“Confessions of a horoscope writer and reader”

SkyCode Horoscopes for January 22-28, 2018 *December 21, 2025 update: The key part I want folks to read now is what's in black. Everything else in blue is pretty much for January 22-28, 2018.

I announced last week that I would continue this introductory celestial overview and “phase out” the horoscopes. But I will keep the affirmations for each sign. I know many of you have benefited from those.

Yet, after news of dropping the horoscopes, a few folks immediately unsubscribed from my email list, citing they mainly read my newsletter for the ‘scopes. That’s okay. Maybe they’ll come back, because I might not have been clear. I’m revising and revisiting how I approach horoscopes here. Let me explain what inspired me to change up in the first place.

Quite a few people over the years have asked me whether they should read horoscopes for their Sun, moon or rising. They often want to know which one is most correct for them. I first wrote on this issue here. Since that post, I’ve even had an “astrologist” tell me that only horoscopes written for the ascendant really matter. Sun sign horoscopes are all crap, he says. But then again, he’s an astrologist, not an astrologer. So, maybe his opinion doesn’t count as much as he thinks it does.

After much thought and more writing here and for other sundry publications and online spaces, I’m even clearer on what really happens with horoscope columns, at least the ones I write and read. And I enjoy reading my colleagues and friends Chani Nicholas, the AstroTwins, Mecca Woods, Astrobarry, and occasionally Rob Brezny and Susan Miller.

I still see horoscope writing and reading as more about the author than the astrology. You’re enjoying his or her take on the stars. No set of stars just speak for themselves, especially weekly or monthly from only 12 Zodiac signs.  But more important, each horoscope writer might speak to other parts of your chart than only your Sun, moon, or ascendant/rising sign. That’s perhaps the toughest “pill” to swallow about horoscope writing.

When I would read my own weekly horoscopes that I wrote for Ebony.com years ago, I found that what I wrote for Capricorn would resonate for me most consistently for me. It wasn’t my Pisces rising, my Sun in Scorpio, or my moon in Leo. Initially, I never wrote Capricorn with myself in mind at all. In fact, I rarely consider my own life situation for any of the twelve signs. I’m often thinking about friends and clients. Yet, there I was, somehow speaking to my Mars in Capricorn. I would read another horoscope writer and she’s speaking to my Venus in Libra.

I know that’s a lot to take in.

It has some serious real-world implications for your reading pleasure. Will you have to read every horoscope of your favorite writers? Perhaps, initially, you will. Will you have to know your whole chart just to read a 30-second horoscope? Again, at first, you might. But that’s also what I want to encourage more. You don’t have to become an astrologer or take a full-on class to get your chart or learn how to find your planets and key parts, like your ascendant and midheaven.

In fact, you can check out these videos from me and a colleague, Jo Gleason, to set up your own birth chart. But knowing your chart can lead you to think of yourself more as a whole rather than in parts.

Doing this work also demystifies the horoscope writer as someone other than a human interpreter of stars trying to speak to you through the prism of 12 signs and ten planets in a dynamic swirl of interaction and motion.

It’s not so much the horoscope writer who writes you out by Sun, moon or ascendant as much as how you can hear the wisdom of the writer from looking at your own chart or where you find yourself expressed in his or her work. Or not. You might not feel anything he or she says. 

Yet, this can be tremendously freeing. You don’t have feel that a person’s words wrangle you in by Sun, Moon, Ascendant or by knowing whether you have a strong Venus, Mars, or Mercury. You are so much more.  Your horoscope is a starting point for you to consider yourself, not one sign or place that can speak for your whole self. That sense might change according to who you read, how he or she writes, and how you come to know more about your chart and yourself.

So, where does this leave you here at unlockastrology.com? Well, we arrive at a few unfamiliar places. I’m going to experiment with existing elements of my horoscopes to unlock more of these thoughts.

First, I’m going to emphasize the planets over the Zodiac signs. So, rather than going in the conventional zodiacal order from Aries to Pisces, I’ve put the order of signs according to speed of each sign’s traditional “ruler.” I do use the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, but not as sign rulers. That’s a different blog post.

Second, I invite you to read through the affirmations and think about which one resonates with you now. You might happily discover that from a sign that’s different than your Sun, moon, or rising sign. Perhaps that’s the planet, in one of its signs, that has the most to say to you now. You might look at more that planet in your own chart. Or, yes, you could focus more on the sign.

Third, from my perspective as a writer, I might, indeed, put more horoscopes in this space. First quarter moons, about 7 days after new moons, usually prompt us to act on new intentions and ideas. Here are mine. It’s also a fitting effort as Mars passes by my Sun in the last degree of Scorpio to venture into Sagittarius on Friday. This is a new thing in process. Be patient with me, with it. I will be experimenting and filling in blanks as I develop this. And if all of this has made you think differently about horoscopes, then that’s better than the hundreds of horoscopes I’ve written over the years. Thank you!

How to read and use these affirmations and meditations

You could choose to read these affirmations and meditations only for “your sign.” Perhaps that might be your Sun, Moon, or ascendant sign, if you’re familiar with those terms and your chart. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that, though.

I would skim through them all and see which affirmation affirms your life this week:

• Pay careful attention to the meditations or affirmation(s) that you resist. You probably need to meditate on and say those aloud often.

• Speak your meditations or affirmations aloud and preferably to yourself in the mirror. Address yourself kindly and respectfully, always. Bullying, even yourself, doesn’t usually yield long-term change.

• These meditations and affirmations are written for this week, but many of them might speak to you for longer, even a lifetime.

  
  

Experience your whole chart

You might not know at the top of the week what you need to affirm. But you might have a sense from the previous week, from a dream or something that happens right on Monday morning. You can also visit this page later in the week to see what resonates. You might also discover I write more for another planet or sign in your chart. I talk more about this here.

My desire is to prompt you to read more for your whole chart, not just what you know or understand your birth chart to be. It’s also possible that none of what I write here speaks to you, and that’s okay. The goal is to open and to explore. That’s the only way we ever truly know anything.

Saturn. Planets or Ascendant in Capricorn and/or Aquarius

The Signs of Saturn

Capricorn (Cardinal, Earth sign)

Affirmation:

I look closer and deeper at nearly everything to reach higher and farther.

Aquarius (Fixed, Air sign)

Affirmation:

I forgive my missteps and mistakes rather than have a paralysis of analysis not step forward at all.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

Jupiter. Planets or Ascendant in Sagittarius and/or Pisces

The Signs of Jupiter

Sagittarius (Mutable, Fire sign)

Affirmation:

I forge full-steam ahead with my plans and speak with persuasive charm.

Pisces (Mutable, Water sign)

Affirmation:

I have the clarity to create the alliances and connections that advance my career goals.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

The Signs of Mars

Mars. Planets or Ascendant in Aries and/or Scorpio

Aries (Cardinal, Fire sign)

Affirmation:

I see my goals sprout now because I have “planted” them with planning.

Scorpio (Fixed, Water sign)

Affirmation:

I rely less on assumption and more on the gumption to build new paths and options for myself.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

The Sun. Planets or Ascendant in Leo

The Sign of the Sun

Leo (Fixed, Fire sign)

Affirmation:

I graciously receive feedback that’s fueled by love and ignore what’s not.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

The Signs of Venus

Venus. Planets or Ascendant in Taurus and/or Libra.

Taurus (Fixed, Earth sign)

Affirmation:

I trust and push forward what I know about my potential rather than fear what I imagine.

Libra (Cardinal, Air sign)

Affirmation:

I thoughtfully express the truths I must share with precious folks in my life, so I can enjoy their company more honestly and comfortably.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

Mercury. Planets or Ascendant in Gemini and/or Virgo

The Signs of Mercury

Gemini (Mutable, Air sign)

Affirmation:

I carefully craft how I will react to tough situations on my terms, not someone else’s.

Virgo (Mutable, Earth sign)

Affirmation:

I welcome the chance to lie low for self-care and to help those close to my heart.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.

The Moon. Planets or Ascendant in Cancer

Cancer (Cardinal, Water sign)

Affirmation:

I wisely use my powers of empathy and emotional understanding to get along with those on my path and to get around those in my way.

Don’t know what planets or points you have where in your chart? Learn what to do about it here.