An Introductory Astrologist’s Guide to the Stars

For quite some time, astrology has carried a taboo mystique. Do we trust it? How accurate can starry predictions be? Is it just entertainment?

“People are really looking for a reason why. They’re really looking for a language to articulate back to them an accurate representation of the reality that they’re experiencing.” — Dayna Lynn Nuckolls, astrologist

Now, in a time of deep uncertainty, the discomfort  and moral indignation toward astrology has started to lift and intrigue has increased. Today, it’s not unlikely that questions about your sun, moon and rising sign casually make their way into conversation – even if a few side eyes still follow.

Listen: What the stars are trying to teach you about life.

Photo by Farzad Mohsenvand on Unsplash

“Now, even the greatest skeptics are curious because things have not followed the expected patterns that we think or have believed they would based on just basic evidence and historical precedent,” says Dayna Lynn Nuckolls, a Chicago-based astrologist, known as The People’s Oracle. “People are really looking for a reason why. They’re really looking for a language to articulate back to them an accurate representation of the reality that they’re experiencing.” 

Nuckolls, who uses sidereal astrology and tarot card reading, along with intuitive guidance in her practice, says that astrology is a language and articulator of time, in that, “instead of segmenting and measuring time, it tells us what it means.” 

She shares that astrology gives us an interpretation about what’s happening in our lives, why and what’s to come; and notes that horoscopes are a good introductory way to get acquainted with the language of astrology because it helps add context to a difficult discipline to learn.

“The most important part of your birth chart for a non-astrologist is the rising sign. It’s the quickest moving  part of the chart because it has to travel through all of the zodiac signs within a 24-hour period. So, this, besides the moon, is the most personal side of the chart. It’s really your physical body and persona. Your habits and the way that you are.”