Book Brew: The Magic behind Body Astrology ✨

Let's Talk about Body Astrology

A few falls ago, I read the book Body Astrology by Clair Gallagher (and was lucky enough to interview her virtually for a Coffee Talk - listen to it here) and it was one of those books that opened me up to an entire branch of astrology I knew nothing about.

There is a LOT of information packed into this book. Astrology is already a pretty deep rabbit hole to fall down (one I enjoy free-falling into often), but looking at astrology through the symbolic lens of the body was something I had never explored before this.

I had originally planned on doing the Coffee Talk episode solo, explaining what I learned from the book, but after speaking with Claire herself and being able to actually ask her the questions, I walked away with even more depth to the topic than I started with.

Below are some of my original notes from the book. But again, if you'd like to hear more about the topic from the author herself, I highly suggest listening or watching that episode.

So, what is body astrology?

In its simplest form, body astrology looks at your birth chart as a kind of symbolic map of your body.

We all have a natal chart, which is essentially a snapshot of where the planets were at the exact moment we were born. Within that chart, different signs and planets can correspond with different parts of the body, organ systems, and different functions (and thus, we open the door to the rabbit hole).

What I really liked about Claire's approach is that it was less about looking at your chart to find out things that might go wrong with your body. It also was about looking at your strengths.

You can use this symbolic knowledge to reflect on the things that support you, make you feel good, patterns you notice in yourself, etc. And I think that distinction is important because I'm personally much more interested in using astrology as a mirror for understanding myself than as a way of predicting things that may or may not happen to me.

How do you use body astrology you ask? Start with your moon.

If you're new to body astrology, Claire's number one recommendation in the book is to start with your Moon.

"Why not my sun?" you might wonder or ask, as I did.

In the traditional astrology that Claire practices, the moon is said to have a much stronger connection to the physical body. In my own way, this actually makes sense when I think about how our moon belongs solely to our earth, the only place in the universe (that we know of) that our physical bodies can exist.

Find out what sign and house the moon was in when you were born, and also what phase of the moon it was at your birth.

Then dig a little bit into the unique things that sign, house and moon phase symbolize.

If you get the Body Astrology book, Claire packs a ton of information about each moon phase, sign, house, planet and even transits, so it's a great tool if this is something that is itching a but of interest in your mind. But the internet works just as well to source a vast sea of information about the symbolic meaning behind these things. Just make sure to vet your info!

Transit journaling

This book is also what first introduced me to the concept of transit journaling.

Essentially, you track the movement of the planets and compare those transits to the positioning of your birth chart. Your birth chart stays the same, but the planets are constantly moving. So each time a planet moves, it interacts with a different part of your unique chart (annnnd... another rabbit hole. Enjoy).

Transit journaling is basically paying attention to what's happening in the sky and what is happening in you.

How are you feeling, what's happening in your life, how is your energy today?

Do you feel more emotional, tired, social? Any physical symptoms you are noticing?

You can write all of this down, and to not overwhelm yourself, do this part first! This will always give you the biggest depth of information that is true to you.

Then, track where the planets may be currently, what sign they are in, what house, etc.

Over time, you can start to notice patterns of the planets might be happening within your chart and the transits.

I loved the way this was laid out in the book because it's less about needing to know astrology and the ins and outs of what everything means and more about observing. Noting, tracking, and making it your own little experiment.

I'm only scratching the surface here.

Even as I flip back through the book now, there is so much I read over and blink, thinking, Okay... I'm going to need to come back to this.

Astrology is truly like learning a new language. There are signs, planets, houses, aspects, transits and different systems and traditions on their own, and then theirs your unique natal chart of it all too!

You could spend your entire life studying it, and that's sort of part of the fun.

In the book, there's a lot of emphasis on Saturn and Jupiter too.

I've personally heard of a Saturn return, or known that Jupiter, being the biggest planet, is meant to symbolize the bulk of your mission here on earth.

So thinking of Saturn through the lens of your body, this might be the planet that brings about your limitations, lessons, growing pains, areas of discipline or bodily responsibility.

Then there is Jupiter, that almighty planet, that can show you bodily paths of growth, opportunity and expansion.

Knowing that you're in a particular astrological season doesn't necessarily change what's happening, but it can help change the way you relate to it.

You can be a slow season, or a period of time you feel like you're going a little crazy, times when you're feeling like everything is physically harder, or times when your energy and overall life feel expansive and light.

You are always your own authority though.

This is a law of existence I try to take with me through all of my spiritual curiosities, practices and lessons. We are all uniquely different, we could have similar birth charts and still experience our planetary alignments in different ways because we come from different environments or circumstances.

Astrology gives us all of these beautiful little threads and patterns to follow, but it doesn't mean it is what is predicting your experience of life here on earth.

At the very end of my conversation with Claire, I asked her what she would want to say to anyone listening who might be interested in astrology.

She said "you are your own authority". It's such a powerful answer and statement, and one I've carried with me in the many seasons since.

Astrology doesn't have to tell you who you are or what you're going to do. It doesn't replace your free will or intuition. It is just another tool.

Astrology is one of the many, many lenses we are lucky to have fun with and put on as we look out from the inside of our bodies into all of the life happening around us (and through us).

Look around and ask yourself, what's going on in my life? What am I feeling? What is the season I am currently in?

Then get curious of the little seedlings of information or symbols that can help guide you to the deeper answers to those questions inside of yourself. Then decide what you want to do with that information.

That's why I enjoyed this book so much. It didn't make me feel like I needed to memorize everything in it or know all of the answers. Despite the bulk of astrological information, the underlying thesis felt to be 'pay closer attention'.

Another mirror to life saying, stay curious, stay present, stay awestruck by the poetic beauty of it all.

Cheers,

Kalyn ☕️