EP. 207 — What’s Astrology All About? with Diana Rose

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness & Diana Rose

JVN [00:00:00] Welcome to Getting Curious. I’m Jonathan Van Ness and every week I sit down for a 40 minute conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious. On today’s episode, I’m joined by astrologer, tarot reader, and energy worker Diana Rose, where I ask her: What’s astrology all about? Welcome to Getting Curious, this is Jonathan Van Ness, I’m so excited. This is a Getting Curious first, we have Diana Rose, who is an astrologer, a tarot reader, a writer and educator. So welcome to the podcast, Diana, how are you?

DIANA ROSE [00:00:35] I’m pretty great. I’m super excited to be here and, I don’t know, it’s sunny outside, which it almost always is where I live. So, I’m not complaining.

JVN [00:00:45] Now, do you mind telling us where, just so we have a visual, where are you?

DIANA ROSE [00:00:50] So right this second, I’m actually in the desert that is out to the east of Los Angeles. So I’m in, you know, southeastern California, which is amazing. But most of the time these days I live in Los Angeles proper. So, yes.

JVN [00:01:04] Ok, so you’re a West Coast person and you clearly do incredible work. Just a little teeny background on me, like, I come from a very, like, religious family, like, religious town. And, like, we had this, like, born-again Christian cleaning lady, my whole childhood, that used to come over, and, like, blast Joyce Meyers wearing knee pads, I don’t know, do you know Joyce Meyer with the short, like, red hair?

DIANA ROSE [00:01:26] Amazing.

JVN [00:01:27] So I always thought that, like, anything that sounded like tarot or Reiki, even massage honey, it could be, that could be a devil, a door the devil comes through. So I only really realized how cool it was until, like, it took me to be, like, 25, and I still just don’t know as much as I wish that I did.

DIANA ROSE [00:01:44] Yeah. So what’s really interesting is, so I’m not a native West coaster. I actually grew up in the Midwest. Most of my, like, childhood years were spent in southeast Missouri. I graduated from the same high school as Rush Limbaugh. Like, you know, there’s some baggage. There’s, like, a nice little, like, carpet bag of stuff over there. And, you know, my family isn’t, isn’t explicitly religious at this point. You know, like, my near family, like, my mom, I remember this story because it’s, like, kind of a significant point in my family’s timeline, I guess? But my mom, when she was, like, I don’t know, seven or eight and Sunday school, just, like, asked the teacher, “Well, if Jesus is the son of Mary and God, how is Jesus of the line of David?” Right, super simple question, but it caused this, like, crisis of faith in my mom and in my grandmother. And so anyway, there’s all of that kind of interesting stuff. But, even so, the stuff that I do, my family isn’t, like, stoked about it, you know. They’re not, like, “You’re doing devil work, child,” but they’re also not, you know, my grandmother is like, “So when are you going to go to grad school?”

JVN [00:03:05] You’re like, “But I found my thing!”

DIANA ROSE [00:03:08] It’s like I found my thing and unless I can figure out how grad school would absolutely enhance my practice, I don’t think that’s a debt I want to incur? So, I feel you, I feel you on that, of just, you know, like, how do you, how do you break out of a worldview that says particular interests or particular ways of knowing are not ok?

JVN [00:03:32] Yeah. And I think, I mean, it’s, how does someone define, like, the things that we can use to find ourselves or create, create reason out of. I mean ‘cause, like, I don’t know what I think. I think that I know that, like, the world is, like, a really difficult place and we all need some way to, like, to process everything, so, can you help us just understand, like, what does, like, a healing practice mean?

DIANA ROSE [00:04:02] Yeah. So, I love this question and I feel like whenever engaging with healing, it’s really important to define what ‘healed’ looks like or what, you know, what ‘better’ looks like, you know, because healing as a word, it means so many different things, right. It’s like, you get a paper cut and it hurts for, you know, a while and then it heals and then it’s like you never had a paper cut, right. There’s that kind of healing that seems to just be restoring what was previously the case without any evidence left over, right.

JVN [00:04:35] I like that healing.

DIANA ROSE [00:04:38] Yeah, that healing, but, at the same time, healing is a growth process, right. And so if we think about healing, our healing, I don’t know, like, our attachment styles, for example.

JVN [00:04:51] Uhhh that’s the healing I don’t like as much.

DIANA ROSE [00:04:54] Yeah, it’s so uncomfortable, right, where just like I would like to have secure attachments in all of my relationships, romantic and otherwise. Do I have secure attachments in all of my relationships, romantic and otherwise? No! And I can tell you exactly why, right. I can, I can point out aspects of my history, you know, with something like astrology I can look at my natal chart and I can say, you know, “These planets can tell a story that adds language and comprehension to how I understand my attachment style issues.” Can we say that instead of, like, mommy issues or daddy issues, just like attachment-style issues? I think that should be a thing.

JVN [00:05:32] Yes!

DIANA ROSE [00:05:32] You know, it’s like I can use, I can use, you know, astrology again to contextualize that, I can use tarot to, like, understand it, you know, I can use energy work to try to, like, release some tension. I can go to therapy and, like, have my therapist literally blow my mind every single session and, like, you know, that being a participant in that. But then, what is healed? It’s like, healed is more secure attachment, right. To be in healthy relationships that feel nourishing and balanced and that aren’t stirring up in the same way, all of the ways that I know I can be activated in relationship, right. So you define that, and once you have a definition of like what better it is, then it’s like, “Ok, well what are the rainbow of, you know, different methodologies that can assist me with getting from where I am right now towards where I would prefer to be?” And that’s healing.

JVN [00:06:35] I’m obsessed with your healing, can you tell us what cornucopia of rainbow colors are in your healing?

DIANA ROSE [00:06:40] The practices that I share with the world are, you know, things like astrology. So we’ll do like natal readings, transit readings, a natal chart is like a snapshot of the sky at the exact moment and place of your birth, right. So it’s like, “What was the sky doing whenever you emerged from the womb of the person who gestated you?” And that stays with you your entire life. It’s like a, it’s a way of describing the quality of time that you decided to emerge into. It’s really-

JVN [00:07:07] This is the most fun episode we’ve ever done, I can’t take it! It’s fantastic, yes, ok, yes!

DIANA ROSE [00:07:13] Ok, so there’s that. So that chart stays with you your whole life. That’s your natal chart. And then there’s this funny thing, like the planets don’t stop the moment that you’re born, right, they keep moving in the sky, right. And so how the planets moving in the sky interact with your natal chart, that’s called ‘transits.’

JVN [00:07:34] Ohhh!

DIANA ROSE [00:07:35] Right. So, you know, even though, you know, it’s like, you’re currently the age that you are, you can look back at what transits were happening when you were 12 or when that thing happened to you when you were 24 or whatever, and have additional language to comprehend the quality of time in general for that moment and then how that quality of time was impacting you specifically.

JVN [00:07:59] Wow!

DIANA ROSE [00:08:00] And that’s the beauty, that’s one of the beautiful things about astrology, again, it gives us additional language, and additional story structures, essentially, to comprehend ourselves and the things that we have walked through in our lives, because we can also use those transits to look towards the future of being like, “Ok, so I’ve experienced, you know, Mars opposite my moon, you know that happens every other year, right, and I can look towards the next time that’s going to happen, see maybe there is a pattern in this and maybe try to adopt a different way of responding the next time this happens or a different way to use that quality of time, right, that energetic signature, what’s a different way I can engage with that that might feel better for me than what I’m used to.”

JVN [00:08:47] This is all astrology, right? Yes. Yes. Which is what I thought astronomy was my freshman year of high school. Did I have a rude awakening. Wow.

DIANA ROSE [00:08:57] Historically, historically, like, in the deep history, astronomy and astrology co-, like, they were the same thing, right. That differentiation didn’t really happen until, I mean, I’m not going to be able to get an exact date, but I feel like the differentiation didn’t really happen until, like, maybe the 15, 1600s where they started to kind of split. And then with the so-called Enlightenment and, like, the rise of hyper-materialist rationalism, you know that’s where we get, like, a really firm split between observing the motions of objects in the heavens, right: astronomy. And observing the motions of objects in the heavens and how they relate to things on earth: astrology. Right, astrology is personalized or, meaning, it’s like, it’s, it’s astronomy plus meaning could be one way to think about astrology.

JVN [00:09:55] Yes! Yes, yes. Ok, so now what’s tarot and what controls tarot?

DIANA ROSE [00:10:01] Yeah, so tarot’s really interesting, right. So tarot’s a deck of cards, like, that’s, you know, on a baseline level, it’s a deck of cards. I actually have some here, like, maybe I’ll actually grab a deck. So, on a baseline level, tarot’s a deck of cards. And what makes it different than, like, a playing card deck is that there’s 78 cards instead of 52 and they’re divided into five suits and they have these pictures on them, right. So these, these ones in particular are the Brady tarot, which is a contemporary tarot that came out a couple of years ago that has no humans in it. It’s all, like, plants and animals that are native to North and Central America, which I think is really amazing.

And with these images, like, how it works, it’s kind of hard to describe exactly how it works because it’s not mechanistic. And oftentimes when people are asking, “How does astrology work? How does tarot work? How does energy work work?” What they want is, like, a, like, a cause-effect, like, super easy to grasp, like, “Electricity works because,” right. And you can study that, right. It’s not the same with something like tarot. But one of the ways that I describe it to people is, you know, these images, they’re sort of like dream images, right, and in the same way that if you sit with your dreams and you, you know, you look beyond the just, like, baseline narrative of a dream and towards what the different nouns might symbolize, towards the the actions that are inside the dream and how those are related to your actual waking life, you pay attention to the emotional tone of the dream, you can get a lot of really potent information from a dream that goes far beyond the, you know, “I was at a Target trying to pick out a Halloween costume,” right.

And so tarot has a little bit of that of just, know, you look at these images, you understand that these images are connected to meaningful themes and then you can connect those to what’s happening in your own life in a way that helps to kind of create meaning or create an-, like, an entryway into understanding that might not be there otherwise. And because it’s image-based, our logical, rational reasoning mind has to quiet down a little bit so that the wisdom of our sub or unconscious can actually come forth.

JVN [00:12:38] That makes sense, that makes sense. And so then, so, with tarot, it’s not like the planets, like, it kind of, like, say, like, what cards come out, like, it’s not going into that.

DIANA ROSE [00:12:50] No, no. Yeah, tarot and astrology or two entirely separate fields. They get associated because a lot of tarot readers are interested in astrology, a lot of astrologers are interested in tarot. You know, with the history of the tarot, so like, the tarot deck that is the most well distributed and is kind of, like, the deck that, like, a majority of modern decks are based on, the Rider-Waite-Smith, like, that came about in, like, the early 1900s under the purview of this organization that was called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. And one of the projects that they engaged with was creating correspondences between tarot and astrology that didn’t exist really before then. And so that’s another reason why people often conflate or, like, bring the two together, because there has been effort made to see how these systems of meaning-making can discuss with one another, if that makes any sense.

JVN [00:13:50] Yeah, it does; interest. So then and then you also do Reiki, right?

DIANA ROSE [00:13:55] Right, yeah. So Reiki is a form of energy work and I actually don’t do that much Reiki these days. And that’s for a couple of reasons, but the main reason is that, you know, and, like, if you look at the work of Marika Clymer, you can find a little bit more information on this. Reiki, as it is practiced in the United States, is very different from the Reiki as it is practiced in Japan, which is where Reiki originates. And, I didn’t know that whenever I got all of my Reiki trainings. And so at this point, I’m, I am in a process of navigating what form of energy work feels the most authentic for me to practice, because I don’t think it’s for you know somebody who is not Japanese, who is not Buddhist, who was not trained by Japanese or Buddhist people, and like Reiki is older than Buddhism in Japan, from what I know, but that is a factor in some of its practice.

But energy work, I like to describe energy work, it’s kind of like dance in that humans have been doing it for as long as they’ve been aware that it’s a thing that you can do and, over time, different forms of dance have cropped up. There’s very casual dance and there’s very, like, super structured, rigid dance styles. Same thing with energy work, right, like, anyone can engage with energy work just through, like, intention, but with training you can get a level of proficiency that wouldn’t be able otherwise. But there’s a whole bunch of different approaches to energy work.

JVN [00:15:26] Ok, got it. So, but let’s, so back to astrology. So you’ve been doing charts for some time.

DIANA ROSE [00:15:34] Yeah. So I, let’s see, I’m, I’ve been trying to pinpoint when I first saw my natal chart because some people have, like, really amazing memories of that happening. I don’t remember the first time I saw my natal chart. I do remember the first time I saw my correct natal chart, though. And this is one of those interesting things a lot of people will have first time revelation stories where, you know, you’ve looked at your chart for years and years and then you finally see your birth certificate and you realize you’ve been using the wrong birth time the whole time. And that changes your chart, right. And so I had one of those moments, and, it was in early 2018. So I remember that very distinctly because it was like I went from being someone who thought she was a Sagittarius Rising, which has some ‘extra’ added to it, to being a Capricorn Rising, which fits me so much better. Like, I feel like I took off a really small, itchy sweater and put on, like, a really cozy, comfortable sweatshirt instead. But yeah. So, like, I have one of those stories. But before that, right, astrology has been something that I’ve been engaging with, in some ways since I was a kid, but really studying since, like, the early 2010s.

JVN [00:16:54] Got it. So, one other question just came up for me. What happens if someone just doesn’t know their birth time?

DIANA ROSE [00:17:01] Yeah, if someone doesn’t know their birth time and they have absolutely no idea, they’re just like, “I know I was born between, like, midnight and midnight on this day,” then astrology is less useful for them. There’s still information that they can find, right, like, the sun probably is going to be in the same place, the fastest moving planet that we pay attention to in astrology, and it’s not a planet, it’s the moon, but we call it a planet in astrology, right, you know the moon moves pretty quickly, but depending on the day that you were born, it was either definitely, absolutely, just in one sign or it changed Zodiac signs, in which case you don’t know your moon sign, right. But the other planets move much more slowly. So you can know, like, “Yeah, I was definitely born when Jupiter was in Aries and when Uranus was in Capricorn or whatever,” and that can give you some information, but the birth time is what makes your chart really personal, right, because it sets up the structure of your chart so that you know, which slices of sky are relevant to which areas of your life, and which planets are most relevant for certain areas of your life.

JVN [00:18:17] Oh my God, can we do mine now, can we, is it time to do mine? So I have to tell you, like, I’ve never done this before, Diana, I’ve never done this before, and I’ve never, I never did it, I just, I’ve literally never done it and I was, like, minding my own business and we found you on the Internet and then, and I was, like, oh my God, and then, and then I found my fucking birth certificate.

DIANA ROSE [00:18:36] Brilliant.

JVN [00:18:17] So I was, I told you 9:15, right?

DIANA ROSE [00:18:40] 9:45.

JVN [00:18:42] That’s what it was: 9:45. I also have to, I’m just going to come clean and say this other thing right now, I definitely just, like, whenever people would be, like, “What’s your sign?” and I was like, I just wanted people to get off my fucking back. So I was just, like, “Oh, I’m Aries, like, my sign, everything’s in Aries, like, that’s what it is. Everything’s in Aries.” And like, “Oh really, that’s weird,” and I’m, like, “Well, it’s true,” so that’s what it is. But it’s, but it’s not. I know it’s not. And I just said that for all these years because I just like wanted people to get off my fucking back. So I can tell you right here, right now that if I’ve ever told you that my, all my things are in Aries, I was lying because I just didn’t want to fucking talk about it, because my mom always told me that the devil is going to fucking get into my soul if I talked about it, so I just didn’t. But now I’m ready and I’m understanding that that’s just fear, and that’s not true. And I’m really excited to learn about it and I’m so excited to do my chart.

DIANA ROSE [00:19:36] I just, I just want to say, like, something really quickly, which is that the three Wise Men who found Jesus were probably astrologers.

JVN [00:19:45] Ahhh, what!

DIANA ROSE [00:19:44] So I’m just going to leave that there, I’m just going to leave that there. I will say, though, that there is something in your chart that does make you really Aries, so you’re not totally lying when you say that.

JVN [00:20:00] Well, I just didn’t pull it from fact so much as I just said that that was true.

DIANA ROSE [00:20:03] I mean, it’s also a very Aries thing to be like, “I have decided I don’t want this, so we’re not going to do it.”

JVN [00:20:11] Ah, is it?

DIANA ROSE [00:20:12] It really is. It really is.

JVN [00:20:14] Oh no. Well I have to say, Diana, that doesn’t sound anything like me!

DIANA ROSE [00:20:21] Nothing at all, right No, no resonance whatsoever. Ok so this is your chart, this is your chart, this is what your chart looks like. And so since you’ve never looked at your chart before, this probably looks totally bats, right. And so one of the things that I always like to recommend, like, if you’re actually trying to learn astrology, practice writing out the glyphs with, like, while paying attention to what the glyph means, and that will help a lot, right. So right now, it’s just, like, a scattershot of just, like, symbols and numbers and lines. But let’s get oriented here, right. So we’ll get oriented by starting with the ascendant, which is the AS here. Right, so your ascendant is at 22 degrees, six minutes of the sign of Gemini, ok. So what this means, the ascendant is the eastern horizon and then the degree of the sign that’s there, like, that’s the Zodiac sign that is rising over the eastern horizon at the same time that you’re born. Another way to think of it is, like, this is the tiny slice of sky that is emerging from the underworld of the invisible lands at the same time that you’re emerging from the underworld that’s the womb.

JVN [00:21:43] Wow.

DIANA ROSE [00:21:44] Yeah, so it’s, it’s really personal and all 12 Zodiac signs rise over that eastern horizon in every 24-hour period. So this is why the exact birth time matters, right. Additionally, just to, like, add some additional info as to why it matters, if your ascendant was in a different sign, say Virgo, for example, then the sign of Virgo would be up here in the first house, which means that there would be a different sign associated with this slice of sky and a different sign associated with this slice of sky, right. So the ascendant sets up the structure of your chart, which sign is associated with what area of life. And from there, what planet is in charge of what area of life. Ok?

JVN [00:22:33] Wow.

DIANA ROSE [00:22:34] So it gets really, it gets really complex, really fast, but that’s where we can get a lot of nuance. And this is where, you know, actually getting your chart read versus only reading your horoscopes can give you so much more personal information. Ok?

JVN [00:22:49] Keep going, I’m ready, keep telling me stuff.

DIANA ROSE [00:22:51] Cool, great. So the ascendant, like, sometimes this gets talked about as though it’s like the mask that you wear, but that’s not really what it is because it’s so personal, right. Like, this is the, it’s like the very front edge of your ship, right. It’s, like, what’s directing where you’re going with your life. And so you can know a lot about someone if the only thing you know about them is their ascendant. And there’s actually been you know, there’s some evidence that in really ancient times, when people asked you kind of like, “What’s your sign?” They didn’t mean your sun sign, they meant your rising sign because that’s how important it is.

JVN [00:23:24] Oh! So what’s mine say about me?

DIANA ROSE [00:23:27] So Gemini rising, right so the rising sign is, like, “What do I care about, how do I show up, how do I understand I need to behave in order to get my needs met and in order to feel safe?” right. So-

JVN [00:23:40] Oh my God, oh my God. I’m so nervous. What’s it going to say?!

DIANA ROSE [00:23:43] So the ascendant in Gemini, this is an air sign, right. And all of the air signs are really interested in socializing, they’re interested in, like, the actions of the mind, talking with people, right, all that kind of thing. Gemini is the mutable air sign, so it’s the sign that happens as a transition between seasons, right. We experience Gemini when we’re going from springtime into summer, right. So, in that time period, it’s just, like, “Ok, so spring stuff goes over here. Let’s get the summer stuff out, like, I’m going to talk to all of these people about it.” This is when, this is, like, high pollination season, right. And so Gemini gets really chatty because you’re just, like, “I want these ideas, I want those ideas. I’m going to share these ideas that I have with these other people, and I’m going to connect these two people together ‘cause they have ideas that are really interesting and I think they’ll really vibe, right,” that kind of thing. Right, that’s your ish, that’s, like, “If I can just do that for my life, I am satisfied. Let me connect people, let me be connected with people. Let me connect ideas, let me connect other people with ideas. Yes, there!”

JVN [00:24:48] That feels nice.

DIANA ROSE [00:24:49] It’s great, right? I mean, our rising signs are, all of our chart is a gift in some way, shape or form, right. So, additionally, one way that you can think about this if we’re, and thinking in terms of how does your rising sign help you be safe and some level of stable in the world, you’ve learned that if you’re really well networked that gives you a security blanket and a secure, and a, like, a safety net–that’s what that phrase is–right. It’s like part of your safety net is just, like, being connected with lots of people. Part of your safety net is probably also, like, being entertaining, right, which I know it’s, like, a totally, it’s like that, it’s like, it’s not like you are front and center as an entertainer in a lot of different spaces, or anything like that, but this is you also living part of your natal promise, right, of showing up in the world, talking to people, and, like, giving people a reason to smile.

JVN [00:25:47] So I have a question. So everyone, just so you can think about this, we’re looking at this, like, kind of, like, concentric circle. And then there’s, in this, or no, it’s, it’s like a bull’s eye kind of, it’s kind of giving me bull’s eye vibes. And then there’s like there’s, there’s like all the signs are, like, in the outside skinniest circle. And, so but would all of the signs that are on the outside skinner circle, Diana, would those all be in different places if it was like someone else’s chart, like, or is that the same on everybody’s chart?

DIANA ROSE [00:26:15] So the signs are always in the same order. But where, where they start here on the left-hand side, will depend on what the rising sign is.

JVN [00:26:24] So at the nine o’clock sign, everyone, with the nine o’clock on the circle, if it was time, that’s where, like, so that’s where they would start, they would be different based on, like, what your birth time was?

DIANA ROSE [00:26:36] Yeah. And, and it’s kind of like time zones, right, where, so, like, you could have been born in the exact same moment but, like, 500 miles east or west and you would have a different rising sign, which is really interesting.

JVN [00:26:49] Ooooh! I love that. Ok, so that’s my ascendant sign?

DIANA ROSE [00:26:54] Yeah.

JVN [00:26:58] What’s, like, rude about me? Like, for that ascendant sign? Like, am I, like, a gossipy bitch because I can’t stop talking?

DIANA ROSE [00:27:05] Yeah kind of! But it’s not so much, “I can’t stop talking.” It’s like, it’s an understanding that the sharing of information is just, like, such the yummiest thing that sometimes there isn’t necessarily, like, the firmest discernment on whether or not the information you’re sharing is good to share.

JVN [00:27:25] I’ve gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older.

DIANA ROSE [00:27:28] Yeah. I mean, as with most things, right, like, we learn our patterns, ideally. And we adjust.

JVN [00:27:34] So what else would you be just devastated if you didn’t, if you didn’t, if we didn’t tell the listeners about my ascendant sign, like, what else?

DIANA ROSE [00:27:41] Yeah. So there’s, oh, man, there’s two main things about it that I think are just, like, really amazing. The first is that, you know, so you see this little squiggle here that looks like the medical Caduceus?

JVN [00:27:52] Yes.

DIANA ROSE [00:27:53] Yeah, so that is the asteroid Hygiea, right. And the asteroid Hygiea is, in mythology, Hygiea is the wife of Asclepius, who is the God of medicine. And Hygiea in particular is kind of tasked with attending to the things that surround a situation that facilitates healing, right. So making sure that things are hygienic, like, the name Hygiea is where we get the term hygienic from, right. So to make sure things are, like, clean and tidy, making sure that somebody is taking their antibiotics and eating the right food, right. You know, also being like, “Ok, you had this injury and we know why you had this injury and we’re going to make sure you don’t have this injury again. And this is what needs to change, right.”

But, in any case, like, as an asteroid, it’s, it’s one of healing, of healing work and of attending to all of the webs of things that contribute to healing, not only the stitching back together of tissue or heart or whatever, right. It’s like, “Oh, you’re heartbroken, I can’t fix your heart for you, but I can make sure that you have flowers and chocolate and your favorite ice cream and a plan to go see your friends later this week so that you’re not just alone in your house.” That kind of caretaking is Hygiea caretaking. And, you have it extremely close to your ascendant. And whenever we have a planet or an asteroid really close to the ascendant, we become like an avatar of that planet or asteroid in our day-to-day lives, right.

So one thing you can think about is, like, “How do I act as someone who facilitates healing for other people?” Especially how do I facilitate healing through the sharing of information, listening to stories, sharing stories, that kind of thing, like, I was thinking about, you know it’s like, I’m not super familiar with your work. I actually had to do a little bit of research on you too, which I thought was really cute. But I know that you have worked a lot as a hairstylist. And how often are you holding space for someone as they are transforming into a more healed version of themselves?

JVN [00:29:58] Mmh a lot, well, not as much now, but more when I was doing it all the time, but yes.

DIANA ROSE [00:30:05] Yeah, so that is one way to think about how you’ve maybe shown up in the world in this, like, Hygiean role of helping people, maybe not always directly, but in ways that really do facilitate their own growth and wellness. Isn’t that sweet?

JVN [00:30:19] Eugh, that feels accurate!

DIANA ROSE [00:30:23] That’s so sweet.

JVN [00:30:24] And cute and nice. Wow.

DIANA ROSE [00:30:27] So then one other major thing, whenever we’re looking at someone’s ascendant is we want to look at the planet that is in charge of their rising sign, right. So your rising sign is Gemini and the planet that is in charge of Gemini is this one up here, Mercury, right. So Mercury is the trickster of the Zodiac, right. Mercury is also a Psychopomp. And that means that, you know, it has this role of traversing all of the worlds, right. It can hang out with these people up in, you know, Olympus and hang out with the mortals and like all different kinds of mortals, right. Not just the ones that are respectable, but we’re also talking to, like, thieves and, you know, like, I don’t know, unsavory characters as well as, like, really smart professors and, like, all of this kind of thing.

And then, they can also go into the underworld, and they can, you know, transfer messages through all of these realms. That’s one of Mercury’s jobs, right. Mercury is also so much about communication as a messenger, right. And you have Mercury in the 10th house and in the sign of Pisces, right. And so what this means is that, you know, you have the planet that’s in charge of your embodiment showing up in the part of life that’s really concerned with your reputation and what people understand is your quote unquote career. And it’s happening in a sign, Pisces, that wants to believe, like, Pisces as a sign is just like, “Yes, if I don’t believe in it yet, I’m going to try to figure out how I can believe because I wanna believe in things, right.” There might not always be like, “Yeah, I feel really optimistic and I believe everything’s going to be ok.” It’s like, “I desire to believe that everything is going to be ok and that desire becomes really motivating.”

JVN [00:32:10] Oh my God! That’s intense.

DIANA ROSE [00:32:15] It’s beautiful also.

JVN [00:32:18] Yeah. What else?

DIANA ROSE [00:32:19] Well, so Mercury in Pisces actually has to learn how to Mercury, which can sometimes be really logically-oriented and rationally-oriented in a way that goes along with Pisces. And Pisces is otherwise, like, really dreamy, fantasy, watercolors, like, you know, meditation situations that might as well be, like, floating up into the clouds, that kind of thing. Like, that’s Pisces-ish. And Mercury is like, “I want to count stuff, I want to assemble stuff. Like, why is everything water here?” And so what happens with Mercury and Pisces is poetry, like, how do we use language to communicate things that are maybe impossible to communicate, right. And we also get other forms of art here too, right, song, movies, you know, just, even just, what does it mean to communicate it through aesthetics; that can be a very Mercury and Pisces thing, right.

Like, “I don’t know how to say this with words, but I can say this with clothing,” right, “I can say this with, you know, a playlist.” “I can say this by just telling my friends that they have to watch these two movies back-to-back and then they’ll understand what I’m trying to tell them.” Right; that kind of thing. And this shows up also in just, like, how you show up in the world, right, you’re, like, you’re showing up in a way that people can perceive their own dreams, like, their own uncertainties of self-expression. They can see that concretized in how you’re showing up. And that ends up being a gift.

JVN [00:34:08] Mmh, yes, ok, this is, like, intense and amazing; keep going.

DIANA ROSE [00:34:15] Alright, so after we’ve talked about, like, the ascendant and the ruler of the ascendant, we want to look at the, what is called the sect light, right. So this is one of either the sun or the moon that is in charge of your chart, depending on what time of day you were born. So you were born whenever it was, like, actually daytime, right. The sun was up in the sky. Whenever the sun is in the sky, it literally prevents all other objects from being seen except for the moon sometimes, right. So that means that the sun is the head honcho of daytime. So your sun, as you know, is in the sign of Aries, and this is actually a really strong position for the sun to be in because the sun is, like, what is the sun, it’s literally a burning ball of fire.

And Aries is, like, the fireriest of the fire signs you could say, right. And so the sun is just like, this is my jam, “I love being here, it’s really hot, I’m really hot, everything is hot, this is great,” alright. And so the sun in Aries can be really um–how do I put this–if we understand like the sun is literally the center of the solar system, like our solar system would not exist if there was not a sun, right, it’s an extremely important piece of space matter, right. You know the sun’s light is also what facilitates life on this planet, right. It’s what gets the plants to grow and if we didn’t have plants, we wouldn’t have animals. If we didn’t have animals, we would not exist because we’re animals, right.

So, the sun is super crucial in all of these ways and it’s, it’s, it’s the leader, right. And so whenever the sun is in a sign that it’s really strong in, those leadership qualities can really come forward. It might not be leadership like look at all of the people who are following me, that kind of thing, it could be leadership as in, “I’m going to do what the hell I want, because it’s what I want to do. I don’t even know if the word sorry applies here,” right, like it’s that kind of thing, right. Sun in Aries has that, like, motivating, that motivating fire to pursue what feels right for it, right. So on top of this, your sun is also conjoined to the planet Jupiter, right. And Jupiter is, as you know, you’ve probably seen images, really huge gas giant.

JVN [00:36:37] But wait, how do you know that my sun’s got, in Jupiter?

DIANA ROSE [00:36:41] So your sun is at seven degrees of Aries. And your Jupiter is at six degrees of Aries. And so whenever two planets are within about 10 degrees of each other, that counts as a conjunction, right. And so what happens is that the energies of those planets blend together and impact one another in significant ways.

JVN [00:37:06] Interest!

DIANA ROSE [00:37:07] Ok, so the sun and Jupiter are friends, and what Jupiter provides is expansion, stability, generosity, right. Jupiter is a planet that really wants to facilitate growth for people, really wants to open up doorways, right. And so whenever we have Jupiter conjoined the sun, we can say you have a really big heart. Right, that would be one way to put it, like, a huge heart, because the sun gets related to both our physical and our metaphorical heart as well, and so you just make it bigger by adding Jupiter, right, that’s huge. Additionally–this is not the only thing that makes your heart big–you have the north node of the moon also really close to your sun, right. And so the nodes of the moon, I’m not going to go too far into it, but it’s-, these are where eclipses happen. They’re not objects, it’s the intersection point of the moon’s orbit around the earth and what we perceive to be the sun’s path here, like, from an earthly perspective. Right, so when the sun, the moon, and the earth are lined up at the nodes of the moon, either the sun’s light is getting blocked or the moon’s light is getting blocked and we get an eclipse. Ok, that’s what they are astronomically. Does that make sense?

JVN [00:38:27] Yes.

DIANA ROSE [00:38:28] Ok, so astrologically they’re kind of like gates of, like, really intense energy, right. And it’s like chaotic neutral energy, it’s the kind of energy that, you know, whenever eclipses happen, I always like to say, if you’re somebody that likes to do rituals or prayers or whatever, like maybe be really humble if you engage with those things on an eclipse because we’re talking energy that is bigger than human, right; it’s really not for us to touch too intensely. But they’re, not, that’s not what’s happening here. What’s happening here instead is, you know–though I will say the next lunation after your birthday was an eclipse, which I think is really interesting–but what’s happening here is that the north node, the north node is kind of like an increase point, it, like, it’s similar to Jupiter, but where Jupiter is like, “I want you to be happy,” the north node doesn’t care about whether or not you’re happy, it’s just going to make more.

JVN [00:39:27] Ohhh.

DIANA ROSE [00:39:29] Right, it just increases hunger, can be one way of thinking about the north note.

JVN [00:39:33] Oh my God. That’s why I’m such an addict!

DIANA ROSE [00:39:36] I mean, I wouldn’t say this is why you’re an addict, but it can be one way to conceptualize your desire for more.

JVN [00:39:46] Yes, yes.

DIANA ROSE [00:39:47] Right. So what you’re kind of wanting and, like, when we, this is one of the benefits of astrology is, like, we can maybe pinpoint what it-, what you are desiring to feed, right. And, like, part of what you’re desiring to feed is your own heart, your own heart space, as well as your own authenticity, your own authority, right, your own self, sense of sovereignty, right. These are all sun words. And especially with, like, sovereignty, we get Jupiter roped in there a little bit, there’s like a, there’s like a kingly queenly-ness that gets blended here where you’re just, like, “I want my empire and I want it locked.”

JVN [00:40:31] Eugh, I have historically been like that.

DIANA ROSE [00:40:34] Mhmm, yeah. And whenever your heart is well fed, you are less likely to display variants of that that you aren’t proud of.

JVN [00:40:47] That’s probably also true.

DIANA ROSE [00:40:50] Right. Like, if you feel like you are giving love in a way that feels good and you’re receiving love in a way that feels good, there’s less of a need to externalize that through achievement. Or like, like, maybe not through achievement, but through, like, in ways that you’re just like, “Ew, oops, I’m sorry.” Like, that gets turned down, if your heart is really well fed.

JVN [00:41:19] Oh, yes, yes, that is true, yes; I know what you’re saying.

DIANA ROSE [00:41:25] Yes. So, all of this is happening in the 11th house of the chart, right. And this is the section of the chart that is concerned with our dreams and our aspirations, as well as with our communities, organizations that we are part of, organizations that we think are really important. These with, this would be friends groups that are more based around shared interests than friends that are based around, like, deep soul resonance, if that makes any sense. But friends still land in this section of the chart, right. And so one way to think about this is like, what does it mean to build up really, really important dreams, to, like, make dreams real that have positive benefits for the communities and organizations that are important to me. Right, and that being something that feels important to you in different ways, at different points during your life.

JVN [00:42:25] More important, like, in the last three years, since, like, I knew that I could do more cool stuff.

DIANA ROSE [00:42:33] Yeah, and even more important this coming year, right, because one of the things that I looked at was not just your natal chart, but also, like, what’s coming up for you. There, one of my favorite timing techniques–so there’s, like, a whole bunch of different ways to look at timing with astrology–and one of my favorite versions is called Annual Profections. And so with this, it’s like with every year of life, there’s a sign and house combination that is more important, that is highlighted, that kinda takes center stage for the year. And you, on your upcoming birthday here, are entering into an 11th house year.

JVN [00:43:12] Oooh, what’s it mean?

DIANA ROSE [00:43:14] So, those things that I just touched on, of, like, your dreams and your aspirations when it comes to being in service to community, participating in community, building up institutions, like, what does it mean to dream big with other people, like, the volume’s getting turned up on that.

JVN [00:43:31] Ooooh! That’s so exciting!

DIANA ROSE [00:43:34] Right, you’re living, it’s like, you’re living your astrology, whether or not you mean to. This is true for all people all of the time. Additionally, what it means, so we look at the sign of Aries, which is in charge of your sun, your Jupiter and your north node. And the sign of Aries is ruled by the planet Mars, ok. Another way to put it is Aries is Mars’ place, it’s like Mars land, right. And your natal Mars, you have here at 24 degrees, 35 minutes of the sign of Taurus in the 12th house, right. And so now this section I’m just going to say is going to get a little tender, right, or it might be, it might feel a little bit tender, right.

JVN [00:44:17] Lay it on me.

DIANA ROSE [00:44:18] Mars in the 12th house is not an easy placement. Mars and Taurus is not an easy placement. We put the two of them together and it’s like a double down, not easy placement. On top of that, your Mars is very close to a fixed star called Algol, right. So the fixed stars are actually like the stars in the sky, they don’t move and that’s why they’re called fixed. Whereas planets actually means wandering star, right. So, anyway, big stars, they stay in one place, they move like one degree every 72 years. So as far, as far as a human life is concerned, they stay in the same place, right. And fixed stars become relevant in some people’s charts whenever a planet or a point is really close to one of the stars. So you have two fixed stars that are highlighted in your chart. This is Regulus, which is the heart of the lion in the constellation Leo, and then Algol, which is the eye of the Medusa and the constellation Perseus, ok.

So, whenever we have a planet conjoined Algol, that means that there is a, there can be a thread of necessary kind of rage-oriented justice that shows up in our lives, right, because Algol gets associated with Mother Nature and what people call the dark, feminine aspects of existence that have been repressed and oppressed for the ends of patriarchy and industry. Ok, that’s some of the core things. I do not recommend Googling Algol because you’re just going to find a bunch of patriarchal variants on its significations, which don’t actually get into the truth and meat of things, just like there’s a lot of information on the Internet that has no textual backing. It’s like that kind of thing, right. So, Algol conjoined Mars in the 12th house in Taurus.

How do I put this, um, the process–and this is just me guessing, right–but, like, the process of you learning to go from self-destruction to self-creation as a means of saying “fuck you” to those that would be happy for you to self destroy, has probably been one of the most healing processes you’ve walked through, even if it was really painful. Yeah, right. Learning that other people’s anger, other people’s rage, other people’s misunderstanding did not require you to self-combust. And then your own anger, your own rage, your own uncertainty, uncertainty about how to express those things also does not mean that you need to self-combust. And instead, those are, instead of using that stuff as combustion fuel, that’s fuel to make a difference, positively, for other people in their lives, as well as for yourself in your own. Oh that’s huge.

JVN [00:48:03] Much crying. What else? I feel like I believe in astrology so much more already.

DIANA ROSE [00:48:15] Yeah, I mean, astrology, I don’t necessarily believe in astrology because it’s not, it’s not a religion. It’s a way of making meaning in the world that humans have been engaging with for longer than we have written records for, right. If you’ve ever been in a dark sky place and thought about what it would mean to look up at the ceiling of heaven before electric light, right. Like, wow, of course that’s where the Gods live. Of course, that’s where meaning comes from. Of course we can look up there and be like we are tiny, tiny ants on this little speck of space rock. What are those sparkly beings maybe have to say?

JVN [00:49:15] So with that whole 12th thing, like, is something really bad going to happen, or is it already happened or is it?

DIANA ROSE [00:49:22] No! No. So this is a thing, right, like, nobody gets through life without suffering and nobody gets out of life alive. Like, literally, I can guarantee you that someday you will die.

JVN [00:49:35] Yes, it’s true.

DIANA ROSE [00:49:35] Can I tell you when? No. But I will, I can, you know, like, literally none of us get out of this life alive, right, which I say jokingly, but also, it’s a little, like, well true, right, this is true. You know, one way to think about Algol, you know, because it is like in the constellation of Perseus, it’s the eye of the Medusa and it’s the head of the Medusa; it’s not the body of the Medusa. It’s the head of the Medusa as held aloft by the hero Perseus after he has slain her, right. And so with Algol, there is this sense of, like, losing your head, right. And it doesn’t mean actually losing your physical head, right, because we use that term colloquially to mean all sorts of things, right. If you, like, you know, lose your head in a fit of rage or you lose your head in, like, like, a fit of absolute and utter joy and pleasure and ecstasy, right. Those are ways to comprehend it that, that signification in a way that’s not necessarily about disaster, it’s more like, um, and then when we look at the 12th house, one of the, one of the terms that gets used is self-undoing.

And some people are like, “Oh my God, this is totally self-sabotage.” And it’s just like, “No, it can be unraveling yourself from a version that you were performing, like, a version of you that you were performing that isn’t true for you anymore, right.” And a lot of people find that process so terrifying, they don’t even want to engage with it. They don’t want to believe that they could be anyone other than who they are used to being. Even if who they are used to being is miserable, unhappy, not achieving what they want to achieve, not accessing the kinds of relationships they want to access, not making a difference in the world that they want to make. So in that case undoing yourself is actually really good.

JVN [00:51:28] So, just so people know, like, what do the different houses say about different things. Like, what’s, like, the 6th house different from, like, or is that different for everybody, do they say different things for everybody’s chart?

DIANA ROSE [00:51:38] So the houses remain the same. So no matter what sign is on the ascendant, the houses are always in order. One through 12 going counterclockwise in the chart, right. And the house significations, like, always remain the same, but they are styled by and influenced by the planets and the signs that get associated with them in each person’s individual natal chart, right. So the 1st house, this is you, as a person, you showing up, your body, your basic vitality, your basic orientation in the world, that kind of thing. 2nd house is your resources and these can be financial resources, these can also be like talents and skills. One term that gets used for the 2nd house is movable possessions. So like-

JVN [00:52:20] There’s like nothing in my 2nd house!

DIANA ROSE [00:52:23] But your 2nd house is ruled by the moon, right. So your 2nd house is Cancer. So there’s no such thing as an empty house in the sense of nothing is going to happen for you in that section of life. Because I could turn off, actually, let me do this, I’m going to turn off all of the planets and points that ancient astrologers would not have paid attention to. And now your chart is a lot less busy and you have a lot more open space in your chart.

JVN [00:53:51] Well that’s true.

DIANA ROSE [00:53:52] Right. So, we look at Cancer, which is attached to your 2nd house, and we’re like, “Cool, Cancer is ruled by the moon.” Where is your moon? Your moon is up here in Pisces is at 26 degrees, 17 minutes of Pisces in the 10th house. So, your resources are highly tied to your work in the world, which is true in general for all people, but even more so for you, because the planet that’s in charge of your resources is up here tending to your career.

JVN [00:53:22] Ohhh, so my career resources stuff isn’t empty, it’s just up in that 10th house.

DIANA ROSE [00:53:26] Exactly.

JVN [00:53:28] Oh my God, obsessed. Ok so now what does the 3rd house mean?

DIANA ROSE [00:53:32] So the 3rd house is, like, our local environment, our neighborhood. This is also where we find siblings and basic education. This is also, like, if you’re somebody who is into any kind of spiritual practice, this would be kind of like your daily ritual work for whatever your spiritual practice is. And your 3rd house is attached to the sign of Leo and Leo is ruled by the sun. And we already spent a lot of time talking about your sun conjoined Jupiter, right. What’s additionally interesting about your 3rd house is that your midnight point called the Imum Coeli is here, conjunct with the fixed star Regulus, right. So one way to think about this is, like, accessing a certain level of regal notoriety through being rooted in a neighborhood that feels like it aligns with your aspirations. Is that what happened for you?

JVN [00:54:37] Tell me one more time.

DIANA ROSE [00:54:38] So, attaining, like, sort of regal notoriety through, like, being well rooted in, like, a local place that people visit often, that is also somehow in alignment with, like, your dreams and aspirations that feels comfortable for you and what you want to achieve in the world.

JVN [00:55:00] Yeah, I think so.

DIANA ROSE [00:55:03] Mhmm, yeah. So, that’s one way to understand your spirit 3rd house in particular. Another way to understand, like, having the IC in the 3rd house, um, this isn’t true for all people who have this, but for a lot of people who have this, like, being a regular at places is part of what makes you feel stable in the rest of your life, right. Like, it might seem really subtle and it might not be the first thing you go to when you’re feeling unstable. But, like, if you just moved or say at the beginning of the pandemic and you can’t go to your favorite coffee shop anymore-

JVN [00:55:37] Or like yoga! Yes.

DIANA ROSE [00:55:40] Yeah. You can’t go to your favorite studio or you can’t get class with your favorite teacher, and all of a sudden your whole life feels thrown off. But you don’t certainly make that connection automatically. You might blame it on, like, “Oh, it’s probably because I didn’t eat enough food or, you know, whatever this other person was really stressed out today so I feel off.” And it’s actually because you didn’t see your favorite barista.

JVN [00:55:59] Interest. What about the 4th house?

DIANA ROSE [00:56:04] Yeah, so the 4th house is where we find home and family, right. So this is sort of like our roots in some way, right.

JVN [00:56:12] Is there no cat sign in the 4th house, is there like, none of the signs are a cat?

DIANA ROSE [00:56:18] None of the signs are a cat, no.

JVN [00:56:20] ‘Cause I have 5 cats, so I thought maybe there would be, like, a cat sign in my family house.

DIANA ROSE [00:56:24] Mmh no. Pets, pets usually get associated with the 6th house-

JVN [00:56:29] That’s weird because my pets are human cats. Which is weird.

DIANA ROSE [00:56:33] Mhmm yeah. But also, I don’t have anything in the 6th house, and I have a cat.

JVN [00:56:39] But do you have five cats?

DIANA ROSE [00:56:40] I don’t have five cats, I did live with four cats for a little bit, though. Like, years ago.

JVN [00:56:44] Was it like the most fun time you ever had?

DIANA ROSE [00:56:46] Yeah, it was really fun. And like, the only reason I moved is because I really didn’t like my roommates.

JVN [00:56:51] But at least they had the good sense to have four cats.

DIANA ROSE [00:56:54] Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So, I mean, one interesting thing is, like, Virgo is also ruled by Mercury in the same way that your ascendant is ruled by Mercury and Mercury gets associated with small things. So that could be-

JVN [00:57:09] So maybe that’s why I have so many cats?

DIANA ROSE [00:57:11] Possibly. Possibly.

JVN [00:57:13] Oh my God, I love that.

DIANA ROSE [00:57:14] So the, the 6th house is related to animals, but it’s actually related to small things and, like, the things that we do in our lives to prevent problems from happening and to solve problems. Like, each of the houses actually has, like, a relatively long list of associations that get useful in different astrological questions, right. So, looking at a natal chart is one way to look at astrology. There’s also the practice of mundane astrology, which is looking at the astrology of the world and nations and cities and governments and things like that. There’s horary astrology, horary astrology is fascinating and-.

JVN [00:57:52] What’s that?

DIANA ROSE [00:57:52] Blows my mind. So horary means of the hour and it’s, like, the most divinatory of astrologies. Like basically you ask a horary astrologer a question, and as soon as they comprehend the question, they test a chart for the moment, they understand the question and that chart answers the question. It’s bana-, it’s, it’s, like, totally bonkers, bananas, it’s mind blowing, like, I don’t understand it.

JVN [00:58:16] I love that! So they don’t pass the chart for the time of when the question was about, like, when-

DIANA ROSE [00:58:22] For when they comprehend the question.

JVN [00:58:24] Right. Fascinating!

DIANA ROSE [00:58:26] And that answers the question. And it’s so, it’s so eerie.

JVN [00:58:30] And then what other kind is there?

DIANA ROSE [00:58:33] And then there’s electional astrology, which is, so, you know, your chart stays with you your whole life and can say things about you for your whole life, so you can pick a chart on purpose to start something, electing a time to do it, right, sending an email, starting a business, launching a project, anything like that. You can elect a chart so that the quality of time that you do the thing aligns with your desires for the thing as closely as possible.

JVN [00:59:05] Ok, obsessed.

DIANA ROSE [00:59:08] And it’s totally, it’s totally amazing.

JVN [00:59:10] What does seven do?

DIANA ROSE [00:59:12] So, the 7th house is the house-

JVN [00:59:15] I have some stuff in there.

DIANA ROSE [00:59:17] Yeah. So you have Saturn conjoint the descendant here, which, I can probably like I would say, like, probably your history of relationships, there are a couple of different things that could be possible here. One, sometimes your partners have felt like parents. right. Like-

JVN [00:59:36] Only just this one time.

DIANA ROSE [00:59:38] They can be a little overweening. Sometimes your partner, your partners might tend to be older than you or at least feel older than you. In some ways.

JVN [00:59:46] Oh my sexual partners were definitely older than me for a lot of time. Er, I was very busy in my twenties and I did have a major zaddy complex.

DIANA ROSE [00:59:55] Yeah, that’s classic Saturn descendant sort of situation. You’re just like, “Oh, you’re older? Hot.” Yes, there’s, like, a deep appreciation for maturity-

JVN [01:00:09] And chest hair.

DIANA ROSE [01:00:10] Yeah, that maturity again doesn’t have to be emotional maturity or personality maturity, it can just be, like-,

JVN [01:00:16] It can just be chest hair.

DIANA ROSE [01:00:15] “Your vibe is older than mine.” Exactly, chest hair. So little silver, like, silver fox.

JVN [01:00:22] Magnum P.I. always, really, like, fucked me up, like, Magnum P.I.. when I was like 10, I was like, “Oh my God,” those short shorts, those Hawaiian shirts and that, like, big puffy black and grey chest hair really like, wow.

DIANA ROSE [01:00:34] 100 percent. 100 percent. Another thing is that your relationships help to provide you with a container that you can express yourself with within.

JVN [01:00:45] That is extremely true.

DIANA ROSE [01:00:49] And it feels really necessary. It’s fairly grounding for you, you know, it’s like the butterfly pollinator of that Gemini sun that you’re just, like, “Somebody please hold me down, like, I need to not be so flitty.”

JVN [01:01:02] Yes! “I’m just crazy, I need you to hold me till the pain goes away.”

DIANA ROSE [01:01:07] Yeah, there’s that, and then also, like, you know, being, like, you know, to have somebody, like, in, the 7th house is not just romantic relationships, these are also really important one-on-one friendships.

JVN [01:01:18] But it’s also probably my husband, right?

DIANA ROSE [01:01:20] Also probably your husband.

JVN [01:01:22] Ok, so, but, like, can you do his chart too? Like, not on Getting Curious, like, should we do both of our charts and, like, can, should we do, like, a couples chart, like, not on this podcast.

DIANA ROSE [01:01:29] If you want to. If you want to.

JVN [01:01:30] Yeah, yeah! Sold.

DIANA ROSE [01:01:31] I don’t do a huge number of couples readings because they always, it like-

JVN [01:01:35] Oh my God, what? Tell me what’s wrong.

DIANA ROSE [01:01:38] I always like to, well, no, no, no, it’s not just like, what’s wrong, it’s like I always like to make sure that people feel safe and secure in their relationship and able to have, like, bring humor to things that come up that might speak to different forms of conflict. Because I’m not a marriage counselor.

JVN [01:01:53] We’re hilarious. Yeah, we’re hilarious, we’re, like, the funniest people that I know and we’re, like, really hilarious.

DIANA ROSE [01:02:02] In which case I would find that entertaining. So-

JVN [01:02:04] But what else does it say?

DIANA ROSE [01:02:06] So the 7th house-

JVN [01:02:09] Well, mine specifically, but yes.

DIANA ROSE [01:02:11] Yeah, I mean so your 7th house is Sagittarius, which is ruled by the planet Jupiter, which is conjoined with your sun. So this just emphasizes the need for your partner to be somebody who can help you feel like you’re shining, right, or your friends also being, it’s really important that your friends aren’t just, like, clamping down on your, like, maybe too kooky ideas, but being, like, “This idea is brilliant and you should actually do this,” like, giving you some direction for your capacity to achieve, essentially, and for your capacity to generate really amazing ideas, right. Like, those are people that are really important for you to have in your life, people who believe in you.

JVN [01:02:48] Oh my God. What’s the 8th house do?

DIANA ROSE [01:02:51] Right, so the 8th house. This gets associated with inheritances, literal and metaphorical, taxes, debt-

JVN [01:03:00] Oh, good. I’m a clean bitch; there’s nothing in there. Oh yes.

DIANA ROSE [01:03:05] But your 8th house is ruled by Saturn in the 7th.

JVN [01:03:08] Oh no and that D is kinda in it a little bit.

DIANA ROSE [01:03:11] And on the descendant, right. So it’s not, it’s not a vibe killer. Everybody has an 8th house. Everybody inherits stuff.

JVN [01:03:17] But it isn’t it good for yours to be kind of empty, like, as far as, like, you don’t want to inherit baggage?

DIANA ROSE [01:03:22] No, because everybody inherits baggage. Because, and, like, I would say, you know, because you do have Mars in the 12th house, the 12th house, the 4th house and the 8th house are the closest to our ancestors and our ancestral lines. And so you already came into this life with some baggage.

JVN [01:03:38] Ohh!

DIANA ROSE [01:03:39] You don’t avoid it just because you don’t have anything in the 8th house, I’m sorry.

JVN [01:03:43] Is there anything that’s, like, super cute about me because there isn’t anything in the 8th house, especially adorable?

DIANA ROSE [01:03:49] No, no, an empty house is not a cute generator. It’s just, like, “Ok, cool,” that, like, it isn’t necessarily a core focus in your life, right. So like anything that you have to deal with, with the 8th house is probably going to be dealt with in a one-to-one relationship situation. So either, again, in your romantic partnerships, one-on-one friendships. This could also be, like, you know, I don’t know if you have any siblings, but, like, a one-to-one relationship with a sibling being part of how you navigate 8th house matters at some point or one-to-one relationship with a lawyer if you have to talk to a lawyer about anything concerning actual material inheritance, that kind of thing.

JVN [01:04:24] Ok so what does the 9th house mean?

DIANA ROSE [01:04:26] So the 9th house, this is where we explore the world and we build more meaning because of our explorations in the world. So this is where we find university level education. This is where we find the courses and classes that we take because we want to. This is also where we find, not spirituality necessarily, but religion or theology, philosophy, like, “What does it mean to exist? Why do we exist in this way?” And so what’s interesting about yours is you have the midheavens, which is the high noon point. This is the highest point in the sky that the sun will reach before it starts descending towards the western horizon to set.

So for you, like you at your most visible, so it’s different from your career, right, it doesn’t have to be the same. And they’re probably related because generally speaking, for a lot of people, they are. But you at your most visible, what you are known for, what you are seen to do, has these 9th house implications of, like, adventuring, bringing meaning to people, finding meaning by seeing and engaging with people who are different from you. And, this is on this sign of Aquarius, which is ruled in traditional astrology by the planet Saturn, which is about boundaries and borders.

So this is also about liminality, people who are at the margins, people who are at the edges of society, people who, like, you know, they might be completely happy and totally, like, self-fulfilled, but they’re not existing inside the center of the mainstream, like, they’re doing their own thing, right. So, like, those sorts of people, those sorts of topics, like, that’s where you get seen and noted. And on top of that, you have the planet Venus right on top of that midheaven, which is beautiful, literally. Right, like, you are perceived, like, your reputation. What people know you for is beauty and beautiful things, like, bringing aesthetic qualities to bear, as well as Venus’ roles of bringing people together, bringing ideas together, generating harmony and unity where maybe there wasn’t before.

JVN [01:06:38] Ok, there is some inner beauty there, but it also sounds like, am I hearing you say that, like, I’m kind of known for like being, like, also kind of, like, being externally stunning as well?

DIANA ROSE [01:06:48] Absolutely. Venus on the midheaven, people look at you and they’re like, “Oh my God, who’s that?”

JVN [01:06:53] Oh my God. I love that story!

DIANA ROSE [01:06:57] And it’s, and because it’s Aquarius, it’s not an, “Oh my God, who is that, like, that person looks exactly, like, the most cookie-cutter version of beautiful.” It’s like, “That person is so beautiful in a way that literally nobody else can replicate and that I would not have been able to describe before I saw that person.” That’s, like, that kind of beauty. That has presence.

JVN [01:07:21] Do you, ok, P.S., you could do, like, the most, like, validating romance, like, anniversary wedding cards. Like, I feel like if you did like, or even, like, just, like, friendship cards or something like that, I don’t know if you’re looking for, like, another thing to put on your resume, but, like, I do, just feel like you could reach out and, like, pull people’s hearts out and shove it down their throats while getting them to pay, like, 8.99 for, like, a very beautiful card. Like, I just, I’m literally, like, I’m picturing cards.

DIANA ROSE [01:08:01] It’s like, it’s like ‘Her.’ Did you ever see ‘Her’ with Joaquin Phoenix?

JVN [01:08:05] Is that like what the music video is? For-

DIANA ROSE [01:08:09] No, it’s this, um, It’s this movie where it’s, like, set in, like, a semi-dystopic but like mid-century future where Joaquin Phoenix has this job of writing love letters for people, but he ends up falling in love with like-

JVN [01:08:25] Oh yes, yes, yes. I did see that. Yeah, you just have such a beautiful way of putting your words together.

DIANA ROSE [01:08:36] Oh, thank you. It’s taken a long time. Maybe. I don’t know. I actually don’t totally understand how I do it, it just happens. But I love words. I just love language. And I, and I love, I really love showing people their amazingness. Like, I love this so much.

JVN [01:08:53] So what does it, wait, one more time, so the 9th house is, yeah, what you’ll be known for kind of?

DIANA ROSE [01:09:00] Well, no, so that’s your midheaven, which happens to land in your 9th house. The 9th house is, like, you know, going, going afield, going beyond the boundaries of, like, normal quotidian life in order to build-

JVN [01:09:12] Yes, what you wanna do, yes.

DIANA ROSE [01:09:15] It’s like meaning building, like, again, travel also gets associated with the 9th house. You know to go to a foreign land and see, like, how people do it there as a way of expanding your knowledge base, expanding your consciousness, expanding your philosophical foundations, that kind of thing.

JVN [01:09:32] And then what’s the 10th do? We kinda talked about 10th.

DIANA ROSE [01:09:34] Yeah, we already kinda talked about the 10th, but the 10th, the 10th house and the midheaven have a few overlapping significations. Sometimes when we think about career, we often think that’s what we are known for, that’s what we do with a capital D, with our lives. But the 10th house gets roped into like our public role, like our role out in the world in some way, which may or may not be the thing that we are the most known for, but oftentimes has those sorts of themes to them. And you have both Mercury and the moon in the 10th house, which, you know, this combination of planets, you’re in Aquarius and Pisces right here, like, it really does put, like, a bit of emphasis on, like the fact that you are somebody who is visible, right. The fact that you are somebody who’s like communicative work, aesthetic work, that kind of thing, it’s, like, towards the world at-large in significant and meaningful ways.

JVN [01:10:36] And then what’s the, and then the 11th we kind of talked about, right?

DIANA ROSE [01:10:40] Yeah, so this is like aspirations, organizations, community, that kind of thing.

JVN [01:10:46] So we really, like, we did it! Is that our first chart reading?

DIANA ROSE [01:10:50] Yeah, pretty much. I mean, we haven’t touched on, we touched a little bit on the fact that you’re entering into an 11th house perfection year, you know, so like those 11th house themes are emphasized, your Jupiter and your center emphasized, and the planet Mars becomes an important planet for you to pay attention to, both in your natal chart, which we talked about a bit already, like, this Mars and Taurus in the 12th House, as well as Mars as it moves through the sky. So if you wanted, and, like, this is, you know, I know, like, getting into astrology can be very overwhelming. But, like, if you wanted to pay attention to where the planets are in the sky, the main one you would want to pay attention to this year is the planet Mars, right. So Mars this year, actually, let me just show you right now. Mars right this second, or actually, no, I’ll show you this one. So this is, this inside ring is your natal chart. And this outside ring is where the planets will be at the exact moment that the sun returns to the position it was in when you were born. So this is called your solar return.

Right, your solar return chart can help to tell you a bit about the themes for the coming year. And what I find really interesting is you’re entering into a year where Mars is an important planet for you and at your solar return Mars is in your 1st house of Gemini. And on top of that, we’re going to turn on some of these planets again because they are relevant. So on top of that, you’ll notice that the north node, that’s moving through the sky right now, and Mars will be conjoined each other on your solar return. At the same time, Venus and the Sun will be conjoined each other on your solar return. And the, and, like, you know, your sun being in a Mars-ruled sign, the emphasis on how you are embodying your drive, your vision, um, your desires, how you are willing to fight for what you believe in because you value what you believe in, those are themes that are likely to come up this year.

JVN [01:13:05] Oh my God, say that one more time.

DIANA ROSE [01:13:07] Ok, I’ll try. I’m not super good at always repeating myself. So, themes of, like, you showing up with your vigor, with your dedication, right, with your awareness of what you value and your willingness to fight for what you care about because you value it, right. Showing up for the people that matter to you, the causes that matter to you. Like, that’s, that’s what’s up. And part of that, too, one of the things that I think is interesting is like what does it mean for you to get familiar with the energy of Mars in a way that is constructively pushing you forward towards what you wish to like do in the world, how you want to influence the world, right, like, the process of navigating those Mars themes we were talking about earlier, like, that’s a process of you being able to embody Mars in constructive ways, right. Mars is a fighter. Mars cuts things, right, whether that’s cutting vegetables or cutting ties, like, that’s Mars, right. You know, Mars sometimes goes for the jugular, but sometimes going for the jugular is exactly what’s necessary, right, sometimes it can be easy to feel like anger and rage or these shame emotions, these emotions that we should not have, but anger and rage tell us a lot about our boundaries. They tell us a lot about what matters to us and if we can use our anger as a way to walk towards what we care about, anger isn’t the, isn’t a problem, it’s a, it’s a participant in us living our lives authentically.

JVN [01:14:59] Mmhm. Yes. That, ok, ok, I mean honestly, I feel like you just, like, dropped the mic so hard on the last line of that. I mean ‘cause it kind of encapsulated, like, what my last question was, which is kind of like, well, I think well, ok so what so, I feel really gorgeous with my chart, I also feel like you could spend so much more time and I want to spend so much more time with you. But what would you say to other people that want to get involved in this sort of in, in these healing arts? And, and what would you like to share with people about where they can, I mean, we’ll include your links to your socials here, but just as, with finding their truth in this and what this is kind of done for you and your life and your passion for astrology and um, yeah.

DIANA ROSE [01:16:02] Yeah, I feel like one of the most important things that I can say about getting into astrology and to a certain extent even getting into tarot or getting into other healing-oriented practices is that the goal is not to be good enough, right, like, I think the, the appeal of being good enough, for whatever, being good enough to go to heaven, good enough to be chosen by a partner, good enough to get the job that you want, good enough to be admired, good enough to be friends with the people that already love you, whatever. Good enough is, is a really–can I cuss–

JVN [01:16:41] Yeah!

DIANA ROSE [01:16:42] Good enough is a fucked up goal. Good enough is um good enough is a self-flagellating goal. Good enough is a goal that you can constantly move the goal posts and so therefore never achieve. So the point of engaging with things like astrology and tarot and energy healing and like any of the other things that we engage with in order to experience better, should also be increasing the positive experience of being alive, right. It’s not towards good enough, it’s towards: Do I feel good in my skin? Do I feel like I can authentically express what is currently true for me? Do I feel like I am engaging in life in a way that feels flourishing and nourishing? Am I supporting the flourishing of other people who matter to me?

And, ideally, you would also be supporting the flourishing of people that you don’t even know, right. because we’re all on this hunk of space rock together. So you can turn to something like astrology and be like, “Ok, so one of my skills in this world,” pretend I’m Jonathan for a second, “One of my skills in this world is bringing people together because their ideas will blossom if I bring them together,” right. That’s not about you being good enough; that’s about you embodying yourself and playing the role that is laid out for you, right. And that to me, that I think is maximal. It’s, like, such a healing thing to be like, “Oh, I can stop trying to be someone I’m not. I can stop pretending I care about things that I don’t. And instead I can be who I am. I can care about what I care about. I can make what I want to make. I can create what I want to create. I can love how I want to love,” right. Like that, I think, is huge, and so much more beautiful of an aspiration, so much more achievable of an aspiration than good enough.

JVN [01:18:57] Diana Rose! There is, just I am so grateful for you and for your time and for your brain and your just awareness of the world, that you do what you do. I just love our time together so much, and you’re just amazing.

DIANA ROSE [01:19:14] Thank you for having me on. This has been a really beautiful experience. And I really hope that you and all the people listening derive really solid benefit from our conversation.

JVN [01:19:24] I feel like I will. I feel like they definitely will, but I really did. Wow. You made me cry like six times.

DIANA ROSE [01:19:33] Happy tears, happy tears.

JVN [01:19:35] Yes! You’ve been listening to Getting Curious with me, Jonathan Van Ness. My guest this week was astrologer, tarot reader, and energy worker Diana Rose.

You’ll find links to her work in the episode description of whatever you’re listening to the show on.

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Our editor is Andrew Carson and our transcriptionist is Alida Wuenscher.

Getting Curious is produced by me, Erica Getto, and Emily Bossak.