Let’s Get Practical 2a
Astrology + Time Management | Part 2a
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
The ancient origins of astrology lie in our ancestors’ need to predict season shifts in order to literal organize life and death matters such as the planting and harvesting of crops as well as a search for meaning in omens that correlated with celestial cycles — so, basically time management and decision making.
There are so many contemporary schools of thought around time management and optimization along with the requisite apps and planners. However, below are ways that I often deploy myself as well as work through with clients in our 1:1 work.
Hopefully, they’ll provide a more “seasonal” and “biorhythmic” option for you.
[N.B. This was supposed to be a Part 2, but, given how long it started to get, there will be a Part 2b to round out.]
Energy Mapping, Time Blocking, & Astrology
Many moons ago, I randomly decided to take an online Design Thinking course that was designed to help those going through a career pivot use the Design Thinking methodology to get unstuck from dysfunctional beliefs around career and life trajectory. (Btw, the app that I’m developing utilizes several of their methods — more on that hopefully soon!)
One of the techniques that was taught was one of “Energy Assessment” which I preach to high heaven during sessions in which clients are seeking to optimize their time management and go through their weeks with more vitality.
So, below is a summary of the method taught by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (I do not claim ownership or authorship of this method).
List your top 10 energy added or subtracted activities.
On an X- (the activities) and Y-Axis (positive = energizes you, negative = tires you out) graph, place your activities as they occur throughout your day and/or week.
Now, re-evaluate how you might re-sequence these activities in a way that can leave you energy positive rather than negative at the end of the day or week.
In The Design Thinking Life Playbook , there is an even more in-depth energy mapping method that involves journaling your energy expenditure over two weeks and then helps you identify how activities trigger your entry into a “flow” state. Doing so also shows how your energy naturally ebbs and flows during the week. This then allows you to schedule activities according to what’s available in your tank — this avoids scheduling something that really depletes you on days/during times of day when you’re running on fumes
The other way to map energy is to explore and discover your chronotype. Chronotypes, in short, map out our circadian rhythms and the different types show which times of day are optimal for which activities — e.g., activities needing high executive function, physical exertion, rest, etc.
I encourage you to explore your chronotype and experiment with scheduling and time blocking tasks according to its recommendations.
Either way, this is step one…Now, here’s where the astrology comes in.
Planetary Days & Hours
The activities we engage in fall under some kind of planetary and house rulership (and sometimes multiple planets and houses — but let’s keep it simple for now). Regardless of how well versed (or not) you are in astrology, you can use these to bolster your focus and engagement with a task.
Here are some examples to start with:
SUN | Accessing and Shining Your Divine Spark
Experiencing and expressing our individuality, creativity, and identity
MOON | Nurture, Nourishment, Security
Regaining homeostasis, allowing ourselves to be nurtured by our close relationships and environment, bathing, making our house a home, feeding ourselves and those we love, interacting with mother or maternal figures, attending to female health issues
MERCURY | The Mind Interfaces with the Manifest World
Traveling short distances or for work, communicating, learning new skills, engaging in business transactions, reviewing contracts, organizing, making things efficient, research, reading, following and satisfying your curiosity, gossiping, chatting, interacting with colleagues, problem solving, journaling, knitting, crafts that involve manual dexterity
VENUS | Becoming Conscious of the Divine and Self through the Senses and Relationship
Interacting with beauty, engaging your senses, creating stability, attracting material and financial prosperity, resetting the balance in relationships, negotiating (especially rates, terms, or peace), pampering (yourself or others), shopping for things that elicit enjoyment, gardening for pleasure, going on a date, interacting with women
MARS | Experiencing the Self Through Energy Dispersal
Taking care of dogs, cutting your nails (or hair), shaving, breaking up, asserting your boundaries or rights, engaging in conflict (hopefully productively), baking, sharpening knives, high impact workouts, sex, basically anything that makes you sweat and exert a lot of energy, “going for it”, repaying debts, philanthropic giving to benefit soldiers, veterans, or dogs, interacting with siblings or men
JUPITER | Becoming Conscious of the Divine and Self By Being Transported from the Same Old Same Old
Long distance travel, going on pilgrimage, spiritual retreat, publishing, mentoring, exercising and sharing your expertise, interacting with father or paternal figures, speculative ventures, anything that requires relying on and believing in your luck/intervention of a higher power, prayer, meditation, studying concepts, philosophy, spiritual systems, broadcasting, connecting to the collective consciousness, philanthropic giving (especially to organizations benefiting children), vision boarding, interacting with children
SATURN | Experiencing the Self Through Limitations, Boundaries, Humilty, and Service
Fulfilling your duty, setting boundaries and expectations, taking care of cats, maintenance, dealing with bureaucracy, volunteering/being of service, creating budgets and spreadsheets, setting (career) goals and quantifiable metrics, being held accountable/adulting, philanthropic giving to the elderly or un-housed, working with and honoring the elderly, fasting, decluttering and eliminating excess
This is by no means and exhaustive list. Many of my colleagues have written at greater length and depth than there is scope for here.
The above list describe the “natural” or archetypal expression of these planetary energies in human activity.
HOWEVER, if you’re acquainted with your natal chart, you also know that each house of the chart governs different areas of your life. Here’s a quick rundown of the houses (again also NOT an exhaustive list of the matters governed by each house):
FIRST | The Self
Your Unconscious Bias, The World You Seek to Confirm, Your Body
SECOND | Resources
What you need to exist and thrive, income, diet, the value and values you live by, moveable possessions
THIRD | Courage
Recognizing your fears and summon courage to deal with them, colleagues, your neighborhood, skills education, entrepreneurial ventures, close friends, communication
FOURTH | Your Panic Room
Where you go to feel completely safe and accepted, ancestors, familial/inherited patterns, father’s side of the family, real estate, immovable possessions
FIFTH | What Makes Embodied Life Worth Living
Pleasure, children, fun, gambling, sex for fun, your unique genius/gifts, lovers, speculative ventures, gambling, the good karma you were born with, art, artists
SIXTH | Changing Diapers and Burping Baby (or the Shit Sandwich You Have to Eat)
Debts that cannot be outrun, the routine tasks needed to maintain the gifts of the Fifth House, managing your resources (body, time, physical resources, money), work done for money, dealing with direct reports, dealing with dis-ease and illness, dealing with enemies, organization
SEVENTH | 1:1 Relationships, Clients, Contracts, the Public
Creating and maintaining proper boundaries and expectations in relationships, dealing with the Public, getting married, entering into contracts, assessing client relationships, known enemies
EIGHTH | Intimacy + Trust
The processes through which you learn to trust and be trusted, the transformations required to share resources, shared resources, your partner’s money, your client’s money, sudden transformations, occult matters, research, dealing with secrets or confidential information, taxes, insurance, inheritance
NINTH | Wisdom + Expertise
Consulting with gurus, experts, launching campaigns or endeavors, travel abroad (especially for spiritual or educational purposes), university education, mentors, mentoring, inculcation into society, interpreting dreams
TENTH | Engaging in the Social Contract
Authority figures/bosses, career, what we service we provide society/our community in exchange for participation, social and public persona, branding, working for a corporation, the government
ELEVENTH | Wealth
Wealth as that which allows us to become conscious of Spirit through perception of our energy expressed in the manifest world, stakeholders, benefactors, engagement with humanitarian organizations, subsuming personal genius to contribute to a greater mission, social networks
TWELFTH | Being a Foreigner in a Foreign Land
Removing yourself from accepted identity projections, traveling somewhere where you know no one nor speak the language, hidden wealth, hidden enemies, the ways we self undo, expenditures and sacrifices we can never recoup, oblivion, yoga, meeting “God”, experiencing and moving beyond delusions
In your personal natal chart, each of these houses is ruled by a different sign and each sign is ruled by one of the planets. If you have to engage in an activity that belongs to one of these houses, then look to see which sign and planet combination rule it. For extra credit, knowing the condition of this planet can also help you get some added support.
Now Put It Together
Take your list from the Energy Assessment and figure out which planet corresponds to the activity.
Then apply astrology to boost the energy available to you achieve this activity and to get optimal results while also ending up in the energy positive part of your graph. How? Combine the recommendations of your chronotype with planetary days and hours:
LIST OF PLANETARY DAYS
Monday | MOON
Tuesday | MARS
Wednesday | MERCURY
Thursday | JUPITER
Friday | VENUS
Saturday | SATURN
Sunday | SUN
To get planetary hours for your location, try this link.
PLANETARY HOURS CALCULATOR
For, example, try to do all of your Mercury related tasks on Wednesday if possible and in alignment with your chronotype recommendations.
However, say you need to get an email out to your boss ASAP but it’s Tuesday — and you need her to approve of the plan you’re proposing and it can’t wait until tomorrow! Find the nearest planetary hour for Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter — or the ruler of your Third or Tenth House, whichever planet is “stronger” in your chart.
Phases of the Moon
Okay. ANAK. Get real that is way to involved and complicated. I’ll wait for your damn app at this point.
So, let’s say that’s WAY too much. You just want help making sure things turn out in your favor.
Enter the phases of the moon.
Firstly, a quick rule of thumb: Don’t start anything new or make any important purchases when the moon is “void of course” — that is, not making an aspect before if moves into the next sign. Now, some of you who are reading this are astro savvy or astrologers and will be like “Lady, there are so many definitions of this.” I’m not gonna sit here and split hairs — let’s just go with this.
Use this link to track the void moons at your location:
MOON VOC CALCULATOR/CALENDAR
Now, you can complicate this with dealing with what sign the moon is in and how that corresponds to your chart or with what the activity or event are. At this point, this is a novel and most of you have already tuned out.
Mileage will vary.
The long and the short of it is to engage/activate activities you want to grow in effect while the moon is WAXING and anything you want to lessen or dissipate when the moon is WANING.
Here is a calculator that will show you what phase the moon is in for a given date:
MOON PHASE CALCULATOR
Here’s a quick rundown of moon phases and what they’re good for:
NEW
No. Do not use this for setting “new moon intentions”. End stop. Instead get comfortable in stillness and wait for what new focus or energies start to call you out of that meditative, actively inactive space.
Recharge, ideate, vision board (especially as an exercise to see what out of your subconscious is ready to manifest IRL), engage in exploratory conversations, job search, research (possibilities).
CRESCENT
Yes. Do set “intentions” now. The moon has caught light and energy! Listen carefully to the “Call to Action” that comes about now. Become clear on “mission” and “vision”. Evaluate obstacles to forward movement including past issues that may no longer be relevant to the current circumstances. Attend to any red tape, procedural details, set task lists and identify action items.
FIRST QUARTER
Initiate action! Configure project architecture/structural frameworks. Elucidate what you need to achieve your goal. Recruit stakeholders and clearly state how you need their support. Muster the resources needed to execute. It’s a great time to network with purpose; consult with coaches and accountability partners; implement any apps or tools that will help with staying on task; and/or draft story outlines or business plans.
GIBBOUS
Get exposure! Amplify. Continually clarify and ensure that projects and tasks relate back to the intended “mission”. Start to apply the gas on moving forward on actions initiated during the First Quarter phase. Pick up the pace. Manage expectations and your own nerves so that you don’t get derailed by burn out. Great for interviews, launches, pitches, participating in panels — again attracting attention to your and/or your project.
FULL
Get perspective in order to course correct if necessary to ensure you’re still answering the “Call to Action” from the New phase. Seek feedback from a trusted mentor or friend and use active listening to get a clear sense of how your project and/or initiative is being perceived. Check back in with your coach or accountability mentor. Delegate tasks so that you can focus on fulfilling your unique contribution and bringing the project through to completion.
DISSEMINATING
Exactly like the name — disseminate! Sow your seeds for the next cycle. Send those “thank you” emails or notes for interviews or launch attendees. Follow-up lead generation or sales calls from the First Quarter or Gibbous phases. Drive up SEO.
THIRD QUARTER
Start winding down. Do project or event post mortems. For those in film and television, this energy is perfect for wrapping and preparing for post production. Get quiet again and follow your curiosity and intuition regarding anything new that is piquing your interest. Begin clean up procedures. If you’re dealing with health issues that require the reduction of something, this is can be an ideal time to start (but please do check with a medical astrologer!). If you’re restructuring debt/improving your credit, start pay down cycles now. Evaluate how well you’ve executed the “Call to Action” in the New phase — integrate the lessons of what went well and what could be improved.
BALSAMIC
Seek out stillness and emptiness. Close out accounts. Initiate and complete endings. Quit a job or situation that no longer serves you.Recharge. Retreat from society and/or social contact. Listen to yourself. Veg out. Rock a sensory deprivation tank or a sound bath or do a spa day.
Hope these are helpful! Please extrapolate from the gist to suit what’s on your plate.
THE TAKEAWAY
The point is that using celestial cycles to manage and maximize your time and attention is most literally its original purpose — and you don’t need a complicated and complex knowledge base or system. Mastering the basics of what planets support which activity and using the phases of the moon might just be enough to time block in a way that gets you into flow and more aligned overall.
Of course, as you get more proficient and start to see results, start learning about and experiment with adding the additional nuances of hacking your natal chart to REALLY ramp up your level of play.
As always, get in touch if you have any questions and/or would like to book a 60-minute "Astrologer on Call" session to work through step-by-step how these methods apply specifically to you, your chart, and/or your projects.
NEXT TIME FOR PART 2B:
