I Had My Birth Chart Read and Now I May Quit My Job

For as long as I can remember I have had an interest in astrology. Not as something I personally practise, but as a tool for understanding why I may do certain things and how it can impact how other people react. I can often hear myself calling my daughter a "crazy Aquarius" or putting my partner's behaviour down to his Leo needs. However, as someone who is messy, non-conforming, has the tendency to be free with timekeeping and can often be found ignoring bills (and any sort of organisational task) I couldn't work out why I didn't seem to fit into a Virgo box.

This was until I started to look into birth charts and rising signs. I was intrigued, could this be why I have never felt like a true Virgo? Is there more to astrology than reading your horoscope? I was intrigued, and like a dog with a bone decided I needed to find out.

I didn't know where to start, however a quick google search directed me to a free online tool by co-star. As I excitedly entered all my details I wondered if my birth chart would be the answer to my true astrological personality. As the results filtered through it felt like my life made sense. I was born under a Virgo sun and moon, but my rising sign was Aquarius and suddenly the dots joined together. As I read each description it was like reading a psychologist's analysis of my personality. The traits I kept to myself were there in black and white. The answers I already knew were right in front of me, but I needed to know more. What does this actually mean for how you should live your life? Does it give you the answers to burning questions that run through your mind in the middle of the night? Or is it just a load of rubbish? I had to find an expert who could help me dissect and understand what all this meant and there was only one person for the job.

Kirsty Gallagher is one of the UK's leading voices in modern-day spirituality and soul-led personal development. Moon mentor, soul guide and Sunday Times bestselling author. Bringing ancient mystical practices to modern-day life.

Three times Sunday Times bestselling author and astrologist Kirsty Gallagher is quite a sensation on instagram and I often find myself watching her videos to try and understand what is going on. After quitting her corporate job, travelling in India for a year and retraining as a yoga teacher 13 years ago, she has gone on to write three books, The Goddess Path (£11), Sacred Seasons and Lunar Living about how you can use the power of the moon and astrology to make the most of your life. She has a celebrity clientele which includes Mel C, Fearne Cotton and Chris Evans, as well as a loyal fanbase of over 166K followers on social media. When she agreed to sit with me for a one-to-one session I was beyond excited. I sent over my details and anxiously awaited our online session.

The Goddess Path

From

£110

£110 at amzn.eu

After a quick introduction we settled into our zoom chat and discussed how strange it still feels at times that we meet people for the first time over a screen. I started to explain how I still struggle with not being able to make eye contact on a group call and I could see the corners of her mouth start to twitch. "Yep, that's all in your chart," she said with a smile. "You are all about relationships and engaging with other people." Ok. So we are off it seems.

Gallagher started to explain how both my moon and sun are in Virgo, unusual apparently, we went through the well known virgo characteristics, from nit-picking (who me?) to the tendency to be self-critical, contrasting with sheer determination to be perfect and always striving to do better. We touched on how I tend to try and fix people and situations (for anyone that knows me this is pretty much my life) and how my life revolves around the relationships dear to me. We then discussed my creative side, very much rooted in the Aquarius rising and why it may be the reason that I don't feel like a traditional Virgo.

Gallagher then told me I was born under a mercury retrograde, which initially felt like a bit of a warning sign, however she assured me it is quite the opposite: "For those born when a planet is in retrograde it usually means they can handle them a lot better." Phew! This resonated, as I would often hear the doomsday astrologers warning that the world would implode during these retrogrades, when to me it just felt a bit meh. I tend to have very good intuition, which means I can sense danger or unease from a mile off. Many times I've prepared myself for, as Gallagher put it, "A bump in the road," and rather than it derail me, I've used it to help either slow me down or allow myself to fall without guilt or shame. However, this has never been from a negative space, I'm quite the optimist, which apparently is due to my Sagittarius energy.

The more we talked the more it felt like my shoulders relaxed. I have a lot of confidence in who I am, and although this may be misinterpreted by others I know I only come from a good place. As Gallagher walked me through my birth chart it made me feel validated and soothed the anxious Virgo voice in my head that can often worry my intentions are misinterpreted.

The question is what are you meant to do with all this information? "Live your true purpose," was the answer from Gallagher. "Teaching, passing on your wisdom, being of service, helping others – this is what you are here to do," she tells me with much enthusiasm. FYI this is all down to Gemini in my midheaven, which apparently means I will thrive in my career especially if it is in the communication field. 15 years as a journalist this thankfully makes a lot of sense to me, especially as I tend to feel even more comfortable writing about subjects where I feel I can help others or teach them something. I also thrive when I'm given a topic I think others will resonate with, whether that is the latest beauty trend or helping someone feel comforted by sharing personal experiences like my miscarriage or laying with my child until he sleeps. For as long as I can remember I have loved mentoring others, either in their career or helping them find a purpose, I spent much of my 20s teaching cheerleading to teens and still feel I taught them way more than how to perfect their toe touch. I feel at home when I am offering my services to others, whether that was starting a charity during covid or offering to volunteer for my kids' PTA. And now it all makes a bit more sense as to why.

She added right at the end of our session that my purpose in life will become even clearer by the end of September and warned that it may come in the form of working for myself, as my out of box thinking doesn't always sit well amongst a traditional company structure. Although I'm going to take that with a pinch of salt, it did give me food for thought and a bit of an understanding as to why I can get frustrated with rules and regulations at times. I'm not suggesting this is a letter of resignation, my good-girl perfectionist Virgo would never allow it, however it may be worth checking back in autumn…

Lauren Ezekiel is an associate editor at PS UK, where she writes about all things beauty and wellness. With a degree in journalism and 12 years' experience as a beauty editor at a leading Sunday supplement, she is obsessed with skincare, hair and makeup, and is often found offering advice to innocent bystanders. Her work has been published in Grazia, OK, Health and Beauty, The Sun, ASDA, Dare and Metro.