12 - Astrology Fear Is Real. Here's How to Handle It.

Astrology fear. Unofficial definition: when you hear something about your chart or the upcoming astrology that makes you say, Oh f*ck! In this episode, learn how to handle and redirect astrology fear in six steps.

• 04:52 What’s astrology fear?
• 07:19 Step One-Pause
• 10:22 Step Two-Talk to it
• 13:23 Step Three-Point to the evidence
• 16:09 Step Four-Flip the script
• 19:22 Step Five-Make a plan
• 20:53 Step Six-Prevent

Blog post on planet channeling: https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/blog/get-answers-now-with-planet-channeling

GUIDED, my planet channeling class: https://courses.astrologywithclaire.com/courses/guided

Enroll in the Astrology Starter Kit: https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/the-astrology-starter-kit

Book an appointment with me: https://astrologywithclaire.com/appointments

Have a burning astro question or a story to share? Contribute to the podcast at https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/gossip

Join my email list: https://www.astrologywithclaire.com/email

Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious, and let's chat. This is a community driven show documenting how real astrology affects real lives. To share an astrology story or ask your burning cosmic questions, head to astrology with claire dot com slash gossip. That's astrology with C-L-A-I-R-E dot com slash gossip 

Hey Astro Lover, welcome to another episode of Third House Gossip. Today, we're going to unpack All things astrology fear. Astrology fear is real. I'm not immune to it. If you've spent any significant time around any type of astrology content, especially social media astrology, I have a feeling you've at least seen it on the screen, if not experienced it in your body.

Today I want to explore How I handle astrology fear in hopes that it will be helpful for somebody out there, because I see it happen a lot. I see it happen a lot in my practice where people come to me because they heard something terrible about their chart or about what's coming astrologically, and it breaks my heart.

But I'm also doing this for myself because I'm not immune to astrology fear. I feel it too. And I think it's just. It's really good to bring that out in the open, be real about it, and swap stories about how we can remedy this, how we can make it better for ourselves. 

Before we dive into all things Astrofear, I want to remind you of a couple ways you can get involved with the podcast. Just a reminder, you can get your astrology questions answered for free on the podcast. You can submit a question at astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip. You can do it either by voice recording, which is really fun, or if you don't want your voice on the podcast, which I totally understand, you can write your question in and I will read it for you. 

I've also got some ways to contribute astrology stories. If you Remember last episode, episode 11, we talked about stationary planets, really sneaky things that you might have in your birth chart. And we've got some planets stationing this week, so Jupiter is stationing retrograde, or excuse me, it just did, overnight, Wednesday, October 9th. And Pluto is stationing direct on Friday, October 11th.

So these are really great times to observe astrology out in the wild and specifically learn what it means and what happens in real life when a planet stops in the sky. So, listen to episode 11 for more information about what a station is and what a stationary planet might represent. But what I want you to notice is what you're thinking about and what's the quality of your thoughts. I want you to notice what your focus is like. And if you're focused on a certain thing. And I also want you to notice what's going on with your energy. The deadline for station stories, which is the cute name I'm calling it, the deadline for station stories is October 17th, which is the Aries full moon. So again, if you have a station story, head to astrology with claire. com slash gossip and submit.

The other opportunity to contribute right now is Mars in Cancer. So Mars is in cancer right now and it's going to station retrograde on December 6th and it's going to be in cancer, give or take a little bit, for about six months. That's a really long time. It's an abnormally long time for Mars to be in one sign. And so we're really going to get a masterclass on what Mars in Cancer is all about. So if you have natal Mars in cancer, we want to hear from you because you're going to be our teachers. So if you have natal Mars in cancer, I'm calling out for a contribution, astrology with claire. com slash gossip. 

And what I want you to share with us are a few things. What motivates you? What inspires you to take action? And what does it feel like when you get upset or activated and what's your first reaction? I've already had some submissions and they're really fun and I can't wait to have more. I'm going to compile them all together for one big episode. So again, if you have natal MARS in cancer, head to astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip And share about your experience. And if you need more information about Mars in cancer, generally to just get some confidence or just some ideas, listen to episode 10.

All right, let's get into today's topic, which is all about astrology fear and how to handle it. So first things first, what is astrology fear? It's anytime you interact with astrology and it makes you say. Oh crap, okay. It can be something in your natal chart. It can be something that's happening in the current astrology. It can be a transit that's coming up. Any time that looking ahead into the astrology makes you freak out, that's astrology fear and it's not your fault. It doesn't mean anything about you. You're not weak. You're not weird. It is Basically a problem with how astrology is practiced not a problem with you.

I think the reason astrology fear is so common is because astrology is future oriented. And anytime something is future oriented, it is working with unknowns. And, it's really easy to make up scary narratives about the unknown.

The more and more I practice astrology, the more I'm realizing that future oriented astro isn't really helpful or compelling for me personally, and I'm steering away from predictions in my practice. So it's like, what do you do as an astrologer if you're not predicting the future? Well, we use astrology to take care of ourselves in the present.

Presence, not predictions is kind of my new tagline. Cute, right? Alliteration. Anyways, I believe the best way to take care of your future is to take care of yourself right now. And one way we can take care of ourselves right now is by learning how to take care of any astrology fear that pops up with compassion and maturity.

So I've come up with a few steps and there's probably More that we could add, but let's just use this as a draft working model. And if any of you have tips on how you work with your astrology fear, good Lord, I would love to hear them. Astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip. Let us know. Let's spread the good word.

The first thing I do when I feel astrology fear is I pause. I take a minute and I acknowledge that astrology fear is here, and I think this is really important because if you start noticing, and I'll just speak for myself, when astrology fear pops up, the first thing I tend to do is try to distract myself.

I will reach for something to do. I will start searching in the future for when this transit is going to happen again. I start, uh, busying myself with tasks. I tend to reach immediately for something outside of myself. And what I'm trying to do instead is stop, drop, and notice that fear is present.

So taking a pause and feeling it and letting it be there instead of overriding it or stuffing it down or distracting myself from it. And what I mean by feel it is not necessarily engage with the negative thoughts. I mean feel the sensations. So, for me, maybe it feels like I started sweating under my pits. Okay? Let's be real. Start sweating. Maybe another thing that I feel is I clenched my teeth. Or maybe my heart rate started increasing. Or I started holding my breath. 

These are all sensations that I feel in my body around astro fear. I encourage you to just start noticing what your astro fear sensations are. And you can just label them to yourself when you feel them. Oh, I'm noticing that I'm clenching my jaw. Oh, interesting. I'm noticing that I'm starting to sweat a little. Oh, okay. I'm noticing that I'm holding my breath a bit. And see if you can notice it with some neutrality instead of judgment. 

Now, if you want to begin creating some comfort after you notice, go ahead and do that. So, if you've been holding your breath, maybe you just take a big inhale and let out an audible sigh. Make noise. Maybe you shake it out a little. Maybe you unbutton your pants if your, if your abdomen gets tight when you're stressed. You know, take whatever concrete measures you need to take to bring in some comfort.

For me, it's usually a breath and a sigh, shaking my hands out, and then connecting my feet on the floor, and just remembering that I'm supported. 

So the first step is to pause, to feel, and to notice that astrology fear is here. The next step is to talk to it. Now you can do this out loud, or you can do this in your head. It's totally up to you. You can do this on a piece of paper. But the reason we talk to it is we create some separation from it. Once we create separation from our fear, we are not it. So, we're not one with the fear, it's just a part of us. It's just one piece of our experience, not the whole. 

So something I might say to my astro fear is, hey, astro fear, I see and hear you. I appreciate you trying to protect me. Is there something I can do for you? 

Let's pull this apart for a second. So I greeted the fear, and I said, I see and hear you, so I acknowledged it instead of ignored it. I let it know that I'm available to listen. This is good, because it allows that part of us to feel safe, like it can talk to us.

Then I said, I appreciate you trying to protect me. And this is important because it's acknowledging that this astrology fear part of ourselves isn't inherently bad. It's not out to get us. It's actually acting out of protection. It thinks that what it's doing is in our best interest. It's trying to protect us from some type of discomfort or future quote bad thing happening. And this is the best it knows how to do. So showing some appreciation for the intention, even if the method isn't that great, is another way to create some compassion. 

And then I ask the astro fear question. Is there something I can do for you? And your astrofear, that part of you that is afraid, may give you some very specific instruction. It might say something like, I need a glass of water. Or, unfollow this astrologer. Or, make an appointment with Claire. I'm just kidding. But yeah, for real, sometimes it's like I need support from somebody else. It might say, take a bath. It might say, go on a short walk down the driveway. It could say anything. The important part, the point, is to give it space to tell you how to take care of it and then follow the guidance that you receive. 

So you've paused with your astro fear.. You've talked to your astro fear and you've asked it what it needs and you've given it what it needs. Then we start to engage our mind a little bit. Next thing you can do is point to the evidence. So, if you keep an astrology journal or a transit journal, this is a really good time to pull that out. So, chances are, you've experienced some difficult things in the past. And guess what? You're still here. You're still alive, and you have tools and resources that helped you make it through those challenging experiences in the past. And that's also true for any potential challenging experiences in the future. Pointing to the evidence means pointing to previous Difficult experiences and saying, look at this, I am strong, I'm resilient, I made it through that, and this is how I did it. So reminding yourself of all of the skills and the resources that you have to show up for yourself during difficult times.

Pointing to the evidence might also mean something more specific. For example, if you have a quote, scary, classically scary transit coming up, like, and I hate even giving specifics because I don't want to promote astro fear, but for the sake of learning, let's say you have a Pluto transit coming up. People are scared to death of Pluto transits.

So let's pretend you have a Pluto transit coming up and you freak out. Chances are you've already had a Pluto transit in the past. Maybe several. So one thing you can do is if you know when that occurred is to look back in time at what actually happened. What I'm not saying is that that thing is going to happen again. What I'm asking you to do is remember how strong you are. your tools, remember your resources, and point to the evidence that you can make it through.

If you do not keep a transit journal, You can look back at like your Google Calendar or even your email inbox or if you keep a journal, a regular journal, you can look back at those times when that example Pluto transit was occurring and see what you were thinking about, what was going on, and remember how you supported yourself.

If you want to take it deeper, and I highly recommend this, write down a resource list of things that you've done in the past or things that you do now to take care of yourself when you feel activated. This is something you can read anytime astrology fear pops up.

So after you've shown your body, your nervous system, your brain that you're strong, you have tools and resources and you know how to use them, you can flip the script. So instead of just assuming that a transit or something difficult in your birth chart is going to mean something bad all the time forever, amen. Try and keep your options open. Let the universe surprise you. 

There's a lot of times when I'll be looking forward to a transit that I think might be difficult for me and it doesn't do anything. Like I'm just going to be real with you. It's bland. It's neutral. It is nothing to write home about. That happens quite a lot. There's sometimes when a quote difficult transit is coming up and it unfolds as an opportunity or something that's not. challenging, but more of a stretch where I actually have a growth spurt. So my point is flip the script instead of only thinking negativity is possible, open up the options.

 I want you to actually list out three possible positive, or at least neutral ways this transit, or if you're working with something in your natal chart, something that this natal placement, um, can manifest as. That's not the worst thing ever. So let's. Use an example. Let's pretend you have a Saturn transit coming up, and I do in a couple days. Saturn is coming for my Ascendant. It's gonna square my Ascendant. 

What do I know about Saturn, and how can I flip the script? I might expect that this transit could give me some clarity. Saturn is all about getting to the root of something. Clarity sounds good. Great. So I'm going to put that on my flip the script list.

I might imagine that Saturn will help me prioritize. Saturn is not into frivolous things. It's into what's realistic. What makes the most sense. Great. Alright. Prioritization. That goes on my list. What's another positive thing that Saturn could help me do during this transit?

Saturn's great at boundaries. Maybe it helps me say no to something or refine some boundaries so that I feel really firm within myself. Great! So none of that sounds terrible. Those all sound like life enhancing options. So I want you to do that too. Flip the script.

If we think about this in terms of planets in your natal chart, let's say you have a difficult placement. I want you to flip the script on that as well. The truth is that in practice, I tend to see quote difficult unquote placements manifest as someone's life mission or passion. It ends up more often than not being a unique gift or service that they bring to the world. So start thinking about it that way. Turn it on its head.

All right, we've paused, we've talked to our fear, we've pointed to the evidence, we flipped the script, and now we're gonna make a plan. So instead of being passive and waiting on the astrology to do something to you, You can do something to it. You can use it. You can make a plan for how you want to use this energy. If you believe in astrology and you believe that a planet is going to manifest, No matter what, participate. Like, give yourself an opportunity to help that planet manifest in a way that would be beneficial for you.

So let's use my Saturn transit that's coming up in just a few days as an example. What is a plan for me to actually utilize this energy in those beneficial ways? Alright, well, I can do some goal setting for the next quarter. I can do some rewriting of copy on my website and make sure it's really crystal clear in what I do now.

I could reach for something on my resource list if the transit starts to feel difficult. My resource list has things on it like take a walk, take an Epsom salt bath, drink a glass of water, do some planet channeling, which I'll talk about in a little bit. Also known as astrological automatic writing . So make a plan. Give yourself action items to do during the transit or with this particular natal chart energy. 

And the last step is prevention. One of the most obvious ways to prevent astrology fear from happening again is to do a really thorough audit of any astrological content you consume. If something makes you feel astro fear, really look at it and ask, is this the source for me? Is this helpful for me? And if it's not, I suggest not reading it anymore, not following that astrologer anymore, not checking out those podcasts anymore, and just taking space from them.

If astrology fear is something you feel all the time, I highly recommend talking to a professional astrologer who can help you reframe some of these thoughts. That's why there are professionals, because they can give you the actual holistic context of what something may show up as. And you need to be careful about who you see, right?

You can see me if you want to. I would love to see you. You can come see me for a this cosmic moment consult, which is all about taking care of yourself in the present with the current astrology. You can find those at astrologywithclaire. com and just click the big book an appointment button. But talking to a professional instead of astrology googling is a really good idea and way to prevent astrology fear from popping up. You can get your fears addressed head on.

And the last thing that you can do is take an astrology break. I'm serious. Stop listening to astrology podcasts. Stop checking your chart every time you stub your toe. Stop looking at the daily astrology weather and just take a break. 

Now, if you're an astrology lover, that's really hard to do. So I have a suggestion. Instead of doing those things, do something else instead. And what I do, whether or not I'm taking an astrology break, is something called planet channeling. This is a really great way to satisfy your astrology appetite and get the insight and the guidance that you want from the planets without having to know what's happening up there, without having to interact with astrology content. All you have to do is interact with the planets directly.

Planet Channeling is a astrological automatic writing tool that I use to get cosmic insight at any time. And it's really accessible, and it's really fun, and I have two resources on that for you. One is a blog on my website that walks you through the basics, and one is a webinar called Guided that goes really in depth about how to do this process.

I love this process so much because it's truly supportive, and you're always going to be channeling a high level loving version of a planet. You're not going to get freaked out. You're not going to get scared. You're not going to receive bad news. You're going to be talking with parts of yourself, if you want to think of the planets as inner parts of your inner wisdom, that have your best and highest intention and good in mind.

It's a really great way to stay involved with astrology, which you love because you're listening to this podcast without freaking yourself out. So in the show notes, I'm going to link the blog post about planet channeling. I'm going to link the planet channeling class called guided. And there's one other way you can do this and you can do it with me. We'll do it together is come to an inner orbit session and we will actually co channel. Yes, you will channel, I will channel and we'll share what we received. It's very powerful. 

All right, so as a recap, astrology fear is real and it doesn't mean anything about you. It's not your fault. It's a problem with astrology and how it's practiced, not a problem with you. When you feel astrology fear creep up, pause, talk to it, point to the evidence that you are strong and resilient, flip the script and list positive things that could manifest, make a plan and follow the plan. And prevent astrology fear from happening again by auditing your social feeds and by engaging in other forms of astrological connection, like planet channeling.

All right, astro lover, that is all I have for you today. I hope this was helpful. I'm going to be practicing these steps. If you have other things that you do to take care of astrology fear, help the community out and leave us a voice note or write in at astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip.

Sending you so much love. Talk to you soon.