If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you have dedicated time, effort, and energy into the art of astrology. If you’ve been studying for a while and are gearing up to start charging, you might be a great fit for my Aspiring Astrologers Masterclass, a 3-day intensive (May 13-15, 2022) to equip you with the tools needed to soft-launch your astrology practice. 

As I’ve tracked my own evolution through hundreds of readings and nurtured astrology students coming into their own style, here are the essential skills that I encourage every astrologer to develop; ones we are all honing on an existential basis as we root deeper into our practice.

1. Balance Skill & Intuition

I’ll often receive clients who’ve had a reading with another astrologer before me, and were left with more questions than answers. I’m either asked to debunk information, or simplify previous analysis that went way over their head. Those are the two extremes:

A scholar of astrology throwing technical lingo at the client, or purely psychic and intuitive-based information that is hard to trace back to the chart. An advanced astrologer has found the perfect equilibrium of both knowledge and intuition.

Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old child, you don’t understand it yourself.”

Astrology is no exception!

The true master of their craft is someone who does not have to teach or explain astrology to the client, but instead synthesizes the chart into a heartfelt and accurate conversation. This leads to deeper self-awareness and breakthroughs for the client. 

There are countless styles and methods of astrology, but when you go into “teacher mode,” you activated the client’s left brain. They’re working so hard to keep up and understand what you’re saying, that they’re now in the mental body, not their heart space. (If they wanted to learn astrology, they would sign up for a course. A reading is an experience, not a classroom.)

2. Blend Preparedness + Flow

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as being over-prepared! As a new astrologer, you’ve likely taken a million notes before your client call. You begin to imagine who they are, and how they’ll embody their chart. At a certain point, note-taking morphs into assumption. Ask yourself, ‘What do I definitely want and need to address about their chart?’ Write those observations down and then trust yourself to work them into the conversation when it’s appropriate. 

It’s very normal for new astrologers to read off of their notes in the beginning. Stick to bullet-pointed observations; if you don’t have anything to read off of, you’ll get in the habit of conversational astrology much faster.

The ideal balance: you’ve done your diligence, yet trust yourself enough to flow through the reading as a heart-centered conversation — Not a checklist or race to prove what you know.

Even if you miss something but the client had a breakthrough, that is bound to be a more profound experience for them rather than a nervous or robotic parroting of what you wrote down ahead of time. 

3. Lead with Conscious Curiosity

This might be the biggest one! How many observations can you reframe as a question? Catch yourself before you deliver a statement. Would you get more out of it as a question? Instead of, “Your moon in Taurus makes you very grounded.“ Ask, “Are you emotionally grounded, or perceived that way? Can you give me an example of how you recently processed an emotional experience?“

Open the door to gain new anecdotal evidence from the client, rather than a yes or no answer.

4. Surrender Your Ego 

The less questions you ask, the more ego you brought into the reading. Read that again. 

You. Have. Nothing. To. Prove. 

The client should ultimately be talking much more than you. Not because the reading is a runaway train and they’re dominating the conversation, but because you have set the stage for them to open up. 

New astrologers often feel pressure to “prove what they know“ and that’s how the pitfall of over-explaining happens. Don’t sweat it! (We all “teach” or “rush” in our first few readings. Leaving a classroom setting has hardwired your brain in teacher/student approach to astrology.)

You are now developing a new skill to deliver and receive information in a new way. This takes time.

Sometimes you may over-explain for a fear that you will not be believed or that you need to explain how you arrived at your conclusion. 

A fear or pressure to explain yourself can lead to talking faster, talking too much, and being so focused on “getting it right“ that you miss the subtle clues and openings to dig deeper into their story, and allow them to open up.

By asking questions and receiving anecdotal evidence from the client, they are walking you into their life story. The better you know them, the more impactful the reading will be.

The chart is like a coloring book. You can see the lines, but it is your client’s life story that adds color. Every question you ask and every answer you receive, adds a new pigment to the canvas.

It should be a colorful tapestry by the end of the call. (Make sure you’re not still painting with primary colors at the end because you were the only one talking.)

Tips to grow these skills:

Do a confidence meditation beforehand. “May I be a vessel for what my client truly needs to hear and experience today. With the consent of my client, may I accurately intuit and support what is on their heart and mind. May I trust my ability to do so. May they walk away with a lighter heart than when they entered. And so it is.“ 

At Witchy Kid Collective, I host “observe a reading in real-time“ where am I members can audit a live session and ask questions at the end. 

If you’re excited to take your practice to the next level or start charging, I would love to support the evolution of your practice in my Aspiring Astrologers Masterclass. Enrollment for May 2022 is open!

What skill comes easiest to you? What are you still working on? Let me know in the comments below. 

To the moon and back (pun intended),
Ocean