Time is a Trick

I’m a time nerd. Maybe that seems obvious because I’m an astrologer, historian, scheduling ninja, and sci-fi junkie but it never hurts to remind you who you’re listening to. 

Astrology is the Study of Time

 I think if you asked most people, they’d say it was the study of planetary movement and the correlations to events on earth or in an individual's life but, they’d be wrong. I mean…it is all of those things, sure. But it’s so much more than that. 

Natal astrology is a snapshot of a single moment in time from the perspective of the exact spot on earth where an individual was born. Where YOU were born. You’re literally the physical embodiment of that single moment that has never before existed and will never EVER exist again. 

And that makes you incomprehensibly perfect, exactly as you are. 

Buckle up buttercup, the ride is about to get bumpy. 

One Moment

We are just the embodiment of a single moment in time with a finite amount of time before that moment is gone. 

As the embodiment of a single moment in time, we can’t be expected to be good at everything. We shouldn’t even be trying.

We get told that we can be whatever we want to be if we work hard enough. 

But that’s a lie. 

I’m never going to have the voice of Whitney Houston and I’m never going to cook like Gordon Ramsey. I am not that one moment of time, and that’s ok. 

Tangent Alert: If you’ve never heard One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston, you should listen to it and it’ll be linked on the episode page. It’s the most astrological song in the history of ever if you think about astrology the way I do.

It isn’t true that we all have equal talents and abilities any more than it is true that we are all interested in the same things. We all deserve equal respect and love but that’s separate from what we want and what we’re good at doing. 

Modern society wants us to believe that we can be anything because someone somewhere along the way thought it would be a good idea to make everyone feel like they could have whatever they wanted. But what it really does is make people feel bad for not wanting what they’ve been told to want or for not having the ability to achieve that thing.

The cool thing (to me) about astrology is that it shows us who we are. It also shows us who we aren’t. 

I work with a lot of entrepreneurs or individuals who freaking love the work they do. But a shocking number of them feel bad for how much they love working. Crazy right? 

Usually, I look at their chart and see there is a massive focus on the work they do in the world but they feel guilt, anger, shame, or some other subjectively negative emotion for not being more interested in being a full-time parent, in a socially recognized traditional relationship, or some other ideal that has been imposed upon them by societal or familial norms. They are fighting their fate or the reality of the way their brain naturally wants to exist in this world. 

Finite Availability

If we have a finite amount of time, we don’t have time for everything. It’s a lie to say that we do. 

Work/Life balance is nonsense and being exceptional in all areas of your life is absurd. If we’re being really honest, even being moderately good in most areas of your life is a big ask.

But that’s what we expect of ourselves and those around us and those expectations lead to some subjectively negative emotions, depression, and ruined relationships.

When we work against fate (or reality if you don’t want to get on board with my belief that reality and fate are the same things) we suffer. Our experience diminishes. 

If you know for sure that your time is limited, which you do because death is coming, (Why, yes, I am a fucking ray of sunshine) then what you choose to spend your time on matters. So many people are endlessly busy trying to fit more in that they never manage to fit in those things that truly matter. 

Time is a trick. 

You think you’ll have time to get to that thing, or build that relationship, or have that family, or write the book, or go back to school, or explore the world. 

You wait for the time when you’re ready or it’s quiet or it’s convenient to begin. You get really good at all of the daily tasks but never get around to moving the needle on that soul-level change-the-world journey. Time is a cheap trick and you deserve better. 

Astrology not only tells us about the one moment that is you; it also tells us what you can most easily and productively focus your attention on at any given point along your personal timeline.

There are three things that I always look at when trying to figure out what to focus on for myself or a client.

• The location of the Sun 
• The location of the Eclipses 
• The location of the Time Lord by transit and in your chart

The Sun changes signs about every 30 days and shows you where your conscious focus is likely to be. I consciously shift focus as the Sun moves along. When it’s in my 10th house I focus on career and visibility, when it’s in the 11th I focus on social media and networking, when it’s in the 12th I hide from everyone as much as humanly possible and so on.

Eclipses change location about every year and a half. Wherever they are, big changes are always noticeable. 

You get a new Time Lord every year and how often it moves depends on which one it is. The Moon changes signs every couple of days; Saturn will probably be in the same sign for the entire year. If it’s a slower planet, I’d look at what transits were applying to your natal Saturn and the present-day Saturn. Time Lord things are as important as (and sometimes MORE important than) Sun things. This one is the more advanced of the three techniques but the nuance and detail are next level.

You know what all three of these factors have in common? None of them can be in more than one house at a time. The Sun can’t be in your 2nd and 9th house on any given day. 

Just like you can’t put all of your focus on being a full time parent *and* a full-time corporate CEO. Can you do both? Yes, but you can’t excel at both at the same time because your time is finite. You have to decide what you want to focus on fully and what you want to delegate or give less than your best effort to - and that’s also ok. 

TangentMy book recommendation for thinking about how you want to spend your time is Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman which is mind-blowingly good. 

For example, it’s ok for romantic relationships to be in maintenance mode when you have a huge opportunity at work and it’s ok to take time off from work to go hibernate in a yurt away from all the people. It’s even ok to have someone care for your children while you do either of those things. 

The real trick is deciding consciously how you want to spend the finite amount of time you do have as the embodiment of the one moment of time that is who you are.

Until next time, my wish for you is the ability to embrace each moment of time in its perfection.

Podcast Theme Music

License:  Rustic Ballad by Alexander Nakarada