign astrology, spiritual astrology, and esoteric astrology, I couldn’t find the model my intuition gave me represented anywhere. To the best of my knowledge, this model is an original, though it has been greatly served by the teachings of the schools of astrology I mentioned above.

This model, this lens, of spirituality by the stars is very simple:

Your Sun Sign is your approach to spirituality

Your Moon Sign is what you need from spirituality

Your Rising Sign is what you are seeking from spirituality

Easy peasy, right? *

The more challenging part is understanding the signs not just by their personality traits but by their deeper and more profound meanings. You’ve probably heard how stubborn you are or are supposed to be if you’re a Taurus, or how crazy and wild you Sagittarians are, but did you know that each sign also represents a whole domain of spiritual experience?

Comfort-seeking, nurturing, and emotional Cancer also contains the spiritual domain of transmuting collective fear into compassion. Hot-headed, big-personality Aries also represents the spiritual domain of sovereignty and divine inspiration. By looking at the larger, evolutionary forces of the signs we can get a better vision of how are Sun, Moon, and Rising signs shape our spirituality.

I’ll use myself as an example:

I am a Taurus Sun, Cancer Moon, and Aries Rising.

My Taurus Sun represents my approach to my spiritual path: I naturally approach spirituality in practical, sensual, pleasurable, earthy ways, such as camping trips and time in nature, rituals with lots of sensory elements, and a focus on the practical functions of spirituality to make daily life better. The spiritual experience of Taurus is connecting to the divine in nature and through the senses, learning to surrender attachment to stability in the material world in exchange for freedom of experience and enlightenment.

My Cancer Moon represents what I Need from my spiritual path: I need to be nurtured and nurturing, I need to develop and receive empathy, I need a home that is my sacred space, and my soul is fed by deep, feminine, compassionate energy. The spiritual experience of Cancer is transmuting personal and collective fear and pain into deep compassion and healing. Lots of people call God “Father.” I call God “Mom.” While God is bigger than any gender or description, I have a spiritual need to relate to God that way.

My Aries Rising represents what I Seek in my spiritual path: I seek to break out of what I perceive as limiting rules and structures, to do my own thing, to be original, to be inspired and inspiring, to initiate change and transformation. The spiritual experience of Aries is to individuate and become the whole self, to claim sovereignty of themselves and their lives, and lead the way for others to do the same.

Knowing this, I can easily see where I am on track or unbalanced in my spiritual path. If I’m feeling a little lost, it’s usually because I’m approaching my spiritual path from too far inside my comfort zone (earthy, stable Taurus and nurturing Cancer) and not consciously seeking to initiate change or do something new (Aries). If I’m feeling burned out on my path, it’s usually because I’m not giving myself or receiving the nurturing and compassion that I need (Cancer Moon) or because it isn’t aligned with my practical approach (Taurus Sun) and I’m getting too far ahead of myself (Aries Rising).

I’ve included a basic description for each of the signs below, but there is so much more to learn about each of them. Starting here can give you a good feel for how your three signs (Sun, Moon, and Rising) influence your spiritual path.

Aries

Initiating change and transformation; original ideas; individuality

Taurus

Grounding ideas into form, practical; sensual experience; the divine in nature

Gemini

Communicating thoughts; interpersonal relationships; curiosity and mental stimulation

Cancer

Nurturing things to birth; compassion; empathy and healing

Leo

Leading from the heart, courageous; the power of will; sovereignty

Virgo

Working for an ideal; service for the greater good; wisdom and discernment

Libra

Balancing relationships; creating harmony; peace

Scorpio

Exploring and transforming darkness; evolution and revolution; the hidden and unknown

Sagittarius

Revealing the truth; philosophy: adventure

Capricorn

Maintaining structure; clear degrees of advancement; tradition

Aquarius

Thinking outside of the box; skillful use of intellect and emotion; humanitarian

Pisces

Expressing unconditional love; artistic expression; mysticism

I would love to hear what your experience is mapping your spirituality by the stars!

Since this idea came to me intuitively, and I’m still experimenting with it, don’t consider this idea to be set in stone. I hope it offers at least a few helpful insights in how to consciously relate to your spiritual growth.

* If you don’t have your natal chart handy, this website is a great place to get it done for free. All you need is your birth date, time, and location.